What Happens To Dr. Dillamond In Wicked

Dr. Dillamond is an important figure within Elphaba’s story in Wicked, but what happened to him, and will this character return in the next movie? Voiced by Peter Dinklage, the goat Dr. Dillamond is Elphaba and Galinda’s History teacher at Shiz University—the very last Animal teacher at Oz’s prestigious school. He and Elphaba develop a friendship in the first Wicked movie built on the fact that they both know what it feels like to be ostracized. However, after Dr. Dillamond was arrested, his character was absent for the rest of the film.

In Wicked‘s world of Oz, Animals are sentient creatures with the ability to speak, be educated, and form communities. There are hints throughout Elphaba’s story that they used to hold high positions within society and even used to run Shiz University as its staff and administration. However, this slowly begins to change as the people of Oz become prejudiced against Animals. Dr. Dillamond was one of the last to remain at Shiz and used his position as a history teacher to plant seeds of change among the students. Unfortuantely, this got him in trouble in Wicked.

Why Dr. Dillamond Is Taken Away & Not Allowed To Teach Anymore

Dr. Dillamond Was The Last Of His Kind At Shiz

Dr. Dillamond had known for quite some time before Wicked that something bad was happening in Oz. In the movie, Elphaba discovered that her history teacher was hosting Animals at his home, and they would come to share their fears about the oppression they were facing. Many chose to leave Oz before anything bad could happen to them, but Dr. Dillamond seemed determined to stay and try to make a change. However, during one of his lessons, the goat was arrested and taken away, seemingly for spreading information about the quiet movement against Animals that everyone else seemed to be ignoring.

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The teacher who replaced Dr. Dillamond showed students a baby lion in a cage, explaining that such conditions of isolation helped to ensure the Animal would never learn to speak. This confirmed to Elphaba what Dr. Dillamond had warned her about. Animals were being punished for speaking out and sharing their opinions, and the fear of this happening—or perhaps some magical force—was causing even adults like Dr. Dillamond to forget how to talk. Cages seemed to be a way to speed up this process.

Elphaba Has A Vision Of Dr. Dillamond’s Fate

Animals Keep Getting Thrown Into Cages

After Dr. Dillamond’s arrest, Elphaba had a vision of her beloved teacher locked in a cage. Wicked already confirmed that Elphaba’s visions are accurate since she saw Oz throwing a celebration all to do with her (though she didn’t realize that they were celebrating her death). Elphaba was greatly disturbed by this vision and began to believe that the only thing she could do about this and the general plight of the Animals was talk to the Wizard. As she told Dr. Dillamond during “Something Bad,” this was why Oz had a Wizard, so nothing bad would happen to the citizens.

Of course, it is ultimately revealed in Wicked that the Wizard is precisely why Animals like Dr. Dillaond were being oppressed—a fact foreshadowed when Elphaba accidentally destroyed the stone carving of the wizard that covered the image of Animals teaching at Shiz. The Wizard wanted power over the people of Oz, and the best way he could ensure this was to give the people an enemy they believed only he could protect them against. Animals, who are already so different from the general population, made for the perfect scapegoats. Caging and silencing those like Dr. Dillamond was all part of the process.

How Wicked Changes Dr. Dillamond’s Fate From The Book

Something Even Darker Befalls Dr. Dillamond In The Wicked Book

Dr. Dillamond’s fate of being caged in the Wicked musical and movie is pretty terrible, but it’s far more tame than what happened to him in the book by Gregory Maguire. In this original version of the story, Dr. Dillamond was a Science teacher, and he and Elphaba had been working together to prove that Animals and non-sentient animals were biologically different. However, this research came to a halt when Dillamond was found dead with his throat cut.

Madam Morrible ruled Dr. Dillamond’s death an accident, stating that he had fallen on a broken magnifying glass and tragically bled to death. However, Elphaba maintained a firm belief that her teacher and friend had been murdered because of their research together. So, she pushed through and continued their work alone in secret. Though this is drastically different than the version of the story in the first Wicked movie, Dr. Dillamond’s character served the same purpose regardless. His fate was a significant motivator for the activism that would drive Elphaba forward for the rest of the story.

What Dr. Dillamond’s Firing Means For Elphaba & Glinda

This Begins Both Their Political Journeys

Dr. Dillamond’s firing and arrest solidified Elphaba’s resolve to make a change. She was all the more determined to see the Wizard and ask for his help, and, luckily for her, the opportunity came shortly after. Dillamond’s fate meant something very different for Galinda, however. While she was sympathetic, she didn’t see these problems as being anything she could actually fix herself. However, wanting to impress both Elphaba and Fiyero (who had quickly joined Elphaba in her concern), Galinda changed her name to Glinda in Dillamond’s honor—a fairly empty gesture.

Will Dr. Dillamond Return In Wicked 2?

Dr. Dillamond May Make A Quick Return

Elphaba believed in the first Wicked movie that talking to the Wizard would fix everything. She was sure that Oz’s leader didn’t know about the struggles faced by the Animals and that if she told him, Dr. Dillamond could hopefully return to Shiz. However, the realization that the Wizard was behind everything pushed all of this from her mind. The goat was never mentioned, but this won’t be the last time he will be seen in Elphaba’s story. Unfortunately, her vision is destined to come true in Wicked: Part 2 when she comes face to face with the poor goat in a cage.

In the Wicked show’s second act, Elphaba returns to the Wizard’s tower to free the flying monkeys but is confronted by the man himself and again offered a place by his side. The Wizard tells Elphaba all about how the people of Oz put the label of “wonderful” on him, so he has no choice but to try to meet their expectations. He made it seem as if he would be willing to help her if she would help him, and Elphaba was very nearly tempted. However, she then finds Dr. Dillamond in a cage, unable to speak, and Elphaba turns against Wicked‘s Wizard for good.

Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.