Fiyero has a big connection to The Wizard of Oz after Wicked

Ding dong, the witch is – hang on, no she’s not! Wicked isn’t quite like The Wizard of Oz, but Prince Fiyero might be more connected to both than you first thought.

Whether it’s the epic runtime, new songs, or assuring us The Wicked Witch of the West was actually a goodie, Wicked is really a story all its own.

Not only is it a fresh take on The Wizard of Oz, but the live-action adaptation also differs quite a bit from its own source material (Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name).

We know where this leaves Glinda and Elphaba, but what about Fiyero? We’ve delved into how he connects to both movies, not just Wicked. Warning: spoilers ahead!

Is Fiyero the Scarecrow in Wicked?

In the musical version of Wicked, Fiyero does indeed become the Scarecrow seen in The Wizard of Oz. It’s worth pointing out that technically, this isn’t canon.

MGM

It’s also worth pointing out we haven’t seen this unfold yet in Wicked Part 1. Instead, it’s going to be a key part of the storyline in Wicked Part 2.

When we pick back up with the original musical after ‘Defying Gravity,’ Prince Fiyero now leads the guard to kill Elphaba. That’s not really the case, though – he’s taken the position to try and find her after her spectacular flight into the sky. Officially, Fiyero and Glinda are a couple.

Without spoiling what happened before (there’s another direct link to The Wizard of Oz through a separate character), Fiyero catches Elphaba but allows her to escape. As penance, Fiyero is captured himself, being taken to the fields outside of Munckinland to be interrogated over Elphaba’s whereabouts.

To save him from being hurt, we see Elphaba cast a spell from the Grimmerie during ‘No Good Deed’… except it goes wrong.

The lyrics are: “Let his flesh not be torn. Let his blood leave no stain. Though they beat him, let him feel no pain. Let his bones never break and however they try to destroy him, let him never die.”

It’s this that results in Fiyero being transformed into the Scarecrow. We could argue his classic “If I only had a brain” song is a result of not being able to say where Elphaba is.

Of course, we later see Scarecrow accompany Dorothy on her path down the yellow brick road. We’ll get more into why that’s a bit strange later, but it does confirm Grimmerie magic is somehow broken.

We’ve already seen that when Elphaba tried to give herself wings at the end of Part 1, and the flying monkeys didn’t exactly go down too well either.

Is this the same in the novel?

Weirdly, not at all. Both Elphaba and Fiyero’s journeys are completely different, although they remain romantically connected.

Universal Pictures

In the book’s theoretical second act, Fiyero is married and has three children. Elphaba starts an affair with him, which quickly gets him arrested when he’s caught at her hideout. Events don’t then pick up until seven years later, mostly because Elphaba has been hiding out in a convent.

Elphaba approaches Fiyero’s family with son Liir in the hopes of gaining their forgiveness. They allow her to stay but his wife Sarima – we don’t see her in the musical at all – isn’t having any of it. It’s here Elphaba begins her sourcery studies.

Here’s where the plot gets similar. After this, we see Elphaba approach Nessarose and Munchkinland, alongside the arrival of Dorothy and Toto.

However, Fiyero actually dies in this version, with the Wizard killing his entire family except for daughter Nor (who’s now his slave). Elphaba also dies after Dorothy originally comes to apologize for killing Nessarose, but throws a bucket of water over her when Elphaba accidentally sets herself on fire.

If you’ve seen the musical, you’ll know just how different most of this story actually is.

Fiyero and Elphaba’s relationship explained

Wicked Part 1 follows the unspoken connection between Fiyero and Elphaba, which starts shortly after he enrolls at Shiz University.

Universal Pictures

When he first arrives, Fiyero makes a beeline for Glinda, who seems more suited to his typical showmanship and ignorance. Though they hit it off, it’s not long before his attention follows Elphaba instead.

This is taken to the next level when Doctor Dillamond is arrested in class after animals are no longer permitted to teach. A human substitute steps in, demonstrating to a lion cub why animals should be seen and not heard.

Outraged, Elphaba sends the whole class to sleep so she can rescue the cub – all except Fiyero. Together, the two successfully free it but also have a deeper conversation. For the first time, Fiyero is seen for what he truly is… lonely. As the two move to kiss, Fiyero excuses himself back to campus.

This is where we see Elphaba sing ‘I’m Not That Girl,’ knowing she’ll lose out on Fiyero to Glinda because they’re both “perfect.”

After Glinda and Elphaba go to the Emerald City, we don’t see Fiyero again for the rest of Part 1.

How does this change The Wizard of Oz?

On the surface, it doesn’t really change anything. However, it casts doubt over why Fiyero chooses to follow Dorothy in the first place.

MGM

In the 1939 movie, we’re told the Scarecrow’s motivation to join Dorothy is to ask the Wizard for a brain. But can this be true in Wicked?

It’s unclear how much damage Elphaba’s spell did to Fiyero – but if you know how Wicked ends, you’ll know it can’t be that much.

Given what we know, there’s a much more likely reason why he followed Dorothy. Scarecrow wants to get as close to Elphaba as possible, and traveling with the infamous group of misfits is the least conspicuous way to do so.

In the musical version, Fiyero is intent on doing anything to be reunited with Elphaba safely, so it makes sense that not even being a Scarecrow would deter him. Once he gets in front of the Wizard, he can help to disrupt him from the inside.

Wicked Part 1 is out now. Check out its ending explained, age rating, and when to pee during the movie.

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