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Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 was released on Monday, March 6, 2023. Although the latest episode took an unexpected turn from where the previous installment ended, it made for an exciting and thematically significant episode.
Episode 9 of Vinland Saga season 2 also sets up Thorfinn’s main goals for the rest of the season, which seem to be coming to terms with the lives he’s taken. Moreover, the return of Askeladd and Thors' mental images through Thorfinn’s reminiscence was also a fresh move, especially for what they helped him to learn.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 sees Thorfinn’s father figures return to remind him of what his new purpose is
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9: Heaven or hell?
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Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 opens with a shot of Thorfinn being woken up by a baby goat jumping on his stomach and bleating in his face. He’s shown to be in a wide-open field, with no other humans or signs of civilization in sight. He happily appreciates the scene before expressing relief that his entire life had just been a dream, vocally recapping what he thought his dream was.
He says he’s glad to be in this wide-open field. In reality, though, Thorfinn is bloodied and bruised to the point of unconsciousness after fighting the retainers. Einar is still standing against their oppressors, seemingly refusing to go down based on his enemy’s comments. He says he’ll keep fighting, adding that they should find out whether or not he and Thorfinn are beneath them.
The retainers reply that they don’t have time to keep fighting Einar and have had enough and left him with a warning of the imminent punishment. However, Einar smiles at this, saying he and Thorfinn have won. Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 then cuts back to Thorfinn’s dream world, where his father, Thors, is seen approaching him from over a hill.
Thorfinn happily greets his father, who has a solemn look on his face. He tries to share his dream with Thors, who interrupts him by saying he smells blood. The father then asks who Thorfinn killed with that knife, as the scene becomes incredibly dark and Thors' son reverts to his teenage self. He’s then shown to be stabbing his knife through the neck of what appears to be a young Einar.
This is confirmed when Thorfinn picks up the child’s face to reveal adult Einar, while Thors says his strength is for protecting Thorfinn. Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 sees Thors apologize to Thorfinn, saying there was more he wanted to teach and say to his son. Thorfinn then says he did this while Thors continues to apologize for leaving his son alone.
Thorfinn tries to follow after his father but a zombified hand comes off the ground and grabs him. Thors then crouches down to Thorfinn, who is now his childhood self, and tells him that he doesn’t have any enemies and that nobody has any enemies. Several more hands come out of the ground, followed by bodies that swallow Thorfinn up and drag him down.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 sees Thors remind Thorfinn that there’s no one who is okay to hurt and that there never was, dropping his familial knife in the process. The ground beneath Thorfinn opens up and swallows him as Thors watches from above. The son hits the walls a few times before unsuccessfully trying to grab them, but eventually hangs onto a ledge and stops himself.
Below him is a pool of water that turns blood red after a rock drops into it, prompting zombified soldiers to rise up and begin fighting one another. Thorfinn questions if this is Valhalla, as all those seen fighting are soldiers. The scene is an absolute bloodbath, with everyone present being attacked, tortured, or murdered in some gruesome and cruel way.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 sees Thorfinn horrified at the laughs he hears coming from this battlefield when one of the soldiers turns their attention towards the still-hanging the protagonist. Thorfinn recognizes him as Bjorn, which prompts Askeladd to begin laughing and comment on how the former is still “stuck up there.” Askeladd is seen resting on top of a pillar, telling Thorfinn that it’s been a while.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9: Keep climbing
Askeladd teases Thorfinn by saying he never learns, pointing out how he’s “already back here again.” Thorfinn questions if this is Valhalla, but Askeladd laughs, saying that the afterlife is much nicer than this. He tells Thorfinn to look closely, saying that this place is no different from the world of the living. He also adds that this is where all warriors end up since it's the purest form of war.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 sees Askeladd reveal that there is no victory or end and that everyone besides oneself is an enemy. He then asks Thorfinn if he remembers living there with them, meaning Askeladd’s group of warriors. Askeladd then says that, for better or worse, Thorfinn escaped by becoming empty inside. The latter’s knife falls as this is said, reflecting shots of a teenaged Thorfinn being enslaved.
