Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Volume 5, Part 2 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • The Witch is hanging out at Kiamo Ko performing a wing-plasty on some unfortunate monkeys.
  • Yes, she's attaching wings to monkeys using Doctor Dillamond's notes and the Grimmerie:

    She had more or less perfected the procedure, after years of botched and hideous failures. (5.2.1)

  • Yikes. Elphaba is definitely becoming more of a Wicked Witch. Or at least a mad scientist.
  • The Witch gets a letter from her brother Shell informing her of Nessa's death.
  • Elphaba barely reacts to the news and quickly gets back to her monkey surgery. She later goes down for dinner.
  • Nanny, Liir, and Elphaba all live at Kiamo Ko.
  • Nanny is very old and going deaf, which leads to rather hilarious – in a macabre, black-humor way – exchanges like this:

    "Nanny," said Liir, "Nessie's dead." […]

    "Nessie did what?" screeched Nanny, looking rheumily out at them.

    "Did died dead," intoned Chistery.

    "Did what?"

    "Nessie DIED." said Liir.
    (5.2.19-24)

  • Poor Nanny.
  • Nanny then starts bemoaning Sarima's fate.
  • Elphaba says she's never stopped trying to find Sarima and her family, but she can't get any information from the militia, who continue to guard the compound.
  • Nanny blames Elphaba for the tragedy, but in a fairly good-natured way.
  • It's been seven years since Sarima and the others disappeared.
  • Elphaba now sets off for Munchkinland to attend Nessa's funeral.