Preface: I will be using a lot of references based on the manga and some on the anime but you can still get the jist of what I am trying to convey. Still going to publish this under Vinland Saga S2 and not the manga itself due to only focusing mainly on the Farmland arc (besides a brief recap of Prologue).

I just want to precede this review by saying that I am an enormous fan of Vinland Saga and a big fan of its author, Makoto Yukimura (also the creator of the manga/anime Planetes). Through his different works, he has created many characters that are relatable to our own lives and show a great representation of the daily struggles of life such as Thorfinn and Einar from Vinland Saga (there are many more but these are just off the top of my head from S2) and Yuri from Planetes. In this review, I want to detail how well Yukimura implants into his readers why life is so important and the desire to keep living.

To recap the events of Season 1, when Thors, father of our protagonist Thorfinn, is killed at the hands of the devious Viking Askeladd, it is Thorfinn's one and only goal to seek revenge for his late father and kill Askeladd. After more than a decade of suffering and continuously trying to take the life of Askeladd, he is slain by the new king Canute shortly after Sweyn is beheaded by Askeladd. Thorfinn’s main and only goal since the age of 6 was out of vengeance; All of his will to live fades away during this scene with Askeladd in his final moments asking Thorfinn “Haven’t you given a single thought to what you're going to live for after I’m dead” He tells Thorfinn to fight the “true battle” and become a true warrior like Thors was. At the moment, the definition of what it means to be a true warrior was not fully clear to Thorfinn. All he knew about being a warrior was killing and that his true battle was to get revenge. What follows is Thorfinn lashing out at the newly deemed king and being taken away and turned into a slave on a farm owned by Ketil. It is a powerful climax to an already perfect arc and is followed by an even better arc than this one.

We start Season 2 with the introduction of our secondary protagonist this time around, Einar. He is one of my favorite characters in this arc due to how his backstory parallels Thorfinns such as both of them suffering through grief at a young age with their fathers both being killed. Einar is sent to Ketil’s farm as well and shortly after is introduced to the now-gloomy Thorfinn. Their personalities seem drastically apart from one another at first whereas Einar acts outspoken while Thorfinn is more quiet and introverted from his past. The bond between these two “brothers” grows exponentially as we dive deeper into this season and is one of the best aspects of it in my opinion. A very first heart-to-heart interaction takes place during episode 2 (Chapter 57 of the manga) where Einar speaks about his past telling Thorfinn that all “men who wage war are all beasts” and those that wage war are fools. As Thorfinn tries to sleep, he is reminded of all the trauma and revenge he sought out for all these years; was he really a fool for doing what was right in his eyes? The after-effects of all of his actions would not come back to him until much later on through various nightmares showing many corpses of the unnamed people he had murdered. Once morning hits, Einar and Thorfinn are approached by a mercenary on the farm, Fox. They are set up by more of his comrades and was summoned so that the son of Ketil, Olmar, could kill both of them. Einar acts out against Olmar so that Thorfinn could go signal their owner about what was occurring but instead tells them to cut him down instead and let Einar get back to work. Fox explains to Thorfinn how everyone fears the concept of death and shows that a warrior's only way of living is earned by continuously killing others. Not once does Thorfinn flinch after multiple swings from Olmar due to pondering the purpose of being afraid of death stating in one of the most powerful panels/frames of this arc “In all the days I’ve lived… Not one good thing has happened.” His response hits deep and poses a good question to the reader or watcher: “Does something good come of living?” Why is it that we want to live? Life is often difficult for all of us due to various circumstances and we often want to give up on our struggles but we need to live life to the fullest. All of this racket awakens the head of the band of mercenaries on the farm, Snake. He is a character who I believe to be very underrated but that is beside the point. Without hesitation, Snake swings out at Thorfinn (even comparing his speeds to the likes of Askeladd) but is instantly blocked by a kick from Thorfinn; his body had the will to live after all to protect a potentially devastating hit. It dawns on Thorfinn hard that maybe after all of the dread, he would want to live, but for what purpose exactly? Getting back to working on the farm once more, Einar asks Thorfinn about going to war and how many people he has killed which very much displeases Einar as you can see his facial expression gets angrier as Thorfinn asks if he despises him. During the middle of that night Einar gets up to walk over to Thorfinn while acting very angrily but in the end, residing his anger due to the fact that he was not the sole reason that his family was killed. He awakens Thorfinn from another nightmare because of one simple reason he states: “Because you… And I… Are Friends..” Even after despising warriors and those who killed others such as Thorfinn, he found it in his heart to still befriend Thorfinn on the farm. He can understand the past that Thorfinn had to endure and what that can do to a child at such a young age. They begin bonding even more through working on the farm together and a couple of chapters/episodes later he considers Thorfinn to be a nice guy, just the quiet type.

