Welcome everyone, to another week of Vinland Saga! Apologies for missing last week, a lot of things conspired to prevent me from finishing the post. On the plus side though, you get a double header this week! Surely that’s worth it, right? Considering how closely tied these two episodes are, I think it just might be. Now without further ado, onto the episodes!
Starting off, lets talk about the production. I’ve seen some grumblings online about the toning down of more comedic, light moments. Stuff like their facial expressions, etc. Personally though? I don’t see it. It’s not that Vinland Saga is removing/toning them down, but rather that the story hasn’t reached a point where they are appropriate. As evidenced by these two episodes, Thorfinn still isn’t in a place where he can be light and happy. Maybe if it continues like this they will have a point. For now though, it’s simply not applicable. At the same time, I think the way Vinland Saga is depicting Thorfinn’s nightmares and struggles to be really striking. The strong colors and rough line work. It’s beautifully composed and animated, and were some of my favorite scenes in episode 4. Suffice to say, while Vinland Saga isn’t particularly animated yet, its also not poorly animated.
Getting into the episodes, first up is episode 3, “Snake”. This episode is pretty straight forward, which is part of why it was so difficult to write. At it’s core, it’s all about where Thorfinn’s head is currently at. How after losing Askeladd, whom killing was his only purpose in life after the loss of his father Thors, Thorfinn was left with nothing. In the eyes of most warriors, the guards at this camp included, he was at the peak! Their ideal! Honor and blood, skill and war, Thorfinn was everything these guys and even Olmar aspire to be. Yet here he is, completely unfulfilled in life, seeing no purpose or good in anything he has done up until now. He has come to the realization that the time he spent with Askeladd was a waste, and that he never truly moved on.
To me, this is where Vinland Saga’s strong condemnation of war and violence begins. Even in Season 1 it was present. Many of these warriors were depicted as pitiable people, with little purpose or joy in life. Just wondering from battle to battle, never building or contributing to anything. But here in Season 2 it strips away all the glory and action, leaving us with just strong men abusing the weak. In Season 1 we saw it through the warrior’s eyes, but in Season 2 we see it through their victims with Thorfinn/Einar. What this means for Thofinn is that, after giving up the Warrior’s path, he now has to discover the civilians path. The small joys of friends and family, of building something that lasts, of taking care of others. And I think it obvious that Einar is going to be the one to show him it.
As for Olmar, we see that he isn’t as far gone as we might have feared. Yes, he wants to be seen as an adult and a warrior. He wants the respect and admiration they receive. But Vinland Saga also shows us that he isn’t lost to bloodlust nor blind to suffering. He doesn’t want to kill Thorfinn and Einar. He actively makes excuses, such as they are his dads property etc, to avoid doing so, and only raises his sword when Einar charges him first. Basically, Olmar is stuck between this sort of toxic warrior masculinity and Thors ideals. He, much like Thorfinn, needs to learn the value that comes from building and caring for others. His father, Kettle, isn’t a warrior or a killer! He’s a simple farmer who, despite owning all this land, still works the fields. And he has all the respect and admiration Olmar wants.
Finally this episode we meet Snake, the man it’s named after. If I’m being honest, Snake really doesn’t do that much. He shows up, makes it clear to the audience that this isn’t some kind of accepted practice, and saves Thorfinn and Einar’s life. But that’s really about it. You could infer that he is closer to the “True Warrior” sort of ideal then anyone else here, a mature man who doesn’t seek violence but doesn’t shy away from it either. But ultimately it’s to soon to tell. Hopefully we get to spend more time with him moving foward, get some of his thoughts, meet this old man he was living with on the farm, etc etc. And maybe, just maybe, he can be a positive role model for Olmar and keep the peace with Fox and Badger.
Moving on, we come to episode 4, “Awakening”. This one is all about the fallout of last week, with Einar figuring out what Thorfinn was and Thorfinn mulling over whether or not he truly meant what he said. And you know what? I like it! This was the best episode of Vinland Saga yet, which doesn’t mean much at only 4 but still. I liked how Einar slowly connected the dots between Thorfinn’s combat skills and heritage. However even then he doesn’t rush to conclusions, instead he directly asks him because, well, Einar trusts him. And so it hurts them both so much more when Thorfinn admits to being the same kind of monster Einar hates. The fact that Thorfinn also hates that past self, that he regrets it all, doesn’t change what he is in Einar’s eyes. Not immediately at least.
It’s this conflict that makes this my favorite episode so far. Einar finally has someone in front of him who he can blame for what happened to his family and village. Someone who hates himself just as much as he hates them. Someone who would be all to glad to die and get it over with. And yet… Einar has worked with Thorfinn for who knows how long now. They’ve cleared a forest, harvested wheat and bled together. This man who admits to killing so many he can’t even remember is the same man with night terrors and is haunted by what he’s done. Thorfinn is a warrior yes. But he’s a far cry from the arrogant, bloodthirsty ones that feel no remorse and barely even see Einar as human. And now that Einar has figured it out, it’s time that Thorfinn does the same.
Last episode Thorfinn went off saying the he has no reason to live and that nothing good has happened in his life. But as Snake shows him, despite his words his body still wants to live. He hasn’t truly given in yet. Thorfinn doesn’t seek death, if he did he would be dead. He just hasn’t found a reason to live yet. That’s where Einar comes in. Einar is someone who has been directly affected by the life Thorfinn lived, who has more reason to hate him then he does himself. If Einar can forgive him, can show him that he isn’t that person anymore and how to live a better life, then maybe Thorfinn does deserve to live. Once you die its over, there’s nothing. But if he lives he can still build and contribute, he can try to atone.
So yeah, as rambly as this post was, I quite enjoyed this most recent Vinland Saga episode. Episode 3 was a bit light, a lot of setup for things to come, but this week paid a lot of that off which a nice immediate release to keep us going. To be honest, Vinland Saga is always difficult to for write, as I find it to be a very straight forward show. It doesn’t hide it’s themes, it’s very open about its distaste for war, and I really don’t want to preach and simply echo what the series itself is trying to say. Do you feel the same way? Is Vinland Saga clear, or is it just me? I don’t want these to just be verbatim explanations but if I’m just particularly dialed in on it then I can spend a bit more time on it.
Let me know below and I’ll see you next week! Now to write… God so many more posts. Also P.S. We saw Canute!
This season has been super slow burn so far, but I’m really loving it.
I like Vinland Saga because it broadly explores violence — not just from the perspective of those that perpetrate it, but also from those that experience it. And we are now seeing the different ways that it affects characters (Thorfinn, Einar, Olmar), based on their experiences.
I think for sure that Vinland Saga is clear about horror and brutality of war, but it also feels like the show sees it as an unavoidable and cyclical event. The only way to break the cycle, is further violence — as we saw with Askeladd.