Why Thorfinn Stands Out From Other Protagonists

foreign wasn't born a Slave [Music] in the early 11th century the Danish invasion of England swept across the land like a wildfire consuming all in its path inar like thousands upon thousands of others like him was just an innocent bystander a humble farmer bearing the brunt of a fight that had nothing to do with him einar's Village was burned his family was killed and eventually he was sold into slavery he quickly learned how futile it would be to resist slaves had no hope or expectation of proper rights or Freedom selling and owning slaves was as natural as trading livestock nobody would stick their neck out for the sake of a cow [Music] AR was bought by a wealthy man named Kettle who owned a vast amount of Farmland but einar wasn't bought to work that land he was bought to expand it cattle was an ambitious man that sought to increase his wealth and he bought INR for just that purpose inar is brought to a forest on the edge of kettle's land cattle explains to INR that he will be clearing this Forest tilling the land and sowing the seeds of a brand new weed field it's not an easy task to say the least but einar isn't doing it alone Kendall introduces INR to the other slave he'll be working with that day in June of 10 15 INR met thorphin Shonen manga is just about the most popular variety of manga there is the term refers to manga geared towards young men but with this distinction comes a set of recognizable characteristics generally when people refer to Shonen manga they're talking about action manga and frequently that action is centered around Supernatural Powers you've got Dragon Ball and it's energy one piece and it's devil fruits Demon Slayer and it's breathing what additionally Shonen manga generally focuses on a main character using those Supernatural powers to achieve their dream which is where they get their motivation to fight Luffy uses his rubber body to fight his way to becoming the pirate king Naruto uses his Ninjutsu to fight his way to becoming Hokage and denji uses his chainsaw powers to touch boobs if that ain't motivation then I don't know what is although Shonen is the most popular form of manga it's definitely not the only kind there's Shojo and Jose bada and bl also known as the good stuff and then they're saying in CNN is a variety of manga that is marketed towards adult men rather than teenagers and with that distinction comes some alternate characteristics such as boo CNN tends to focus on more character driven and down-to-earth storylines but still derives a lot of its entertainment value from action berserk is probably the most well-known example to point to the protagonist of Berserk a man named nuts is a character who struggles a lot with their identity and what they want in life but no matter what goal he desires to fulfill you can always count on nuts to swing his giant sword and yell it's berserka time but is violence really the only way to solve our problems what if we were to write a manga where violence runs counter to the ideals of our protagonist in fact what if violence were to actively impede their dream let's take it one step further than that and place our story in the middle of a culture and time period that glorifies and encourages violence like I don't know the peak of the Viking invasion of England well the protagonist of that story would have to be someone really special don't you think thank you [Music] [Music] thorfin and einar are tasked with clearing the forest and turning it into a wheat field after they've done that they will be released from their slavery and made free men inar is ecstatic at the notion that he can one day be free I mean listen I'm not going to call Kettle a good man a slave owner is a slave owner but in a society where a slave has no reason to believe they will ever be made free cattle is basically the best master a slave can get he treats his slaves with more Humanity than one would expect he doesn't talk down to them doesn't allow them to be mistreated by his farm hands and offers them a road to freedom in exchange for their hard work INR views Kettle in high regard because of this is a very energetic man he's very knowledgeable in building a farm as he was a farmer before he became a slave and he has the physical strength to do the demanding work einar is excited to get to work as soon as possible because one day of work today is one day closer to Freedom even knowing just how much work they have to do the distant possibility of freedom is more than enough to motivate him his partner thorfin on the other hand lacks that same enthusiasm thorfin takes to the work well but it comes up more like he's just going through the motions as though he doesn't care about the prospect of freedom and he's just doing what he's told because he has nothing better to do like a YouTuber making multi-hour long manga analysis because he has too much free time on his hands [Music] please like And subscribe so I can continue contributing nothing to society But ultimately it doesn't matter what does or doesn't motivate these two they're slaves they don't have the luxury of choosing where to place their energy cattle may be a Kinder Master than most but that doesn't change their place in this Society some of cattle's farm hands come to deliver food to the pair but what they're given is barely enough for one person let alone two einar forgetting his place questions why they're so little this angers the farm hands so thorfin sensing the building tension steps in and graciously accepts the food see the thing einar forgot is that even if they were given no food at all they would have no recourse but to accept it because they're slaves and this is their reality whether einar likes it or not despite his treatment at the hands of kettle's employees INR is still very impressed by Kettle himself who personally goes out and works the fields what he's less impressed by is kettle's [ __ ] stain of a son Olimar no no wait allmar although just like a smash player Omar hates working and chooses violence Almar is too preoccupied with his desire to go to war to learn how to run the farm though he doesn't exactly have the skill set for that either einar admonishes the boy's way of thinking War took everything from inar and thrust him into slavery he views the men that take part in it as fools and monsters but inar is in the minority during this time period strong men who waged War were viewed in great regard young men were raised to believe becoming a warrior was a noble Pursuit and taught to solve their problems with violence man you'll learn so much from a manga like this I didn't know that Denmark was the birthplace of the American mindset Old North religion taught that Warriors who died in battle were taken to Odin's Hall Valhalla where they would await the coming of Ragnarok the final battle that will lead to the end of the world you heard me right God of War Ragnarok was so good they added it to a religion a millennium ago boy laughs this is what the Liberals want they want to turn our kids gay going to Valhalla after death was seen as the highest possible honor and so it stands to reason that all Norse men should aspire to become Warriors and perish in battle as a result some even viewed killing a man as a rite of passage a necessary part of growing up and becoming a man what can I say you want to get through puberty you got to kill a [ __ ] I don't make the rules and the guy who does is not known for being nice all we had to hit the damn train CJ so how is a guy like Almar who sucks at Battle meant to get past that whole killing someone hurdle oh yeah slaves one of the Farm's guards wants Almar to kill einar or thorfin to prepare him for the battlefield einar blows up believing this treatment is inhumane which is accurate but you kind of don't need to treat a human with as much worth as a cow with Humanity hey their words not mine I'm just telling a story here tackles the kid and yells for thorfin to go tell Kettle this may come off as self-sacrificial at first and it definitely is but einar is telling thorfen to go tell Kettle because he doesn't exactly want to die here it shows how einar will put others before himself but he also isn't willing to succumb to his circumstances he's going to get out of this and earn his freedom but as I outlined earlier thorphin isn't like inar IO thorfin offers himself in einar's place but this doesn't come off as a noble sacrifice for einar's sake it comes off more like indifference like thorphin simply doesn't care and wants to get it over with the guard not convinced assorts that all men must fear death he repeatedly strikes at dorphin in an attempt to draw that fear out but dorphin doesn't even Flinch in response instead thorpin questions why exactly he has to continue living and it starts that not one good thing has happened to him in his entire life so often questions what good could come from continuing to live oh this is why you don't invite nihilus to a party they have a nihilus man they kept saying they believe in nothing Niles [ __ ] me the captain of the guards a man named snake stepped in and puts a stop to the whole situation well they got a problem with torturing innocent slaves or something I was supposed to have fun around here snake gets dolphin treatment for his wounds and apologizes for everything not that dorphin really minded to begin with blocks snakes attack and put some distance between them in preparation for a further assault but snake has no intention of continuing the fight he just did it to prove a point he starts it subconsciously thorfin still holds a desire to live but more importantly why did thorpin block this attack and none of the others looking at the trajectory of snakes strike it seems clearly intended to take thorfen's head clean off whereas the other guards attacks were all shallow and couldn't have killed dorphin thorfin knew the guard wouldn't kill him but he sensed killing intent from snake and guarded instinctively but what kind of slave has that kind of battle sense INR sensing this discrepancy asks thorphin if he ever went to war thorfin responds that he did and inar asks how many many is killed thorphin doesn't hold back he tells einar he killed so many that he couldn't keep count thorphin is a warrior War took everything from INR his village was burned his family was killed and eventually he was sold into slavery einar views the men who take part in it as fools and monsters Finland Saga is a manga series created by Makoto yukimura which began serialization in weekly Shonen magazine which is not the same as weekly Shona and jump no matter what the logo tries to tell you Finland Saga gets its name from the real-life Vinland sagas Two Old Norse sagas that covered voyages to settle Finland which is what the Norse called North America I read both of them for the sake of this video spoiler alert Freitas is a total [ __ ] the manga isn't based on the Finland sagas per se but it does use them to draw inspiration for its characters for example one prominent character in the sagas is a man named thorphin Karl Stephanie I'll give you one chance to guess which character is inspired by him thorf and Carl Stephanie obviously goes to do some great things in the story but the interesting thing about him is how little is known about him before that point he kind of just shows up in Greenland without any connection to any of the other characters this is where Vinland Saga the manga comes into play Vinland Saga attempts to answer how thorpin became the man he would go on to be where did his ideals come from what experiences would lead him to do what he would eventually do of course it's told through a decently sensationalized eye and ultimately it is pretty historically inaccurate but let's not nitpick now a good story is a good story however a story is only as good as its characters and that's where the title of this video comes into play thorphin isn't like other protagonists and I don't mean in an edgy teenage girl that really likes My Chemical Romance kind of boy I mean damn thorfin doesn't even feel like the protagonist for a long long time there's a reason I chose to focus the beginning of this video on inar instead of thorphin because at this point of the story thorphin is directionless and lacks any motivation I mean think about everything I've told you so far and try to guess at what dorfin wants to do with his life does losing it come to mind and gov but dolphin wasn't always like this and he won't always be thorphin was born in a small village in Iceland a terribly inhospitable place where farming is all but impossible thanks to the harsh Winters as a boy thorvan was a very energetic and curious kid basically the opposite of adult orphan like many kids his age thorphin fought with his friends and idealized the powerful Warrior although unlike the other kids thorvin was less interested in becoming a warrior and more interested in exploring the world thorfin grew up hearing stories of harrowing Feats of exploration from the one and only Leaf Eriksen hey every [Music] day that's right Leif Erickson isn't just a SpongeBob Meme he's also a character in Finland Saga and like thorphin he's based on a real figure from the sagas leave Ericsson is thought to be the first person of European descent to set foot on North America I bet you thought it was Christopher Columbus shows what you know Columbus was a tyrant and a fraud and don't let anyone tell you otherwise leaf on the other hand was a legit Legend even if he technically found villain by accident in the sagas Leaf wouldn't meet thorfin until he was an adult but here in the manga leave is kind of like an uncle to thorphin leave teaches thorfin about Vinland which compared to Iceland sounds like a paradise a warm fertile land to the west where crops grow freely and no King has control a land free of the wars and slavery that plagues the Eastern world it's said the people of Iceland decided to settle in such a difficult environment in order to escape the tyranny of the first king of Norway yet despite their best efforts slavery still found its way there thorfin's family includes his mother Helga his sister yova and his father Thor's I hope having two characters with Thor names doesn't confuse you because they aren't the only ones by the way I should probably stop and explain how approaching pronunciation for this video it can be confusing to know for sure how to pronounce certain names in this story because you're dealing with Old Norse names translated from Japanese Katakana so for example the Thor and thorfin and Thor's is pronounced toru in the original Japanese because Japanese doesn't have the th sound in their language but Old Norse does have the sound so I choose to pronounce it in the intended Nordic way as such you're going to hear me pronounce some names counter to how they're pronounced in the anime in an attempt to get them as close to their intended pronunciation as possible for example thorfen's sister's name is yudiva pronounced by the Katakana but I'm going to be pronouncing it as yilva I just want to throw that out there for anyone who's confused by where I come up with this [ __ ] thorfin's father Thor's is a kind man trying to teach his children to be the same though slavery is legal and largely accepted Thor's refuses to purchase any for his family and when a half dead escaped slave appeared on his doorstep Thor's did everything he could to save the man the slave wouldn't make it but before he passed away thores gave him some kind words to give him hope he tells the man that far to the west across the sea is a place called Vinland there it's warm and fertile and safe from slavery and more there the man could live in peace with his family upon the man's death thores would purchase the slave from his master so that Thors could give him a proper burial but thorus wasn't always the man he is today [Music] one day a