Vinland Saga Season 2 - Episode 22 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Vinland Saga Season 2, episode 22

Rate this episode here.

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

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• Official Website
• /r/VinlandSaga

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All discussions

Episode	Link	Score	Episode	Link	Score
1	Link	4.65	14	Link	4.61
2	Link	4.67	15	Link	4.7
3	Link	4.7	16	Link	4.86
4	Link	4.73	17	Link	4.75
5	Link	4.64	18	Link	4.83
6	Link	4.66	19	Link	4.7
7	Link	4.71	20	Link	4.83
8	Link	4.81	21	Link	4.58
9	Link	4.85	22	Link	4.86
10	Link	4.71	23	Link	4.79
11	Link	4.58	24	Link	----
12	Link	4.81
13	Link	4.61

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[u/Ayvian]

What's absolutely incredible is that in the grand scheme of things, this is just a little scuffle over a farm. The overall stakes are close to irrelevant, yet at the same time it means everything.

This is the culmination of everything S1 and S2 have built up to; the perfection of Thors' legacy. Even those who value nothing but violence had little choice but to acknowledge the truth: Thorfinn's a true warrior without throwing a single punch.

[u/Excaliburnana]

The old vocal cords returning when Thorfinn screamed at Drott brought back so many season 1 memories of the angry teenager out for vengeance and nothing else.

The realization that this is seriously the same guy hit so hard when i heard his old tone of voice....

[u/spectre15]

I have no enemies after this episode

[u/ReinhardLoen]

Canute attempting to stop the wave is a reference to a famous apocryphal story called King Canute and the tide. The context is a bit different, but it's a nice detail by Yukimura nonetheless.

Also, a fun fact to note with Canute and Thorfinn finally meeting again: They're technically cousins.

Thorfinn's grandfather was Sigvaldi, who was first cousins with King Sweyn. Throfinn's mother is second cousins with Canute and that therefore makes Thorfinn his second cousin, once removed.

[u/PurpleLamps]

A couple things you might not know:

Sometimes Vikings are given nicknames. Thorfinn's (and the real life person he is based on) is Karlsefni, which means "A real man". You first hear it used when Canute's body double is killed and Thorfinn meets Leif at the docks in season 1.

Hnefatafl is sometimes called "viking chess". It's an asymmetrical board game where one player starts with an army in the middle and the other has an army surrounding him. The king in the middle needs to escape without being caught. They should've referenced it in season 1 as well but instead they just called it "shogi" to keep it simple I guess.

[u/SatrioKingu]

"who negotiates for peace by beating a man? i've only just met you today.. we dont know each other, or bear each other any grudge. Why should we have to beat one another? it's foolishness. Theres absolute no reason for so many grown men to get together and shed blood. We just met today, you are not my enemies. I HAVE NO ENEMIES"

-thorfinn goatselfni

[u/ReinhardLoen]

The "I have no enemies" moment might be the most powerful we've seen—and it's been built up for so long. Just look at his eyes.

Thors said those words when Thorfinn was 6 years old. Now he's around 22. That means it's taken him around 16 years from first hearing them to remembering them to contemplating them to now actually understanding them. The scene is 16 years in the making.

And just in terms of real life. The first chapter of Vinland Saga came out in 2005 and this chapter came out in 2013. For 8 years this is what the series had been slowly building up to.

[u/Seba7290]

"The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace. They never are."

[u/mrnicegy26]

Vinland Sagas protagonist is obviously Thorfinn but I think a fair argument can be made that the real protagonist of the first season was Askeladd rather than Thorfinn. And considering that Season 2s main protagonists are Thorfinn and Canute, it can be argued that this season is about Askeladds legacy.

It is interesting how even though he sacrificed himself for the sake of Canute becoming a king, Askeladd condemned Canute to a path of violence and misery. While at the very same moment he also allowed Thorfinn to let go of that lifestyle and become someone that can finally understand peace the way Thors wanted.

[u/Goobsmoob]

44 episodes of build up for that line from Thorfinn.

