These stories are very sad, but they are definitely peak episodes.😭❤Especially, The contrast in love between the three men who love Arnheid (Gadar, Ketil, and Einar) is truly amazing. They have the same emotion called "love," but its nature and direction are very different. Galdar prioritized his own wealth and honor over Arnheid's wishes. Ketil sees Arnheid only as his possession and completely ignores her rights and feelings. In other words, his love is a self-love that only wishes for his own happiness. And Einar prioritizes Arnheid's wishes and sincerely wishes for her happiness. I think Einar's "love" is true love. 5:07 By the way, The snake's question reminded me of what the priest said to Knut: "Love is discrimination."
I don’t think Gardar was motivated by a personal greed. He and the other men truly believed they were doing the right thing for their families. It may not have been the right decision, but it wasn’t purely a selfish decision
Women cause violence. Einar love isn't true love. He's doing a lot of stupid things in order to please her. He's willing to kill men in order to save a stranger from prison. He's willing to kill Ketil because he hurt Arnheid. He's ready to do what Thorfinn is trying his best to avoid. He's also dragging Thorfinn into all of these problems. Einar simping hard. Arnheid is also stupid. She was living a great life. She just had to wait until that mistress died and she could have taken control of the entire farm by manipulating Ketil. She was pregnant. Ketil's youngest was useless. She could have manipulated Ketil into making the baby the next heir. Einar trying to be a discord moderator for his kitten, trying to be a white knight ruined everything.
on episode 17: something I really want to point out, is the sheer irony of what Snake says here. "both me and my men are a bunch of stupid, nasty scumbags. we're drifters who can't use our real names because of what we've done elsewhere. but does that mean that it doesn't matter if we die? is Gardar's life worth that much?" Arnheid and Gardar could claim the very same sentiment. they're a pair of slaves... but they didn't used to be. currently, the law doesn't protect them. instead, the law keeps them trapped. they can't freely go anywhere else. but they didn't do anything wrong... it's not like their enslavement was punishment for anything. and now that they are enslaved, they have no right to own land, pursue justice for the land that was stolen from them, accrue money, pursue justice for the money that was taken from them, keep their child safe, demand justice for their child's death, make their own choices, or even hold their own thoughts/opinions. Arnheid was told to forget that Gardar was even her husband in the first place. the law would never willingly give these two a path to a good life. it is only lawful for them to contort themselves into whatever shape their master finds most desirable, and the interests of their masters will never unite them. and Snake thinks that being in danger wasn't what he and his men signed up for when they decided to become enforcers of this system of law? yeah, his men died... by trying to force Gardar back into these circumstances, which he'd just given every ounce of effort he had, just to escape from. Gardar acts like a wild animal because he's desperate... it's either live free or die for him at this point. are Snake's men worth so much that Gardar should've just rolled over, and submitted to an inquiry system that would've demanded his death anyway? or else forfeit the rest of his life to a slave owner's whims? and keep in mind... Snake and his men already made an enemy of this system of law all by themselves, and they're doing this job because of how much the consequences scare them. what is Snake even talking about?? "a life for a life" sounds mathematically fair when a guy like Snake says it out of frustration, in a heated moment... but the logic absolutely does not hold up. Gardar dying doesn't bring Snake's men back, and if Snake wants to find the true source of his mens' death, he might have to look past the scarred and emaciated slave in the cart, and start asking questions about the person who had already beaten all the light out of his eyes, before Snake's men ever tried to lay a finger on him. their goal is to punish Gardar for running from that, and to keep him from seeing his wife, at least long enough for them to legally decide to kill him. and what would happen to Snake and his men, if they used their true names, and were prosecuted for whatever it is that they've done? their lives don't matter less than Gardars... and Gardar's doesn't matter less than theirs. they devalued him in the first place... they treated him like an animal. like livestock. and then Snake is still talking about punishments for Arnheid and Thorfinn after he stabs Gardar. it's legitimately nauseating what a system like this will convince people is normal. do they want to avenge Gardar now? no... that was never the point. it shouldn't have been the point for Snake either. in that moment of silence, after Snake stabs him, we're left with an overwhelming, oppressive sense that nothing was accomplished at all. Snake's logic cannot be allowed to stand as though it makes any sense, whatsoever. the tone of the scene has already dismantled everything he said.
