Elsa might be based on the villainous fairy tale Snow Queen, but she’s very much a hero in Frozen. Even when others think she’s the bad guy, her actions only ever come from a place of wanting to protect the world from her spectacular powers.
Throughout both movies, Elsa struggles a lot with her identity. Sometimes audiences find her equally tough to pin down. While Frozen 2 may have provided her with a more detailed backstory, plenty of things still don’t quite make sense about Elsa.
10 Elsa’s Mortality (Or Immortality)
While the origins of Elsa’s powers remain a mystery when the credits roll in Frozen, the sequel sought to clear a few things up. Elsa is revealed to be the Fifth Spirit of the Enchanted Forest, born to bridge the magic of nature and people.
But what does this mean for Elsa personally? While the other spirits are elemental beings that have seemingly existed forever, it’s unclear whether their eternal existence will apply to Elsa too. There’s a chance she needs her humanity to act as the bridge between nature and humans – but considering her dying would then break this bridge, it’s still very unclear.
9 Her Relationship With Anna
Anna and Elsa are very different. After years of isolation and fear, Elsa is quiet and introverted – unlike her sister Anna, who is bubbly and optimistic. However, they manage to overcome the wedge driven between them by Elsa’s powers and end Frozen closer than ever.
Except it doesn’t make sense why this wedge had to come between them in the first place. There’s no reason why Anna had to live without the knowledge of her sister’s powers – especially once she’d grown up – and surely it would’ve helped Elsa to have another confidante. It makes sense that she’d potentially be too afraid to confide in her, but it’s strange her parents wouldn’t want her to share her burden.
8 Elsa’s Colds
In the short Frozen Fever, Elsa vows to give Anna her best birthday ever. There’s just one small snag – Elsa has a cold and keeps producing tiny snow babies (known as “Snowgies”) that cause chaos in her wake.
Elsa insists she doesn’t get colds, but surely this can’t be true. Elsa spent much of her youth shut in her bedroom, but if this short is anything to go by they’re troublesome creatures that no four walls can contain. No one ever mentioned what happened to the Snowgies either.
7 Elsa’s Coronation
When Elsa’s parents die in a shipwreck, she is automatically made heir to the throne of Arendelle. Three years later, at the age of 21, she finally has her coronation and is made queen.
It’s safe to assume a regent ruled in Elsa’s place until she was old enough. However, in Frozen 2 King Agnar is named king as soon as his father dies – despite being even younger than Elsa. Why Elsa had to wait so long to step up is a mystery.
6 The Voices Calling To Elsa
The plot of Frozen 2 revolves around Elsa hearing a mysterious voice. Following them to the Enchanted Forest and Ahtohallan, she discovers it belongs to the memory of her mother, Iduna.
But why is it only now calling to Elsa? She was born as the Fifth Spirit – it isn’t a recent development as of the events of Frozen 2. If her destiny is to bridge the gap between humanity and nature, it’s strange it takes 24 years to finally summon her.
5 Elsa’s Gloves
Elsa’s gloves are hugely symbolic. When she finally flees Arendelle, she lets them fly away into the wind – no longer needing to hide her real self, and no longer needing to restrain her powers.
How exactly they restrain her powers is a mystery. At her coronation, removing her gloves leaves her at risk of freezing everything she touches. Yet she proves on multiple occasions that she can freeze things through the material, such as when she runs up the newly-formed steps of her ice palace. There’s a chance Elsa’s gloves are just a placebo, but who knows for sure?
4 Freezing In Ahtohallan
Elsa is pre-warned of what awaits her at Ahtohallan. She knows she needs to go to discover the truth about the past, but also knows from her mother’s lullaby those who “dive down deep into her sound” will be “drowned”.
This soon comes to pass, with Elsa freezing after uncovering the truth of what happened between her grandfather and the Northuldra. Yes, Ahtohallan is willing to freeze those who learn too much. But why? And why would it bother freezing Elsa after specifically calling her there in the first place?
3 Elsa’s Isolation Plan
Fans everywhere will agree that Elsa’s isolation in Frozen is a gift. Not only does it provide one of Disney’s most stylish moments, but it also gave the world “Let It Go”.
From Elsa’s perspective, however, it isn’t the wisest move. How long is she expecting to survive up in the icy mountains without food? And does she plan on furnishing an entire ice palace out of more ice? Too many questions, not enough answers.
2 Not Trying To Control Her Powers
Elsa is rightfully terrified of her powers as a child. Not only do they nearly cause Elsa to kill her younger sister, but her father encourages her to conceal them as much as possible.
This makes sense when Elsa’s young. But as she gets older – and time proves that no amount of concealment can make her powers vanish for good – why does nobody think to try a different approach? Alone in her room, Elsa could have practiced using her powers to get a stronger grip on them for good.
1 Elsa’s Powers
While Frozen leaves viewers in the dark about the origins of Elsa’s powers, Frozen 2 tries to fill in the gaps. It’s revealed that Elsa was gifted her powers because the spirits wanted to honor Iduna saving the life of King Agnarr.
This clears up why she has powers, but not why they revolve around ice and snow. All of the other spirits exercise powers specific to an element, such as air or fire. Ice, however, would come underwater – so why is Elsa able to control it? There’s the possibility Elsa’s powers span far further than she knows – indeed, she proves she can even bring life to inanimate objects – but for now, it just seems like a random choice for someone representing the bridge between nature and humanity.
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