“Central Beating Heart Of The Story”: Phoebe’s Franchise-Changing Friend In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Explained

The following article contains spoilers for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Summary

• In
  Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
  , Phoebe’s friendship with Melody becomes a central part of the story, leading to dramatic consequences.
• Phoebe’s connection with Melody results in her inadvertently releasing Garraka, causing chaos in New York and putting the city in danger.
• Phoebe’s growth as a character in
  Frozen Empire
  showcases her importance as a central hero in the
  Ghostbusters
  franchise.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan explains Phoebe Spangler’s (Mckenna Grace) friendship with Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) in the movie. As Phoebe is prevented from participating in Ghostbusting activities after Mayor Walter Peck (William Atherton) threatens to shut down their operations, she befriends a ghost named Melody, who longs to move on to the afterlife but is stuck in purgatory. The two frequently play chess together, with Phoebe going so far as to become a Ghost to have a closer connection to her. This causes her to become possessed by the spirit of Garraka, who longs to be freed and put New York under three feet of ice.

Speaking exclusively to ScreenRant in a spoiler-filled interview about the movie, Kenan explained Phoebe’s connection with Melody, a new character in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Stating that they hadn’t had a ghost with a new story to tell in a long time, Kenan also discussed that the relationship between the two becomes the story’s central beating heart. Check out what he said on the matter below as well as the full interview:

Well, look, we’ve never had a character in these stories that is a ghost with a new story to tell. The ghosts have always been the thing that you point your wand at. And with Melody, we have, for the first time, a character that has a voice and a story to tell. And for Phoebe, who is searching for her place in her family, is searching for her role as a Ghostbuster, because that is on rocky ground, there is this really poignant irony that the one person who she seemingly connects with happens to be the person that she, by lineage, by instinct, by ability, should be pointing her proton wand at. And that creates a real fertile ground for drama and character and part of what makes the central beating heart of this story.

How Phoebe Spengler Is the Central Character of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Phoebe becomes a critical part of saving the city from Garraka.

Considering
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
saw Phoebe discovering her grandfather’s connection with the otherworldly and becoming fascinated by becoming a Ghostbuster, the fifth installment continues her story by making Phoebe the movie’s central hero.

While Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire deals with many storylines, the film’s central focus is always maintained on Phoebe Spengler, who has a hard time grappling with the fact that she can’t join Callie (Carrie Coon), Gary (Paul Rudd), and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) catching ghosts anymore due to her age. Because of this, Phoebe meets Melody, and once she is confronted with the idea of potentially catching her, she lets her go, thinking it’s a friend. However, one decision will cause the city to be in major trouble, as her trust in Melody frees Garraka from his orb, which unleashes icy hell in New York.

At that moment, Phoebe learns from her mistakes and ensures the safety of the Ghostbusters and the city as she builds a new Proton Pack to defeat Garraka. Considering Ghostbusters: Afterlife saw Phoebe discovering her grandfather’s connection with the otherworldly and becoming fascinated by becoming a Ghostbuster, the fifth installment continues her story by making Phoebe the movie’s central hero. By the end of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, she teaches her family to trust her more, as she further believes in herself when the fate of New York rests on her shoulders.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
is set two years after the events of
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
and brings back the main story to New York City, with the last film set in Summerville.

Phoebe and Meldoy’s friendship is the movie’s central dramatic arc, and the new Ghostbusters film continues to follow Phoebe as its main character. While the mixture of old and new characters could make the story feel overstuffed, the filmmakers always go back to Phoebe to remind audiences that she will be leading the next generation of Ghostbusters, as the characters from the original films act as mentor figures. Phoebe’s story in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire shows how critical she is in the franchise and how this could build up to the next sequel.