The only thing in my opinion is that this isn't "the real" Ketil, I don't find it reasonable he lived for 30 - 50 years whatever completely timid and this is somehow the real him as much as it's him spiraling and essentially going into psychosis episode. Naturally he would still need to be punished and that accountability for what he did.
@@BenganGamer This is the real Ketil. He lived his whole life being a weak guy who doesn´t have control of his life. When he felt tired of that, he snapped to violence. He never stopped being a weak person. In fact, he is even weaker now that he turned to violence. That´s what the author want to say with his character: weak people are more inclined to violence, and true strenght relies on holding violence back
@@ernestorodriguez5117 I think the part about Ketil being weak and weak people are prone to violence can be true even if early season Ketil is the true him. You can literally see how tormented he is in the scene with the kids, or do you think his inner monologuing is also fake or some stupid shit?
Season 3 will be around the heat death of the universe so look forward to that. Jokes aside actually season 3 will cover my favorite part of the Manga so I'm excited to see it animated.
I read the manga past this before season 1 of anime. wasnt interested in watching season 1 whole again. but season 2 I enjoyed so much, even though I read it before people sayin season 1 is peak and 2 is trash are simpletons, and I dont want to associate with them
on Ketil: this guy is a shit human being, and a fascinating character. every time anyone gets to this part of the show, there are always a bunch of messy takes flying around... from "he's a good man having a bad day," to "he's an awful person and always has been," and I think there are grains of truth in all of it. my perspective, which I think accounts for everything we've seen, is that Ketil wants things to be easy. Ketil's past is absolutely a contributing factor. he suffered the loss of the woman he loved, and it wasn't even his decision... his father protected their family by sacrificing her, even if Sverkel couldn't have anticipated to what degree she'd be harmed. but compare that to the similar losses that Arnheid has suffered. why does Ketil fail to sympathize with her? what did Arnheid's experiences teach her? and more importantly, how do Arnheid and Ketil learn different lessons from similar situations, based on what they've been taught to expect from life? Ketil's expectations come from his culture. he knows that formidable men are supposed to be strong enough to protect themselves and their assets. he knows that he is not a formidable man, but he's found a way to pretend to be one. this is a system based around dominance... and Ketil has found his comfort zone near the top of the food chain. when Ketil is doing well, he's comfortable enough to offer his generosity to others. he'll offer Thorfinn and Einar the ability to earn their freedom, when it's easy. but that's because all he wants from them is their labor. and he can have it, unpaid, until he's decided they've worked enough. this allows him to gain the land, fully cleared and ready for production, at no real cost to himself... while also gaining the gratitude of the slaves he's keeping, because they know Ketil has the option not to free them at all. and this serves a function too. I mean... Ketil wouldn't want to end up like the man who kept Gardar enslaved, would he? so he protects himself, by keeping his slaves relatively content. and it's a nice middle ground for a man who wants to own slaves, but doesn't want to be treated with the level of resentment befitting of a slave owner. of course, if Ketil wanted anything else from Thorfinn and Einar, he'd find a way to have it... but his desire to smooth things over socially, is outweighing the temptation of anything they have. Thorfinn and Einar have nothing, so they are safe. Ketil wants something from Arnheid, so she doesn't have a deal that will allow her to earn her freedom. but we first start to see the direction Ketil typically bends, when he's confronted with those two children who stole from him. he feels sympathy for them, of course... after all, they have nothing, and Ketil knows he'd hate that if it were him. and they're tiny children. it's easy to feel sad for them. plus, if he's kind, they'll likely be grateful to him. he has nothing to lose from being kind. but... everyone else is watching him too, and he knows what their expectations are. Ketil isn't a formidable man. he doesn't want anyone to be mad at him. conflict is scary when you have a much bigger bark than your bite, and while Ketil benefits from not actually being an asshole most of the time... he also has to wear the bravado of a guy who couldn't care less. the safety of himself and his assets isn't protected by his strength. all he has is his reputation, and everything rides on him playing his cards right in front of every unique set of eyes. he'll be nice to his slaves, but he'll also go easy on the retainers who bully them. he'll court the favor of the king, right up until it becomes fruitless to do so, at which point he'll turn on a dime. the deciding factor with the kids who were stealing from him, is that at least one of the people watching him handle the situation has a lot more power than these two pathetic children. Ketil is more afraid of failing to live up to