lovewillthaw-j: hafanforever: Sinister of MagicSo almost two years since the release of Frozen II, I
lovewillthaw-j: hafanforever: Sinister of MagicSo almost two years since the release of Frozen II, I think this scene, the scene that reveals Runeard’s true colors regarding his feelings towards the Northuldra and magic, has become famous. It’s less than 20 seconds long and he says only approximately 30 words in it, but judging from the things he says, how he says them, and the faces he makes while speaking his words are enough to reveal just how much of a wrathful, egotistical, arrogant, hypocritical, bigoted, hostile, xenophobic, paranoid, supreme, power-hungry man Runeard was.But even so, almost two years later, fans are undoubtedly curious as to why Runeard hates and fears magic so much. Sure, he explains his belief that magic corrupts people into thinking they are so powerful and entitled that they are better than a king (which is hypocritical since he is clearly displaying his own love of power, sense of entitlement, and supreme belief that he is better than everyone else by being a monarch), but there is no deeper explanation on just why he thinks this. I have explained in several analyses why I believe he has these feelings, and now I want to explain all of my beliefs and thoughts about it in one piece, so here I go. As mentioned in Seek the Truth: Unraveling Frozen II, a big project about the movie that was written by @yumeka36, it is not uncommon to fear people and things that are different, with “different” in this case meaning unusual, strange, or foreign (which is what the term xenophobia means). Such fear can eventually blossom into hatred, and this is especially so for a person like Runeard, someone who is in a high position in society with a lot of power. Furthermore, by being in such a high social, political rank, people like Runeard will sometimes get the idea that they are better and smarter than others, they discriminate everyone who is below them in status as being beneath them in all other ways, and they want to have total control over everything. From the one scene in which his true nature is revealed, it’s not difficult to comprehend that Runeard enjoyed the power, authority, and control that came with his kingship, so much so that he abused it, albeit in secret. It convinced him that he was the best person of all, that he was always right and could never do any wrong, so he was extremely intolerant of disobedience, defiance, challenges to his authority and his judgment being questioned. This is all proven by the furious face he makes after his aide tries to reason with him that the Northuldra are not untrustworthy in nature following Runeard ordering him to round up all of Arendelle’s soldiers to bring to the forest. Runeard also hated the idea of anything or anyone being better than him, and particularly anyone who thought they were better than him. As a result, he could not tolerate competitive rivals, challenges, or threats of any kind to his power, and he was obsessively determined not to lose it to anything.I have always thought that the main reason why Runeard loathed magic is because it is not a normal force in the world; in other words, it is an abnormal, unpredictable, unnatural, otherworldly entity (the latter terms were also said by @yumeka36), making it difficult for him to control or understand it. As a king, Runeard had a deep-rooted need and desire to control everything and everyone in his path, to always be on top of things and other people, to always be obeyed, and he felt satisfied when he had complete control of things that were normal and natural. But much like how he resented his judgment being questioned and authority being challenged, he also resented anything he couldn’t control or understand, and magic is one thing that was far beyond his comprehension and control. So without question, Runeard’s complete inability to control magic is definitely one of the key reasons why he detested it.And as revealed in Dangerous Secrets, the disappearance of Runeard’s wife Rita was a contributing factor in his abhorrence of magic. After many years of feeling depressed and homesick, combined with Runeard’s inability to be loving, understanding, and sympathetic of her situation, Rita fled after Pabbie erased her memories of her family and life in Arendelle. Like I said in “There Goes the Bride”, I believe Runeard wanted to have total control and authority over Rita since he saw her as his inferior by being his wife, but also as a queen and a woman. But once she left him, he no longer had any control over her, which infuriated him because he had ultimately failed to control her with all the power he could muster and was unable to do anything about it afterwards. As a result, Runeard refused to accept that he had been an awful husband and was the only person to blame for Rita’s departure. He officially said that she disappeared due to evil spirits, making it one of many instances in which he refused to take responsibility for his misdeeds and faults, and instead took the easy approach by blaming them on an uncontrollable force like magic. Moving on, because of the abnormality and unpredictability of magic, it would be the only form of power considered to match or be greater than that of any monarch, the