Frieren Took Me By Surprise 8: Villain

The last post in this series, and some final thoughts.

Let's take another look at the quote that opened the entire show:

“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

Those words were penned in a tome left specifically for Frieren to discover. Flamme was a wise master. Given context clues, I'd estimate she lived for a span of 10,000 years. She once told Frieren:

"Someday, you'll make a terrible mistake and wish you'd gotten to know people better."

Frieren was skeptical, of course. But Flamme couldn't have been more clairvoyant in this matter, perhaps because she'd also not known what she'd had until it was gone.

Flamme left Frieren a legacy through this book, meant to be read only when Frieren would one day make that same, terrible mistake.

Heaven

The book's writings should lead Frieren to Aurele at Ende, at the northmost tip of the Northern Land - with a whispered promise she'll be able to speak with Himmel once more. And Heiter. And Flamme.

Aurele is the very place the Demon King's castle resides, the destination of the legendary heroes' 10 year journey.

Frieren wants to believe that Heaven exists, if not for her sake, than for the friends she'd lost along the way.

"Alright, let's go," said Frieren.

"By the way," said Stark, "I've been following you two around, but... where are we going, anyway?"

A Few Last-Minute Caveats & Criticisms

While I could keep talking about this show for a great deal longer, this article will conclude my series. There's so much more waiting to be discovered, some of which is best experienced on your own.

So I'll state now that Frieren: Beyond Journey's End isn't perfect.

Aside from the fact that it's slow-paced, it's got a bit too much "girl power" for its own good, making the male characters the butt of the joke more often than not.

I also mentioned the goddess worship, and I didn't appreciate how Frieren repeatedly calls Heiter a corrupt priest in almost every scenario and flashback that he and Frieren appear (even though it turned out to be a misunderstanding on Frieren's part).

While most of the characters are fully fleshed out, there are a few who leave a bit to be desired.

Meet Lawine. Lawine is an ice mage. She's the one on top, pulling her childhood friend's pigtails. They often fight because Lawine has a short fuse.

Her childhood friend - on the floor there - is Kanne. She casts water magic. They are both spoiled, coming from high class families.

That's ... about all I can think to say about them.

This joyously generic pair are who end up getting partnered with Frieren during the first test of the "First-Class Mage Exam arc" (in the second half of season one - That's not to say it's not an entertaining arc.)

Most of the characters are pretty well realized, but clearly there are exceptions.

Many also criticize this show for the main character being too powerful, which I'd agree if it weren't for the nature of the villain.

Villain

The villain is not who or what you'd think it is. Although "antagonist" is the better word.

The antagonist is an ancient elf named Serie, who many describe as a "living grimoire". She's got libraries of magic spells stored away in her mind, and she's the head of the Continental Magic Association, the organization which facilitates and proctors the world's mage exams.

Serie is the gatekeeper. She's TradPub. She gets to decide who becomes an honorary ranked mage and who's destined to fall away into obscurity.

Serie's the teacher who enjoys flunking you just because she doesn't like your face. She's the old fogey who won't let go of the position of power she's held since 1985, determined to hold it long enough to skip you over just to spite you. She's apathetic and bored and largely unimpressed by the mages of the modern age. She's a creature of war, stuck in an era of peace.

And she doesn't like Frieren.

There's nothing Frieren can do about that, no matter how powerful she may be. Which is exactly what makes this antagonist such a brilliant inclusion.

Serie was once Flamme's master. And she views her student as a failure despite her being known the world over as a legendary mage of mythic proportions. Because, in Serie's view, Flamme never reached her heights despite having the talent to do so.

Serie is a difficult one to impress. And once she passes judgment unto you, it's imprinted. And there's almost no coming back from it.

A millennia ago, when Flamme took Frieren on as an apprentice, she presented her to Serie.

Serie told Frieren she would teach her any spell she desired.

Frieren refused, seeing more value in seeking out spells herself. This got on Serie's nerves.