battleship of armed men come to thorfen's Village they were the yams Viking a legendary band of Viking warriors the yams Viking answered to no King and in spite fight for whoever can afford them the yams Viking are based on a real band of Warriors the other existence has been disputed they are mentioned in a number of Norse sagas but any conclusive evidence of their existence has failed to be substantiated in any case both in historical records and the manga the yons Viking were terribly powerful and capable of winning the most brutal of battles so what the hell are they doing in summer mode Village in Iceland looking for some sheep to [ __ ] the captain of the battleship explains that the king of Denmark intends to mount an invasion of England that the Yaz Viking will be joining it's meant to be a terrible War so the chief of the arms Viking needs every man to join in the war efforts even if that man is a deserter Thor's is forced to join in the battle or the village will pay the price the whole village gets excited by the prospect of going to battle and having a chance to prove their might as Warriors but Thor's himself seems less enthusiastic thorfin swept up in the excitement intends to go to battle with his father he goes searching for a weapon and stumbles upon his father's equipment he takes a dagger out of the chest which looks more like a short sword in his small hands oh ah that hurts to look at thorus takes the knife from thorpin and asks him who he intends to kill with it thorfin responds that he'll kill his enemies but Thor's knows that isn't a good answer foreign doesn't believe what Thor's is saying how can nobody have enemies it doesn't make sense he runs out believing that Thor's is lying to him I really like this reaction I feel like often we see characters in anime and manga take lessons they were taught as children and turn it into part of their own belief system when the lessons they're being taught are very mature ideals thorfin on the other hand is a child and gets treated like one by the writing what Thor's is saying is very profound and clearly comes from a place of experience he's a man that values not only his own life and the lives of those he cares about but the lives of every person he meets he's of the belief that no person regardless of who they might be or what they might have done deserves to be killed and that's an ideal that thorphin at his age can't understand kids barely out of diapers he expected to understand the philosophical ideals of a warrior turned pacifist [Music] the following morning Thor's and his group set out for England although in reality Thor's intends to have Leaf take them all back to Iceland before ever getting there he won't drag them into his battle he just needs some bodies to sail his ship once they're out at Sea they discover that thorphin snuck onto the ship but they're already too far out to turn back so Thor's is forced to take him along as night falls one of the younger men asks Thor's what the battlefield is like the lad wants to take down an enemy and become a man A Lot Like kettle's Son Almar Thor's responds by telling the boy about the day yilva was born this was back when Thor's was still with the young Viking and he was a very different man rather than the excitement and joy one would expect from a new parent Thor seems more disappointed that yova isn't a boy and asks his wife Helga to give him a son next you know because women can just control that Helga asks thorus to name the child which he refuses to do how good isn't having it though and insists that Thor's name's her Thor's remarks that in all the time he's been with Helga that's the only time he's ever seen her angry Thor's isn't just another Viking Warrior before his affection he was a yams Viking Captain the strongest of the strongest so powerful that he was next in line to be the chief of the Young's Viking so highly respected that the chief had Thors marry his own daughter nicknamed The Troll of yam Thor's is a living legend capable of swaying the tides of battle yet the day he named his firstborn child doors became afraid the battlefield something about that moment changed Thor's forever this wasn't the kind of story the kid was looking for but the message is clear don't go to war the group make a stop at a group of islands between England and Iceland where the Thors intends to part with everyone else including thorfin but hey wouldn't be a tragic backstory without something going wrong or ambushed by a pack of Vikings Thor's sensing that a battle is inevitable hands thorphin the dagger and tells him to use it only to protect himself Thor's doesn't want Thor from joining the battle or anyone else for that matter huh Thor's goes on the offensive single-handedly fighting off every man on the ship without drawing his sword now I've hear the average Dragon Ball fan you might think Thor's is limiting his power to make the fight more interesting but if so then you clearly haven't been paying attention during the battle Thor's knocks a man into the water and tosses him in ore to float with Thor's doesn't want to kill the men that's why he's fighting bare-handed but some men don't go down so easily after clearing an entire ship Thor's returns to the group getting a feel for the situation thorus challenges the Viking leader to a one-on-one duel if Thor's wins he wants them to let the group go the leader a man named ashalab inquires as to how thores could tell he was the leader Thor's responds that he could tell by smell now this sounds goofy as hell to me and probably to the other Vikings but Ashland accepts the answer and tells thores that they share the same smell this is an indication that these men are in equal footing and that they both share a sense for battle that the others do not but none of that matters now thorus has to defeat Ashland to get out of this safely but Ashland isn't the kind of man he can beat bare-handed the battle between the two is on near equal footing their strength is different though Thor's is more of a Powerhouse that uses Brute Force whereas Ashland bites dirty he's faster than Thor's and takes advantage of small opportunities Ashland sees that Thors is trying to shatter his sword and takes advantage of that knowledge to counter Thor's plans [Music] but Thor's as an all brawn no ah Thor's expected Ashland to take advantage of that opportunity and used it against him Thor's won the duel but Thor's won't kill Ashland he wants Ashley to surrender thorus is the kind of man who is so strong in a fight that even with the blade in hand he can avoid hurting his opponent Ashlan questions why someone so strong refuses to use that strength but Thor's denies that assertion foreign this is a confusing statement if a true warrior needs no sword then how does a true warrior relate to the average Warrior if a warrior is one who wages War then how is a true warrior meant to do that this is going to be an important theme in this manga and throughout this video but right now we don't know enough to draw any concrete conclusions instead let's consider what Thor said right before that statement that he needs his sword because he is imperfect the idea of a true warrior is clearly a grand ideal that not one man in this situation lives up to and that includes Thor's himself however he defines a true warrior and ultimately whatever we as viewers decide that means it's important for us to know that despite his great strength Thor's is not a true warrior pressed with thores it seems everybody there only ashlat understood what Thor's meant he's so impressed in fact that he asks Thors to replace him as a leader of their crew thorus doesn't respond in Ashland reveals that he was joking but don't you dare [ __ ] believe that you know I'm gonna bring this back up like an hour from now ashelat lost the duel and has to let the group go but again tragic backstory here I already mentioned that Ashland fights dirty I already set that up have you even been paying attention one of ashlad's men takes thorphin hostage Thor's recognizing the situation tosses his sword into the water disarming himself ashlab acknowledges that Thor's won their duel then signals is meant to take Thor's down not dead just yet Thor's asks ashlad to end this honorably ashlad swears to withdraw his men leaving the rest of Thor's group alive thorfin rushes to his father's side as the proud warrior lets out his final breath Thor's made his name on the battlefield a living legend among Living Legends thores chose to leave that life behind and in his final battle Thor saved his friends and family from overwhelming odds without taking a single life [Music] thorphin can't understand what just happened he knows that his father won the duels so he can't understand why Ashley gets to Live While Thor's died and just like when thorus told his son that he had no enemies thorfin can't understand why Thor's would say that a true warrior needs no sword Ashland and his crew Sail on with Thor's ship and Tow however unbeknowns to them they also took thorphin along with from the bow of his father's ship and wielding the dagger Thor's gave him for his defense thorphin screams out swearing to kill ashalette the look endorphin's eye says it all thorpan failed to learn from his father's death and instead a burning hatred was born in his heart so that thing thorphin said about nothing good ever happening to him is starting to make some sense huh six years old he just watched his dad die in front of him you know children get outside of a really goofy thing sometimes I really enjoy thorfin's childhood backstory because we as readers get to see how great of a man Thor's was with our own eyes he's obviously going to be an important figure going forward but what we've seen so far doesn't explain how thorphin ended up a dead-eyed Slave so let's keep going Ten Years After thora's Death the invasion of England is in full swing King Swain the king of the Danish has pushed to the point of attempting to take London however the invasion has stalled here because of the presence of a certain man this is Thor Kell and that's your third Thor name for today Thor cow is pretty much an actual giant standing nearly twice the size of his men from on top of London's defenses this hulking mass of man meat throws logs and rocks down on miking ships with such ferocity that he is practically single-handedly holding off King Swain's forces like Thor's thorkel is so powerful that his very presence can sway the tide of battle now you might be confused thorkel looks and sounds like a Danish Viking right well that's because he is if you followed my interest in manga then you know that I have a type guts from berserk Frankie from one piece tanagaki from Golden Camu if their muscles are a bulge and then so are my loins but what I like even more than a big man is a big goofball and I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this I love thorkel door Cal is pretty much the quintessential Viking he's basically a giant kid that loves fighting thorkel is the kind of [ __ ] to get bored fighting for King Swain because he keeps winning too easily and just switch sides for a better fight in fact that's exactly what he did thorkel betrayed his Viking Brethren to fight for the English because he thought it would be more fun and he's so powerful that it's a legitimate problem for King Swain Ashland and his crew are here fighting on King Swain's side too but even they are cautious of thorkel that should tell you exactly how strong this guy is ashalab the man who was strong enough to give Thor's legitimate challenge is cautious of thorkel but hey why you fight a guy like Thor Cal when you've got someone to do that for you thorpin's been busy for the past 10 years thorphin has traveled with astralad honing his skills for the day he'll take Ashley down and this fight here is an excellent way to show us just how strong he's gone we've already established how strong thorkel is so when we see thorfin holding his own against the Giant we get some idea where a thorphin is at thorkel is all power and thorphin knows that he won't survive a hit from the man luckily he's an excellent matchup for that kind of fighter because thorfin is small and fast he can avoid all of thorkel's attacks while sneaking strikes in here and there unfortunately his size and the size of his weapons is ultimately a detriment as much as it is a string because thorfin can't land any solid hits while thorkel only needs one ah thorfin can't counter his strength and only manages to escape by taking two of thorkel's fingers but still for thorfin to maim a legendary Warrior like thorkel is no small feat even if he's still lost thorkel is impressed and asks his opponent for his name thorpin introduces himself as the son of Thor's which Peaks thorkel's interest but thorphin escapes before that conversation can go any further after the battle with thorkel thorfin rejoins Ashland's crew as they Retreat from London badly injured thorfin Begins the painful march to his next battle surrounded by men who live off of battle men who highly respect strong Warriors men who love to battle men like thorkel dolphin questions how they can love war so much thorfin isn't the kid he used to be he's not the bright-eyed energetic kid that idealized Warriors he's disillusioned by the Allure of War he doesn't take part in it for fun he's fueled by a deep hatred and anger and Views War as a means to an end unlike the men around him thorphin hates War thank you so now that we have some idea of how strong thorphin is you might be wondering why ashalat is still alive why is thorfin working for the man who killed his father instead of I don't know stabbing the [ __ ] in his sleep that's because even though thorfin couldn't understand many of his father's lessons he did learn one thing from Thor's honor thorpin won't accept killing Ashland in a dishonorable way he wants to kill Ashland by beating him in a one-on-one duel thorphin follows ashlad's orders with the understanding that for every feat he achieves he'll get a shot at Ashland thorfin fought Thor Kell because Ashland promised to duel him if he won of course we know how that went but surely with how strong endorphin has become he's getting close to the day he'll defeat ashlad right yeah no I mentioned earlier that thorfin is a good match against Thor Kell because he's small and fast that's how you need to think about potential fights in a series like Finland saga no power levels no nonsensical Power Rankings Vinland Saga is all about technique ashalat is an incredibly intelligent man more so than the average Viking he doesn't have the strength of someone like Thor Kell or Thor's but he's smart enough to find ways to fight men like them Ashland gives off the air of a man with a proper education something that wouldn't be common in this era one night thorphin reminds ashlead that he will kill him someday and ashlab agrees with thorphin ashlat knows that eventually he'll age and grow weak while thorfin only gets stronger he knows this because Ashland understands the history of the world around him more than 1500 years ago in more than 500 years before the events of Finland Saga England was not England it was called Britannia and it was inhabited by the mighty Roman Empire one of the most expansive empires in all of history at one time the Roman Empire starts across more than half of Europe and into North Africa and the Middle East they built great civilizations and structures using construction methods that were far ahead of their time the Roman Empire's contribution to technology language and the Arts still endure today and form the foundations of much of our modern society you ever wonder why most European languages share Words letters and even sentence structures it's because they're all based on Latin which is prominently used by the Romans but as all things do the Roman Empire eventually fell Anglo-Saxons a group of