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Vinland Saga (TV) (all seasons).


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ACxS



Joined: 03 Aug 2019
Posts: 867
PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:48 am Reply with quote
9:

If the last episode demonstrates how some people are motivated by money, this episode shows how others cannot be reasoned with it.

Bjorn claims that Thorkell is in it only for the money, but that's just his assumption. It's revealed that he's not it for the money; he's just in it for the thrill of the battlefield. Even he admits that he's siding with a losing side to Floki, so it makes no sense for him to fight alongside the Englishmen... unless being on the side of the underdog gives him a rush, and that's exactly the point.

And the fact that Thorkell is just that kind of guy is exactly what pisses Thorfinn off. Thorfinn has a personal agenda to kill Thorkell. If he loses (and he did), he has to concede and go back with Askeladd for another chance at killing (which he also did). Losing a fight and losing his face in front of his father's killer... now that's a double whammy. Thorkell... well, he's just wants a good fight. If you win, you win; if you lose, you lose. That's what a battle essentially is at the end of the day; grudges are pointless in battles. Dude lost two fingers that won't grow backs, while Thorfinn got his shoulder popped and his ankle sprained which he will recover eventually... yet Thorfinn is livid and Thorkell's even happy about the outcome.

Best of all, Thorkell fought Thorfinn and won fair and square, even though he could've cornered him with his army, and let him go alive. How's that for a reminder that the same thing happened between Askeladd and Thors but with a different ending? Make that a triple whammy.
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YusukeUrameshi



Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 12
PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2019 11:20 am Reply with quote
Has it been censored somehow so far?
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2815
PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2019 6:33 pm Reply with quote
#10

A more introspective episode this week, interspersed with occasional periods of action as the story moves forward towards the second half of the adaptation.

Thorfinn still dreams of his father, but he's not willing to let go of his fixation with Askeladd just yet. The latter still has him on a leash and knows it, but his little soliloquy on the Romans and their decline against the Saxons mirrors the contemporary situation of the English against the Danes.

Back in London, Thorkell and co. take the London besiegers by surprise and completely turn the tables. His desperation for a fight compels him to march north against the onset of winter to take on Sweyn's main army decamping for winter, but will he get there in time before his men freeze to death? If this really happened during the Great Danish invasion, it's a wonder Canute became King of the Danelaw after his father's death. Did he earn his spurs someplace else despite this debacle?

Askeladd's determination to make a profit either way is typical of him. I was surprised he decapitated the messenger without warning, but he sees his actions as a raging against the dying light and won't go quietly. His men are bored and there are no pickings to be had raiding hamlets, so go big or die trying is his mantra. At the very least, there's no shortage of potential action if he eventually squares up against Thorkell on the battlefield.
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ACxS



Joined: 03 Aug 2019
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 7:53 am Reply with quote
10:

History repeats itself. We hear it so many times, and even if we try to prevent that, it still happens. Askeladd was trying to tell Thorfinn (who still hasn't woken up from his 'nightmare', if you think about it) that their time will draw to an end someday, and they had their fun.

Every civilization is bent on finding some form of salvation/paradise/destiny, and to reach that promised land, there's always going to be a struggle. That's the unique thing about humanity: we create a sense of purpose for our hardship to give our lives some form of meaning. You would think that Askeladd is a typical nihilist who thinks that life has no meaning (and you'd be right) but even he might not think that Valhalla is complete hogwash.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:29 pm Reply with quote
#11

A clash between the old ways and the new, although if I'm not mistaken at this point in time the Danish army and its auxiliaries are almost all Christian as the conversion waves from the British Isles were sent out a century before. It makes for an exaggerated contrast as the "soft" Christians are put to the sword by the Pagan minority holding military superiority.

Askeladd's plan is as reckless as always. Starting a forest fire just to create confusion and give Thorfinn the opportunity to seize Cnut puts too much on chance and the vagaries of the weather. His assistant had it spot on though: Askeladd clearly trusts Thorfinn enough to do the job, even though the chance of failure is high and with it the real possibility of the prize and Thorfinn literally going up in flames.

