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.
Of course some might question why this was necessary at all, after all dodging is still non violent isn’t it? While true, dodging would not have earned him the right to see Canute. The warriors wouldn’t has respected that, they wouldn’t have responded to it. But the bet? That was their idea, and withstanding all of the blows fit into their culture. It was a method through which he could get what he wanted, to see Canute, without resorting to violence. And sure, it’s not the perfect answer. Thorfinn himself admits that all of this could have been avoided had Canute and Ketil agreed to settle their differences non-violently from the beginning. He also could have avoided this had he acted sooner, showing his inexperience with this kind of approach. And that’s kind of the point to me. He’s figuring this out as he goes, but he’s dedicated to it.
You can see that dedicated reflected in the character around him through their reactions. At the start all of the soldiers were laughing at him, calling him weird and small, disrespecting him. But by the end? As he withstood blows he could easily have walked away from simply because of his principles? They were silent, solemn even. They knew Thorfinn wasn’t just some simple slave here on the orders of a master, not some weak willed coward or farm animal. You can also see this reflected in Olmar, who is seeing someone who has come to the same conclusion he has but is much farther along the path and much more dedicated to it. It’s a sort of vindication for him, further proof that he didn’t make the wrong choice, that choosing non-violence is not cowardly. It’s something I think Vinland Saga presented really well.
The part that I think sums it all up perfectly is Thorfinn’s speech at the end of the bet, when everyone asks him why he didn’t simply defeat Drott. Again, the answer is simple: Because Drott isn’t his enemy. None of them are. He just met them today, he has no quarrel with them nor they with him.
Of course after all of this we come to Canute. Oh Canute… such a great conversation, such a great foil to Thorfinn. Both seeking the same end goal through different routes. I really loved the mutual admiration they both seem to have for each other. Thorfinn sees in Canute a man who has accepted a much greater burden then he has, as Canute has resolved to save not just himself and those he cares about, like Thorfinn, but all Vikings, neigh the entire world. And he’s willing to sacrifice the few for the sake of the many. Meanwhile Canute sees in Thorfinn proof that the Vikings can be saved. That even the most bloodthirty, most monstrous of men who have killed hundreds, can become a vessel for peace in this god forsaken world.
What really sells this conversation for me though, and something I always loved, was Canute’s speech about power. He has all the power in the world, he’s the head of the mightiest army to currently walk the planet, he is the Chief among Viking Chiefs. And yet he can’t stop the waves nor reverse the moon. He can’t defy Gods will any more then anyone else can. The power of a king, the power of mortal men, has limits. So the only way to do what he sees as impossible, creating a paradise on Earth in direct rebellion of Gods will, is to unite the world together. To bring them under one banner through any means necessary. And only then, only after there are no more wars to be fought, can people truly know peace as they will have no more enemies. It’s terrifying, but you can understand it.
Then to top it all off we also got Einar’s speech, another fantastic moment packed into an episode of fantastic moments. Technically he has two, one reprimanding Canute for not understanding the depths of what he’s doing to people as he’s never tilled a field with his own hands and one condemning his chosen route, but I’m counting both together here. I love how Einar calls Canute out on his hypocrisy. Why should the Vikings be saved but not all those he has to kill to get there? What is the point of paradise if it’s bought at the end of a bloody blade, with more lives then those you saved? Really it’s just Vinland Saga saying there is no perfect solution, that both have their issues and that maybe paradise is impossible. But when forced to choose, when forced to pick a route, why not at least pick the peaceful one?
So yeah, all in all I absolutely love this episode. It’s the culmination of everything Vinland Saga has worked towards up until this point. Thorfinn overcoming his own past and rage, Einar confronting the embodiment of the culture that has destroyed his life, the conflict between non-violence and defending yourself. Even small scenes like not looking at the dead so that they won’t be angry if they see Pater. I think it all comes together beautifully into, what I view, as the easy Episode of the Season. There’s still a bit more to come of course, Olmar has to surrender, Thorfinn has to leave with Leif, plenty of loose ends to wrap up with the remaining episodes. But to me this will always be the grand finale, and I think Vinland Saga more then nailed it.
