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.
Dialing back into the episodes, first up we have episode 15, “Storm”. As the name suggests, this is when things get real. This episode could be split into 2 main portions: Arnheid/Gardar and Thorfinn/Einar. The first is very tragic, as Arnheid goes to try and see her husband one last time. Meeting him in a quieter setting, tending to his wounds, hearing his words, Arnheid has to face the fact that this is the man she once loved. Twisted, broken by war and slavery, but he’s still in there with the same eyes. Yet at the same time.. he isn’t. Because that kind and gentle man has become a beast not only capable of, but perfectly willing to, tear a man’s throat out with his bare teeth. For all that she loved him, Gardar has been ruined by war. Just like Thorfinn was.
I mean, there’s no other way to really describe it. He jumps up, still bound, and bites into a mans throat. He then proceeds to break out, kill 2 more men, and escape with Arnheid. All the while feeling nothing for their deaths. Sure you could chalk to up to self-defense in a lot of ways, the man is escaping slavery and he probably had to become like this to survive. But that’s no different from how Thorfinn was in Season 1. The main difference is that this time we are watching this transformation, this possession by blood and violence, from the outside. Gardar isn’t the main character, and we just watched a season of Thorfinn coming to terms with his old self being worthy of condemnation. Faced with that same kind of person… It’s clear that Vinland Saga doesn’t approve, but still recognizes the tragedy of the situation.
This is further expounded upon by Thorfinn and Einar in the 2nd half of the episode. The two start talking about their futures, and about their philosphies towards life. Thorfinn never wants to fight again but as I brought up 2 weeks ag,o and as Einar brings up now, conflict still has a way of finding you. We saw that with Gardar’s flashback, him being the perfect example of a normal peaceful man succumbing to violence. Could Thorfinn not become like him again? Faced with this question Thorfinn only has one answer: Run. Run far away, to the ends of the Earth, a place no one will follow. There, and only there, might you be able to escape the war and conflict of Europe. In the far off land of, namedrop time, Vinland.
Beyond that Vinland Saga also gave us an interesting, if chicken and the egg-like, conversation regarding slavery. The idea being that slaves are generated by war, and that so long as there is a victor there will be slaves. It’s attempting to recontextualize the discussion of slavery around that of war, saying that you cannot solve one problem until you solve the other. While this makes sense for the time Vinland Saga is writing about, I think it falls a bit flat considering the modern day. You could argue we still have what is effectively slavery in our current economic system, but that’s not a fight I want to have on an anime blog. Suffice to say I think this point was awkward, but ultimately still made for an absolutely beautiful scene where Thorfinn finds and commits to a path for his future, for good or ill.
This brings me to episode 16, “Great Purpose”. This episode is all about the escalating hunt for Gardar, and the extent to which Thorfinn, Einar and Arnheid will go to hide him. It was pretty cool watching this tactical back and forth. Snake using Arnheid as bait at the last place Gardar saw her. Arnheid hiding Gardar underneath Sverkel’s bed with his consent, showing his support for it all. Then using Einar as bait to lure Snake away and try to escape. It was all pretty cool. Without a doubt though the main draw of the episode for me was Thorfinn and how Vinland Saga has begun challenging his convictions. Does he stick to being a pacifist? Or does he fight to protect others? Which is right, which is wrong? And adding Askeladd on his shoulder to bounce the problem off of only made it better.
Of course it wouldn’t be interesting if he backed down and did nothing, so Thorfinn chose to fight. But not to the death! Unarmed, with only his fists to protect him, Thorfinn is stuck against Snake. It’s a good way of evening the playing field. If he had his daggers no doubt Thorfinn would win, assuming he even wanted to win that way. But without them, just his soft flesh against Snake’s blade along with years of rust from not having fought since becoming a slave? It makes it a much more even fight. I also think the visuals of him slowly waking up and remembering, of the reflexes coming back and Snake’s instincts going off as Thorfinn gets more and more serious, were really good. The complete lack of action this season only makes it stand out all the more too.
Getting back to Sverkel though, I really liked this. He’s long been setup as the most reasonable of the Kettils, treating Thorfinn and Einar well, helping them out, and generally being a good person. But here we finally get confirmation that he views slaves not just as people, but as equals. That the only difference between him and them is luck. Of course that doesn’t stop him from using them, so one could say it doesn’t amount to much. But I think if you look back you’ll find he’s never taken them for granted or used them for nothing. Its always been a transaction, them helping and him giving them tools or animals or even just letting them eat at his table. At the very least it’s clear it’s more then just lip-service, as he hides Gardar underneath his own bed.
On top of that, he also seems to be trying to defuse the whole situation. Not by saying what Gardar did was alright or anything, that would be ridiculous. Rather Sverkel offers Snake a way out. A way to lay down his sword and escape the cycle of violence and battle that has consumed so many others. I really like this, as Vinland Saga is continuously tying all of these characters back to the same internal struggle Thorfinn has had this entire season. As Sverkel points out, Snake clearly isn’t from here, he’s clearly running from something. He also clearly enjoys this quieter life but isn’t willing to fully give up the sword. We’re seeing this same struggle from our protagonist reflected in all of our side character in a multitude of different ways, and that’s really really cool. It brings the themes of the season to the forefront.
Finally I want to talk about Arnheid, and an interesting conversation I had with a friend about this episode. They made an observation that I hadn’t: That Arnheid’s story is basically one of being a victim of weak and insecure men resorting to violence as a first option rather then a last. They want to gain a semblance of control over their own lives, and in doing so in this manner they make the women around them suffer. Ketil, Snake, post-war Gardar. They all lash out and impose their will on her from what are ultimately petty, pitiful positions of self-delusion and grandeur. There’s a parallel from this towards domestic violence, but personally I find it more fitting as simply another instance of violence being responsible for the suffering of others, only this time in an indirect way rather then a direct one.
So yeah, all in all another strong pair of episodes. As I’ve said, these posts suffer because Vinland Saga is just so damn good at getting it’s point across. I feel like there’s very little to add or expound upon because anyone who’s watched it this far should be able to pick out what it’s trying to say without much issue. So inevitably I struggle to say much beyond “I love Vinland Saga” which then slows down these posts. Do I need to get off my high horse and just pog out a bit at some good damn anime? Probably… Probably. But that’s what these conclusion sections are for. So know this! Vinland Saga is fucking pog. And I’m loving it.
Yeah, me too, buddy. It’s pogs all the way down.