Wicked: For Good picks up where Part One left off, and the question facing conservative viewers is essentially the same: are you willing to sit through two and a half hours of progressive allegory in exchange for genuinely spectacular filmmaking? Because the filmmaking is spectacular. And the allegory is relentless.

Cynthia Erivo delivers the performance of her career. Her "No Good Deed" is a vocal and dramatic achievement that ranks among the best musical performances committed to film this decade. Ariana Grande steps up significantly, selling Glinda's transition from complicity to moral reckoning with real anguish. Jonathan Bailey brings swashbuckling energy and genuine chemistry with Erivo.

The race allegory becomes more explicit. Elphaba, a Black woman playing a character persecuted for her skin, is now a full-blown fugitive from a fascist regime. The anti-authority framework reaches its conclusion: the Wizard is revealed as Elphaba's father, Morrible engineers a tornado that kills Nessarose, the Gale Force brutalizes Fiyero, and citizens are whipped into a mob frenzy. The queer coding in the "For Good" duet is staged with romantic intensity that goes well beyond platonic friendship.

Nessarose's arc introduces genuine moral complexity. She becomes a petty tyrant, enslaving Boq and refusing to let anyone leave Munchkinland. The film doesn't excuse her. Power corrupts, even well-meaning people.

The ending is worth noting: Elphaba fakes her death and leaves Oz forever, while Glinda stays to rebuild. The principled person must disappear. The compromiser gets to repair the damage. You can read this as tragic, realistic, or as a progressive fantasy about opting out of a broken system. All readings are valid.

$527 million worldwide against $150 million is a clear commercial success, though noticeably less than Part One. For Good is the better film of the two, but lacks Part One's novelty and showstopper moment.

Bottom line: well-made, emotionally powerful, and thoroughly progressive. The performances are outstanding, the music is excellent, the spectacle is real, and the ideology is baked into every frame.

Trope	Category	Location	Authenticity
Race Allegory / Persecution Metaphor	WOKE	Throughout - Black actress hunted by white-coded fascist state for challenging power	Inherited from musical, amplified by casting choice
Anti-Authority / Systemic Corruption	WOKE	Throughout - every institution in Oz is corrupt: military, government, media, education	Organic to source material
Queer Coding / LGBTQ+ Subtext	WOKE	Multiple scenes, especially 'For Good' duet staged with romantic intensity	Present in source material, amplified by directorial choices
Weaponized Public Opinion	WOKE	Second half - citizens whipped into frenzy against Elphaba through propaganda	Directly from the musical
Feminist Liberation Narrative	WOKE	Throughout - both women make identity-defining choices independent of men	Faithful to the musical
Victimhood Framing	WOKE	Third act - Elphaba surrenders, concluding that fighting the system is futile	Directly from the musical
Director's Political Framing	WOKE	External - Chu compared Wizard to political figures in press interviews	External to the film
Redemption Through Love	TRADITIONAL	Throughout - Fiyero sacrifices everything for Elphaba, traditional love story played straight	Faithful to the musical
Power Corrupts	TRADITIONAL	Nessarose and Wizard arcs - both undone by their own choices with power	Faithful to the musical and Oz mythology
Female Friendship / Loyalty	TRADITIONAL	Throughout, climaxing in 'For Good' - loyalty transcends political differences	Core of the musical since 2003
Sacrifice for the Greater Good	TRADITIONAL	Final act - Elphaba fakes death, sacrifices identity so Glinda can rebuild	Faithful to the musical
Consequences of Moral Compromise	TRADITIONAL	Glinda's arc - years of complicity with Wizard's regime haunt her	Faithful to the musical