Light spoilers ahead for Wicked: For Good.
It’s that time of year — Wicked mania has descended again and so has the FOMO. Though it’s about 25 minutes shorter than the first film, Wicked: For Good’s two-hour-and-17-minute run time may still be daunting for moviegoers with small bladders or for anyone who overhydrated on their way to see Oz’s sexiest man alive. If the idea of taking a mid-movie bathroom break sends you flying off the handle, we have good news: Layered between important Easter eggs and major musical performances are a few clock ticks when you can step out for relief.
Bathroom-Break Option No. 1
Longtime Wicked fans may already have heard that the sequel features two brand-new songs not included in the stage musical. The first, and arguably the more catchy of the two, is called “No Place Like Home” and starts about 35 minutes into the movie. Without spoiling anything, I’ll tell you that she encounters a few animals on the yellow brick road and sings to them about what Oz means to her and why it’s worth fighting for. Leave right when Cynthia starts singing, and you have about four minutes before her next important development.
Bathroom-Break Option No. 2
Last year, I said you could afford to miss a few minutes of Jeff Goldblum grandstanding as the Wizard of Oz in the first Wicked. This suggestion holds for the sequel. A little over 50 minutes in, Elphaba arrives at the Royal Palace of Oz to confront the Wizard. Stay seated through her reunion with Glinda, and you’ll have about five minutes if you get up when Jeff Goldblum starts singing “Wonderful.” It’s a nice tune, but there aren’t any major plot developments; the Wizard and Glinda just try to convince Elphaba to join forces with them, unsuccessfully.
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Bathroom-Break Option No. 3
About an hour and 20 minutes in, after Elphaba and Fiyero do the not-so-good deed, it takes Madame Morrible three minutes to conjure up the franchise’s infamous tornado. Leave when Elphaba says, “For the first time, I feel wicked,” go quickly, and you’ll make it back in time to see that twister at work.
Bathroom-Break Option No. 4
“The Girl in the Bubble,” the second of Wicked: For Good’s new songs, starts about an hour and 40 minutes into the movie after the Citizens of Oz form an angry mob and vow to take down Elphaba. Leave after Boq chillingly yells “Kill her!” and you’ll miss about four minutes of Ariana Grande’s always-astounding vocals as Glinda reflects on her involvement with the Wizard, followed by 40 minutes of action that you won’t want to miss. We hope this bathroom-break guide has changed you for the better — and that you’ll more carefully consider your pre-movie fluid intake for good.
