Our Biggest Unanswered Questions After Frozen 2 (There’s A Lot)

Frozen 2 left behind a lot of unanswered questions and here are our biggest. The sequel to the 2013 blockbuster Frozen reunites Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell as the voices of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, the sisters who rule the northern Kingdom of Arendelle. Frozen 2 delivers answers to many questions left open by the original film, such as the origins of Elsa’s magical ice powers, what happened to their parents King Agnarr (Alfred Molina) and Queen Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood), and why Anna, her younger sister, doesn’t have powers like Elsa does.

Set three years after the events of Frozen, the happy Kingdom of Arendelle ruled by Elsa is faced with a new threat that could lead to its destruction. Meanwhile, Queen Elsa is the only one who can hear a literal siren song from across the sea that compels her to seek out the truth about her origins and her powers. Elsa, Anna, her boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his trusty reindeer Sven, and Olaf the Snowman (Josh Gad) discover the elemental spirits of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water and they travel into the Enchanted Forest, which has been separated from Arendelle for decades. There, Elsa and Anna learn of the dark family secret that their grandfather, King Runeard (Jeremy Sisto), betrayed the native people of the Forest, the Northuldrans, and caused the Enchanted Forest to be magically sealed off from the world. Elsa also travels alone to Ahtohallan, the magical river of ice north of the Dark Sea, to find out the truth about who she really is and where her powers come from while Anna learns how to free the Enchanted Forest and how Elsa can save Arendelle.

Gorgeously animated and packed with all-new songs, Frozen 2 is an ambitious and even darker sequel that offers plenty of answers and delivers big changes to the status quo. However, the many revelations in the movie end up unlocking even further questions about the events of the past and the future that are left wide open. Here are the biggest questions Frozen 2 left us wondering about.

11. Why Didn’t King Agnarr and Queen Iduna Tell Elsa ANYTHING?

The decisions King Agnarr and Queen Iduna made when they were alive are certainly questionable. Since the Queen was Northuldran and had knowledge of the elemental spirits, she could have helped explain Elsa’s powers to her beyond the fact that they come from magic. The King and Queen died at sea three years before the main story of Frozen but before they left, they never told Elsa or Anna where they were going or why.  So, until Frozen 2, Elsa never knew about Ahtohallan or had any inkling of where her powers came from.

Agnarr and Iduna never even left any documents or any diaries for their eldest daughter – the heir to the throne – in case they didn’t return from their planned two-week voyage. They even lied about where they were going, telling their servants and daughters they were sailing south when they really went to the Dark Sea in the north. Therefore, a lot of the problems their daughters suffered through in Frozen and Frozen 2 was because of the secrets the King and Queen unfairly kept.

10. Was The Fact That Queen Iduna Was Northuldran Kept A Secret?

According to the story King Agnarr told young Anna and Elsa (in a flashback scene that took place before Elsa accidentally injured Anna, whose memories were erased at the start of Frozen), he was just a boy when Arendelle gifted the Northuldrans with a dam and then King Runeard betrayed the natives. Then a violent conflict suddenly began, Agnarr was injured, and he was saved a Northuldran girl, who turned out to be Iduna. Somehow, they both escaped the Enchanted Forest when it was sealed off from the rest of the fjord and made it back to Arendelle. Agnarr said he returned to Arendelle as King.

Obviously, Agnarr married Iduna, but did anyone know the new Queen was Northuldran? If not, how was that secret kept? After all, Arendelle is a tiny kingdom with a very small population so everyone would know everyone. Frozen also established that Elsa had to be concerned about the people of Arendelle being afraid of her, hence why she was isolated in the locked castle for years. So how did the people of Arendelle feel about their Northuldran Queen – or were they lied to about her background?

9. Did King Agnarr Actually Know His Father Betrayed The Northuldrans?

Everything about King Agnarr’s decision-making is questionable and it’s worth wondering whether he withheld information or outright lied to his daughters, at least by omission. As King, Agnarr would need to know every state secret so it’s reasonable to believe he knew what kind of king his father was and what Runeard did to the Northuldrans. If so, it’s understandable he didn’t tell his young children the sordid parts of what happened in a bedtime story, but Agnarr had to know the truth of why the Enchanted Forest was sealed off and why his own wife Iduna couldn’t return to visit her people.

King Agnarr and Queen Iduna unquestionably knew a lot more than they ever chose to share with Elsa and Anna and they did their daughters no favors by keeping secrets from them even when Elsa and Anna were old enough to hear them.

8. Why Didn’t Elsa And Anna Know Anything About Their Family History?

While Anna and Elsa’s discovery of their past and seeking answers makes for compelling movies, the fact that they grew up knowing next to nothing about their family’s history is shocking and unfair to them. Why didn’t they even know something as basic as where their mother came from before the events of Frozen 2? Based on how clueless both sisters were about their family – they’re the royal family of Arendelle, after all – it seems like the only story Agnarr and Iduna told their children about their past was the oneabout the Northuldran dam at the start of Frozen 2, and they may even have omitted major parts of the story.

Elsa was 18 when the King and Queen died so she was of age to know the truth but they apparently made no effort to tell her or Anna any more information that would have been crucial for them going into adulthood. Nor does it seem like any of the ministers or advisors who remained in the castle spoke to either sister about anything they might have known, which would also have benefited their new rulers.

7. What Did The Arendelle Soldiers Do In The Enchanted Forest For 34 Years?

After Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf are brought into the Enchanted Forest by the Gale, the Wind Spirit, they meet the Northuldrans for the first time but they also meet the unexpected: a company of Arendelle soldiers who have trapped in the Forest for 34 years. The soldiers are led by Lieutenant Destin Mattias (Sterling K. Brown), who was young Prince Agnarr’s personal guard. What did the Arendelle soldiers do in the forest for over three decades? How and where did they live and why are their uniforms in perfect condition after all this time. It would be one thing if somehow time passed differently in the Enchanted Forest but Lieutenant Mattias was well-aware that he’d been away from home for 34 years.

