‘Wicked’ Ending, Explained — The Truth Behind Glinda’s Final Moment in ‘Wicked: For Good’

Warning: Major Wicked: For Good spoilers ahead!

Wicked: For Good closes on one of the film’s most emotional shots — Ariana Grande’s Glinda clutching the Grimmerie as it magically flips open in her hands. It’s a moment that left fans sobbing — and theorizing.

Now, co-screenwriter Dana Fox is breaking down the meaning behind Glinda’s final scene … and why it may not be as straightforward as it looks.

In the film’s final act, Glinda believes Elphaba is gone forever. Before disappearing into legend, Elphaba leaves her the Grimmerie, the book of spells Glinda has never been able to read. Even in her grief, Glinda insists, “You know I can’t read that.” It’s a line Fox says cuts right to the heart of who Glinda is — and what she’s struggled with her entire life.

“The other thing that kills me dead is when Elphaba gives Glinda the Grimmerie and Glinda finally says, ‘You know I can’t read that.’ I die,” Fox told Deadline. “To me, that performance and the fact that she says that and has that moment — that is her deepest shame.”

Fox explained that the film intentionally explores Glinda’s childhood wounds to show why admitting she can’t access the Grimmerie’s magic is so painful. “That’s the hardest thing for her to say and admit,” she said.

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And yet, that confession may be exactly why the Grimmerie has finally responded to her.

“The fact that she admits it, to me, is why I think she earns the Grimmerie opening to her at the end of the film, which is also not in the play,” Fox continued.

But before anyone runs off declaring Glinda is now the newest witch of Oz, Fox stresses that the moment was crafted to be ambiguous.

“Winnie and I are desperate for all that to be open to everyone else’s interpretation,” she said, adding that the movie is meant to invite audiences to project their own meaning onto the final scene. “Did she open it for her? Does she know that it opened for her? Did she feel it opening for her? What is that? That should be everyone’s moment to decide how they want it to be and how they feel about it. I get chills just thinking about that ending, though. I love it so much.”