people hailing from Mainland Europe came and crushed the Roman Empire in Britannia that was the Advent of England and English rule now the Danish led by King Swain are doing the same to those Anglo-Saxons it's ironic when you think about it the English who once invaded England themselves viewed the Danish as monsters for invading their land one way or another we are all Invaders even now to the first men to walk the earth who took their land from the animals that lived there ashlab knows that thorfin will one day kill him just like the Danish will crush the English and the Anglo-Saxons crush the Romans everything will one day come to an end it's a vicious and self-perpetuating cycle of violence in other words forever my son [Music] see but this doesn't really answer your question does it why can't thorfin beat ashalab because Ashland is more intelligent than thorphin Ashland understands the cycle of violence well and how to use it to his advantage he uses thorpan's desire to kill him in order to direct thorphin to take down his enemies and when thorfin does get a chance at Ashland ashlab manipulates his hatred to make him weak ashlab knows that when thorfin loses his cool he rushes in without thinking so all Ashland has to do is make thorfin mad and his moves become predictable thorphin for his part fails to recognize this glaring weakness and so the cycle continues as I mentioned earlier King Swain's forces were forced to retreat from London thanks to thorkel's interference the man scared off the king of the Vikings how much cooler can he get Swain left behind a fraction of his forces led by his son Prince knut to finish the job yeah they couldn't do it a passing messenger informs ashlab that Knute Was Defeated and taken hostage by thorkel and that thorkel is now pursuing Swain's forces because the man is [ __ ] insane seeing an opportunity like no other hatches a plan a man is intelligent as ashlat has bigger plans than he lets on he's not content with just getting rich off of participating in wars and with this latest news Ashland sees a chance to grasp the fate of the world with his own hands he killed the messenger because it doesn't want to share the glory with any other groups there is one problem however even if thorkel weren't a force to be reckoned with in numbers more than 500 while ashlad has only one hundred Ashland is outnumbered and out muscle he'd have to be a Madman to go against those odds right come on are you even paying attention Thor Cal could have all the power in the world and Ashley would still find a way to outsmart him by setting a wildfire ashlab throws dorkel's men into disarray and uses that confusion to have thorf and grab the prince before they can escape Thor Cal asks thorfin if he's really the son of Thor's man that's a lot of Thor names in one sentence thorkel then reveals that he knew Thor's before Thor's left the Young's biking and that Thor's was the only man stronger than himself after all these years thorfin has met somebody else that knew Thor's personally they don't have time to have that talk right now Thor Cal decides to let thorfin have the prince I have no doubt that thorkel could take back the prince if he wanted to but what thorkel really wants is a good fight he doesn't care about the politics surrounding taking royalty hostage he's testing thorfin to see if dorfin lives up to his father's name and if he could give thorkel a proper challenge having secured Prince knut ashlab wants to know who exactly he's defending and request to see the prince's face [Music] foreign [Music] I'm gonna stop your theorizing right now I was 100 convinced that Prince knut was actually princess Knute for much longer than I'd like to admit but no he's just a very pretty man ashlad and his crew now have to escort the prince to King swings headquarters before Thor Kell and his men catch up and crush them ashlod's getting to Rack his brain to overcome such overwhelming odds traveling along the western edge of England Ashland approaches a ferryman and asks him to deliver a message the man asks who to deliver it to and Ashland's response is they're peculiar he asks the fairy men to deliver the letter to someone of authority Ashland's men aren't blind to this odd behavior ashlod's right hand man Bjorn asks what Ashland is planning Bjorn has been with ashlad longer than anybody else so he knows better than everyone that he needs to trust Ashley but Bjorn is concerned about the overwhelming odds that they're up against ashlab tells Bjorn that over the many years he's been at War he's picked up a unique skill just by looking at the face of another man you can determine what kind of person they are whether they be strong or weak smart or stupid Ashlan tells Bjorn that when he saw Prince canoe's face he did not see a king it's not really an answer to Bjorn's question but it does tell us that for some reason everything Ashland is doing is connected to what he saw in canoe or more accurately what he didn't see after several more days of marching the group eventually make it to appear where a man awaits them with several ships in tow the man in question is dressed in armor very reminiscent of Roman stylings not unlike Ashland's own armor look we're almost there just give me a little more time for the dramatic reveal [Music] following the fall of the Roman Empire Wales was split into many small but separate provinces it was never conquered by the Anglo-Saxons because of the harsh landscape Morgan oog I had to look up how to pronounce this well [ __ ] is one of those countries they ferried Ashland's crew across the Bristol Channel thus losing Thor Kell now that we have some breathing room it's probably about time I introduce some characters this is Ragnar knute's personal attendant he's an experienced man with skill and battle but he can be a very stubborn he puts the prince's safety above just about everything else and he's not a huge fan of Ashland the two are constantly butting heads over the safest way to reach King swing honestly Knute is lucky to have a man like Ragnar watching over him because this kid would be [ __ ] dead otherwise Knute is an incredibly quiet and timid lad he shies away from others and is even afraid to speak to anyone other than Ragnar if his face doesn't convince you that he isn't worthy of the crown then spending more than five minutes with his little [ __ ] will convince you he ain't cut out for this dorfin is assigned to guard canoe and wow if looks could kill remember same character actually let me take a moment to remind you about the beginning of this video just stop and think about the thorpan I showed you back then the Deadeye beta male who seemed content with the slave grind set I've been really focusing in on astral ad throughout the section because like I said towards the beginning this really isn't thorfin's story not yet anyway he's practically a side character for the time being right now thorf is just kind of an angry [ __ ] even towards royalty like Prince knut ashlab's crew is allowed to pass through whales on their way back to England but not all the provinces are as accepting as Morgan Nook the group is stopped by an Envoy from Brian yog that demands to know why they should let the Danish Prince pass safely and boy I hope I don't have to learn how to pronounce any more of these goofy ass names seeing no other way ashlat agrees to tell them his plan the Roman Empire was once one of the greatest powers in all of Europe the idea that they could be destroyed outright by the Anglo-Saxons is absurd during their Invasion the Saxon Army fought with britannian forces led by a legendary military commander Lucius artorius castis this man managed to stop the Anglo-Saxon Invasion for a Time bringing a brief piece to Britannia the people of Wales are descended from the Romans that once ruled England so they idolized Artorias as a legendary hero that nearly stopped their destruction Ashley's mother Lydia was a direct descendant of Artorias Ashland's father Olaf kidnapped his mother and made her a Slave ashalad is only half Danish the other half of his Welsh he's the Last Descendant of the Artorias bloodline ashilad May fight on the side of King Swain but he doesn't fight for the sake of the Danish this explains why the Welsh are so willing to assist Ashland he's basically royalty in their eyes it also explained to Ashley is so powerful I mean artworks was a really hard fight guys that one took me a few tries when Ashland saw canoe's face he saw someone he could manipulate Ashland intended to place knut on the throne and act as his advisor swaying his decisions for the sake of Wales Ashland may be half Danish but everything he does is for the sake of the land his mother loved [Music] with this explanation the group is allowed to pass safely there's one other member of canoe's group that I haven't mentioned yet knut's religious Mentor priest named willibald something fascinating about the Vikings is that despite the reputation for Invasion and pillaging and words that tend to follow pillaging Vikings tended to adopt the culture of those they subjugated Norris paganism refers to the belief system of the Nordic people a polytheistic religion centered around the Acer such as Odin and Thor Norse paganism is where the ideas of Valhalla and Ragnarok originated from but at this time in history Norse paganism was slowly fading away the Danish invaded England where Christianity was widely practiced as such willeball is a Christian priest and Prince knut is a Christian but despite what the good book would have you believe being Christian hasn't helped will evolve find peace the man constantly drowns himself in alcohol and loses his mind the instant he goes sober there's something missing from willowbald's life that would bring him peace but it isn't something he's given up on finding willoughbald is searching for love which is a foreign concept of the Vikings go figure what is love [Music] although the love Willa ball is searching for isn't the love one would feel for their partner or family what he wants is something more abstract something that gives gold jewels even life itself their value ashlot's men are confused by willabout's concept of love but will a bald can't find the words to describe what it means after all he's still trying to find that love he hasn't grasped it yet so how could he teach what it means to have it ashlod's men trying to understand what the priest is talking about tell him about a man they met long ago a man that single-handedly fought off 30 of them without drawing his sword they tell Will about that despite his great strength no one died at his hands and before his death he said a true warrior needs no sword will about is struck by the story Sinking Deep into thought upon hearing it we haven't talked about the idea of a true warrior in a long time because for now it's still a pretty abstract concept there's a lot we don't understand about it but based on willoughby's reaction it's possible that the idea of love and the idea of a true warrior are linked although for now they're equally abstract Concepts that we don't know enough about perhaps a true warrior is one who fights for this concept of love as winter rolls in ashlab's group is forced to stop and find shelter until spring to this end they invade a small English Village of no more than 50 people but Ashland's crew numbers more than a hundred this Village only has enough Provisions for their own population not nearly enough for an extra hundred people luckily Ashland has a solution for a little math problem if you have 150 people that need to survive off enough food to feed only 50. the easiest way to stretch that food further is to subtract 50 villagers Ragnar and will bald are against this plan but ashlight insists it's the only way to ensure they can feed themselves while keeping their location unknown to the neighboring Villages after all thorkel is still after them the Christians pray over The Village's Mass grave asking God to protect their souls but strangely will eval begins to question his own beliefs he wonders whether God can hear their prayers if Man was created in God's image then why do they lack the strength to protect themselves from men like asholab willowbald asks God why he must test their face so relentlessly and admits he's beginning to doubt God's love in a surprising showing of anger Knute ridicules willeball for doubting God knude asserts that God loves all his Creations after all what father would not love their own child foreign smells like daddy issues knut's religion is very important to him as it gives him Something to Believe In is it all that shocking that such a timid individual needs something like that to get him through life we get a closer look at the kind of person knut is while they stay in this Village behind closed doors canoe drops The Heirs of royalty and even Cooks his own food he's also become much more willing to speak to others during his time with Ashley's band it helps that thorfin is horribly disrespectful towards the prince that may sound contradictory but if you were surrounded by Yes Men your entire life wouldn't you find it refreshing to interact with someone who speaks their mind this is the Crux of Knute and thorfen's relationship Ragnar's relationship on the other hand is a little more complicated than that Ragnar is knut's attendant meaning he's there to guide and protect the prince and Raider fulfills that goal every action he takes is in the interest of the prince yet their interactions seem more like that of a father and son rather than a prince and his retainer Knute speaks openly with Ragnar and trusts Ragnar more than anyone else Ragnar teaches Knute about more than just being royalty he also teaches canoe about basic life skills that royalty wouldn't normally need to have but there's a problem with this relationship when I was in high school I spent my Summers working as a camp counselor I worked for a boy scout-affiliated camp and I would teach kids merit badges specifically I would teach technology related merit badges such as digital technology space exploration and cinematography I feel like my ability to make long ass videos like this was made easier by my experience working for that camp making the history of digital technology interesting for 12 year olds on summer vacation is something I got to be pretty good at it wasn't all fun in games though there were plenty of things that were unpleasant about being a camp counselor the hours were long the pay was crap I hate kids but there was one thing that I dreaded more than just about anything else helicopter parents I'm talking about the parents that would follow their kids around all day long parents that would sit right next to their kid while I was teaching them how to build model rockets parents that would build said rocket for their child if the kid got confused the reason I hated parents like this is because of the frustrating contradiction these people represent helicopter parents like to think they're helping their child be as safe and happy as can be they want their kids to get as much fulfillment out of their activities as possible and they reason that they do so by making sure their kid doesn't miss out on anything never gets confused always has enough water and Band-Aids to protect a standing army but the reality is that they are hindering their child's ability to grow mistakes are a necessary part of growing as a human speaking as someone who's been a video editor for many years I promise you we learn much much more from our mistakes than our successes we earn how to avoid making that same mistake or how to fix it when we do make a mistake helicopter parents make it their mission to ensure that their children don't make mistakes and that child's education suffers as a result another important part of growing up is learning to be independent we all have to leave the nest someday and it's a parent's