brb crying

034: the wicked scene that destroyed us (+ why ghost still makes us cry 35 years later)

• nins & arns

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 1:03:28

This Halloween, we're taking a break from traditional scares and talking about the movie moments that truly haunt us.

Arns dives into the 1990 classic Ghost, starring Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, and Whoopi Goldberg, exploring grief, love, and what we'd give for one more moment with the people we've lost.

Nins revisits Wicked, the beloved Broadway-musical-turned-blockbuster-film starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and unpacks the emotional Ozdust Ballroom scene that captures what it means to finally be seen, accepted, and loved.

Along the way, we talk about friendship, vulnerability, loss, belonging, and the powerful ways that actions often communicate more than words ever can.

In this episode:

  • Why the pottery scene in Ghost became iconic
  • The heartbreaking final goodbye between Sam and Molly
  • The Wicked dance scene that left us crying in theaters
  • Elphaba, Glinda, and the longing to be accepted
  • Grief, friendship, and love that changes us forever
  • Why two completely different movies ended up telling the same emotional story

Grab your witch hats and your tissues because it's about to get spooky. 

Content warning: grief, death

00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:13 - Nins surprises Arns with a birthday gift (!!)
00:08:44 - Why Arns cried about Ghost
00:31:34 - Why Nins cried about Wicked
01:00:57 - Outro

Referenced in this episode:

Join the brb crying community—a heartfelt, cozy comedy podcast about friendship, vulnerability, emotional storytelling, and all the movies, books, music, and life experiences that leave us in tears.

Follow us:
» Instagram: @brbcrying.podcast
» TikTok: @brbcrying.podcast
» YouTube: @brbcrying.podcast

Want episode recaps, behind-the-scenes/community updates, and occasional emotional damage delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter at brbcryingpodcast.com.

Have a sob story or cry recommendation that absolutely wrecked you? We'd love to be wrecked, too. Submit your story at brbcryingpodcast.com or email us at hello@brbcryingpodcast.com.

brb crying—hosted by longtime best friends Nins & Arns—is a podcast where we explore the songs, books, TV shows, films, pop culture moments, and personal stories that help us laugh, cry, heal, and feel a little less alone. Crying is our superpower, and by sharing what makes us cry in a way that makes us laugh, we show how crying helps us connect with ourselves and each other.

Intro

SPEAKER_03

Hi, I'm Angela Nan.

SPEAKER_01

I'm Ariana Kempis.

SPEAKER_03

And this is BRB Crying.

SPEAKER_01

Hello everyone. Welcome back to BRB Crying. I'm Ariana, also known as Arnes. And I'm Angela, also known as Ninz.

SPEAKER_03

And today we have some very special spooky sobs. Spooky. Arns is holding a candle, so it's very spooky. Happy Halloween. Happy hauls. Thanks for joining us on this episode today. Released, what? Three days before Halloween. Mm-hmm. Glad you could join us. Tell the friends what this pod is about. Oh, your friends. I was so distracted. It's a special episode, so. Um, welcome to this pod where your two spooky sisters cry a little, scream a little, scare a little.

SPEAKER_01

This is crazy. This is crazy. Guys, this is a podcast where we talk about things that make us cry. That's it. I'm not trying to be clever right now. I I don't have it in me, you guys. I'm sorry. Yeah. I mean, don't don't get us wrong. We really prepared for this episode, but we're having a we're having a day. We're having a little day. We're having a day. So please bear with us. But that's what this pod is about. Talk about things that make us cry, and it's fucking Halloween. So it's a Halloween episode. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, you're welcome. If you're new here, welcome. If you're old here, welcome back. Cry babies. So happy to have you. As you can tell by our costumes, if you're watching us, uh yeah, these are costumes. These are costumes. For the ones who are not watching us, why don't we walk through our costumes today? Sure. You first, please.

SPEAKER_03

Um, today I am feeling somber, so I was like, give me the blackest dress I own.

SPEAKER_00

Hmm.

SPEAKER_03

Throw on some black leggings, make it witchy, put on a hat. Love it. Your girl's a witch today. No, you also have this gorgeous, like emerald eyeshadow. So um that was as much effort I was gonna put into this. I got some really, really bright green eyeshadow to complete the look. Beautiful, charming.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you. And you? I am Princess Leia from Star Wars. I got the buns. I got the wig on. I thought she meant like but. We're so sorry. This is your first episode. It's a struggle today. I am Princess Leia from Star Wars. I have a wig on. I'm sweating through this thing.

SPEAKER_03

Uh funny story about your costume. We hung out a couple days ago, and you had part of your costume kind of like hanging in your living room in preparation for our recording. Basically, it looked like this really long white, like cult costume. And I was like, is this?

SPEAKER_02

Are you now some sort of altar server? Yeah. Yeah. The church.

SPEAKER_01

It was quite spooky. Um when you when you see the silhouette, yeah. I I was gonna do a a cuter take, like a 70s take. I had like a different dress, but I was like, no, we're gonna we're gonna put the real thing on. Okay. You know? Yeah. Get my money's worth. $35 on eBay. A long white robe. Yes, yes, yes. No, I mean, it has the high neck. This is true. True, true, sure. Okay, here, here, here, how about this? Is this better or worse? I put the hood on everyone.

SPEAKER_03

I you know what? I have to be honest. I don't know the lore of Star Wars as well to like You're too good for Star Wars. I see, I see. No, the the buttons, hair were very informative. Okay. But I don't necessarily know from buns below. Yeah. That's fine. That's fine. But we're here and we're in costume. Adding that pizzazz and that charm that you all know and love.

