Frieren Took Me By Surprise 3: An Emotional Journey
A recap of episode 1 - A tale of squandered time and second chances.
Just like with Goblin Slayer, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End begins with a complete emotional journey on a scale rarely seen in the runtime of a single episode.
FRIEREN IS A JOURNEY
The opening theme is serviceable. But, if you ask me, Frieren deserved ... more.
Intros and outros aside, the Celtic-inspired score that accompanies this show is about as good as it gets. (I loved it so much, I picked up the soundtrack - Quite nice to play in the background while writing.)
[Episode 1 spoilers throughout]
The show opens with a quote:
"At the northernmost end of this continent, I arrived at the place that the people of this world call Heaven; Aurele, the land where souls rest.
Many souls gather there, and I spoke with friends who once fought alongside me."
-Flamme, the Legendary Mage
Once you've watched the entire first season, you'll understand how profound this quote really is. But for now, you'll have no idea who Flamme was or what any of the above means. As I said, this show rewards patience, unfolding into a rich tapestry which must be earned.
If this show were an isekai, it would start with a shut-in "neet" or corporate desk jockey in the real world. Some miserable person who's about to get sucked into a video game or meet an unfortunate accident.
But no, Frieren starts firmly in a medieval fantasy world, a world separate from our own. Which means this is not a portal fantasy (isekai), but we'll soon find it taps into some of the same concepts.
The story begins in the "Happily Ever After": The heroes have returned by wagon from their ten year journey to slay the Demon King. Frieren the Mage was too distracted to notice their approach until her party mates clue her in.
The other three heroes (Himmel the Hero, Eisen the Warrior, and Heiter the Priest) discuss what they're going to do now that they've got their whole lives ahead. It dawns on them that Frieren has more time at her disposal than the rest of them could possibly imagine. She simply shrugs it off.
They are personally congratulated by the king of Strahl, who intends to erect a statue to commemorate their victory. And that night, there's fireworks, music, and dancing.
As they're given all the free food and drink they could want, the flaws of each character start to become more apparent.
Frieren is a passive participant in her world, cold to those around her. Moreover, she tends to fall into obvious traps. She's a bookworm and has an incredible memory. She's not fond of humans.
Himmel is brave and kind and selfless, but painfully vain. And too trusting.
Heiter is a firm believer in the faith, but his vice is alcohol. In fact, Frieren often refers to Heiter as a "corrupt priest" because of his drinking habits, which is quite rude. But Heiter always takes the insult in stride like any good, non-corrupt priest would. And perhaps his most profound flaw is his greatest strength: Heiter fears death.
And Eisen? Well, Eisen is Eisen.
At the end of the festivities, they reminisce about the many memories they shared over the past ten years. The good, the bad. Even the embarrassing. They find themselves laughing like old friends.
Himmel states that even though times got tough, he had fun. There's this shared sentiment that none of them would trade it for the world - None of them but Frieren, that is.
"It was a mere ten-year adventure," she remarks.
The others are stunned she could find such an epic ten year journey so trivial. They sacrificed a significant chunk of their lives and grew older around her. They became world-renowned heroes. Songs and tales will be written about them. So how could she just ... not care?
Luckily for Frieren, she doesn't have to defend herself for long because a meteorological event suddenly begins: The "Era Meteor Shower". It occurs once every fifty years, so it's the type of event you only get to see about twice in a human lifetime. Maybe even once.
It's one of those rare bird events that, if you didn't bother to plan ahead to see it, the opportunity may pass you by forever.
But it seems the heroes couldn't have timed their arrival much better. Happenstance aside, Himmel states the event is "Perfect for marking the start of an era of peace."
Frieren spoils the moment by complaining about the view. But she assures her fellow heroes that she knows of a much better place to watch this event, a place where you can see the shooting stars far more clearly in the night sky.
They laugh her off at first, but she insists that in fifty years, she will bring them there.
"You're right," said Himmel, his eyes wistful. "Let's go see them together."
The next morning, Frieren announces her departure. She intends to continue collecting spells (her main hobby) for the next 100 years. However, she assures them she'll stop by every once in a while.
And just like that, she walks out of their lives, not even stealing a final glance behind her.
She spends decades in solitude, studying, exploring, and surviving in the wilderness. This is her default. This is who she is. An anti-social old soul. And you see this unfold in one of the most artful montages you'll ever experience.
Then one day, floating in clear water, she realizes something.
Does she realize she misses her friends? That she's failed to visit them for nearly five straight decades?
No - She realized that she's missing a particular spell summoning component: A shadow dragon horn. But the local apothecary tells her shadow dragons went extinct 20 ... or perhaps even 30 years ago.
Things change quickly the more you grow older. It seems the newest generations have never seen--and will never see--a shadow dragon. (If you're much older than 40, you can probably relate to this type of experience.)
Then Himmel springs to her mind. But not out of fondness - She recalls she had procured a shadow dragon horn from the Demon King's castle and had asked him to hold onto it for her. Based on that, she decides it's time to return to Strahl. After all, it's been almost fifty years ... and she did promise that better view of the Era Meteor Shower.
The city's changed so much in five decades, she can hardly recognize it. (If you've ever revisited your old hometown, I'm sure you can again relate.) The children and young people around her don't know the same Strahl that she knew. They don't share very many common reference points with her. But all the people seem happy, none-the-less. It's truly an era of peace.
Himmel happens across Frieren and immediately recognizes her.
