I did some studying on the story behind this card.
Kay, the boy on the card, is unable to see the danger the Snow Queen poses because he has a splinter from a magical mirror in his eye and heart. The story behind the mirror goes like this: Satan (or some evil devil) built a huge mirror that instead of reflecting reality, made everything appear to be horrible and ugly. The demons had great fun with this mirror, until one day they got a little over ambitious and decided they would show it to God. As they lifted it up, they dropped it and shards of it shattered everywhere, including the two that are in Kay's heart and eye.
Because of this, Kay is unable to see the good in anything: he curses his family, mocks his friends, and destroys the beautiful garden he built with his best friend. The only thing he sees that is beautiful to him are snowflakes, and so he latches his sled to the Snow Queen's and she takes him away. Kay is afraid, but she kisses him twice: once to make him numb to the cold and second to make him forget all that he holds dear.
Kay's BFF eventually comes and saves him, but at this moment in the card, we do not know that. We see a little boy, who already is at a disadvantage (the mirror shards in his heart & eyes) who makes one fatal mistake. It's a mistake he probably would not have made in his right mind, I imagine. There might be something here about unavoidable weakness. We can yell "Stop!" at Kay, but there's no way he's ever going to stop. In his mind, he is chasing the one good thing. He is blinded, but it's through no fault of his own. So here in the 5 of Wands I see a mixture of environmental and personal choices that lead you to a very vulnerable place: one where you can be easily preyed upon and convinced to set aside your loyalties. The whole world is against you and the Snow Queen leans in, ready to give you her icy kiss.