job to ensure that you're prepared for when that day comes Sometimes the best way to do that is to back up and let your kid do their own thing let them make mistakes you know they'll make let them tackle challenges you know they'll struggle to overcome because through that adversity they'll learn how to manage the tougher times as a parent you can't let your child cling onto your leg for their entire lives and you definitely shouldn't want them to no parent should hover over their child like a helicopter for their entire lives ready to correct their mistakes and hold their hands at a moment's notice so why did I bring this up it's because Ragnar is a helicopter parent Ragnar is always right there by the prince's side doing anything and everything to keep Knute happy safe and healthy even at the expense of other people Ragnar literally speaks for knut when he's too overwhelmed to speak of and canoe legitimately hides behind Ragnar's back when he's intimidated a king needs to have the strength to lead their people a king needs to have a conviction to protect their people a king needs to know how to fix their mistakes and avoid making them in the first place no one that thinks Knute is fit to be king because Ragnar has stopped knut from developing any of those traits Ragnar is a good leader and a good protector and he knows what to do in times of Crisis yet because of the way he coddles the prince knude has not inherited any of those traits thorphin and canoe's relationship actually proves what I'm talking about in the short time they've been together canoe has grown so much because thorfin refuses to coddle him Knute gained the ability to speak his mind and stick up for himself thanks to thorphin not Ragnar canoe can never be king while Ragnar is at his side and ashalad knows that Thor Kell found out where Ashley's group was hiding and attacked the village ashilad used the ensuing chaos to plot Ragnar's assassination ashilad intends to use Ragnar's death to inspire growth in canoe ashlab wants to use knut and in his position to influence the politics of the Danish Kingdom but he also won't allow himself to be led by a man that he doesn't believe in this is a gamble on Ashland's part if it works out in his favor canoe will grow into a proper King and if it doesn't canoe may never recover ashlab understands that Knute will never be useful to him if he doesn't face some adversity huh I wonder where Ashley had learned how to be such a good parent of course it's not going to be as easy as Ashland thinks Ragnar begrudgingly recognizes that upon his death Knute will need someone to guide him and whether Ragnar likes it or not Ashland will be that person Ragnar fills ashlot in on the current state of the Royal Family is not an only child his older brother Prince Harald is by all accounts more capable of ruling than canoe their father King Swain is a ruthless conqueror hell-bent on expanding his kingdom but Swain is an old man he won't rule forever the succession of the throne isn't as simple as handing the crown off to the eldest son among the court Nobles there is a rift forming between those that back Knute and those that back Herald neither side cares for the good of the Kingdom they are siding with whoever will be the most beneficial to them King Swain is aware of this growing Rift as he ages he's watching the kingdom he spent his life expanding risk being torn apart upon his death that's something he simply can't sit back and let happen during the Battle of London King Swain's forces could not kid past Thor Kel to take the city King Swain decided the best course of action was to leave a fraction of his forces led by the inexperienced Prince canoe to finish the job seems foolish if his intention was to take London however if his intention was to have his son Knute die on the battlefield well this would be a genius decision Ragnar warns Ashland King swing doesn't want Knute on the throne he wants Knute dead 's reaction is predictable has never lost someone like Ragnar somebody was close to that he cared about canoe can't really process it at first because he's never experienced something like this but there's no time for grieving he thorkel is hot on their tail and the group needs to get moving canoe starts kicking and screaming insisting that Ragnar be given a proper burial but Ashland isn't putting up with that [ __ ] he hits canoe with a cold dose of reality and forces him to face the fact that Ragnar is not coming back this has two purposes the first is to continue pushing canoe to grow into a proper King and the second is that Ashley can put himself in a place of authority in knut's mind if only Ashland's own men saw him that way ever since ashlab decided to capture the prince his men had begun to doubt him that doubt has only grown stronger as one thing after another has gone wrong for the group his men begin planning a mutiny but before they can get anywhere daddy Thor Kell finds them this is the final straw Ashland's a man turn on him they plan to take the prince with them in order to gain thorkel's favor they surround ashlad and ask him to surrender with no options left Ashley takes a moment to address his men he tells them that even though they've been together for so long and fought together through so many battles there was something he never got a chance to tell them that through all the good and bad that they've gone through through all of the highs and lows astrolite hates every single one of them they were nothing but Pawns in his Grand game of chess and he has no problem sacrificing them when they're no longer useful thorphin and Bjorn take off with the prince and toe Vlad already knew this could happen and planned for a counter-attack they may have thought they had ashlab but but they were dead wrong if Ashland is a person with an exceptionally high IQ then you can think of Ashland's men as people in those mobile game as that just cannot figure it out come on dude you just yeah except come on yours come what we no God what the f come on Ashland stays behind to fight while the Traders chase down canoe eventually they catch up and crash the sled by oh ah back on the battlefield Ashland isn't doing so hot even a man as strong as him is powerless against such overwhelming odds he's taken down and his men asked him why why has he been so desperate why does he bet everything on the Prince why did he turn on them when astralad was a boy his mother would tell him the legend of arctorius the true king of Britannia when Artorias fell in battle he retreated to the Far West to a place removed from the flow of time an island called Avalon where Artorias lives recovering from his wounds as the legend goes after artorius has recovered he will return to Britannia and drive out the Invaders Artorias will bring peace back to the land Lydia ashlad's mother and The Descent of arctorius told him that he must be ready to serve Artorias upon his return she tells her son to be artorious wisdom and his sword but that was long ago and Ashley can't wait for Artorias any longer thorkal and his men finally catch up with everyone and get to work doing what thorkel and his men do best killing people Thor kill doesn't go after Ashland because he's waiting for thorphan but you won't have to wait long can I see that one more time okay now slow it down a bit show me the manga panel one more time for Cal uppercut a goddamn horse when the princess sled got knocked over thorphin ran back to get ashlab because he needs to be the one to kill Ashley nobody else that's some real soon-day Behavior there thorphin thorfin fights thorkel in order to get Ashland back and he's able to hold his own but he's not really getting any good hits in that he's missing something his attacks lack weight because he's incomplete as a warrior dorphin asks what that means for thorkel if he's struggling against him anyway and tharkow agrees that he's missing something too Thor Cal asks thorfin if he knows what it means to be a true warrior thorfin takes a pretty bad hit from thorkel's tree trunk of a leg but thorphin isn't really the one we need to be focusing on right now is he remember what I said before this isn't dorfin's story yet there's someone else we need to talk about right now [Music] canoe wakes up after being knocked out by the car crash around him Warriors fight over who will get to capture him willowbald sets to the side watching the battle Knute says that he dreamed of Ragnar coming and giving his final farewell he admits that with Ragnar's death there's no one left that loves him showing that Knute has realized and accepted that his own father doesn't love him hearing this will about challenges the idea that Ragnar loved Knute what is love no we're not doing that this is we're being serious right now What is love as we saw earlier it's a foreign concept to the Norse so it isn't necessarily such an easy question to answer would you define love as a strong affection toward a specific person place or idea Willa bald seeks love but struggle to Define what it means to have it will about points out a man that died in the Battle and asserts that he represents love in death man loses the will to hate to kill to desire anything at all rather in death that man will become food for the animals and insects around him he will decompose and become fertilizer for new plant life to bloom he will do all of this without complaint without any ability or desire to take more for himself what Ragnar felt for knut was not love it was discrimination for knut's sake Ragnar allowed an entire Village of innocent people to be slaughtered he took food and resources and lives for the sake of the prince alone he did not love equally therefore he discriminated the snow on the ground the Sun in the sky the trees and mountains dotting the land all these things exist and affect the world without discrimination the snow falls on all things The Sun Shines on all things the trees and mountains pop up everywhere that allows them when Willoughby speaks of love what he is referring to is God's love as seen in the Bible God loves all of his Creations whether they be good or bad righteous or sinful God takes them all into his loving arms no one man woman child animal or plant exists without God's love [Music] but is this really true if man exists within God's love then why do we disrupt the natural cycle what makes man the dominant species on Earth why can we exist in any habitat why do we have no natural predators why do we kill each other for the chance to get ahead according to the Bible the first humans created by God were Adam and Eve upon their creation they were innocent unashamed of their nakedness they existed and were comfortable existing in the form God gave them humans were no different from any plant or animal around them that is until they ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge knowledge is what makes humans different we use our Advanced critical thinking abilities to forge tools that give us an advantage we use our awareness to desire more than what we have we use our knowledge to conquer and expand subjugating any and all other forms of life in our wake by eating the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve were made aware of their own existence and they became ashamed of their nakedness they covered themselves with fig leaves and in doing so took more from the natural order than they needed they sinned and were cast out from Paradise by gaining knowledge mankind lost the ability to exist within God's love and yet they seek it anyway mankind has been doomed by God to Forever seek the love they've lost yet the only way they can get it is to die and rejoin the natural cycle Knute has come to understand that and he's enraged by it he can no longer accept a God that has doomed mankind to a lifetime of suffering only knowing peace upon their death the weak and timid Prince canoe is no more if God will not allow man to live in Paradise then he will create Paradise on Earth From the Ashes of loss a king Rises [Music] thorphin wakes up after getting [ __ ] wrecked by thorkel but he's not inviting shape thorkel allows Ashland to fix thorphan's arm and while they wait thorkel tells dorphin about his father Thor's the last time thorkel saw Thor's was three months after he supposedly died at sea he returned to youngsburg in the dead of the night to get his wife and daughter thorus told thorkel that he needed to leave and asked larkel to continue pretending he was dead thorkel couldn't understand why an accomplished Warrior like thorus would want to leave the battlefield there it is again finally when a Thor has died he said a true warrior needs no sword but this takes it to a whole new level it's not enough to not wield a sword thorus is saying that a true warrior should actively avoid battle which is why he cannot stay in yomsburg but we still don't know why and neither does Nor Cal he couldn't understand what Thor's meant but he knew Thor's was serious there was a look in Thor's eyes like he had never seen before like Thor's was looking straight past thorkel at some distant Horizon like he pity thorkel for not understanding and thorkel didn't like it thorkel challenged Thor's as defection is punishable by deaths of the Young's Vikings Thor's Rose to thorkel's challenge but faced him without a sword in hand an act that only further infuriated thorkel thorkel was knocked out and never saw Thor's again but decided to keep a secret and pretend he had died thorcal never learned what Thor's meant that day but he did realize something whether Thor's was alive or dead didn't matter what's important to a warrior is the soul and where it lies Thor's Soul had already moved on to somewhere thorkel couldn't reach after sharing his story Thor Kell admits he hoped to learn what Thor's meant from thorphin but he knows it is impossible thorfin's eyes aren't the same as Thor's he doesn't know any better than thorkel it's been a while since I've brought this up but it's really important for us to talk about it Thor Kell believes Thor's became a true warrior but we know that he did not Thor's relied on his sword in his final battle he failed to live up to his own lofty ideals Thor's was a great man but he was imperfect and something else Thor's failed to do was raise thorphin thorphin doesn't understand what it means to be a true warrior nor does he understand what it means to have no enemies Thor's failed to teach his son these things and you could argue that thorfin is the way that he is because of that failure I mean when we really get down to it Thor's died when thorfin was six he's 17 now doorfront has spent more of his life with ashlad than he did with Thor's speaking of in the time Thor Cal has been going on and on about stupid [ __ ] ashlat has found a way to beat him thorkel's assault is Relentless and it's all thorfin can do to dodge his attacks while thorfin darts around ashlar remembers a battle from long ago the one and only time he saw thorkel fall in battle he spotted a weakness back then dorphin allows himself to be disarmed making Thor Cal drop his guard ashlot takes that opportunity to Blind thorkel with a glint off his blade and thorphin takes that moment of disorientation to deliver a mighty kick to thorkel's big dumb head and the giant goes down thorkel Towers nearly twice the height of the average person most people struggle to get a shot at his head much less deliver a meaningful blow to it Thor Kell has no resistance to getting kicks in the [ __ ] jaw for the record I also do not have a resistance to that I put all my starting points into charisma it didn't help as soon as thorkel is down thorpin goes straight monkey mode and jumps the [ __ ] crushing zarkel's eye Thor kills men try to stop Thor from which only pisses dark hell off but all of the chaos is put to rest by the arrival of the commanding figure since thorphin won the duel he and ashlat are allowed to go free