Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 13 Review

Aversion to One’s Own Kind

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 13 introduces a new party member. This whole time, I felt like Frieren’s party was missing something. The Hero’s party had four members. So, Frieren’s party only having three made it feel unfinished.

Sein is a human priest who’s gifted in treating poison and venom. According to Frieren, this is what priests specialize in. Though, we can probably expand that to any kind of healing magic. But, anyway, Sein is more skilled than most priests — at least when it comes to this niche of healing magic.

Unfortunately, I’m not sold on Sein as a party member just yet. In some ways, yes, he fits in with the others. Fern, Stark, and Sein are all geniuses in their respective fields. But, I’m not sure his personality is right for the group yet.

He’s another male character for Stark to bond with, which is good. And, his corrupt habits make him seem similar to Heiter, which Fern likes. But, there’s still something off about him. And, I think it might have to do with his age — not that we know how old he is.

Fern and Stark have a good dynamic because they’re about the same age. But now, we’re bringing in this older guy who treats all three other party members like kids. That may be entertaining in the short term. However, I can’t see it remaining that way for long.

How many times will it take Sein referring to Frieren as a child for it to get old? He’s done it once so far, and I’m already at my limit. That’s such an overused gag. We get it, Frieren looks young because she’s an elf. This isn’t the first time the series has poked fun at that.

Corrupt Priest Propaganda

One of the things Sein did was show us another side of Fern that we haven’t seen before. And, again, I’m not sure how I feel about it. Of course, I’m talking about how Fern believes Sein is a good priest because of his character flaws.

Fern believes Heiter was a good priest. And, in some ways he was. But, her idea of what a good priest is is also skewed because of who Heiter was as a person. She associates the negative parts of his character with the good things about him.

So, when she sees that Sein has similar negative character traits, she assumes he’s a good priest, as well. It should also be noted that Sein has even more negative character traits than Heiter. Not only does he drink, but he smokes and gambles. Not exactly what you’d expect from a priest.

It was kind of funny to see Fern act this way. Usually, she’s the serious, mature one of the group. Despite being far younger than Frieren, she serves as a mother figure. She gets Frieren out of bed, dresses her, etc. And, she fills a similar role for Stark, as well.

That all goes out the window when she thinks about Heiter, though. Heiter was the parental figure in Fern’s life. So, she believes everything he told her. And now, we’re seeing that she’s sort of projecting that onto Sein. She doesn’t see him entirely the same as Heiter. But, he’s close.

Will this relationship between Fern and Sein continue? I hope not. Seeing this side of Fern was funny in this episode. But, I already liked her character the way she was. I don’t think adding a new aspect of her personality at this point is the right call.

Hot Older Women in Your Party

So, I said I wasn’t a fan of using Frieren’s young appearance as a gag. But, I am a fan of using her old age as a gag. Does that make me a hypocrite? You decide. I’d argue that’s a much less overused gag, though.

I’m not sure if Fern has commented on Frieren’s age before. But, Stark definitely has. He’s called her an old lady. And, he’s kind of right. To most species, Frieren is a very old lady. However, as far as we can tell, she’s not that old compared to the lifespan of elves.

You may recall that in Episode 11, Kraft called Frieren young. This wasn’t him poking fun at her appearance. Kraft is also an elf. He was referring to her being far less experienced in life than he is. The implication is that elves live far longer than Frieren has.

Anyway, my favorite joke of Episode 13 had to do with Frieren’s age. Frieren, Fern, and Stark learn that Sein is attracted to older women. So, Frieren presents herself as an older woman in the hopes of convincing Sein to join them. And, obviously, this didn’t work.

Why was this a good joke, though? It has two parts. First, Sein doesn’t view Frieren as an older woman due to her appearance and personality. His attraction to older women isn’t merely due to their age. It has to do with how they look and act. And this is something Frieren, Fern, and Stark completely miss.

Second, there’s the absolute confidence with which Frieren blows a kiss at Sein. She was so sure that was going to seal the deal. And, there’s the fact that this isn’t what I expected her to do. I thought she would use a spell.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 13? Do you think Sein is going to be a good fit for the party? Do you like the more innocent side of Fern we saw in this episode? And, how were you expecting Frieren to seduce Sein? Let me know in the comments.

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The review of Episode 14 is available now.