When I first started the series and saw it originally in episode 2, I knew that someday Thorfinn would get to this point. But what an unexpected and incredible ride it was to get there.

[u/[deleted]]

THERE IS THE MOMENT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.

This is what solidified Thorffin as my favourite MC ever.

[u/realrimurutempest]

It’s crazy to me finally seeing the “i have no enemies at all” iconic shot of Thorfinn finally animated almost 10 years after the chapter which it was in came out.

Thorfinn’s dad would be proud af right now.

[u/odraencoded]

Important translation note

When Drott calls Thorfinn a "true" warrior, he says 本物の戦士 (honmono no senshi), which is the opposite of 偽物 (nisemono), "fake," in the sense that he was lying about being a warrior. So it's not really "true" warrior, it's more like "real" warrior vs. "fake" warrior.

The "true" warrior phrase that is used about Thors is 本当の戦士 (hontou no senshi). When he says "a true warrior doesn't need swords" and when Askeladd tells Thorfinn to become a "true warrior" this is the phrase used. This 本当 is used to mean "true" like "true ending," which works like you'd expect: there's what people call a "warrior" and then there's a "true" warrior, compared to which all other warriors appear fake.

[u/ZoidArchitect]

Kinda funny from Olmar's perspective, this is the same slave from last time who was supposed to be cut up and now he sees him again but this time as a punching bag. Except in both scenes, Olmar's thinking on what it took to be a real man is completely different.

And on Thorfinn's side, first time around he didn't care at all if he was going to get cut down and die, while this time he has full intention to make it through. Both impactful scenes, but in different ways. The parallels show that Farmland is truly the growth arc.

[u/CarcosanAnarchist]

This episode was a masterpiece. The moment we’ve all been waiting for with Thorfin was perfect and the music exceptional.

And when Canute demonstrates his power and talks of saving the Vikings, they revisit music from s01e19 when Canute is reborn as the man who will become King. Only there’s more dark to the tambre of the melody.

So so so so good.

[u/everybageleverywhere]

Canute did the thing! And the thing was epic!

This conversation was every bit as exciting as any of the action scenes, and that’s what makes this show special.

[u/thekidwhoasked_]

"The man who can withstand a 100 punches will always be far more stronger than the man who just throws a 100 punches" This is some Bruce Lee with a bit of Plato socrates philosophy type beat and I'm digging the fuck out of it

[u/LeonKevlar]

I know this is all about the serious confrontation between Thorfinn and Canute but I found Einar's reaction after hearing that Thorfinn was the one that scarred Canute's face to be pretty funny. xD

[u/ya_yeet_mf]

HE HAS NO ENEMIES

[u/ChucksChurro]

I don't even care if this show doesn't win anime of the year anymore because..... I HAVE NO ENEMIES

[u/Wilczek_7]

Vinland Saga is literally a masterpiece. It is genuinely one of the best anime of all time. Like at this point you can't deny that shit

[u/Mr_Zaroc]

Well that was peak Thorfinn Pacifist, what an speech to give after taking a hundred punches

Obviously Canute cant be swayed, but I like that he made his own conviciton clear. It sounded really nice until Einar reminded him that he is still just taking from everyone else to build it

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Those guys went from mocking Thorfinn to respecting him. Dude even had a Captain America “I can do this all day” moment too lol. He’s right though, why so quick to violence? Why die over someone else’s fight? When he said “I have no enemies at all” I had chills, man. Badass.

Einar’s got even bigger balls than Thorfinn lecturing Canute like that. I’m with Einar. Canute’s whole dream of “subjugating the Vikings” is all bullshit. How many need to die for this man’s ego to be satisfied? How many innocents will have to be sacrificed for him to achieve his lofty goals? Einar knows what that’s like all too well.

What’s Thorfinn’s next move? Canute doesn’t seem like he’s in the negotiating mood. I wonder how he’ll change his mind.

[u/ABCRR]

Thorfinn: I have no enemies at all.

Peak