but Ashland isn't interested in leaving something has caught his eye Knute walks right up to the man that is trying to capture him and demands resources to help him return to his father he also mandates that he'll be taking Ashland endorphin with him as they are his subjects thorkel understandably scoffs at the prince's demands and orders his men to tie knut up but Knute shows no fear instead of backing down canoe it starts that he is worthless as a hostage because King Swain does not love him it's amazing how much growth Knute has gone through he not only understands that his father does not care for him he also recognizes that he was never anything more than a backup in case his brother Harald could not take the throne he was a spare heir but short of just accepting it he plans to rest the crown from his father's decrepit skull and use the power it would Grant him to build the paradise God won't give mankind Thor Kell retorts that his chances of accomplishing this goal are slim at best and that he's far more likely to lose his life in the attempt but canoe doesn't care he's doing what he has to do and asserts that he hasn't LED much of a life worth losing to begin with that sounds weirdly familiar to thorkel's surprise Knute isn't all talk he means what he says Thor Kel can tell because Canute has the same look in his eyes that Thor's once had Thor Kell reflects on the last time he saw Thor's and admits that he regrets not going with him if he had he may have learned what it meant to be a true warrior thorkel decides to fight for knut in his battle against King Swain seeing all this go down Ashland is an utter shock until finally he can't hold it in anymore he erupts and laughter Ashland made a bet on knut's growth he bet that by experiencing loss canoe may find the resolve to lead and now he's ready for the final test offers his sword to Canute and admits that he's the one that killed Ragnar Canute is initially enraged but it subsides quickly Knute recognizes Ashland's important as an advisor and sword and accepts ashlad into his service instead of exacting Revenge this is the ultimate proof of the man canoe has become the kind of man who won't allow his personal feelings to get in the way of his goals when ashlab first saw the prince he saw a boy unfit to wear the crown Ashland risked everything on the chance he could turn Knute into a king and it paid off Ashley's job is done now he can only follow canoe in a system wherever he goes and where he's going right now is right up to King Swain's doorstep Upon returning alive from his father's plot to kill him King Swain comments on knut's change in disposition he's no longer the beta male cuck he once was he's gone even further Beyond and is on that Sigma royalty grind set where once canoe was content to live to each next day now he looks far into the future and plots to create his paradise on Earth something he can't do while Swain is alive but Swain is no fool he comments that Knute now reminds him of himself when he was young he finds this troubling because Knute really is like Swain in many ways when he was young Swain drove his own father off the throne believing he had wield the power of the crown better he describes his father as an old fool Who Loved War a description that sounds exactly like himself he believed he could do more good than his father had just like Knute believes now that was until Swain had that power for himself he tells Knute that the crown possesses a will of its own that the will of the king who wears it doesn't matter this is an extremely interesting development what king Swain is saying is that Knute is looking at his own future Knute is a reflection of Swain before he had power and Swain is what can it will become if he gains it rather than the cruel warmongering old bastard we were led to expect we instead find an old man who knows that his ways are wrong but feels powerless to be anything else this is the ultimate test that the crown presents if knut becomes king can he resist the temptation that the crown brings or will he just be another in a long line of foolish Kings to break the cycle of violence or contribute to it Swain does not believe his son can be better than himself and reveals his plan to kill knut Here and Now the situation looks dire until ashlab steps in he presents to the king that killing Knute here would only serve to weaken his reputation among his Chieftains while gaining him nothing it's a reasonable argument but Ashland knows it's ultimately fruitless what he's really saying is that Swain can't kill knuts so openly all he's doing is delaying the inevitable but all a man like ashlab needs is a little time to come up with a countermeasure Ashland's Ploy works in the end and Swain pulls back his men now the cards are all on the table both sides know the intent of the other Swain will assassinate Knute so he cannot be king and Knute will assassinate Swain for the opposite reason it's just a matter of which of them can do it without affecting their own reputation in the process each of them needs to keep the approval of their supporters and so can't afford to slip up but before their battle can begin there's another that must be sorted out Ashland agreed to dual thorfin if he defeated Thor Kell and thorfin's hate boner won't allow him to wait for his arm to heal up first it's almost like this [ __ ] kid never learns his lesson unless his emotions get the better of him over and [ __ ] over but Ashland's a busy man girlfriend's not the only one trying to get their ass beat today foreign Bjorn fought hard to protect knut But ultimately took a fatal blow he's barely hanging on but he knows he won't go to Valhalla if he doesn't die in battle Bjorn asked Ashland for a Final Duel so he can die a warrior excluding thorfin Bjorn is the only one of Ashland's men that didn't turn on him though he may have questioned Ashland's actions at times Bjorn never doubted Ashland for a second he would fight off an army if actually I told him to Bjorn has followed ashlab for decades and he knows the man better than most around him and though he always found it frustrating how little Ashland would open up Bjorn looked up to Ashland in their final battle together Bjorn learned that ashlod hates all Norse Warriors that includes all of thorkel's men all of his own men and even Bjorn himself but Bjorn can feel that it goes even deeper than that Ashland is a Norse Warrior just like all the men he hates ashilad hates himself too but despite it all Bjorn wanted to be ashilad's friend as Bjorn Lay Dying in his arms Ashley admits that his right hand man the man that fought alongside him for decades the only man to truly believe in him was his one and only friend Ashland's demeanor changes after his Duel of Bjorn thorphin can sense an uncharacteristic anger in him oh it's been some time since their last duel and now thorfin has even defeated a man like thorkel he's stronger now ashilad won't be taking home an easy victory if it predictably flies off the handle and Ashland effortlessly deflects his attack ashlab then lays down a Beatdown like a league player when their teammate makes a single mistake chastises dorphin for failing to understand his weakness thorfin has been trying to kill Ashland for 12 years for reference that's the same amount of time it takes me to make two videos yet dorfin's no closer to surpassing his father's killer men like thorfin are why Ashland hates Warriors is not a name it's a title it means Ashen Ladd ashlad was born to a slave named Lydia ashlot's father a man named Olaf took her from Wales as a concubine but cast her out when she grew ill off fathered many children with his slaves but only his true born children were given names grew up doing chores at the blacksmith where he would get covered in soot and Ash thus an ashen lad every day ashlad's mother would tell him about the legendary hero artorius who will someday come and say Britannia from the clutches of its Invaders Lydia was artorious direct descendant meaning ashlab carries the hero's blood as well he believed an artorious return until the day his father pointed a sword at his mother then he knew you can't rely on something so Fantastical you can't wait for some legendary hero or God up in heaven to Smite down your enemies somebody has to do it or nothing will change Olaf became impressed by Ashland's natural swordsmanship as he tried to protect his mother the man took in his child in order to train him into something useful Ashley trained dutifully for two years until he was finally ready to strike down the man that made his life hell Ashland sees himself in thorphin he recognizes that bitter hatred and that desire to get revenge but unlike thorphin Ashland was smart enough to achieve it thorphin will never beat ashlab until he learns to use his head and have some patience hearing the story Knute asks ashlad why he chose to serve him if he truly is descended from the legendary hero why doesn't he try and take the throne for himself in response Ashley tells knut that he's better suited to being a king because at the end of the day Ashland is nothing but a Viking this is what Bjorn meant when he said that Ashland hates himself ashlad knows that he's no better regardless of why he does it Ashland is stuck in the exact same cycle of violence that he looks down on since the age of 11 he's used violence to achieve his goals he has spent decades on battlefields across the lands to get to where he is now he doesn't know any other way to live so he can't be the king that changes the world Ashland's mother told him to be artorious wisdom and his sword by offering that sword to commute Ashland acknowledged Knute as the king that can change the world in Artorias Stead but canoe was not the first person Ashland offered that sword to I said I was going to bring it back up here I go 12 years ago when ashlab lost to Thor's he'd asked thorus to lead his band he played it off like a joke when Thor's didn't respond but it was a very real offer astralad saw in Thor's the same thing he now sees in canoe someone capable of making a positive change in this violent world ashlad understands what it means to be a true warrior but he knows that he can never be one he's just another Viking in the Battle of prince versus King time is of the essence both Knute and Swain will be trying to deal with the other as discreetly as possible but knowing that their own life is in trouble if they take too long he who takes the other down first wins the crown ashlad and knut may think they're more clever than Swain but the man has been King for decades for a reason that's right I [ __ ] lied you dumbass you really thought it was a man look at her perfect eyelashes look at those beautiful eyes look at our kissable lips I [ __ ] hey uh it was a body double please disregard man it sure was smart of Ashland to arrange a body double in case King Swain tried something you [ __ ] idiot how many times do I have to tell you that Ashland is 200 IQ the whole thing was staged by astralad Swain wouldn't do something so public arranged this whole thing to get rumors out that Swain is after canoe that way Swain wouldn't be able to punish canoe in any way without confirming those rumors of course the fake assassin is himself a liability since he would have been hired by one of knut's men good thing we got all stabby hanging around wait hang on a sec zoom in there because this mustache look familiar to anyone else [Music] no no no no no someone else there's there's something here I I swear hey everybody [Music] Christopher Columbus was a tyrant and a fraud I don't believe the beat is live for the past 12 years Leaf has traveled from port to port all across Europe trying to find thorphin he never gave up on finding him he believed it to be his duty to thorfin's family especially after Thor's saved Leaf's life Leaf finally found thorphin but he's in for a dose of harsh reality thorfin isn't the cheerful kid that would hang on every word anymore he spent the last 12 years thinking of nothing but Revenge he spent the last 12 years becoming an incredibly effective killer and frankly he's kind of an [ __ ] sorry Lee it's not a phase your little guy has become a genuine scene kid Leaf even tries to tell thorphin that his mother Helga has grown sick over the years but thorfin just does not give a [ __ ] which is horribly ironic when you consider that the death of a family member is exactly what put him on this path in the first place thorfin's Vendetta has turned into more than a desire for Revenge he doesn't know anything else anymore if thorphin didn't have astralad he wouldn't know what to do laughs ah you feel that someone just raised a death flag King Swain invites his Chieftains and canoe to a celebration he announces that after many years they have crushed the English resistance and their invasion of England has come to an end but we already know Swain won't stop there his obsession with growing his Empire won't stop with England King Swain announces the next Target of their aggression whales Ashland's brain immediately kicks into overdrive does the king know how important Wales is to him that's impossible so is it a coincidence but Wales lacks resources so there's no reason to go through the effort of subjugating the Welsh kingdoms so what is Swain planning well regardless of whether or not it was a coincidence Ashley lad can't let it happen he speaks up and challenges Swain's plans and another of Ashland's gambles he questions the purpose of invading whales in front of all of Swain's vassals and Swaim takes him pretty well instead of admonishing ashlab for questioning the king Swain goes to ashlad and thanks him for his candor ladies Swain admits that he doesn't care about taking whales but he knows Wales is important to Ashland so he's got a choice kill Canute or allow whales to be destroyed Ashland is cornered either he gives up the land his mother loved or give up the king he found after so many years Wales or Knute there are no other options or are there Instagram astrolite is always steps ahead of his adversaries he always knows how to manipulate others to get what he wants by killing king Swain ashlod gives canoe a chance to seize control he both puts Knute on the throne and stops the invasion of Wales in one swing there's only one negative to this option canoe is forced to label Ashley a king Slayer and have him killed Ashley goes on a rampage cutting down all the guards by going mad like this ashlot of Fords Canute the opportunity to show that this was an act outside of his wishes Canute will appear as if he had nothing to do with this and that he actively resents the actions of the man that killed his father thorphin who was outside sees all the commotion and runs into the Hall yelling for Ashland Ashland shouts back telling thorpin to stay back so he won't get dragged into this mess that moment of hesitation affords Knute the opportunity to show where his loyalties lie does this look like the face of a man who has lost his kill or is the face of a man who is about to lose someone important to him Ashland tells dorfin to finish him off he's at least willing to give the boy that but dorphin doesn't do it he reacts with denial dolphin screams at Ashley that he can't die here Ashland gives dorfin one final lesson he asks thorfin and he's thought about what he'll do after Ashland is dead for the past 10 years thorfin has lived solely for the sake of killing Ashland he doesn't have any Grand desires to pursue no purpose to motivate him ashalab won't allow thorfin to give up after his death ashlab tells dorphin to move on from this Petty hatred thorphin is meant for bigger things he's the son of Thor's Ashland bids dorphin to see the world beyond what thorus saw that is thorfin's true battle with his final breath ashlad tells thorphin to become a true warrior not knowing how to deal with this turn of events thorfin lashes out in the