Who is Elphaba's real father in Evil?

This article contains a discussion of sexual assault.

If you don't know the entire plot of the original Broadway musical Wicked, don't continue down the proverbial yellow brick road! Major spoilers ahead!

In Wicked: Part One, the first half of John M. Chu's epic adaptation of the musical Wicked, which opened on Broadway in 2003, we are introduced to Elphaba Trope, a young green-skinned girl who ends up unexpectedly. studied magic and sorcery at the prestigious Shiza University. So why is her skin green and why is she only character we see in the story with this particular look? Does it have anything to do with her father's true identity? Thanks for asking! It sure is!

When we first meet Elphaba's parents Melena and Governor Fraxpar Trop, played by Courtney May Briggs and Andy Nyman respectively, in the blockbuster film, they seem happy enough and expecting their first child… only for her to react with horror. comes out of the womb completely green. As a result, Governor Tropp is not particularly kind to his eldest daughter, preferring the company of his youngest child, Nessarose (newcomer Marisa Bode), who was born with chronically weak legs after the governor forced his wife to drink a potion made with milk flowers. to prevent another child with, as Elphaba put it in one of her songs, “verdigris”. (Melena also dies tragically after Nessaroz's early and difficult birth.)

The story of how Elphaba became green differs between Stephen Schwartz's musical and Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which serves as the source material for the musical, but here's the gist. here's how we can expect this storyline to end “Wicked: For Good”, the second half of Chu's film.

Let's get this out of the way: yes, The Wizard of Oz played by Jeff Goldblum in Wicked: Part One, is Elphaba's father. Basically, the gist is that he and Melena have an affair that results in Elphaba, and her green skin is very likely due to a green potion fed to Melena by the wizard himself. This also explains why Elphaba's “father”, Governor Tropp, who maintains and raises the child, seems to resent and even hate the girl who is believed to be his eldest daughter; although the character never confirms it, it is possible that Governor Trope knows that Elphaba is a representation of his wife's infidelity.

Being green isn't easy, as Kermit the Frog has tried to tell us years — and the added conflict of Elphaba's real father certainly makes things a lot more complicated for her. As a child, Elphaba (played by Karis Musongole) is bullied for being different, and usually spells randomly when she is teased for her skin tone. By the time she arrives in Shiza, Elphaba is emotionally withdrawn and energetic as she does everything she can to protect Nesaroza (who keeps telling Elphaba that she's fine). Despite their differences, Elphaba becomes close friends with her roommate Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande-Butera) and settles in quite well in Shiza before being summoned by the Wizard of Oz to the Emerald City, the capital of Oz. That's when things come together for the upcoming Wicked Witch of the West.

I should note here that in Gregory Maguire's book, the story of Elphaba's conception is quite different and much more disturbing. In general, Maguire's book is a lot darker than the musical, but the story of Melena's encounter with the Wizard is particularly harsh, so here goes.

When we first meet Elphaba in Maguire's novel, the baby has green skin, but she also has razor teeth, a penchant for violence and cruelty, and a crippling fear of water. (The fear is related to allergies, which of course there will be enter the game later.) Events unfold similarly to the musical: Elphaba goes to Shizu, meets Glinda, impresses the school's dean of magic, Madam Morrible (played by Michelle Yeoh in the film adaptation), and then realizes that the Wizard is a big old con. However, the discovery that the Wizard is both an impostor and Elphaba's real father is much worse.

