Score: A

This show really is great. It’s hard to not just praise it endlessly. But will try to avoid that! This was a good episode focused between telling the story of the Southern Hero and also a story of the present day. It’s also a good reminder of the nature of demons. The first episode was more about threats of the natural world. Since we are in a new season it’s just good to remind the viewers what demons are and how they operate. It won’t stop people from misunderstanding what makes demons dangerous. But maybe that’s fitting since even within the world of Frieren people often make that error. Just within the setting they pay the ultimate price for it…

An absolute legend

I really do love how they take full advantage of Frieren being an elf that’s been around for so long. She met the Southern Hero? Well of course she did! While I don’t think the story made a mention of it, I’m not shocked that Himmel wasn’t the first hero to try and recruit her. But of course Himmel was the one that succeeded. It was partly because of his past with Frieren in that forest, but also because of who Himmmel was. He wasn’t the most powerful hero ever. The Southern Hero was probably most suited to that hero sword that still rests in the cave. But Himmel got them across the finish line. Because of who Himmel was. That helped him reach Frieren who was basically frozen in place and stopped her from spending her life in those woods unable to take that first step.

Not to say I don’t respect the Southern Hero. The man was a clearly a badass beyond badasses. He was up against absurd odds and still accomplished a lot. It just shows how high the wall of defeating the Demon Lord was when he had all that on his side. And the Southern Hero definitely cleared the way for Himmel’s party. If he hadn’t killed off Schlacht then that guy would still have the power to see the future and would’ve perceived the threat Himmel’s party presented. Although who knows…since the Southern Hero could see beyond his death. Heck, maybe Schlacht didn’t have that power at all. If he was in position to steer all the remaining forces against Himmel…that might’ve been game. But maybe that’s Demon 101. Humans will take action beyond their own survival, but demons might not care.

They barely won!

The Southern Hero only showed up here, but he was interesting. That he knew where this would end. Just makes him more of a hero though. He could’ve tried to avoid that battle. But he also knew that if he did then that would lave Schlacht and other sages in the path of anyone that would follow him. For the people of the world to have any chance, someone had to clear the road a bit. He’s only human so he probably couldn’t sit around and wait for enough other heroes to gather. I’m sure it was frustrating for him to know that someone else would get the job done. Even though he was absurdly powerful, it wasn’t his role to play. But he still did it. To clear the road for someone he’d never meet in person for the greater good.

And again…his accomplishments are fantastic. It was 8v1! And he killed half of them! That’s absolutely insane. There was no way for the Demons to recover by the time Himmel’s party came through. I’m sure that if he had a good party with him he could’ve taken more than half. But he probably also knew that he was going to get rid of enough. Excess would’ve just cost lives. Especially if he could recruit Frieren since she then wouldn’t be alive to support Himmel later.

Everybody wants it

The sword situation is interesting. On one level you would say “just let the demons have their darn sword.” But Frieren’s point is fair. It wouldn’t end there. They’d take the sword and then whoever had it would go on a killing spree. And that sword survived Frieren’s last strike so clearly it’s not something easily destroyed. That would be the ideal answer honestly if possible. But otherwise it is the best choice to just protect that sword to avoid as many deaths as possible. In some cases you could get mad at nobility that put the people at danger to protect their stuff. But in this case…they are protecting the people by doing so. Better to deal with occasional attacks then massacres of entire villages/towns.

That was a close one

That Sword Demon was a dangerous one too. It’s a painful reminder how you can never lower your guard. Can only imagine how many she’d killed while they were praying. That’s how demons are. They’ll use words to get their prey to lower their guard…whatever it takes. They don’t care about pretending to be priests. All about the end result. But Frieren has been through way too much to lower her guard in such a suspicious situation. But she had to strike when she did. Protecting Fern and Stark while they were praying would’ve been risky. Better to expose their enemy and confirm her suspicions.

And it was a good fight! There’s no way a 3v1 against this Sword Demon would’ve lasted too long. But it entertained for as long as was reasonable. Stark handled the close range and defense which left Frieren clear to strike from above. The demon did it’s best to be sure. It tried to by pass Stark to attack the mages who would be more vulnerable in close range combat. But Frieren was evasive, Stark was attentive to the defense, and Fern was able to hold out long enough to get support. The best chance it had was that one strike against Fern, but Stark was fast enough to step in. Which of course was more than appreciated by Fern!

The man loved to pose

This was another really good episode. This show is just full of great episodes. I thought from the title the Southern Hero might be a new figure that was stepping up. But instead it was Himmel’s predecessor that cleared the road for his party. Fantastic episode that gave us both an epic fight and some good flashbacks. This show does a good job of fleshing out the world with each episode while continuing the story. Both of the present and the past. Himmel has been dead for basically the whole show but he’s always getting more moments to flesh out his past and personality. Can only imagine how he felt hearing about the message left by a legend that preceded him.