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Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s relationship has been a point of controversy since the beginning. We can’t say definitively what the timeline was, but for many online it certainly is seemed Slater left his wife, who recently gave birth, for Grande during filming Badin which he plays Munchkin man Boq and she plays the good witch Glinda. But what do we know for sure, after seeing part one of Bad, is that they have chemistry. It’s true! They are funny together! It’s sweet! In fact, out of everyone in the cast, they are two of the few people who seem to have the exact same vision for the film: daffy and sweet, with heightened but specific characterizations. They are in sync!

Inside Badthe two don’t talk much. Boq is in the show less than you remember, especially Act One, which is all the covers of this first film. In the movie, he just curls up at Glinda’s feet while she completely ignores him and forgets his name. They have a few conversations early on, but the real showcase comes during the “Dancing Through Life” series. In the midst of Fiyero’s school-wide corruption for fun, Boq steps up to ask Glinda if she wants to dance with him. She turns him down by having him ask Nessarose, Elphaba’s disabled sister, to dance. Both actors have a little twinkle in their eye throughout the entire short scene and even though their characters don’t make a romantic connection, it’s clear that sparks are flying.

It is striking that Grande has less chemistry with Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero than with Slater. Maybe that’s partly by design – no spoilers, but Fiyero doesn’t exactly have a soul connection with Glinda – but the chemistry we do get to see can’t be faked. Part of the fun is that they’re clearly the only two who really understand what the original is Bad was. Everyone else makes the whole thing more strict than it needs to be. Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba is very serious, without Idina Menzel’s deadpan humor, and Bailey’s Fiyero is played as a straightforward charmer, not a scheming, fun slacker, and Michelle Yeoh’s Madame Morrible is grounded instead of grandiose. Those versions of the characters make for a good movie, but not necessarily a fun one.

Grande and Slater, meanwhile, are less afraid to lean in Bad‘s ridiculousness and come out the better for it. Both have bright eyes and a bushy tail. They’ve aligned ‘manic theater boy’ energies, which when combined, really work.

Part of the issues people have had with their relationship since the beginning has always had to do with Slater’s appearance. His name is SpongeBob (a reference to his Tony-nominated stage work), and most people’s vibe is not just “this was a bad thing to do” but rather “why it?” And look, we’re not saying we agree with leaving the mother of your child for the nearest popular pop star you’re starring in a movie with. If that happened, that is of course bad. The only thing we say? We get it.