Nins surprises Arns with a birthday gift (!!)

SPEAKER_03

Well, I guess it's time. No, it's not time. It's not? Why? Because, dear listeners, it was recently someone's birthday.

SPEAKER_01

Oh god. I was I was scared for a second. I was like, fuck, what did I forget? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03

Crybabies. Your favorite crybaby turned a year older. Mm-hmm. So, obviously, gotta give you a little gift. Love it. I love it already. Okay. So, a little context before you open this. I was recently in Mexico City, and one of the things that I love to do when I'm on vacation and like seeing this new place is going to like a perfume store so that I can buy a fragrance, especially at like the very start of my trip, and like wear that fragrance the entire time I'm there so that I can link all these memories that I'm making to the scent so that when I come home I can put this on or smell it and just kind of like take me back.

SPEAKER_02

Does it work like does it?

SPEAKER_03

It does really smell it, you Yeah, it's like all these things that I've collected over the last few years. It just feels so much like that city. Um, so this time around in Mexico City, I went to this place called Shinu, X-I-N-U. And it's this niche perfume brand that's based in Mexico City. But they only create scents from natural plants that are found in the Americas. So every single scent, they have this like beautiful display of like, here are all the plants that we used in this. And then you can like walk their gardens around and like find the plants. It was really cool. It was like, it was such an experience to walk through the store. So highly recommend if you find yourself in Mexico City. But I know you, I know you don't wear perfumes. Yeah. So I opted to look at their home scents instead. Yes. And uh I decided that for your birthday this year, I would give you some incense. Yes. From this place.

SPEAKER_01

God, I fucking love incense. There you go. So relieved. I was like, why does it smell so good when you handed it to me? Oh my god, even the fucking packaging. The packaging is gorgeous. Like everything about this place. Okay, if you're not watching, it's like a gray, like this beautiful speckled, like or marbled, I should say, black and gray and white felt with a band around it. Can I open it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. Oh my god, I'm gonna cry.

SPEAKER_03

Oh my god, this is so beautiful. Yes, so this particular one is a lot of like more of the spices. There's there's definitely like a note of cardamom in there, which I know you love. So yeah. Hope you enjoy. Hope it brings you some peace and calm.

SPEAKER_02

I love this.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you. You're welcome. Happy birthday. Thanks.

SPEAKER_01

I love this. I'm gonna leave it here. Sure. So I can smell it.

SPEAKER_03

Oh wow. I love that. Yeah, that did actually make me feel better. Yeah. The act of gifting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Guys, get yourself a best friend who knows you and will start a fucking podcast with you and just give you gifts on air. What a life. Um okay. Well, ready to go. Ready to go. If again, if you're new here, we we used to do announcements on here, we don't anymore. So check our Instagram at beerbecrying.podcast for any updates. Uh, we got lots of lots of stuff. We got we got merch. Oh, yeah. We got events. Oh yeah. And we just did a little thing with our friends over at Messi Liberation. So check that out. We posted all about that on Instagram. And we're having an event this Thursday over at Coppacultural Center in Daily City. If you want to get some merch. So we got a lot going on. Dude, we're we're booked and busy. Booked and busy.

SPEAKER_03

And it's just gonna continue that way. Mm-hmm.

Arns: Ghost

SPEAKER_01

I think I'm going first. Yeah, and I'm so scared. Okay, okay. Let's let's preface this, everyone. I'm going first, but I'm gonna forego my intro because Ninz and I had a meeting the other day, and at one point she was like, Do you think we're gonna talk about the same thing? And I was like, nah. But she was like, I'm really scared we're gonna talk about the same thing because there are only so many Halloween-themed, truly spooky stuff to talk about. Yeah. So I guess we'll see. We'll see. I told her that I I thought it would be better if we just surprise ourselves on air because if it is the same thing, like that would be kind of like hilarious because like how the fuck would we do our stories? Like, are we gonna do every other word? But we'll see. Okay. We'll fucking see. Do I just tell you? Go with your plan. All right, all right, all right. Go with your plan. Uh, I'll just I'll do an abridged version.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

If you all recall last year, go back in the archives if you haven't listened. Last year, I talked about Casper. In similar fashion, I am talking about a 90s film. We are Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02

Holy shit.

unknown

Yes!

SPEAKER_01

We fucking did that shit. But it would have been really funny if it was the same one. I know, I know. It w it really would have been funny. Okay, well, now I'm really excited that like the whole time I was looking through this, I was like, man, she's gonna fucking say the same shit as me. Like, what am I even why am I even writing this? Okay. Alrighty, let's fucking do it. We're in the clear. We're in the clear. So I'm taking us back to the 90s. Okay. Because there's nothing like a 90s film with an outlounish storyline, rudimentary CGI that will make you want to cry until you throw up. Okay. So last year, Casper. This year, wait. Any guesses? Yeah, I'm like, there's only like three 90s Halloween movies. This is not necessarily a Halloween movie.

unknown

Oh.

