Category: Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

Vinland Saga S2 – 19 [War at Ketil’s Farm]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome all, to another week of Vinland Saga! This week marks the beginning of the war, as Canute lands on the farm and battle is joined. Who will come out on top? Who will survive? Let’s jump in and find out!

So, the war. Thing aren’t looking good for Ketil. They are horribly outmatched, in both skill and equipment, and everyone worth their salt knows it. Snake, Thorgil, Thorfinn, Canute. Everyone who has actually seen battle knows that these farmers don’t stand a chance. Everyone that is, except for the farmers themselves. All idiots driven into a frenzy. Having their heritage and pride played off of, being convinced that their superior numbers will be able to overcome Canute’s battle-hardened elite. It’s sad really. These people are being led to their deaths for the glory of another. They have nothing to gain in all of this, they could probably sit back, let Canute take over and continue living their lives under new management. But as is often the case, the greed and ambition of greater men drive them to their slaughter.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 18 [The First Method]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome all, to a (late) episode of Vinland Saga! This one was actually rather hard to write, for a variety of reasons. The episode was great but the contents… Well if you’ve seen it you know, and if you don’t then buck up because it’s about to get brutal. Without further ado, lets dive into the episode.

Like I said, this was a particularly brutal episode of Vinland Saga. Not because of some great big battle, or because a lot of people died. Rather it’s because of just how little Vinland Saga held back on something we’ve seen multiple times before in watered down ways: The beating of a slave. It’s happened a lot up until now, particularly with Gardar. And we’ve been largely disconnected from it, with it happening in the past, or just seeing the after-effects of it. But this episode… We not only watch it happen, it happens to a character we have become close to and come to care for, and in a particularly brutal way. There’s no remorse here, no trussing it up to look nice. It’s just a man beating a woman with a stick because of his own insecurities. And it hurts. And it should hurt. Because it’s not ok.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 17 [The Road Home]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome all, to another episode of Vinland Saga and the end of an arc! This was a tragic week, perhaps one of the most emotionally effecting episodes of the season, so we have a lot to talk about. So without further ado, lets dive in!

Of course the obvious place to start is with the centerpiece of the episode, Gardar and Arnheid. Taking up the entire 2nd half, plus being the subject of the 1st, this episode marks the end of their story. It’s a look back. On their life together, their family, their time apart. In one single sequence, completely independent of the rest of the arc, Vinland Saga manages to communicate the tragedy of their entire story. What was lost, how their own actions lead to it and changed them, their regrets and values. It was really beautiful, in a sad, tragic sort of way. The only reason it doesn’t sit as the best episode of the season for me is simply because I care more for Arnheid and Thorfinn than I do Gardar, and they have episodes more focused about them. As far as singular experiences though? This was incredible.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 15/16 [Storm/Great Purpose]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome all, to another (very late) week of Vinland Saga! Due to my busy schedule this week is a double header, meaning we have a lot to talk about. Shit’s going down on the farm and it’s up to Thorfinn and Einar to navigate it. So without further ado, lets dive in!

So getting into the episodes, last week marked a slow escalation of the conflict. Bit by bit something seems to keep going wrong. From Gardar showing up to Arnheid’s story to him escaping, bit by bit conflict is beginning to creep into their “idyllic” farm life. In a way it’s indicative of the lie that they’ve been living in. This idea that they had finally found a place (mostly) free of conflict. I quite like it to be honest. I think it does a great job of slowly building up the tension as Canute and his forces get closer and closer. We know that they are coming. It’s just a question of when will they get here, at what point in all of this will they interrupt and bring even more conflict to the farm.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 14 [Freedom]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome everyone, to another episode of Vinland Saga! This episode is all about Arnheid, Gardar, and how they ended up here. Not much Thorfinn or Einar, but it’s still important for them to. So lets dive right into it!

The main thrust of this episode is Arnheid’s backstory and how Vinland Saga uses it to condemn violence. Not just “aggressive” violence, ala raiders and vikings, Vinland Saga has already made it very clear how it feels about those. Rather it’s condemning “defensive” violence, this idea of “proactive defense”, of going out and fighting unnecessary fighting fights. Of course this sounds a bit odd to us. Should we not defend ourselves against others? We also see in Sverkel’s story that simply waiting out the storm, the violence, isn’t necessarily the best option either. So what’s the proper response? What are you supposed to do when someone comes at you with the intent to kill, to steal? This is a question Vinland Saga is going to have to tackle, and one it probably will soon when Canute’s army shows up.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 13 [Dark Clouds]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome everyone, to the 2nd half of Vinland Saga Season 2! This episode marks the end of Thorfinn and Einar’s (mostly) idyllic life on the farm and the beginning of reality rearing its ugly head. As you might have guessed, this isn’t very good for them. Now without further ado, lets dive in!

