Madame Morrible’s Killing of Nessarose in ‘Wicked: For Good’ Was a Nod to ‘Wizard of Oz' (SPOILERS)

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the movie Wicked: For Good.

The movie adaptation of Wicked concluded with Wicked: For Good and, sadly, not everyone received a happy ending. Actually, I'm pretty sure no one got a full happy ending.

While Wicked tells the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the East, Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda the Good Witch, formerly Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande), there are other Ozians whose fate was forever changed in the movie's final act.

Elphaba's sister, Nessarose, played by Marissa Bode, has a particularly tragic ending that unintentionally ushered viewers into The Wizard of Oz universe. She was killed by Madame Morrible, played by Michelle Yeoh, who is both Shiz University's headmistress and the wizard's (Jeff Goldblum) right hand.

Nessarose's death forever changed Elphaba, who had already suffered significant loss. So, why did Madame Morrible kill Nessa? Let's tap in.

To explain why Madame Morrible killed Elphaba's sister, you'd have to know a bit of their history. In the first act of Wicked the musical and movie, Madame Morrible takes Elphaba under her wing after seeing her powers up close. However, their budding relationship ended when Elphie decides to fight against the wizard after discovering he doesn't have any real powers. Her decision not to join Madame Morrible and the Wizard's "winning team" causes Morrible to turn against her and use propaganda to turn her into the Wicked Witch she eventually becomes.

Cut to years later when Elphaba is fully into her Wicked power and is on the run. Eventually, she reunites with Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who leaves Glinda for Elphaba on their wedding day. Oof! Glinda understandably didn't take them being together well, though what she does next is a bit messy.

While listening to Madame Morrible and the Wizard brainstorming how to get Elphaba to return to Oz so they could capture her, Glinda says out of anger that they should use Nessa, knowing she'll run back to Oz if she knows her sister is in trouble. However, Madame Morrible doesn't believe that would be enough to get Elphaba's attention and suggests a "change in the weather" would be more effective. She used her weather-controlling magic to conjure a tornado. Sound familiar?

The tornado in question is the tornado that ultimately swept house and landed on Nessarose. At the time, she was wearing the silver slippers she wore several times in both films. She was killed instantly by the house. Nessa's death was celebrated amongst the munchkins, as she had become the Wicked Witch of the East after putting travel bans on them during her role as the Governor of Munchkinland.

Wicked: For Good also showed why Elphaba took Dorothy stealing her sister's shoes as hard as she did. As she explained to Glinda when she saw Nessa's dead body, the shoes were all she had to remember her sister. It makes sense why Elphie seemingly tortures Dorothy throughout the movie, though some would say it's the perfect revenge.