SPEAKER_01

Which is maybe why we did not pick the same thing. Okay. 90s film.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, I'm so excited now. God damn. Okay. If I get one guess, I'm gonna, and the only reason I'm guessing this is because you dressed up like this for Halloween one year. No? No.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. Wow. This is exciting. Okay. I really don't know. All right. I don't know. I'm talking about the 1990 film Ghost. Starting Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, and Whoopi Goldberg. Have you watched this? You know what I was gonna guess? I was gonna guess Space Jam. Fuck. You know what? I mean, I'm gonna re-watch that one. I'm sure I will cry. I'm sure. Oh, okay, okay. Okay. Have you watched Ghost?

SPEAKER_03

I don't think I have. Like, I don't think I've watched it from start to finish as an adult. Okay. Okay. Oh shit.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I'm gonna spoil the whole thing for you. Fuck yeah. My fault. It's like 30 years old. 35, yes. I'm not gonna leave anything like no stones unturned. Fuck me up. Fuck you up. Did you bring a wheel and clay so that we could I didn't. But I brought the uh the movie so you could watch that scene. All right. So as Ninz mentioned, this is a 35-year-old film. So if you don't want any spoilers, pause here. You can rent it for $4 on any streaming service. I rented it on Apple TV because, as you all know, I was bullied by Xfinity into buying an iPad, which came with a three-month free trial. So, but fair warning, if you decide to watch this, the scariest part, the fucking title screen. Because I was watching this, I was like, you know, I was having a little like I put a little cinnamon roll in the oven. Okay. Had my back turned, but my iPad was there. And suddenly it was like a really discordant, like ching! And I was like, Oh yeah, it was like ghost, like so. Um yeah, I like almost screamed. Okay. Anyway, romance thriller, directed by Jerry Zucker, written by Bruce Joel Rubin. This premiered in 1990. We were not born yet. I wasn't. No. Just a distant dream. Yeah. Just a thought, you know. It was a sleeper hit, meaning it had a really low budget, but it did way better than expected. So back then it was the third highest grossing film of all time. Of all time? Yeah, at that point when it premiered. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alright, so the film opens up with Molly Jensen, played by Demi Moore, her partner Sam Wheat, played by Patrick Swayze, and their friend Carl, played by Tony Goldwyn. If you have ever watched Scandal with Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, he plays President Fitz. So, context. Molly and Sam have moved into a fixer upper Manhattan loft. Very affordable. Um I think I did read an article that was like, this can be yours for 10 million or something. Molly's an artist. She does ceramics. Is that like the only thing you remember from this? Alright. Yeah. She does ceramics and she has her wheel in the loft, and the place is super artsy. She has like a pixie cut and she doesn't wear any makeup, baggy tees, overalls, fucking stunning. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Let's give it a let's give it a second. Let's just for done more because my God. Stunning then, stunning now. My God. I swear. I swear. All right. And then Sam is a dashing young banker at some prestigious firm in the city where he works with their friend Carl. Molly and Sam are at the beginnings of their life together. You know, they've just moved in and they are clearly head over heels in love. There's a little bit of commitment issues we see hinted at on Sam's part. When Molly says stuff like, I love you, Sam's like, ditto.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