the expectations of his sons and his peers, than he is averse to beating a child. deep down, he's just terrified of anyone knowing that he doesn't have the stomach for violence when he has to think about it. being upset and reactionary is what pushes him to it. and it's dangerous for anyone to know how quickly and easily he'll fold if he's pressured. even though, ironically, this is a display of exactly that. "might makes right" is the law of the land, and Ketil believes that enough to posture like he's strong, and still be afraid of the mighty. Arnheid knows this about Ketil too. she has never had power. not enough to stop Gardar from leaving. not enough to save Hjalti. not even enough to save herself here. and that's why she knows that Ketil is dangerous. it's why she knew she couldn't wait for Ketil to return before trying to plead Gardar's case, or trying to free him and run away. Arnheid was present when Ketil beat that child... not only did witnessing this hurt her as a mother, but she also knows that Ketil isn't benign. if he's given incentive, he will lash out. Arnheid has no choice but to watch closely and understand this about the people around her, because she needs to know what to prepare for, and what her options are. she can try to appeal to Ketil with things he wants... he's wanted her for this long, and if he believes her child is his, he should want that too. but this is also about power... who has it, who doesn't, and what Ketil thinks he deserves. Ketil sees every concession he's ever made as a kind of pre-payment. to individuals, or to god, or karma... he's been good, so nothing bad has any right to happen to him. if something bad happens anyway, he has the right to become indignant. and at the same time, he has this parallel with Canute. they're both men who think that their positions of power should grant them the ability to do what they want. and the farther afield they are dragged by the obligations of their position, the more frustrated they find themselves. "I'm the leader. I've behaved correctly, and I'm trying to do good things. why isn't this going the way I want it to? why can't I have what I want... what I'm owed for my efforts. if I'm in charge, then why isn't this easy?" the real difference is that Canute stepped into this difficulty with his eyes wide open to the possibility that he might do terrible things. it's still ironic that the means are at such odds with the ends he's pursuing, but at least he knows. meanwhile, Ketil has been building up little frustrations on the back burner for a long time now. but his frustrations seem petty compared to the monumental struggles of those who are of a lower status than him. the slaves... the retainers... people that Ketil is content to consciously keep less fortunate than himself. Ketil is fine with the power imbalance, as long as he remains where he thinks he deserves to be, at the top. and he only has any sympathy for the plight of those less fortunate than himself, when he has something to gain, and when it's easy. a lot of people will say that Ketil must be forgivable... I mean, Thorfinn is forgivable, even after everything he's done. but to that I'd say: Thorfinn went through a character arc where he started out uninformed and uncaring, and came to important realizations about himself and his place in the world. Ketil's arc, if you can call it that, is about him maintaining his life via the wrong means for a very long time, only for it to blow up in his face, because it was always eventually headed that way. and this is absolutely a statement about the flaws in Ketil's society, and the systems that the world runs on in this era. any mundane person can have a bad day, and exhibit momentary flaws in their expectations, their actions, their personality, or their reasoning... but it's the power imbalance that makes these things so massively dangerous. Ketil wouldn't have had the ability to hurt Arnheid in a world that didn't hand him the power to do it. he seems like he can be trusted with that power for a very long time, but that's only while everything stays easy for him. as soon as something challenges him, he's no better than Olmar... picking fights he can't win, and getting all whiny when he can't have his way. this behavior is childish. and, true to that sentiment, Thorfinn got over this same sort of self centered attitude when he stopped being a child. I think people tend to have a difficult time pinning down their feelings on Ketil because Vinland Saga puts such a heavy focus on how to redeem the irredeemable. but the method is what's important here. if you don't want to just go around killing people, then you have to figure out what to do about people you don't like, or can't forgive. and if you want cowards like Ketil to stop lashing out when they feel threatened, then the method might be to stop giving them reasons to fear. but Ketil still has work to do, if he's actually going to be a better person. he should do this work, but it's hard to tell if he will. most people get hit with a moment... like Thorfinn when Askeladd died, or Olmar when he killed his first person. that moment causes them to evaluate what they've been doing, and reorient their priorities. Ketil should've had that here, but he only seems like he's doubling down. what will it take for a privileged man to learn that it was never right to build his success on the backs of others?