Askeladd then tells Thorfinn he’s lucky since only a few men ever manage to escape. He then points out Bjorn, elaborating on how Thorfinn was once filled with the idea of being a warrior before becoming empty. He asks Thorfinn what’s inside of him now, but Thorfinn says he’s still a warrior since he struck someone in a fit of rage, which is why he still resides here.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 sees Thorfinn say that his hands are about to give out and that he’s a pathetic person who never grows. Askeladd teases him for being so focused on himself, before suggesting he open his eyes to what’s around him. A tower of bodies is then seen climbing towards Thorfinn, seemingly intent on dragging him into the never-ending fight.
Thorfinn screams and flails, kicking the hands approaching him as Askeladd suggests lending an ear to their complaints. He tells Thorfinn to look closely, revealing that they’re all people he killed. Thorfinn is in disbelief that he killed this many people, to the point where he allows himself to be grabbed by them. He begins crying as he looks down at them, saying he has no idea who they are, where they’re from, or when and where he killed them.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 then sees Thorfinn tearfully apologize to them as Askeladd stares with a blank expression. Archers begin firing shots at Thorfinn as Askeladd calls them an uncouth lot, jumping down to defeat Thorfinn’s attackers. He reminds Thorfinn that he doesn’t want to end up down there again, telling him that he doesn’t have time to cry.
Askeladd implores Thorfinn to keep climbing no matter what, seemingly sacrificing himself for Thorfinn’s sake. The former tells Thorfinn that climbing is his battle and that he should take the people he killed with him and become a true warrior. This inspires Thorfinn to begin climbing and reaching for the sky. However, he suddenly wakes up in the real world, sitting with his arms and hands in a climbing position.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 then sees Thorfinn recognize it all as a dream, questioning if it was true. He briefly looks down at his hands before seeing the unconscious Einar in front of him, waking him up to confirm he’s alive. Einar rouses and tells Thorfinn that they won the fight, a prudent choice of words considering they’ll likely lose the war.
The two then carry each other home as Einar muses on how far they’ve fallen, pointing out that they’re drowning in debt, have no wheat, and will be punished for their fight. However, Einar laughs at this since seeing Thorfinn punch a retainer made it all worth it to him. He then asks if the silent Thorfinn is in pain, noticing him crying.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 sees Thorfinn share that he’s used his hands to kill so many people who he didn’t know and bore no grudge against, even saying they’re like Einar’s family. He laments having struck another person today but says that it ends now. Thorfinn declares that he’ll never hurt anyone again and promises to swear off violence and be reborn from this point on.
However, as he says that he’ll start atoning in the process, an image of Thors turning his back and walking away over a hill appears. This scene meshes with Thorfinn’s current view, as he says he’ll begin fighting his true battle. A confused Einar says he gets it nonetheless in a sign of support, while Thorfinn internally promises to be reborn as the two continue walking.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 then cuts to the retainers pleading with Ketil and Pater, who have just informed them that Thorfinn and Einar won’t be punished. Ketil then shares that Pater found a coat button of one of theirs on the ruined farm during his investigation. He claims that boars ravaged the farm and that there was no fight, which is the story they’ll be going with.
Pater thanks Ketil, who responds by commenting on how brave Pater is for not being afraid of ostracization by his peers. The former says that he’s been through a lot as a former slave, as the scene shifts to Sverkel teaching Thorfinn how to use a hoe. Einar is also present and working, as the scene ends with Thorfinn raising his hoe back as the sun rises.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9: In summation
For many, Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 was full of the action-packed sequences that they have been missing from this season’s events so far. While it was all to serve the greater narrative purpose of Thorfinn swearing off violence and being reborn, this was at least a nice treat for fans who were pining for action sequences.
However, the true accomplishment of Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 is its function as a turning point for Thorfinn. This feels like the culmination of everything else which has happened in the season before this moment, cementing it as Thorfinn’s true moment of rebirth. The fact that this was achieved through dialogues with mental images of both Thors and Askeladd only further increases the thematic quality of this episode.
Vinland Saga season 2 episode 9 also provides what appears to be the end of Thorfinn and Einar’s conflict with the retainers. The two were able to win their retaliatory battle against the retainers while avoiding a loss in the war overall. This latest episode is undoubtedly one of the most engaging, exciting, and thematically significant in the season yet.
Be sure to keep up with all Vinland Saga anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