So you're kind of like, ooh, tale as old as time. Tale as old as fucking time. But in spite of this undeniable chemistry, I want to pause here and show the ceramic scene that Ninz alluded to. Molly is working on her ceramics here in the middle of the night, and Sam is like, What are you doing? Like, wakes up and he comes in to check on her. And then the record player switches to the song Unchained Melody. And Sam sits behind Molly at the wheel, and he is helping her create a masterpiece. If anyone is following along, if you two have rented this for $4 or bought it for $15, it is at the 12-minute mark. Hot in here. Dude, alright. So I just showed Ninz the famous pottery scene. Chemistry off the charts. According to an article called Cinema's Greatest Scenes, the pottery scene from Ghosts 1990 by Robert Horvat for Rearview Mirror. Quote, the pottery scene was meant to be a prelude to a much bigger, explicit love scene in the bedroom. But as Zucker explained, years after the movie's release, the pottery scene proved to be so erotic that we didn't need anything else. Yeah. Yeah. So they're not even doing anything explicit here, but it is so sensual. You don't need to see much else. I mean, I I only showed you a little bit. I mean, they like make out a little, but there's no actual love making that they felt needed to be included in this. You don't need to see that much more to understand that what they have is special. So that's my little context on Molly and Sam. But with all that said, we got some weird shit going on with Sam. Okay. At work, there is some really suspicious activity going on with the accounts that he's managing. There's way too much money in them, which personally I feel like. Oh no! Oh what? There are clips where he, you know, he watches a plane crashing on the news and he's like spooked by it. He's like, I got a work trip coming up. Should I cancel it? And it's called foreshadowing. So Trust your gut, Pat. Trust your gut. So one evening, Molly and Sam go to the theater and they watch a play. Specifically, Macbeth. More foreshadowing. You can look it up. If you don't know what it's about, look it up. Or I'll tell you maybe after all this is all done. But they are walking down the street and they're having a conversation about their future. Molly says, I want to marry you. But then it kind of leads into their usual fight. Like, why don't you ever say you love me? And Sam's like, What do you mean? And Molly's like, whenever I say I love you, you just say ditto. And they're in the heat of this argument. She says something along the lines of, like, sometimes you just need to hear it. But then it gets cut short because as they're walking by an alley, some shady dude pops out, tries to rob them, ends up shooting at them in a panic. Sam runs after him, but he can't catch him. So defeated, he kind of walks back to Molly, where he discovers her screaming over his dead body. I'm not gonna show you the scene. I don't think you need to see that. But as we can infer, Sam is dead. And as the film progresses, we watch Sam being acquainted with being dead. He's walking through doors, nobody can see him except other ghosts. And you know, his life was just cut short, so he doesn't know what to do except he just goes back to Molly, he lingers around their loft, he sees that she's numb with grief. He watches her sort through all his belongings with their friend Carl. But then one day when Carl convinces Molly to go for a walk, Sam is still in the loft and watches as someone breaks in, and it's none other than his killer. This dude is going through their things, very clearly looking for something, and that's when Sam realizes that he was fucking murdered. So he follows the guy all the way back to his apartment in Brooklyn to try and solve this mystery. And while he's there, he looks across the street and sees a psychic. And this is how we get introduced to Oda Mae Brown, played by Whoopi Goldberg. She is so fucking funny. I was laughing so hard. This pure comedy. As I was watching it, I was like, she may be the star of this film for me. Um okay, so Oda May is a fraud. She is putting on a the show of lifetime, pretending to be a medium who can connect people with their deceased loved ones. But she's a fucking fake until she comes across Sam when she realizes maybe she's not a fake. So I'm gonna show you this scene. It's like four minutes. This is purely just because she's she deserves she deserves this spotlight, you know? Alright, this is around the 40 minute and 16 second mark. God, it's just so funny. She's so funny. Alright, so in this scene, Odame is doing some fake ass medium shit, and then she starts to hear Sam's voice who's calling her out on it. She's like, Who the fuck is that? And once Sam realizes that she can hear him, he goads Oda May, this is after the scene that I showed you, into approaching Molly. Because if someone can fucking talk to Molly for him, tell Molly that he was murdered, then you know. But of course, you know, Molly thinks it's like some sick joke. And at one point, Sam even says to Odamei, tell her I love her. And when Odame relays this message, Molly goes, Sam would never say that. Yeah. So as time goes by, Sam tells Odame all these things that only Sam would know about Molly. Tell her about the picture in Reno, the half knitted sweater in the closet. And Molly's kind of shook because she's like, no one else knows about that stuff except Sam. She wants to believe that Sam is still around and still with her, but she knows it sounds insane. But even when she does eventually come around, because there's no there's no way that Oda May could know these things, there's still this nervousness and hesitation. Because even though Odame is telling her, he's right there, she still can't see him, feel him, hear him. So as for the murder plot, which I think is honestly like way, way subplot. I I was like, you know, lots of antics, action scenes, experimental CGI. So this is the end, everyone. I'm I am spoiling this. Eventually, at the end, we find out that our good friend Carl is actually a fucking two-timing snake. Carl Carl. Yeah, I'm not even he doesn't even deserve it. I'm not even gonna show you a scene with him because he doesn't deserve it. He orchestrated this Megan president.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um, he orchestrated this robbery, turned murder. What? Because he was part of a laundering scheme at work. So when Sam saw that the accounts were all weird, that's because my dude Carl is doing some shit. So he was trying to steal some, steal Sam's wallet, get the account codes and passwords, because that's what we did back then. We wrote things down, put it in our wallet. So it's all fucked, you know. In the end, justice is eventually served. But with all that cook-ka-ka context, let's get into the the crying. So, towards the end of the film, Oda May, Molly, and Sam, they're all back in the loft hanging out. At this point, Molly is fully invested. She knows Oda May is telling the truth, and that Sam is there. They've called the police on Carl, now they're just kind of anxiously waiting. Sam says, I wish I could hold you. And Oda May is like, okay, fine. God, I'll be a vessel for you. She's like, I don't normally do this, but I'll make an exception this one time. So I'm gonna show you a scene. This is at the one-hour 48-minute mark. We have essentially skipped through the entire movie. But this is about a four-minute clip. And it is Sam entering Odame's body.

SPEAKER_00

Because I feel like we have the same story.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, it's Halloween.

SPEAKER_03

You'll fucking see. You'll fucking see. Like, literally, I'm I'm sh oh. We have the same story.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, what's new?

SPEAKER_03

You'll fucking see. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

You'll fucking see.

SPEAKER_01

Alright, well. So we watch as Sam enters Odame's body. You see her hands reach for Molly. Then it pans to the wider view, and it's actually Sam now. It's Sam who brings Molly close and holds her as they dance one last time. On the record player, Unchained Melody begins to play again. Oh my love, my darling, I've hungered for your touch. And as I'm watching the scene, sobbing, my heart ached, and I was like, what would we give for one more touch? One more dance. One more moment when we aren't weighed down by our grief. When we lose the people we love, we know they don't ever really go away, and they're always with us in some way. You know, you catch a whiff of their scent, you think of them, you browse through old photos, you take a bite of their favorite food, you watch videos of them, you hear their voice again. They're with you simply because you've been changed by them. But sometimes sometimes you just miss the the way they feel. The feel of their hand around yours, their head against your head, their cheek against your cheek, how it feels to hold them. Because in the end, nothing ever really replaces that feeling. And then you know how it goes. It always comes back to why? What is the point of feeling all this pain? And I don't know. All I know is that it shows us how deeply we loved and were loved. There's a rawness to grief that is so unbearable that we often have to numb ourselves to it. Because it's easier to feel nothing than to feel pain. But that rawness is our sole awakening. Look how much I loved and was loved. Like how much I let myself be moved and changed by this person. And in the last scene of the film, after all the antics, their loser friend gets killed, dragged to hell by the shadows. Really quality, like special effects. Sam is being beckoned to the other side. The heavens are calling him because his unfinished business is finished. So Sam and Molly know their time is up and they say their final goodbyes. Do we have to? Yes. This is at the 158 mark. This is the last scene. This is the literal last scene of the entire film.

