THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

After the longest year of my musical theater-loving life, it was finally time to settle in for Wicked: For Good and have my mind blown (hopefully). Knowing the musical very well already, I knew to expect a darker narrative, less humor, and fewer iconic songs, and while all of those things were present, the finale to one of the most anticipated series of my film-watching life was a lot more.

Let’s start with that story. It was going to be impossible to beat the overly bubbly, campy, and musical first act—an act that crucially didn’t have to focus on connecting dots or closing a narrative and could instead tell an original story—but the tonal shift was drastic and very welcome. The second act forced its central characters to deal with the consequences of their actions, as well as reckon with the world and the politics they find themselves in, which was fully necessary.

As far as connecting dots goes, most of the connections were pretty smooth, and often emotionally resonant as well. Boq’s transformation was especially powerful, and his hatred was thick in “March of the Witch Hunters”, an underrated track in the film—but I’ll get to the music later. I wish the film spent a little more time with Fiyero after his transformation, and Nessa’s destiny felt a little rushed as well, but those are minor nitpicks in an overwhelmingly impressive and impactful narrative.

Let’s talk about these songs next. Act 2 started at a huge disadvantage, because instead of having five or six clear showstoppers like Act 1 does, there are maybe two: “No Good Deed” and the titular “For Good”. Those two songs were spectacular, both in performance and in staging. For both films, I’m having to get used to the changes that the singers made for the film, but there weren’t any that I was against on first listen. In fact, I really liked some of them, especially Elphaba’s higher ending pitch on “No Good Deed”—that entire song was magical. “Thank Goodness” was a slightly surprising delight for me; the song had one of the film’s biggest ensembles and choreography, which I really appreciated, but the song was emotionally strong and perfectly sung by Grande as well. I’ve had the final line of that song—“Because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true”—stuck in my head all week.

I knew that Stephen Schwartz had written two new songs for this film, and I’ll get to them shortly, but there were a lot of additions to pieces and added reprises that I really liked, too. The biggest highlight, and the one that made me shake in my seat, was the major mode switch on the “No One Mourns the Wicked” melody during “Every Day More Wicked”. I was shook! As for the two new songs, “No Place Like Home” was decent on first listen, and Cynthia Erivo certainly ate, but I preferred “Girl in the Bubble” by a lot, both in terms of musicality and its importance to the narrative. In a year where the Best Original Song category is an absolute mess, though, both songs will definitely get a nomination, even if they both end up getting smoked by “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters.

My most loyal readers will remember that I was absolutely obsessed with Ariana Grande’s Galinda/Glinda in Act 1, and my obsession with her continued into Act 2, but with an added appreciation for not only her dramatic turn, but the powerful, satisfying character arc of Glinda. Grande’s performance was impressive and dynamic, showcasing a wide range of emotions and anchoring a bunch of scenes in a way only future Oscar winners can. Glinda remains one of my favorite characters in all of fiction—movies, TV, even books!—and her steadfast position there is thanks to Ariana Grande.

Many of the central performances were strong; I thought Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, and Ethan Slater were all as good or better (especially in Slater’s case) in Act 2. I was quite disappointed, though, in the diminished role of Nessa, as well as the seemingly phoned-in performance from Michelle Yeoh. I love her as an actor, but she cannot sing, and I’m not sure why Erivo and Grande vouched for her so hard. Morgan and I have discussed, and we would like to trade out Michelle Yeoh for Meryl Streep.

There was an unexplainable magic and gravitas present in Wicked Part 1 when I watched it last year, and even on each subsequent watch. I still got chills when Morgan and I rewatched Wicked last week and heard, “Glinda! Exactly how dead is she?”. While those moments of sheer awe weren’t as in high supply in Wicked: For Good, there were still tons of scenes, songs, and characters that delivered that magic. The character that I thought kept that magic alive the best, though, was surprisingly Dorothy. Jon Chu’s decision to mostly obscure her was a masterful one, and her presence in the narrative—more in passing comments from central characters about how she just wouldn’t go away and less in actual moments of action—felt magical in her inaccessibility. I can’t quite explain it, but Dorothy’s role in Part 2 carried that same magic for me from Part 1.

As my dad said in our conversations about the movie at dinner, it’s difficult to judge Wicked: For Good as a solo film. As a whole, the Wicked story remains undefeated and without any sizable flaws. However, the Wicked story is in fact split in two in theaters and on Letterboxd, so I must judge them separately. Wicked: For Good honestly had no chance to top Part 1, and that’s okay. The film was its own fantastic experience, even if it’s not perfect like I think Part 1 is. I also know that my opinions will change with my inevitable rewatch, whether that’s in theaters or at home, and any issues I had with this film will diminish. For now, Wicked: For Good was great, not transcendent, and it’s both amazing and so sad to have reached the end of this monumental story.