Ever since Wicked ended on an unexpected cliffhanger, fans have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the sequel, Wicked For Good. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo return as Glinda and Elphaba in this fantastical retelling of one of the most iconic stories in entertainment history. Can this follow-up to one of the most successful musicals in recent memory manage to hit the same high notes?

Wicked For Good picks up pretty much where part one left off, though a little time has passed. Glinda has been firmly implanted as the Wonderful Wizard’s propaganda mouthpiece, and Elphaba has escalated to gorilla warfare tactics. It’s difficult to get too deep into the plot without spoilers. Rest assured, the awkward will-they-won’t-they love triangle between Glinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero continues, even as the story begins to meld with the plot of the original 1939 film.

Fans of the stage musical will be pleased. The plot has been tweaked, but it’s mostly to give the two leading ladies more screen time and, song time, together. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande exceed their powerhouse vocal performances in Wicked. Even the original songs written for the film are good, but the film doesn’t really give us any truly memorable songs until the third act. Happily, that is entirely forgivable considering how incredibly powerful the song No Good Deed is. Many fans will likely also be waiting breathlessly for the titular song For Good, and I’m happy to say that after almost 1 hour and 45 minutes of waiting, you will not be disappointed.

Director Jon M Chu brought us a beautiful vision of the world of Oz in Wicked, but it mostly centered around Shiz University and only gave a few tantalizing hints at the true grandeur of the Emerald City. Wicked For Good steps it up with bolder visuals and more impressive cityscapes. We also get a look at Elphaba’s rebel strongholds, including a quaint swampside hovel with a great view, and an architecturally improbable castle.

One of my favorite things about the Wicked movies as a whole is how fresh they feel. The original film, and the books before it, created a fantasy world that is very different from what we are familiar with today. The land of Oz has largely been pushed aside by more Tolkien-esque fantasy-scapes, and it is nice to see L. Frank Baum’s world return in such a big and beautiful way.

There were spots in Wicked For Good that felt weak to me. When characters from the original started making their official first appearances, I was excited. However, the Cowardly Lion voiced by Colman Domingo only gets a handful of lines, and the lengths they went to to avoid showing Dorothy’s face were clever, but distracting. Also, while I liked Jeff Goldblum slightly more than in the first, his still felt like one of the weaker performances.

Who Should Watch Wicked for Good?

Frankly, no one should see this film without watching Wicked first, as it handles almost all of the world building and character development. Luckily, that leaves part two free to jump straight into the action. If you enjoyed Part 1 at all, you will definitely have fun returning to Oz.