also on episode 17: the presentation of this episode tells a story with every moment. I think my favorite observation about it all is one that came from my brother when I showed this anime to him. he said that every time the screen is cast in blue, and it looks like everything is underwater, that's the river. like the opening. it's a transition, from one phase to the next. Thorfinn literally saw the river in episode 9, as a place where the dead reside. there, it was blood red... an angry place, full of fighting, but that's not where Gardar is going now. instead, the river leads him to an idyllic place. somewhere warm, and fertile. a place where the enslaved can go, where slave traders, and the flames of war cannot reach. I think the thing that makes this episode hit the hardest, is just that you can see Gardar's boyish ambition. he doesn't feel like a sympathetic character when he first appears... he seems terrifying when he initially shows up, because he looks like a rugged, enraged man. and we eventually learn that he left Arnheid and Hjalti, by choice, when he didn't even have to. Arnheid knew it wasn't necessary for him to do this, and he didn't listen to her. but here, we see that his temperament was simply naive. all excited to go out and prove himself, eager to acquire resources so he could give his wife and kid an easy life... it all seemed so simple. he wasn't trying to abandon them. he didn't mean to hurt them. no one ever thinks of themselves as the victim, that'd be too humiliating a prospect to just assume you'd have to worry about. but it's this kindness and enthusiasm that Arnheid remembers him by. and after all this time enslaved, it seems like that part of him might be gone for good. but it is still in there... you can see it, in tiny little bits and pieces, and it comes back out again in full, as soon as Gardar is allowed the ability to decide what he wants to do. that didn't matter, as long as he was enslaved, but now he gets to have a say. he politely asks to take the cart... he's grateful to his brother, at the thought that he'd been taking care of Hjalti. Arnheid lies to him about Hjalti in the first place because she knows he won't survive long enough to discover the truth, but his reaction is so genuine. and the scenes along the road... the way Gardar reacts with pity to the cowering version of himself. the way he remembers all the things he loved about seeing his infant son grow... even the challenging parts, where he clearly wasn't sure what to do. the way he asks for forgiveness when he forgets how old Hjalti would be. the way Arnheid learns a new story about Gardar, even now... there's just more in his history that they haven't talked about yet. and when he says that he won't allow Hjalti to go adventuring when he gets older... Arnheid knows that Gardar understands what she knew all along. he stops the cart and takes her hand, because he knows it's important. the scene where he's watching himself leave, and seeing Arnheid's face in that moment, when his back was turned... it's just like the scene in episode 9, of Thorfinn watching his younger self go into the house, to kill Einar as a child, along with his family. it's that feeling of looking at your past from the outside, knowing it was a mistake, and being horrified at the things you'd choose to do back then. if Gardar had lived, he would've known everything he needed to learn. he had all the pieces in the end. the world was just such a harsh teacher... and it's all the evidence we need, the strongest evidence there is, that a world like this should change. last episode Arnheid said, "those eyes that used to be so full of confidence... they looked so miserable. we've lived so miserably since we lost Hjalti." she always knew it wasn't just her. she knows that Gardar appeared like this because he's suffering too, and she would be the first to understand all the things that are valuable, and worth saving about Gardar. she loves him. he was wasted on war. the victims of war and violence aren't just helpless children like Hjalti, or non-combatants like Arnheid... they're also regular men, like Gardar, legends like Thors, children like Ari and Olmar, criminals like Askeladd... and Thorfinn, who has been all of the above, both perpetrator and victim, at one point or another.
These stories are very sad, but they are definitely peak episodes.😭❤Especially, The contrast in love between the three men who love Arnheid (Gadar, Ketil, and Einar) is truly amazing.
They have the same emotion called "love," but its nature and direction are very different. Galdar prioritized his own wealth and honor over Arnheid's wishes. Ketil sees Arnheid only as his possession and completely ignores her rights and feelings. In other words, his love is a self-love that only wishes for his own happiness. And Einar prioritizes Arnheid's wishes and sincerely wishes for her happiness. I think Einar's "love" is true love.
