Today saw the final two episodes drop of the FROZEN: FORCES OF NATURE podcast. It has been a fun six weeks listening and I honestly was a little sad at the end of the story. I’ve missed having Elsa, Anna, Kristof, and Olaf in my life. And having 45 minutes a week with them was actually really nice – even if some weeks were better than others. I thought the podcast ended on a strong note, so let’s not waste any time and get into it. As you may remember in the last episode, Disa’s copper automaton robots self-activated on her ship, the Capella, and then started a fire which began to sink the ship. After she was rescued, along with Kristof who was also in the ship, Matthias soldiers noticed that the automatons had escaped the ship’s hold and were in the process of climbing out of the water to seemingly rampage up the Fjord. If you need any of my previous recaps, here are the links:
Episode 11 – The Consequences and The Solution
This was the shortest episode of the podcast but was heightened by one of General Matthias’ soldiers taking over frame story duties and narrating the action that occurred once the automatons had escaped Disa’s ship and began rampaging up the fjord toward Arendelle castle. Disa, now safely on the shore, meets up with Anna and Elsa. Both are shocked to see more automatons. But they really don’t have time to discuss as the automatons begin to slowly encircle Elsa. Disa explains that the automatons were programmed to seek the most powerful and cleanest form of energy – in this case, Elsa’s ice powers. As the automatons encircle Elsa, Disa makes a run for one of them to try and disable it. The episode ends. This was a solid episode, again highlighted by a new voice for the frame story, but it seemed like its real purpose was to set up the final episode.
Episode 12 – The Saga Ends, The Saga Begins
In the final episode, Elsa is able to stop the automaton before it attacks Disa and Disa is able to disable it. Elsa stops all of the other automatons using her ice powers and eventually all is thwarted and forgiven. It might sound like I am skipping over a lot but even the soldiers listening to General Matthias’ Frame Story are puzzled as to how things wrapped up so quickly and how Anna forgave Disa after the last automaton attack. Matthias explains that it was because Disa was so honest and forthright that Anna was able to do so.
And also now General Matthias and his troops have been digging ditches in and around Sankershus to help and drain the city of the excess flooding. They have also used the extra dirt to displace the water and raise the city’s level (which seems slightly confusing). A new safer version of the automatons will aid in draining the water out of the city. Elsa, Anna, Queen Disa, Lord Wolfgang, and Matthias and all of his troops are there to see this city finally get drained of the water that has engulfed it for so long as the podcast comes to an end.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed the podcast. I loved seeing Elsa and Anna together again and thrown into the midst of a mystery. I also really enjoyed the idea of Elsa battling charging steampunk automatons in the last two episodes. I love when Elsa can really take action and use her powers – almost like a superhero. I hope we see some of that in FROZEN 3. I loved the magpies Astrid and Magnus and hope we get to see them one day in animated form. Wolfgang and Disa were interesting characters that were well drawn for plot purposes but also seemed a bit lacking sometimes. I, like General Matthias soldiers, was left with some lingering questions. In the end, other than supplying copper and a superflous opera, Lord Wolfgang and his magpies felt like they were a bit of a waste and just sort of disappered for the final four episodes. And although it was not a malicious act, it seemed like a massive leap for Anna to forgive Disa a SECOND time after her automatons malfunctioned. I’m not saying it could not have been done, but we needed more of an explanation. I also want to know more about why Disa had created these automatons and why she was so interested in Arendelle’s natural resources. Again, I don’t think she was acting maliciously, but I would just like to know how the automatons helped the situation of Sankershus (beyond the seeming coincidental use of rerouting flooding) and how knowing more about Arendelle might help Sankershus. It seemed at times like the podcast was trying to make a greater environmental statement with these automatons and their effect on the spirits of the Enchanted Forest – but in the end they were benign so, in my opinion, a bit more explanation might have been helpful.
I noticed at the end of the podcast, this was labeled “Season 1”. I really hope that means we get more FROZEN adventures in podcast form down the line. I imagine FROZEN 3 is still 3-5 years away, so having any narrative is really a gift, and all-in-all FORCES OF NATURE was a fun adventure and a great start.
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought of FROZEN: FORCES OF NATURE and/or my recaps!
No Scoops Club 