So in the weeks before Frozen II came out, I was among the fans who heard leaked news about the ending. Mind you, I came across it once and never looked back, but all I do remember is it saying something that Elsa became a spirit and left Arendelle in Anna’s hands with the latter as the new queen.
Now I did get briefly upset over this news because it sounded like Anna and Elsa would be separated for good, which would hypocritically go against and be a major contradiction to how the first film ended, with the two being together again and trying to mend their broken relationship. But I decided to give Disney the benefit of the doubt and not jump to conclusions. I trusted that they knew what they were doing and decided to wait until the film finally came out before I made any final decisions about my feelings towards it, including the ending.
And in short, while I initially wasn’t crazy about Elsa abdicating and Anna becoming queen in her place, after watching Frozen II a few more times, I have come to believe that both Elsa and Anna truly are where they are meant to be.
One of the reasons why I wasn’t fond of Anna becoming queen at first is largely because, as we see in the first film, she severely lacks the skills and personality traits that are generally required or at least expected for a proper princess: decorum, grace, elegance, poise, articulation, and overall proper etiquette, all of which Elsa possesses. Furthermore, Anna is impatient, short-tempered, impulsive, and hyperactive, which also strongly contradict Elsa’s personality. Such traits may seem like major flaws for a queen to have since Anna will have to do things like attend formal meetings, be attentive in them, and think things through carefully and consider the consequences before making final decisions.
But after I watched Frozen II several times and thought about everything I saw and learned from it, the more I came to accept the idea that Anna IS more fit to be queen than Elsa. What she does lack in the aforementioned areas, she makes up for in other areas; mainly her love of people, especially those in Arendelle. As a gregarious extrovert, Anna thrives being in the company of people. She enjoys talking to people, and is always willing to listen to them and help them out with their problems and woes. Numerous times throughout the first film, she proves herself to be an extremely caring, loyal, selfless, and loving person by putting the safety and well-being of others before her own. These actions also demonstrates her great loyalty and admiration, especially in Elsa. Anna has also demonstrated good leadership skills and judgment in crises, which help her to overcome obstacles. Having grown and matured in the three years since the events of Frozen (but still maintaining aspects of her personality), I think by the time Frozen II happens, Anna has learned from her past mistakes and experiences enough to make improvements on herself to do her role as the new queen very well.
Contrary to Anna, though, Elsa is not and never has been much of a people person. Now that doesn’t mean that Elsa is unfriendly or doesn’t care about her kingdom and people; she does, tremendously. We see that Elsa is very warm, kind, selfless, and caring towards her people whenever she interacts with them. But she is also a very shy and reserved introvert. Despite having grown up isolated from the outside world and Anna, Elsa does enjoy moments of solitude. She enjoys having her her freedom and takes solace in having time to herself. She only truly likes and feels comfortable being who she really is while in the company of Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven. They are her family, and she loves them more than anything. But as an introvert, Elsa dislikes being in the spotlight, being the center of attention, and being among big crowds of people with all the focus on her. Elsa also has a strong desire for independence, to do things alone and without much, if any, help. She is also very uncomfortable having others depend on her. This is particularly displayed when she initially tries to dissuade Anna from going to the forest with her, and then sends Anna and Olaf away so she can go to Ahtohallan alone.
So why does Elsa decide to remain the queen of Arendelle by the end of Frozen, particularly since she did not return by her own free will in the first place, but because Hans had captured her and brought her back?
Because after ending the eternal winter, and Arendelle saw that her powers can be used for good, Elsa felt obligated to stay because of her default role as the heir to the throne of Arendelle. She was crowned queen and she has a responsibility to fulfill as a ruler since she is of age. Simple as that.
Growing up, Elsa was taught to repress not only her powers, but her true self by putting her future duties, obligations, and responsibilities as the next ruler of Arendelle first. Once the people see that Elsa’s powers can do good and that she’s not a dangerous monster as they initially believed, Elsa has started to let go of her insecurities and let down her walls by showing people the real her. Over the next three years, as shown in both Olaf’s Frozen Adventure and Frozen Fever, Elsa becomes a much-respected, beloved queen of Arendelle.
And while the final minutes of Frozen and some moments in both shorts show Elsa being happy and doing her job as a leader well, you couldn’t help but wonder if she was truly happy and comfortable with her place in Arendelle. When we first see Elsa as an adult in Frozen II, she is out on the balcony, daydreaming and looking towards the sky before she is startled by Kai, who tells her that a group of people (most likely dignitaries other such important people) are waiting for her.
