Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 22 Review

Future Enemies

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 22 was a break from the action. The first test of the First-Class Made Exam ended in Episode 21. And, the second test looks like it’s going to begin next week. So, this week, we got to see the examinees hanging out around town.

Specifically, we got to see what 11 of the 18 mages who passed the first exam were up to. These are Frieren, Lawine, Kanne, Fern, Land, Übel, Denken, Laufen, Richter, Wirbel, and Scharf. The mages we didn’t follow are Ton, Methode, Länge, Ehre, Blei, Edel, and Dünste.

So, what were our favorite mages doing during their break? Frieren (and Stark) were trying to cheer Fern up by buying her sweets and snacks. Lawine and Kanne brought more sweets over to Frieren as thanks for helping them in the first test.

Denken, Laufen, and Richter went out to eat at the fanciest restaurant in town. They also saw Frieren, Fern, and Stark there, but didn’t interact with them. The more I see of Denken, the more I like him. He recognizes that people want to be left alone. And, he spoils Laufen as if she’s his granddaughter.

Übel and Land went on a date, which isn’t something I expected to see. Land didn’t seem all that interested. But, Übel wanted to get to know him more because that’s how she learns magic. When she empathizes with someone, she can use their spells — like Wirbel’s Sorganeil.

Speaking of Wirbel and Scharf, they were going around looking for a warrior to party up with them. Wirbel accepted a quest to hunt some nearby monsters and needed an extra hand. In the end, they took Stark (against his will) after Fern told them they could.

Searching for Flavors

Frieren often says things that make me think more about how she experiences the world. Because her life is so long, she doesn’t view things the same way humans do. Though, as we get older, we can begin to see where she’s coming from.

For example, at the start of the series, Frieren commented on her “mere 10-year journey” with the Hero’s party. And, you might think, how can she think 10 years is short? Even if she lived for over 1,000 years, 10 years is still 10 years.

But, she has a point when she says things like that. The older you get, the faster time seems to pass. When I was a kid, a 10-minute drive felt like an hour-long journey. Today, I don’t even consider multiple years to be a long time. Something’s happening in 2 years? That’s coming up soon.

Anyway, in Episode 22, Frieren said another thing that got me thinking. Obviously, things have changed a lot over the course of her life. But, one of the things she notices the most is how food has changed. And, I can definitely sympathize with her here.

I mean, imagine if you went to a restaurant once and it was the best food you’ve ever had. Then, you go back a year later and, even though it’s the same restaurant, the food is completely different. This is something Frieren probably experiences a lot.

She’s lived for so long and traveled so much that by the time she revisits a town, everything is different. This is also why she wasn’t planning to get her First-Class Mage license. Like everything else, it’s going to become obsolete in no time (relative to her). It must be rough when almost nothing is nostalgic.

Preparing for the Second Test

We already knew that Sense was going to be the proctor for the second test. But, now the examinees know that, too. And, according to both Lawine and Kanne, this is bad news.

Apparently, nobody has passed a test proctored by Sense. She’s proctored four tests in the past, and they all resulted in 0% pass rates. So, it looks like this is where the exam is going to end for all of the mages this year. At least, that’s what Lawine and Kanne believe.

As I’m sure is the case for many of you, I have my doubts that this will be the end. Neither Frieren nor Fern needs to pass the exam. Frieren’s Holy Emblem is probably good enough if shown to the right person. But, I’m still expecting at least one of them to pass.

So, what do we know about Sense and her test? We know that Genau thinks the test is cruel. And, that’s a bad sign considering he didn’t care whether the examinees lived or died. However, Sense refers to herself as a pacifist. So, I guess her exam is going to be difficult, but not fatal.

We also know that the second test will be located at the Ruins of the King’s Tomb. And, we know the examinees are going to have to make their way through a dungeon labyrinth. But, that’s all we know.

Is this going to be another team-based exam? Will the examinees need to retrieve something from within the labyrinth to pass? Will the exam directly pit the examinees against each other? We’ll have to wait until the next episode to find out.

Also, it may not be important, but it looks like Sense uses teleportation magic.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 22? Did you like that this episode was a break from the First-Class Mage Exam? Do you understand, at least a bit, how Frieren feels when she sees the world around her changing rapidly? And, what are your predictions for the second test?

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My review of Episode 23 is available now.