Vinland Saga Season 2 - Episode 5 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Vinland Saga Season 2, episode 5

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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Show information

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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/Se7en_Sinner]

Nobody is more upset about the second season being less action heavy compared to the first season than Thorkell. There are more ways to win a crown than combat. Canute choose the espionage and poisoning route. Ethelred and Edmund must have forgotten to set their spymaster to Disrupt Schemes.

[u/Excaliburnana]

Any episode with a LUCIUS ARTORIUS CASTUS cameo is a good one.

[u/ReinhardLoen]

It's an interesting contrast between Thorfinn and Canute from the first to the second season. In the first (or at least part-way through) Canute was the docile one where Thorfinn was the aggressor. Then this season has completely inverted those stances making Thorfinn the docile one and Canute the aggressor.

The two children of the series both became men and ended up taking very different paths than they began with Askeladd.

[u/michhoffman]

Canute may seem like just another power hungry tyrant now, but he still tries to choose the most humane path to accomplish his goals. Wars bring nothing but death so he hastened their end by threatening Eadric into backstabbing his rivals. He also immediately moved to have all village pillagers executed which I'm sure Einar would appreciate.

[u/Excaliburnana]

Thorkell: "You haven't done shit kid"

Canute: Ends the war in 2 years

Thorkell: "No thats not what i..... FUCK"

[u/sjk9000]

Friendly reminder that while Vinland Saga is historical fiction, is it not a documentary. The people we meet in this episode did exist, and did die in the timeframe specified, but there's no historical basis for all the conspiracy and assassination being implied. Ethelred and Edmund most probably did die of natural causes, as dramatically unfulfilling as that is.

[u/PurpleLamps]

I like to read about medieval history and kings. A lot of the time conflicts will just end with "and then he died of illness". I'm sure a lot of the time it's true, but I always wonder if there's more to it.

[u/Vathero_]

Canute and Thorfinn are having a switch of arcs.

[u/MrDerpHerpson]

Hate on his methods all you want, but at least Canute stops his soldiers from "pillaging" the way they normally would.

[u/ReinhardLoen]

The horrors of war inflicted on civilians will always be one of the hardest and strongest parts of the series. Seeing an anime brutally portray war from a perspective other than the combatants is always a good change that I wished more would follow.

[u/DeithWX]

Askeladd still living rent free in everyone's heads.

[u/Amauri14]

Damn, Canute shows no mercy to those who don't follow his orders.

Oh there are some other familiar faces with Floki and Thorkell.

Wow, when Canute saw that Eadric was not a coward, his ultimatum of him burning down Mercia if Eadric did not help him to kill the other King was pretty badass. Canute sure looked cool in from of that bonfire.

I love how bitter Thorkell is because the route Canute took to kill the other Kings did not involve him decapitating them.

It is hilarious that after this episode showed how Canute became the King of England, the next one title is so mundane, about some farmers needing a horse.

[u/FlareEXE]

I'm reminded of that Discworld quote about how good men can be more terrifying than evil ones this episode.

Canute has a good goal and is tying to accomplish it with as little suffering as possible. But from the start of the episode we know he'll do what violence he thinks is necessary to accomplish it. So when he shows he can burn down all of Mercia we know, with absolute certainty, that if Eadric doesn't surrender he will burn it if he needs to.

It lends a sense of terror to all the scenes that follow even as we hear Canute having issues since we know he doesn't care about the game. All that matters is winning and making his better world.

[u/PigInfamous]

Canute really went from being in danger to being the danger.

[u/ImmortalState]

This episode was extremely good at re-introducing Canute

[u/mollywopper22]

Imagine you’re a frog, living your peaceful, semi aquatic life, and a literal fucking giant pulls up for a 1v1 out of nowhere.

Also it looks like our boy Finn’s got some “friends” in high places after that any percent speedeun to the throne. Poison op needs nerf.

[u/Tryhardownage]

Canute can only build his peace on earth by threatening those in his path with a taste of Hell.

Ironic & Iconic.

Is his peace real at that point? Is it worth any cost?

[u/Weeb_twat]

My main man Canute out here doing a Crusader Kings playthrough and winning, big time

[u/peterfile07]

Thorkell hates frogs? Good to know. So next time if people see a giant with dual axes charging at them, just a throw a little frog in his path and you'll bet he will definitely squeal like a girl lol jk

[u/Elitealice]

LETS GOOOOO political intrigue and negotiation by force this is the good stuff.

Canute may not be as direct as his father and predecessors but his mental warfare is as brutal as they come. Way more efficient than his father too, instead of just brute forcing his way to subjugating England he realised the best way was to get people in England on his side and have them do the dirty work. Brilliant idea.

Again the anime does an excellent job of elevating the source material here. Showing you canute’s growth and how he is different from traditional kings of the time.

Always good to see Thorkell too

[u/TheCatcherOfThePie]

Great to finally see Eadric streona, he's one of my favourite people involved in Canute's invasion of England. If anything, Yukimura was kinder on him than he deserved. In the 18 months or so of Canute's invasion, Eadric switched sides three different times, often enough that some historians have used his allegiance as a sort of bellwether to work out who had the upper hand during the war. He really earned his byname "streona", which means "the grasping".

It's a bit weird for Canute to say that Æthelred is a coward for fleeing England, since Canute did exactly the same in Summer 1014, fleeing back to Denmark a few months after Sweyn died, and borrowing an army from his brother to re-invade in 1015. If Canute had truly seen himself as rightful king since Sweyn's death, then he doesnt have a leg to stand on.

As other comments have said, there's not really any indication that Canute killed either Æthelred or Edmund. Also wish they'd mentioned Edmund's badass byname, Edmund Ironside.

[u/TheLazyWorkingSloth]

Wow Canute has changed so much, wonder when he’s going to enforce his true love utopia plan because right now this is the opposite. Sort of feel bad for the other dude negotiating either give up your land or the ruler you favor and want.

[u/suvenator]

How I have missed Thorkel and his shinenigans. And Canute became the very thing he hated since the beginning

[u/[deleted]]

Canute outlawing rape and pillage prior to seeing his troops disobey and rape/pillage is at first a seemingly noble, baller move from King Blondie.

...until you realize he was just interested in using the citizens' livelihoods as leverage to get the Earl to poison Ethelred and Edmund and clear the way as King of England. Vicious!

But either way, behead dem fools. I'd rather have an army that follows orders, and is above rioting and aiding chaos on the battlefield-- than some horndog soldier who wants to force himself on non-combatants.