Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to the frost-tipped forests of the northern lands, as Frieren and her new allies continue their first-class mage trials. In attempting to capture a supersonic Stille, a sparrow-like bird highly attuned to the presence of magic, Frieren used the creature’s own sensitivity against it. By directing her allies to “contaminate” all sources of water with magic, she ensured the birds would come to drink at the final remaining pool, thus making them easy to capture with even the shortest of ranged spells.
Unfortunately, though pretty characteristically for Frieren, it doesn’t seem she put much thought into the second-order effects of this gambit. Thus we find ourselves with the first-class prospects poised on the verge of conflict, hoping to steal one of the already-captured Stilles now that Frieren has poisoned the well. Though these challenges were initially framed as staid tests of formal aptitude, it seems that Frieren has grasped their true nature; such trials only ever lead to violence, particularly when a number of their entrants actively wish it so. As both the warriors and politicians of this contest well understand, one cannot rise ever upward without stepping upon the dreams of others. With their fangs now bared, let’s see how these mages fare!
Episode 20
Our episode title “Necessary Killing” seems like an inherent critique of this exam system. What about any of this is “necessary,” given the exam template is entirely in the hands of its proctors? The fact that this challenge so swiftly, obviously resolves into violence seems like it’d be an inescapable deduction for its designers – which in turn means they actually want the violence. Do they wish to bind all first-class mages to their own system through their complicity in murdering their way up? Do they want to ensure any first-class mages possess the necessary killer instinct? Or are they even simply desiring a winnowing of the overall number of mages, such that magical power within human society is easier to control? Regardless, the nature of this challenge makes it clear that the proctors are to some extent hostile to their own contestants
A cold open draws us in over the frozen lake, as Übel continues to approach Wirbel. Her stance projects total confidence; she’s not even holding a battle pose, simply walking with her arms hanging at her sides as she somehow summons invisible blades for Wirbel to deflect
Wirbel attempts to project confidence as well, but his injuries are stacking. The lack of contrast in their affect quietly points towards one of Frieren’s persistent weaknesses: how basically everyone acts like they’re two NyQuil deep. It works for Frieren due to her sleepwalking-esque lack of engagement with the world, but you gotta have some contrast!
“Are we going to whale on each other with basic spells again?” I do like how both these opponents understand the terms of their battle, and how killing magic is given the proper respect. Magic in this world is astoundingly powerful relative to the physical limitations of the human body; if either of these two were to land a clean blow, they would instantly kill their opponent. Thus focusing on defense and learning the limitations of your opponent’s abilities is paramount, placing us somewhere between a JoJo battle and a samurai duel
“His magic is devoid of character. It’s underhanded, for the sole purpose of winning.” The reflections of Wirbel’s ally seem to demonstrate she doesn’t really understand the terms of this contest. Anything that isn’t “for the sole purpose of winning” is extraneous here – if you’re looking for spectacle in a fight to the death, you won’t last long. No one cares what the dead find distasteful
As always, I appreciate how magic in this world is portrayed as explicitly not of this world, like a fuzzy filter placed upon reality itself
“This is an absurd reliance on strength! It doesn’t have a shred of character!” Unsurprisingly, she soon finds herself disappointed with Fern’s preference for victory over spectacle as well. Defeat comes just as swiftly
Wirbel hits Übel with a binding spell, then has the consideration to reveal “as long as I keep looking at you, you can’t move.” That’s a pretty important limitation to just give away! When it comes to these sorts of JoJo or Hunter x Hunter-adjacent conflicts, the acquisition of information like this essentially is the conflict itself
Ah, I see. He’s taking it easy on her, still trying to avoid a mortal conclusion. As The Big Short put it, he wasn’t confessing, he was bragging
What’s more, he offered partial information in order to avoid giving away his weakness – that his opponent’s entire body must be in view for the spell to work, thus preventing him from approaching too close while maintaining the binding
Wirbel reveals that as a member of the Northern Mages’ Association, he is technically tasked with fighting demons, but can also be commissioned to fight in wars between men. There is no weapon we won’t turn on each other
“The fiendish act of sending women and children to war wasn’t uncommon.” Humanity doesn’t really have any moral high ground here
But we can still make a choice, still hold certain things sacred. As Übel points out, Wirbel’s reliance on binding magic demonstrates his fundamental preference for non-violent means
And ultimately, his delays mean Fern arrives in time to rescue Übel. While these exam proctors seem intent on making monsters of these mages, Wirbel held onto his values, and seems quite happy to avoid being forced to kill Übel. None of this was “necessary killing,” and it seems Wirbel has already eaten his full of that
It’s an optimistic framing – that being forced to engage in senseless violence might not simply desensitize us, but instead make us all the more determined to live by our values whenever possible
A telling twitch of the eye from Wirbel when Fern states she killed his partner Ehre. Nonetheless, he remains committed to no unnecessary killing
