When the strongest episode goes unnoticed

What's the strongest episode in Freerun Beyond Journey's end? If I had to guess, you probably thought first of the big crescendoing moments. Like the remarkably well executed fights that come out of nowhere, or those big emotional scenes where everything that's been foreshadowed comes together perfectly. And while I think you could make a case for any of those, I think Freerun is a show that shines most in subtlety. So today when I'm making the case for Freerun's strongest episode, I'm going to choose one that I think most people wouldn't. An episode that at first glance doesn't seem very special, but in retrospect is foundational to so many moving threads and parts of the story. One that I don't believe is the strongest because it has the highest peaks, but because it's the most consistent. Welcome to a running series called Exploring Freerun. My name is Pei and today we're talking about an episode so good that every time I looked at it, I found more depth. In the past I've argued that Freerun is a show heavily built off of theme, exploring many complex concepts surrounding the human condition. What would it be like to live forever? What do you do when you realize you haven't been using your time the way you want to? How do you explore and engage in meaningful relationships? Some are more generally applicable and others are definitely more rooted in fantasy. A fundamental part of Freerun's storytelling is how well it engages in all of these different exploration of ideas, and to some degree that's the entire foundation of today's argument. Episode 14 of Freerun Beyond Journeys N fully encapsulates everything I love about this show, and it does it in less than 25 minutes. We get a taste of a lot of different foundational parts of Freerun, exploration of character relationships and what it would be like to be an adventurer, outstanding direction and writing, especially navigating a complex but compelling ensemble cast, a glimpse of Freerun's beautiful animation and engaging action scenes, and more than anything, emotional resonance. I wouldn't expect many people to put this episode very high on their personal rankings. If we actually go look at IMDB where people give individual rankings for each episode, it's actually very run of the mill. But I think that's partially the case because it engages in so many running threads. Because there are 4 videos that I'm going to eventually make talking about fundamental ideas in Freerun where I'd point to this episode as being a major component of the execution. For example, I'm currently working on a script about symbolism in Freerun, specifically built around jewelry. This episode is a fundamental part of that. Another video I want to make is talking about Fern and Stark's budding romance, or one built around character design in Freerun and how Sign's very average looking character design was so subversive. Both of those would once again be built around this episode and the information presented. There are also multiple quotes from this episode that I point towards consistently. Outstanding lines that are so efficient and eloquent that it would be easy for them to sneak by unnoticed. Which in a lot of ways represents this entire episode, quality that would be easy to miss because of its subtlety. Freerun's writing is really good, the way they dance around plot and character writing is really inspired, and that also applies to the dialogue. Two of my favorite quotes from this show come from this episode. The first is built around this almost universal experience where when you're a kid growing up you assume adults have everything figured out, and when you get older you realize they don't. A big part of being an adult feels like pretending, and figuring things out as you go. There's this scene that's a flashback to a previous episode where Heider shares that he never felt like he stopped pretending to be an adult. But what is being responsible truly? Is it actual comfort, or more just being able to take on the challenge? Freerun's writing at many points feels so mature, which leads to our second quote. Unless you tell people how you feel, they won't know. Yes, this is simple, and to some it might feel obvious, but so often I've seen too many people fall prey to this error. I think Freerun has good dialogue, but that's not the writing quality that stands out to me most. There's this thing I'm calling staggered episodes that I'm eventually going to make a whole video about, but essentially the argument is that instead of the start and end of an episode being one full story, they instead stagger them across episodes. Starting one story in a previous episode and then finishing it in the next. But in reality Freerun's substories actually fall in really interesting places. Sometimes they'll have a fully fleshed out multi-year storyline that only takes 9 minutes. Freerun is incredibly efficient with its time. So when I came back to watch this episode, I was shocked at how much they fit into 25 minutes. This first half is built around a very slice of life conflict between Fern and Stark. Fern is upset because Stark didn't get him a birthday present. And Sign, a new member of the party at this point, helps intervene and manage the conflict. It's cute and really well executed. It ties neatly into the past conflict while also setting up some in the future. It's fun seeing the characters interact and it's charming. And if it were most anime, this would be the whole episode. But for Freerun, they throw in this whole second story. On a journey from the previous town to the next, they get snatched up by this aviation monster. It's fun seeing all the characters try to problem solve actively in a stressful situation, coming up with solutions. It talks about the magic system and the world. It also highlights what being an experienced adventurer means, which is acting when you have to. There is a sick and sudden scene where Freerun decides to pull the trigger, jumping out of the cart and killing the monster, realizing at this point they didn't really have any other choice but to act with their best laid plan. It feels like such a realistic representation of what it actually takes to do high stress things. While it's fun to romanticize what it would be like to be an adventurer in a fantasy world, in reality, a lot of the activities, especially during a time of peace, would be mundane. And conflicts as they actually exist are very quick in resolution. I don't believe realism always makes a story better, but in Freerun's case, they utilize all of the available parts. What would normally seem boring isn't, and so when the grandiose moments come and pass so quickly, it's like a beautiful flourish on an already outstanding base. And I remember when I came back and revisited this, being shocked that these two storylines were in the same episode, because I remembered them distinctly. And that's what makes it hold up so well to rewatching, is they pack so much depth into everything they do. And while I don't think rewatching a story should be necessary for you to enjoy it, it is really nice when you can revisit a piece of art that you love and find new things. But like I said, this episode represents the grand spectrum of Freerun, both the big parts and little ones too. This episode is chock full of little moments that are so cool. For example, when Fern approaches Stark to apologize, he's staring at a statue of Himmel. There's this recurring theme in Freerun surrounding the meaning of statues and their relationship to heroism. So to have Stark introspectively staring at Himmel ties into other significant moments in the story, like when he learned Himmel didn't actually pull the hero's sword, or all the times he faced and overcame his fear. There's this running storyline that's prevalent throughout the entire first season, and I'm sure will be explored more later in the story. Then there's also this conversation between Freerun and Sine as they spy on Fern and Stark to see if they've made up. They have a fascinating conversation that implements this running theme of Freerun not only living a long life, but more so experiencing a long youth. There are themes surrounding the importance of praise and acknowledgement of one's virtuous efforts. This is paired with Sine seeing Heider as this beacon of responsibility, which not only interacts in a fascinating way with Sine's character, but also once again represents Freerun's experience of both her previous hero's party and the new one, and more specifically how these new experiences are recontextualizing the old, which is really important for the emotional crux of this episode, but we'll get there in a second. There's a couple moments of breathtaking animation, not used frivolously, but with clear intention to enhance fantastic scenes, both in Freerun taking that leap of faith to kill the monster, but also at the height of the climax of this episode. Because while there were tons of small moments that made this episode so special, it also captures what I'd argue is the primary thing that Freerun does best, creating significantly emotionally resonant moments through the accumulation of small and subtle setup. A sudden rush of extreme emotion that sneaks up on you, one that feels so much bigger than it should on paper, but is still so beautifully executed. And in this episode, it's about losing this ring that's really important to Freerun, and her not wanting to let go of it, a token that she initially took for granted. And when she's given a spell to locate it and flies into the sky, once again matched with the most remarkable animation. It's this huge moment that's so satisfying, especially understanding in retrospect what the story represents. An episode that in my initial viewing I didn't realize was so incredibly strong. There are lots of amazing episodes you could make for a case being Freerun's best so far, but this one is so good and I just wish it got a little more appreciation.