No One Mourns The Wicked Reveals Glinda's Sad Fate

"And goodness knows the wicked's lives are lonely. Goodness knows the wicked die alone. It just shows when you're wicked, you're left only on your own," Glinda sings during the first song in the musical Wicked. To those gathered, and even to the audience, she seems to be singing about the Wicked Witch of the West, aka Elphaba. 

The story begins just after the events of The Wizard of Oz, where the citizens of the fantastical land come out to celebrate the death of public enemy #1. Everyone is relieved that the perceived threat is over and things can go back to normal. 

Never mind that the wizard left abruptly. Or that Madame Morrible has been thrown into prison. 

Why do those situations not bother the good people of Oz? 

It's easy to say because Elphaba is dead. She was presented by the aforementioned villains as the threat to them. Her death frees them from worrying about anything bad happening. 

But the real reason is that the message is delivered by the girl in the bubble, Glinda the Good Witch. 

While Elphaba was presented as being evil, Glinda was the pink-tinged counterpart. She was showcased as being lovely and wonderful. Every part of her public persona was crafted to be palatable to the public. 

But Glinda doesn't feel as if she's good. Her best friend was killed by the girl from Kansas. And from her perspective, Fieryo chose to live the months of his life with Elphaba and not her. 

Despite the public image of happiness, Glinda is all alone. There is a good chance that she is going to die without a friend or partner. Because she chose to fight the system from within and got caught up in it. 

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"No Mourns The Wicked" is the first song in the stage and movie versions of Wicked. This matters because the actual story is told via flashbacks told from Glinda's perspective. 

With the release of Wicked For Good, several creators have come out with content speculating on why Glinda doesn't get a redemption arc. They believe it's because she is supposed to be the real villain of the musical, but her machinations get lost under what the Wizard and Madame Morrible do. 

Neither of those things is entirely true. 

Act One (Wicked Part One) tells the story of the choices that are made.  While Act Two (Wicked For Good) showcases the consequences. 

For Elphaba and Glinda, the two of them have a tight bond. They are the best of friends. The ladies even have the same taste in men, especially one from Winkie Country. 

But because they have had such different lives, when it comes to choosing how to fight, their choices are much different. Each falls to something that is more comfortable for them, something that offers them normalcy. 

Elphaba goes on the run, an outsider that holds the power of magic in her hands. She knows that people are going to talk about her, that rumors will be spread about what she has done. It's a consequence that has followed her since the moment she was born with verdigris skin. 

Glinda, on the other hand, has led a very privileged life. It is highly suggested that she comes from money. There is also an implication that the biggest worry in her life was what to do with the pointed, black hat her grandmother made her. 

She chooses to stay behind. This is where the Wizard and Madame Morrible decide to seal her fate, along with theirs. They present her as the counterpart to her best friend, the good to Elphaba's evil. 

And she allows it because she doesn't want to inconvenience anyone. 

In "Defying Gravity," Glinda says to Elphaba, "I hope you're happy. Now that you're choosing this..." 

Elphie responds, "You too." 

Each understands the consequences of their choice. But only the so-called "Wicked Witch" is staying true to her morals and ethics. The "Good Witch" is giving in to a corrupt system. Worse, she is actively helping them destroy her best friend. 

The only friend who mattered, in her own words.

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The Wizard and Madame Morrible turned Glinda from a "C" student at Shiz University into the leader that Oz needed. And all they had to use along the way was the magic of propaganda. 

Since she was already one of the most popular ladies at school, they were able to use that likableness to convince the country that Glinda was the good witch. Add in some sparkles and a bubbly personality, and that gives an authoritarian regime the recipe to convince citizens that they are the good guys. 

And since Elphaba was already disliked, thought to be wicked, getting that to stick to her was as easy as Fieryo and Glinda's engagement. 

Yes, the marriage that was never meant to be was part of the manufactured process. Morrible knew that people want nothing more than a good love story. Not a messy triangle that leaves everyone involved looking bad. They want a sweet romance that will fill them with hope. 

Glinda and Fieryo fit the bill, sort of. They dated during their school days and declared that they were perfect for each other via song. No one would dare question their engagement. Not even the Winkie Prince himself. 

Until he decided to run off and be with true love, Elphaba. 

This is where the social engineering begins to backfire on Glinda and where the predictions in "No One Mourns the Wicked" come into play. As mentioned, most people in Oz and in the audience believe she is singing about the Wicked Witch of the West. 

In reality, she is singing about herself. Elphaba didn't die alone. Even if Fieryo and Nessarose weren't with her, she had plenty of animal friends who grieved her. 

However, Glinda knows that when it is time for her to pass, no one will mourn her. Of course, there will be public displays of grief throughout Oz, but they don't know who she really is. 

They couldn't because she wouldn't let them. 

Broadway's original Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth, once said that the higher she sings, the less truthful she is being. This is significant because most of the actresses who have followed in her bubble have kept this as part of the character, including Ariana Grande.

One can surmise, then, that while Glinda is saying the right words to keep the countrymen content, she is not singing them about her best friend. Rather, she has realized that the choice she made to be a tool for the previous regime has made it impossible for her to be the woman that she wanted to become. 

This line from "No One Mourns the Wicked" sums up the feelings of Glinda perfectly. "It just shows when you're wicked, you're left only on your own." 

And she is left on her own for all intents and purposes.