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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Episode 3) – Killing Magic

Frieren Beyond Journeys End Title

Frieren and Fern continue their wandering journey and end up in a village. Fern suspects that Frieren is planning on buying another spell, but she’s actually there to face a demon. One she locked away eighty years ago because it was too strong!

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Episode 3) – Killing Magic

What did you watch?

And twenty-four minutes later, it’s another episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I’m not entirely sure why they felt the need to release the first four episodes at once because I was completely sold on the series after the first one ended. Now that I’m three episodes in, I can confirm that nothing has changed. All right, maybe I’m a little more into it than before, but even then, I would have waited a week between episodes. Anyhow, let’s get on with it.

Frieren Beyond Journeys End Episode 3 Frieren and Fern come to save the village from Qual

What happened?

Frieren had given Fern a list of jobs to complete while she went off to complete some other ones. However, the face she made when leaving filled Fern with suspicion. Nothing good ever happened when Frieren made that face. So, instead of getting her supplies, she followed Frieren. Frieren’s first stop was at an accessory shop where she seemed more confused than anything, but came away with a purchase. Then, she went in search of somewhere to buy desserts which really annoyed Fern. She’d been desperate for something sweet for some time now. It turned out that it was Fern’s birthday and Frieren had bought her a gift and then took her for desserts.

After thanking Frieren for the thoughtful gifts and for trying to get to know her better, Fern apologised for not trusting her, although Frieren had no idea what she meant by that. They arrived at the next village where Frieren revealed that they had come to defeat a demon who had been sealed away, but the seal was about to break. They were recognised by a villager, although Frieren had no idea how he knew her. He revealed that Himmel would visit them every year to check on the seal. He would moan about how she never visited, however, he was sure Frieren would arrive at the right time to save the village.

Frieren Beyond Journeys End Episode 3 Frieren breaks Qual's seal

What did you think?

Well, it was another fantastic episode even though nobody died and there weren’t any overly emotional moments. It continues to weave the past into the present with ease and I love how we’re getting Fern’s perspective too. Those guys in the tavern did look sketchy and it was funny that Frieren even called them that, but of course, they like desserts. Doesn’t everyone! The chemistry between Frieren and Fern is developing nicely. It’s going to be interesting seeing Fern grow up with Frieren when Frieren probably won’t have aged a day in her Fern’s lifetime. I think that’s going to be something we need to prepare for.

Frieren Beyond Journeys End Episode 3 Frieren searching for dessert recommendations

What was your favourite moment?

One thing that they mentioned in the last episode was how Frieren was aware that it wasn’t just her time she was spending searching for the flowers. Well, this episode showed again how time was different for different races as the demon seemed less worried about losing eighty years. Of course, in that “short” space of time, humanity had analysed Qual’s deadly attack and integrated it into their learning. Now, it was a fairly ordinary attack. It shows what can be achieved in a shorter span of time when that is much more significant to those involved. Time is obviously a big component of this story, so this is yet another nice reminder of that.

Frieren Beyond Journeys End Episode 3 Frieren defeats Qual

Who was the most impactful character?

Funnily enough, it’s actually Qual, but not for what he did in this episode but what he did eighty years ago. He invented the piercing magic Zoltraak and as such was a fearsome menace, maybe more so than the Demon King because they couldn’t defeat him, which is why Frieren sealed him away. No doubt, Zoltraak was the spell that Fern used to pierce the boulder in the last episode and since humanity had been dealing with the spell and adapting it, they learned how to counter it, making it and Qual a far lesser threat. I do wonder if Frieren knew that would happen or not, because she seems to be fairly clueless about the passing of time. Sure, she’s starting to get it, but when she sealed Qual away, she had no idea.

Frieren Beyond Journeys End Episode 3 Frieren sealed Qual away 80 years ago

What have you learned?

At the moment, Frieren kind of reminds me of a robot that has just developed some sort of sentience. Time means nothing to it and as such spending years on something trivial is absolutely something she would do. However, she’s partnered with a human who doesn’t have the same amount of time that she does and as a result, she has to learn to work within a time frame that wouldn’t waste the remainder of the human’s life.

I can see Frieren softening as we work our way through the story. The big question for me is how she will handle this change. Being a little bit robotic could be the thing that is keeping her sane. Imagine living a life that goes on and on, but everyone you know and love dies of old age around you. Surely, you would start to distance yourself from others to protect yourself. If she becomes more like a human, it could do serious damage to her ability to cope. I can’t wait to see how the story deals with that.

Frieren Beyond Journeys End Episode 3 Frieren and Fern celebrate her birthday

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4 Comments

  1. You: Nobody died.
    Me: (as Vinny from Atlantis) Well, nobody we *knew!*

    I doubt Frieren expected this exact result of things with Qual way back when she first sealed him, but the point of sealing him at all would be to survive the day and buy a little time. They could cross Qual bridge when they came to it again.

    Speaking of, I really liked this little fight! It may have been simply and brief, but it was guided on both sides by intelligence. Qual did not balk when his best spell failed, he quickly analyzed and found a weakness. But Frieren had anticipated him doing this and specifically trained Fern to counter what Qual would do. The defense held strong – and I gotta love that soundtrack – while Frieren readied herself, flew up, and delivered a counterattack, not only using a spell that we already knew she could do but Qual didn’t, but also using Qual’s own spell, which he could not protect himself from, against him. That was excellent! (and please forgive the lack of separate paragraphs, because for some reason it won’t let me do that)

    • I read a fantastic short story recently about a scientist who created life forms that had short lifespans. He kept them in separate environment and changed it to make them evolve. He would set them tasks and within a couple of lifetimes they would solve it. Of course, to him it was but a couple of days. He then patented the idea and sold it. So, it’s not inconvenienced that someone with that much time might use that in their interests. I’m not saying Frieren definitely did or didn’t but it’s a possibility.

      Also, yeah. It was a very clever fight between three very powerful mages. This series has shown a lot of potential and keeps living up to it.

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