only way he knows how foreign man this [ __ ] never learns huh thorfin is arrested and knut wastes no time giving meaning to Ashley's sacrifice after all Ashland did not spend his life trying to change the world he spent it searching for The Man Who Would before anyone can stop to question him canoe takes the crown and appoints himself King thorphin is dragged out of the hall as the world swirls around him everything he's known for the past 10 years is Crashing Down dolphin's very purpose in life has been taken away and now he's left with nothing thorfin spend more time with ashlab than he did his own father ashlad taught thorfin many valuable lessons even if he was too blinded by hatred to listen even if thorpin would never admit it Ashland gave him a reason to live and now is God it's time for thorphin to forge his own path it's time for thorphin's story to begin [Music] hey how you doing are you enjoying the video I hope so because I put a lot of hours into making it you know I actually do every part of the production process for these videos I write the scripts set up the set and film it edit everything together do all the Motion Graphics and even take care of the marketing once the video is ready to go I'm even my own makeup artist it's a lot of work but it's work I love doing if you're curious as to how I do everything that I do you might consider stopping by the patreon it's a great way to support me if you like my work and it allows me to buy new equipment that I wouldn't be able to afford otherwise to make my videos better it's just five bucks a month and it lets you see the entire production of a video from start to finish along with some other perks two weeks after this video releases I will be doing a behind the scenes live stream so head on over if you want to catch that if you can't afford to join the patreon but still want to throw me some support liking the video goes a long way to telling YouTube people want to see this stuff thank you for your support enjoy the rest of the video foreign was sold into slavery and brought to kettle's farm alongside a man named einar einar was once an English farmer but the Danish Invasion took everything from him first the English burned his village then the Vikings killed his family and enslaved him einar detests war and those that wage it upon finding out that thorphin was a warrior a rage built up in inr's heart men like thorfin are why his family is dead men like thorphin don't give anything to the world they only take from it why should a man like him deserve to be alive [Music] but thorphin didn't kill einar's family if I not were to exact revenge on thorfin would he really be any better than men he hates thorphin isn't the man he once was after losing Ashland dorphin became directionless he had no real reason to keep moving forward you can tell by the look in his eyes that anger that Define his actions up till now is gone he's a much more passive person that willingly accepts his place as a slave perhaps the worst part of a slave life is having your freedom Stripped Away slaves don't have the ability to choose what they do from day to day they don't get to choose what their goals are or where to place their effort but what good is freedom to a man who wouldn't know what to do with it that's the best way to describe thorphin at this time in his life hell thorphin may be better off as a slave at least then he's expected to eat sleep and work as a free man the thorfen may just give up completely at one time thorfin fought for his life against a monster like thorkel but now thorfin allows himself to be scarred by a mere bodyguard there's one other change you need to know about as you just saw thorpin is now haunted by nightmares every night thorfin tosses and turns and screams in his sleep he can never remember what he was dreaming about but he can tell it's something important INR always wakes dorphin from his nightmares which confuses him thorvan asked sayinar why he wakes him up every night I mean geez thorfin's screaming every night must be a great sleep aid for INR why on Earth would he want thorfin to stop [Music] einar tells dorphin that he does it because they're friends why would he want his friend to be trapped in that nightmare thorfin is equally confused by that answer after all thorphin probably doesn't remember what it's like to have friends I mean would you be friends with that Moby son of a [ __ ] jeez kid was a [ __ ] [ __ ] I hope it goes without saying that einar is going to be an incredibly important figure in thorpin's life from here on out he's the first person in thorpin's entire adult life to show him kindness so we're pretty deep into this [ __ ] huh if you can believe it the part of the story that we're in now is why I really wanted to make this video everything before this was important for context and Exposition and I'll eventually explain why it was necessary to go into so much detail but for now I don't want you to get confused so we're going to take a short break and reintroduce all of our new characters thorfen was bought by a wealthy man named Kettle who owns a large farm cattle employs a large number of people to work his vast farmland and I do mean employ despite what you may expect Kettle only owns a small number of slaves thorfin is one of only three INR is another one of kettle slaves INR and thorfin are tasked with clearing a forest on kettle's land and turning it into Farmland they're more or less given free reign to complete this task once they accomplish their goal cattle has promised to give both of them their freedom so they don't really need a lot of external encouragement all Mar is kettle's son who is being brought up to inherit the farm but he doesn't really want to all Mar is more interested in becoming a warrior and making a name for himself on the battlefield lastly we've got snake kettle's Farm is so vast that he's able to employ armed guards to ensure no one steals his crops snake is kettle's Guard Captain in a very experienced fighter enough for thorfin to acknowledge he may be better than ashalette now that's all the characters that I went over in the intro of this video but there is one more character that I skipped over at the time that we need to talk about now arnaze is kettle's last slave and kind of odd compared to thorfin and INR I mean first of all she's a beautiful woman instead of some gross man ew stinky but she also doesn't work the farm like them she's kettle's handmade for inar it's love at first sight like a redditor seeing a real life woman einar thinks she's a goddess and cherishes every opportunity he gets to speak with her he's a very kind and hard-working woman INR spends a lot of time thinking about arnaze and how to make her happy it's kind of funny when you stopping instead of the differences between the two parts of the story we've seen the prologue is a high-stakes political battle that could Define the fate of the Danish Kingdom with very real life and death circumstances the part where you're now on the other hand is stardew Valley but no one gets paid before thorfin and einar can earn their freedom they need to cut down the entire Forest then dig up all the roots till the soil and plant seeds in order to turn the land into a farm no one's life is at stake probably just a couple of boys hard to work although calling them boys may not be appropriate hot damn these two are cut the [ __ ] up look at those abs day in and day out thorporin and einar are hard at work earning their freedom provides a lot of raw power where inar provides his farming knowledge you got to keep in mind that even before Thor from became a warrior he lived in Iceland a place that is virtually impossible to farm in none of the skills thorphin has fostered are going to help create a farm ain't a lot too daggers are gonna do to a damn tree [Music] thorfin doesn't know how to do any of this stuff so in our house I'm out with that part although even with all the muscle these two are packing and I mean wow that is a lot of muscle there's only so much two men can do against a tree rooted into the ground in our knows they need the power of a horse to assist their work but they're slaves they can't use the horses without permission and they can't get permission to take a horse because well they're slaves as this kind gentleman puts it to a free man a slave is no different from a horse or a cow they're livestock extra muscle to throw at a project have you ever seen a horse riding a horse outside of one of those conventions that's their place in this Society so it's an uphill battle to say the least inar is pretty frustrated by the way they're treated einar is an experienced farmer he knows how daunting of a task this is without the assistance of a horse thorpan on the other hand just accepts that this is how it is he tries to focus on what they can do without a horse it's like I said before thorphin is such a different person now where once he was this rude [ __ ] who wouldn't put up with anyone's [ __ ] he's now just so passive before dorfin had ashilad and his desire for Revenge to push him forward thorfin had motivation and that motivation gave him a sense of self-worth but Ashland is gone now and so is dolphin's motivation why should he care how long it takes to cultivate a farm whether he gets Freedom now or 10 years from now doesn't matter if he has nothing to do with that freedom einar chastises orphan for his lack of ambition he can't stand that thorphin just lets the farmhands push him around INR doesn't know about thorpan's history so he can't understand thorfin's current disposition I mean it's hard for me to accept knowing who thorfin once was barely knows the guy but all he sees is his complete and utter beta male luckily for the pair there is at least one person on the phone that respects them in their efforts after overhearing their conversation an old man working in the fields offers to give him a horse if they help him out for a bit this is zverkal he's cattle's father and like kettle he's a hard-working old man who personally works his own Fields despite his age zverko is a grumpy old man but he's a decent person inside unlike everyone else on the farm Sparkle doesn't care that thorfen and Aina are slaves technically he has no reason to give them a horse at all even if they do help him out but he said he would and so he does it becomes a continuing agreement Norfolk and INR do chores around zirkle's house and in return they get to use his horse for a bit which really expedites their efforts with Sparkle's help the pair are able to till their fields and plant seeds by fall through inar thorfen is beginning to understand how difficult farming is thorfun's kind of like any kid on Tick Tock who's never worked a proper job in their life and only knows funny dance or in thorfin's case funny stabby he's impressed by how their land is transformed and by little things like the Ingenuity of a plow all of this is new to thorpin who has spent most of his life on the battlefield and he feels Pride seeing what he and einar have done it's a really heartwarming thing to see thorfin and einar have grown pretty close partly because they're always around one another but also because INR is exposing to Orphan to a world he doesn't understand a world that doesn't revolve around hatred and violence but instead by kindness and growth thorfin slowly starts to come out of his shell he becomes more emotive he smiles and he's a bit bashful it's like the weight of everything he's been through is starting to fall off Forefront is finding new things to care about but can you really shed that weight so easily thorphin's nightmares haven't stopped every night he tosses and turns and screams in his sleep thorpin dreams that he's climbing up a cliff he doesn't know why he's doing it but he knows that no matter what he can't go back down if he falls back down he knows he can't climb back up suddenly Arms Reach Out From Below him and grab his legs they pull him back down and he falls suddenly he wakes up this time he can remember the dream but he can't understand what it means Thor friend knows there's something he needs to remember but he can't grasp it Aina tells dolphin that his shouting was a little more specific this time around in his sleep orphan was calling out Ashland's name thorfin opens up to einar about Ashland which is such a massive character moment for him for thorphin to open up to einar so as a level of trust not shown to anyone else in his life Thor friend tells inar about how he hated ashelat and wanted to kill him but someone else killed him first Aina realizes what we already knew that dorphin has lost his purpose and that's why he lacks any motivation that he has to find a way to move on because no good can come from hating a dead man but surprisingly thorfin concedes that he doesn't hate ashalad anymore after ashlav's death thorfin lost the will to hate the man in reality you'd be hard-pressed to convince me thorfin hated ashlat even long before his death thorfin hated Ashland because it's what he was supposed to do he felt a duty to hate the man that killed his father but he still risked his life to protect that same man ashlad was a Guiding Light for thorfin always giving him something to chase after he now that he's gone thorfin admits that he's empty he has no purpose no reason to push forward thorphin was defined by his anger without that anger he's a shell of a man overhearing their conversation as virkle tells lorphin that he's looking at it the wrong way thorfin views his emptiness as a curse something holding him back but it's the opposite if thorphin is empty then he can become whatever he wants he's been given a chance to be reborn and find a new purpose if thorfin wants to change and become more than his anger then this is the perfect state to be in but how does that old saying go old habits die hard some of cattle's farm hands the ones that are constantly putting down and berating thorfin and einar destroyed their fields they destroyed not only valuable crops that could become food they also destroyed months of hard work for no other reason than to put slaves in their place INR is enraged swearing that he'll kill them for this thorfin insists that einar calms down and that they can't retaliate which only makes einar angrier has stood by while thorfin took their abuse for so long but he can't understand how thorfen can be so calm how can he sit there and do nothing when the wheat day worked so hard to produce has been taken from them it's funny to see how thorfin reacts to this given the lengths we know he's gone to for revenge in the past but that's exactly what's holding it back in a moment of self-awareness dorphin recognizes that in the war between creators and destroyers thorphin has destroyed more than his fair share of farms and lives he believes he has no right to feel slighted thorfin tells INR that nothing good can come from Revenge and that they need to handle this the proper way which is a huge indication of thorphin's growth dorphin fully accepts that even if he had been the one to kill ashalab it wouldn't have made him feel better he knows how much time he wasted chasing an objective that would only destroy not create it's orphan and einar go to kettle's assistant and he assures them that there will be an investigation that the culprits will be held responsible cattle may be a slave owner but he treats his slaves with a lot more Humanity than one would expect he doesn't believe this kind of treatment is acceptable regardless of their place in the social hierarchy but for the time being it does little to ease inr's frustration which is unfortunate because right now the farm hands are in the path of that frustration face to face with the men that ruined his artwork INR refuses to back down and accuses them directly the men play dumb which only angers einar further thorfin tries to calm him down but it isn't working