Frieren recognizes his gentle, shining blue eyes, but she's shocked to see how old he's become. Meanwhile, Himmel marvels at how Frieren hasn't changed at all. Convinced he would never see her again, you can tell he's delighted she'd finally decided to return.
The elf gets straight to business, asking about the shadow dragon horn. To her surprise, he's kept it safe for her all these years (despite it being a burdensome cursed item) because, in his heart, he'd always hoped she would one day return for it.
Frieren doesn't share his sentiment, believing it was "no big deal".
But then she finds herself looking at the statue, and at a much younger Himmel. She's reminiscing. Reflecting. Perhaps having self-doubts for the first time in her 1,000+ years on this planet.
But interestingly, the townsfolk passing her by--even as she stands near a statue of herself--don't seem to recognize her.
She beckons Himmel so they can gather the others for the Era Meteor Shower. Amusingly, Himmel is still a bit vain. When she goads him about preening in front of a mirror, he replies,
"There are things we bald men are particular about."
When they meet up with Heiter the Priest, he pats her on her head, amazed she hasn't changed at all.
Frieren pointedly tells him she dislikes headpats.
It turns out Heiter's become the dignified "Bishop of the Holy City". And though this world worships "The Goddess", the world's religion otherwise very much mirrors Christianity.
Following that, Frieren is almost relieved to see Eisen the Warrior hasn't changed much.
Dwarves age slowly like elves, though they live on a scale of hundreds of years rather than thousands. If you read between the lines, you'll understand that even Eisen feels much older and more haggard than he looks.
To the elderly trio's chagrin, the place they must go to see the Era Meteor Shower is a week's journey away. They aren't prepared for such an arduous journey at their age, but they go anyway because Frieren is their dear friend.
While Frieren's strictly business during the trek, going on this trip stirs fond memories in the rest of them - of the decade they traveled together, half a century ago.
Eisen and Frieren wind up slaying a giant demon hound during the trip, protecting the other two from harm - and giving the journey that pinch of adventure it needed.
You see this journey through the eyes of Himmel the Hero, his fondness plainly evident. Frieren was always there in his memories, and he's thankful she was a part of his life. For fifty years, he's longed for a moment when they could gather together again.
Finally, they arrive at their destination. He tells Frieren with utmost sincerity that he's thankful they were able to go on one last adventure together.
As night falls and the event begins, it's somehow everything Frieren promised and more. The destination was worth the journey. And even the journey itself was more than worthwhile.
You'd expect the first episode to end on this poignant note. It's already covered a span of sixty years, after all. But Time is a cruel mistress that must march on, and this episode won't let you forget it.
Our dear Himmel perishes of old age not long after. It’s almost as if he'd been holding out to see Frieren one last time before leaving this mortal coil.
It's a beautiful service befitting of a hero.
Some of the older folk at the funeral recognize Frieren and remark that they’ve never once seen her emotional, not even now - while saying her goodbyes to Himmel.
Unfortunately Frieren overhears this gossip, which prompt Eisen and Heiter to step in and verbally defend her.
And then, as dirt is shoveled upon his grave, the best moments of their journey flash through Frieren's mind. And something within her finally breaks.
It doesn't make any sense to her. It was only ten years. Human lives are so short. Yet something's deeply wrong.
Why didn't I get to know him better?
Himmel saw something special in Frieren when no one else would. And she didn't come to appreciate that until it was too late. Himmel was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, maybe even once in 1,000 lifetimes. He was far more special than the rarest of meteorological events. And by being so vacant, so distant, she missed it.
In her moment of emotional need, Heiter and Eisen are there to comfort her. They have proven to be true friends.
We will see that headpats, hugs, and phyiscal contact continue to be important to the broader scope of this story. It's such a good way to remind people that you’re there for them.
The permanence of jewelry also has instrumental importance to this story. After the funeral, Frieren finds herself rolling this ring between her fingers. It's immensely special to her for reasons we will later learn.
Ten years is barely a blink to a person who is thousands of years old. And yet, those ten years were more important to her than she realized. She didn't understand what she had... until it was gone.
And while she stood at that funeral, something profound happened: The normally cold and aloof Frieren found herself overwhelmed with emotion.
She realized she had squandered not just those ten years, but her entire life. By closing herself off from others, by convincing herself that humans were not worth her time, by shielding herself from the pain of loss, she's closed herself off from the one person that mattered to her most.
Himmel was a good soul who effected everyone around him in a positive way. You can see that change everywhere you look in the kind world he left behind. But Himmel's influence was perhaps most profound in Frieren herself.
And no matter how powerful Frieren may seem, there’s no spell in the world that can give her back that time, or can return Himmel to her.
Remember the second half of the opening quote?
"Many souls gather there, and I spoke with friends who once fought alongside me."
That's her goal. To have one final conversation with Himmel. A chance to truly say goodbye.
When Frieren departs again, she intends to continue gathering spells. But this time, she vows to learn more about humans and she invites Eisen to come with her only to be declined; He's simply too old to go on journeys anymore.
As she sets off, she looks upon the city of Strahl with fondness, with a swollen heart.
She ventures into the world "after journey's end" a changed person, ready to connect with humans, to discover what she's been missing out on in all these small moments. She now wants to be more like Himmel the Hero, to leave a positive legacy behind.
Through her memories of Himmel, she will learn how to be a true friend.
Again, you'd expect the first episode to end here, but Time must continue her cruel march forward.
However, this is enough for one post. We'll find out how the first episode ends in the next one.
Good stuff. I've read the manga, but sounds like the anime does the story justice. 👍