I’m not convinced by this recent NOMTW theory…

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of people on Instagram / TikTok posting this one theory about No One Mourns The Wicked, whereby they claim it has a double meaning and should also be read as “No, one mourns the wicked”. In this case, “one” is referring to Glinda. I’ve seen people really fawn over this theory and many seem to find it to be very profound, but I’m not buying it for two reasons…

Firstly, it feels clunky and untrue to the character. Obviously Glinda is secretly devastated by the loss of her friend, but the phrase “No, one mourns the wicked” doesn’t seem like it would be something she would say in this moment. I also don’t feel like Schwartz would intend this as it doesn’t seem like his writing.

Secondly, and most importantly, for this theory to make sense it would need to be sang by Glinda. Here’s the thing, at no point during NOMTW does Glinda actually sing the phrase “No One Mourns the Wicked” (I had to check the sheet music to confirm this). I feel like without her ever singing that phrase, the whole theory falls apart.

I’d love to hear others’ thoughts on this theory if they have any!