the farm hand tells einar not to be too upset after all wheat grown by men like them would taste as disgusting as the slaves that grew it foreign 's rage finally breaks out you can push him around and berate him as much as you want but einar is dorphin's first and only friend to suggest that the wheat einar worked so hard to create is somehow lesser compared to wheat grown by free men is too much for him to just roll over and accept especially when there are people out there who are desperate for farmed Goods like wheat thorfin snaps out of it and realizes what he's done INR on the other hand is fired up and Strikes Back at the other farmhands thorpan tries to stop him before he can make it worse but thorfin gets blindsided by a heavy hit and goes down far down thorfin wakes up in a pleasant field he's disoriented for a moment but feels immediate relief that everything he went through was just a nightmare seeing his father get killed fighting across countless battlefields his life is a Slave that's right it was all in his head whole [ __ ] thing you want to know why thorfin stands off mother protagonist huh do ya because the whole thing was fake none of it was real you people that actually would have thought it was all a dream thing I never thought I'd actually see it in practice hang on there's a lot of time left in this video that can't be right years ago thores gave his son a blade in order to defend himself it was for self-protection but now he smells blood suddenly hands reach out from the ground and grab at thorfen's legs thorpin cries out for help but thores doesn't give it he admits that he failed to teach his son how wrong his ass could be as the arms grabbed him as well thorus tells his son again that he has no enemies no one has enemies there was never anyone that dorphin should have hurt even if that person were to kill his father the ground breaks underneath thorf and as the arms pull him underground he falls down and down and Claws at the walls to slow his descent before managing to get a grip right before hitting the bottom what forfein sees down there scares him thorfin has fallen down to a place where men fight endlessly they battle one another fall down dead and get back up to keep fighting seeing this dolphin believes it has to be Valhalla until a voice calls out to him thorpan's former Mentor scoffs at the idea that what he's seeing is the afterlife astralad tells dorphin that this is the real world the ultimate state of warfare where no one wins or loses there's no reason to their battle no sense to it they fight endlessly with no goal in mind This Is What Becomes of those who live in violence on the battlefield that is the world everyone is your enemy thorfin used to be down there with them a man full of anger and hatred who lashed out at those he had no grudge against orphan took the lives of men he did not know for the simple reason that he was a warrior and that's what Warriors do but with Ashley's death thorfin had a chance to leave this place with ashlad gone thorpan had no reason to fight anymore ever thought about why thorfin doesn't have his father's dagger anymore the dagger he held on to for more than 12 years while he sought Revenge the last thing his father gave him is because when Ashland died thorfin dropped it he didn't need it anymore thorfin had no need for a tool of violence without a target for that violence and in that act thorfin learned the futility of living on the battlefield as Ashland's death did not bring him the PC sought the anger and hatred that defined thorpion were taken away all at once and so he lost who he was thorfin described himself as empty and this Emptiness is what allowed him to leave the world's Battlefield but here he is now about to fall back down because when another man did him wrong thorfin responded with that same anger and hatred a mountain of Undead clawed their way up to thorphin eager to drag him back down where he belongs initially he fights back until Ashland explains that every one of those corpses is someone thorphin killed hearing this thorphin stops fighting back he admits that he doesn't recognize them thorfin realizes something profound he didn't need to kill any one of them thorpin understands that he had no right to take their lives away and that not one of them wanted to die after leaving this place where death is so inconsequential thorfin finally recognizes the gravity of what he's done and the weight of a life taken [Music] but he can't give up here ashlod yells out to thorfin if he wants to atone then he has to climb he must carry the weight of all those he's killed and drag himself out of this battlefield dorphin couldn't understand it before but now he's ready this is his true battle a battle with himself to be better than he was a battle to atone for what he's done Ashland yells out to his student for the final time become a true warrior [Music] [Music] thorphin wakes up and finds einar knocked out nearby einar informs Thor from that they won the fight even if their field is destroyed their bodies broken and even if they have further punishment coming at least they won the fight but it doesn't make thorphin feel better it took a long time to get here but thorfin finally understands what it really means to hurt someone what it means to carry that weight on your back thorpin will carry that weight for the rest of his life there's nothing he can do to take back what he's done but he can avoid adding to it thorfin admits that lashing out with violence solves nothing orphan vows to never harm another person he's done with violence he's ready to make amends in whatever way he can and fight his true battle einar doesn't carry that same weight so he can't understand what dolphin is going through but for the first time since meeting dorphin INR can see something that's important to the man R sees a passion and motivation that he's never seen before so he agrees to join dorphin in this battle and be reborn alongside his friend [Music] do I even need to say it look how jacked they are hmm it's starting to make sense why so many of you think I'm gay after more than three years einar and thorfin have cut down every tree in the entire Forest they've tilled and planted multiple Fields they're closer than ever to being free men and there's such a change in thorphin rather than being the sad sap son of a [ __ ] we saw before he's so much happier now and that's not the only change orphan discuss what they're going to do when they're made free men Ard doesn't really know but surprisingly dorphin has an idea thorfin asks einar how he would feel about trying to eliminate Warfare and slavery from the world that's a huge thing to suggest but there's a fire in dorphin's eyes like never before that conversation could go further Kettle interrupts the two to congratulate them on their hard work he also restates his intention to make good on their agreement and make them free men and just look how happy they are it brings me so much joy to see thorpin more at peace than ever before over the years the boys have fallen into a pretty consistent rhythm in the morning they wake up to thorphins screaming in his sleep then einar Sims over our Nays they work their fields and help out old man's miracle they've grown pretty close to the old man and even eat with him some days alongside Virgo snake is also frequently at the house and has grown to know the lads as a reminder snake is the Guard Captain and the man that proved thorphin wanted to live like two hours ago snake and Virgo have an odd relationship snake sleeps in the old man's house pretty much all day long until it's time for him to go on patrol at night zverkal is always admonishing snake for lazing about all day and taking advantage of kettle at least that's how he sees it the two have a back and forth that is more akin to a father and son than an old man and his son his employee they care about one another ultimately even if neither one of them would ever admit it this relationship is made evident when Virgo collapses working his fields and snake is the first one to freak out about it the old man ends up bedridden while Arnez comes to take care of him Virgo's old as [ __ ] especially by 11th century standards it was bound to happen eventually especially since he insists on working his own Fields even at his age there's one last member of the kettle extended Universe I want to go over well one last for now anyway thorgil is kettle's eldest son and our fourth Thor character in this [ __ ] goofy ass Norse story you'll remember that kettle's youngest son Almar is a total [ __ ] poser he wants to become a great warrior but the dumbass hasn't even killed anybody yet kids like 20 by now and he hasn't killed even one person even I had a double-digit body count by then I've watched the life drain from the eyes of dozens of humans yet my Rampage will not stop you cannot bring me down man this will age poorly when I get caught you could not be more different from Omar he's a proper Warrior saving as one of King Harold's Thames basically the king's Elite guard allmar is set to inherit the farm because thorgil has already found a place for himself outside his father's influence even Kettle himself is meant to have been a great warrior at one point earning the nickname Iron Fist Kettle though you wouldn't believe it from his current disposition who knows maybe he realized the futility of it all like thorphin Thor Gill on the other hand is a proper Viking Warrior a lot like Thor Kell he Revels in the battlefield and believes that disrespect should be met with violence and he's right I'm coming after every single one of you that doesn't like the video Kettle pays a large sum of money and goods to King Herald in order to gain the king's favor and protection of his farm Kettle and his Lads travel to yelling in order to give their tribute to King Herald but they don't find the man they expect [Music] yeah how do I put this over the past four years Knute has gone sicko mode after Swain's death the English tried to Rebel believing they could overthrow canoe he squashed that rebellion and supplanted himself as the rightful King of England by assassinating the previous English king additionally Swain's territory was split between canoe and Herald just as he had predicted Knute became king of England and her all became king of Denmark but that's not the case anymore canoe became the official king of Denmark when his brother Harald died from disease a disease called excessive poison consumption so you might be wondering what exactly has knut done differently from his father his intention was to build a peaceful Paradise on Earth yet he seems to be doing the whole warmongering [ __ ] thing that's not an inaccurate way of looking at it but canoe has established some changes he no longer allows his soldiers to pillage and words that tend to follow pillage some people haven't taken kindly to that change and while he does utilize War to expand his power Knute also uses manipulation to find the path of least violence he uses intimidation to end battles before they even begin and the previously mentioned poisonings to take down rivals canoe does however Harbor some doubts over his own actions Swain warned canoe about the curse of the crown wherein those that wear the crown are controlled by its power not the other way around for canood that manifests in the form of seeing his father's severed head following him around and questioning his every move he knows that what he's seeing is only an illusion but he still argues with the King Swain's head almost as a way to vocalize his internal struggle after taking the Throne of Denmark knut runs into trouble financing his Vikings in England he needs a standing army on English soil in order to prevent a Revolt but keeping all those men fed and paid isn't cheap and knut needs a new Revenue source to that end a certain expanse of Farmland found itself within his crosshairs Knute isn't really the Knute we knew anymore you could say he's kind of like if canoed and ashlog combines into one person but lost all of Ashland's combat skills in the fusion Canute inherited Ashland's disdain for the Danish Warriors as well as his excellent strategic and manipulation skills so as soon as canoe decides on commandeering kettle's farm he goes into 4D chess mode planning out a timeline of moves his first Target is not Kettle himself but his dumbass son Omar okay this whole conspiracy gets a bit messy and it'll be boring if I go too in depth so we're gonna supplant some story beats for the sake of pacing Almar asked Knute to let him join the ranks of the king's Thane but Canute hits him with the lull no before fortnite dancing on the kid rumor spreads no doubt intentionally and some Warriors make fun of Omar for being just a complete Nutter [ __ ] up then they also fortnite dance on him Omar doesn't take too kindly to this treatment and attacks the men an act that thorgil Praises because thorgil hates fortnite Omar goes in for the kill motivated by his brother when the girl from a certain scientific rail done does that coin thing to distract Omar's opponent and finally you did it buddy you killed someone how does it feel to be a man feel some hair growing on your balls or is it just showing up on this terrible mustache you've got going on Thor girl jumps in and kills everyone else because he is genuinely [ __ ] crazy while Omar dissociates funny how extinguishing the life of another human doesn't always feel as good as you expect ha oh Mar thorgil calls an emergency meeting believing the whole thing is a bit sus it asks [ __ ] mine is so stupid sorio calls an emergency meeting believing the whole thing is a bit sus and asks why they let Omar win see this whole situation was part of canoot's plan the men that antagonized Omar were spurred on by one of knut's men that same man threw the coin that distracted his opponent so that all Mark could win that way Knute would have pretense to arrest kettle's whole family and seize their Farm see what I mean about canoe taking after astralad Kettle and his family managed to escape their arrest thanks to a helping hand from a certain someone Dr Robotnik Leaf the lucky man this guy just kind of appears doesn't he Leaf became acquainted with Kettle while Kettle was visiting knut's capital and through talking to Kettle learned that thorfin has become kettle's slave so now Leaf is assisting Kettle in escaping Knute in exchange for thorpin's freedom even after thorpan told Leaf off the last time they met Leafs doesn't give it up on bringing thorpin home what a what a good dude of course they haven't escaped just yet canoe leads one of the mightiest armies in the world all this does is give Knute the excuse he needed to invade their Farm meaning Knute and leaf are now headed for the same place thorphins current location back in home in utland things aren't going super smoothly all the Farm's guards are in high alert because a Slave at a nearby Farm escaped and killed his master and their entire family they have no reason to believe the slave would come and Target kettle's Farm but snake decides to increase patrols just in case but of course we wouldn't be talking about it if it wasn't relevant to the farm by some twist of fate the escaped slave's name is garter and before he was a slave he was rna's husband boy if that don't complicate things snake grabs rnas and attacks garter garter killed one of his men snake won't forgive that and anyway there's a bounty on the man's head so snake intends to capture him einar who's been observing the whole situation has a sudden change in disposition Darvin holds him back and asks to find our plans to attack snake einar loves arnes he wants her to be happy and upon finding out that garter is her husband einar intends to help her escape with the man but thorphin won't let in our resort to violence thorfin knows the horror having blood on your hands orphan won't