6. How And Why Did Elsa Die In Ahtohallan?

After Elsa sends Anna and Olaf away and crosses the Dark Sea by taming Nokk, the Water Spirit, she arrives in Ahtohallan, the mystical frozen river in the North that contains all the answers to her past. Because “water has memory”, which is a recurring theme in Frozen 2, Elsa encounters ice sculptures of her past (as seen in Frozen) and learns that the siren song she was hearing came from her late mother. But then, Elsa falls down a chasm to the deepest part of Ahtohallan and she dies when she’s frozen into an ice sculpture (like Anna was in Frozen). But why did Elsa have to go to Ahtohallan just to die? Is that something Queen Iduna knew would happen or wanted?

It’s understandable if some fans didn’t get that Elsa actually died in that moment – something Olaf confirmed during the post-credit scene – but Elsa did die because her magic left her, which meant that Olaf also died since Elsa’s magic is what keeps him alive. However, it may not have been exactly clear that Elsa died at that moment since it’s logical to think being turned into an ice sculpture wouldn’t kill her, considering her powers and immunity to cold (“the cold never bothered me anyway”). And, after all, Anna survived being turned into an ice sculpture in Frozen so why wouldn’t Elsa, the sister with magical ice powers? However, the warning to what would happen to Elsa in Ahtohallan was in the song “All Is Found” sung by Iduna: “Dive down deep into her sound/But not too far, or you’ll be drowned” so it was all set up from the start.

5. Are The People Of Arendelle Fine With Anna Being Queen?

Frozen 2 ends with a huge paradigm shift for the Kingdom of Arendelle: Elsa abdicated the throne so Anna, the next in line, becomes the new Queen. At the end of the movie, Anna is crowned and welcomed as the new ruler by the people of Arendelle, but are they really okay with yet another sudden change in Queen?

After all, in just six years, according to the timeline Elsa and Anna gave in Frozen 2, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna were lost at sea, the next Queen, Elsa, was isolated in the castle for years prior and, on the day of her coronation, she revealed she had magic ice powers. Elsa then ran away and plunged Arendelle into winter, then Anna left the usurper Prince Hans (Santino Fontana) in charge while she went to bring back Elsa. After it was all over, Elsa ruled as Queen and apparently did well but then in Frozen 2, the kingdom had to be evacuated and the sisters left Grand Pappie the Troll in charge of Arendelle while they vanished into the Enchanted Forest. Then, after the people saw Elsa save the kingdom from a tidal wave, Elsa surrenders her crown so that Anna becomes Queen? That is a huge amount of upheaval for this tiny community. While Anna is certainly beloved by the people, they would be justified if they are worried about what the future will hold with Anna as Queen.

4. Who Invented Photography In The Frozen Universe?

Lieutenant Mattias and his men were able to return home to Arendelle at the end of Frozen 2 and got a happy ending after three decades of being lost in the Enchanted Forest. After Anna’s coronation, Mattias marvels at something that has been invented since he’s been away: a photograph. Wait, so who invented photography in the Frozen universe? It hasn’t been made clear exactly when the Frozen movies take place but tall ships are still the primary means of travel by sea to Arendelle. In the real world, the first photograph made in a camera was taken in France in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce but apparently, either photography was brought to Arendelle or someone in the kingdom invented it – but who?

3. Why Didn’t Elsa Attend Anna’s Coronation?

The climactic moments of Frozen 2 whiz by, including Olaf’s resurrection, Elsa deciding she no longer wants to be Queen, and Anna ascending to the throne. When the movie cuts back to Arendelle, Anna is announced as the new Queen and, considering everyone is dressed for the occasion, this must be the younger sister’s coronation. But where was Elsa? Why didn’t she attend her sister’s big day and the unveiling of the sculpture of their parents? Even if this wasn’t Anna’s coronation and instead, it was just the unveiling of the statue – even still, why didn’t Elsa attend?

2. Did Anna Marry Kristoff? Does That Mean Kristoff Is King Of Arendelle?

Kristoff spent all of Frozen 2 worried about proposing to Anna and he was heartbroken when Anna and Elsa left him behind in the Enchanted Forest – Kristoff’s song “Lost in the Woods” is entirely about his fears and anxieties. But Kristoff stepped up heroically and saved Anna from the rock giants. Finally, at the end of the movie, Kristoff musters up the courage to propose and Anna accepted. But we don’t see them get married so did they actually tie the knot? And if so, does marrying Queen Anna instantly make Kristoff the new King of Arendelle? (Or is their arrangement like Queen Elizabeth II’s marriage to Prince Philip where he didn’t become King?) Curiously, Frozen 2 never actually says if the happy couple got married and defined Kristoff’s role in Anna’s kingdom, after spending the whole movie building to Kristoff popping the question.

1. What Is Elsa’s Life Now As Protector Of The Enchanted Forest?

At the start of Frozen 2, Elsa felt that being Queen of Arendelle wasn’t what she was actually meant to do and discovering the secret of her powers ended up unlocking her true destiny: as the Fifth Spirit, Elsa is part of the bridge between the magic of the Enchanted Forest and Arendelle, which is now ruled by Anna. But what is Elsa’s new life as the Fifth Spirit? It seems like Elsa now lives in the Enchanted Forest with the Northuldrans and she’s their protector – but what does she protect them from if she unified all of the magic and the people? Perhaps Elsa now spends her days learning even more answers to the many questions surrounding her magic and her past. But, if there is a Frozen 3, will Elsa finally get a long-overdue love interest, be it male or female?

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