Home
Artists
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register
Partychan Matrix ThePornDude
Home Artists Posts Import Register

Vinland Saga 2x14 "Freedom" - reaction & review (Patreon)

Published:
2024-02-16 13:18:19
Edited:
2024-04-08 11:02:54
Imported:
2024-06
Tags:

Downloads

Content

Google Drive Link posted below description!


Hey everyone!  Here it is - my reaction to season 2, episode 14 of Vinland Saga!  WHOA!!!!
So we finally get the backstory!!!!  Dang you guys, there's a running theme here about violence, isn't there?!  And on top of that, we get Ketil's backstory, jeez!!!!  It's all starting to add up, isn't it?  All the current day attitudes that we have towards war and violence.  And OMG YOU GUYS!!!  We did not need ONE MORE THING on top of all this drama, but OF COURSE there's a baby on the way on top of everything!!!!!  And don't forget, none of this will matter once Canute gets there anyway, so there's that.  Sheesh!!!  Great ep!  Enjoy!  ~ MH


Google Drive Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o_IL81Yn9_oigDMSkBoSGe4_z2cqusVe/view?usp=sharing

Comments

Manny

I hated seeing Arnheid go through such an ordeal. It sucks. You have a good life, a wonderful family, and a community. And now they are scattered for the “betterment” and safety of their lives because of ownership. This has hurt Einar so much, but he's thinking about her happiness instead. Gramps may not be able to understand being enslaved like them, but his being restricted by his age and listening to Arnheid probably gives him a feel for what the enslaved people have to go through, feeling unable to do anything themselves. Hopeless in the hands of others.

kamenriderhime
>>129928009

Omg I know! It's so sad, nothing about their lives got better, it was just the opposite :( I know, Einar's only thinking of her. That's actually such a great point, he doesn't understand firsthand, but maybe the helplessness that he's going through gives him sort of a perspective on it.

