Vinland Saga

[grecefar]

Who would've thought that canute was such a funny guy.

Young askeladd looks like a main character unlike thorfinn, maybe because he was clean and had an haircut.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Thors would have made a poor main character. He was super OP, he didn't really have a goal, and his development was already complete.

Askeladd is a complex character and Thorfinn has a lot of room to grow.

I would strongly disagree he didn't have a goal. That's like saying Himura Kenshin didn't have a goal.

[Frontier]

Was that Yuma Uchida as a young Askeladd? Whoever it was sounded familiar .

I'm not sure how I feel about the new Opening. I ordinarily love Man with a Mission and the song feels fitting, but I guess I'm just not used to the new theme after hearing the old one so much. Kind of surprised at the amount of spoilers/foreshadowing in it though .

I guess there's something to be said that it's the cowards or the cautious ones that survive, especially in the kind of dog eat dog world of royal politics. On that front one can't necessarily fault Canute even if some situations require more assertiveness and strength, especially for a would be ruler .

Similarly Ragnar is an overprotective parent trying to protect his child, which while commendable in some respects, it also leaves him to be too obtuse for Askeladd's plans .

So Askeladd's true loyalty is to the Welsh, and he's apparently descended from King Arthur of all people. In any other anime that would make him the one true king of Britain. But I guess it does explain some of the many idiosyncrasies of Askeladd's character to where he comes from such noble origins (at least on his mother's side) but is throwing his lot in with savage vikings who he hates. No wonder Thors left such an impression on him, he was a true warrior on par with a Knight of the Round Table...

Yeah, it's really hard to gauge Thorfinn's motivations when he says he's Askeladd's "enemy" but seems to keep taking his orders and working with him .

I don't know if it's just being around someone his age or having someone who is his age call him out but it seems like Thorfinn was able to bring out the fire that was in Canute .

The new Ending...it's hard to top Aimer, but it's fine. Feels more like a music video then an anime Ending though .

[Arya]

So, king Arthur meets he-man?

Actually this was a great episode. Askeladd at his fullest I'd say. Also, the little flashback of him kinda overshadowed Thorfinn's story as a whole in just few frames. Definitely it did a good job giving an impression.
Now, I understand that Thorfinn will grow up someday and having two men to look at that are so different surely should give him a lot of inspiration if he will be able to melt all together. And if he will be able to get past his revenge tunnel he is stuck into. Meanwhile I even could start shipping ehm them.
Anyways, Askeladd's plan is definitely a very long term plan if he has to make Canute blossom the way he wants and then let him become the king.

[eceso]

man, that was a depressing episode

also, I'm thinking there was something mistranslated with the girl at the end, don't think "elated" was supposed to be the word used there

[Randrak42]

Originally Posted by eceso

man, that was a depressing episode

also, I'm thinking there was something mistranslated with the girl at the end, don't think "elated" was supposed to be the word used there

In the manga, she says that her heart is pounding.

Shock and trauma are very serious things.

[eceso]

Originally Posted by Randrak42

In the manga, she says that her heart is pounding.

Shock and trauma are very serious things.

yeah, I heard her say doki doki also

but it wouldn't be elation, would it ?

[Kanon]

I bet everybody thought the girl would get killed, but it turns out she's the only one who survived and may reach another village. It's exactly what Askeladd was trying to avoid by slaughtering everyone.

[Wandering Soul]

Originally Posted by eceso

man, that was a depressing episode

True, but it serves as a nice reminder to anyone that was starting to idealize or glorify Askeladd after finding out his supposed goal that at the end of the day, he's still a Viking with no regard for the lives of innocents.

[Frontier]

I guess this was a cold dose of reality that our protagonists, for all their likeability or charisma, are capable of such monstrous and horrific acts without even batting an eye. For them it's not personal but simply the kind of life and values that they have, which in some ways makes it even more depressing .