SPEAKER_03

It's so 90s. I miss this so much. This year that I wasn't alive. I miss it. I know.

SPEAKER_01

So in these final moments, Sam is somehow visible to Molly. And Sam, when he was alive, who stubbornly refused to tell Molly that he loves her, finally says, I love you, Molly. I've always loved you. To which she replies, Ditto. As Sam drifts into the light, Molly watches in wonder as Sam says, It's amazing, Molly. The love inside. Take it with you. And then he says, See ya. And she says, completely overcome with emotion. See you. This whole time we think Sam's unfinished business is finding out who murdered him, but in this moment we realize his true unfinished business was he needed Molly to know that he loved her. But the thing is, even without him saying those words, she knew because the way they were holding each other before and after his death. How could you not know? In this last scene, there's so much that they could have said. But all they really say is, I love you. I'll take your love with me, and I'll see you in the next one. And just like that scene when they had their final dance, it makes me wonder if I had one more chance to spend time with the people I've lost. Maybe I wouldn't spend it trying to get the words just right, saying all the things I couldn't say, asking all the questions I couldn't ask, getting all the answers that I have been longing for. Maybe I would just hold them one last time.

SPEAKER_02

Both of us taking that love with us wherever we go next.

SPEAKER_03

I love that. The idea that as much as we love to talk, yeah. There is so much that can be expressed through action. So we will mime the rest of this episode. Precisely.

SPEAKER_01

That's exactly what I was thinking that we would do.

SPEAKER_03

Like now I don't want to say it too much.

SPEAKER_01

Just because let's just go straight into yours. I swear to God, let's just go straight into yours. If we're talking about the same thing anyway, let's just like lay it on. I mean, it's not exactly the same. You know it is. It always is.

SPEAKER_03

It's not, but but the feeling. You know what I mean? The feeling. The feeling. I think that as frustrating as it can be to be like, Patrick, just fucking say it, dude. Like, I I know that there is such a fear for being vulnerable. And that's why he held back. But it's like, yeah, you can hold back on saying it. But he clearly was not holding back on expressing it. So scary. So spooky.

SPEAKER_01

I swear to god, just Demi Moore's face as she looks into the light and like has tears running down her face. I'm like, who the fuck is this bitch? Like, oh my god. Patrick. Patrick.

SPEAKER_03

Rest in peace. Yes. Yeah. Great job. Thanks. Frightening. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Chills. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

Nins: Wicked

SPEAKER_03

Alright, lay it on me. Okay. Honestly, I feel like you can probably guess what I'm going to talk about today. Want me to give you some hints? Sure. Okay. Well, the first one, no longer hint because you know I'm talking about a movie as well. Yes. But the first one was that I was recently on an airplane. Oh, okay. So to all of our faithful followers, you will know that that's like the only time that I will indulge in a movie. Yes. The second is that I actually let me just take a moment to brag here really quick. Okay. That I got tickets to see Ariana Grande. Okay. Yes. Seeing her in June. So spooky. Um, but I've just been thinking about her a lot. Okay. As one does. Uh-huh. And number three, this Halloween costume is no coincidence. Okay. Any guesses? No. Really? Interesting, you mentioned it earlier. What do you mean earlier? When we were setting up? I did. You did. What the fuck? We were trying to get our cameras right, and I was in the frame, and you were like, oh, this is so funny because you look wicked. Yup. Oh shit.

SPEAKER_01

No, you know I would never choose Wicked. Really? Because I would let you do it. No, like because I thought about it like very briefly. I was like, oh my gosh, should I do Wicked? And then I was like, please, that's not my story to tell. Really? That's news. That's all news. Yes.

SPEAKER_03

Oh. Babe, it's time. It's fucking time. Wicked 2 coming out next month. We've waited long enough. Yes. Let us talk about Wicked Part one. Um, sources. Honestly, my heart. Yes. No, that's the best fucking source, dude. Fucking me. You don't need anything else. I literally did not consult with anything else. That's what I'm saying. Maybe like a Wikipedia here and there to get the timeline. But no. Truly. Other than the movie, here. All you, baby. All fucking me. Okay. So for our listeners, if you were connected to an internet source for even just five minutes last year, you will have seen the eternally long press tour for the Wicked movie, which was directed by John M. Chu, fellow Bay Area native. Let's go. But let's back it the fuck up. Let's back it up. Context. Okay. Wicked the movie is based on Wicked the Musical, which is based on Wicked the Book. Mm-hmm. Which is a revisionist exploration of The Wizard of Oz. Which is also a book. Keep going. Which is also a movie. Keep going. Just keep going in circles. I love it. I love it. The story has been around. Yes. Okay? It goes Romeo and Juliet and then Wicked, like right under. Okay, so let's break it down from the beginning. The Wizard of Oz is a book from the year 1900 written by L. Frank Baum. This book was then turned into the beloved and classic film from 1939, The Wizard of Oz, produced by MGM and starring Judy Garland. Almost 60 years later, in 1995, author Gregory McGuire published a novel entitled Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which focused on the villain of the Wizard of Oz, this witch. This book was then made into a musical by Stephen Schwartz in 2003, entitled Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz, otherwise just known as Wicked. And now, in the years of Our Lord 2024 and 2025, we are getting live-action movie versions of the Wicked musicals. Just a little bit of a personal summary, my relationship to this movie. Wasn't really a diehard growing up when it first came out because I was 10 years old with limited internet access. I'm sure at some point or other, our sisters allegedly downloaded the song for good. Limewire. You know, Kazasker. I think my sister was a Kazal girl. Yeah. But yeah, that was like my first maybe like exposure to it. And I was like, I could sing that, you know? Duh. Then maybe like one or two years later, I was walking through Borders Bookstore. Do you remember Borders? Maybe do I remember Borders? Excuse me, I've lived there. Fucking miss Borders, dude. But I saw the book, Wicked. And I was like, you know what? Yeah. You read it? I'm fucking 12 years old. I can read this. Oh.

