Frieren Beyond Journey’s End episode 7 & 8 analysis

Predatory Mimicry – Demons are masters of seduction | Frieren Beyond Journey’s End episode 7 & 8 analysis

Ecology and zoology dictate that plants and animals evolve specific features and behavior for survival purposes and no other reason. Parasites develop to look like food so that hosts will consume them. Animals develop skin patterns so they may hide from predators or prey. Frieren shows us in their universe that the demons are much the same. They have developed human appearances and language simply to deceive humans and survive. 

This is a quality that takes advantage of arguably humanity’s  greatest flaw which is that we are easily influenced by the visual. Robert Green has a quote which describes the predicament. It goes “The visual is the siren call that seduces the eye, distracts the attention, and deceives all the other senses.” The reality is that in daily life there are too many variables that if man was to continuously doubt what one can see there would be no peace. The demons take advantage of this by outwardly projecting the appearances and the mannerisms of human life 

Demons are all liars

Every word they speak and every human visual they present is meant to deceive and nothing else . The demons call to mothers that they do not know when injured because they know it appeals to the heart of man. They ask for peace and diplomacy when they know nothing of it. They speak of family even though that concept does not exist in their culture. In episode 8 one of Aura the Guillotines lieutenants, Draht attempts to negotiate for his life after failing to ambush Frieren. She does not even give him the opportunity to speak, she quickly extinguishes the demon in the same way one would swat a mosquito. We do not listen to the plight of the mosquito as he meets the zapper. Frieren understands the true nature of demons and therefore does not give them the opportunity to deceive. Underlining the point further is that when Draht’s associates discover his death, their reaction is one lacking in any emotion. In Fact the only thing that really concerns them is the fact that the mage was powerful enough to overcome their fellow demon. 

A Charming liar – Demons are masters of seduction | Frieren Beyond Journey’s End episode 7 & 8 analysis

Lügner is a general in the army of Aura the guillotine. He is very advanced in his human deception and evidently smarter than Draht. He is sent as an emissary by Aura to the nearest city. The demons are unable to attack the city due to a barrier erected centuries before by the legendary mage Flamme. The demons  were however let inside by the city’s leader Granat. Lugner became aware of the fact that Granat had lost his son in the conflict between the city and Aura’s forces. Lugner appeals to the emotion surrounding the loss by sharing a falsified story of his own loss. This works great in lowering the guard of the city’s soldiers. Had it not been for the presence of Frieren’s party as well as Draht’s hasty decision to ambush Freiren this city and all of its inhabitants would have been lost to the demons and Lugners seduction. 

While you may not be dealing with literal demons in your life there are still things we can take away from this episode. The key lesson is to always trust a person’s nature as opposed to what you can see. Don’t be conned by outward appearances. But instead understand the motivations of the individual and what they stand to gain by the presented imagery. This will help to guide us to more accurate and sensible decision making.