'Wicked: For Good' [CROOKED ROUNDTABLE]

Close Watch completes its journey down the Yellow Brick Road with 2025's Wicked: For Good, the second half of director Jon M. Chu's adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical and the final chapter in our Oz-focused series. And this is perhaps the most politically and emotionally charged entry yet.

Rejoicifying with us are our wonderful guests Will Ashton of Cinemaholics, Kevin Thomas aka Kevin the Critic and The Famous Ashley Grant. During this Crooked Roundtable discussion, we'll dig into the film’s darker tone, expanded character stakes, and sharpened political allegory. We'll also explore Wicked as a story about choices and consequences, misinformation and influence, power versus morality, and the cost of being labeled “wicked.”

Along the way, we'll highlight the standout performances by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the evolution of their turns as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, which song had the biggest stage-to-screen glow-up, how those two original tunes by composer Stephen Schwartz affect the story, and whether splitting the musical into two films ultimately paid off.

So join as the witches of Oz bid farewell, changing each other and hopefully audiences the world over "for good." Throughout the big-screen history of L. Frank Baum's novels, it's all led to this. Thank goodness you've made it. Now here's Wicked: For Good.

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