Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Galinda Upland (Wicked)

*Galinda-related spoilers.*

*Note: I’ll use both “Galinda” and “Glinda” to refer to this character, depending on when in the film I’m looking at.*

It’s not much of a stretch to look at Elphaba and potentially see an autistic-coded character, even if I feel the movie really leans into those aspects of her. Galinda was much more of a surprise me, but I see it all over the film. With stories like this, it’s easy to view things from a lens of “autistic outcast and their neurotypical nemesis-turned-bestie,” but the way the movie portrays the characters, my interpretation of their nemesis-turned-bestie relationship is one of unmasked autism vs. high-masking AuDHD.

Yes, Galinda is fashionable and popular, and yes, she instantly acquires her own entourage of hangers-on when she arrives at Shiz. In the Elphaba/Galinda feud early in the film, pretty much the whole student body is thoroughly Team Galinda. But while Galinda is able to use and understand social cues to her advantage—in a way Elphaba really can’t—that comes with a lot of effort on her first.

So much of how Galinda presents herself is wrapped up in artifice. From her fawning remarks to Ms. Morrible to her calculated hair-tossing, she’s all about carefully controlled precision to achieve the result she wants. She’s constantly performing “personhood” for everyone around her, and even if she often manages to get her way, she does it within the confines of who she’s “supposed” to be.

Everybody else buys the performance Galinda is selling, but not Elphaba. The moment they meet, Galinda “charitably” declares her intention to study sorcery and one day use her magic to heal Elphaba of her green skin, and Elphaba sees through her self-aggrandizing vow. Being seen as a good person is crucial to Galinda's sense of self, and Elphaba isn’t afraid to challenge that.

This, I think, is at the heart of their early conflicts. It's not just that Galinda is pretty and popular and Elphaba is green and weird. It's that Elphaba has no issue pointing out that Galinda isn't what she pretends to be, and that rattles her. At the same time, it probably burns Galinda up that Elphaba refuses to give in to what other people think about her when that’s practically all Galinda cares about. Even as they bicker and jostle, is there a part of Galinda that’s jealous to see someone who’s so boldly and unapologetically herself?

Perhaps because Galinda is always pretending, she’s able to see one of the few instances where Elphaba pretends. At the Ozdust Ballroom, Galinda has let her friends goad her into playing an unkind prank on Elphaba, “gifting” her the odd black hat Galinda’s granny gave her. As everyone laughs, Elphaba dances anyway, refusing to let them drive her out, and Galinda realizes that Elphaba does care what people think about her—she just pretends not to.

This is the start of Galinda and Elphaba’s friendship/love story(?), and in my view, it’s the tentative start of Galinda’s unmasking journey. "Popular" is more than just a recompense, a genuine way to try and help Elphaba after tricking her with the hat. Even as Galinda tries to make Elphaba more like her—ultimately giving up when she realizes that Elphaba is already lovely as herself—this is Galinda at her most unmasked, which actually makes her a little more like Elphaba. She is extra as hell throughout this whole song, delightfully goofy and hyper and excited. It's in stark contrast with Elphaba, who doesn't know what to think here, but this is who Galinda is when she's not performing for everyone around her. Elphaba is always 100% herself and never lets anyone take that away from her, and in "Popular," Galinda lets Elphaba see her.

But Galinda has probably spent her whole life molding herself into what she thinks she ought to be. It’s how she’s gotten anything she’s wanted, and Galinda is an ambitious young woman who wants a lot more. This is a person who gives up her own name in “tribute” to Dr. Dillamond when she senses Fiyero pulling away from her, connecting with Elphaba over how upset they both are at his removal from the school. No matter how much she comes to care about and admire Elphaba, Glinda can’t just tear down all those many layers of protective performance.

So we come to the end of the movie, to "Defying Gravity." Elphaba immediately blows everything up with the Wizard and Madame Morrible because she knows how wrong this all is, showing her hand without a second thought. She’d rather be seen as a villain than compromise herself, and she’s instantly prepared to throw everything else away for her ideals. When everything is chaotic and messy and they’re running, Glinda’s automatic instinct is to go with Elphaba. But when she has a moment to breathe and think, Glinda retreats back into her mask. She can’t give up her sense of self, constructed by what other people think of her, and she can’t give up her goals and dreams when Elphaba doesn’t even have a concrete plan.

This is Glinda’s essential tragedy: when offered the chance to truly break free, she can’t go through with it. She turns away from her dearest friend, the woman she loves, breaking her own heart in the process. She goes back to the safety of a performance that’s so all-consuming, she’s ensnared herself in it.