REVIEW: ‘Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End’ Episode 27 – “An Era of Humans”

The final test of the First-Class Mage exam is ready to begin. Due to the number of test takers remaining, Serie (Mariya Ise, Chainsaw Man) decides to administer a special test for the final. She will be proctoring this test. But will her history with Frieren (Atsumi Tanezaki) get in the way of a fair result in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) Episode 27, “An Era of Humans?”

Subverting expectations is a delicate art. When done wrong, impractical storytelling can trick an audience. A change in the plot’s course will occur not because it makes sense but simply to surprise. This undercuts the story’s integrity for the sake of subversion.

When done correctly, a narrative can provide a viewer with a shocking twist that feels utterly natural. Once it happens, it feels obvious that it was there all along. The audience was simply so caught up in their preconceptions that they didn’t see it coming. This is the case with Frieren Episode 27 and the final test results.

Before the final test can be administered, we get a few quiet moments with our cast. Things open with Stark (Chiaki Kobayashi, The Great Pretender) and Fern (Kana Ichinose) as the latter vents about the latest squabble she’s had with Frieren. Fern’s shattered staff lies at the center of the conflict.

With its destruction during the final attack by Frieren’s replica, Frieren tells Fern she should purchase a new staff. This upsets Fern as she wishes to have the staff rebuilt. It was a gift from Heiter and one of the last things from him she still has.

This opening moment in Frieren Episode 27 shines because of Stark. While sympathetic to Fern’s feelings, he reminds her of who she’s dealing with. Frieren is a practical person. She made her suggestion without considering Fern’s emotional connection to the staff. He further reminds her that Frieren is trying to understand such elements of people. But despite her long life, she’s not perfect.

Bringing Frieren’s efforts into the spotlight, the episode jumps from the duo’s discussion to Richter’s (Eiji Hanawa, Takt Op. Destiny) shop. Here, we find Frieren inquiring about getting Fern’s staff repaired. After some minor squabbling, Richter sets about rebuilding the shattered staff. While a casual watch delivers a fairly standard exchange, there are some notable moments in the discussion when considering Frieren’s character.

There is a bit of manipulation here as Frieren persuades Richter to reforge the staff. Poking at his ego, Frieren shows an awareness of the mage’s personality that wouldn’t have seemed possible at the start of the show. She’s grown a bit since then. However, it has been 80 years for the elf since we were first introduced to her.

When Fern learns of Frieren’s visit to the shop, she is immediately moved by her teacher’s compassion. Despite not understanding Fern’s sentimentality for the object, Frieren went out of her way to have it repaired. This calls a memory back to Fern. She remembers something that Heiter told her during the last days of his life. In the memory, he talks about Frieren’s struggles to understand others. While he acknowledges her shortcomings, he observes that few will care about her as much as Frieren.

From here, we get to partake in a meeting between Serie and the first-class mages running the exam. Serie is concerned that the high number of candidates still contending for the title of First-Class Mage will dilute its importance. Knowing that many have only survived this far due to Frieren’s presence, Serie decides that the final test must thin the herd so only the best can pass. To ensure this, she decided to administer the final test.

During this sequence, we come to know more specifics about Serie. Like when we first met Frieren, Serie hasn’t changed much over the last thousand years. Her contempt for those she sees as unworthy hasn’t dulled. How she deals with her subordinates, she sees as falling short is cold to an extreme. Her presence provides an excellent counter-point for Frieren. While the latter sometimes feels cold and distant, she always tries to understand and grow closer to those around her. On the other hand, the former treats others as tools more than people with no interest in changing.

When Frieren Episode 27 returns to the test takers, they have gathered for their final challenge. This will take the form of an interview with Serie. Upon Learning this, Frieren knows she cannot pass. She observes to Fern that nothing she can say will convince Serie to pass her. But, just as she cannot pass, Fern cannot fail.

Before Frieren and Fern face Serie’s judgment, we see how some of the other candidates fare. Dismissed out of hand due to how intimidated they are by Serie’s presence, none survive her scrutiny. Frieren is also similarly discarded, though for different reasons. While the others fail because they fear Serie, Frieren fails because she cannot conceive of passing the test. As previously noted, magic is a world of conception. Only what cannot be conceived cannot be done.

As a final test for Frieren, Serie asks her what her favorite spell is. When Frieren responds with the one that creates a field of flowers, Serie dismisses the spell as useless. However, we learn it is the linchpin to Frieren’s adventures with the hero’s party.

Through a flashback, we learn that the flower spell is why Himmel (Nobuhiko Okamoto) sought Frieren out to join his party. We see that Himmel first met Frieren when he was a small boy lost in the woods. When Frieren came upon the scared boy, she pointed him in the right direction to get back to town. Lacking any softness or familiarity, young Himmel didn’t initially respond to her aid. Sensing that the boy was scared, Frieren cast her flower spell to help put the boy at ease. Himmel never forgot Frieren and her flowers, even though Frieren must be reminded of them by Himmel, as she had forgotten them long ago. Without her flower spell, she never would’ve traveled with the Hero’s Party. And in turn, they never would’ve defeated the Demon King.

This difference in view further showcases how far apart the two elves are. While Serie dismisses Frieren’s success as luck, she values it as something more. Yes, circumstance plays a part in getting Frieren to where she is, but the choices she makes and the value she assigns to people are part of it, too.

As Frieren departs from her old acquaintance, she confidently informs her that she will pass Fern. Her reasoning is simple. Fern will surpass Serie’s expectations.

When Fern stands before Serie, we see Frieren Episode 27 hit its finest mark. While Serie initially believes Fern is intimidated by her aura like all the others, she soon learns that is not the case. Rather than being awed by Serie’s might, she analyzes it. By doing so, she discovers something no one else has. Serie is concealing her full mana. Unlike Frieren and Fern, Serie lets her aura put on an impressive show while still holding back. That Fern spots this almost immediately captures the elf’s attention, prompting her to offer to take her on as her apprentice. While Serie offers to guide her to heights no other mage has ever experienced, the young woman politely declines. Frieren is her master. She’ll have no other. With her interview over, Fern passes the test and becomes a First-Class Mage.

From the moment the exam was mentioned in episode eleven, the audience assumed Frieren would pass with flying colors. But when one considers the character’s drive, failing such a test seems far more possible. Frieren is happy to coast through life. Fern, on the other hand, cannot help but excel. If she is going to do a thing, she will do it right. Her drive and commitment make her the far more likely candidate to win. Is it possible that Fern sensed in Serie something that Frieren is incapable of? Probably not. She sensed something Frieren had never bothered to do, but now that seems far more plausible.

Frieren Episode 27 delivers one of the best endings to an arc the audience likely never saw coming. Its subversion of expectations perfectly highlights the strengths and weaknesses of its cast. It embraces how Frieren is always at the center of the plot while not necessarily being the one it turns on. As Serie observed when Frieren shattered her barrier, “Sometimes the world of magic turns upside down.”

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.