Wicked recap: Everything you need to remember before watching For Good

A lot has happened since the curtain went down on Wicked: Part One almost exactly a year ago – including the film being nominated for ten Oscars – but it's now finally time to return to Oz for the finale of the hit musical adaptation.

Reviews for the second instalment haven't been quite as stellar as they were for the first part, but they're still predominantly on the positive side, with our own 4-star verdict hailing it a "wondrous, multi-colour extravaganza" and declaring that it will "surely satisfy Wicked’s extensive army of devotees".

Meanwhile, we were also full of praise for returning leads Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who have both been given brand new original songs to perform written by the show's original composer Stephen Schwartz, adding to a soundtrack that will already delight fans of the show.

Of course, bearing in mind we've had to deal with the longest theatrical interval of all time, it's quite possible that some of the less hardcore Wicked fans might not remember every single detail of the previous film before heading to the cinema for the saga's conclusion.

With that in mind, we've recapped all the most important details below. Read on for everything you need to remember before seeing For Good.

Wicked recap: Everything you need to remember before watching For Good

The first film opened more or less at the end of the whole story, with the Munchkins celebrating the demise of the Wicked Witch of the West. Amongst the revelry, Glinda is asked by one of the gathered Munchkins if the rumours that she and the Witch had once been friends were true – which prompts her to tell the story of their shared past.

We learn that the Witch, aka Elphaba, had been ostracised due to her green skin pretty much from the moment she was born. However, when she had accompanied her younger sister Nessarose to enrol at Shiz University, the establishment's head Madame Morrible spotted evidence that she had unique powers of magic, and offered to privately tutor her in sorcery.

After her enrolment, Elphaba had been assigned to share a dorm with Galinda, but the pair instantly got off on the wrong foot, clashing over their very different outlooks and priorities. Meanwhile, she also learned of the growing discrimination against animals – who were losing their ability to speak – and allied with her goat history professor Dr Dillamond, one of the few remaining animal staff at the university.

When Galinda persuaded their Munchkin classmate Boq (who admired her) to take Nessarose to a party (so that she could go with transfer student Fiyero instead), Elphaba softened towards her roommate. Their bond increased yet further when Galinda consoled her at the dance after she is ridiculed for wearing a pointed hat, the same hat which Galinda had initially gifted her as a prank. From there, they became fast friends.

Meanwhile, as the campaign against animals stepped up a notch, Dr Dillamond was escorted off the premises and replaced by a new human teacher named Professor Nikidik. One of his first moves in his new job was to show off a cage that contained a frightened lion cub, which was designed especially to stop animals from developing the ability to speak.

Unsurprisingly, this angered Elphaba, who then teamed up with Fiyero to successfully free the lion into the nearby forrest. During their mission, it became increasingly clear that she and Fiyero got along very well, but Elphaba believed her feelings for him to be unrequited – and that he had eyes only for Galinda.

Some time later, Elphaba received an invention to meet her hero, The Wizard Of Oz. And so she made the journey to The Emerald City with Galinda – who announced that she had changed her name to Glinda out of solidarity with Dillamond, who had been unable to pronounce her name. Upon their arrival, original Elphaba and Glinda stars Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth made a brief cameo in an extended song and dance number.

When they finally arrived to meet the Wizard, Elphaba and Glinda were surprised to learn that – far from being the all-powerful sorcerer they'd been expecting – he is an ordinary man, and moreover that Madame Morrible was also present. The pair of them then pressured Elphaba into casting a levitation spell, which caused the Wizard’s monkey guards to sprout wings – such that they could now be used as spies.

This incident made Elphaba realise that it had been the Wizard and Morrible who were spearheading the campaign against the animals and that they now planned to use her magic for their own ends. Devastated and furious, she took the ancient Grimmerie spellbook and ran away.

Glinda followed her friend and made an attempt to calm her down, but Elphaba’s mind had been made up and she flew away from the Emerald City on a broom (which she had also cast a levitation spell on). Glinda pledged her support but stopped short of leaving with her, and was eventually being taken away by guards.

At the end of the film, we saw that Morrible had begun spreading propaganda about Elphaba, the shock of which caused the latter's father Governor Thropp to suffer a fatal heart attack when he hears the news. Meanwhile, Morrible also hugged and comforted Glinda, who she was now attempting to get back on side, setting the stage for Act 2.

Wicked: For Good is scheduled for release in UK cinemas on 21st November 2025.

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