As time winds down, teams must result to underhanded tactics to pass the exam.

Recap & Reaction

After Frieren saves Kanne from the bird monster and explains how Lawine helped her get over her mental barriers, the previous episode cliffhangers with Kanne telling Frieren a revelation in how they can capture a ‘Stille.’

Opener

There is no scene before the opening credits.

Different Dynamics

The episode begins with Kanne & Lawine back at their camp sleeping and Frieren reflecting on her past adventures with Himmel, Heiter and Eisen. In the flashback, they are camping before facing their first dragon opponent. This scene reiterates Eisen’s recurring theme of being scared before battle, in which Himmel reveals that he is just as afraid. Heiter plays the steadying role of the group by saying that each party dynamic is going to be different in how they deal with the pressure of a big battle. Giving how Frieren had to become the leader of this trio with Lawine, Kanne and herself, she realizes that party dynamics really differ from party to party.

If you ever dreaded a school project or worked with strangers, then this can be one of the biggest fears. To make the social dynamics work, when you need to accomplish the same goals is a unique skill. Like Frieren, she HAS TO BE the leader to make this team work with Lawine and Kanne, who can be nightmare characters.

Fighting Other Mages

The scene shifts to Fern’s group with Fern revealing that they have caught the Stille. Fern feels the relief of accomplishing their first mission, but her party mates warns her of what will happen next. For those that can’t capture their own Stille, they will come for theirs. Of course, this gets the devious Ubel excited about the possible carnage coming their way.

In constructing the episode, this would have made for a decent hook before the opening credits, as it foreshadows major battles ahead. It’s been about 10 episodes since Stark and Fern had their exciting fights and 9 episodes if you count Frieren versus Aura. Building that momentum and crescendo into something spectacularly exciting is something that Frieren rarely does, but when it does, it doesn’t disappoint.

Identifying the Stille

Frieren has a team meeting with Lawine and Kanne about everything they have learned about the bird. It’s faster than the speed of sound, strong as a dragon and can detect the presence of their mana even when they attempt to hide it, thus escaping every time they try to approach it. Since these birds don’t have much mana themselves, it’s hard for them to know where they are and how many of them there are.

Frieren reveals that the spell she used to capture the monster bird that was attacking Kanne the night before will be the spell she will use on the Stille. She goes on to explain the spell’s origins from long ago as a “folk spell” used for anything that mimics bird qualities.

This explanation can really make you reflect on all the lost knowledge from before our time. From a story perspective, it’s always nice as a writer when you have a character like Frieren, where you can literally give her any ability and it makes sense.

The issue with this spell is that it lacks range, which Frieren needs to be within 50 centimeters in order to use it. Kanne explains how her mana-infused water over a large quantity could capture a Stille. She’s not able to control water over a large body like a lake or river, but when it’s separated like rain, she can. Since Stille is sensitive to mana, it would easily dissuade the bird from approaching anywhere near their attacks. Once Lawine and Kanne mention that the mana will make the Stille “stay away,” this sparks Frieren to have an idea to come up with a plan. Preventing the viewers from knowing this plan, it transitions into a classic Frieren montage.

The ‘Plan’

Once the montage ends, Lawine reveals the risk in “picking a fight with other teams.” This continues setting up the foreshadowing from Fern & Ubel’s scene from earlier. Kanne asks if Lawine is ‘scared’ and Lawine answers with comedic relief by getting on top of her and pulling her hair. It looks like the stage is set for some 3 on 3 fighting with an endless amount of possible misdirection.

This is what I love most about having a plot. The predictable part is that there is going to be fighting. The unpredictable part is everything in-between. It makes you question the possible match ups like Frieren facing Fern, while keeping in mind that what can happen next is still very much open. That ‘openess’ keeps the story engaging and intriguing that prior episodes doesn’t have without a major plot aligning.

Fern, Land & Ubel’s Plan

After foreshadowing a potential fight between Fern & Frieren’s teams, the scene shifts to Land, a second-class mage young man that is a part of Fern & Ubel’s team. Counter to Ubel’s innate nature for violence, Land explains that they should stay hidden until the end of the exam. However, they ran out of water. Given that there is a huge lake in the middle of the restricted area, the three make the trip there. Clearly, this would make it an obvious trap as all the other teams, including Stilles that need to survive from the water will likely all be in the surrounding area.