5:07 By the way, The snake's question reminded me of what the priest said to Knut: "Love is discrimination."
I don’t think Gardar was motivated by a personal greed. He and the other men truly believed they were doing the right thing for their families. It may not have been the right decision, but it wasn’t purely a selfish decision
Women cause violence. Einar love isn't true love. He's doing a lot of stupid things in order to please her. He's willing to kill men in order to save a stranger from prison.
He's willing to kill Ketil because he hurt Arnheid. He's ready to do what Thorfinn is trying his best to avoid. He's also dragging Thorfinn into all of these problems.
Einar simping hard.
Arnheid is also stupid. She was living a great life. She just had to wait until that mistress died and she could have taken control of the entire farm by manipulating Ketil.
She was pregnant. Ketil's youngest was useless. She could have manipulated Ketil into making the baby the next heir.
Einar trying to be a discord moderator for his kitten, trying to be a white knight ruined everything.
@@ceshmate1953 Well that is by far the most braindead comment I’ve read on this topic so far. Congrats 🎉
“I’m home” 😭
I hate the implication of him seeing his son when he passed on! But definitely very realistic! Also fuck this show for making me cry AGAIN
on episode 17:
something I really want to point out, is the sheer irony of what Snake says here. "both me and my men are a bunch of stupid, nasty scumbags. we're drifters who can't use our real names because of what we've done elsewhere. but does that mean that it doesn't matter if we die? is Gardar's life worth that much?"
Arnheid and Gardar could claim the very same sentiment. they're a pair of slaves... but they didn't used to be. currently, the law doesn't protect them. instead, the law keeps them trapped. they can't freely go anywhere else. but they didn't do anything wrong... it's not like their enslavement was punishment for anything. and now that they are enslaved, they have no right to own land, pursue justice for the land that was stolen from them, accrue money, pursue justice for the money that was taken from them, keep their child safe, demand justice for their child's death, make their own choices, or even hold their own thoughts/opinions. Arnheid was told to forget that Gardar was even her husband in the first place. the law would never willingly give these two a path to a good life. it is only lawful for them to contort themselves into whatever shape their master finds most desirable, and the interests of their masters will never unite them.
and Snake thinks that being in danger wasn't what he and his men signed up for when they decided to become enforcers of this system of law? yeah, his men died... by trying to force Gardar back into these circumstances, which he'd just given every ounce of effort he had, just to escape from. Gardar acts like a wild animal because he's desperate... it's either live free or die for him at this point. are Snake's men worth so much that Gardar should've just rolled over, and submitted to an inquiry system that would've demanded his death anyway? or else forfeit the rest of his life to a slave owner's whims? and keep in mind... Snake and his men already made an enemy of this system of law all by themselves, and they're doing this job because of how much the consequences scare them. what is Snake even talking about??
"a life for a life" sounds mathematically fair when a guy like Snake says it out of frustration, in a heated moment... but the logic absolutely does not hold up. Gardar dying doesn't bring Snake's men back, and if Snake wants to find the true source of his mens' death, he might have to look past the scarred and emaciated slave in the cart, and start asking questions about the person who had already beaten all the light out of his eyes, before Snake's men ever tried to lay a finger on him. their goal is to punish Gardar for running from that, and to keep him from seeing his wife, at least long enough for them to legally decide to kill him. and what would happen to Snake and his men, if they used their true names, and were prosecuted for whatever it is that they've done? their lives don't matter less than Gardars... and Gardar's doesn't matter less than theirs. they devalued him in the first place... they treated him like an animal. like livestock.
and then Snake is still talking about punishments for Arnheid and Thorfinn after he stabs Gardar. it's legitimately nauseating what a system like this will convince people is normal. do they want to avenge Gardar now? no... that was never the point. it shouldn't have been the point for Snake either. in that moment of silence, after Snake stabs him, we're left with an overwhelming, oppressive sense that nothing was accomplished at all. Snake's logic cannot be allowed to stand as though it makes any sense, whatsoever. the tone of the scene has already dismantled everything he said.
I remember when this episode first came out and there were some sick ass mofos defending Ketil. Like bruh.
Always mfs like that
Im never going to defend ketil for his actions, but his character i find fascinating and top 5 in the series.