Perhaps she projected her hatred for Flamme onto Frieren. Or perhaps she's still sore that Flamme passed down the knowledge of magic onto humans, ushering in the human age of magic.

Whatever the answer, Serie won't stop nursing that grudge, even 1,000 years later.

She proves this when Frieren and Fern decide to enter the First-Class Mage exam. There are three rounds, and the pair pass the first two tests with flying colors.

Serie doesn't want Frieren to be in this elite club, so she steps in specifically to stop her. Instead of the planned test for round three, Serie upends that and challenges the students to an "interview", claiming her intuition is all that's needed to decide if someone passes or fails.

This gives Serie absolute power over who makes it and who does not. It's no longer a meritocracy - It's based upon pure bias. And Serie thinks she's smarter than you, wiser than you. If she hates you, tough luck.

In Serie's mind, Frieren deserves this intervention because she's "thrown things off" during the mage exams. Too many candidates passed rounds one and two, so clearly Frieren is to blame - She must have carried the other participants, the reasoning goes.

Serie's interview doesn't test a mage's skill or strength, otherwise Frieren would have been a shoo-in. And she's not testing for morality - Otherwise Übel would have never made it.

Instead, Serie is looking for candidates who agree with her views. (All her talk about vision is bologna.) Her questions are like a prospective agent Googling your opinions on social media. She wants people who see magic as nothing more than a tool, a weapon, a means to an end, to join the Association. In that respect, Serie and Übel have more in common with demons than humanity.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to make of Übel. She's a fan favorite with an interesting power.

But she's one of those characters who seems overdesigned, like they were trying too hard to make her edgy.

She reminds me of Toga from My Hero Academia, and perhaps both were inspired a bit by Harley Quinn's misguided redesigns (ever since she fell out of Paul Dini's skillful hands).

But I admit Übel is interesting, if only for the fact that her mindset is closer to demons in that she's a psychopath. She does have desires (and bloodlust). And she doesn't eat humans ... which puts her a step or two above demons.

And, as we discussed, demons focus on efficient battle spells. Any spell that doesn't kill or cause suffering isn't worth a predator's time.

Serie the elf largely agrees with this sentiment. Needless to say, Übel passes and becomes a First Class mage.

Eventually, it's Frieren's turn to be interviewed.

Serie asks Frieren what her favorite spell is.

Frieren doesn't hesitate to say it's a spell to make a field of flowers bloom.

Serie chastises her, recognizing it as the favorite spell her failed student Flamme. To Serie, Flamme's spell is not efficient, practical, or a useful tool for combat.

She drops the pretense and fails Frieren right then and there, but Frieren expected this, brooking no argument as she leaves.

Serie is shrewd, only seeing spells for their utility and finds humans a useless waste of time. She's much older than Frieren, but has failed to learn the same lessons Frieren and Flamme had - She has not yet made any real connections with humans. She has yet to experience the good that can come from it.

Just like Flamme had warned Frieren, Serie, too, may someday come to regret not connecting with humans.

Some character flaws can only be fixed with time. And even 10,000 years is not enough time for some folks.

But before Frieren can leave, Serie presses her:

"You won't even stand your ground when I mock you? I find it hard to believe a mage like you defeated the Demon King."

Frieren pauses. She explains that when Himmel was very young, he was lost in a forest and thought he was going to die. Frieren happened upon him and pointed him toward the nearest village.

Despite her general coldness toward humans, she could tell that Himmel was frightened, so she cast Flamme's spell, figuring it might give him some semblance of comfort.

Frieren thought little of the encounter at the time, but this moment would change the course of Himmel's entire life. From then on, he vowed to help others, and learned to love magic.

This "useless spell" is the very spell that inspired Himmel to grow up and become "Himmel the Hero". What's more, it brought Frieren many powerful friends. And it's why Himmel recruited her over a number of other similarly capable mages.

