Wicked: Does Marissa Bode’s Nessarose Thropp have Powers like her Sister?

Wicked: Part 1 shows Elphaba as an immensely powerful witch. But what about her sister Nessarose Thropp played by Marissa Bode? In the film, we see Elphaba struggle to control her powers and find her place in the world, but Nessarose doesn’t show the same magical abilities as her sister. 

So, is she incapable or just untrained? Or is a surprise waiting for everyone in Wicked: Part 2? In this article, we will discuss why Nessarose doesn’t have powers and whether she can get them in Part 2. 

Does Marissa Bode’s Nessarose Thropp have Magical Powers? 

In Wicked: Part 1, Nessarose is never shown to have any affinity for magic. However, she is embarrassed by the magical outbursts her sister, Elphaba, has due to the emotional ups and downs she experiences. Worse, she doesn’t seem to understand that Elphaba has no way of controlling these magical outbursts and so she often seems to blame her. 

Why Doesn’t Nessarose Thropp have Magical Powers?

In the film, when Glinda reveals that Elphaba’s father is The Wizard, Madame Morrible says that the Wicked Witch of the West possessed amazing magical powers because she was of two worlds. The Wizard was from Earth whereas Melena Thropp was a resident of Oz. 

This is also why only Elphaba and The Wizard can read The Grimmerie, which is written in a lost Earth language. However, Marissa Bode's Nessarose is the daughter of Melena Thropp and Frexpar Thropp in the musical and the film. So, she belongs to only one world- Oz. As a result, she doesn’t have magical powers like her sister. 

Will Nessarose Thropp get Magical Powers in Wicked: Part 2?

In Act 2 of the Wicked musical, there’s a scene where Elphaba asks Nessarose for her help to fight The Wizard. However, Nessarose gets mad because her sister never used her magic to get her to walk. Since Elphaba’s magic can’t cure paralysis, she instead enchants the silver slippers. 

This lets Nessa walk and then she does something that makes viewers of the musical wonder if she has some sort of latent powers. Since she wants Boq to fall in love with her she reads The Grimmerie for a love spell. However, she pronounces every word wrong and this causes Boq’s heart to shrink. 

It has been theorized for a long time that even though only The Wizard and Elphaba can read the book, Nessa gained the ability to read it only because she was wearing her enchanted shoes. 

But then there’s another question- why is she known as The Wicked Witch of the East when she doesn’t have magic? One theory is that the 'Witch' word is just an age-appropriate placeholder for a famous curse word. 

Wicked: Part 2 will surely shed more light on the plan regarding Marissa Bode and Nessarose. It will be interesting to see how closely they follow the original book and the musical adaptation. 

Wicked: Part 1 is running in theaters now. 

Related Posts

Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba: Why Does Tanjiro Have a Black Sword?

Queen Camilla: The Wicked Stepmother? - Stream Channel 4's Documentary

When is Wicked Part 2 Coming out?

Ariana Grande’s Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked – Release date, cast, & Everything we know About the Special

Sister Wives Season 19: Garrison’s Death, Shocking Twists, new Normal for the Browns – Everything we know

Wicked: Trailer, Songs, Release date, & Everything we know so far About the Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo film