What does ‘in a clock tick’ mean in Wicked: For Good – and what is the Clock of the Time Dragon?
(L) Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey in Wicked: For Good (R) an illustration of the Clock of the Time Dragon (Universal Pictures / Titan Comics)
Fans are flocking to Wicked: For Good, but more than a few of them are a bit confused by one particular phrase repeated throughout the film: “In a clock tick.”
The first part of Jon M Chu’s movie adaption of the hit Broadway stage musical opened this time last year to rave reviews before smashing box office records.
The sequel, which focuses on the musical’s darker second act, was released on Friday (21 November) and grossed $226 million (£173 million) worldwide during its opening weekend. Since then, people have taken to social media to share their thoughts, feelings and analysis of the conclusion to the story, and many have shared their confusion about the phrase “in a clock tick”.
What does ‘in a clock tick’ mean?
In short, in Ozian language “in a clock tick” is a much the same as “in a second”: as in, one tick of a clock’s second hand.
Audiences have pointed out that its use in the sequel but not in the original film made it feel a bit disjointed and confusing. Several people also took to Reddit to discuss how they thought it was foreshadowing something, only to be surprised when it didn’t.
With the number of outtakes we know about, it is possible that references to the phrase were cut from the first Wicked movie, although there is no evidence for this.
The phrase is more likely to be a reference to the Clock of the Time Dragon, an important feature in Gregory Maguire’s fantasy novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, on which the musical was based – a dark re-imagining of L Frank Baum’s original Oz books, which date back to 1900.
What is the Clock of the Time Dragon?
In the book, The Clock of the Time Dragon is a huge travelling puppet show in the form of a tall tower, with a clock where the hands always show one minute to 12, and which is topped by a dragon. It is led by mysterious dwarf Mr Boss.
The show performs prophetic and hedonistic stories about the past and future of its audiences.
It also represents Tiktokism, a newer religion in Oz.
In an interview with religionnews.com, Maguire described Tiktokism as coming “closest to a certain way that we live now in the West”, adding: “A Tiktokist is the kind of person who won’t turn off their phone [in church]. Their allegiance is to the stimulation, to the connection and to the appliance.
“While we don’t have cell [mobile] phones in my Oz, there is a kind of reverence for that aspect of that moment in the industrial revolution which Oz seems to be going through. Tiktokism is a more dangerous shifting of the devotional impulse, away from the question of creation and toward the questions of utility.”
In the novel, the Clock of the Time Dragon is described as “mounted on a wagon and stands as high as a giraffe” and a “tottering, freestanding theatre… punched on all four sides with alcoves and proscenium arches”.
The description goes on to say: “On the flat roof is a clockwork dragon, an invention of green-painted leather, silvery claws, ruby-jewelled eyes. Its skin is made of hundreds of overlapping discs of copper, bronze and iron. The Time Dragon circles on its pedestal… and belches out sulphurous balls of flaming orange stink.
“Below, featured in the dozens of doorways, windows and porches, are puppets, marionettes, figurines. Creatures of folk tale. Caricatures of peasants and royalty alike. Animals and fairies and saints…”
In the musical, the entire stage is designed to look like the Clock of the Time Dragon, so it appears as if the story of is being acted out like one of the puppet shows.
The dragons that are part of the Broadway and West End sets actually have names: in New York, the creature is called Oswald. In London, it’s Percival.
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