The needing of water here is a bit “plot device-y.” You mean you can’t survive until sunset without water? However, the logic here that Stilles need water too is a great point to make here. It continues setting up Frieren’s plan and how Lawine & Kanne’s abilities will somehow play a role.

Surprise!

Just as Land is making a change of plans of getting more water, the team of Wirbel, Scharf & Ehre make a surprise attack upon Fern. Wirbel is surprised at how Fern was able to react from his attack that was truly meant to kill her. As Wirbel threatens Fern to take their Stille, a huge display of mana emits from the lake. Frieren’s plans starts to unwind as Lawine freezes the entire lake, preventing any other Stille from approaching it. This causes many teams to scramble and try to melt the ice. The team of Denken, Richter & Laufen determine that it is pointless to melt the ice, so the next plan is to just try to steal one from Frieren’s team.

And so the Fern’s classic “I’m a lot stronger than a realize” character development continues.

Lawine makes a run for it back to where Frieren and Kanne is searching. Instead of the slice-of-life montage we are used to seeing, it becomes an epic one that slowly unveils Frieren’s plan. Fern questions what Frieren’s plan is, while defending herself from Wirbel’s team.

It’s nice to see a change of pace from the slice-of-life feel. The montages between the battle that hints at Frieren’s plan, provides more intrigue to the mystery of what their plan really is.

Old Man Wisdom

Denken further explains that melting the ice is useless because of all that mana that continues pouring into the frozen lake. Other teams try to find other areas with water. Like what Frieren’s team mentioned earlier that sensing Stille is very unlikely, teams that are exposed in the air are susceptible to aerial attacks, similar to Kanne’s attack from the prior episode.

Since Frieren’s team becomes the mystery in the story as to how they are going to capture the Stille, other characters have to be the ones that explains what is going on in the story. Many of the times, characters that are on the sidelines like the proctors in this one are the ones telling the viewers what is currently unfolding. Denken is used here in that role.

Denken Leads the Story

Still maintaining Frieren’s mystery of her plan, the story now follows Denken’s team as they have to figure out what Frieren’s team entails. Like his warning from earlier, the team that took to the sky had their fates sealed. These bird monsters called, “Geisel” have laid a trap with the dead participates lying in the trees, preventing them from giving them a proper burial.

Denken’s Powerful Lesson

It’s not a surprise that a Frieren episode would feature an important lesson, here we are with Laufen questioning the exam’s methods that seems excessively dangerous. Richter answers that the examiners “want to maintain the quality of first-class mages” like those that were capable of fighting the Demon King. In a surprising dissent, Denken explains that “that is an outdated way of thinking.” To Denken, it isn’t about the quality of the mage’s abilities as much as it is about “controlling people’s hearts.” In Denken’s experiences with powerful mages, many fell from grace because the lack of support from the populace. Ruling by fear can only last so long.

Taking in consideration all of Frieren’s lessons that mostly revolve around Himmel & Kraft the Monk’s experiences. Himmel is that hero that everyone remembers and is inspired by that helped defeat the Demon King. Kraft the Monk is that forgotten hero. The test givers are missing out on the fact that no one cares how powerful you are, if you don’t have the population supporting you.

Frieren’s Team’s Strategy

As Denken trades barbs with Richter, they come across a small water bed. This sparks another montage of different teams standing around a water bed as Lawine hides behind a tree, observing them. Observing the water hole, Denken can sense a small trace amount of mana in the water. This references Kanne’s ability from earlier. Richter & Laufen aren’t able to detect it, but Denken reveals that the caster likely can’t sense it either since it’s so little.

This eventually leads to the answer that we’ve all been waiting for. Process of elimination. There will likely be only one water hole left that doesn’t have any traces of mana and that will be where Frieren’s team will be capturing the Stille. Given how large the testing area is, Denken decides to rest and let Frieren’s team eventually reveal themselves, rather than burning unnecessary energy.

Now We Wait..

Kanne comes running back to Frieren to tell her that all the little ponds that she can find have a little bit of her mana in it. This dwindles the number of spots that the Stille will show up. Frieren stays pat at the water pond and suppresses almost all of her mana as Kanne & Lawine go hide.