Now as you might have guessed before now, slavery is kind of bad. Even when you have a “kind” master like Ketil, someone who lets you work your way to freedom and generally doesn’t treat you like shit, it still isn’t a very nice thing. We’ve seen it a lot with the retainers, and even in small moments like Arnheid and Einar not remembering what freedom feels like. This arc though, started by this episode, is all about diving into slavery proper. About tearing back that veil and showing us that, for all his power and wealth, Ketil is in the minority of slave owners. Most are just terrible people who use and abuse their slaves. And that’s what Gardar represents. He is that average slave striking back. The first creeping tendril of reality finding its way onto the paradise that was their life on the farm.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 12 [For Lost Love]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome everyone, to the halfway point of season 2 of Vinland Saga! This week is more Olmar and Canute, but it connects deeply back to Thorfinn and his struggle. Some very interesting things to talk about this week, so lets dive in!

It should be obvious, both from the episode and that opening, that Olmar is the centerpiece this week. On the surface level, it’s all pretty straightforward. Olmar gets insulted, his pride is wounded, he starts a fight, Canute uses that as an excuse to take action against the farm, exactly as he planned. Of course it wasn’t perfect, Canute didn’t account for Thorgil, not him being there nor being strong enough to take down around 10 men. Seriously, what is it with dudes with “Thor” in their name? Luckily that doesn’t really matter to Canute, because no matter how strong Thorgil is. One man can’t beat an army, and that’s what Canute has. Ketil was screwed the moment Canute decided he wanted his farm. If anything this willingness to throw away the lives of his own men says more about Canute then it does Thorgil and Olmar.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 11 [The King and the Sword]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome everyone, to another week of Vinland Saga! This week sees Canute and Thorfinn enter onto a headlong collision course, meanwhile Ketil runs into an old friend of ours and Canute shows he’s a bit of a baddass. Without further ado, lets dive into it!

Starting off, with Thorfinn in such a good place it’s not surprising that we got another Canute episode this week. And much like last weeks, Canute continues to show just how much he’s changed from that young man all those years ago. Case in point, despite still hating swords and violence, as seen by his reactions and his complete disdain for his armaments, he still trains with them, publicly, to reassure his warriors and gain their approval. As with so many things we see this week, such as his resolution to requisition farms to pay for his army of believing he needs an army at all, it’s a microcosm of Canute’s new attitude. Simply put: He’s become a Utilitarian. The ends justify the means, so long as an action results in more people being safe/happy then those who suffer, it’s worth it. And unsurprisingly, it’s kind of hypocritical.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 10 [Cursed Head]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Another week, another episode of Vinland Saga! This week sees a timeskip, the return of Canute, and the first signs of conflict for the farm. Lets jump right into it!

Starting off, time skip! That’s right, 3 years have passed. 3 years on the farm, 3 years of cutting down the forest, 3 years for Thorfinn to figure his shit out. Does this skip over a lot of stuff, is it an excuse for Thorfinn to progress off screen? Yes, a little bit. But do I think it will enable a greater story because we can see these changes through Thorfinn’s actions to future events? Also yes. This sort of time skip, where a character truly comes into their own and changes substantially, are only a problem when a series fails to show us how said character has changed. And I don’t think that Vinland Saga will have that problem. Not with how much focus it’s already given to Thorfinn. What I’m saying is, to anime-onlies watching Farmland Saga for the first time, don’t worry. The time skip is good.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 9 [Oath]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome everyone, to another episode of Vinland Saga! This week is one giant gut-punch as it takes everything about Thorfinn, throws it on the ground, and steps on it for good measure. Is it the most healthy thing in the world? Probably not. But it makes for damn good television. Now lets dive into it!

First up, the visuals. Vinland Saga is not a particularly animated show. And it never needed to be! Action is nice, but this isn’t a battle Shounen, it’s not what is important. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t nice to have when it steps up, and that’s what happened this week. Just the entire visual experience of Thorfinn’s “Valhalla”, the way the warriors moved and fought (When not CGI at least), the color direction and detail on Thorfinn’s hands. It was beautiful. In a dark, deeply traumatic sort of way. Now was it particularly subtle? No, not really. Vinland Saga has never been very subtle with its themes. But is it still effective? I would say so. Sometimes punching someone in the face leaves a better impression then politely asking asking them. And that’s what Vinland Saga did here.

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