Wicked: For Good Cut a Major Fiyero & Glinda Scene That Could’ve Changed Everything (& It Was the Right Call)

The story of Wicked: For Good might have been different if a key scene had remained in the final cut. An adaptation of Wicked‘s second act, Director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: For Good presents the emotional conclusion of the popular Broadway musical. In the Land of Oz, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), unjustly labeled the Wicked Witch of the West, goes on the run and attempts to expose the Wizard’s (Jeff Goldblum) corruption. Meanwhile, Glinda (Ariana Grande) basks in her new life as a “good” public figure, yet she feels unfulfilled in the wake of her friend’s departure. Although still dear to each other following Wicked‘s climactic ending, Elphaba and Glinda clash on several occasions in Wicked: For Good. Prince Fiyero’s (Jonathan Bailey) failed engagement to Glinda and ensuing romance with Elphaba play an important role in the film. Still, one deleted scene would have dramatically changed the love triangle.

In a recent interview with Deadline, Wicked: For Good co-writer Dana Fox revealed that Glinda and Fiyero share a kiss in a scene that was left on the cutting room floor. “It was romantic and beautiful, but a little too passionate,” Fox said. “Seeing that made it too hard to watch him make the choice he makes to be with Elphaba and made it too hard to make it OK that Elphaba ran off with him. It was too real that he and Glinda were actually feeling something together.” The Wicked: For Good writing team’s decision to remove Glinda and Fiyero’s kiss from the movie paid off, as keeping the moment would have caused unnecessary problems for the narrative.

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Wicked: For Good Was Right to Cut Glinda and Fiyero’s Kiss

Further elaborating on the choice to cut the romantic exchange between Glinda and her fiancé, Fox explained how the scene didn’t accurately reflect the two characters’ relationship.

“It was like a feeling that he really did love her, which he does care about Glinda a lot, don’t get me wrong,” Fox shared. “But he likes her in a different way. But this scene was too romantic, so it was like, ‘Oh, we can’t know that because then our brains will explode when he doesn’t choose her in the end. And then we’ll hate Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero.’ So, I think it was a good cut because it was too adorable that you simply couldn’t handle it.”

Ultimately, Fox is correct that the kiss wouldn’t work in Wicked: For Good. From the instant Fiyero and Glinda meet at Shiz University and declare that they are “perfect together” and “born to be forever” during the track “Dancing Through Life,” it’s clear that their connection is only superficial. At this point in Wicked, the two appear compatible due to their shared attractiveness, carefree attitude, and popularity with others. However, their relationship never comes across as authentically romantic, and Wicked: For Good makes this even clearer. Glinda plans their engagement without Fiyero’s knowledge, and his underwhelmed reaction to the news solidifies that his heart belongs to someone else.

Fiyero and Elphaba exhibit a much more genuine connection in Wicked and Wicked: For Good. Saving the lion cub together in the woods permanently alters Fiyero’s worldview, and Elphaba simultaneously begins to fall for him. Everything Fiyero does thereafter revolves around Elphaba, even after she flies away on her broomstick. Captaining the Gale Force in the hunt for the Wicked Witch of the West and putting his life on the line for Elphaba proves that Fiyero truly loves her all along. Moreover, Elphaba and Fiyero’s intimate kiss during “As Long as You’re Mine” emphatically conveys their romance, sharply contrasting with Fiyero and Glinda’s shallow interactions.

Thus, a passionate kiss between Glinda and Fiyero in Wicked: For Good would completely oversell their dynamic. Despite Grande and Bailey’s chemistry, viewers are not meant to feel enraptured by their characters’ rapport. The pair gets along well thanks to their many similarities, but the lack of a deeper bond intentionally stands out. Fiyero’s warmth and heartfelt emotions only surface in the presence of Elphaba, and it’s fortunate that Wicked: For Good doesn’t undermine this meaningful disparity.

Wicked: For Good Is About So Much More Than Romance

Cutting Fiyero and Glinda’s kiss was also a great decision because the story of Wicked doesn’t need more romance. Even though Elphaba’s ending involves escaping Oz with a scarecrow Fiyero after faking her death, the plot’s overall significance has little to do with a woman falling in love with a prince. At their core, Wicked and Wicked: For Good revolve around the heartwarming yet complicated relationship between Elphaba and Glinda. Their unlikely meeting at Shiz initially triggers resentment, yet they evolve together and forge a profound companionship defined by mutual respect and adoration. Beyond Elphaba and Glinda’s arcs, the story emphasizes how people are vulnerable to propaganda under a brutal authoritarian regime. Such a stirring personal drama thrives alongside Wicked and Wicked: For Good‘s political allegory, solidifying the musical as a compelling piece of media inspired by L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz and Gregory Maguire’s Wicked books.

Elphaba and Glinda end up as the only people in each other’s lives to see them for who they truly are, which makes their diverging paths all the more tragic. Oz’s vilification of Elphaba and Glinda’s complicity in the Wizard’s fascist government sadly drive them apart in the end. Still, Elphaba and Glinda forever change the course of each other’s lives, as poignantly reflected in the song “For Good.” In essence, Elphaba and Glinda are the real love story of Wicked and Wicked: For Good. They’re the only characters who exchange the words “I love you” in either movie, which perfectly sums up the importance of their relationship. Fiyero hardly serves as more than a plot device, and Wicked: For Good never requires more from him.

Wicked: For Good is now playing in theaters.

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