SPEAKER_02

You did?

SPEAKER_03

I did. Oh. And let me say, I'm so glad that I was as dumb as I was at 12 to not have the reading comprehension of what was in that book. Not for kids. Okay. Nope. But I have since watched the live musical three times now. Oh yeah? Tell me. And my most recent rewatch was last year in preparation for the movie. I was like, I need it to be fresh. I need to know. I need to be prepared. And now that my frontal lobe has fully developed and I do have some comprehension skills, that last rewatch, openly crying. Openly crying. Yeah. Like from defying gravity to the 15-minute intermission, you know, everyone's like, getting up, go to the bathroom. Mm-mm. Not me. Not you. Busy. The water's coming out a different way. Busy. Yeah. Yes, exactly. And of course, watching the movie last year, just as bad.

SPEAKER_01

I know you have a story. Care to indulge? I mean, it was just your typical, I couldn't leave the theater. The entire car ride home, too. I mean, it just the tears just kept coming.

SPEAKER_03

It just keeps flowing. Yeah. And you're like, Jesus Christ. I'm not surprised. No. There was no shock value at all when it came to the plot. And yet. And yet, and fucking yet. You know what I mean? Okay. So, yeah, let's get into it. Let's get into it. Wicked part one, the movie. I okay. I am not going to be summarizing this whole movie. This story is so rich and so complex with an array of themes and social commentaries. I simply could not capture it all. Please just watch it. Yeah. Just watch it. Just watch it. Um, so for my story today, I am just going to provide enough context so that we can dive into the one scene that made me cry. Uh, that's not true. Multiple times I cried. Well, the one scene? Oh.

unknown

Sure.

SPEAKER_03

So, yeah, blanket spoiler warning, but we're not really getting them all. Okay, here we go. So, Wicked is the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. And in this retelling, we get a glimpse into the life of this witch named Alphabet, played by Cynthia Arrivo. And fun fact, the name Alphaba actually comes from the name of the author of the original Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum. And if you get the initials, L F B. Oh. You get Alphaba. Oh, wow. I know. She's an academic, everyone. I'm just filled with fun facts. Okay. In the movie, this story starts at the end. And we open in Munchkin Land, set in this magical world of Oz. And all of the Munchkins are celebrating the death of this wicked witch. And who is there to lead these festivities? None other than Girly Pop Pink Baby Doll Princess Pi, Glinda, the Good Witch. Played by up-and-coming unknown artist. Adrian Love of My Life, Miss Ariana Grande. And she is there to confirm the rumors. Yes, Alphaba is dead. Melted after a bucket of water is thrown on her by a female child from Kansas named Hermione. Yeah. Yeah, that was it, I think. It's Dorothy. Okay, it's Dorothy. But yes, everyone's like, yay, she's dead. We're so happy because she's so wicked, because we've been told she's wicked. We are blind sheep and we only do what we're told. No critical thinking. You know what I mean? Who has time? But during the celebration, the Munchans are like, wait, so Glinda, like tell us more about her because like we've been hearing some shit. Like, what really happened? You know? And Glinda's like, okay, fine, I'll spell. So, cut to the life and times of Alphabet. So we learn that Alphabah was born from an affair between her mother, who is the wife of this governor, and this mysterious gentleman who drinks from this elusive bottle filled with this green elixir. And when Alphaba is born, there's a bit of a kerfuffle because, surprise, she's green. And on top of that, she also has this crazy telekinetic power. Like she can like fucking move shit whenever her emotions get the best of her. She's bullied by other kids. Her fake dad, the governor, just wants nothing to do with her. And her younger sister, Nessa Rose, is ashamed of her. So she really has to just grow up learning to fend for herself, protect herself. She has only ever known kindness from the animals who helped raise her. Another subgroup in this world that is considered less than. So several years later, Alphaba is grown up and given this really hard upbringing, has developed this very hardened exterior. She's dry and sarcastic and abrasive, and she really tries to project this, I don't give a fuck, energy, but like you know, she gives a little fuck. You fucking know. Yeah. So when she drops her younger sister, Nessa Rose, off to college at Shiz University, she has this accidental revelation of her telekinetic abilities. Antics. Antics, antics, antics. They get us far, you know? And the headmistress of the school, Madame Muribel, played by Michelle Yeo, is like, uh sorry. You're really fucking gifted, actually. Like, you need to study here. I need to teach you. I need to help you like hone this incredible talent that you have. And who knows? Maybe one day you'll work with a wizard. And this is the first time Alphaba has ever been praised, has ever been celebrated. Here is Madame Morable, this esteemed woman, this sorceress in her own right, telling her that this thing that she is so ashamed of and tries to bury deep inside of her should be practiced and celebrated. So what happens next? This is not the scene that I really like want to spend most of the time on today, but oh, what's that? A tangent? Okay. So at this point in the musical, Alphabet walks away from this conversation with Manna Morable and then sings the song The Wizard and I. Fucking incredible. Like it just like pumps me up. Like this song is so powerful, and Cynthia Arrivo's performance is otherworldly. It's it's crazy. Her voice It's crazy. I almost couldn't focus when I was watching because I was like, hello. No, what? Yes. Who? Yes. No, that, and that's the thing. Like, she's so good at it that you kind of forget what the song is about. Like you're not really paying attention to the lyrics because you're just like, holy shit. Yeah. You know? But we have to pay attention to the song. Because in this song, Alphabet is taking a moment to reflect on what just happened. And she realizes that for the first time in her life, because of these wonderful things that Madame Morble said about her, she's allowing herself to dream. This one instance, just this one conversation, has opened up her heart to admit what she so desperately wants. Which is that maybe if she proves her worth, her goodness underneath her greenness, maybe one day she will in fact meet this wizard. And he'll see just how wonderful she is and then grant her this most ardent wish to remove this greenness from her skin. It is heartbreaking when you realize that this confession of self-loathing from this woman who tries so hard to be strong. If it sounds familiar, not surprised, because don't we all feel this way at some point in our darkest moments? We too desperately long to change all the things that we hate about ourselves and think that that's the solution to finding happiness and love and acceptance. But Elphab's dreams have not come true just yet. She is, after all, just starting school at Shiz. And to make matters worse, who ends up as her roommate? None other than the girly pop pink baby doll princess pie from before, Miss Glinda. And immediately hate each other. Like Glinda represents everything that Alphabet isn't. White, popular, bubbly, preppy, right? And Glinda literally cannot stand Alphaba's emo vibes. Ugly clothes. And to make matters worse, Alphabet has the one thing that Glinda wants, which are these private lessons from Madame Morable to become a sorceress. That is all Glinda wants. So yeah, they fucking hate each other. Or should I say they loathe each other. Loathing. So I'm gonna I'm just gonna skip seven seven mil plot lines, which is honestly makes me feel like shit because they're so important. Like they are just as ready.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, here's the thing, and listeners, maybe remind you, we just can't talk about everything. It's we would be here for hours if we chose to talk about every single fucking thing.

