Vinland Saga Season 2

Episode 19

"The Battle of Ketil's Farm" is, as the title plainly suggests, the beginning of the end of this current arc of Vinland Saga. The current run of episodes focuses on the intimate human struggles of Thorfinn, Einar, Arnheid, and the others on the farm. Despite that, it has been easy to forget that Canute is bringing his machinations to the land that Thorfinn has been forced to call home for years. Meanwhile, Arnheid lies in critical condition following the devastating punishment she received last week. Thorfinn, on the other hand, has finally reunited with Lief, a man who represents the best of the old life that Thorfinn probably thought was lost to him forever. No matter how things shake out, everything is bound to change, utterly, and completely. What remains to be seen is how these men will change and where they can go from here.

What is clear beyond a doubt, though, is how much this show has changed since Thorfinn was first thrust into his life of misfortune. With a title like "The Battle of Ketil's Farm," a viewer of the first season might rightly expect all the Viking action that Vinland Saga seemed to be selling at the time. While this episode has its fair share of battle tactics and brutal warfare, the tone couldn't be further removed from the grand and bloody spectacle Thorfinn used to believe defined his life on earth.

The opening scenes of Ketil's men getting foolishly killed by the King's archers are played more as pitiful farce than anything else. Ketil and Thorgil's pride and arrogance in the face of Canute's "small" army are directly contrasted by Snake's assessment of the King's men, who are comprised of seasoned killers — Jomsvikings — that will obliterate Ketil's men with nary a second thought. This battle is lost before it even begins, and only the foolish men trying to fight for their pride and land fail to see it.

What makes this impending tragedy even more fitting is that, as Snake reveals, Ketil isn't even the real "Iron Bear" of local legend. The man has always been a fake, adapting his principles and pride to whatever is convenient for him. He can be a kind and "benevolent" master when there is no conflict, or he can transform into a hardened and bitter warrior when his ego is bruised and wish to challenge the King's wrath—but there isn't any conviction behind any of it. He's just another boy trapped in the body of a man who can't figure out how to honor his name and legacy without slotting into the expectations of the world around him, and hundreds of men will likely die because of this. What is there to do, when you're trapped in the maelstrom of pride and suicidal resignation that men like Ketil and Canute leave in their wake?

This is a world that, as Thorfinn and his companions would surely attest, is fundamentally broken: so much so that the only thing to do, perhaps, is to flee entirely. For most people leaving Ketil's farm before the bloodshed begins, this is a literal strategy. Thorfinn, Einar, Lief, and even Olmar understand that the only way to survive is to run. For Arnheid, however, her flight is a much more permanent one. The depiction of her passing into the afterlife as a peaceful escape speaks to the struggles her friends will face. For as long as anyone can remember, the only guaranteed escape from the old world of war and suffering was death. If our surviving heroes are going to carve out a new path toward peace, they will have to move heaven and earth to make a New World for themselves.

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Vinland Saga Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.