It seems Fern read him truly from the start, knew he’d abandon violence the moment it was unnecessary, and thus lied about his partner being killed to peacefully remove him from the field
Fern’s actions resonate with both Ehre and Übel’s thoughts on how magic reflects its caster. Fern is the most pragmatic of all; her style of magic echoes her general affectation, betraying minimal ego or personality of any kind, simply a desire to make the most efficient possible action. It seems appropriate that one of her signature abilities is now the ability to conceal her magic entirely; she is the opposite of Ehre, seeing magic not as an expression of self, but merely a tool to be sharpened
Meanwhile, Land faces his own opponent in a field of flowers
Once again, I appreciate how the overwhelming power of magic is reflected in the anticlimax of its execution. Just one brief flourish of conjured blades, and it appears like Land has suffered a mortal blow. People can’t shrug off blows like that – as Brennan Lee Mulligan said, “it turns out, when you stab most people with a sword, they die right away”
Land notes that custom-made spells like this “often lack in the fundamentals.” Once again, this contrast of expressing personality through spellcasting versus understanding what spellcasting fundamentally is: a tool to enact your will upon the world. Guns aren’t for threats, they’re for killing
It turns out the injured Land was only an illusion. The real one treats magic with respect – he appears only once the battle is won, and offers a single light strike to incapacitate his opponent, employing no flourishes and leaving nothing to chance. Once you start prioritizing flash over effectiveness, battles can become messy enough to provoke a great degree of unnecessary killing
Wirbel has harsh words for the defeated Ehre, but he’s a soldier; he understands it was not luck that led to Fern’s victory, but rather luck that she wasn’t interested in killing either of them
He even carries Ehre on his back (unlike our own party’s “levitating a sack of potatoes” method), revealing he’s truly a softy at heart. Quite an optimistic character portrayal; as Übel acknowledged, he’s worked hard to maintain his humanity
And now he’s floating Land’s opponent along too. Extremely efficient work in making Wirbel this story’s most adorable character
“Is that kindness the reason you fight demons? You saved my village, too.” In spite of the horrors he’s suffered, he has truly made a difference in this place. It takes great kindness to endure what he has and still be committed to protecting the alleged innocence of humanity
Wirbel states his motives were much more mundane – he made a promise to the girl he liked as a young child, to clear out the demons so she could return safely to the north. Of course, a promise like that would never propel a lifetime of service to the people – as with Frieren’s focus on Himmel, these touchstones are simply useful markers in memory, ways we choose to simplify the complexity of self-definition and personal transformation. Wirbel might have started off with that motivation, but he became far more than just an avatar of that hope over time
“I don’t even remember her face or name anymore.” The memory is just a marker, the feeling it instilled in him is what remains
“You can’t be serious. What was all that effort for?” In the end a Stille basically falls into their lap, making the violence from earlier feel all the more arbitrary
Elsewhere, Frieren’s group faces off with the dwarf Denken’s team
Then to the proctors, where the second trial’s director Sense chastises Genau for “killing a few promising test-takers”
His response is “First-class mages are just that valuable.” As seemed clear in the initial explanation of this exam, first-class mages are clearly political tools of great worth, their title seemingly even more important than their abilities
“This is a battle masquerading as a competition.” She’s not wrong
It seems clear that Genau is basically selecting for mages who think like him
Frieren and Denken meet directly at last, each aware of the other’s reputation
Funny contrast here in Denken’s “everyone from my generation knows your name” to Frieren’s party members responding with surprise that Frieren is famous. Just goes to show the limitations of history and legend – Frieren fell from inescapable to unknown within one generation
Denken’s compatriot Richter chastises him for his apparent sentimentality, his desire to win without killing one of Frieren’s companions. Another contrast of those who kill for convenience versus those who prize the distinction of “necessary killing,” one of the few ways to retain a sense of civility or humanity in an uncivilized world
“I simply don’t believe being a first-class mage is worth killing someone.”
It seems becoming a first-class mage comes with the privilege of learning any one spell you desire from their overseer, the elf mage Serie
“So modern first-class mages are all monsters who barely resemble humans.” Serie’s promise seems to echo Genau’s view of these exams, as merely a device for cultivating monsters
And Done
Ooh, that was an excellent one! I had figured this episode might genuinely focus on combat interplay, given the way pairings were set up in last episode’s conclusion, but instead we got this delightful, multifaceted reflection on the nature of violence – how easy it can be to misconstrue the fundamental nature of magic, and how difficult it is to maintain humanity with full knowledge of the monstrous resources at your disposal. For these mages, the challenge is not about acquiring the “magic power” necessary to cast some great sorcery; from Ehre’s misunderstanding of mortal combat to Wirbel and Denken’s crystal-clear acceptance of what killing represents, what is more important than the capacity to do harm is the application of such ability, and coming to terms with how you want your magic to change the world around you. Ultimately, Ehre was indeed right that magic reflects your personality; but in a situation such as this, the only truth found in sorcery is what you are willing to destroy.
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