Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 12

Another Perspective on War

I was wrong about how Canute planned to use Olmar to take Ketil’s farm. Last week, I predicted they’d get Olmar to do something like steal from the King. But, they actually tried (and succeeded) to get him to kill a member of the King’s guard.

In hindsight, this actually makes more sense. And I’m glad that Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 12 went down this path. Why? Because this is an anti-war anime. Now that Olmar has killed a man, we’ll get to dissect how that changes him as a person.

But, you may be thinking that we have enough characters affected by war to follow. Do we really need Olmar’s perspective, as well? The answer is yes. Olmar’s perspective differs from all the other characters we’re following in the story. Each character brings a unique perspective when it comes to war.

To illustrate this point, let’s go through a few of the major characters from this season. Thorfinn was once consumed by vengeance and hurt people he didn’t even know, but now sees the error of his ways. Opposite him, we have Einar, one of the many people whom war has hurt.

There’s also Canute, who’s haunted by his actions but can’t help but be consumed by his desire for power. And what about Ketil? He’s a man who’s afraid of war but made up stories claiming to be a war hero to benefit himself.

Then, we have Ketil’s son, Thorgil, who so far, appears to be obsessed with war and death. I’ll discuss him more in a bit. And, lastly, we now have Olmar. Olmar is an unwilling participant. He never intended to kill anyone. But now that he has, he must carry that weight.

Olmar Did Nothing Wrong

Let’s look at the evidence against Olmar, Thorgil, and Ketil to determine their guilt. But, before I do that, let me just make one thing clear. If Olmar or Thorgil is guilty, Ketil is as well. In many cultures, the parents are responsible for the actions of the children.

So, with that in mind, that’s Ketil’s only possible offense. He didn’t do anything else that would warrant punishment. What about Olmar and Thorgil, though? Well, I’m going to say that Olmar is safe. Yes, he did kill a man. But, we need to look at the circumstances around that killing.

Of course, Olmar only killed him due to outside interference in their duel. But, let’s ignore that. The fact is that Olmar killed a man in a duel that they both agreed to. And, this duel was about honor, which, according to Thorgil, is a regular occurrence.

Yes, you could argue, as the King’s guard do, that duels are illegal. But, based on what Thorgil said, dueling between men for honor has never led to punishment before. If duels never resulted in punishments before, then why now? Olmar did nothing wrong.

Thorgil’s actions are a bit more suspect. He wasn’t involved in a duel. But, he was protecting someone from 4 armed attackers. I have no problem with him doing that. Even the fact that he killed all 4 men is fine. They intended to kill Olmar, so they should anticipate that they could be the ones killed instead.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

But, where Thorgil messes up is when he kills the additional guards who come to arrest him, Ketil, and Olmar. He did this because he knew they were being set up. But, that doesn’t excuse those killings.

Thorgil the Mad

As I mentioned earlier, Thorgil seems to love war and death. I have a feeling that he would enjoy his time in the underworld where Thorfinn met Askeladd. If he could slaughter his enemies 24/7, that would be like paradise to Thorgil.

And if you have any doubt about this, just look at Thorgil’s response to becoming a fugitive. Thorgil is actually looking forward to fighting Canute’s soldiers. He knows they’re strong, and he wants to go up against strong opponents. That’s not the thought process of a normal, rational person.

But, you may have noticed that Thorgil has a lot in common with another character, Thorkell. Thorkell also loves war and only wants to fight against strong opponents. And, if I’m remembering correctly, he’s a member of the Jomsvikings. This is the group that’s going to accompany Canute to Ketil’s farm.

That’s right, we might get to see a duel between Thorgil and Thorkell, two of the strongest warriors. And I’m sure they would love to fight each other. That’s exactly what they’re both looking for. But, there’s always a chance that we don’t get this fight.

Who do you think would win? Thorkell has a size advantage. He’s not called Thorkell the Tall for nothing. Thorkell is also more of a wildcard, which could play to his advantage, as well. But, I’m going to assume Thorgil has more skill when it comes to fighting.

Thorgil may be insane like Thorkell. But, he’s also capable of rational thinking during a fight. The fighting we saw from Thorgil in this episode was methodical and executed well. Thorkell, on the other hand, is more like a berserker.

I’d give the fight to Thorgil. But, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Conclusion

What do you think of Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 12? How do you think killing a man will affect Olmar? At what point would you say Thorgil crossed a line in his fight? And, do you think he could beat Thorkell? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 13 is available now.