Frieren, the elven mage, is one of the most powerful characters in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. However, she mentioned that despite being so powerful and living for such an extended period, various humans had defeated her over the years. Only a handful were on par with Frieren or more powerful than her.
This brings us to whether anyone in the series has the expertise to judge Frieren’s magical prowess. However, the exact situation is observed when Serie fails Frieren in the Third Exam. How does a fluent and wise mage fail a magical exam, or why does Serie fail her?
Serie fails Frieren due to a difference in magical ideology
In Chapter 56 of Frieren: Beyond The Journey’s End, Serie discusses the format of the third exam with some of her first-class mages. She decides to become in charge of the exam. This leads us to Chapter 57, where she chooses to mark the exam’s result. Based on instincts, she filters who’ll pass and who won’t. She fails Kanne, Dünste, Laufen, Scharf, and Ehre because they cannot visualize becoming first-class mages and Frieren due to their ongoing ideological dispute over magic.
Frieren elaborates to Serie that she was able to unite with the Hero Party because of her Flower Field spell. The latter finds it childish and foolish.
Frieren limits her true capabilities and takes the lengthy route
Frieren’s perception regarding magic is a lot different than Serie’s. The former possesses a lot of weaknesses that her enemies have exploited from time to time. Keeping her shortcomings in mind, she drastically limits what she is capable of as a mage. Audiences often see her cooking up strategies to beat an opponent whom she can blast away like a twig.
