Review of Vinland Saga Season 2

If Season 1's selling point was the action packed thrills and the anti-hero/villain that was Askeladd, then Season 2's appeal is the character development for Thorfinn and Canute after Askeladd's death (since that was severely lacking in Season 1). My main issue with Season 2 is the evolution being too rushed and drastic to be believable. Both Thorfinn and Canute had their fatherly figures killed by Askeladd (for Canute, both his biological father King Sweyn and his foster father Ragnar). Askeladd essentially acted as a mentor for both protagonists, especially after his death: Thorfinn transforms from a vengeful Viking with raging hormones into a peace lovingfarmer, whereas Canute turns from a sheltered teenager of faith into a formidable king who would poison his own brother to unify his kingdom. The contrast sounds fascinating, but is portrayed in an unrealistic way that makes it hard to stomach as a viewer. I mean who are we kidding here, how did Thorfinn, a brat clouded with hatred in Season 1, all of the sudden become a docile sidekick for his friend Einar in Harvest Moon? And then we have Canute, who was a devoted Christian, now depicted as Cain murdering his own brother Abel (Harald) due to power corruption. The contradiction is pure insanity. With all the absurdities surrounding the MCs, the only saving grace that kept me watching were the crew on Ketil's farm, be it Snake's pragmaticism, Sverkel's perseverence, or even Olmar's cowardice, all of whom added realism to a series drunk on hasty pacifism.

While I applaud the anti-slavery/war theme in Season 2, it is presented in a one dimensional way that lacks depth. As Askeladd noted in Season 1, everyone is a slave to some degree. There are different types of servitude/war. A millennium later, is the world that much different? Is bondage the definition of slavery? Is bloodshed a prerequisite for war? To quote Brave New World, "...one believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them."

Finally, in response to the utopian desires displayed throughout the anime, I end this review in full-on Vinland Saga mode with the following Bible verse: "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." - Galatians 5:17