Going forward a couple of chapters (around chapter 68) Thorfinn continues to have these recurring dreams about how he was seemingly falling off of a cliff where Einar remarks him screaming out for both Askeladd and his father. I believe that this dream signifies the descent of his character after Canute killed Askeladd. It represents the bottomless emptiness that his character is feeling at this point in time. Thorfinn believes himself to be a “man without substance” due to not knowing simple things within the world such as fixing a leaky roof. I have not mentioned the character of Sverkel (the old man) until now due to him only being of aide to Thorfinn and Einar’s progress within the farm but in this part, he provides a very good message while the three are all catching fish: “Just keep learning as you do it. One thing after another… Being empty means anything can fit inside you. If you want to be reborn, empty’s the best way to be.” This message makes Thorfinn reconsider his life and wonders if people are able to change for the better even in the worst of cases. Einar adds to his idea and says that people CAN change for the best and that Thorfinn was “already in the process of changing for the better.”

The very next chapter shows us that the wheat field Thorfinn and Einar had been building up for the past couple of months had been mostly tarnished. Due to this, we see Einar’s anger get the best of him to go from a straightforward guy who was against all kinds of war into a man who was ready to kill whoever did this (he sort of acts like how S1 Thorfinn would). Thorfinn tries to calm down his rage by saying one of the most iconic lines from this arc: “First, be calm. Nothing good comes from revenge.” It comes full circle and shows the evolution of Thorfinns character and how to deal with a vengeance. This is aided by what comes next where the two stumble upon the group who had a hand in destroying their wheat farm. One of them throws out a snarky remark about slaves being too filthy to eat anyway which causes Einar to throw out a punch. Before it was able to connect, Thorfinn budges in front of Einar to punch them instead, which is to add to preventing Einar to not commit any vengeance on this guy. For the first time since the Prologue, Thorfinn is pissed; However, this was due to not being in the right mind space, and shortly gains himself back to realize what he had done. The two are outnumbered and Thorfinn quickly falls unconscious. He wakes up in a dream to see his father, asking him why he would kill others instead of only using his swords to protect himself. It also shows many corpses dragging Thorfinn down to hell with him which we can also see the same case for Thors. The message of “You have no enemies” that Thors tried to implant onto Thorfinn at such a young age was vital as killing more people would drag you farther down a path that you had no idea you could go to and slowly lose yourself. We find out in the end that the cliff he had several nightmares about was the hell that contained the multitude of those deceased by none other than Askeladd.

Thorfinn believes that the bottom of this cliff was Valhalla due to the surplus of corpses fighting. Throughout multiple times in the series and in the real world, Valhalla is depicted as a place of worth where people worthy enough would be sent to after death. I won’t get too much more into the details but simply put, it represents the afterlife of notable fighters. It is not as simple as that: this hell that Thorfinn has fallen down represents the real world; “The ultimate state of warfare” as Askeladd puts it. A constant fight in which there are no winners or losers and “Everyone is an Enemy”, the opposite philosophy that Thors had. It is only because Thorfinn’s anger and vengeance were tarnished at the end of the Prologue that he was barely able to escape from this place. Askeladd deems him lucky from being able to escape this place once and advises him to open his eyes: he sees a stack of corpses climbing closer and closer to him. These are not just any random of the deceased, but every person that he had killed trying to curse him for all eternity. This sight devastates Thorfinn as he is not able to recall who these people were, realizing that most were innocent and only wanted to live. He cries out for forgiveness understanding all of his hatred has done to others. Askeladd then attacks the corpses and yells up to Thorfinn to keep pushing forward so as to not fall back down. “Then let them hang off of you… and Climb! That is your battle!” is also expressed by Askeladd during this same exchange. This quote is very impactful as it basically means for Thorfinn to keep climbing higher and higher even if the impact of his actions still dawns upon him, to strive to become a better person and change what you have done in the past. His speech is very impactful to Thorfinn, giving him the motivation and hope to keep pushing forward even after all he has done. This will be Thorfinn’s true battle; to take those he has killed with him and become a true warrior. He is finally able to escape this nightmare and wakes up to Einar telling him that they had won the battle. Thorfinn confesses to Einar how regretful he is for taking the lives of so many innocent people who had no quarrel with him. Never again would Thorfinn harm another person; He is now through with violence. The true battle ahead of him was making amends for what he had done and being reborn as a true warrior. This chapter closes with Thorfinn and Einar working harder on the farm, with their goals of becoming free while also being reborn to promote peace instead of violence. GOD I LOVE THIS CHAPTER. There is so much to take away from it and shows the resolve that Thorfinn gained, from a person not caring if he was killed and feeling he had no purpose to a man who wants to live and make amends for all of the wrongs he has done.