Askeladd talks about how much he hates the Danes when he hardly acts any better, especially here. Part of it is probably pragmatism and keeping face with his men, but it still makes him seem more of a viking then I think he's comfortable admitting .

And Thorfinn...Well, Thorfinn doesn't even bat an eye at anything at this point. The show is subtly indicating it's own interpretation of what a "true warrior" really is in contrast to the vikings, the kind of warrior that Thors was, but it just continues to go over Thorfinn's head .

Heck, even Bjorn smacks a helpless woman around just for approaching him for stealing their food. Like, jeez .

Man, props to the priest for trying to warn the village. That took guts, especially when most people would probably have written him off as just a drunk. He also seems to be searching for the kind of love that Thors embodied, the kind of love where you value someone's life even if you don't know them or they're trying to kill you .

Originally Posted by Kanon

I bet everybody thought the girl would get killed, but it turns out she's the only one who survived and may reach another village. It's exactly what Askeladd was trying to avoid by slaughtering everyone.

I guess if she reveals to someone their presence it would be one way of karma coming back to bite to the vikings. Ironically coming from someone who committed a sin herself and ended up surviving because of it...

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

True, but it serves as a nice reminder to anyone that was starting to idealize or glorify Askeladd after finding out his supposed goal that at the end of the day, he's still a Viking with no regard for the lives of innocents.

He killed the best character in the show early on. And it isn't as if this is the first village he's slaughtered since the show has started. It really was just a downer episode.

We need to get to the next big action scene. Not much going for this show when it isn't pitting Thorfinn against someone that totally outclasses him .

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by eceso

yeah, I heard her say doki doki also, but it wouldn't be elation, would it ?

It was elation.

The deeper — more profound — point of this episode is that it's thrilling to be "evil".

Anne was a simple, God-fearing girl, just like the rest of her family. She and her family worshipped God in the belief that good people who offered their prayers would go to Heaven, while those who did not obey His Commandments would go to Hell.

But Anne stole a ring from the market, and throughout the episode, she was ashamed of herself on the one hand, yet elated that she got away with the theft. She wondered, though, whether God was watching, and whether it meant He'd send her to Hell, separating her from her loved ones.

As it turned out, her family was slaughtered by Askeladd's vikings, in an act far more cruel and evil than her petty crime...

...and nothing happened to the villains.

There was no punishment, no bolt of lightning from above, no retribution — they committed mass murder, and got away scott free.

In that moment, Anne suddenly understood two things: She survived and she was happy about it; and, more confusingly for her, God did not seem to care.

The realisation was liberating. Hence her elation... because, maybe, her crime meant nothing to God as well.

But along with the revelation came genuine grief.

On the one hand, her faith in God had been shattered. On the other hand, she wanted desperately to believe that her family was in Heaven.

But to believe that requires faith in God, which she has now lost.

She grieves, yet she's relieved at the same time. It's a maelstrom of guilt and liberation that a poor peasant girl would take a lifetime to untangle.

========

It was a brilliant episode that juxtaposed good and evil in the context of the viking era.

What made it even more brilliant was how the episode dwelt on the nature of Christian love.

The vikings who worshipped the Norse gods had absolutely no understanding of what sacrificial love means. For them, life and love were far more straightforward affairs — they lived to rape, rob and kill. Whoever could cause more destruction would earn greater honour, and qualify for a place in Valhalla.

They could never understand why Thor sacrificed himself the way he did.

But the priest did. Upon hearing their story about Thor, the priest understood at once that it was love that drove the late viking's sacrifice.

The love that the priest was searching for was the love that gave Christ the courage to die on the Cross, for the sake of mankind.


The overall point of the two perspectives we were presented in this episode was to show the depth of the vikings' monstrosity — while also reminding us why it is that we feel so good when we relish in their exploits.

[eceso]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

It was elation.

The deeper — more profound — point of this episode is that it's thrilling to be "evil".

Anne was a simple, God-fearing girl, just like the rest of her family. She and her family worshipped God in the belief that good people who offered their prayers would go to Heaven, while those who did not obey His Commandments would go to Hell.

