Looking back at the second season of Frieren: Beyond Journey\u2019s End, it\u2019s clear that this latest run adapted a transitional chunk of the manga, a little valley between the battle royale brutality of the Mage Exam arc and the upcoming fight against one of this world\u2019s greatest remaining big bads, Macht of the Golden Land. For most series, this would mean a lull. The production staff would probably conserve resources to gear up for the more intensive episodes to come, and the story would stall out in the meantime.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, this latest stretch having fewer big events doesn\u2019t really matter because Frieren thrives on \u201ceveryday minutiae,\u201d as the last episode put it<\/a>. Madhouse has gone all out from beginning to end, and the studio\u2019s ability to play up both dramatic fights and grounded scenes of human connection has fully sold this adaptation. \u201cA Beautiful Sight\u201d is a perfect example, as two moving vignettes connect with a greater whole. Little moments of goodwill come together in ways you wouldn\u2019t expect, as positive actions outlive those who carried them out (and there are even a few excuses for our favorite mages to start blasting).<\/p>\n As Frieren & co. head further north toward Aureole, they come across an impassable nightmare canyon with headwinds so intense that our mages can\u2019t fly across. Normally, they\u2019d have to take a two-week detour to get across on foot, but Frieren happens to know a guy. On her last quest through the area, she met Gehen, who has been trying to build a bridge across the impasse for 200 years and counting. This series\u2019 dwarves sure seem to have a thing for seemingly quixotic tasks, and Gehen\u2019s dogged persistence takes us back to episode five<\/a>, where we met another bearded gentleman in the midst of a 100-year mission to find mythical booze. However, more than these incredibly long-term goals just being \u201ca thing that dwarves do,\u201d both cases explore how near-immortal beings need some greater purpose to avoid being swallowed up by eternity. It\u2019s a damn good point. While this setting has dragons, wizards, and mythical swords, it basically always grounds these fantastical sights in the day-to-day, in this case, what it would be like to have hundreds of years to accomplish your desires.<\/p>\n When the gang arrives at Gehen\u2019s bridge, they get good news and bad news: The bridge is done, but some dirtbag bird monsters keep blowing people off the side. The party agrees to kill the monsters in exchange for a semi-useless magical tome that lets you perfectly flip pancakes, which is a very funny bit. But under the humor, there\u2019s a bit more. After last week\u2019s episode, where we learned why Frieren routinely accepts these bad payments\u2014she\u2019s following Himmel\u2019s heroic lead\u2014there\u2019s an extra bit of heft to her choosing to help. Each side-adventure and lesson ties into the greater whole.<\/p>\n Before Frieren and Fern let loose on the shitty birds terrorizing the bridge, the former clarifies why Gehen is obsessed with his project in the middle of nowhere. It turns out that 200 years ago, his village was wiped out by demons. If there had been a way over the canyon, the cavalry could have come to their aid, but instead, nearly everyone died. Cue one of the series\u2019 banger flashback montages as Gehen builds his bridge plank-by-plank, the animators relishing this craftsman\u2019s deliberate work while he makes countless trips up a hill with lumber in tow. Along the way, he is helped by strangers until his effort is rewarded with a finished creation.<\/p>\n After getting the emotional buy-in for why we should hate these dumb birds who are thwarting Gehen\u2019s centuries of work, the group demolishes these jerks in a brief but flashy explosion of ax swings and magic fireworks. Would it be nice if this world\u2019s magical monsters were treated with the same thoughtfulness and respect that extends to every other corner of this mythos, perhaps by situating them in an interconnected ecosystem much like Delicious In Dungeon<\/a>? Definitely, but right now, I hate these stupid birds, so it\u2019s mostly fine.<\/p>\n As they head back to the dwarf for their reward, author Kanehito Yamada hits us with that last little gut punch: In the decades Gehen spent building his bridge, a new community has formed on top of the old one. He didn\u2019t just do this out of misplaced survivor\u2019s guilt and unprocessed grief, but as a means to protect his new home, a reveal that ties together this emotionally resonant 10-minute short story.<\/p>\n With the idiot birds vanquished, the group crosses the bridge into a desolate tundra, which, in northern lands tradition, kind of sucks. Making matters worse, Frieren spent all of the party\u2019s money on useless magic artifacts. Her only defense against her pupils\u2019 anger is that \u201c:3\u201d reaction face she pulls out in times of need and a plan to make some quick coin. She remembers that there\u2019s an adventurers\u2019 group in these parts mining for holy snow crystals. They get a gig that requires them to slay a very tough beastie, then put up a barrier to keep anyone else from getting at these mining reserves.<\/p>\n