At the very end of the book, The main character of “The Wizard of Oz” Dorothy Gale accidentally kills Elphaba by throwing a bucket of water on the witch to put out the fire on her skirt (unaware of the life-threatening allergy). She then brings one of Elphaba's possessions to the wizard, who realizes that it is the green potion he once used. drug and sexual assault Melena. The fact that Elphaba is the result of a brutal attack adds a certain darkness to her character, but it certainly makes sense for the musical to cut that particular aspect.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit The website of the National Rape, Abuse and Incest Network or contact the RAINN National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Yes, Jeff Goldblum is In the opening number of Wicked: Part One, the group's number titled “No One Mourns the Wicked” was largely led by Glinda the Good Witch, as she accurately explains why Elphaba, the “dead” Wicked Witch of the West, was so “wicked”. After the citizens of Oz celebrate the apparent death of Elphaba (I say “seemed” here because in the musical “Wicked” Elphaba fakes her death by using a trap door and escapes Oz with her lover Fiero Tigellar), Glinda explains that the Tropp family had “secrets.” At this point, we see a flashback to Melena and the wizard continuing their romance.

Not only the voice coming from Melena's mysterious lover is very clearly Goldblum's extraordinarily distinctive voice, the track lists Goldblum as one of the vocalists alongside Ariana Grande-Buter, Courtney May-Briggs, Andy Nieman, Sharon D. Clarke and Jen Boyd. (The latter two performers voice Dulcibar, the Tropes family nanny, and the lupine doctor who helps give birth to Elphaba.) If that's not a spoiler, I don't know what is, especially since it's pretty easy to string together the flowing conversations. the guy feeds a green potion to his beloved Melena with Elphaba's green skin tone.

In case you didn't put the pieces together thanks to Jeff Goldblum's very obvious cameo in “No One Mourns the Wicked,” Goldblum's Wizard indeed drives the point home during his only solo track on “Wicked: Part One,” titled “A Sentimental Man.” Towards the end of the film – before the mage's evil intentions become apparent and Elphaba flies away from the Emerald City under considerable duress — Goldblum gives an irreverent rendition of The Wizard's Song from the musical, showing off his miniature version of Oz to the bewitched Elphaba and Glinda. So let's look at those lyrics for a second, shall we?

After Elphaba takes advantage of the Wizard's promised desire to free Oz's captive, subjugated talking animals, the Wizard tells her he agrees before getting down to business: “I'm a sentimental man / Who's always longed to be a father / That's why I'm doing my best / To treat every citizen of Oz like a son or daughter.” (Goldblum certainly does indeed also press the word “daughter”.)

Immediately afterwards, the Wizard specifically names Elphaba and says that he would like to “take (her) high” because “everyone deserves a chance to fly”—a line that returns to Elphaba's final Act 1 title, “Defying Gravity. Let's not forget that the Wizard concludes his song, crooning, “And helping you with your ascension, I can feel it. Okay, dude, you're Elphaba's dad.

Okay, so what can we expect from the wizard — and his corrupt sidekick Madam Morrible — in Wicked: For Good when it comes out in November 2025? As Wicked: Part One concludes, the wizard and Madam Morrible begin what can only be described as a smear campaign against Elphaba, telling all of Oz that she is pure evil and must be captured to save the world. As the audience knows, this is a lie; Madam Morrible and the wizard simply want to use Elphaba's powerful magic to bend the world of Oz to their will. A wizard can't even to read the magical book known as the Grimmerie (he can't actually do magic at all) and Madam Morrible, while she can control the weather, is still not as powerful as Elphaba (despite the green witch's lack of formal training).

At the end of Gregory Maguire's Wicked, the Wizard abandons the trick and leaves Oz forever, likely to return to Omaha, Nebraska (the canonical home of the Wizards according to L. Frank Baum's original books). As for the musical, Glinda, believing Elphaba to be dead and seeking justice for her fallen friend, appears in the Emerald City, confronts the Wizard with the green elixir he once fed Melena, and arrests both the fraudulent wizard and Madam Morrible. their many crimes—all while Elphaba is safe and sound with her true love Fiyero. Presumably, since John M. Chu's first Wicked film followed the musical pretty faithfully, we can expect Jeff Goldblum's wizard to be locked up forever when all is said and done.

“Wicked: Part One” is now available to rent or buy on demand. Wicked: For Good will be released on November 21, 2025.