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Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 was released on Monday, January 23, 2023, ushering in a continuation of Thorfinn's journey. The recent episode has been particularly exciting as there were some intriguing plot advancements for Olmar, Einar, and Thorfinn.
As expected, Thorfinn’s own journey within Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 steals the show, thanks to the episode's prevention of presenting the dichotomy of mindsets. For anime-only fans, the season feels like it’s truly beginning to get underway in an interesting fashion.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 showcases Thorfinn’s deteriorating mindset following first season’s events
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3: A rite of passage
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Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 begins with one of the previous installment’s ending scenes, seeing Olmar led away by two of his father’s employees. This then transitions into a recreational fighting tournament, with two men brawling in the middle of a sizable crowd. The duo then hilariously breaks through the walls of the encampment and falls into the water below.
This segues into a shot of Olmar at a table with two employees from before, ranting about how no one knows what they’re talking about. He says that there’s no way anyone can understand him, prompting one of his father’s two employees to point out how being 17 years old is a liminal phase of neither a kid nor a man.
The inebriated Olmar asks for another drink before referring to the men as Fox and Badger. The two employees discuss how Olmar is an angry drunk right now and that they shouldn’t have invited him. As Olmar slams the table and says he can hear them, he draw his sword while asking if they have the right to mock him.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 sees the other men look over their way, while Fox asks to be called guests and says even men like them are useful in a fight. Olmar tells Fox that he’s never seen him do his job, to which Fox responds that the village is peaceful, so they’re bored out of their minds.
Olmar tells him to draw his sword so they can see if his skills have dulled, prompting them to kick the table over and send him flying. While Badger steps on Olmar’s still-drawn sword, Fox draws his and points it at Olmar’s throat. The latter explains that this is what their father pays him to do as their guests, which leads Olmar to flail and beg them to kill him in a temper tantrum.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 then sees Fox and Badger lamenting over their plan to get on Ketil’s family’s good side having gone sideways. Meanwhile, Olmar laments over being a nobody, prompting Fox to approach him and ask if he doesn’t like being treated like a child by respectable folk.
Olmar says they also treat him like a child, to which Fox remarks that they do it because he’s half a man. Badger adds they should make him feel better, but Fox says he has a plan. The latter then tells Olmar that he can become a real man by completing a rite of passage, where he needs to kill a person.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 then shows Fox maliciously remark that knowing how frail humans are will make him not afraid of anyone, adding that this is how all boys become men. Olmar asks who, to which Fox says he knows the perfect target for an amateur. The scene then shifts to Einar and Thorfinn’s living quarters, as Fox explains that there are people on the farm he’s even allowed to kill.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3: Sacrificial lambs found
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 then cuts to the next morning, where Einar wakes up and begins preparing for the day’s work. He talks to himself about what work remains and when he’d like to do it all by when he suddenly hears a scream coming from the shack. Thorfinn seems to be having a nightmare of some sort, waking up with a shout as Einar shakes him.
Thorfinn seems shaken up before he collects himself and says he can’t remember what he was dreaming of. Einar tells him to get ready so they can start work, adding that the dreams one forgets are better left forgotten. Suddenly, the woman Einar saw in the previous episode is seen at the well by their living quarters.
She and Einar speak briefly, with the latter being nervous about speaking to her and calls himself unattractive. She shares a differing opinion, seemingly causing Einar to fall more in love with her. Thorfinn, meanwhile, washes his face and comments on how uneasy he feels, saying he must have been dreaming about something he can’t forget.
Meanwhile, Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 sees the woman introduce herself as Arnheid, which prompts Einar to also introduce himself formally. Despite being from England, Einar is revealed to be of Nordic descent. Arnehid then reveals her to be a slave on the farm while being Ketil’s personal attendant.
Suddenly, Fox and Badger appear, teasing them about gathering to plot their escape. Thorfinn and Einar introduce themselves before parting ways with Arnheid when they are told to follow Fox and Badger to an unknown destination. The episode then shows them walking along the beach, presumably heading to the spot where Fox and Badger were seen drinking with Olmar last night.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 then sees Thorfinn explain their role to Einar, commenting that whatever they want with them can’t be good. He then chuckles while thinking about Arnheid, which is when Fox asks what he’s so happy about. Einar brushes it off and Fox mentions he’s “a lively one.”