But Anne stole a ring from the market, and throughout the episode, she was ashamed of herself on the one hand, yet elated that she got away with the theft. She wondered, though, whether God was watching, and whether it meant He'd send her to Hell, separating her from her loved ones.

As it turned out, her family was slaughtered by Askeladd's vikings, in an act far more cruel and evil than her petty crime...

...and nothing happened to the villains.

There was no punishment, no bolt of lightning from above, no retribution — they committed mass murder, and got away scott free.

In that moment, Anne suddenly understood two things: She survived and she was happy about it; and, more confusingly for her, God did not seem to care.

The realisation was liberating. Hence her elation... because, maybe, her crime meant nothing to God as well.

But along with the revelation came genuine grief.

On the one hand, her faith in God had been shattered. On the other hand, she wanted desperately to believe that her family was in Heaven.

But to believe that requires faith in God, which she has now lost.

She grieves, yet she's relieved at the same time. It's a maelstrom of guilt and liberation that a poor peasant girl would take a lifetime to untangle.

========

It was a brilliant episode that juxtaposed good and evil in the context of the viking era.

What made it even more brilliant was how the episode dwelt on the nature of Christian love.

The vikings who worshipped the Norse gods had absolutely no understanding of what sacrificial love means. For them, life and love were far more straightforward affairs — they lived to rape, rob and kill. Whoever could cause more destruction would earn greater honour, and qualify for a place in Valhalla.

They could never understand why Thor sacrificed himself the way he did.

But the priest did. Upon hearing their story about Thor, the priest understood at once that it was love that drove the late viking's sacrifice.

The love that the priest was searching for was the love that gave Christ the courage to die on the Cross, for the sake of mankind.


The overall point of the two perspectives we were presented in this episode was to show the depth of the vikings' monstrosity — while also reminding us why it is that we feel so good when we relish in their exploits.

great post , elation does make sense , in the most depressing way possible lol

[Applehell]

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

True, but it serves as a nice reminder to anyone that was starting to idealize or glorify Askeladd after finding out his supposed goal that at the end of the day, he's still a Viking with no regard for the lives of innocents.

And as much as he hates the Danes, it's not as he cares for the English either. For whatever is driving him, Askeladd will stop at nothing to forfill those ambitions heroic lineage or not. Still a very interesting shitbag of character, and definitively one of the series best, but he and his men also deserves to be wiped out with impunity if a chance should come.

[grecefar]

Well this is chapter that it would make me don’t care about askeladd if he dies, kinda forgot that they were evil.

Karma is a bitch that is going to bite their asses.

[BBOvenGuy]

Askeladd is Askeladd. He is who he's always been. Killing all the villagers is completely in character for him. And he doesn't expect life or the world to treat him any differently. Remember the scene in the Roman ruins? He knows what he's got coming to him, sooner or later.

[zeando]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I bet everybody thought the girl would get killed, but it turns out she's the only one who survived and may reach another village. It's exactly what Askeladd was trying to avoid by slaughtering everyone.

If she'll reach an other village that would be even more saddening, all those villagers would have died for no reason, not even for covering up the vikings crime.

[BBOvenGuy]

The other interesting point that shouldn't be overlooked came in the scene at the beginning, with the priest and the brothers. They remembered the fight Thors gave them and the fact that he didn't kill anyone, but they appear to have forgotten his name and the fact that he was Thorfinn's father.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

The other interesting point that shouldn't be overlooked came in the scene at the beginning, with the priest and the brothers. They remembered the fight Thors gave them and the fact that he didn't kill anyone, but they appear to have forgotten his name and the fact that he was Thorfinn's father.

Yeah, to them it was always just a job even if it stood out for the battle part of it. They never cared for him as a person.

Bjorn and Askeladd remember him though, especially Askeladd.

[Haak]

God damn, this show has a remarkable way of destroying me emotionally...