The Journey to the Emerald City

Elphaba and Glinda travel to the Emerald City to see the Wizard. The journey is long and arduous, and they witness the poverty and desperation of the countryside. Upon arriving, they are struck by the city's oppressive grandeur and the absence of Animals. They manage to secure an audience with the Wizard, who appears as a terrifying skeleton of lightning and rain. Elphaba presents Doctor Dillamond's research and pleads for the Animals, but the Wizard dismisses her. He reveals his knowledge of Madame Morrible and implies that the girls are pawns. The audience is a failure, and Elphaba decides to stay in the Emerald City, going underground to continue her resistance, while Glinda returns to Shiz.