Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 3

How to Become a Man

Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 3 went by way too quickly. I wish I wasn’t reviewing this series weekly so I could binge the whole season when it ends. But, here we are. At least I have 21 more episodes to look forward to.

This episode is all about making a man out of Olmar. At least, that’s what the bodyguards Ketil hired want to do. Their plan is to get closer to Ketil by going through his son, Olmar. But, I’m not so sure they thought this plan through.

Drinking with Olmar and getting him to like them is one thing. However, I can’t see trying to help Olmar become a man by convincing him to kill someone being a good idea. There are multiple problems with this plan. And the first is that I doubt Olmar can handle killing someone.

Based on everything we’ve seen of Olmar, he only talks big. When it comes time to actually kill Thorfinn or Einar, he chickens out. And if he actually killed one of them, I think that would mess him up. I can’t see that “making him a man” based on his disposition.

The second problem with this plan is that they want Olmar to kill one of his father’s slaves. As Olmar points out, his father’s slaves are not his slaves. So, if he kills one of them, he’ll have to pay his father for the loss of a slave.

But, that’s only part of the second problem. The other part is that I doubt Ketil would take kindly to his slaves being killed. Killing his slaves is a pretty terrible way to get into his good graces. In fact, I’d say it would do just the opposite. He might fire them.

The Point of Living

In my Episode 2 review, I said I thought Thorfinn would teach Einar there’s more to life than fighting. Einar isn’t much of a fighter. But, like Olmar, he wants to be — though not as much as Olmar does. So, this seems like a valuable lesson for Thorfinn to teach him.

However, I missed the other side of Thorfinn and Einar’s relationship. If that’s what Thorfinn’s going to teach Einar, what’s Einar going to teach Thorfinn? I think the answer has been right in front of us since Episode 1. I just didn’t notice until now.

As you may recall from Episode 1, an important scene was when Einar’s mother told him to live no matter what. She said that as long as he’s alive, he can start over and build the life he wants for himself. That’s what he’s going to teach Thorfinn.

When confronted with death in this episode, Thorfinn questions why he should fear it. He claims that nothing good has ever happened to him in his entire life. So, why should he be afraid to lose his life? What’s the point of living after everything was taken from him?

Well, this is where Einar is going to come in. The answer to Thorfinn’s question is simple. He should want to continue living because as long as he’s alive, he can start over. He can regain his freedom, live a peaceful life of farming, and even start a family of his own.

In the preview for the next episode, we see Einar getting mad at Thorfinn. I don’t think he’s mad because Thorfinn hid the fact that he can fight. Instead, what likely made him mad is seeing how Thorfinn was so willing to throw his life away.

Master Ketil’s “Guests”

The bodyguards employed by Ketil on his farm are known as “guests.” Why exactly this is, I don’t know. I guess it’s a way to differentiate them from his slaves and employees. We can assume the bodyguards work on a contract basis and aren’t full employees of the farm.

But, why not call them what they are, bodyguards? Well, Olmar actually does refer to them as bodyguards. It’s the bodyguards themselves, as well as the slaves, who refer to them as guests. And that seems to point toward the reason for using this term.

A guest is someone you’re supposed to show respect to. So, we have the scene in which Olmar insults the bodyguards and gets laid out by Fox and Badger. Fox then refers to them as Ketil’s guests. To me, the implication here is that, as Ketil’s guests, Olmar should show them respect.

Yes, Olmar is the son of Ketil, the farm owner. But, that also means that Ketil employs the bodyguards, not Olmar. It’s the same as when Olmar says that his father’s slaves aren’t his own slaves. The bodyguards know Olmar isn’t who hired them. They only pretend to show him respect to get to his father.

And the same thing applies when it comes to the slaves calling the bodyguard’s guests. The bodyguards want to separate themself from farm employees to increase their standing. Employees are above slaves. But guests are above even employees. It’s a power move.

However, the term guests has another connotation. It means that Ketil can remove the bodyguards from their post at any time. He can fire them and kick them off his land. Snake understands this and recognizes that his men shouldn’t be harming Ketil’s property. Messing with Olmar is fine. Damaging Ketil’s slaves is not.

Conclusion

What do you think of Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 3? Do you think Olmar would be able to handle killing a man? Is Einar going to teach Thorfinn that the most important thing he has is his life? And will Thorfinn beat Snake in a fight next week? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 4 is available now.