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.
As for who he is as a character, we don’t really know to much yet. Gardar hasn’t had any major interactions with any of the leads, really only busting his way out of slavery and attacking a few of the guards. It’s not until the end of the episode that he has something to say that isn’t murder-adjacent: Arnheid. Poor Einar, Gardar is Arnheid’s husband from before they were sold into slavery. And I have to say, Einar can’t compete. Vinland Saga basically portrayed him as a heroic knight atop his horse, hair flowing in the wind as the horse reared up and he shouted her name. It’s very clear that Vinland Saga is trying to give him an air of nobility in some way. To have us be sympathetic towards him and believe in his cause, despite being the kind of warrior Thorfinn and Einar have so despised.
Moving past Gardar though, as we need another episode to really get to know him, the other major plot point was Sverkel. Sad to say, the old man is dying. He’s gotten old and senile, can’t walk and has to be taken care of by others. What’s nice about it though is that, as Arnheid and Einar said, these moments are the closest some of them have felt to freedom in years. Laughing and eating together on this small patch of paradise within the larger farm. Like a family of sorts, taking care of their grandfather. And considering how Sverkel has treated Thorfinn and Einar during their time here, they probably respect him as such. Snake to, since I don’t believe a word of what he’s said regarding inheriting the Bible.
Speaking of the Bible, this is one of the more interesting parts of the episode. Despite ostensibly being raised with the Norse faith, the Bible seems to strike a chord with Thorfinn. All it’s talk of forgiving your enemy, loving thy neighbor, you know all the things Christian’s should do but many don’t. This fits perfectly with what Thorfinn has been saying for a while. That he doesn’t want to fight anymore, that he wants to live a peaceful life of pacifism. To hear these words from another source, to know that he isn’t alone and that others think similarly, is probably of great comfort to him. I’d wager, as he learns more, that Thorfinn might become Christian in full. It’s an interesting direction for him to go to say the least.
All in all, this was a nice episode for Vinland Saga. Not particularly exciting, but it’s setting up a lot of it’s larger themes for the 2nd half and is slowly bringing conflict to the farm. Gardar is interesting in what he brings up regarding slavery, sure. But personally I’m more invested in Einar and how he and Thorfinn will react to all of this. Will they help or hinder him? Or get involved at all? How do they feel about Arnheid having a husband to begin with? Will this be what pushes them away from that offer of being a Retainer for Ketil, finally disillusioned with the farm? I know the answer to a few of these, but it should be nice to see them animated next week anyways.
