'Everyone thinks Wicked champions female friendship. I couldn't disagree more.'

When they're not holding space for the lyrics of 'Defying Gravity', fans of Wicked — both the musical and the two-part film — often applaud the story for championing the female friendship at its centre.

This friendship between Elphaba and Glinda — played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande — in the film adaptation is widely considered the emotional core of Wicked.

The connection between these women is so close that subsections of the fandom have interpreted their relationship as romantic — a classic enemies-to-lovers courtship as epitomised in their first duet, 'What Is This Feeling?'.

In the sequel Wicked: For Good, Glinda and Elphaba sing about the lasting impact of their friendship on their lives. "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good," they both croon, as they gaze deeply into each other's eyes.

Watch the trailer for Wicked: For Good. Post continues after video.

This fictional friendship has translated into a real one for the two women at the helm of the films.

"I think that was one of my most cherished parts of this experience: I felt held and like I had a friend every step of the way," Grande told The New York Times in 2024 about Erivo.

"I'm really proud of us for how genuinely we took care of each other throughout this whole time."

Erivo has consistently expressed throughout interviews how grateful she was to be by Grande's side. "I'm glad it was us," she added.

The actresses' bond was so deep that they went through their Wicked contracts together before signing on.

"We went through our contracts together and called each other up. 'Did you see that? What do you think about that? Let's get it together!" Grande told Variety.

"We were really f**king honest…. that's really rare. People don't do that," added Erivo.

As the actors built a foundation of friendship while making the two movies, it clearly translated on-screen, with reviews praising the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba.

"Wicked: For Good is about how Elphaba and Glinda are the great loves of each other's lives," wrote a Refinery29 review.

"The film is, in its essence, an ode to eternal friendship," summed up the BBC.

Image: Universal Pictures.

"Despite its unsettling political resonance, Wicked is finally most convincing as a story of an intense, soulfully nurturing female friendship," penned The New York Times.

But is the friendship depicted all that 'nurturing', or are we being fed another piece of Wicked propaganda?

Even if they changed each other 'for good', Glinda and Elphaba are simply bad friends to each other. I'm sorry but may this sort of friendship never find me.

From the beginning, Glinda bullied, excluded and ostracised Elphaba. Their friendship was born out of pity: Glinda gave Elphaba a hat to wear at the Ozdust Ballroom so she would be publicly humiliated. She only warmed to Elphaba once she learned that her former foe had helped get her into Madame Morrible's exclusive class.

After this, Glinda and Elphaba had a little dance together, and their friendship was solidified — but it was left a little too ambiguous what Glinda's intentions were with starting this friendship…. other than feeling guilt and pity.

That same night, Glinda decided she had to physically change Elphaba so she would be a socially acceptable friend with the song 'Popular'.

The first film, of course, ends with Glinda choosing to side with the Wizard and Madame Morrible, agreeing to make Elphaba into a scapegoat. Is this… umm, friendship?

This brings me to Wicked: For Good, which begins with Glinda siding with the people trying to hunt down Elphaba and ends with Elphaba sleeping with Glinda's fiancé, Fiyero, on her friend's wedding night.

Yay, female friendship! I just can't fathom Elphaba's behaviour in the second film. I get she isn't in her right mind after being on the run from the Wizard, but her behaviour showed that she clearly was harbouring some resentment towards Glinda, or else she surely would have considered her friend's feelings — and maybe not told Glinda after the said wedding-ruining that "he never loved you!"

It was all a bit much, Elphie.

But this spoke to an uncomfortable power dynamic that lingered throughout this friendship: as a far more skilled witch than Glinda, Elphaba always seemed to believe she was deserving of more.

As summed up in 'The Wizard and I', Elphaba describes herself as "a girl who is so superior."

All in all, this friendship just doesn't feel fully believable. The Broadway production of Wicked doesn't fully explain their friendship either, but somehow it worked better as the audience was able to suspend some disbelief as the show moved lightning fast between plot points.

The past and present cast of Wicked celebrate the 20th anniversary. Image: Getty.

Like most musicals, there is a degree of just leaning into the madness of this inherently non-realistic art form. But for a movie, the audience has to work harder to suspend their disbelief.

For instance, when Glinda is left weeping alone at her wedding, it's harder to then accept Elphaba and Fiyero's love-making scene without wondering how on earth Elphaba could do that to someone she considered her closest friend.

Of course, I'm not saying that she and Elphaba don't love each other in their own way, but this is hardly the type of friendship we should be putting on a pedestal.

Their relationship reflects the most toxic traits of female friendships: being uber competitive, 'mean girl' antics of exclusion and gossiping, and fighting for popularity and social status.

And of course, the crux of their falling out is all about fighting over the affections of a man — as if these women don't have more pressing issues to attend to! Wait, who is that pigtailed girl with the little dog??

I'm just not buying this friendship as something we should be celebrating, especially when compared to actually healthy and loving on-screen friendships like Christina and Meredith in Grey's Anatomy, Leslie and Anne in Parks and Recreation or Sex and the City's core four.

But sadly, we are so starved of these kinds of nurturing dynamics between women — the kinds we all want in real life — that toxic female friendships are normalised. Or worse, they're celebrated.

What is this feeling? It doesn't feel like a friendship I'd ever want.

Feature image: Universal Pictures.