We jump to September 1018 where at last Thorfinn and Einar were clearing the land they were appointed. The bond between the both of them has grown fast ever since the big fight as they speak about future plans after being freed. While they speak about what they might accomplish later, Thorfinn prompts Einar with a question: “What would you say about trying to eliminate warfare and slavery from the world?” to an unsure response from Einar. This concept will be elaborated on more shortly, just thought it would be nice to acknowledge this exchange here. I forgot to mention until now the importance of the character Arnheid due to only having a select few pop-ups early in the arc. She is Ketil’s maid and Einar takes on a heavy affection toward her. Einar, Thorfinn, and her all share a bond and try to make the best life while being slaves. While the two are striving to become free, Arnheid has a lesser chance of being let go due to her status working for Ketil. At this point in the story, her husband and runaway slave, Gardar, returns to Ketil’s farm and is promptly attacked by Snake. Einar is quick to react as he was ready to use an axe so that he and Arnheid would be able to escape. However, Thorfinn stops and asks him if he is capable of taking this man's life to which Einar has no idea of what else he can do to prevent them from clashing. Gardar is taken away by Snake and his comrades. As Thorfinn and Einar try to negotiate with him, Snake touches upon how he has previously killed others including intent to kill the master but also states “You can’t let a man like that go free”. You can apply this same idea to Thorfinn about how a man who has slain possibly thousands of bystanders should not be allowed to be free yet should be able to carry on that burden and strive to become something greater. That line was just something that caught my attention while looking back on this review that I thought was neat. Anyways, cut to nighttime when Arnheid first opens up about her past with Gardar and their child, Hjalti. To summarize, their home was struck by the enemy when all the men were out, and in the process, Arnheid’s child was taken away from her. We also hear news about how Arnheid is now pregnant with Ketil’s child which will play a large part soon enough. She meets back up with Gardar that same night once it is believed everyone else is asleep.

We cut to Einar pondering about what to do when Thorfinn “wakes up” and has another talk. They speak about how most innocent people are fated to suffer and how Thorfinn’s past would not be known by Arnheid. Einar brings up their conversation earlier about getting rid of all violence within the world and questions how someone could do such an impossible feat. Through any means necessary in Thorfinn’s mind, he must make it up to “them”, the dead who constantly try to curse him, to take them to a place of rest finally. Getting rid of all war and raising a place (even a single village) where peace is preached is his main goal now to compensate for his wrongdoings. “A place that has no need for swords” and “A place where even the Vikings couldn’t find you” rings in Thorfinn’s head as he gets deja-va from what Einar is repeating; He has heard of something like this in his past. Thorfinn remembers that when he was little, he was told countless stories about this legendary place, Vinland, by one of the closest friends to his father, Leif. It would be a massive undertaking but in the end, be worth it for all of those shunned by society to populate by not having any more wars in the world.