Again, Elsa only stayed in Arendelle by the end of Frozen and subsequently took up being queen because she was essentially forced to do so by default. She didn’t ask for this job, it was an obligation forced upon her since the day of her birth. Being the oldest daughter of Agnarr and Iduna legally makes her the rightful heir to the throne. It is a commitment she must do by law, without question, and Elsa knows this. Between that film’s ending and the earliest scenes of Frozen II (including when she sings “Into the Unknown”), it seems that Elsa considers her life situation to be all or nothing: she either abandons her leadership role and her family in order to be completely true to herself, or she takes up her part as queen while simultaneously forcing herself to conceal everything about who she really is, since being her full self goes against what is expected of her as a ruler.
In other words, Elsa feels she HAS to be ONLY who she is EXPECTED to be, not who she REALLY is, or she’ll lose everyone she loves.
Following her first appearance as an adult, the movie unfolds to the scenes of “Some Things Never Change”, the group playing charades, Elsa hearing the voice and feeling distressed about it but refusing to mention it to Anna, then her singing “Into the Unknown” after hearing the voice again. During these scenes, Elsa is happy because she is spending time with her family, and her people love her, trust her, and have accepted her for her abilities. But at the same time, she’s not content with herself and her place, She feels that ruling Arendelle is not her true calling in life, and I don’t say this just because having her powers makes her feel this way.
Elsa’s feelings of dissatisfaction of being queen is especially stressed when she sings “Into the Unknown”. In being queen, part of her responsibilities include the Arendellians relying on her to give them guidance and advice, to protect them in times of crisis, to help them whenever problems occur. As I said above, Elsa is not comfortable with having people depend on her so much. I think it’s because she almost always puts her entire kingdom’s needs before her own, which at times she doesn’t hesitate to do because she is that benevolent, Yet she’s not always happy to do it because then she constantly puts her own needs and desires last. In putting herself last so much, Elsa feels dissatisfied because she is not always being true to herself. But if she doesn’t put others’ needs and desires first, then people may see Elsa as just selfish, and she doesn’t want her people to think that poorly of her (since it’s far from the truth) as a ruler or as a person in general.
Furthermore, being the only one in her family AND her kingdom who has powers clearly makes Elsa continue to wonder if she is really where she is meant to be, or if she’s meant for something bigger, for an entirely different purpose. When the voice started calling out to her and persists, Elsa believes that it has something important to tell her about her powers, that it might have answers about herself and if she is truly meant for another place in the world. But she only resisted at first because she didn’t want to leave her family (”Everyone I’ve ever loved is here within these walls”), not because she had a role to fulfill. She never even mentioned her commitment as the queen.
By the end of the film, Elsa has found all of the answers. She has learned about where her powers have come from and discovered her true calling in life as the fifth spirit, the protector of the Enchanted Forest. She is FINALLY free because she has realized her true identity and can now be who she really is without any limits or expectations. This doesn’t simply make her happy; it makes her ELATED, and more so because having her freedom, independence, and no restrictions or limits gives her no risks on losing the people she loves.
Even though Elsa lives in the Enchanted Forest now, the note given to her from Anna (courtesy of Gale) suggests that she regularly makes return visits to Arendelle to spend time with her family. As shown when she arrived to stop the giant wave from flooding the kingdom, Elsa does not live very far away. She can come to visit anytime she wants and has a speedy method of transportation via the Nokk. And I don’t think she visits just on Fridays for charades or other games; I think Elsa comes to visit Arendelle several times a week to have meals with her family, holidays and special occasions in Arendelle, and even to spend the night sometimes. As long as she regularly visits her family but assumes her true role in protecting the forest, Elsa will remain true to herself; she will always be free and never really be alone. She and Anna are both exactly where they are meant to be.
Elsa is now exactly WHO and WHERE she is meant to be, and she has finally found the peace, joy, and contentment she has desired all her life!
Elsa’s character growth from Frozen to Frozen II is outstanding, and I am so proud of her for finding all the answers about herself and gaining her freedom and self-confidence! I love my girl so much! 😄❤️😄❤️😄❤️
And this is not only my first original posts on Frozen/Frozen II, but of ANYTHING of 2020, so what better way to celebrate the new year with a new analysis by yours truly?! 😁😁
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! 😁😄🎊🎉
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