Vinland Saga 2x09 Reaction

"Even if they're hanging off you, keep climbing. Climb! Thats your battle!" Felt like Askelad was saying that to all of us 😭

A fun fact: Hajime Isayama (author of Attack on Titan), and Makoto Yukimura (author of Vinland Saga) are friends in real life, and they both praise each other's work!

Out of all the things in this absolutely perfect episode, one little detail I love is that Thors was being dragged down by corpses, too, while wearing his Jomsviking armor with his hand on his sword. We barely got to see it, but he was a lot like Thorfinn in his youth, and despite the symbol he became, Thors didn't become a true warrior in the end. In his final fight, he relied on his sword, even though he always preached that a true warrior doesn't need one. And he knew it, he said to Askeladd that he's not yet a master. And we get to see that visually here. It gives even more weight to Askeladd's dying words, "Don't stay in a damn boring place like this forever. Go further than Thors did, that's your true fight." And Thorfinn didn't understand that until now. Thorfinn has to climb and carry the souls of his victims to paradise. He has to climb like his father did and reach the summit like Thors was never able to. From here on, Thorfinn's on the path to becoming a true warrior. And Thors walking away at the end of the episode in pride for his son. He doesn't need to watch over his son anymore; he has nothing left to tell him. Thorfinn is finally joining him on his walk to paradise. It was just a perfect final coda to this masterpiece of storytelling.

Can’t emphasize enough how perfect this episode is.

This is a literal perfect 10/10 episode for me. It's just an absolute masterpiece.

Thorfinns voice actor deserves an award

he's finally heeding Askeladd's dying words, and following after his Father.. the pacing for season 2 really made this moment as impactful as it deserved to be.. thank you Mappa, Wit Studio and Makoto Yukimura for this blessing.

Makoto Yukimura is an awesome writer and a Chad.

Askellad screamed tears out of my eyes when he told Thorfinn to climb, to become a true warrior. What a story .

this is one of the best anime episodes of all time

One of the most beautiful episodes of anything I've ever watched

Lola ranting about people disliking the series was really funny. Also, like you guys, this episode really caught me off guard by just how good it was. I'm really happy to be able to watch y'all react and discuss about this episode before I go to sleep.

It’s clever because it’s not really the ghost of Thors and Askeladd, it’s reframing things they said to thorfinn so it’s him confronting his own memories. They don’t provide lots of new info but it’s him processing it.

I remember 1x18 Lola said it was a cathartic experience to see Canute go through his transformation. This was that for me ten times over, such a powerful episode

This is the best episode to me. What a beautiful representation of a mental conflict. First with his father Thors in heaven and then with his second father Askeladd in Hell. And yet, he was not dragged down. It was Askeladd’s last words before he died that pushed him away from ever falling into the abyss. Chefs kiss.

I thought Vinland peaked on season 1 episode 24 but this episode is currently the its peak

Askeladd will always be my favorite fictional character. The impact he had from just urging Thorfinn to change his ways and not become like him will always move me.

Einar played such an important role in Thorfinn's redemption... Einar unlocked the empathy in Thorfinn, made Thorfinn think deeper about all the people he killed, "Were the people I murdered kind and good like Einar"

I love that they started with the lost sheep. I bet it’s coz thorfinn overheard Snake read the lost sheep parable to the old master. And somehow subconsciously he saw himself as the lost sheep. Askeladd was also just his own subconscious self. He might not have realized it but askeladd did raise him and he does listen to him however hard it is for him to do so.

Peakland Saga