Score: A-

We’re getting into it now! I was curious how the battles were going to proceed, but the matchups are established and now we can see what everyone is made of. With Frieren I don’t expect these fights to last all that long. If things aren’t mostly wrapped up in the next episode I’ll be surprised. The demons have made their attacks and there’s not much to do but take them on now. Each side of this has an interesting element to it and that should make for a great episode next week!

Guys just hanging out

This episode was plenty good though. Each situation has some interesting elements to it. We’ve got Methode in a 1v1 against one of the demons, Fern in a (mostly) 1v1, and Stark alongside Genau in a 2v1. Well I think it’s a 2v1. There’s that curious demon that was practically bouncing around and he wasn’t taking part (yet) in either fight. It’s possible he’ll cause trouble for any given side. It’s also possible he’s being used to hint towards a different demonic situation coming up. Presuming nothing changes we know what’s going on here.

Besides the fighting though, I did enjoy the brief looks at who Genau is. We get to see angles of it with how he interacts with Methode, his old partner, and Stark. He definitely likes to paint himself as a bad guy. Maybe part of him thinks he’ll survive longer if he does that or he just wants his partners to not care so much about him that they’ll risk their lives for him. No doubt that he’s made sacrifices, but it’s not because he hates people. Even if he acts confused, it’s no shock that he’s unwilling to abandon his village. Everyone’s dead. But he can at least make sure they get to a good resting place and are avenged. It’s about all he can do.

Yeah, that’s worrying to fight against!

The Stark and Genau battle against Revolte should be excellent! I still don’t have a good read on Genau’s combat style. He clearly can create wings which does give him good aerial mobility. Is he just going to spam Zoltraak from up there? All demons apparently can fly so that probably only helps to a degree. With Stark it’s a bit more clear-cut. He’s a badass warrior, but one that is in a tough spot here. Against someone that can wield 4 swords at the same time…he’ll be on the defensive. That’s not the worst thing of course. Stark is tough to put down and if he’s 100% focused on defense then he’ll be hard to kill. If Genau is their main attacker in that sense then they should be able to handle this.

Genau did waive some death flags though which is worrying. Some talk about how he won’t die protecting a child like his partner did. But he’s now out there fighting alongside…basically a kid. Genau also is very protective of his village and Revolte straight up killed his old partner. There’s a lot of possibilities for him to get emotional and make a misstep. If he does…then Stark will have to go on the offensive himself and find a way to win.

Frieren…

Speaking of worrying…Frieren is incredibly easy to take advantage of! Seriously! Just promise her a grimoire and she’s completely at your mercy. If Frieren doesn’t have that spell already then it’s a risky situation! Thankfully Methode only wants headpats and hugs. I don’t even want to imagine what people could come up with in less…family friendly material with that in mind! Still, there’s only so much that Fern will put up with when it comes to people trying to take advantage of Frieren like that. Definitely not any sort of jealousy or possessiveness in play here!

Fern’s got this!

Fern’s fight does look as if it will be rather interesting. It could’ve been the most basic of them all. If Frieren was willing to coordinate attacks with Fern then this guy would be done! These demons are often confidence to their detriment and he wouldn’t be the first to get killed by Frieren by looking down at her. But instead Frieren is just going to focus on defending herself and that’s it. Her excuse about this being a mission for first class mages is whatever.

Maybe I could see her not wanting to take any orders (directly or indirectly) from Serie, but I don’t see her risking Fern’s life over that. Frieren has incredible trust in Fern’s capabilities. They are in a dangerous area so she may be trying to both toughen up Fern and build her confidence. Fern doesn’t see herself as able to handle this opponent, but Frieren is completely sure she can. I do think she’d take action if Fern looked to be in true peril, but that’s about it.

This should be fun!

Methode’s fight should be good also. She’s seemingly up against another sword wielding demon. But her abilities are a bit more curious. Mental manipulation seems to be up her alley. Serie didn’t send Methode up there to get killed. Her combat talents must be enough to manage. She did take on Fern’s doppelganger in the last season so clearly she can hold her own. There’s probably meaning to having her fight separated from the one Fern is having. But either way I think she’ll handle her side of this without much trouble.

Wild card or sequel hook?

I’m just really hyped up for what’s going to happen next week. This episode had a good easing into the action with a few clashes. But now we’re set for some great fights. I still expect things to wrap up really fast (considering how few episodes we’ve got), but that each fight will have care and attention given to them. Let’s see if everyone can walk away from this fight safely! Frieren isn’t all about the fights, but it does tend to give everyone a chance to shine. Let’s do this!