the thing about the wicked musical is that elphaba begins the narrative already socially ostracized and isolated, and by the end glinda is also isolated in the sense that all the people who genuinely saw her for who she truly is are gone. so even if the musical attempted to straightify the narrative in order to make it more palatable, through disidentification we can still interpret both elphaba and glinda's experiences as queer.
because elphaba cannot hide what makes her different she can represent someone who cannot successfully mask their queerness or has been outed against their will. because glinda works so hard to conform to a social structure that ultimately makes her miserable it's easy to interpret her as closeted.
this reading goes beyond just shipping in that it has a cultural purpose. it cautions those of queer experience, who will be socially ostracized either way, against cozying up to the very systems that oppress them. the ending is bittersweet because cultural hostility towards queer people still exists. however, the character who stays true to her non-normative way of being at least has one companion to join her in isolation. meanwhile, the character who refuses to let go of her normative way of being until it's too late ends up with no meaningful relationships. even with the edits made through adaptation, wicked still functions as a narrative that highlights how difficult it is for people outside the fascist mainstream, no matter how they navigate it, to live freely.
