Tag: Winter 2023

Welcome all, to the final episode of Vinland Saga Season 2! I won’t call this the grand finale, as that was last week. This one is more like an epilogue, the wrapping up of loose ends and a look towards the future. It’s a pleasant, happy ending to a story filled with loss and war. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now lets dive in!

All things considered, this was a rather quiet episode of Vinland Saga. A nice and relaxing one after the last couple that were emotional climax after emotional climax. As I said in the intro, in a lot of ways this feels more like an epilogue then it does a finale. And personally? I like that. It makes the season feel… Final. As if, assuming we never get a season 3 adapting more of the manga, we have gotten a complete story. And I think that’s a really good thing. A show shouldn’t end saying “But wait there’s more and you’ll have to wait to see it”. It should end in way that, if the next season never gets greenlit, we can feel satisfied. And with the way Vinland Saga tied it all back to season 1? I think it did just that.

Continue reading “Vinland Saga S2 – 24 [Home]” →

Welcome all, to the penultimate episode of Vinland Saga Season 2! Vinland Saga continues riding high this week with another heart wrenching episode. I’m going to do my best to avoid repeating myself this week, there are only so many times you can call something the “Best Anime of the Season” before it starts to get old. But it’s true. It is. Now lets jump into it.

The core of this weeks episode was the climax of Vinland Saga’s thematic arc as well as Thorfinn and Canute’s meeting. Personally? I absolutely loved everything about this. Yeah, it ends without conflict and they sort of just walk away from each other. On a purely physical level, you might see it as anticlimactic or unsatisfactory. But thematically? Narratively? This is the conclusion for both of them. As Canute puts it, Thorfinn came to him with nothing but a request. No manipulation, no ulterior motive, no plot or plan to trick him into something. Just a genuine, heartfelt, honest request. This is probably one of the few truly honest interactions Canute has had since becoming King. He can simply…open up to without fear of being taken advantage of or judged. And it’s because of that, this proof that the Vikings can produce someone like Thorfinn, that he chooses another road.

Continue reading “Vinland Saga S2 – 23 [Two Paths]” →

Welcome all, to another episode of Vinland Saga! This is a big week, perhaps the best episode of the entire season. We have a lot to talk about this week so lets just dive right into it!

Starting off I want to talk about last weeks episode a bit, and how I hope this one cleared things up. There was some confusion, not just here but in other communities I am part of, that questioned why Thorfinn didn’t just… Beat them up. Or dodge away. Or literally anything other than the punching bet. Well that’s something I think Vinland Saga answered pretty clearly this week: What kind of peace negotiator comes with a drawn sword? Thorfinn is committed to non-violence, not just for himself but in demonstrating it to others. And that’s what this bet was. A demonstration, neigh a condemnation of violence in all its forms. He didn’t take the bet on some stupid “I’ll just take anything the world throws at me”, he had a plan to avoid most of the damage. And it’s because of that plan he felt comfortable with this choice.

Continue reading “Vinland Saga S2 – 22 [The King of Rebellion]” →

Welcome all, to what may be the best episode of Vinland Saga all season. A tall claim considering some of the previous episodes, I know. But this little bit has always been one of my favorite sections of story in the entire series, for reasons I hope everyone can see. And for those who can’t? Well allow me to explain.

To me, this episode completes Vinland Saga’s message. Not in that it was lacking before now, it wasn’t. “War and violence bad” is a pretty clear cut and stand alone message that doesn’t need much. Rather I see it as the beginning of Yukimura-Sensei’s response. After all, saying something is bad doesn’t really mean much if you don’t provide an alternative. And what is his alternative? Well taken at face value, as presented by the characters, it would be “Turn the other cheek”. To simply not rise to the words/insults/threats of others. But that’s ignoring a lot of the context surrounding their responses and, I feel, doesn’t wholly do it justice. To truly understand it we need to dive into what this response means for each character, starting with Olmar.

Continue reading “Vinland Saga S2 – 21 [Courage]” →

Welcome all, to another great episode of Vinland Saga! It’s another emotional one, so strap in because there is a lot of tragedy to talk about. Let’s dive into it!

Overall the best way to describe this episode is… Tragic. Incredibly tragic, in just every way. Vinland Saga hits you, every week, with the horrors of war the effects it has on people, especially the innocents. Over and over and over again it hammers away at its primary theme of how war is terrible and the glorification of it only perpetuates it. It’s honestly incredible to me that people still seem to miss the point and think Vinland Saga is some kind of… battle hungry Shounen or something. I know plenty of people who have dropped the season because it was “boring” and they wanted the battles of Season 1, or because they just didn’t get what was going on. Which is ridiculous to me, because I think Vinland Saga is so clear with its messaging that there’s barely anything to write about each week!

Continue reading “Vinland Saga S2 – 20 [Pain]” →

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.

Continue reading “Vinland Saga S2 – 17 [The Road Home]” →

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.

Continue reading “Vinland Saga S2 – 15/16 [Storm/Great Purpose]” →