Now comes Snake’s band searching for Gardar all over the find and later, after talking to Arnheid, has set him free. Einar tells her that since she set him free, her fate is ultimately tied to his with both he and Thorfinn being willing to help them be successful. Einar auspiciously baits out the mercenaries so that Thorfinn is able to help treat Gardar and set him free alongside Arnheid. All goes downhill once Snake catches wind of this fluke and threatens to kill Thorfinn if he disagrees. A vision of Askeladd appears to Thorfinn, telling him that there is a proper justification for using his fists in this scenario. I find it quite fitting that the manga earlier on compares Snake to Askeladd in terms of speed and then, later on, appears once more during this confrontation. Askeladd prompts him with how he will go about this situation while also sticking on the path of being a true warrior: Does he hold his promise of peace or will he succumb to battle in order to save Gardar? Thorfinn is able to evade most swipes from Snake (besides the large scar on his face he is left with permanently throughout the rest of the series). Snake asks Thorfinn why after killing five of his men should he have the right to live. The only resort left for atonement is by taking Gardar’s life fair and square. Snake stabs Gardar that then causes him to wake up and try to choke Snake to death. Thorfinn breaks it off the prevent either from dying but he is not successful because of his immense strength. Arnheid encourages Garder to come with her so that they can finally “go back home” in a literal sense. He dies shortly after in Arnheid’s lap due to the damage left by Snake. I’m sorry if these past two sections have been a little summary heavy but I feel like it was only needed. The story between Arnheid and Gardar is very sad to me and the ending of it in both the manga and anime got me emotional. Now to continue onto the final stretch (this is the last volume for the arc)

The tension raises high as we see King Canute coming over to Ketil’s Farm (I did not talk about it earlier due to it not correlating to other content but the short version is that Canute set sail in order to take over his farm because of how massive it is. Ketil, Thorgil, and Olmar originally went to where Canute was but have now returned at this point of the story, accompanied by Leif) Meanwhile, Thorfinn and Einar are tied up from trying to help a traitor escape as Thorfinn is upset with himself for breaking his peace vow once again. Einar reassures him that it was for the sake of helping others and that there are specific points at which fighting must be necessary under certain circumstances. He reflects on how his actions cause Gardar to die and regrets not saying anything to Snake so that no one had to be hurt. Violence was Thorfinn’s last resort in this desperate time; He wanted to be able to take that first resort so that violence would not get the best of him because “No one, anywhere, ever deserves to be hurt” It connects well with Gardar, even after all he has done, he should have that option to live and try to change as a person. What if he had a similar resolve to Thorfinn and changed his ways? There should be an option for one to improve and repent of their past.

In the meantime, a depressed Ketil finds out that Arnheid had tried to escape while he was gone, causing him to lash out at her. He hits her with a pole right through her belly which only cause Ketil more stress from only just now finding out she was pregnant. Ketil’s antics are stopped by Snake, leaving a badly beaten Arnheid desperately clinging to her life. Thorfinn and Einar are freed to see what Ketil has done to Arnheid, alongside the now arrival of Leif and Pater, one of the farmhands, who was trying to help her. In this part of the story I was originally disappointed in the lack of a scene featuring the reunion of Thorfinn and Leif after so long but Yukimura stated that it was not included due to not wanting to move away from the tone that Arnheid being near death set for this time of the story.

The battle between Canute and Ketil forces takes place as the squad tries to move Arnheid to a safer place. Within the hour of desperation, a miracle happens: Arnheid wakes up from hearing the sound of the battle. Einar tries to lighten the situation by telling her that they will be leaving the farm forever. She questions two things: If there will be slaves there and if war will be present (Leif replies that war is a part of human nature) She would rather return “home”, to the home that Gardar and her child had gone to instead of living in this hell of a world. Einar pleads for Arnheid to keep living as Thorfinn tries to say something and make that first resort, even calling upon his Dad to give him advice on what to say to help her live. Arnheid says something very similar to what Thorfinn talked about earlier in this arc: “Everyone I care about.. What will I gain.. By living? Why.. do I have to live? It’s nothing but Pain…” They try everything they can to bring her back but alas, it has failed: Arnheid has died. The two are distraught but Thorfinn knew exactly how to respond to her hatred of living. In an impactful speech, he recalls what his father had taught him all of those years ago: “Far to the west… Across the great sea.. There is a place.. called Vinland. It is warm and fertile… Far from the slave trade and the fires of war. There, you will be able to live without pain. Go there with us, Arnheid. We’ll create a country of peace in Vinland.” Arnheid’s death is a very emotional scene in the manga that is only elevated in the anime. It was sad to see her go and I wish she could have gone on sailing with them to Vinland to finally be at peace once and for all. As one of the mercenaries of the battle approaches them asking why they were still there, Einar loses it and breaks into a fury of rage, his last resort in a time of desperation if you may. He is stopped by Thorfinn so that a continuous cycle of vengeance would not be vanquished. No amount of anger will disappear even after killing Ketil, it will only rise more death and anger to continue for who knows how long. Thorfinn begs Einar to not fall into the same hell that he had to endure for his whole life. They bury her and Thorfinn and Einar become true brothers, promising one another to forge a country within Vinland that houses no war. All will be done “For Arnheid”.

