Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 22

100 Punches

What else can I say about Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 22 other than that it was great, as expected. At this point, we should all know that every episode of Vinland Saga is going to be a banger.

By this point, I hope that the majority of people calling Season 2 boring have dropped the series. They don’t deserve to see this content. Somehow, they’d call this episode boring even though it had a lot of great moments. For example, there was Thorfinn calling out Drott to finish his 100 punches.

At first, I thought Thorfinn may have been a bit harsh to Drott. Did he really need to say his punches hurt less than insect bites? As someone who wants peace, I’m not so sure insulting other people is the way to go. But, after thinking it over a bit more, this was probably the right call.

If Thorfinn stood there and took Drott’s punches in silence, what would the soldiers think? They’d think that, although good at taking a beating, Thorfinn doesn’t have a warrior’s heart. However, by speaking up and insulting Drott, he showed that’s not the case.

Thorfinn is a fighter. He’s just fighting in his own way. And with his words, he made it clear that he’s stronger than Drott. Thorfinn didn’t only say that Drott’s punches are weaker than a bug’s bite. He also said that he’s a busy man and he wants to get these punches over with.

That’s something the soldiers seemed to respect. Thorfinn’s saying, “I’m stronger than you, and I’m going to prove it. I’m not going to run away. I’m going to stand my ground and we’re going to finish this.” And by the end of the 100 punches, even Drott respected him.

The King’s Former Guard

I can understand why Canute’s men wouldn’t believe Thorfinn saying he was a former guard of Canute. He’s small and unimpressive looking. And he’s also a slave, which isn’t exactly the career path most of the king’s guard goes down.

But, by standing his ground and taking 100 punches from Drott, Thorfinn earned respect. No normal man would be able to achieve such a feat. So, the fact that Thorfinn accomplished this proves that he’s strong. However, Thorfinn could have accomplished the same thing without getting his face busted.

As Wulf says, Thorfinn could have defeated Drott in combat. That would have been the quickest way to prove his status as a former member of the king’s guard. Of course, Thorfinn didn’t do this because he wants to avoid violence at all costs. Even if he defeated Drott without harming him, a fight is still a fight.

Why should that matter, though? If Thorfinn is able to defeat Drott in a fight by disarming him, why shouldn’t he do it? The answer is pretty simple — and it’s something Thorfinn actually brings up to Snake earlier on. Once you begin fighting, it’s difficult to talk things out.

If Thorfinn beat Drott in a fight, would the other soldiers really have accepted it? Or, would they view Thorfinn as someone who got lucky? Would they then want their turn to prove that they can defeat the man who beat Drott? By engaging in a fight at all, Thorfinn gets farther from his goal.

Instead, he needs to show that he’s stronger than the soldiers without fighting. He needs to make them understand his conviction in a way that doesn’t make them more mad. To that end, he did a perfect job.

The King of Rebellion

Am I the only one who thought the waves were actually going to stop when Canute commanded them to? For a brief moment, I thought we were about to get some implied magic from Canute. You have no idea how relieved I was when that didn’t happen.

But, this was a pretty powerful scene. The whole point of Canute trying to stop the waves was to show how powerless he is. Yes, he’s the king of the largest country in northern Europe. And yes, he has the most feared army. But, even he’s powerless before his God.

Now, despite thinking this was a powerful scene, I’m not entirely sure what Canute’s point here is. At first, I thought he was trying to say that war is one of those inevitable things that can’t be stopped — like the waves. But, I’m not so sure that’s it.

Toward the end of his speech, Canute declares that he wants to save the Vikings. He can’t create a paradise on Earth, because that would go against God’s will. After all, if God wanted the Earth to be a paradise, He would have made it one, right?

However, the part I don’t understand then is how Canute plans to save the Vikings. Is his plan simply to eradicate all opposition? Technically, that would put an end to the wars. And it would be his justification for going to war. But, it’s not as if he stated that’s his goal.

His only stated goal is to save the Vikings. And to do that, he needs the wealth from Ketil’s farm. If this doesn’t make sense to you, congratulations, Einar is with you. As Einar points out, who is this benefiting other than Canute and his men? It’s not the average person.

Conclusion

What do you think of Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 22? Did you think Thorfinn was actually down after 32 punches? Should Thorfinn have fought and disarmed Drott? And, did you think we were about to see Canute use some magic on the waves? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 23 is available now.