Frozen II: Different paths to transformation

 Frozen II says that calling, loss and ambiguity can all lead to transformation.

Calling

It’s easiest to see the first, right? That’s Elsa’s arc in this story, as I’ve written before: hear the call, respond with courage, return a changed person—fill a void, but leave one behind too.

Loss

Loss is harder, I think partly because loss takes your norm but doesn't give you anything in return—if you want a new norm, you have to make it yourself.

That’s Anna’s arc in Frozen II. She knows her place in the world: she supports Elsa. They’re an inseparable team, and together, they can face anything. But then they’re not together anymore. When it comes down to it, Elsa’s powers let her go places Anna can’t. Elsa’s path diverges from Anna’s, and Anna has to find her purpose without Elsa as lodestar.

Both Elsa and Anna have to push through something to find their purposes (another way to say that: to live in congruity with their identities). 

For Elsa, it’s fear of the unknown. 

For Anna, it’s fear of losing those she loves.

Anna thrives on being backstage, the one without powers, the moral support who gets to let another wear the heavy crown.

Anna’s duty is to live up to her identity: she is a queen. She controls those she loves to keep from losing them. When that fails, her temptation is to fold under her grief—to forget about her people and her duty. 

Her call is to take on the role of queen: to sacrifice for her people and to do the next right thing.

Ambiguity

On the surface, Kristoff is Anna’s reverse. When she loses Elsa, she has to stop finding her purpose in her relationship with Elsa. Kristoff loses Anna temporarily, but in the end, she’s still a big part of Kristoff’s purpose.

One level down from the surface, I think Kristoff and Anna are in the same spot. Anna’s temptation is to fold, to give up. When Anna just disappears, Kristoff’s temptation is to despair. But he doesn’t. He keeps seeking her out and helps her out without complaining as soon as he gets a chance. 

His situation is ambiguity—did she mean to leave him behind? Does she still care about him?—whereas her situation is outright loss. Both call for courage, for leaning into duty. Both situations transform them, bringing their characters into line with who they were meant to be.

Hope

Of the paths to transformation, calling is my favorite. It’s terrifying but inspiring—it’s possibility, rejuvenation. 

But the suffering paths work, too. Like calling, they can make us more than we would’ve been otherwise. 

That's a generous gift from God. It's more than just a consolation for the suffering evil causes—God can turn evil inside out and bring about good where only harm was intended (Gen. 50:20; Heb. 10:34).