“You have to watch the entire series because the last episode is amazing.” Thoughts on Vinland Saga

Vinland Saga (ヴィンランド・サガ)

(Anime 2019)

Studio: Wit Studio

Warning: Spoilers!

I would have never watched this series because it isn’t my cup of tea. However, my friend recommended it to me.

In fact midway into the series, I told him that I don’t think I can make it to the end. He said that I have to get to the last episode in order to appreciate the entire series because the last episode was “that good.”

Vinland Saga is basically centered around this teenage boy, named Thorfinn who desires revenge against Askeladd for murdering his father, Thors. Askeladd only killed him due to it being an assassination task given to him by Floki. Thorfinn ends up following Askeladd and his crew on their travels. While traveling with them, Thorfinn duels Askeladd with the intention to kill. In reality, though, Thorfinn lets his anger get to him and he would always lose.

I kind of had a feeling that Askeladd would eventually raise Thorfinn because when Thors and Askeladd met, Thors asked him if he has a son. Askeladd said, “No.” That’s when I knew that somehow Askeladd will kill Thors, even in front of a child, because he has no heart. The death of Thors was the motivator for Thorfinn’s character to “develop” as an immature and emotionally damaged teenager. However, even though they considered each other enemies, Askeladd taught Thorfinn everything he needed to know about being a warrior.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, my friend said I needed to watch this series until the last episode. Even though I wanted to quit midway, I still managed to finish it. He was right though. That ending was completely unexpected. I didn’t think Askeladd would die in that manner; I thought Thorfinn would kill him but he didn’t. Instead, Thorfinn just ends up crying and blaming Askeladd for letting himself get killed so easily despite Askeladd saying that he would let Thorfinn deal the final blow. In the end, though, we see the most “father-son” moment between them. Askeladd tells Thorfinn that he shouldn’t seek out revenge but instead, he should go live a good and civil life because that is what his father, Thors, would have wanted. What Askeladd said was true though. Thorfinn’s only purpose in life was to kill Askeladd for the sake of avenging his father and now that Askeladd is gone, he no longer has a life purpose. The fact that Thorfinn was unable to kill him shows that Thorfinn cared about Askeladd a bit more than he thought he would—Askeladd is his enemy but he did treat Thorfinn like a person.  Yet, by the end of this series though, I still found Thorfinn annoying. He still acted like a spoiled rotten child who doesn’t know how to handle his mental baggage.

I asked my friend if there’s a second season despite the fact that the ending implies the possibility of a second season by introducing other characters. He replied with a smug remark: “Did you see what the name of the last episode is?” I did and I replied to him: “Just because it’s called ‘The End of the Prologue’ doesn’t mean there is funding for another season.” His response: “Since it’s that good. There will be a second season.” So I’m going to assume there is. Will I watch it? I’ll wait until my friend watches it and he’ll let me know if I should or not.

(Side note: I highly recommend not watching this series while eating food because there’s a lot of gory fight scenes. I know because I speak from experience.)

You can watch this series on Prime.

3.5/5 – Because Thorfinn was annoying.

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