Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 14 Review

Fern’s 18th Birthday

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 14 is the second episode featuring Fern’s birthday. The last time was when she turned 16. So, does that mean she’s 17 now? I don’t think so. From my understanding, we skipped over her birthday one year.

Fern should now be 18, which is the same age as Stark. This should also be Fern’s first birthday which Stark is around for. So, naturally, she wanted to receive a present from him. After all, she got him a present for his birthday despite only learning about it that same day.

Why does Fern care so much about her birthday, though? Well, according to Sein, part of it is that she’s a woman. As he tells Fern and Frieren, men simply don’t care as much about things like birthdays. From that, we can also infer the opposite; Sein believes women care more about those things.

However, there’s something more important going on here. Notice how the only person Fern wants a present from is Stark. She wasn’t very upset when Sein said he hadn’t gotten her a gift. And, we didn’t see if Frieren got her a gift either.

Though, we can assume Frieren did. She’s pretty considerate when it comes to that sort of thing.

Anyway, Fern’s so upset about Stark not getting her anything because she likes him. It’s pretty obvious — even to Sein and Frieren. She got a gift for Stark for his birthday. And so, she wants him to get her one in return. Again, because she likes him.

I mentioned this in the Episode 12 review, but we still don’t know when Frieren’s birthday is. And, we don’t know when Sein’s birthday is either. But, I assume we’ll find out at some point.

Adults Need to Be Praised, Too

Episode 11 first brought up the idea of needing to be praised by someone for a job well done. Heiter and Kraft had both talked to Frieren about this. As priests, they believe that the Goddess will praise them in the afterlife.

But, Frieren doesn’t exactly believe in the Goddess herself. So, both Heiter and Kraft offered to praise her in this world instead. Frieren declined Kraft’s offer, presumably because she already accepted Heiter’s previously. But now, in Episode 14, we’re seeing the other side of this.

This time around, it’s Frieren who praises the priests. When she reunited with Heiter decades later, Frieren was the one who praised him for maturing. And in the present, we see her do the same thing to Sein. Sein doesn’t think of himself as someone on Heiter’s level. But, Frieren assures him that he is.

Now, this is the second episode in a row in which Sein referred to Frieren as a child. And, as I mentioned in the Episode 13 review, I’m not a fan of this becoming a running gag. But, I want to point out the difference between the two ways he did it in this episode.

I’m actually fine with the first time Sein called Frieren a child in Episode 14. That’s because he wasn’t commenting on her appearance. He was commenting on her lack of understanding surrounding romance. And, specifically, how she was similar to Fern and Stark in that regard.

The second time he calls her young is implied but also falls into the category I don’t like. When she pats him on the head, he says he wishes it was an older woman doing it, not Frieren. Though, Frieren had a pretty good response to this.

Mirrored-Lotus

If you had any doubts about whether or not Fern likes Stark, look at her response to him offering to return her gift. After finding out what the symbol on the bracelet means, Stark wants to take it back. But, Fern rejects this and tells him never to suggest that again.

She claims it’s because Stark spent a lot of time picking it out for her. And, to an extent, I believe her. Since she likes Stark, she wants to keep an accessory he spent so long deciding on for her. But, there’s definitely more to it than that.

The symbol on the bracelet is the mirrored-lotus, which signifies eternal love. As a teenage boy, it’s clear to see why Stark would be embarrassed that he chose something like that for Fern. However, this is also clearly one of the main reasons why Fern wants to keep it.

Fern isn’t the only one with a mirrored-lotus accessory, though. After seeing it, Frieren realizes that the ring Himmel once gave her features the same symbol. She claims that, like Stark, Himmel probably didn’t know what it represented.

But, then we get a flashback that shows this isn’t true — and Frieren likely knows it.

She picked out the ring without knowing what it was. And, at first, Himmel wants her to think more about her choice. But, after seeing the symbol on the ring, he decides that it’s actually a good choice, after all.

Why did he decide that? Because he knew that the mirrored-lotus represented eternal love. This also isn’t the first time Himmel showed interest in flowers. So, it’s not unlikely for him to have known that. He complimented Frieren’s flower field spell and told her about a flower from his home.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 14? Do you think this is the end of the birthday discussion now that Fern and Stark have “matching” bracelets? Do you want to be praised by Frieren? And, do you think Frieren ever gave Himmel something for his birthday? Let me know in the comments.

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The review of Episode 15 is available now.