Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland saga has got its brand new season, and the hype has already begun. After the great success of Vinland Saga season one, which first aired on July 7, 2019, we continue the story. Season 2 of the series was released on January 10, 2023.
The show is already getting loads of love from the fans who have been waiting for a new season since the first one ended and have finally delivered what they longed for. But how good is the Vinland Saga? Is it worth watching? If you are also asking yourself these questions, then you are in the right place.
One of the main characters of the anime includes Thors Snorresson, the father of Thorfinn. Thors is a brave young man with excellent combat skills; his courage, combined with his abilities, makes him lethal. He is a fierce warrior who is feared by all. Thors possess mastery in hand-to-hand combat; he used to be a merciless warrior destroying everything that came his way.
Over the years of constant killing, Thors soon got tired of all the bloodshed and destruction. One day he decided to leave it all behind him as Thors wanted his son to have a peaceful life away from war. He faked his death and settled down in Iceland, where he led a quiet and calm life with his wife, Helda. Thors became a completely different man who did not seek his answers in revenge but believed in peace and harmony.
We are also introduced to Thors Snorresson’s son, Thorfinn. Born in the year 996 in the country of Iceland, where Thors fled after leaving the soldier life. At the beginning of the series, we see Thorfinn as a happy, curious boy. He has big round eyes, and we see him smiling most of the time. Thorfinn wants to know more about the world and the mysteries in it.
Alas! this curiousness and innocence of Thorfinn are short-lived as one day, he sees his father get murdered by Askeladd. Thorfinn swears revenge on Askeladd, and for that reason, he joins his army, staying close to him. As the series progresses, we see Thorfinn turn into a fierce warrior just like his dad, the innocence of his eyes is gone, and now all we see on his face is a cold expression in seek of revenge. His whole body is covered in scars and scratches from various battles.
Vinland Saga Season 1: Recap
Season 1 starts with Thors fighting in a battle when he falls into the sea. He decides not to come back up as he is tired of his life as a warrior, and so faking his death, he flees to Iceland, where he starts living a peaceful life. Thors has a wife, a son, and a daughter.
Thors’ life takes a turn when his past catches up to him, and his fellow soldier, Floki, finds him. Floki asks him to join him in the battle against the English and somehow convinces Thors to join the army. Thors collects the men willing to fight beside him, and the villagers, never knowing war happily follow Thors, excited to fight battles, unaware of the destruction it can cause. Thors collects all the men on his boat, and they leave.
On their way to meet Floki, Thors finds out that Thorfinn has snuck onto the ship as the little boy is excited to see war and battles. On the other hand, we see Floki plotting the assassination of Thors as a punishment for leaving his crew in the middle of a battle all those years ago. Floki, along with Askeladd, plans to murder Thors when they reach the shore.
Thors and his men are stopped on their way to see Floki and are ambushed by Askeladd’s men. Here the viewers get to see the warrior side of Thors as he glides through Askeladd’s men, dropping them down one after the other. Thors wins this fight, but his son is captured as a hostage by Askeladd. Thor surrenders to save his son and is soon killed when Askeladd’s men shower him with arrows.
Young Thorfinn is traumatized, seeing his father’s life taken away right in front of him. He feels weak and helpless, anger takes over him, and he swears to take revenge for his father’s death. Thorfinn wants to take his revenge honestly and wants to kill Askeladd in a duel in front of everyone. Being just a kid, Thorfinn finds himself to be weak in front of Askeladd and decides to stay with him and train until he becomes strong enough to defeat him.
Over the years, Askeladd gives Thorfinn various missions and accepts Thorfinn’s challenge to duel him after he completes the missions successfully. Thorfinn completes various tasks assigned to him and challenges Askeladd many times, but each time he is defeated and is unable to kill Askeladd.
The story progresses forward, and we are introduced to a new character, Thorkell. Thorkell is a big strong man who used to be in the Jomsviking but switched sides and joined the English forces when he saw that they had the upper hand in battle.
Thorkell defends the London beach along with his army, and when faced with Askeladd, he easily handles them. Askeladd finds himself weak in front of Thorkell and orders Thorfinn to battle Thorkell. He promises Thorfinn that he will face him in another duel if he manages to defeat Thorkell. Thorkell easily defeats Thorfinn, and the latter saves himself and goes into hiding.
As we move forward, we see king Swain ordering his son, prince Knut, to capture London and defeat Thorkell. The real reason behind Swain’s order is to make the death of his son happen so that Swain’s elder son Herald can take his place. When Thorkell finds out that prince Knut has come to invade London, he defeats his army and captures Knut.
Askeladd is informed about the capture of prince Knut, and in pursuit of taking a reward from king Swain, he rescues the prince. At the same time, Ragnar, who is loyal to prince Knut goes to free his master and decides to fight Thorkell. Ragnar demands Thorkell release prince Knut, and the two armies get into a fight. Askeladd reaches the scene and starts a fire. He then orders Thorfinn to release prince Knut and bring him back.