The only thing in my opinion is that this isn't "the real" Ketil, I don't find it reasonable he lived for 30 - 50 years whatever completely timid and this is somehow the real him as much as it's him spiraling and essentially going into psychosis episode.
Naturally he would still need to be punished and that accountability for what he did.
@@BenganGamer This is the real Ketil. He lived his whole life being a weak guy who doesn´t have control of his life. When he felt tired of that, he snapped to violence. He never stopped being a weak person. In fact, he is even weaker now that he turned to violence. That´s what the author want to say with his character: weak people are more inclined to violence, and true strenght relies on holding violence back
@@ernestorodriguez5117 I think the part about Ketil being weak and weak people are prone to violence can be true even if early season Ketil is the true him.
You can literally see how tormented he is in the scene with the kids, or do you think his inner monologuing is also fake or some stupid shit?
I love Vinland Saga so much, man. These episodes are so incredible
I don't want y'all to finish Vinland Saga 😔😔
Season 3 will be around the heat death of the universe so look forward to that. Jokes aside actually season 3 will cover my favorite part of the Manga so I'm excited to see it animated.
@danlyday7248 Same, at least if they take time in order to make a perfect adaptation, I will definitely not mind.
3:10 Snake wasn’t making an assessment. He’s repeating what Thorfinn said to him previously after having his ear cut off
"Down Boy" is crazy
@@Dumbify2267 😂
Any reaction to Ado yet? I'll wait.😌🙏
I read the manga past this before season 1 of anime.
wasnt interested in watching season 1 whole again.
but season 2
I enjoyed so much, even though I read it before
people sayin season 1 is peak and 2 is trash are simpletons, and I dont want to associate with them
on Ketil:
this guy is a shit human being, and a fascinating character.
every time anyone gets to this part of the show, there are always a bunch of messy takes flying around... from "he's a good man having a bad day," to "he's an awful person and always has been," and I think there are grains of truth in all of it. my perspective, which I think accounts for everything we've seen, is that Ketil wants things to be easy.
Ketil's past is absolutely a contributing factor. he suffered the loss of the woman he loved, and it wasn't even his decision... his father protected their family by sacrificing her, even if Sverkel couldn't have anticipated to what degree she'd be harmed. but compare that to the similar losses that Arnheid has suffered. why does Ketil fail to sympathize with her? what did Arnheid's experiences teach her? and more importantly, how do Arnheid and Ketil learn different lessons from similar situations, based on what they've been taught to expect from life?
Ketil's expectations come from his culture. he knows that formidable men are supposed to be strong enough to protect themselves and their assets. he knows that he is not a formidable man, but he's found a way to pretend to be one. this is a system based around dominance... and Ketil has found his comfort zone near the top of the food chain.
when Ketil is doing well, he's comfortable enough to offer his generosity to others. he'll offer Thorfinn and Einar the ability to earn their freedom, when it's easy. but that's because all he wants from them is their labor. and he can have it, unpaid, until he's decided they've worked enough. this allows him to gain the land, fully cleared and ready for production, at no real cost to himself... while also gaining the gratitude of the slaves he's keeping, because they know Ketil has the option not to free them at all. and this serves a function too. I mean... Ketil wouldn't want to end up like the man who kept Gardar enslaved, would he? so he protects himself, by keeping his slaves relatively content. and it's a nice middle ground for a man who wants to own slaves, but doesn't want to be treated with the level of resentment befitting of a slave owner.
of course, if Ketil wanted anything else from Thorfinn and Einar, he'd find a way to have it... but his desire to smooth things over socially, is outweighing the temptation of anything they have. Thorfinn and Einar have nothing, so they are safe. Ketil wants something from Arnheid, so she doesn't have a deal that will allow her to earn her freedom. but we first start to see the direction Ketil typically bends, when he's confronted with those two children who stole from him. he feels sympathy for them, of course... after all, they have nothing, and Ketil knows he'd hate that if it were him. and they're tiny children. it's easy to feel sad for them. plus, if he's kind, they'll likely be grateful to him. he has nothing to lose from being kind. but... everyone else is watching him too, and he knows what their expectations are.
