Frozen - Hans

[igenlode]

Apparently my sympathy for the devil instincts are still alive and kicking, since my immediate reaction to finally watching "Frozen" was "Prince Hans simply doesn't make sense" :-p

I could swallow Hans as a weak opportunist who suddenly realises that this is his big chance (the heir to the throne is dying after their hasty engagement and the Queen has exiled herself, leaving him as effective regent). But that's not what we're told. We're asked to believe that he has somehow been scheming for this all along and that everything he has done has been with this specific aim in view, which is inconsistent with what we see in the rest of the film.

After all, it's Anna who runs into him -- he doesn't set out to court her. He doesn't even know who she is, and yet he's clearly attracted to her from the start. (Again, this might make sense as opportunism -- he's susceptible to a pretty face, and then delighted to find out that the girl on whom he has made such a good impression is actually a highly-desirable marriage partner -- but as an evil scheme it's hopeless.)

And if, as he later claims, he wanted Elsa dead from the start (since he hasn't a hope of marrying her), then he has no need to insist during their expedition on the North Mountain that she should not be harmed, never mind taking active steps to save her life... let alone trying to save her from damning herself by using her powers for murder, which is an act of no benefit to anyone save Elsa herself. He doesn't need to impress Anna at this point (who in all probability is already dead in any case): all he has to do is allow events to take their natural course and let the sorceress queen get lynched by her outraged subjects.

Indeed, he doesn't need to send out an expedition to rescue Anna at all, since he is already Regent and can only benefit from her death -- nor go on it himself ("I have to look after the people!"), thus compounding the irresponsible error that first Elsa and then Anna have made in running out on their kingdom. If he is a cynical schemer, he has the perfect excuse to send out his minions to ensure that neither of the heirs to Arendelle come back -- he doesn't need to endanger his own life to save Anna, let alone Elsa. None of these actions make any sense if reinterpreted in retrospect: if Hans's apparent motives are not genuine, then the script is cheating.

And as a villain, he's a very bad one-- as in, very bad at it.

He doesn't even need to refuse to kiss Anna: if he knows that he is not her true love then he can simply kiss her in full view of the Court and act devastated when the 'superstition' mysteriously fails to work and she dies anyway. He could sit by her side and watch her die in absolute safety, thus winning sympathy (and making sure that she really does die -- he can even give matters a little extra push if necessary).

The whole 'revealing his evil plans' scene makes no sense at all, and frankly feels like a retcon inserted for some reason -- I'm reminded, inevitably, of Erik-fans' attempts to 'monster' Raoul's actions in order to make their desired hero look better in comparison, where said actions are very obviously being gratuitously and implausibly twisted in support of a plot interpretation that isn't upheld by the facts. If Hans is a villain, why does he act clean against his own supposed interests for three-quarters of the film? This isn't a clever twist -- it's total lack of plot development.

Again, I'm reminded of Andrew Lloyd Webber suddenly having Raoul start acting like a stereotypical badfic villain and Christine suddenly declare a passionate attachment to the Phantom in "Love Never Dies" with no reason given: Hans could have been given foreshadowing as an out-and-out villain, he could have been given credible motives as a conflicted opportunist, or he could even have been a tragically misguided hero who doesn't realise that the reason why his kiss fails to save Anna is that she has fallen in love with someone else, and rushes out to avenge her by killing Elsa. Just giving him a radical character change in the final scenes and announcing that all his charming and indeed admirable behaviour has been a rather incompetent lie doesn't cut the mustard where writing a plausible villain is concerned.

Indeed, it leaves the viewer with the impression that the script had written itself into a hole and didn't know how to get itself out again.

I can see why little girls adore the film, with its theme of loyalty between sisters and message that 'true love' doesn't have to involve romance (though I for one was frankly anticipating this revelation to come at the point where Olaf sacrifices himself by lighting a roaring fire for Anna and telling her that she is worth melting for: I assumed that was going to be the big twist! Why doesn't a snowman's devotion count?) But the message I'm getting is that the writers simply didn't care enough to make Prince Hans a credible human being... which is bad enough in a minor character, but disastrous in one whose flaws are made to be pivotal to the climax of the film :-(

Also, it instantly enlists me on Hans' side :-p

Comments

[igenlode]

A sociopath? That really is a cop-out -- they might as well have announced that he was being mentally controlled by aliens from the Planet Zog!

One thing about writing fan-fiction is that -- as stage adaptations of novels famously do -- it shows up any inconsistencies in the source material :-( And not merely chronological ones of the Leroux variety...

I think my basic problem with Hans-as-schemer is that I can only interpret his behaviour, as presented, in the light of an attempt by the writers to deceive the audience rather than the other characters. (He never once breaks character. Ever. Not even when he's alone -- not even when it would be to his public advantage.)