Supermonaman

This episode is incredible & an example of what makes this season great. I am glad you noticed the part of the opening where Canute is mouthing the words of the song it’s really cool. There is a subtle but really impactful tragedy to Gardar talking to Arnheid about simple things while not knowing that their son is gone. Once you know that she was afraid of him you can really appreciate how great the animation for Arnheid’s facial expressions are at depicting that fear. Something I love after someone I watch pointed out this possible interpretation is how Snake says he will kill Gardar if Arnheid goes with him implying something interesting about his character that while he’s going to do his job Snake doesn’t want to kill someone if he doesn’t have to. I love the moment of Thorfinn holding Einar back again not because he doesn’t want to help Arnheid & isn’t even thinking about it in terms of Einar not being strong enough but simply doesn’t want him to kill someone because of the dark path that can lead to no matter what reason you have for killing. I think it says a lot about Einar that as soon as he is confronted with the idea of killing someone he stops struggling because while he may be willing to fight to defend himself killing is a completely different story. He knows himself well enough to know he can’t do something like that. It brings up the idea of what are you supposed to do when faced with really complicated, hard situations where there aren’t many good answers or things you can do. I love this fight even if it’s rough on the characters for a few reasons. I think it’s interesting to see Snake fighting in a controlled/calm way while Gardar is fighting in a wild way with rage. I love the way light/blurry animation is used to show the movements of their blades as they fight. And even though it’s a small thing I like the intelligence Snake displays by striking Gardar where he was already injured to give himself the opportunity to knock out Gardar. It’s really upsetting to hear Arnheid screaming for Gardar as she is unable to do anything & Gardar screaming for her as he is dragged away. There is a weird hypocrisy to Snake here because I think he does care about Thorfinn & Einar’s opinion about the situation he just has a job to do, knows the reality that as slaves they won’t be able to do anything about the decision/situation so is pointing that out harshly because he doesn’t want them to do anything stupid. Also as he says his opinion is that Dardar is too dangerous to be let go. I like the detail that after seeing him fight Snake is even more cautious of Gardar wanting more men keeping watch on him. It’s really sad to see Arnheid covering her ears to block out Gardar’s screams for her even long after he is out of earshot which is probably an example of her waiting for the storm to pass perspective. It reminds me of a Jean scene from AOT if you know you know. It’s a great way to show how hard it is for Einar to sit around being unable to do anything that he is moving his leg nervously. Honestly Einar’s plan for how to save her husband is relatively good for being thought of in a short time. But then we get to the problem of how dangerous that would be, Thorfinn’s choice of pacifism which is potentially being challenged for the first time as well as Arnheid’s reasons for not wanting to intervene. I was really interested in learning about her past because I already thought she was a well-written character & this episode just reinforced that even if her backstory is immensely sad. Something I like that was pointed out to me is how in the scenes of the past the colors are much brighter making it feel more idyllic & beautiful compared to how in the present the colors are much duller/darker with more grey’s & black’s. Although something really great is that this is something done in the present as well where during more hopeful scenes the colors are brighter & feels full of life compared to this episode. I like that we get confirmation that they love each other which you can see with their interactions in the past. It makes sense but it’s still interesting how disputes over resources were even more important during these times & how power was even more determined by resources. It sucks that not only does a woman’s opinion during that time not amount to much but that Gardar also truly believed the decision to fight for these resources was the right choice because of another being having a dangerous leader if he was able to get those resources. And his friend asking for help impacted that decision which shows that he was an honorable & trusted person. Although as you pointed out while the show was putting you through the emotional wringer nothing is worse the risk of losing or being separated from those you love & that’s not even going into all the suffering the two of them went through as slaves. The scene of Gardar with his kid is so cute & sad knowing what happens. And then we get to the brutality of seeing Vikings attack their village while the men were away & all the awful imagery of death/destruction which was bad enough but then we see when their child was taken from them with the absolutely heartbreaking performance from Arnheid’s VA as she is screaming herself hoarse just desperately reaching for her son. I think she is one of the best new VA’s this season & this is only one example of why her range is so impressive. One was the worst parts of this story is even if and that’s a big if Hjalti is alive the likelihood of being able spoke to to find him is almost 0. I also love how during her story Thorfinn & Einar don’t interrupt or anything like that they just let her get all of this out while having some facial reactions to the story. It shows a lot of respect on their parts especially Einar to listen to her request not to get involved with this because she cares about them. It is depressing to see how little hope she has for freedom that she doesn’t even want to try to fight because of how dangerous that is especially for her new child. Because of course this situation needed more complications/drama with her being the soon to be mother of Ketil’s child. It’s sad that because of how much suffering she has gone through that Arnheid wants as close as she can get to a normal, happy life with Ketil even if she wouldn’t be truly happy because she wants her child to have a good life. And I love how she doesn’t want them involved because she doesn’t want them to get hurt. One thing I almost forgot to say is I think it was a great thing to show Thorfinn closing his eyes when she talks about the attack because of his guilt about stuff like that. Arnheid is really a beautiful person inside and out. I really love the storm analogies about this situation & Gardar himself I just think it’s cool dialogue to write. I love the candid conversation Sverkel has with her about his own past which relates to her situation in some ways. I don’t think I have go over the entire story but it’s tragic & explains a lot about why Ketil is who he is today. He increases his wealth & continues to expand his farm because he wants to have enough power to never go through something like that again. It explains about his wife because he almost certainly never got over his original love & doesn’t love his wife. And this might be why he focuses so much attention on farming, the community he has made & Olmar. I agree it’s interesting that instead of becoming a fighter Ketil becomes averse to violence. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his original love has a slight resemblance to Arnheid. I think it’s a great choice to have this conversation bring up the idea that fighting or not fighting either action can have terrible consequences. Which asks the question what are the right choices which is an interesting philosophical quandary. I really enjoy the wind sound effects at the end of the episode. I agree this show does drama very well. Yeah a big message of this show is antiwar which is still very important today but it’s more than that it’s about life/what truly living means, change, atonement/redemption, freedom & a lot more. Some people might say that an antiwar message is boring/tired but I think they are wrong. Finally I think this episode can be summed up with this sentence “this situation is fucked up”. Awesome reaction & thoughts. Keep up the great work. :-) <3

kamenriderhime
>>130509703

I agree, this is a great ep! That's such a great observation about Snake actually, it does imply that he doesn't want to kill if he doesn't have to. Also the emotion of Gardar realizing what's happened, and just the emotional way that this whole story plays out in general, is so well done. That's such a great point too, about the decision of killing vs. not killing and how we see it impacting Einar and Thorfinn here. Like it's easy to say you won't kill like a Viking does, but what about these more complex situations? There is kind of a weird double standard to the way Snake talks/thinks about Thorfinn and Einar, it's interesting. Also the fight was so well done. OMG that one scene is totally reminiscent of Jean, you're right!!! It's heartbreaking to see the decisions that led up to what got Arnheid and Gardar here! And so true that the flashbacks of their kid are so bittersweet as well. It's so sweet that Arnheid wants to try and protect her friends and also so sad that she's just feeling so empty but wants to try and give her child a good, happy life this time around. Ketil's story is so tragic!!! It does really explain a lot. It makes a lot of sense that he's not really in love with his wife, too, and that he sees the resemblance of Arnheid to his first love. He really has built up his life to have enough money/power to never have to go through that again. It does bring up an interesting conversation about fighting and pacifism. So true, it really is about more than just war - it's really about life and how things like war impact other important concepts like love, freedom, etc. I think this definitely puts a different spin on your typical anti-war message too. LOL great way to sum it up! Thank you so much for all your kindness and support!!!!!!!!