“Wicked: For Good” doesn’t show Dorothy’s face, and it’s distracting

Dorothy Gale is crucial in the conclusion of Bad: foreverbut the film is determined never to put a face to the iconic name – and the results are clumsy and distracting.

Boys M. Payment Bad: forever concludes the story of Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda Upland (Ariana Grande), two witches who met at Shiz University and formed an unlikely friendship. The Bad The sequel follows the estranged friends as they take very different paths: Elphaba, who is on a mission to expose the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) as a fraud and save the animals of Oz from oppression, is vilified and branded as the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda, meanwhile, is billed as Glinda the Good, a vibrant beacon of hope and encouragement for Ozians.

Both the films and the Bad play by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, are based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the Westa reinterpretation of L. Frank Baum’s book from 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Bad: forever adapts the play’s second act and features the arrival of Dorothy, who ends up in Oz during a tornado. As she tries to return to Kansas by any means necessary, she ends up in Elphaba’s crosshairs.

As a faithful adaptation of the piece, Bad: forever is limited by the source material and falls into the same dangers as act two, which fans say it does notoriously flawed. The film improves on some criticisms of the second act, but struggles to adequately integrate Dorothy and her companions into the story. The results are, as the people of Oz would say, terrible.

The decision not to show Dorothy’s face is distracting

In Bad: foreverDorothy is played by the British actor Bethany Weaverbut it’s unlikely anyone would be able to identify her in a lineup, as her face is never seen on screen and the film takes frustrating, comedic measures to keep it that way.

Dorothy’s presence is revealed in small glimpses, such as shadows and scenes filmed from behind her.

After Dorothy lands in Oz as a result of a tornado summoned by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the audience only sees a brief shot of Dorothy and her dog Toto walking along the yellow brick road at Glinda’s instruction.

As Dorothy interacts with more characters in Oz, the mystery of what she looks like becomes distracting. Her face remains hidden as the wizard orders Dorothy, Boq (Ethan Slater), who is transformed into the Tin Man, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who becomes the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion (voiced by an underused Colman Domingo) to retrieve Elphaba’s broomstick as proof of her death.

When the flying monkeys capture Dorothy, the camera focuses on her legs waving in the air as she screams. And after Elphaba locks Dorothy in the Kiamo Ko castle, she is shown threatening the peasant girl, who is once again hidden from view.

The film takes inspiration from the stage production by not showing Dorothy’s face as she douses Elphaba with a bucket of water and leads one to believe that she has defeated the witch. The ruse serves as the perfect escape for Elphaba, who fakes her death and travels beyond Oz with the Scarecrow. But such a crucial scene is presented from Glinda’s point of view, as she peeks through a hole in the closet and sees the silhouettes of Dorothy and Elphaba. Ultimately, fans are denied the opportunity to see the confrontation between them unfold properly.

At the end of the film, as Dorothy tries to hitch a ride to Kansas in a hot air balloon with the exiled wizard, Glinda tells Morrible, “I swear, it never ends with that girl.” The line is a nod to Glinda’s annoyance with her, but really just emphasizes how little context the film gives about Dorothy.

Showing Dorothy fully wouldn’t have overshadowed Elphaba and Glinda’s story

Understandably, there is some concern about a new actor taking on the role of Dorothy, famously played by Judy Garland in the 1939 film. The Wizard of Oz.

“I didn’t want to get into who you think Dorothy is in whatever story you came into this story with,” Chu shared. People magazine of the decision not to show her face. “She’s probably more in this story than the show and yet she doesn’t take over the story – it’s still Elphaba and Glinda’s journey, and she’s a pawn in the middle of it all.”

In the Broadway musical, Dorothy is heard offstage rather than seen. But that aspect of the production doesn’t translate the same way into a more character-involved film. Instead, it’s harder to be satisfied with the intentional obscuring of a necessary character’s face.

With a running time of two hours and 17 minutes, there were plenty of opportunities to fill in some of the blanks surrounding Dorothy and how she came to have three companions, most notably Fiyero/the Scarecrow. Viewers can assume he pretended to be all in on the witch hunt, knowing it would lead him to Elphaba. But it would have been valuable to show how he convinced Dorothy that he was on her side.

Yes, Dorothy is an iconic figure in film and pop culture, and Bad is not about her. But she’s not the first popular character to be played by different actors, and she won’t be the last. Seeing more of Dorothy and her face could have enriched the story without hijacking the spotlight from Elphaba and Glinda. Instead of, Bad: forever takes the safe route over the yellow brick road.

Bad: forever plays in theaters.