Wicked: 11. The Charmed Circle Summary & Analysis

This scene highlights the characters’ differing views on sorcery: Glinda sees its potential, Nessa its danger, and Elphaba its triviality. But Glinda’s failed levitation shifts Elphaba’s perception somewhat, foreshadowing a shift in how she thinks about sorcery.

Though Elphaba’s choice to guard Dillamond’s notes from Boq highlights her instinct to shield others from risk, it also highlights her isolation—she carries the burden of Dillamond’s unfinished work alone, further separating her from her peers. Doctor Nikidik’s demonstration reveals the increasing use of magic in Oz, primarily for spectacle and control rather than practicality. The violence unleashed by the antlers underscores how dangerous Shiz is becoming,

Nikidik’s lion cub demonstration is not only cruel but also a direct insult to Doctor Dillamond’s legacy, as his replacement embodies everything Dillamond opposed. Dillamond would never have exploited a young creature like this, nor reduced it to a guessing game about whether it was animal or Animal. Elphaba’s refusal to treat the cub’s pain as mere data underscores her instinct to stand up against cruelty, and her question about its mother asks Nikidik to recognize the sentience in the cub (though Nikidik refuses to do so).

Boq’s realization that he seeks friendship rather than romance with Glinda is a sign of his maturation, but it also reflects how much Glinda herself has changed since she first arrived at Shiz. The formation of the “charmed circle” shows how bonds have shifted from shallow social cliques to more substantive connections. Even Pfannee, Shenshen, and Milla willingly spend time with Elphaba now.

The silver shoes Frex gives Nessa carry powerful symbolic weight—and readers familiar with The Wizard of Oz will recognize the importance of glittering shoes to this story’s world. Frex offers the shoes to Nessa, his favorite daughter, as a token of his affection, while Elphaba receives nothing, reinforcing her place as the least loved Thropp child. When she later sings before the charmed circle, it’s a rare moment of vulnerability that speaks to her repressed desire for love and acceptance.

Ama Clutch’s brief return to lucidity validates Elphaba’s suspicions of foul play in Dillamond’s death and implicates Grommetik—and thus Madame Morrible—directly. Glinda’s act of compassion in helping Ama Clutch die in peace cements her shift toward deeper empathy and moral seriousness.

Morrible’s questioning makes it clear that she is using intimidation and half-truths to manage what the girls know. By insisting Grommetik only found Dillamond’s body, she rewrites the narrative to discredit Ama Clutch’s deathbed testimony. When Glinda confesses that she invented Ama Clutch’s illness (the one that “came back”), Morrible rewards her with praise. In truth, there is evidence to suggest Morrible herself cast the spell that caused Ama Clutch’s so-called relapse. But Glinda’s confession gives Morrible the perfect opening to redirect attention to Glinda’s powers, skillfully deflecting suspicion from her own role in both Ama Clutch’s and Dillamond’s deaths.

Morrible’s binding spell is so powerful that it weaponizes memory itself, making dissent impossible even within the girls’ own minds. This scene demonstrates Morrible’s strength as a sorceress; before this point, her magic was performed behind the scenes. Her explanation of the Wizard’s Adepts reveals his desire to consolidate control throughout Oz, and Morrible is responsible for drafting Elphaba, Glinda, and Nessa into his regime.

The girls leave Morrible’s office in a haze from the spell she cast on them, a sign that it has seemingly been effective. But the scene at the bar hints that Elphaba may have been more unconsciously resistant to the spell than Glinda and Nessa, as she suddenly feels pulled to confront the Wizard in person. Her choice to seek him out reflects her transition from student to political activist, and it shifts the story’s momentum away from campus life and toward Oz’s center of power, the Emerald City.

This scene at the Philosophy Club features the return of two characters: Yackle and the dwarf, who was previously associated with the Clock of the Time Dragon. Though their roles here are minor, their presence is noteworthy, as they consistently appear along the periphery of Elphaba’s life. Meanwhile, Pfannee and Boq’s unease underline how little control any of these students actually have once they step inside of the club. Its “mandatory” nature makes it feel more coercive than fun, and the dwarf’s goal seems to be humiliating his participants.

Glinda, who has a keen eye for aesthetics, instantly reads the Emerald City as a place that, much like the Wizard himself, projects a false image to seem more important and intimidating. Elphaba notices this too, but because of the city’s militarization. If the Wizard were as powerful as he claimed, would he actually need so many soldiers guarding the city? Together, their observations—along with the Wizard’s theatrical staging—reduce him to a merely performative figure, one who relies on spectacle rather than substance to get what he wants.

The Wizard’s outright rejection of Dillamond’s research marks the moment Elphaba realizes just how corrupt his regime is, and how futile it is to appeal to his authority with reason or evidence. His contempt erases the last of her illusions about holding the powerful accountable, leaving her no choice but to fully break away from Shiz. By separating from Glinda, she positions herself as an outcast by choice rather than circumstance, taking control of her own story even if it means she looks like a villain.