SPEAKER_03

So we gotta we gotta pick and choose. I know, so I unfortunately have to pick and choose. So at this point, I'm gonna be skipping ahead to this really fun dance at the Oz Dust ballroom. And anyone who's anyone is gonna be at this dance. Even Alphabet's younger sister, Nessa Rose. I'm gonna take this opportunity to skip over my thoughts on Nessa Rose. But anyway, with Glinda's help slash manipulation, a boy named Bach asks Nessa Rose to be his date to this dance. And Alphaba sees how happy this makes Nessa, and Glinda made it happen. And so Alphabet's like, shit, like I guess Glinda actually did something really nice. So as a thank you, Alphaba convinces Madame Borable to invite Glinda to their sorcery lessons. And when Glinda finds out about what Alphabet did for her, Glinda starts to soften when it comes to her feelings towards her roommate. So now let's pause and watch to see how the rest of the night at the Oz Dust ballroom plays out when Alphabet decides to make a dramatic entrance. For those that want to follow along, this is at the one hour and nine-minute mark of the film.

SPEAKER_01

Oh man.

SPEAKER_03

I forgot about this.

SPEAKER_00

Fuck.

SPEAKER_02

You always look so angry. It's just like, why do I do this? Why do I why do I do this podcast? Like Okay.

SPEAKER_03

Fun, right? So spooky. Okay, so in this scene, Alphabet enters the ballroom wearing this really stylish hat. This hat that Glinda gave to her as a cruel prank. And everyone there, again, mindless idiots are like jeering and gawking at her. Oh my god, like what is she doing here? She's so weird. Like, what is she wearing? What is she doing? Do people like don't in real life? No one fucking does this in real life. Like, please. It's such a caricature of what really happens. But, you know, it's just it's a movie. So Alphaba, who has lived her whole life as this pariah, tries so bravely to not give a shit about what everyone's saying. And she just starts to dance on her own. And everyone's watching her, and like, what the fuck? And the scene drags on, and there's no music. Like that DJ was really like, I'm gonna stop playing. Like, yeah. And it's awkward and it's uncomfortable and it's painful to see. Like, here is Alphabah trying so hard to act like she doesn't care. Wearing this hat as her shield. And Glinda is watching this happen, and she's the only one that can really see through this act. So in this moment, Glinda decides to leave behind their rocky past and walks up to Alphaba and join her in this awkward, uncomfortable performance. And then they dance together for the first time they see one another. They understand one another, both the good and the bad. And when Alphabah realizes this peace offering that Glinda is giving her, tears silently fall down her face. My face too. And Glinda wipes them away. And afterwards, everyone else joins in because again, people are fucking sheep.

SPEAKER_02

They're like, this is pretty cool, actually.

