Warning: This article contains spoilers for 2025’s Wicked: For Good, now in theaters.Wicked: For Good‘s Marissa Bode speaks about her character’s arc of becoming the “Wicked Witch of the East,” explaining what Nessarose Thropp is going through that leads her to the decisions seen in the sequel. Led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good is the second half of the Broadway movie adaptation, revealing the backstory of the witches of Oz.

Which, though it is primarily Elphaba and Glinda’s story, does include Nessa, who is the wicked witch that is famously crushed by Dorothy’s house in The Wizard of Oz. Since Elphaba fled the Emerald City in 2024’s Wicked‘s ending, Nessa has stepped into her father’s position as the governor of Munchkinland after his sudden death.

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With no family, she clings to her relationship with Munchkinlander Boq (Ethan Slater), who is trying to politely break away from her. But when Elphaba returns to ask for help and enchants Nessa’s shoes to allow her to fly and recapture the feeling of her school days, Nessa angrily attempts to use the Grimmerie to make Boq fall in love with her.

Elphaba is forced to turn Boq into the Tin Man to save his life, and Nessa blames her sister in the face of Boq’s anger. In an interview with them.us, Bode said: “She [Nessa] sometimes tries to come across as the governor who knows what she’s doing, and she takes control of others because she doesn’t feel in control of herself.“

This includes using her power to prevent any Munchkin from leaving her domain without permission, which she declares just as Boq is about to depart. Bode elaborates that Nessa was acting out of loneliness, but also a naïveté about the effect she is having on people’s lives:

She’s very lonely, and she just wants to hang on to the goodness that’s in her life. And for her, it’s Boq and holding on to the happiest night of her life, which was the Ozdust Ball. She feels the distance from Boq, for sure. She’s trying so desperately to not let that go and doesn’t always make the best decisions. But I think more than anything, she’s just scared. […] But I don’t think she has an idea of what she’s doing in full. There’s still that hopeful girl in her, but also the scared girl in her that we saw a little in the first film.

The interviewer says that “Nessa is a nuanced character,” though “In the stage version, she’s kind of cast off and quick to become villainized, or just not given as much sympathy.” Bode agrees, saying that “In the film, her desires are different than in the stage version, and that does make her a little less one-dimensional.“

Wicked: For Good made the change to Nessa’s storyline that Elphaba uses the Grimmerie to make Nessa fly rather than walk (Bode is also the first authentic wheelchair user to play her), in response to widespread opinion that the depiction of Nessa on stage relies on ableist stereotypes. This change was presented to Bode after she was cast, and she shares that she was happy with it.

The interview also revisits how Bode defended the character after the release of the first movie, when “It felt like people weren’t allowing nuance for Nessa“ as a disabled character who makes mistakes. “[…] it doesn’t necessarily allow for a disabled person to be complex,” says Bode, “but in the first film, the worst thing I think she did was not speak up for her sister.“

Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) holding hands and looking around nervously while arriving at Shiz University in Wicked. — Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) arriving at Shiz University in Wicked

Nessa and Elphaba’s complicated relationship comes back around in Wicked: For Good as well. “She struggles with […] being left to take on the role of governor of Munchkinland, whereas she had other aspirations,” says Bode, “and feeling forced to do that with her sister, Elphaba, not by her side.” The Wicked breakout star continues to say:

I feel like Nessa comes across as though she doesn’t care, but I think that’s just a front. We see her sister arrive at one point, and it’s a mixture of emotions for Nessa. It’s sadness, partly relief, also maybe a little bit of resentment and frustration that Elphaba’s coming to ask for help. That’s not what I think Nessa needs in that moment; Nessa just needs her sister to be her sister, rather than being asked to do something.

Despite Wicked: For Good getting a lower Rotten Tomatoes score than its predecessor due to mixed reviews, praise for the performances is almost unanimous. Thus, some changes to Nessa’s storyline and a talented rising star who understands her in this way allowed the Wicked Witch of the East to shine in Wicked: For Good.