Frieren Took Me By Surprise 5: Preservation
What Frieren can teach us about the preservation of history and legacies.
[Spoilers for the rest of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End season 1 from here on out]
Why Heiter's Fear of Death Was His Greatest Trait
As I alluded to previously, Heiter wasn't being upfront with Frieren.
None-the-wiser to Heiter's grand plan, Frieren deciphers the grimoire while tutoring Fern as promised. Over the next four years, the three spend time together, like a family.
And then, one day, Heiter collapses. Now bedridden, Frieren worries she may not finish the translation before he perishes. She vows to quicken her efforts, knowing an immortality spell is perhaps the only way to save his life.
But for a man afraid of death, he seems at peace.
When Fern learns of Heiter's failing health, she desperately wants to finish her training. She wants to show him that she'll be okay, that he can leave her behind without having to worry.
Frieren watches Fern throw herself into her training like a student possessed and is moved by her dedication.
Fern reveals that Heiter had saved her life not long after her village was destroyed in the war. And that day, Heiter prevented her from committing suicide.
It turns out Himmel had inspired Heiter to a life of charity. He had vowed to live the rest of his life as Himmel would, so that Himmel's memory may live on through his kind deeds.
Fern was moved by Heiter's testimony that day, squeezing the locket in her hand, the last memory the young war orphan still has of her parents.
Kindness and memories can be passed on from generation to generation. But the kindness must be genuine, and the history that elevates that kindness must be venerated.
Armed with this knowledge, Frieren sets to her task with renewed fervor, pulling all-nighters to translate the grimoire.
Meanwhile, Fern triples down on her training to destroy the boulder across the ravine.
And in a glorious moment, Fern succeeds at her task. A task that should have taken her more than a decade to achieve.
And then Frieren finishes her translation two years earlier than expected. Heiter is still alive, but Frieren heartbrokenly reveals the grimoire contained no immortality spell, nor did it contain a spell to bring back the dead.
Heiter laughs and admits he knew the grimoire contained no such spells all along. But it got Frieren to stay long enough for Fern to grow up and become a proper mage. He asks her again to take Fern on her travels, just as he did four years ago.
At first, she feels tricked. But then she cries. She realizes that Heiter meeting Fern was what inspired him to stop drinking. It was that very moment he stopped worrying about his own mortality and started worrying about Fern's instead.
Frieren also realizes that Fern is about to lose another loved one. And when that happens, Frieren will be all she has left.
Heiter sees her grief on full display. And with a knowing smile, he says,
“Frieren, you really are a kind girl.”
Frieren vows to take care of Fern for the same reason that Heiter did: It's what Himmel the Hero would have done.
And then, once they've said their final goodbyes, she keeps her promise from 24 years prior, pouring wine over his grave.
It's these small things, these kind gestures, that keep evil at bay, just as J.R.R. Tolkien had said.
It was for fear of death that Heiter drank. But that same fear of death--and more importantly, a fear of his judgement day--is what drove him to become a priest.
A Godly fear is what drove him to join Himmel's party, figuring that if he had helped slay the Demon King and save the world, maybe facing his judgement wouldn't be so frightening anymore. He figured that surely, there's a place in the afterlife for such a man.
And if it weren't for his fear, he'd have never met Himmel or Frieren, thus he'd have never been inspired to raise Fern and ultimately defeat his vice--his devotion to the bottle.
That is the mystery of the Divine Plan, and why a fear of God is so important in life.
Himmel the Hero's Legacy, and the Importance of Statues
Being a hero means being present for the big and small moments, even if all that's needed is an ear to listen, or a simple hug.
It is through such behavior that people will remember you and carry on your memory in their hearts.
Some fantasy stories like to pretend that it's the big moments alone that make a hero, such as slaying a dragon. But ask any firefighter and they'll tell you the smallest fires are often just as important as the large ones.
It's doing the right thing over and over again, from risking your life to save others to checking in on the victims to see how they're doing, that truly make the hero.
Throughout the story, while Frieren lent a crucial hand in slaying the Demon King, it becomes clear that the only people who remember her are those whom she had direct interactions with. Frieren was cold and distant with humans, often choosing to ignore them or treat them as a burden during her journey.
Other elves seem have this problem, too. Kraft, for example, asks Frieren if she's ever heard of him. Frieren shrugs despite his many heroic exploits. He, too, is depicted in a statue that had been erected many years ago in his own hometown. But enough generations have passed that no one remembers who he is, or why the statue stands there in the first place.
So when Frieren later visits Kraft's hometown, she tells the villagers who their hero is. That information is special to everyone who grew up their whole lives wondering who the hero of their hometown was. It was lost history. And thanks to Frieren, it is now restored.
Kraft's legacy is able to continue because Frieren remembered him. Likewise, the memories of Himmel and Heiter will be carried on by her. Through her acts of kindness, she's impacting people's lives, becoming more and more like Himmel with each passing day. And thanks to her long life and outstanding memory retention, she can remember times long forgotten by most and carry on memories, like a living history book.
Unfortunately, we don't have elves in the real world. And history books can be altered.
But, for the most part, the people of Frieren's world treat Himmel and his depictions with the respect he deserves. They remember his great deeds and honor him for it. And for those who don't know, the statues should serve as a reminder to research history and learn. People intrinsically know that these statues are part of the story of who they are and why they're there.
But history is a fragile bubble, and lives are short.
No one's perfect enough to stand up to centuries of scrutiny and the ever-changing court of public opinion. Himmel had flaws, as did Heiter, and Frieren does as well.
The very same girl who remembered Frieren had been taking care of this statue of Himmel on her own, but she's grown too old to maintain it. She grew up watching the younger generations slowly care less and less about who Himmel was, taking their era of peace for granted.
It seems not every town listens to their elders, which is sadly realistic. The truth is, Himmel and Frieren saved this girl's life at a time when their whole village was being attacked and razed to the ground. If it weren't for Frieren and Himmel's efforts, this town and its villagers may have ceased to exist beyond that fateful day.
Encounters don't get much more meaningful and impactful to someone's life. This girl was so thankful, she spent decades upon decades trying to preserve his memory. But, as she explains,
“The villagers don’t care anymore.”
And sometimes, there's very little we can do about that.
Unfortunately, the western world has fallen into that dark time in history where the uneducated masses don't care anymore. They have been manipulated to feel entitled to erase history from future generations, history crucial to knowing who we are and how we've gotten here.
Without our history, without a story, we fail to have a culture and our society crumbles, just like a crumbling statue.
But that time has not yet arrived in Frieren's world, although Frieren will almost certainly be alive to see it. For the time being, most elders, and most history, are treated with respect.
Frieren is respected as a mentor by Fern, for example, and most towns have wise elders who are respected. Thanks to a strong culture, there's a mutual understanding that heroes should be celebrated, not scrutinized and erased from history.
Himmel's legacy lives on through the kindness of the towns that remember, but it also lives on in Frieren's heart. She spends time paying respect to Himmel's statues during her journey, even spending six months to track down a flower thought to be extinct just to decorate this particular statue. Another small, kind gesture.
But to her, it means so much more because this flower was from his hometown - one he always wanted Frieren to see.
Another promise fulfilled. And, at least for now, his legacy will remain preserved.