Welcome back to Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and the third episode of the highly awaited second season. When we last saw Frieren, Fern and Stark, they had retrieved Graf Dach’s heirloom sword from the sword demon and earned a new grimoire for it (that teaches you to magically turn red apples into green apples, fun!) But their path is a long one, and though good vibes are plentiful, there’s also danger and excitement at every turn. So let’s get going! WARNING: Full details for Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 Episode 3 follow. Seriously, spoilers ahead! The Hidden Hot Spring In the Etwas Mountains, Frieren, Stark and Fern walk through oddly warm territory on their way to the next village. They’re near some hot springs, so it’s got them a little more excited than usual. However, a long walk is a long walk, and the spot that Frieren thought the village was is devoid of, well, a village. All they find is a single cabin and a family. While Stark plays with some of the kids, the owner of the cabin tells them the village was abandoned over 30 years ago. Also, the hot springs nearby have dried up, meaning they’ll have to go even further to find some. It’ll be a week-long journey to the next town, but the elderly owner has an idea. His own grandfather told him that there’s a hot spring hidden in the mountains. Frieren knows about it, but she’s apprehensive about reaching it as it’s pretty far back. Stark says he also thinks he’s heard of the Etwas hot spring and tells Frieren he wants to go. Frieren is hesitant, but Stark is enthusiastic enough to convince the group to go for it. Leapin’ (Three-Headed) Lizards! Now it’s time for a classic FRIEREN FOREST TRAVELLING MONTAGE. It’s an arduous trek through the mountains, full of climbing and near-falls. Stark kills a giant boar and they chow down because protein is important in times like this. Frieren sees a rune that indicates the hot spring is nearby, but Fern notices that she doesn’t look too happy about it. Frieren remembers travelling there with Himmel’s party and the exhausting search they had to go on to find it. They even had to confront a monster, a monster who still remains in the area, it seems. It’s a huge, angry, three-headed lizard that dwells atop a dilapidated castle. To defeat it, they have to cut off all three heads at once; otherwise, it just regenerates. The lizard leaps down from the castle and charges at them. Frieren tells Stark to run because she has a plan. However, that plan involves the lizard chasing Stark as he flees for his life. Frieren and Fern attack the heads at once, and an exhausted Stark realizes that he was just the bait. Frieren congratulates her companions on a job well done. A Great View The three then climb a large outcropping of rock, on top of which is a small hot spring. Stark doesn’t mind that it’s only deep enough to serve as a foot bath — the depth means that they can all enjoy it together. The three take off their shoes, dip their feet in, and enjoy the spectacular mountain view around them. Stark reveals that he learned about it from Eisen, who told him that reaching it wasn’t worth it and that it was ridiculous. However, Eisen also said that those ridiculous memories of his friends are irreplaceable. Stark wanted to see the view that Eisen saw. However, the way back down the outcropping is hard, and soon Fern trips and falls atop Frieren and Stark. Maybe it wasn’t worth the trip after all. Maybe. Later, in the fortress city of HeiB, Frieren gets to soak in an actual hot spring, and when she gets out, it’s only to go to new magic shops. Meanwhile, Stark and Fern discuss how they’ll spend the rest of their stay. Stark thinks he’ll visit a weapons shop, but Fern tells him that he needs to pay attention to her. Stark decides to tease her and asks her out on a date. But to Stark’s surprise, Fern agrees! He has no idea what to make of that response. First Date Jitters When Frieren returns, she finds Stark sulking outside her room. At their next meal, he asks her if Fern is mad, but Frieren acknowledges that she’s probably not the best person to seek advice from. However, Frieren does have insight into Fern and tells him that if Stark asked her on a date, she’d think he was a fine young man and might even pay for it. Stark responds by saying it would feel like a grandson hanging out with his grandma. Frieren says that if he calls her a “hag” or “grandma” a third time, she’ll scream and cry and throw the kind of tantrum that “even made Himmel the Hero tremble with fear.” A flashback shows us, though, that Himmel is only terrified that a grown woman would act this way when she cries. Stark decides that it’s too late to take the offer back and asks Frieren about some places Fern might like to go. Frieren begins to plan it out: take Fern to the market to eat (because she gets hangry easily), let her snack a little bit, take her to shops with pretty things to look at, take her to a few dessert shops, and after that, bring her to a quiet spot. Frieren tells Stark that Heiter is the one who told her all about Fern’s likes and dislikes. Heiter wanted Frieren to be a parental figure to Fern, but Frieren admits that she’s never actually figured out anything that Fern enjoys. However, Stark counters that she IS a good parent because she remembered all those things about Fern. Frieren says that is nice enough to knock off one of Stark’s “offenses.” That night, Fern tells Frieren that she’s been invited on a date, and is shocked when Frieren reveals that she’s been on a date before. Frieren says that she and Himmel were asked by a shopkeeper to find a lost cat one time, but Fern isn’t sure that qualifies as a date. Frieren says that her master once told her that when two members of the opposite sex hang out by themselves, it’s a date, and that maybe it means she went out on a date with Sein, too. That night, Fern, unable to sleep, goes to the window and looks up at the moon. What will Frieren, Stark and Fern encounter next? Be sure to find out in the next episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey ’s End right here on Crunchyroll.
