Why Nessarose Becomes The Wicked Witch Of The East In The Wizard Of Oz Universe

This article contains potential spoilers for “Wicked: For Good.”

The first part of the film adaptation of “Wicked” was a massive success at the box office, a certified fresh title with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and has even become an unexpected darling in the middle of awards season. While plenty have debated the decision to divide the Tony Award-winning musical into two films (this writer is personally in favor of the split), this has given fans plenty of time to speculate about what to expect in “Wicked: For Good.” Well, that is, fans who have never read “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” the book by Gregory Maguire that would inspire the stage musical that serves as the basis for the film.

However, as a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” there are certain things that fans know will be coming following the end of the first “Wicked” film. The Wizard is a charlatan who escapes Oz in his hot air balloon, Elphaba is melted by Dorothy Gale in pursuit of her broom for a way back to Kansas, and perhaps most notably, Dorothy’s house is going to get swept up in a tornado and land on top of The Wicked Witch of the East. If you’re only familiar with the 1939 film, you know that The Wicked Witch of the East dies, but you likely don’t know anything about her. Fortunately, “Wicked: Part One” introduced us all to the tragically beautiful Nessarose, the baby sister of the beautifully tragic Elphaba.

Nessarose is very sweet in “Wicked: Part One,” so how in the heck does she become The Wicked Witch of the East? Let’s follow the yellow brick road and find out.

Nessarose Thropp is the younger sister of Elphaba and the daughter of Melena Thropp and Frexspar The Godly, former governor of Munchkinland. In the book she is born prematurely and without arms, which requires her to receive constant care, but in the musical, she is born paralyzed and requires the use of a wheelchair. Her father gave her the enchanted silver shoes (the ruby red slippers in the “Wizard of Oz” movie), and they remain her most prized possession. In both versions of the story, Nessarose is incredibly beautiful, but her use of a wheelchair initially paints her as a tragic character.

Nessarose is spoiled compared to Elphaba, as her disability motivated her father and their Nanny to prioritize their attention on her. This also puts pressure on Elphaba to put her wants and needs second to the passions of her sister. Despite this simmering conflict, Elphaba does care deeply about Nessa, even if that care isn’t always reciprocated, and even if Elphaba harbors slight indignation toward her little sister. As a child, she is portrayed by Cesily Collette Taylor, a young actor with Spina Bifida.

Although they are unaware in their younger years, Elphaba and Nessarose are actually half-sisters, as Elphaba’s father is the Wizard of Oz, and her green skin is attributed to the green elixir consumed by the Wizard and their mother. Elphaba and Nessarose were very close as children, with Elphaba even acting as a “mother figure” to Nessa after their own mother passed away — which sent their father into a deep depression. However, there were seeds planted of resentment as Nessa’s physical disability is a result of her mother being forced to chew milk flowers while she was pregnant in the hopes that this child wouldn’t be born with green skin like Elphaba.

While it was obviously not Elphaba’s fault, it’s easier for Nessa to blame her than accept that her parents made a mistake, especially when their father likewise blames his oldest daughter rather than his own decisions. This also ravaged Elphaba with guilt, inspiring her protectiveness for her baby sister. She too blames herself and is therefore easily manipulated by Nessa under the guise of “deserving” it.

When the girls arrive at Shiz, Frexspar demands Elphaba follow her to make sure Nessarose is settled and safe. Her protectiveness shows its face when Head Shizstress Miss Coddle (Keala Settle) tries to grab Nessa’s wheelchair to push her around the university in order to get away from Elphaba. In an attempt to stop them, Elphaba’s uncontrollable powers cause a massive scene, including throwing Nessa into the air in front of everyone. “This was my chance, my new start,” Nessa tells her, before wheeling herself away in heartbreak. But this display of magic earns Elphaba a spot at Shiz, and the sisters stay in each other’s lives. Later, Elphaba is ecstatic for Nessa when Boq asks the latter to the Ozdust Ballroom dance, and when she learns that Glinda is the reason Boq asked her sister (even if it was Glinda’s way of pawning him off so she could go with Prince Fiyero), Elphaba convinces Madame Morrible to allow Glinda into the seminar to learn sorcery despite “loathing” the future Good Witch.

The following information comes from the second act of the “Wicked” stage musical, so it’s possible that “Wicked: For Good” will change certain details concerning Nessa’s storyline for the screen.

After Elphaba is painted as the Wicked Witch of the West as retaliation for not agreeing to do the bidding of The Wizard of Oz and Madame Morrible, Nessarose marries Boq and becomes the Eminence of Munchkinland. Their father has died of shame due to Elphaba’s assumed wickedness, and since everyone in Oz knows Nessarose is Elphaba’s sister, she has become bitter and cruel. After years of being on the run, Elphaba seeks refuge with her sister, who refuses to help her and cites her position as an elected official as her reason to not harbor a fugitive.

But these years have also given Nessarose plenty of time for her anger toward her sister to grow — not because she views her as wicked, but because Elphaba’s magic is so powerful, Nessa is infuriated that her sister never used her abilities to allow her to walk unassisted. Elphaba, wracked with guilt, then enchants Nessa’s silver shoes. They turn from silver to the iconic ruby red, and she is able to walk.

Nessarose treats Boq not as a husband, but as a servant, because she knows deep down that he never truly loved her and still pines for Glinda. When her engagement to Prince Fiyero is announced, Boq wants to tell the truth, inspiring Nessarose to cast a spell from the Grimmerie. She gets it wrong, however, and it causes Boq’s heart to shrink. Her obsession with preventing Boq from ever leaving her and her resentment toward her sister’s reputation (as well as that reputation “causing” her father’s death) overcomes her. If anyone in Oz is truly wicked, it’s Nessarose. But this isn’t a wickedness she was born with, it was, as Glinda explains, wickedness thrust upon her.

Nessarose’s anger and bitterness weren’t just directed toward her sister, but also Boq and all of Munchkinland. She engaged in one-sided business deals, cruelty toward her constituents, and used her basic magic skills to control other people. There’s a reason that in “The Wizard of Oz,” the Munchkins of Munchkinland sing “Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead” after Dorothy Gale’s house drops on top of her, killing her. As Elphaba has been dubbed “The Wicked Witch of the West,” Nessarose is known as “The Wicked Witch of the East.”

“Wicked: For Good” is currently slated to open in theaters on November 21, 2025.