Need the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ending explained? Let us help, but be warned: there are spoilers ahead!
The Ghostbusters' latest outing sees the Spengler family settling into the roles as the new generation of ghost hunters back where it all started: New York City. Three years on from their altercation with Gozer back in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the Spenglers (and Gary Grooberson) have moved into the old firehouse and begun protecting the Big Apple from ghosts and ghouls.
In this particular outing, they cross paths with Garraka, a malevolent spirit with the power to freeze things to death through fear alone. After being freed from its prison, Garraka plans to release every single one of the ghosts from the firehouse's containment unit and them to work as an undead army. Naturally, our heroes (old and new) can't let that happen, and the new ghost hunters team up with the veterans to send Garraka packing. Here's the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ending explained, if you need a rundown of how things played out.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ending explained: defeating Garraka
Garraka has existed for hundreds of years but was kept at bay by "Firemasters" (think proto-Ghostbusters, essentially) who were capable of pyrokinesis, the ability to control fire. Their descendants used their powers to seal it away inside a brass orb, where Garraka stayed put (apart from an escape in 1900s Manhattan, but we don't need to spoil that part here).
Slacker Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) inherited the Orb of Garraka from his grandmother, who has recently passed away. And with little cash to his name, he takes it (and a box full of other stuff) over to Ray Stantz's occult store. Detecting powerful spiritual energy, Ray buys the orb, and it is brought to Winston Zeddemore's new Paranormal Research Unit to be tested by Lars (James Acaster) and the gang there.
They continue to investigate the orb's history and importance, but we'll skip over that and jump to how Garraka escapes the orb. To explain that, we need to know about Phoebe and her new spiritual acquaintance, Melody (Emily Alyn Lind). Phoebe befriended her after being forbidden from taking part in further missions as she was too young.
They hang out a couple of times across the film, but it turns out that Melody is working with Garraka as she wants to cross over and reunite with her family. At the research facility, Phoebe uses some of their advanced tech to temporarily extract her spirit from her body so they can briefly exist on the same plane as her new friend. When she does so, Garraka takes over Phoebe's ghost form and causes her to speak the incantation that can open the orb.
A devastating deep freeze descends over New York City, and Garraka seeks out Nadeem's apartment, where it retrieves its horns (which were stripped from its form by Firemasters) to restore its powers. Then, it sets its sights on the firehouse, intending to unleash their captured spirits. Both generations of Ghostbusters gather at the firehouse and prepare to make a stand.
The one problem they have is that their usual proton packs don't seem to have any effect on Garraka: Lucky tried to subdue the deity at the research facility, but it froze her laser before fleeing in pursuit of its horns. As a group, they try (and fail) to catch him, even with Phoebe's brilliant idea to soup up her proton pack with brass that she had melted down from a section of the firehouse pole. Garraka freezes the group and rips the containment unit open, leaving things looking pretty bleak. Luckily, they have an ace up their sleeve.
During their research (and a paranormal test with Peter Venkman), the group ascertains that Nadeem has also inherited the Firemaster powers. He had been practicing his new skill with a lighter and slid down one of the poles, wearing the brass armor of the Firemasters to confront Garraka. Unfortunately, Nadeem wasn't able to spark up a flame; he'd run out of lighter fluid, and got frozen, too.
Thankfully, Melody's on hand. She's been carrying around a matchbook that's a reminder of how she and her family passed away. Having been manipulated by Garraka, she strikes up the match, giving Nadeem the power he needs.
Through a combination of Phoebe's brass-enhanced proton pack and Nadeem's pyrokinesis, the group finally manages to beat the ghost back. Meanwhile, the OG team has a bright idea to throw open the now-empty containment unit downstairs. A rift opens up inside the firehouse, and Garraka is sealed within. Having processed her emotions, Melody gets to move on to the other side and says goodbye to Phoebe.
Afterward, New York City thaws out, and Mayor Walter Peck is (begrudgingly) forced to thank the Ghostbusters for their service on TV, and the gang celebrates their big win. Not for long though, as they speed off to capture some of the escaped ghosts.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is in theaters now.
