Why Fiyero Didn't Fall Asleep From The Flowers In Wicked
Spoilers Alert: This article contains spoilers for WIcked and its upcoming sequel, Wicked: For Good.
In Wicked, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) used the poppy flowers in class to make everybody around her fall into a deep sleep, but surprisingly, one classmate, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), was not affected by the spell. Adapted from the Broadway musical and Gregory Maguire novel, Wicked was released to overwhelming critical acclaim, due to its faithfulness to the musical adaptation, captivating performances, and clever Wizard of Oz Easter eggs. The movie has grossed more than $600 million at the box office, making it one of the highest-grossing movies of 2024, and won the Golden Globe Award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.
Elphaba's magical powers are explored throughout Wicked, and she was shown to be able to levitate items and see glimpses of the future; during her time at Shiz University, she was trained by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) to control her abilities. Elphaba is shown to use her magic at times when her emotions overcome her and what happens to Doctor Dillamond in Wicked causes her to make everybody fall asleep in class. However, she spared one classmate, Fiyero from the spell, and they worked together to take action against the cruelty of animals in the movie.
Elphaba Subconsciously Protected Fiyero Because She Loves Him
Elphaba's Feelings For Fiyero Were Explored In The Song "I'm Not That Girl"
In one class, Elphaba put everybody to sleep using poppies, to save a lion cub from a live experiment. However, she spared Fiyero from the spell, and the two traveled to the woods to release the cub. When they entered the woods, they got into a brief argument about what happened in class, before Elphaba noticed a scratch on Fiyero's face, leading them to share a brief moment of connection. Fiyero went further into the woods to release the cub, leaving Elphaba to reflect on her feelings towards him in "I'm Not That Girl," part of Wicked's iconic soundtrack.
When Elphaba first met Fiyero, she acted dismissively toward him. In Wicked, Elphaba's green skin caused her to be ostracized by everybody, and she immediately believed Fiyero would do the same. Elphaba eventually came to realize that she was in love with Fiyero, which explained why she subconsciously spared him from the flowers in class. However, as shown in "I'm Not That Girl," Elphaba didn't believe Fiyero would be interested in her over Glinda, so she kept her feelings to herself. When Fiyero asked her why she spared him from the spell, she didn't give him an answer.
How Fiyero's Poppy Scene Foreshadows His Wicked 2 Story
Fiyero Will Return In Wicked: For Good
The movie's poppy scene subtly gave clues to Fiyero's eventual fate in the Wicked sequel. It is confirmed that Fiyero will return in the sequel, Wicked: For Good, and will play a large part in Elphaba's continued fight against the Wizard and Madame Morrible. As seen in the Broadway musical, Fiyero is eventually captured by the guards, but Elphaba casts a spell to protect him from dying. While the movie offers hints about his fate in the sequel, it's Fiyero's resistance to magic that foreshadows his eventual transformation into the Scarecrow.
In a critical Scarecrow moment in The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy and her friends walk through a poppy field, only to have the Wicked Witch of the West cast a sleeping spell over them. Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion immediately fall asleep, but the Scarecrow and the Tin Man remain unaffected by the magic. Fiyero's ability to resist the sleeping spell in Wicked's poppy scene is a subtle reflection of the Scarecrow's resistance towards magic in The Wizard of Oz and this connection between the movies offers viewers a clever foreshadowing of his eventual fate in the upcoming sequel.
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Cast
- Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, Peter Dinklage, Aaron Teoh, Grecia De la Paz, Colin Michael Carmichael, Adam James, Andy Nyman, Courtney Mae-Briggs, Sharon D. Clarke, Jenna Boyd
- Runtime
- 160 Minutes
- Director
- Jon M. Chu
- Writers
- Gregory Maguire, Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, L. Frank Baum
- Main Genre
- Musical
- Studio(s)
- Marc Platt Productions
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