only type of power that could stand in Runeard’s way as a ruler. So since the powers of magic could present themselves as a competition, threat, and challenge to his kingship, it is another reason why he abhorred it, and this ties into his bigotry and wrath towards the Northuldra. The Northuldra are peasants, people of the lowest rank in society, which puts them below him in society by default, and he already believed he was better than them and saw them as uncivilized people. But even more so, Runeard just couldn’t stand the fact that these peasants follow magic, the very thing he saw as being in the way of his kinghood. He also couldn’t stand the thought that the Northuldra might think their magical ties made them think they are far more powerful and greater than him. So Runeard saw them as being an obstacle to his kingship in two separate ways that combined together, and because of this, he felt the need to obliterate them. As I said in “King Runeard, the Lying Hater”, Runeard’s xenophobia and paranoia of magic was so extreme that he probably believed that the Northuldra might try to usurp him and take control of Arendelle using the magical spirits. They wouldn’t have, of course, but Runeard wasn’t going to take the chance of any such thing happening, or anything else that could lead to him losing his power, and he had to come up with a plan to get rid of them.But then why did he want to use the dam to do so?Because Runeard had built up a facade of a benevolent, generous leader to his kingdom and the Northuldra, and he had to keep his real malevolent nature under wraps. If he tried to take down the Northuldra using direct, unprovoked force, his entire cover would be blown instantly and he would lose everything he had gained from his artificial image. But it’s also because Runeard feared what the spirits could do to him if he acted by force. So he decided to take a more subtle approach by building the dam in the Enchanted Forest and using it to weaken the lands and, by extension, the magic. As we see in the film, the dam caused a massive blockage of water, which completely disrupted the flow of the once free-flowing river, so it can be assumed that this was one way the dam was harmful to the environment. Like other real-life effects of a dam, it also may have disturbed the sediment composition of the water, which practically eroded the river, and harmed or killed the plant life that grew on the fjord beneath the dam. Runeard knew all of this since, as a king, he was a very educated man and had more privileges regarding such knowledge than other people. It could even be assumed that his soldiers and the Arendellian citizens did not have the same amount of knowledge he did (at least not regarding what harmful effects dams do in a natural setting), which might explain why no one ever questioned him (on screen, at least) if the dam would actually help the forest. However, out of arrogance in thinking he was better and a lot smarter than the Northuldra, Runeard assumed that they wouldn’t have this knowledge, either, or that it would take them a very long time to figure it out. So he thought he could get away with his true intentions by presenting the dam as a gift of peace, which would also easily fool his people into thinking he was doing an utmost good deed and keep them on his side if the Northuldra suspected otherwise.I previously explained in “Panic Attack” what I think Runeard’s long-term plan was to eliminate the Northuldra, so I don’t want to explain all the details. I will say, though, that, since his actions were subtle, I am wholly convinced that he never intended to wipe out the tribe and start a war with them on the very day of the gathering in the forest. However, his plans instantly changed and began to crumble once the Northuldra leader told Runeard that the dam was harming the forest rather than helping it as promised. In a panic, and knowing his whole ruse could be exposed, he knew he had to act fast and get rid of the leader to keep anyone else from discovering the truth. But immediately after carrying out his murderous deed, Runeard panicked again since he knew that the tribe would eventually discover their leader’s absence and be searching for him. So not really knowing what else to do, given the circumstances, he started a full-fledged war between them and the Arendellians to turn any suspicion away from his crime…but his desperation to hide everything clouded his thoughts and caused him to make such a poor, impulsive move which ultimately drove him to his death.Up until his death, Runeard’s xenophobia towards magic made him want to destroy anyone with magical powers or who had ties to magic that came his way. Little did he realize, though, that his own actions to try and eliminate the Northuldra would lead to the births of Anna and Elsa (who was born with magic, the very thing he abhorred most in the world), who would one day rectify his sins. The subsequent revelation of Runeard’s murderous, treacherous acts would forever ruin his legacy, causing his own worst fear to become reality, and rather than the Northuldra be obliterated like he had aimed to do, they would come together with the Arendellians to form a true union of peace, thanks to Elsa and Anna. Nice villain analysis, as usual! -- source link