Summary
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Episode 8, “Frieren the Slayer,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
Since the first episode ofFrieren: Beyond Journey’s End, it’s been clear that the titular Frieren is powerful, but the newest episode shows just how ruthless she can be when the chips are down. The result is another stellar week that not only deepens her character but continues to demonstrate how the march of time has given new generations the power to face anything.
Last week, upon arriving in a bustling city, Frieren discovered that a group of demons was let into the city as “peace envoys,” to which she surmised that it was a ruse to lower the city’s guard. After regaling her companions witha moral about the deceptiveness of demons, Frieren’s suspicions turned out to be correct, as one of the envoys appeared to silence her.
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“Just so you know, I’m strong”
Episode 8’s opening fight scene is - unsurprisingly - very pretty, but it far more impressively marks a distinct turning point in how Frieren’s actions inform her reputation and vice versa. Up to now, while there were flashbacks to times of great strife and deadly foes, the tone has been fairly lighthearted. But after her fight against Draht, it’s as if she - and the audience - are forced to confront the darker side of her adventure with Himmel.
The first hint was her intense reaction to sensing demons within the city limits, a reaction strong enough that she was prepared to do battle right in the streets. Despite her stoicism,there is a rich, storied history to her battleswith demons, one that comes into full focus here, as she is revealed to have been called “the Slayer” by her foes.
There’s something about the brutality of her kill that sticks with the viewer after the opening scene. It isn’t overly gratuitous, yet the sequence nonetheless has a powerful impact, which is a testament to the quality of the action across the series as a whole. The directing emphasizes every hit taken and slash dealt with a delightful command of weight and momentum.
The Next Generation
This episode could have easily kept Frieren in the spotlight the entire time, but it never forgets this story’s central motif and Frieren’s true weapon: time. Back in Episode 3, what defeated Qual wasn’t an attack to surpass his overwhelming power, but rather the evolution of what counted as “basic magic,“thus rendering the demon’s attacks useless. This same idea resurfaces here, symbolized not just through magic’s evolution, but the strength of a new generation.
Unlike Qual, the rest of the demons haven’t been sleeping in stone as their powers have been outpaced by advancements in magic; they are still fighting humanity. Lügner even expresses how demons focus on one form of magic and hone it over the years, making them quite formidable, as shown quite vividly in his fight against Graf Granat and his guards.
It makes perfect sense for Frieren to stand a fighting chance, but Stark is less certain about his and Fern’s odds against the demons. To be honest, while his fear made himamusing and charming in his debut, the episode might go a little overboard in portraying his reluctance to fight, to the point that even fans of his character might find it a bit annoying.
Thankfully by the time he steels his resolve and goes to save Graf Granat with Fern, the episode ends on a very high note, emphasizing that Lügner may have severely underestimated humans. Just as Qual was defeated by time, he and his allies have to reconcile that for as strong as they have gotten, the humans have gotten stronger as well. As always, the only thing getting in Stark’s way is fear, and Fern is quickly growing into the spitting image of Frieren.
While the scales might not be completely even,Frieren: Beyond Journey’s Endhas set the stage for a thrilling battle between Frieren’s party and the demon army. As a final note, it can’t be understated just how much Evan Call’s soundtrack has contributed to this show’s emotional high points, and it would be hard to imagine it as successful without it. Truly a film-quality scorefor a stellar fantasy storythat doesn’t look to be letting up anytime soon.
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