Thorfinn succeeds in saving the prince, and Thorfinn, Askeladd, prince Knut, and Ragnar start moving toward safety. They march their way to king Swain where Askeladd can get his reward. Thorkell follows behind them. Askeladd’s men get afraid when they see Thorkell following them and thus ask Askeladd to return the prince, so their lives can be saved. Askeladd realizes that his men are starting to turn on him, and asks Thorfinn and Bjorn to take prince Knut to king Swain safely.
A battle breaks down between Askeladd’s men and Thorkell’s army, where Thorkell starts devouring Askeladd’s men one after the other. Thorfinn runs back to save Askeladd as he wants to be the one who kills him. Once again, he faces Thorkell, and this time, with the help of Askeladd, he finds Thoekell’s weak point. Thorfinn wins this fight and is declared the winner by Thorkell himself.
Bjorn gets injured trying to save prince Knut. Watching Bjorn getting hurt and going through so much pain, prince Knut is converted into a mature man who finds his goal, which is to bring peace to this world. He hires Askeladd as his advisor and Thorfinn as his bodyguard. He also manages to bring Thorkell to his side, and all of them move toward king Swain.
King swain is shocked at the news of prince Knut being alive and plots to kill him. When Thorfinn, the prince, and Askeladd go to meet the king, they are surrounded by Swain’s men. Akeladd makes the king realize that prince Knut achieved Victory over London forces with the help of Thorkell’s army.
The king decides to leave them and let them live upon hearing this. The story keeps moving forward, and at one point, we see Thorfinn challenging Askeladd for a duel one more time. Once again, Thorfinn has to face defeat, and Askeladd taunts him for not learning anything in the past years.
We see King Swain entertaining the imperial council in york. He tells the danish about their win over England and praises Knut and Thorkell. Swain announces that they will invade Wales, which is the hometown of Askeladd. Askeladd tries to convince Swain that invading Wales is not worth it as it is a poor country that does not contain much treasure or riches.
The king asks Askeladd to choose between either Knut or Wales. Upon hearing this, Askeladd is filled with rage; he draws his sword and decapitates Swain in front of the Imperial Council. Askeladd starts fighting the King’s soldiers alone, killing them all one by one. Knut realizes that Askeladd is acting like this, so Knut kills him and becomes the new king. Knut takes out his sword and successfully stabs it through Askeladd’s heart.
Thorfinn sees this and runs to hold Askeladd; he starts crying and feeling hatred towards prince Knut as he wants to be the one who kills Askeladd. He blames Knut as he will never be able to seek his revenge now. Thorfinn is agitated and attacks Knut giving him a scar on his cheek; Thorfinn is quickly stopped and brought under control by Thorkell. Prince Knut declares himself the king and takes charge of the army.
Thorfinn is seen held by the soldiers. His knife falls from his hands in the knife’s reflection; we are shown his whole life. Season 1 ends here with Thorfinn losing the purpose of his life and not knowing what to do in the future.
Vinland Saga: Season 2
The second season of the series continues after season one ends, and Thorfinn loses his purpose in life. He is enslaved and works for a man named Ketil.
The new season includes a character named Einar, who has seen his village destroyed by the English people. Einar wants to lead a peaceful life, but all his hopes and dreams are shattered when his village is raided once again. He watches his family slaughtered in front of him; Einar is then captured and taken away.
He is purchased by Ketil, who is kind to Einar and promises him that he can earn his freedom by working for him. While working for Ketil, Einar meets Thorfinn, who has now gone completely numb and has no hope remaining. The story will follow the two slaves working for their freedom, holding on and surviving, hoping to find a trace of hope in a world that has caused them only pain.
Vinland Saga: Review
Season 1 of Vinland Saga followed the war arc; we saw a lot of bloodshed and politics. The season was fast-paced, and the character development happened hastily. Season one was based on Thorfinn’s revenge, and the story mainly followed that aspect of his life.
Season two shifts its focus from the battles and wars to its characters. The pace of the show is considerably slow, and it may bore some of the viewers at first, but that doesn’t mean it is not worth watching. It will soon stick you to your screens as the story progresses forward. Season 2 is less action-based and takes a more soul-oriented turn. The story takes a turn in a new direction and depicts a different part of life.
The characters look promising, and Vinland Saga does a great job of making the viewers attached to the newly introduced characters. There is a contrast created between the mindsets of Einar and Thorfinn. Einar lives hoping that one day life will get better and everything will improve, whereas Thorfinn has lost all hope and dreams. He lives for the sake of it and does not have any positive thoughts left.
Other characters, such as Snake, show some potential. Although there is not much known about them yet, we can say that the new characters will bring out a new side of the anime.
We will be able to see a lot of character development and dwell deeper into the life of characters, the new approach of the anime may disappoint some viewers who were attracted to the action of the series, but it still has a long way to go, and a lot to show.
Vintage Saga is an anime that contains something for everyone ranging from hardcore action to dirty mind games, and anyone can enjoy it.
Our Rating: 3.8/5
Also read: 20 Anime Series Like Vinland Saga That You Shouldn’t Miss.