As Frieren stays in her meditated state with her mana hidden, one by one, creatures calmly reach the pond to have a sip, ignoring Frieren. And just like that, a Stille lands right on Frieren’s shoulders to have her capture it with no issues. It was in that moment when Frieren used her magic that it revealed to Denken her location. Now, they must prepare for the upcoming battle. Before Frieren, Lawine & Kanne can escape, Laufen appears before them.

The Epic of Fern

Fern, Land & Ubel continue their battle Wirbel, Scharf & Ehre. The scene focuses on Fern’s battle with Ehre as they trade spells. Ehre reveals that Fern only uses basic spells, mimicking how her grandfather fights. She questions how Fern fights, in which Fern reveals that Frieren has taught her that she should “only use basic spells—that it is enough to defeat this era of mages.”

Ehre sends a flurry of attacks, but it doesn’t work. This causes her to feel an sense of uneasyness against someone that feels a lot more experienced. She tells Fern that she would be defeated by Wirbel with her moves. Fern responds that Ehre is indeed the strongest one, not Wirbel. In Ehre’s defense of Wirbel, she explains his position as the “captain of the Northern Magic Corps.” Continuing on, that he fought the remnants of the Demon King’s soldiers and that his magic is “devoid of character.” Because of his ‘underhanded’ way of fighting, Ubel’s life is at risk. The episode ends with Fern acknowledging what she just said.

This is a great cliffhanger that takes into account all the lessons of Frieren up until this point. Flamme taught Frieren how to fight underhanded, but this makes us question what it would look like if a guy like Wirbel uses similar underhanded tactics?

What we’ve all been waiting for as well is the new take on Fern’s next step in her character development. Fern & Frieren revealed in the battle against Aura that they hide their mana, but what will be revealed here about Fern? We all see it coming that she’s a lot stronger than she thinks, but what else are we missing that could surprise us? The obvious is always a great setup, which compounds well with how the episode ended as the cliffhanger.

Last Thoughts

Using the Plot to Tie in Recurring Themes

When there’s an actual plot in this anime, the sky is the limit. Many of Frieren’s storytelling techniques blend so well with an established plot. Now that the story is 19 episodes in, there are many recurring themes that tie into the characters in the current arc. At the beginning of the episode, Lawine & Kanne represent a part of Frieren’s past of being able to gel with different party members.

From episode to episode, little by little the audience acquires a small lesson each time that ties into the biggest lessons of the entire show that revolves around Himmel’s character as the hero that defeated the Demon King. Counter to Himmel, you have Kraft the Monk’s character that serves as a lesson when you are the hero that becomes forgotten.

The Use of Denken & His Lesson

As the story progresses, Denken becomes the secondary character that the audience follows to learn from. This is quite different from previous episodes where Frieren and company interact with other characters in a friendly, low-stakes part of the story, hence why it’s considered slice-of-life. In this episode, Denken and his party play the role of antagonists. From that perspective, it is refreshing. Denken’s lesson ties into Himmel’s and Kraft the Monk’s lessons. Once again, one is a revered hero, and the other is the forgotten hero. When discussing the goal of the First-Class Mage Exam, Denken brings up the important point that power itself is nothing without the will of the people behind it. Meaning that maintaining a high-quality first class of mages isn’t strictly about power and skill alone; it’s about the symbol of power that inspires

Be Mysterious

Great storytelling always has an element of mystery. In this case, it’s about withholding what Frieren, Lawine & Kanne’s plan was that slowly got unraveled as the episode continues. This gives the opportunity for other characters to develop and shine. 

Fern’s Growth

Fern’s literal role in this entire story is seeing her growth. From the time she got sick, it is clear that we are now in Fern’s young adult phase of her growth. One of the most common tropes used for her character is that she is a lot stronger than she realizes, just like in her fight against Lugner. With the obvious at the forefront and excluding the “hiding your mana” lesson, “basic attacks” were brought up. The stage is set for Fern to reveal why Frieren taught her to only use these “basic attacks.” What will the philosophical nature of this lesson be?

All in all, these are the peak Frieren episodes I have been patiently waiting for. The foundation of the story is set. The ideas behind the lessons of Frieren’s experiences that tie into Himmel & Kraft the Monk hold more meaning as the plot provides the spark of excitement along with the philosophical nature of what these character represent. To make the story exciting, thoughtful and insightful is no doubt a peak combination.