Arriving where Fox and Badger were with Olmar last night, Einar and Thorfinn stand before Olmar, who has his sword drawn. Fox tells Olmar to “make a nice clean cut,” leading Einar to realize that he’s being offered up as a ritual sacrifice in a rite of passage. Fox then explains the purpose of Einar’s death to him, prompting the other men present to laugh.
Einar asks what they’ve done to deserve this. Fox then explains that this isn’t a punishment but rather an unfortunate circumstance of their lives not being their own. Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 sees Fox explain that, as a slave to Olmar’s family, he’s free to do what he wants to them.
However, a trembling Olmar is of a different opinion, pointing out that he’ll have to pay his dad back for these slaves if he cuts them down. Fox calls Olmar pathetic for making excuses, questioning if he’s afraid to kill his father. But Olmar says he’s not scared of anything, as Fox continues to goad him again.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3: Snake’s stoppage
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 then sees Einar tell Thorfinn to run, as he charges Olmar and tackles him to the ground. Thorfinn, however, remains still, prompting Einar to plead with him to run and tell Ketil. However, two men draw their swords in front of Thorfinn and command him to watch what’s about to happen.
Thorfinn calls this a pain, before volunteering to be cut down by Olmar since they only need one of them. He asks them to allow Einar to return to work while Thorfinn is cut down, as the episode shifts to a local house. A man is seen waking up after falling asleep the night before while reading, calling out to his “Gramps” as he rouses awake.
The man notices a sword and that no fire burns under the pot. He goes outside and calls for his Gramps. A man responds from the field, saying that he needs to look out for himself after waking up at this hour. The man then grabs the sword, which was his, and heads to a horse as Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 returns to Thorfinn and Einar.
Thorfinn again volunteers himself, shocking Einar while Fox approaches him. The former reintroduces himself once more to the latermost, who asks if he truly understands what he’s volunteering for. Einar calls him an idiot, but Badger kicks him in the stomach and tells him to keep quiet and stay out of it.
Fox begins teasing Thorfinn to the other men before commenting on how he can’t let a remark like that slide since it would harm their “product” as warriors. Fox explains that as warriors, their product is death, seemingly disturbing Olmar at hearing these words. Fox lectures Thorfinn on how death fears everyone, pointing out how Olmar is afraid of even someone else dying.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 sees Olmar deny this, but Fox says he should be scared since death only has value because it’s feared. He says that this is how they’re able to use their swords to make a living, slicing at Thorfinn’s chest and making a shallow wound. As Einar and Olmar looki, Fox tells Thorfinn to be afraid.
Suddenly, the man from before arrives on horseback, saying that the group is up to no good again. Einar screams out and pleads for Fox to stop as he slices Thorfinn with various shallow cuts, telling Thorfinn not to hide his true feelings. Olmar seems to be imagining the pain of the cuts as he watches, while Fox continues to slice and tease the unflinching Thorfinn.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 then sees Thorfinn ask why they need to fear death, questioning if they live because they don’t want to die. He then asks if anything good comes from being alive, saying it doesn’t for him. He remarks that not a single good thing has happened to him in his entire life, which quietens the crowd and makes Fox’s pause his assault.
An angered Fox then slices off a portion of Thorfinn’s ear, preparing to take his eye with the next stroke and demanding that the latter show him that he’s afraid. However, the recently arrived man named Snake calls out to Fox and commands him to stop. Fox refers to Snake as boss, as he is instructed to come closer to him and Thorfinn.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 then concludes with Snake spunching Fox in the face. He then calls Badger and asks for an explanation.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3: In summation
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 3 is an uneventful installment that sets up the premise for the future episodes perfectly. Olmar’s goals are established as Thorfinn’s current mentality is simultaneously introduced, with the two storylines being perfectly blended together.
The episode also does a great job of starting off by showing viewers a fearful and scared Thorfinn,which is juxtaposed with the fearless stand against death he takes in the episode’s final scene. This will likely be a common theme throughout thecurrent season, with Thorfinn wrestling between the trauma of his old way of life and attempting to find peace of mind in his new one.
Be sure to keep up with all Vinland Saga anime news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
