Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Episode 14

When you look at the series so far, despite her struggles connecting to the people around her, Frieren has been a pretty good mentor to both Fern and Stark. She knows their abilities better than they do and, while she asks that they push their limits, she never forces them into situations they can't handle. However, this doesn't change the fact that she's pretty awkward socially—and so are Fern and Stark. It's the blind leading the blind—and the first half of this episode touches on why this is quite well.

In this episode, Fern wants to be seen as important by those around her—i.e., Frieren and Stark. Stark not getting her a birthday present (especially after she went out of her way to get him one) hits her hard emotionally. Meanwhile, it's not that Stark forgot her birthday but more that he wanted to repeat the experience of his own—where they chose his gift together. However, when it came time to ask her, he felt embarrassed that he didn't know her well enough to choose a gift she would like on his own—leading to the whole misunderstanding.

Luckily, with Sein, we finally have someone with life experience on the team. He remembers the time he was Stark and Fern's age—understands what they are going through and helps them navigate their pubescent feelings. This is something Frieren cannot do. Despite her millennium of life, Frieren is, comparatively, no more mature than the two teenagers—perhaps even less so. After all, she has never felt attraction or romantic feelings for another—well, until we hit the back half of the episode anyway.

The second story in the episode involves Frieren losing the ring Himmel gave her upon defeating the Demon King. On one level, it's a story about how you can save yourself a lot of pain and suffering if you just ask for help from those around you. On another, it's a story about Frieren once again learning that, while nothing is truly permanent, that doesn't mean that these transient things shouldn't be fought for or properly treasured.

More than that, this episode shows the moment when Frieren first understands the truth that Himmel loved her. The knowledge she learns about the ring and its symbolism makes it all fall into place. She can see what was once an inexplicable moment as what it truly was: the closest Himmel ever came to telling her his true feelings. He wordlessly proposed to her and declared his undying love to her—all without her understanding.

And that is the bittersweet tragedy of this series in a nutshell. The Frieren of that time would not have understood nor reciprocated his feelings for her even if he had bluntly told them to her—and he knew this. That is why he let her go from his life for 50 years. It is only through Himmel's death and her subsequent journey with Fern and Stark that she can start to comprehend not only his feelings for her but hers for him as well. She needed time to grow and mature—to understand what was truly important in her never-ending life.

In the end, we are left with the tragic love story of an elf and a human—a mortal and an immortal—separated across not only time and space but life and death as well.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Boy does Heiter understand the adult experience. No one ever truly grows up. We just get better at pretending.

• Of course Himmel would know the meaning of the flower on the ring. It's not the first time he talked to Frieren about flowers after all.

• Fun fact #1: The story of Frieren, Himmel, and the ring was voted the most popular chapter of the entire manga to date.

• Fun fact #2: In a recent character poll, Himmel was voted the most popular character (with Frieren herself at number two) and it's not hard to see why this is. (Tragically, my pick, the Mimic chest munching on Frieren, only got third.)

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.