So Thorkell knew Thors. The former must be a current or former member of the JomsVikings and knew of Thors' marriage and desertion. Thorfinn was shaken enough to snap out of his attack stance, but he'll want to meet Thorkell again just to hear more about his family background before they duel to the death.

I'm not looking up images of Cnut, but the show has made him out to be someone on the effeminate side of good looks. Perhaps he has that helmet to hide his features so that the macho members of his forces don't lose respect for him. The times being what they were, incompetence as a commander and with a visage which didn't inspire confidence in the ranks is a critical weakness in times of war.
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vonPeterhof



Joined: 10 Nov 2014
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:46 pm Reply with quote
Harleyquin wrote:
So Thorkell knew Thors. The former must be a current or former member of the JomsVikings and knew of Thors' marriage and desertion.
They were shown fighting together in the very first scene of the show, and it's also been mentioned that Thorkell is the child of the leader of the Jomsvikings. So is Helga, which makes Thorkell Thorfinn's uncle.
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ACxS



Joined: 03 Aug 2019
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 7:52 am Reply with quote
11:

If you listen to how Thorkell and his men think and behave, you'd notice that they're no different from say, the Spartans. And that's the thing: in all the wars and the factions involved throughout history, some things just don't change. You will always have people fighting for glory (your warriors), then there are the ones who fought to defend their honor (your reactionary soldiers). And of course, there are the people who fought for riches (bandits, or as we call them now, mercenaries).

vonPeterhof wrote:
Harleyquin wrote:
So Thorkell knew Thors. The former must be a current or former member of the JomsVikings and knew of Thors' marriage and desertion.
They were shown fighting together in the very first scene of the show, and it's also been mentioned that Thorkell is the child of the leader of the Jomsvikings. So is Helga, which makes Thorkell Thorfinn's uncle.


Now how about that; rather than a duel, it's actually a family reunion. Intriguing.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:55 am Reply with quote
vonPeterhof wrote:
Harleyquin wrote:
So Thorkell knew Thors. The former must be a current or former member of the JomsVikings and knew of Thors' marriage and desertion.
They were shown fighting together in the very first scene of the show, and it's also been mentioned that Thorkell is the child of the leader of the Jomsvikings. So is Helga, which makes Thorkell Thorfinn's uncle.


I must have missed that dialogue, since the first battle scene with Thors and companion made me think the latter was the untrustworthy Floki rather than Thorkell.
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RedSwirl



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 4:04 pm Reply with quote
Harleyquin wrote:
vonPeterhof wrote:
Harleyquin wrote:
So Thorkell knew Thors. The former must be a current or former member of the JomsVikings and knew of Thors' marriage and desertion.
They were shown fighting together in the very first scene of the show, and it's also been mentioned that Thorkell is the child of the leader of the Jomsvikings. So is Helga, which makes Thorkell Thorfinn's uncle.


I must have missed that dialogue, since the first battle scene with Thors and companion made me think the latter was the untrustworthy Floki rather than Thorkell.


I actually don't remember if they've directly said that in the anime yet. I think all the anime has let loose so far is that Thorkell and Thors knew each other. But yeah they're all family. I think they'll go over it sometime in the next couple episodes.
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vonPeterhof



Joined: 10 Nov 2014
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 4:36 pm Reply with quote
RedSwirl wrote:
I actually don't remember if they've directly said that in the anime yet. I think all the anime has let loose so far is that Thorkell and Thors knew each other. But yeah they're all family. I think they'll go over it sometime in the next couple episodes.
Okay, I actually went back to see where they said it, and it looks like I was a bit off. In Thors' flashback to Ylfa's birth in episode 3 he mentions that Helga was the daughter of the leader of the Jomsvikings, but in episode 9 where Floki has his talk with Thorkell he mentions the leader Sigvaldi as Thorkell's older brother rather than father. So I guess Thorkell is actually Thorfinn's great uncle instead of just uncle.
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Harleyquin



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PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 8:12 am Reply with quote
#12

Well, that revelation came out of the blue. Turns out Askeladd has Celtic blood in his veins. Whoever Lydia is, it's enough to get the general of one of the Welsh kingdoms to come to his aid with Thorkell's army hot on his heels in the West Country. Askeladd's accent when he speaks Old English is likely due to the Welsh influence on the pronunciation.