Many have been killed during this battle of the ages; They are preparing to leave before the going gets tough but Thorfinn has other ideas. Before departing, he wants to speak with Canute personally and is shortly stopped by Drott, a guard of the King. Thorfinn and Drott make a bet that if he is able to withstand 100 of his fierce punches. Five punches. Six Punches. Seven. Eight. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. His resolve is as high as ever and takes all of these punches head-on, his first resolve as Einar wonders if this is what he meant by that term. Thorfinn’s vow to keep taking all of the pain and turmoil will be the way his life continues from now on. At last, all one hundred punches are dished out, with Thorfinn standing victorious to the utter shock of Canute's army. Drott apologizes for doubting such a weak-looking man in his eyes and bestows upon him the grand title of “True Warrior” One of Canute’s personal guards, Wulf, asks Thorfinn why he never had the audacity to return any of the blows that were thrown at him, even referencing the fact that he previously was a guard for Canute way back when. He responds by asking why should they have to beat each other up even while not knowing one another or bearing any grudges. Pointless violence is not needed as there already was enough bloodshed from the quarrel between Canute and Ketil, and Thorfinn did not want to cause any more. He has no enemies. A man that is now righteous of being dubbed “Son of Thors” following in what his Father stood and lived for. Now he and Einar proudly walk toward the King, the man who started this war.

Thorfinn and Canute meet face to face for the first time in four years. He requests the king to leave this farm alone at once (since it was barely able to keep itself sustainable in this state) but he refuses in order to create a paradise of his own, something he told Thorfinn about many a time ago. These two are very obvious parallels of one another, men who want to promote a country of peace, but both go about it in different ways: Thorfinn’s way will be without any force while Canute would not hesitate to use force in order to attain his goal. Canute is under the belief that humanity will not thrive following alongside the rules under God. Humanity is prone to lose their way due to sin and it is his job to lead those astray into his own kingdom. In Canutes eyes, he would not be able to build a paradise if he was not able to save those who have been abandoned by God. To unify the strength of his nation means to build a stronger foundation for his ideal earth in order to fight back against the higher power of nature. Einar finds this to be a joke as what he is doing is the same exact reason why his family was killed and his village left in shambles. Canute does not seek his forgiveness and asks Thorfinn what he shall do if he has no plan on leaving anytime soon: he would run as his first resort; run to a place where his might could not reach. Canute bursts out into laughter due to expecting Thorfinn to have something up his sleeve. In the end, the King is in utter shock at how a man like this was born from a Viking. Thorfinn explains what he will do to Canute, claiming that he will venture to a place he can not reach in order to build a home of peace for those not wanting to live under a world within the grasps of the King’s hands. He leaves the farm at last as to not make Thorfinn’s job any harder. Canute looks upon Thorfinn and Einar from a distance, calling them “companions who seek the same goal through different means.”

War is over and it is finally time for the crew to set sail back to Iceland. Thorfinn is now looked upon as a real man with both strong and kind personalities. Something I would like to note before the ending is that Snake reveals to Thorfinn and Einar that his real name is Roald and also the Son of Grim. I always him blurting this out very similar to how at the end of the Prologue, Askeladd reveals his true name to King Sweyn. It makes his comparison to Askeladd brought up earlier more relevant and something I wanted to say since initially reading the manga back in 2021. After arriving in Iceland, Thorfinn is finally reunited once again with his sister and mother after not seeing them for such a long time. The final episode of the anime was very emotional for me as I did not want this chain of peak to end but alas, all good things must come to an end. From here, there is only an opportunity to look forward. Thorfinn has come a long way from the Prologue to now, becoming an entirely different person from originally wanting to die to show that life is worth living!

Wow, this was an undertaking lol. If you’re reading this, then thank you very much for putting up with what I had to say about this season! It holds a very special place in my heart and will always be in my top favorite anime of all time. The whole idea for this review/summary/retrospective was from an interview by Gigguk to Yukimura which he stated that for Vinland Saga, he wanted to create a series that mainly revolved around love, life and death, in which I fully believe this arc encapsulates those three perfectly. I’m sure that I messed up on a couple of details but I am pretty proud of my first large review like this. I also enjoy a lot of other shows so follow me if you want! I'll probably follow back.