SPEAKER_03

I like this one. But from that moment on, these two enemies become two friends. Two best friends. So yeah, I mean, obviously sobbing in the theater. And I it is not difficult to unpack why. And of course, when the movie came out, there were so many people like on TikTok, on the internet, like, holy shit, that scene fucking wrecked me. But one thing I did notice about people's reactions to this scene is that most all of us relate to Alphabet in this moment, right? At some point or another, we have all felt like this outcast, this reject who tries so hard to not care about what people think and then failing miserably. And we all know how healing it is to finally be seen and be accepted. After all of that longing, all of that loneliness, a moment like that would definitely change you for good. But in this day and age, I think that it is so important to remember that as much as we identify with Alphabet, we all too can be Glinda in this moment. As much as we want to be the one who is validated, we too have the power to see someone and accept someone if we choose to. I know that it feels so much easier to just be that bystander, that fucking mindless sheep. Don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable, just keep your head down and conform, conform, conform. But how much kinder would this world be if we recognized the profound impact we'd have on someone if we simply reached out our hand and joined them and dance? You don't even have to be the most popular person in the world to set that trend. No matter who you are, you can be that glimmer of hope and love and connection for someone else. And yeah, I again I have to apologize for that being all I'm gonna say about this incredible story during this episode today. Maybe I'll just close with this thought that as we all prep to undergo another round of wicked mania in the next few weeks. I hope that we continue to find new lessons and new meanings and new messages over and over and over again in this deeply rich story. And with each revisit, we find ourselves changed by it for good. And then the rest of the episode is just us singing it. Yep. I mean, down if you are. I mean, we've been practicing since we were young, so Oh god. Do you see why I was crying so bad? Yeah. When you hit me with that fucking ghost scene. I know, I know. It's no, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It's the same scene. It's the same scene.

SPEAKER_02

When Alphabet when she turns her head and Clinta wipes the tears.

SPEAKER_03

Who the fuck directed that? You know what though? That actually wasn't in the script. No, shut the fuck up. Don't tell me shit like that. No. It didn't say wipe the tears.

SPEAKER_02

Exactly like you said, there's so much fucking to be conveyed in our actions. Sometimes so much more than through our words. I mean, like in the movie Ghost, at one point when Molly's like, how come you never say I love you? And Sam's like, to his credit, he's like, everyone says it. What does it even mean? And here too, it's like no words. No words needed to be said. You know what I mean? I Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. Because we wrote the same story.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, we did. Yeah. That was crazy. No. Yeah, we basically what are we gonna title this? Two dances. Hands in Dancing. God.

SPEAKER_02

Oh.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I I love what you were saying because you really can glean more when you revisit it. Because that first time, I've only watched it once. I'm so wowed by everything that I'm not like what you were saying about the wizard and I, like all that shit. Like, sorry, I don't know what words she's saying. I'm just hearing music. Oh my god. Effortless. Um, no, I I honestly feel like I blocked this from my mind. Because I'm I'm here focused on like defying gravity because that's the last thing, right? That's you see.

SPEAKER_03

Right. But I'm I didn't even talk about that.

SPEAKER_01

No. And how could you have? You know what I mean? We would be here for hours.

SPEAKER_03

We would be here for hours. And I was like, no, I really just this part need to highlight this. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I love too what you said, how we all feel like Alphabet, but there are times when we are the Glinda too.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I mean, like, we always have the power to be Glinda. Because it's like, yeah, you can sit here and wait. Oh, I want to be validated. Like, when is someone gonna validate me? No. It's like, why don't you be that someone for someone else? And for yourself.

SPEAKER_02

Defying gravity. Everyone. Funny you mentioned this straight up.

SPEAKER_01

Yesterday I was listening to Defy. I was like, hey Sana, what do you think about this song? I want another song. I was like, I was like, but wait, just listen. Just listen.

SPEAKER_03

Oh man. That's so funny because earlier this week I was just like on the explore page of Instagram and like Ms. Demi Moore popped up and I was like, who the fuck does she think she is? She's that bitch. She's what she is. What the fuck?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Happy

Outro

SPEAKER_01

fucking Halloween, everyone. Happy Hollows Eve. We really thought we were gonna do the same thing. And in a way we did. We did, actually. But through very different mediums.

SPEAKER_03

Yes. Actually, you know what? I was thinking about this. I think this is the first time we have the same medium. Oh, yes. In the episode. Yes, yes, that's true.

SPEAKER_01

We always try and vary it, but two movies. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Sometimes it's easier. Reading a book takes a long time. So there's only so much Halloween content that we could like. It's so true. I know.

SPEAKER_01

What's a Halloween book?

SPEAKER_03

I'll admit, you'll find in my Google history. Scary stories, sad. That's crazy. But that's our show. Hope you were spooked. Yeah, hope you were scared. Boop.

SPEAKER_01

So here we are at the end. Oh, here we are. Thanks everyone for tuning in. You know, it started rough, ended beautifully. We cried. Yeah. We laughed. And that's really all we heard to do. So thanks for lending us your ear for an hour or so. If you liked this and you haven't yet had the chance to write us a little review on Apple, go ahead and do that with five stars. And also, Spotify five stars, give us a follow on Instagram at beerbecrying.podcast. We are also at beerbecrying.podcast on TikTok, YouTube. If you have a sob story, something that made you cry, please go ahead and send that to us. Email us hello at beerbecryingpodcast.com. Hit us up on our website, beerbecryingpodcast.com. And also tell your friends about us.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Spill the tea. Spill the tea. Go to Munchkin Land, wait for them to ask you about the drama and be like, well, let me tell you. Let me tell you. Anyway. Anyway, sorry, we're trying to wrap this up. Yeah, we are really trying hard. Yeah. But thanks for tuning in. Happy Halloween. Happy Halloween. See you at the next one. But until then, beer bee crying.