Sorry gals, Fiyero’s ending is way nastier in the Wicked books than in Wicked: For Good

Wicked: For Good was already pretty sad. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but Fiyero’s ending is way nastier in the Wicked books then in the films. Sorry.

So, in Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Fiyero doesn’t ride off into the sunset with Elphaba. He doesn’t end up with Glinda, either. Elphaba doesn’t even use the Grimmerie to transform him into a scarecrow. It’s all way sadder.

In the book, Fiyero actually goes through with an arranged marriage to a princess called Sarima. They have three kids together. Five years after Elphaba rebels against the Wizard, she encounters Fiyero again, and they have an affair.

The whole five minutes of happiness that Fiyero and Elphaba get
(Image via Universal Pictures)

I’m afraid Fiyero meets a grisly end. Fiyero hides in a warehouse in a sketchy area, then is violently killed. The book says: “There was evidence of a struggle and massive quantities of blood, so thick in places it was still tacky. The body had been removed, and it was never recovered.”

Fiyero’s widow Sarima thinks he was having an affair with Glinda, and believes Glinda’s husband has him killed. Elphaba eventually susses out that wizard sent his secret police to kill Fiyero, as a way to get at her.

Yup, in the book Glinda marries a rich old man for the social connections
(Image via Universal Pictures)

Most Read

Jonathan Bailey reveals tragic reason Fiyero picks Elphaba in Wicked: For Good, that was cut

Exclusive: Love Is Blind’s Nick addresses his sexuality for first time after those comments

Erm, why is Katy Perry suing a dying 85-year-old veteran for an insane amount of money?

Things get even darker. Elphaba is so sad about Fiyero dying that she falls into a sort of coma for a year, and doesn’t notice having a baby. Yup, the books are this strange.

Later on, Elphaba convinces herself that Dorothy’s scarecrow friend is Fiyero in disguise. She says: “Fiyero didn’t die… He was imprisoned, and he has escaped. He is coming home to Kiamo Ko, he is coming home to me, and he is disguised as a scarecrow because he doesn’t yet know what he will find.” It’s a bit unclear to what extent this is based on evidence, and to what extent this is Elphaba’s way of processing her grief. It says in the book: “Nothing had yet suggested to her that the Scarecrow wasn’t a man in disguise. She would not need forgiveness if Fiyero had not died!”

She eventually sends a swarm of magic bees to pull away the straw, and supposedly reveal the Scarecrow is Fiyero in a costume. This doesn’t go to plan. “There was nothing but straw and air inside the Scarecrow’s clothes. No hidden lover returning, no last hope of salvation.”

Sadly, Elphaba did not find Jonathan Bailey’s face
(Image via Universal Pictures)

An icicle kills one of Fiyero and Sarima’s kids, then the Wizard kills another child and Sarima. The third one lives to cause chaos in later books, then falls of a cliff. This family do not have much luck.

As Elphaba grows more paranoid, she starts believing that even if the Scarecrow isn’t Fiyero in disguise, it magically contains the spirit of Fiyero. The book ends without a clear explanation. So, it’s up to the reader to decide whether the Scarecrow actually is Fiyero, or whether Elphaba has lost her grip on reality. I did warn you Fiyero’s ending was way sadder than in Wicked: For Good x

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image by Universal Pictures.