Ketil isn't a formidable man. he doesn't want anyone to be mad at him. conflict is scary when you have a much bigger bark than your bite, and while Ketil benefits from not actually being an asshole most of the time... he also has to wear the bravado of a guy who couldn't care less. the safety of himself and his assets isn't protected by his strength. all he has is his reputation, and everything rides on him playing his cards right in front of every unique set of eyes. he'll be nice to his slaves, but he'll also go easy on the retainers who bully them. he'll court the favor of the king, right up until it becomes fruitless to do so, at which point he'll turn on a dime. the deciding factor with the kids who were stealing from him, is that at least one of the people watching him handle the situation has a lot more power than these two pathetic children. Ketil is more afraid of failing to live up to the expectations of his sons and his peers, than he is averse to beating a child. deep down, he's just terrified of anyone knowing that he doesn't have the stomach for violence when he has to think about it. being upset and reactionary is what pushes him to it. and it's dangerous for anyone to know how quickly and easily he'll fold if he's pressured. even though, ironically, this is a display of exactly that. "might makes right" is the law of the land, and Ketil believes that enough to posture like he's strong, and still be afraid of the mighty.
Arnheid knows this about Ketil too. she has never had power. not enough to stop Gardar from leaving. not enough to save Hjalti. not even enough to save herself here. and that's why she knows that Ketil is dangerous. it's why she knew she couldn't wait for Ketil to return before trying to plead Gardar's case, or trying to free him and run away. Arnheid was present when Ketil beat that child... not only did witnessing this hurt her as a mother, but she also knows that Ketil isn't benign. if he's given incentive, he will lash out. Arnheid has no choice but to watch closely and understand this about the people around her, because she needs to know what to prepare for, and what her options are. she can try to appeal to Ketil with things he wants... he's wanted her for this long, and if he believes her child is his, he should want that too. but this is also about power... who has it, who doesn't, and what Ketil thinks he deserves.
Ketil sees every concession he's ever made as a kind of pre-payment. to individuals, or to god, or karma... he's been good, so nothing bad has any right to happen to him. if something bad happens anyway, he has the right to become indignant. and at the same time, he has this parallel with Canute. they're both men who think that their positions of power should grant them the ability to do what they want. and the farther afield they are dragged by the obligations of their position, the more frustrated they find themselves.
"I'm the leader. I've behaved correctly, and I'm trying to do good things. why isn't this going the way I want it to? why can't I have what I want... what I'm owed for my efforts. if I'm in charge, then why isn't this easy?"
the real difference is that Canute stepped into this difficulty with his eyes wide open to the possibility that he might do terrible things. it's still ironic that the means are at such odds with the ends he's pursuing, but at least he knows.
meanwhile, Ketil has been building up little frustrations on the back burner for a long time now. but his frustrations seem petty compared to the monumental struggles of those who are of a lower status than him. the slaves... the retainers... people that Ketil is content to consciously keep less fortunate than himself. Ketil is fine with the power imbalance, as long as he remains where he thinks he deserves to be, at the top. and he only has any sympathy for the plight of those less fortunate than himself, when he has something to gain, and when it's easy.
a lot of people will say that Ketil must be forgivable... I mean, Thorfinn is forgivable, even after everything he's done. but to that I'd say: Thorfinn went through a character arc where he started out uninformed and uncaring, and came to important realizations about himself and his place in the world. Ketil's arc, if you can call it that, is about him maintaining his life via the wrong means for a very long time, only for it to blow up in his face, because it was always eventually headed that way. and this is absolutely a statement about the flaws in Ketil's society, and the systems that the world runs on in this era. any mundane person can have a bad day, and exhibit momentary flaws in their expectations, their actions, their personality, or their reasoning... but it's the power imbalance that makes these things so massively dangerous.
Ketil wouldn't have had the ability to hurt Arnheid in a world that didn't hand him the power to do it. he seems like he can be trusted with that power for a very long time, but that's only while everything stays easy for him. as soon as something challenges him, he's no better than Olmar... picking fights he can't win, and getting all whiny when he can't have his way. this behavior is childish. and, true to that sentiment, Thorfinn got over this same sort of self centered attitude when he stopped being a child.
