The Snow Queen: Story Time, Episode 160 recap

A malicious mirror that makes everything good appear worthless shatters across the world. Splinters enter the eye and heart of a boy named Kay, turning him cruel and cold. The Snow Queen carries him from his home and his friend Gerda to her palace in the far north. Gerda sets out after him and passes through an enchanted garden, a royal palace, a robbers' camp, Lapland, and Finland. A crow, a robber girl, and a reindeer help her continue, while a wise Finn woman explains that Gerda needs no power beyond the loving resolve she already possesses. In the Snow Queen's palace, Kay cannot complete the icy puzzle that would release him. Gerda's tears melt the fragment in his heart, his own tears clear his eye, and he remembers her. The ice forms the required word, and they travel home together, older in body but restored in affection as summer returns around their roses.

A malicious being creates a mirror that shrinks whatever is good or beautiful and enlarges every fault. When the mirror breaks, its dust and splinters scatter around the world; fragments can enter people's eyes, distorting what they see, or freeze their hearts. In a crowded town, neighboring children Kay and Gerda share roses and love each other like brother and sister. A shard strikes Kay's eye and another reaches his heart. He becomes mocking and destructive, rejecting Gerda and finding pleasure in ugliness. During winter play he ties his sled to a magnificent sleigh driven by the Snow Queen. She carries him beyond the town, kisses away his sense of cold, and makes him forget home. The people left behind believe he may be dead, but Gerda continues to love him and, when spring comes, decides to search for him.

Gerda offers her red shoes to the river and drifts away in a boat while seeking news of Kay. She reaches the home of an old woman who knows magic. The woman wants to keep her, removes the roses from her garden, and enchants Gerda into forgetting her search. The sight of a rose eventually restores Gerda's memory, and the flowers tell her that Kay is not among the dead. She escapes, discovering that much of the year has passed. A crow then reports that a clever boy has entered a princess's palace and may be Kay. With help from the crow and his tame mate, Gerda reaches the royal bedroom, but the new prince is someone else. The sympathetic prince and princess equip her warmly and send her onward in a splendid carriage, allowing the search to continue despite another false lead.

Robbers attack Gerda's carriage. Their chief's fierce daughter spares Gerda and keeps her as a companion among captive animals. Wood pigeons report that Kay traveled north with the Snow Queen, and a reindeer confirms that her home lies in Lapland. Moved by Gerda's loyalty, the robber girl releases her and sends her north on the reindeer's back. A Lapp woman gives them directions, and a Finn woman explains that Kay is held by the mirror fragments and the Snow Queen's influence. The reindeer asks for some extraordinary power to be given to Gerda, but the Finn woman says the girl's loving innocence is already stronger than any aid she could supply. Gerda reaches the frozen region without boots or gloves. Her prayer becomes a host of protective angels, enabling her to pass the living snow guards and approach the palace where Kay remains captive.

While the Snow Queen is away, Gerda finds Kay in the vast frozen palace. He sits numb and nearly blue with cold, arranging sharp pieces of ice in an attempt to spell the word that will earn his freedom. He does not recognize Gerda until her tears fall on him and melt the mirror fragment lodged in his heart. Kay begins to weep; the splinter leaves his eye, his true sight returns, and he embraces her. The ice pieces then dance into the required word, releasing him from his task. Gerda and Kay leave together and journey south, meeting helpers from Gerda's search and learning what has changed during their absence. They finally climb the stairs to their old neighboring rooms. Though they have grown, their affection and capacity for wonder have survived. They sit beside the blooming roses with their grandmother as summer replaces the Snow Queen's winter.

Gerda enters the Snow Queen's deserted palace and finds Kay nearly motionless over pieces of ice, still trying to form the word that is supposed to win his freedom. Her warm tears reach him and dislodge the mirror splinter in his heart; when he recognizes her and weeps, the fragment in his eye is washed away as well. The pieces of ice arrange themselves into the required word, so Kay is free to leave even before the Snow Queen returns. The children travel south with help from the friends Gerda made on her outward journey. By the time they reach their neighboring homes, they have grown older, yet their recovered love has preserved the openness they had as children. They sit again near the roses and their grandmother, understanding the familiar hymn in a deeper way. Summer has returned, ending the Snow Queen's hold over Kay and completing Gerda's long movement from home into the frozen north and back.