Does Glinda Have Powers & Did She Realize Boq Is the Tin Man? Her Wicked: For Good Ending Explained by Director

Wicked: For Good‘s ending is a dramatic one for Glinda, but one that leaves some major questions unanswered. The second part of the musical is even more Glinda’s story than it is Elphaba’s, with Ariana Grande effectively taking on the lead role (even if it’s unlikely to be viewed that way for awards season). She not only has to reckon with what happened to her best friend, but also her own place in Oz, how she’s been changed, and whether or not she truly is, or can be, good. Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Wicked: For Good.

The third act of Wicked: For Good really ramps things up for Glinda: she watches on in horror as Dorothy throws water over Elphaba, meaning she thinks she’s just watched her friend be killed (though, as audiences know, she survives and gets her own mostly happy ending with Fiyero). She also takes possession of the Grimmerie, which now activates for her, suggesting she has, at long last, unlocked magical powers. And there’s also a brief yet interesting scene where she sees the Tin Man, formerly Boq, which teases that she recognizes his new form.

Does Glinda Get Magical Powers At The End Of Wicked: For Good?

The movie doesn’t give clear answers to any of this, however, preferring to leave things somewhat ambiguous. Director Jon M. Chu prefers it that way, but, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he provided some greater clarity on these moments. On the topic of whether Glinda does now have powers, he said: “Elphaba giving Glinda the book is her saying ‘You know the power that you have, and you know the truth.’ But there’s no answer at the end of this movie, it’s a challenge: ‘What are you going to be?’ We don’t know what Glinda does, we just know the possibilities are beautiful.”

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In a deleted scene from Wicked, Elphaba posited that the reason Glinda cannot innately perform magic is because she’s never needed it, something that is supported in For Good via the flashbacks to a young version of the character. But now that Glinda has to help make a better Oz – one without the wizard, without Morrible, and without the Wicked Witch – while also learning (and doing) what it truly takes to be good, it’d make sense for her to finally need powers, so long as she uses them the right way. As Chu says:

“Glinda chooses a reality that she may never be good. I think it’s this idea that we’re both good and wicked. We’re all of these things, and every day we make a choice about which one we’re going to be.”

Does Glinda Realize Boq Is Now The Tin Man?

As for the Tin Man, it certainly does seem like Glinda realizes who it really is. Chu doesn’t 100% confirm that’s the case, but does agree with the idea, as he revealed in a different EW interview: “I don’t necessarily like to say exactly what it is… but yeah, in my mind, she knows it’s Boq. I think she recognizes, she sees it in his eyes. I think there’s also something she knows inherently and it makes her ask herself, ‘What has become of this world that I knew?’”

It’s a stark realization for Glinda, whose protected and privileged worldview is challenged throughout the two Wicked movies, and further speaks to the idea of people being changed “for good,” but not necessarily for the better. From Boq’s perspective of the scene, it’s very clear that any feelings of love he had for Glinda were lost with his heart; all there is now is a burning hatred and a desire to take revenge.

Vengeance upon the Wicked Witch may be the order of the day, but Elphaba actually escapes in Wicked: For Good‘s ending, and finally gets to be with Fiyero, who is now the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz. The pair make their way into the desert beyond Oz in what’s largely a happy finale for them (if somewhat bittersweet, given all that’s happened). Chu reveals that there were “versions of that desert that were a lot darker and scarier,” but, given the tone of the ending, the one they ended up with was certainly the right call.

Wicked: For Good is now in theaters.

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