Ariana Grande says Glinda stays behind because she knows she will not choose Elphaba’s path of rebellion—and knows what matters to her. Grande’s reading is not that Glinda simply lacks courage: she describes the choice as a form of self-knowledge, even as it separates two people who love one another.
What does Ariana Grande say Glinda’s final decision means?
In her appearance on Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, Grande discussed the ending of the first Wicked film, when Elphaba leaves and Glinda remains behind. She said Glinda understands that she will not take the rebellious path Elphaba chooses. As Grande put it, “There’s a different version of that, which is that she is strong enough to know that she will never choose that because she can’t, she doesn’t have the tools, and she knows what is important to her.”
That explanation makes Glinda’s decision more than a question of whether she is brave enough to go. Grande sees her as recognizing that she is not a person who will make that choice—and being strong enough to acknowledge it. The remarks are Grande’s interpretation as the actor playing Glinda, rather than a definitive ruling on what every viewer must think the character’s choice means. The iHeart episode transcript records Grande’s comments; The Direct’s coverage provides secondary context about the ending.
Is Glinda too weak to go with Elphaba?
Grande explicitly pushes back on reducing Glinda’s decision to weakness. She says Glinda knows she will not choose rebellion and lacks the tools for that path, but she also frames that understanding as strength: “It’s just that she’s not a person who’s going to do that. And having the strength to know that…”
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In this reading, Glinda’s choice reflects an awareness of her own limits and priorities, not simply a failure to care about Elphaba or summon courage. Grande does not claim that this interpretation erases the cost of Glinda staying; rather, the recognition is painful precisely because the bond between them matters.
Why does the separation feel so painful?
Grande connected the moment to relationships in which love does not guarantee that two people can keep following the same course. She said the scene “really felt so real,” comparing it to loving someone while realizing that the paths each person needs to take for their own truth and life are diverging. As she described it, “you can’t actually continue growing together. You’re growing apart…”
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That is the emotional weight of the ending in Grande’s interpretation: Glinda and Elphaba can love one another while recognizing that they cannot make the same choice. Her comments address the first film’s parting during “Defying Gravity,” not the later sequel, Wicked: For Good.
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