theSkimm - Weekend: Welcome Back, Vera Bradley 😎

Life may be unpredictable, but three things we can count on? We’ll die. We’ll pay taxes. And the Wicked promotional circus will continue — because, lest you forget, Wicked: Part Two is already set for next November, so by our calculations, it should start now. But before we get ahead of ourselves: After what has felt like a lifetime of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande attached at the hip, the movie-musical is finally in theaters. So we must hold space for this spectacle of a press tour. Of course, there was the deep commitment to method dressing, which started a good nine months ago. But there was also: the unhinged amount of Wicked merch (never forget Stanley cups so pop-u-lar they nearly caused a brawl and the very unfortunate Mattel doll mishap); controversies ranging from #postergate (which Erivo is still talking about) to AMC’s “no singing” rule (lol, sure); Dax Shepard embarrassing himself with a “really crazy question that’s inappropriate” (Erivo’s response was Oscar-worthy); and all the times the costars turned best friends lovingly clasped hands and shed tears of appreciation for each other. Which was, dare we say, endearing…until fans noticed it happened in just about every interview (as one writer declared, it’s giving “unprecedented levels of theater-kid energy”), leading to so many comments and hilarious parodies that the two had no choice but to address it. All of which was before the index finger-grab seen round the world.

But amid the cringe of it all, there were also some delightful surprises. The internet collectively sighed over the gift that is Jonathan Bailey (see: Bailey showing off those legs, and any interview he’s done alongside Jeff Goldblum). And Ethan Slater — aka Mr. SpongeBob — pulled off one of the most impressive redemption tours in recent history, thanks to a perfectly timed GQ profile, a viral fan encounter, holding his girlfriend Ariana Grande’s dress, and dubbing her a “comedy genius.” Plus, there was the couple’s rare and adorable PDA. Perhaps most surprising, though, in a year when some of the most hyped movies were very mid (*cough* Joker: Folie à Deux *cough*), many early reviews describe Wicked as “over the rainbow” and “the year’s must-see musical.” In which case, aggressively green and pink press tour, we raise our broomsticks to you.