I think people tend to have a difficult time pinning down their feelings on Ketil because Vinland Saga puts such a heavy focus on how to redeem the irredeemable. but the method is what's important here. if you don't want to just go around killing people, then you have to figure out what to do about people you don't like, or can't forgive. and if you want cowards like Ketil to stop lashing out when they feel threatened, then the method might be to stop giving them reasons to fear. but Ketil still has work to do, if he's actually going to be a better person. he should do this work, but it's hard to tell if he will. most people get hit with a moment... like Thorfinn when Askeladd died, or Olmar when he killed his first person. that moment causes them to evaluate what they've been doing, and reorient their priorities. Ketil should've had that here, but he only seems like he's doubling down. what will it take for a privileged man to learn that it was never right to build his success on the backs of others?
also on episode 17:
the presentation of this episode tells a story with every moment. I think my favorite observation about it all is one that came from my brother when I showed this anime to him. he said that every time the screen is cast in blue, and it looks like everything is underwater, that's the river. like the opening. it's a transition, from one phase to the next. Thorfinn literally saw the river in episode 9, as a place where the dead reside. there, it was blood red... an angry place, full of fighting, but that's not where Gardar is going now. instead, the river leads him to an idyllic place. somewhere warm, and fertile. a place where the enslaved can go, where slave traders, and the flames of war cannot reach.
I think the thing that makes this episode hit the hardest, is just that you can see Gardar's boyish ambition. he doesn't feel like a sympathetic character when he first appears... he seems terrifying when he initially shows up, because he looks like a rugged, enraged man. and we eventually learn that he left Arnheid and Hjalti, by choice, when he didn't even have to. Arnheid knew it wasn't necessary for him to do this, and he didn't listen to her. but here, we see that his temperament was simply naive. all excited to go out and prove himself, eager to acquire resources so he could give his wife and kid an easy life... it all seemed so simple. he wasn't trying to abandon them. he didn't mean to hurt them. no one ever thinks of themselves as the victim, that'd be too humiliating a prospect to just assume you'd have to worry about.
but it's this kindness and enthusiasm that Arnheid remembers him by. and after all this time enslaved, it seems like that part of him might be gone for good. but it is still in there... you can see it, in tiny little bits and pieces, and it comes back out again in full, as soon as Gardar is allowed the ability to decide what he wants to do. that didn't matter, as long as he was enslaved, but now he gets to have a say. he politely asks to take the cart... he's grateful to his brother, at the thought that he'd been taking care of Hjalti. Arnheid lies to him about Hjalti in the first place because she knows he won't survive long enough to discover the truth, but his reaction is so genuine.
and the scenes along the road... the way Gardar reacts with pity to the cowering version of himself. the way he remembers all the things he loved about seeing his infant son grow... even the challenging parts, where he clearly wasn't sure what to do. the way he asks for forgiveness when he forgets how old Hjalti would be. the way Arnheid learns a new story about Gardar, even now... there's just more in his history that they haven't talked about yet. and when he says that he won't allow Hjalti to go adventuring when he gets older... Arnheid knows that Gardar understands what she knew all along. he stops the cart and takes her hand, because he knows it's important.
the scene where he's watching himself leave, and seeing Arnheid's face in that moment, when his back was turned... it's just like the scene in episode 9, of Thorfinn watching his younger self go into the house, to kill Einar as a child, along with his family. it's that feeling of looking at your past from the outside, knowing it was a mistake, and being horrified at the things you'd choose to do back then. if Gardar had lived, he would've known everything he needed to learn. he had all the pieces in the end. the world was just such a harsh teacher... and it's all the evidence we need, the strongest evidence there is, that a world like this should change.
last episode Arnheid said, "those eyes that used to be so full of confidence... they looked so miserable. we've lived so miserably since we lost Hjalti." she always knew it wasn't just her. she knows that Gardar appeared like this because he's suffering too, and she would be the first to understand all the things that are valuable, and worth saving about Gardar. she loves him.
he was wasted on war. the victims of war and violence aren't just helpless children like Hjalti, or non-combatants like Arnheid... they're also regular men, like Gardar, legends like Thors, children like Ari and Olmar, criminals like Askeladd... and Thorfinn, who has been all of the above, both perpetrator and victim, at one point or another.
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Please react the song “same blue” by official higedan dism!!!
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