This article includes a brief discussion of sexual assault.
Warning: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Wicked!
ThroughoutWicked, Elphaba has a complicated relationship with the other members of her family tree, and the dynamics heavily influence her journey to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. One of the biggest questions explored inWicked’s two partsis whether people are born wicked or have wickedness thrust upon them—the age-old nature versus nature debate. The movie leans solidly into the idea that Elphaba’s environment shapes her into who she is by the time she appears inThe Wizard of Oz.Her relationships with her family members exemplify the belief that Elphaba was forced to become evil by those around her.
By including Elphaba’s family as characters and exploring her connections with each of them, the movie explains how she became an outcast, empathetic woman who cares about justice for the talking animals. Under other circumstances, she might have never become the villain ofThe Wizard of Oz. In addition to shaping Elphaba, two members of her family act asmain characters inWicked. Their arcs are shaped by their relationship with Elphaba, so it’s crucial to understand the dynamics in play.
Nessarose Thropp, Elphaba’s Sister
Wicked Movie Actor: Marissa Bode
Nessarose Thropp in theWickedmovieand musical is the only sibling of Elphaba Thropp. Because her mother chewed milk flowers while pregnant, Nessa was born prematurely with her umbilical cord wrapped around her legs, paralyzing her from the waist down. Despite being an extremely competent and capable individual, everyone infantilizes the young woman because she is a wheelchair user. In particular, her father is overbearing and constantly underestimates her abilities. He even forces Elphaba to go to Shiz University alongside her sister to protect her and care for her, believing that Nessarosse can’t handle herself.
Elphaba is the only person who treats Nessa as a capable and intelligent individual, fostering a positive relationship with the pair. Unfortunately,their experiences at Shiz University drive a wedge between the twoas the younger sister gets increasingly embarrassed by the way Elphaba acts. She wants her sister to make herself smaller, quieter, and less noticeable. Whenever Elphaba stands up for herself or fights back against the individuals who bully her, Nessarose tells her sister to stop or acts like she’s ashamed of her sister.
Wicked Characters And Their Wizard of Oz Counterparts
The Wizard
The Wizard of Oz
Ultimately, the relationship between the sisters deteriorates because of the way they prefer to handle others' behavior towards their physical differences. Neither of them can blend in with their peers. However, Nessa wishes to placate and appease the people who treat her differently, while Elphaba prefers to combat the ignorance and prejudice of her bullies. The older sister’s fake bravado and devil-may-care attitude bring precisely the kind of attention that the younger sister wants to avoid. These coping methods play into their very different outcomes at the end of theWickedmusical, which will take place inWicked: Part II.
The Wizard, Elphaba’s Biological Father
Wicked Movie Actor: Jeff Goldblum
The Wizard is the primary antagonist throughoutWicked, working to suppress the animals and take away their speech. He looks to manipulate Elphaba, acting as a mentor to her while using her magic to achieve his goals. However, the witch is horrified to realize that the man in power is a charlatan who has no supernatural abilities of his own. She refuses to help The Wizard hurt the animals, becoming his biggest adversary.Unbeknownst to either of them, The Wizard is Elphaba’s biological father inWicked.
Why Elphaba’s Skin Is Green In Wicked
Elphaba Thropp’s green skin is an important part of the Wicked story, with its origins explained in the novel and in the Broadway musical.
The musical and book diverge in the way that Elphaba was conceived.The darkWickedbookinvolves overt sexual assault where Melena doesn’t even remember what happened. The musical still blurs the lines of consent as he gets her drunk with a green elixir before intercourse. In the end,this green elixir is the key to anyone learning about Elphaba’s true lineage in the musical.Elphaba keeps the potion bottle under her pillow at Shiz University, so Galinda recognizes that The Wizard has the same bottles.
The Grimmerie is written in a Latin-based language (that doesn’t exist in real life), which Elphaba can read because of her Earthly side.
The knowledge about Elphaba’s biological father retrospectively explains why Elphaba is a magical prodigy who can read the Grimmerie. Unlike other members of Oz, Elphaba was born from two different worlds. The Wizard is from Earth, while Melena Thropp is an Ozian. The mixed heritage gives her abilities others don’t have naturally. Additionally, the Grimmerie is written in a Latin-based language (that doesn’t exist in real life), which Elphaba can read because of her Earthly side. The lineage creates an exciting circumstance where the villain’s terrible actions early inWickedset in motion his undoing at the end.
Melena Thropp, Elphaba’s Mom
Wicked Movie Actor: Courtney-Mae Briggs
While Gregory Maguire’sWickedbook features Melena Thropp heavily throughout the first section, she barely appears in the musical. When she appears in “No One Mourns the Wicked,” she waits for Frexpar to leave on business so that she can have an affair.These actions create a rift between her and her husband, which feeds into his adverse treatment of Elphaba after Melena’s death.After giving birth, she seems horrified by Elphaba’s green skin, but she doesn’t react as hostilely as Frexpar.
It’s later revealed that, during Melena’s second pregnancy, Frexpar forces her to chew on milk flowers to ensure her child has white skin instead of green skin. Sadly, this induces early labor, during which Melena dies. Melena’s death wears on Elphaba over time, burdening her with an overwhelming sense of shame, as she believes she is responsible for what happened – a message undoubtedly solidified by her father.
Frexpar Thropp, Elphaba’s Father
Wicked Movie Actor: Andy Nyman
In theWickedmusical and movie, Frexpar Thropp is the biological father of Nessarose Thropp, and he raises both Nessa and Elphaba despite not being genetically related to the latter. When Elphaba is born with green skin, he immediately emotionally rejects the child, and he continues to treat her like a burden. After Melena gives birth to their second child,the father treats his two daughters differently, offering preferential treatment to his younger daughter.
Wicked’s Timeline & When It Takes Place Compared To The Wizard Of Oz Explained
Wicked isn’t exactly a conventional prequel, which makes it difficult for fans to place the story within the original Wizard of Oz timeline.
As seen in the Meet Nessarose promo video on theWicked Movie YouTube channel, Frexpar dotes on Nessa in a way that feels ableist, even if he has good intentions. Meanwhile, he parentifies Elphaba, expecting her to act as a mother and protector to Nessarose instead of letting her be a child. In “The Wizard and I,” Elphaba imagines that her father might finally be proud of her if she works with The Wizard, which displays that she never felt good enough for her father. Sadly, Frexpar’s attitude towards his older daughter never changes throughout theWickedmusical.