And it's such a waste of what could, given a few shades of grey, have been an extremely interesting character. I can believe in a Hans who admits "I badly wanted a throne of my own, so when you seemed to really like me I thought I'd risk jumping in and asking you to marry me in a hurry before you could get second thoughts": it's the idea that he was supposedly carrying out a Plan of Insane Evil all along rather than just muddling through that doesn't add up for me.

I can believe in a Hans who asks Anna to marry him for the 'wrong' motives, then sees his initial ambition to gain a place at the court of Arendelle -- still a massive step up for a landless youngest son with no prospects at home -- suddenly transmuted into a chance at real power when the sentiment turns against the Queen and Anna, unprompted, offers him the chance to take over the reins. I can believe in a Hans who discovers that, after all those years of being squashed out of the limelight by older and more experienced siblings, he actually has a talent for leadership -- who tells everyone and even himself that he is doing all this for Anna, and shows Elsa mercy when there is obviously no prospect of her regaining the throne (or any sign that she wants to do so). And who ends up as de facto heir with everyone looking to him for orders, mentally preparing to Lead the Country for them As Anna Would Have Wanted in the anticipation that a few sad bones will turn up at some point (after all, she was a nice enough girl even if she was most importantly a princess)... and, being human, is genuinely happy to see her alive for the first few minutes.

Before the implications sink in of a situation that has potentially dropped everything he'd ever dreamed of into his lap without his asking for it, and the temptation to do nothing and simply let things ride becomes too great, as he confesses to a frantic Anna. It's not that he planned for things to turn out this way -- just that the opportunity is too much for a weak man to resist. It would make for a fascinatingly conflicted character (though again I think you'd need a bit of foreshadowing earlier on to hint that his motives aren't quite as selfless as they seem), and certainly a gift for fanfic writers :-p

Or if you wanted to make him a "proper" bad 'un who was evil through and through from the start, you could so easily put in little bits of behaviour that were initially unexplained in context: a scornful look behind Anna's back, attentions to other women at the party, over-the-top anger at Elsa's refusal of the engagement, some random callous behaviour to unimportant townsfolk, a laughed-off hint by a family retainer that 'things weren't right' in his childhood, an inclination to temporize (characterised as natural hesitation) before being pushed into heroism, an attempt to recruit men loyal to him and not to the throne, a suggestion that he may be misusing his power as Regent for personal gain -- as I've suggested, a lot more hostility to Elsa behind Anna's back, or even simply passivity in the face of threats to Anna's sister -- it really, really wouldn't be that difficult to make the audience think 'oh, that was clever' at your big reveal instead of 'that was cheating' :-(

[butterflydreaming]

an attempt by the writers to deceive the audience rather than the other characters

I felt this was exactly what they did.

Frozen gets praised for subverting Disney Princess Movie tropes, but it is still a Disney (Princess) movie, so when they have opportunities to do some great stuff with the story, they just don't. I would have liked to see the "true love's kiss" that didn't work -- but then, the princess must only be kissed by the true prince! We can't have a sullied princess!

I'm not satisfied with "Hans is a sociopath." I do accept Hans as a sadist, however. The evil monologue is entirely to make Anna suffer. I like to think that he was about to go through with the kiss, but being fairly certain it would not work, he stopped at the last moment instead of laughing. No, I think he may have even been a little afraid that a kiss might work. What does he know of magic, after all? I also think that he could have accepted marrying Anna in order to get a place in Arendelle, but when Elsa's magic was revealed, he felt -- but didn't show -- the same revulsion to sorcery as did Wessleton. Being a bigot and a sadist would be villainy enough for me.

[igenlode]

Evil Overlord monologues (which are invariably a bad idea, by any objective standard: "before I leave you to die unsupervised I shall first tell you my plans") are nakedly obvious plot devices to convey information to the audience :-p

In this case I think something of the sort is probably essential, since I can't see any other way to reveal 'what I was really thinking when I did X'; however, ascribing it to sadism is problematic in my point of view, since we've seen zero indication that Hans takes pleasure in other people's discomfort or embarrassment, let alone their despair. Indeed, the contrary has been suggested: his unprompted behaviour towards the townsfolk and then his attempt to 'talk Elsa down' -- which can be ascribed to ulterior motives, but which don't serve as coded suggestions that he might be a secret sadist. He isn't enjoying the pinned soldier's terror; he isn't gloating over Elsa's tortured descent into evil. Obviously he couldn't afford to do either in a public situation, but it's the same old problem of total lack of interest in foreshadowing :-(

I definitely like the idea that Hans was afraid that a kiss might work after all; enough completely outlandish things have happened to him in one day to throw anyone's rational certainties out, after all. And Elsa's magic isn't exactly welcoming in form (there's a reason why the original Snow Queen is an antagonist: in the North, cold kills): jagged ice spears cast across the throne room in a fit of rage followed by a curse of eternal winter upon the kingdom are scarcely likely to win many hearts...

(I wonder if Anna retains a subconscious memory of her sister's magic as a beautiful plaything which makes her much more positive about it?)