Flamme's spell is what ultimately brought together the heroes, which led to the downfall of the Demon King. Thus, a seemingly useless spell was perhaps the most powerful spell of all.

But old as Serie is, she's an immature midwit and stubborn as all get-out. Frieren had tossed pearls before swine, knowing it would likely bear no fruit.

And bear fruit it did not. Serie doubled down on Frieren's failure, barring her from ever re-taking the exam for the next 1,000 years.

In the end, Frieren may not be an official First Class mage, but it doesn't matter. Because that's just a title. It's clout. Over the course of the exam, Frieren proved she's so much more than just a First Class mage.

And all the participants know it. They thanked her profusely and honored her. Even though she had failed, they knew she was something far more special, someone who would be remembered on the stage of history.

In the end, mages cast spells. And writers write. Artists follow their passions. And that's always been far more important than attaching fancy titles to your name or being in some exclusive, prideful club where everyone can be self-congratulatory and pat each other on the back.

And then Fern's turn came.

It doesn't take long for Serie to see how special Fern is when she precisely detects how Serie is suppressing her mana.

Serie's so impressed, she offers to become Fern's master. She promises to bring her "to heights few mages ever reach".

Fern turns Serie (OldPub) down, insisting that Frieren (indie) is her master.

None-the-less, Serie ends up making the right choice, recognizing her talent.

"I'm not foolish enough to overlook a promising mage."

So perhaps Frieren's little speech got Serie thinking, after all.

However, Serie had outed herself as a hypocrite multiple times. She chastised Frieren's approach to magic, yet knows most, if not all of the spells Frieren does. She says that non-combinative spells are useless, yet most of her own student's favorite spells were, in fact, non-combative.

She insulted Frieren for suppressing her mana, yet it's revealed that Serie, too, suppresses her mana. She claims to have no emotional attachment to her apprentices and refuses to verbally affirm them, yet it's revealed that she actually does remember them fondly, not only by their favorite spells, but by their personalities.

Even the flowers in the interview room had been conjured by Serie using Flamme's magic spell. The very spell she claimed was useless.

Serie believes she is the end-all be-all authority who alone deserves to decide who makes it and who doesn't. This is something that, no matter how good you are, may be insurmountable. And, rest assured, if you're still on her radar, she'll find a way to leave one last f-you before she dies.

It's cynical, but that's reality. Life's not fair.

There are those who will judge you and decide in an instant whether or not you belong in the trash, and stop at nothing to keep you on an industry-wide blacklist. When someone like this rejects you, you have to believe you're on the right path. You have to take the loss with grace and continue to pursue your passions, just as Frieren did.

In the End...

The graduates are allowed to bring guests to the welcoming ceremony. Fern invites Stark and Frieren. When they arrive...

"I'm sorry, but Ms. Frieren is prohibited, per Ms. Serie."

It's like being banned from a convention, or getting kicked out of an online group, isn't it?

And so, Frieren waits outside. And Stark offers to wait with her, like a true gentleman. Hours pass, and night falls.

While they wait, Frieren expresses how proud she is of Fern, and it makes her happy knowing her apprentice is getting First Class privileges.

The next day, the trio prepare to continue their journey toward Aurele. Frieren asks Fern what spell she ended up asking for.

“Can’t you tell? It’s a spell to make clothes clean and spotless. …Ms. Serie didn’t seem at all happy about it, though.”

They all laugh, knowing Fern's request for a "useless spell" must have really gotten under Serie's skin.

When it was all over, the credits began rolling over the final dialogue as the group traveled north. And my heart clenched. I knew I had experienced something special, something I didn’t want to end.

I'll leave you with this:

Every act of kindness echoes throughout the ages, great or small.

The legacy of your life and how it affects others is something bigger than any of us can ever imagine.

All the good that we do, all the bad, it radiates and outlives us. Our actions influence others. Just being a kind family who managed to stay married and raise good children in today's world speaks volumes to others, even those you have never met.