Askeladd's allies of convenience are the remnants of the Romano-Britons who inhabited England before the Saxon invasions of the 5th and 6th centuries. The legend of Arthur dates from this time, but I'm not convinced of the author's attempt to link the Welsh kingdom to the original Britons (Gratianus is a Latin name). Whatever it is, Askleadd and his men are in real trouble as they are smack in the middle of territory perfect for an ambush.

Prince Cnut isn't very convincing as the future king of the Danelaw at this point. His confidante Ragnar spoils him and keeps him away from danger when he should be proving himself as Sweyn intended by taking an active role in battle. Perhaps things will change now that Thorfinn is assigned to be his bodyguard, the two are polar opposites and it'll be interesting to see what will happen if they interact with each other. That assumes they survive next week in one piece.

The last few scenes indicate something is going to happen, what with the explorer of Vinland making his reappearance (minus hair) and Sweyn in his winter quarters holding court over the JomsVikings.

I've rewatched episode 9. Careless of me not to remember Thorkell being outed as Sigvaldi's younger brother at that point. Then again, I paid more attention to the battle scenes afterwards instead of the early dialogue exposition. Grand uncle is correct though.
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ACxS



Joined: 03 Aug 2019
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 11:49 pm Reply with quote
12:

It's interesting to see how Cnut the Great, historically the King of Denmark, England and Norway, will ascend the throne in this show. Some historical accounts portray him differently from this one, but then history is always rife with inaccuracies. Portraying him with qualities that make anyone uneasy makes for a good story.

We're reaching a climactic moment here, as evident from how the episode wrapped up. Riveting, since we're done with the first cour and now going into the second. Something significant is going to happen next.
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Harleyquin



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PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 11:52 am Reply with quote
#13

Better visuals and music for the OP and ED in the second half of this adaptation. The ear-splitter OP from the first half is replaced by something that I can actually understand, the ED has the better visuals but not necessarily the better music.

For a first episode, no action whatsoever. Last week's cliffhanger turns out to be a dud as Askeladd cleverly talks his way out of a sticky situation. His background also explains how someone from an old Norse linguistic background could possibly speak Welsh, one of the Celtic languages with zero common ground with the Northern European language family. Did Askeladd spare Thorfinn because he's similar to how he was when he was younger?

Even Gratianus echoes what I thought about Ragnar. If the OP is any indication, he might not stick around for the whole of the adaptation. Not necessarily a bad thing, since the Cnut who ruled the Danelaw couldn't possibly pull off the feat if he remains the same way he is at present.

Although Askeladd and his band avoided getting riddled with arrows this episode, they run the very real risk of being stranded in the Welsh Highlands if they cannot return to English lands before the snows set in. Knowing Askeladd, his change of course is with the intent of raiding a remote hamlet for supplies to keep his men and himself alive and motivated.

If there's going to be more action, it'll probably have to wait until the two armies meet somewhere near Gainsborough, the winter quarters of the Danish army.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
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Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 10:06 pm Reply with quote
"Hey, you. You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Welsh ambush, same us and that horse thief over there."
This popped into my head when seeing the three of them on a cart while needing to pretend to be prisoners. That is the group being Nordic, although the Welsh would probably be connected closer to the Bretons than the Imperials for Elder Scrolls.

I am actually surprised, I had for quite a while lost really any sympathy for Thorfinn, that his revenge plan does not excuse his awful acts of helping men in their raping and pillaging of peaceful settlements. But soddenly I might even be on the side of the leader of those men and the target of Thorfinn's revenge, Askeladd. The reveal that what he has been doing is all a plan to get power in the Danes so that he could insure that Wales be protected. Much more noble than Thorfinn's quest, even if he abetted the evil acts of his men.
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ACxS



Joined: 03 Aug 2019
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 7:56 am Reply with quote
13:

Pfft, gimme back my MUKANJO.

Seeing as how Canute will eventually become the king of the whole region (historically), it's interesting how the destination is set. The show now is simply about how Askeladd and Co.'s journey is going to be. I don't even care much about Thorfinn's grudge anymore.

milet's voice sounds awfully familiar. Sounds like a Western artist but can't quite put my finger on which one...
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