In the first half of the episode, our trio takes a pit stop in a city in order to help old man Fass fulfill a lifelong dream. For two hundred years, the dwarf has been on a quest to locate the Boshaft, an alcohol that is legendary for its supposedly exquisite taste. It has become an obsession; this alcohol is his white whale. As it turns out, Boshaft is terrible. It’s not exquisite. It’s not divine. It is cheap swill that they produced and served en masse for big events like coronations. So where and how did the alcohol even get its legendary reputation? Apparently, from a particularly prankish elf.
Milliarde, an old acquaintance of Frieren (could she possibly still be alive?), could often be found staring off into space. When Frieren interrupted one of these profound sessions, the other elf had this to say: “Many of our fellow elves spend their long lives searching for something. Why do you think that is? … So that they don’t end up like me.” Without a purpose in life, Milliarde defaulted to goofing around. The devil finds work for idle hands, as they say. She was the one who wrote an inscription about the Boshaft, and she lied just for shits and giggles. Milliarde was tickled by the prospect of someone devoting their life to searching for and ultimately finding garbage.
But the jokes on Milliarde, because life is about the journey and not the destination. Fass’s lifelong quest isn’t all for nothing, because the taste of the alcohol itself isn’t what truly matters. Rather, it’s the fact that he lived with a purpose, and he managed to do it for centuries. Sure, he was driven to locate what is ultimately garbage, but at least he was driven in the first place. The fact that he also had fun in the process is the cherry on top. He wasn’t trying to hog the alcohol for himself or sell it for profit. Instead, his primary concern when he met Frieren again was to ask about Heiter. He’s been searching for two hundred years, but his end goal was to share the experience. Meanwhile, we’re told that Milliarde never does anything. I’m reminded of the folks in the Dark Souls universe, and how they would hollow out as soon as they lost their purpose in life. Of course, we know little about Milliarde outside of what Frieren tells us. But from what we do see, it does seem like a hollow existence.
Money matters
The episode opens with the trio talking about the Northern Plateau, how this particular part of the region is known for producing grain, how an empire used to rule over the continent, etc. To emphasize the passage of time, Frieren even bumps into someone she hasn’t seen in eighty years. As I take all of this in, I’m reminded of something that annoys me a lot about how world-building is often handled in stories like Frieren: how little life will have changed over any given time period. To be specific, I’m talking about things like technology and culture. We’ve seen flashbacks of Frieren’s past — flashbacks that must taken place hundreds if not over a thousand years ago. And yet, it often feels like huge parts of the world around her are inert.
Yeah, sure, the elf will sometimes come across ruins of a village that once thrived with life and vigor. Yes, we were just told that there once existed an empire that has since fallen. Bits and pieces of the culture might be different, i.e. a legendary alcohol disappears over time. Once in a while, we’ll stumble upon a stone slab featuring a language that is no longer spoken — ancient elvish in this case. But that’s about it. In general, everything else remains largely the same. The people, too, act the same, talk the same, dress the same, etc. And we know from experience how silly that is, because just our spoken language alone can quickly morph and evolve in a blink of an eye. Relatively speaking, of course. I suppose writers in general just aren’t very good at depicting large scale changes in society due to time.
Funnily enough, the second half of the episode features a company whose influence has waned since its heyday. But this is one of the few exceptions that proves the rule. Case in point, Frieren is wanted everywhere she goes, and in more ways than one. And because her looks never change — not even her clothes or hairstyle — she is always easily identifiable. It doesn’t matter how much time has passed. The only thing that matters is money. Specifically, the money that Frieren owes. The elf carries a great debt, which she has conveniently forgotten all about (but she somehow remembers that a certain alcohol tastes like shit). It’s just funny how little society will change no matter how much time has passed, but your debt will undoubtedly accumulate until you are stripped of your belongings and left destitute.
So how does Frieren escape this predicament? Certainly not through disobedience! It’s funny that any normal human can detain Frieren at all, because she’s such a skilled and powerful mage. The only person here who can stop her is herself. As a result, I find it fascinating that that she’s such a law-abiding individual. The current company president told her that verbal agreements are no good, and the elf doesn’t even argue it. She puts up no resistance whatsoever. Rather than resisting her captors, she instead uses her skills to locate a rich silver deposit within the mines. As a result, she buys her freedom through service. You could argue that she intended to repay her debts in this fashion from the start. Still, forcing her to wear rags is a bit much. It feels particularly disrespectful when you consider how she was one of the four heroes who defeated the Demon King.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— I can never imagine myself loving alcohol to such an extent that you throw a tantrum. I’ll enjoy a brandy or riesling once in a blue moon, sure, but at the end of the day, alcohol’s still just a beverage. It’s nothing to lose your mind over. And yet, there’s a theory that civilization only flourished wherever humanity could make alcohol…
— Sheesh, that dried ass bread looks even worse than hardtack. At this point, why not just carry some flour and whip up some flatbread whenever you need it? It’s not particularly hard or time consuming to make.
— Love how they’re spinning the whole “we’ll arrest you and force you to work in the mines!” into “many people will die if our company goes bankrupt!” Look, I get it. Demons have been more active in recent years, and the company is struggling with this change. But maybe your practices could also stand to improve.
— Fittingly, it’s actually the kids who wants to break the law.