let inar attack snake unless einar admits he's willing to carry that same weight I now realize he can't do it but feels hopeless to do anything else the difficult thing about avoiding violence in a world like this is that you're often left with few other options what are you supposed to do if you need to stop somebody from doing something wrong but you refuse to hurt them to do it garter is incredibly powerful but snake is faster he manages to take the man down snakes men tie garter up and take him away while thorfin einar and rnas look on hopelessly Arnez and garter once lived in Sweden together with their infant son Sheltie garter wasn't the Raging monster he is now who's a kind man who loved his family a fight broke out between neighboring Villages and garter went to battle believing it was for the sake of his family but they lost Arnez never saw garter again arnay's son Hilti was taken from her and she was sold into slavery like einar and thorphin and many many others rna's life was torn apart by Warfare and slavery even back then Arne's questioned why garter would go away to war rather than staying by his family's side to protect them basically it's just another example of a woman not understanding a man's desire to play with swords that's a joke by the way you can play with swords if you want to ladies you can play with Mysore rnas never knew if garter was alive until today but he wasn't the guarder she knew he's a monster fueled by rage where once garter left to protect their family his return now threatens rna's family see arnaze is special as far as slaves go unlike in our and thorphin she doesn't have a way to earn her freedom that's because to Kettle rnas is much more than a Slave cattle is a married man but he's also wealthy if you are a wealthy man in Viking times then monogamy was really more of a suggestion Kettle loves Arnez he feels she's the only one who truly understands and accepts him for who he is he admits to her that contrary to his reputation as Iron Fist Kettle he's afraid of war and violence it's all a lie nothing more than a rumor that he uses to assume power rnas accepts this side of kettle because of her own experience with war also they're [ __ ] I don't know if these panels made that clear enough now when garter is returned Arnez is pregnant with kettle's child and she's determined to protect that child even from him she's determined to make sure her child can grow up safe and healthy a chance that her first child healthy never got at least that's what she says sometimes what the head knows can't sway what the heart wants rnas begs snake to at least let her treat garter's wound snake refuses but one of his men is more easily swayed because he's horny and stupid just like me to her surprise Gardner apologizes to rnas he swears that he'll never leave her and healthy again and begs for her forgiveness it's all too much for arnezza to handle this whole time she's never stopped loving garter but she also thought he was a fool for leaving them only for her to find out Gardner knows he was wrong and wants to start over but the damage is already done healthy isn't coming back and neither is Garner [Music] garter attacks his guard and yells for rnas to cut him free she's faced with a tough choice save the man she loves or give him up as lost sometimes what the head knows can't sway what the heart wants garter killed all of snakes guards and now snake Wants Revenge violence begets more violence and a never-ending cycle one of the most fascinating characters in this whole situation who hasn't had a spotlight put on him yet is einar we are well aware that einar detests war and warriors but he's also kind of a hypocrite when the farmhands destroyed his Fields Aina reacted with the same violence he admonished when snake was keeping rnas from garter all einar could think to do was attack snake to give them a chance to escape for all his talk einar resorts to violence when he doesn't know what else to do he knows it's wrong but einar isn't the kind of man to stand idly by and do nothing INR wants to help arnaze in any way he can but he doesn't know how einar asks thorphin if he was serious when he talked about ridding the world of war and slavery he asks thorphin how they would pull that off thorfin has had three years since renouncing violence to consider the nature of war and those that wage it and he's come to a few Revelations slavery exists because of war the losing side becomes enslaved if there was no War slavery might not disappear but there would be fewer slaves unfortunately this is Viking controlled Denmark war is what makes a man in their culture war is not seen as a bad thing but a thing to Aspire to the man with the most respect are the men that distinguish themselves at War you can't just put a stop to something that is so ingrained in a people's identity what thorfin does know is that it's no longer enough to just renounce violence thorfin admits to einar that every night he dreams of the Dead he sees the people he killed and they curse him for what he's done thorfin knows he must carry their weight but he admits that he couldn't bear the weight of a single other death this weight is already more than he can handle so over the past three years he's questioned what he could do to earn their forgiveness and he's come to a possible solution it's not enough to give up violence swearing to never kill again doesn't absolve you of all the people you've already killed you can't destroy a wheat field and simply promise to never do it again and expect that to make up for it instead you must plant more weed than you ever destroyed build more homes than you ever burned thorfin is beginning to figure out his life's Mission he wants to build a community that doesn't need swords a place where those that can't fit in this world of war and slavery can find their place a place where those he's killed can find their resting place einar is stunned but he questions how thorphin can protect a place like that if people came there with swords how could he stop them from destroying that place thorpin doesn't have an answer which means he still has ways to go to rough out all the details but this is what I love about thorphin and why I wanted to make this video in chapter one of one piece Luffy announces that he wants to be the pirate king in chapter one of Naruto Naruto knows that he wants to be Hokage thorphin is nothing like these two or many other manga protagonists I said it time and time again in the beginning but thorphin hardly was a protagonist for a long time because for a very long time thorfin didn't know what he wanted he didn't have ideals or values that form the basis of his desires he didn't have a strong passion that motivated his actions dolphin was fueled purely by anger and hatred and when that was taken away he became aimless after that it has taken a long time for him to process everything he's been through and find his own values and his own beliefs and by a long time I mean we're now 83 chapters in this story and he still doesn't have all the answers thorfin is us he's you and he's me and he's every human that has ever lived what we value and believe is based on our past experiences experiences that take decades to form and come to terms with yet those experiences are exactly what led in Credence to thorfin's actions we as viewers understand why thorfin now hates violence because we watched what violence turned him into we saw that hate-filled monster as he raged across the battlefield so when thorphin says he feels the weight of all those he's killed on his back we as viewers know exactly where that weight came from then we watched as dorphin met einar and arnaze two people whose lives were destroyed by war war that thorfin contributed to if the men that destroyed einar's Village simply quit War one day it wouldn't bring his family back if the men that took Hilti from rnas decided to play fortnite instead hyalti wouldn't suddenly be back in her arms what was taken can never be returned so thorphin learned that he needed to build more than he ever destroyed he just doesn't know how to do it yet but he's getting there and when he figures it out we'll know how he got there that's what makes thorfin special the other issue is the one that einar is wrestling with what can thorfin do in a situation where violence seems to be the only solution that's another question that thorpin has yet to answer and it should go without saying that his lack of solution is about to create problems for him INR and thorfin learn of garter's escape and rushed his Virgo's house to protect arnaze only to find out she's the one that helped Gardner Escape in the first place rnas confides in the pair that garter was injured during his escape and she's now hiding him somewhere in verkle's house right underneath snake's nose it was virkle's idea to hide garter there he knows how important garter is to Arnez and wants to help her out in return for taking care of him einar and thorfin decide they have to help arnays escape with Garner it's the right thing to do for their friend even if it means going against Kettle and snake einar disguises himself as garter in order to lure away snake in his men while thorfein and rnas move garter rnas hid garter underneath circle's bed but he's badly injured he needs treatment fast en loads garter onto a cart and plans to have arnaze escape with him but they underestimated snake's intuition snake figured out there was something up with the Garter they were chasing and turned back to see what was up he discerns what's going on and tells dorphin to hand over garter and there's something I really love about this whole situation let me ask you this who's in the right here will you side with the slaves because they're deserving of their human rights of freedom and rna's right to go with garter or do you side with snake who is both Prosecuting a murderer and getting revenge for his Fallen men there's a compelling a reason to agree with either side but ultimately there is no right or wrong here it's just not that simple who you agree with comes down to your own definition of morality and what you consider important this is the ultimate test of thorphin and his Newfound aversion to violence snake is hell-bent on getting garter back and he's willing to hurt thorphin to accomplish that task all forfeit can think to do is subdue snake to buy time which goes against his vow to not harm another person he's at risk of falling back down to that Battlefield he has only barely escaped and he knows it dolphin hears ashlad's voice in his ear telling them that what he's doing is okay because it's for a good reason yet also pointing out that snake believes he's in the right as well ashlat is telling thorpin that he needs to decide whether it's right or wrong for him to fight which decision is the right choice for a true warrior to make I really like scenes like this a narrative advice that yukimura uses a lot is characters having visions or dialogue with people who aren't there knut speaking to his father's head thorphin seeing the dead in his dreams and now ashilad being the proverbial angel and devil on thorphan's shoulder what I love is that these scenes are always treated as something tangible and important for the characters involved in them Knute speaking to his father's head could be seen as a delusion on the part of an overworked King but in reality what we're seeing is knut's internal struggle given form the Swain that Knute sees isn't based on the real King swing it's based on how Canute viewed Swain Knute saw his father as a war-mongering old fool so when canoe doubts himself he debates whether or not his father would do the same by literally talking to the man himself if knut feels that he wins that debate he feels justified in his actions similarly thorphin seeing the dead is more than just a dream in his eyes for him it's very much real he feels the dead hanging on to him and watching his every move seeing those heard in the past helped thorfen form ideals and make decisions because he can't write it off as just a vision there as real as he is in his own mind Ashland was dorphin's Mentor Ashley directed thorphan's actions and taught him many lessons throughout his life so now when thorfin is unsure of himself he turns to Ashland for reassurance dorphin is asking himself what ashlad would say in this situation and making his decision based on that response he hears Ashland's voice in his ear and Ashland's hand on his shoulder pushing him to make a choice a choice the thorphin hopes ashelad would agree with [Music] [Applause] orphan doesn't want to hurt Snape he doesn't want to hurt anyone but he's decided this is the only way to protect garter on arnas at the very least girlfriend is breaking his vow of non-violence for the sake of another instead of a personal gain but does that make it right what about the people garter killed does fighting snake help those people too snake and thorphin are fairly evenly matched snake can't get a good cut on thorfin but neither can thorfin get a good strike on snake thorfin slips up and lets snake get close to garter rnas begs snake to let garter go but snake rightly points out that garter's life is not worth more than that of the men he killed snake believes that garter should atone with his own life and plunges his sword deep into garter's chest Arnez speaks up and tells her husband they need to leave and go get their son healthy which calms the man Garden rnas leave on the cart while thorf intends to snake rnas Allied to garter she knows healthy is gone but she also knows garter doesn't have much longer garter talks to Arnez about when he was young he reminisces about how young men always want to go off to war but he tells arnaze he won't let Hilti become a Viking Garder learned the horrors of war and doesn't want his son to experience such things he learned his lesson from his mistake garter collapses he promises Arnez that he'll never leave her again before breathing is last breath dirty [ __ ] liar this was a test for thorfin a test of his resolved to never harm another person again one that he failed he knows that did the only thing he could think of but he knows it was the wrong choice he's decided that what he did was not the path a true warrior should walk in our defends thorphins saying there are times when you have no choice but to fight it's the same defense Ashland gave thorfen to justify his actions but thorfin disagrees thorfin blames himself for Gardner's death he believes there must have been a way to save Garder without hurting snake but by choosing violence he cut off that option by attacking snake there were only two outcomes one where garter dies or snake gets hurt there was a first Resort option that he failed to find violence should have been the last resort there's never a justifiable reason to hurt another no one deserves to be hurt if thorphin wants to walk the path of a true warrior he can't ever use that last resort again this is what I love about thorfin he's still figuring it out making mistakes forming his ideals let's try applying this philosophy to past experiences in thorfin's life when dorfin's father thorus died Thor's told ashlad he needed a sword because he wasn't perfect thorus took that last resort of violence because like thorphan now he couldn't figure out the first Resort that would save everyone's Vibe without hurting anyone the moment Thor's hit one of Ashland's men that first Resort became impossible when ashlab died he was given a choice knut or Wales he could either give up the country that he loves or kill the man he sought after his whole life the only thing he could think to do in order to protect both knut and Wales was to kill Swain where he stood and sacrifice his own life the moment ashlot drew his sword he closed off the option to protect them both without hurting anyone ashlab wasn't interested in looking for that first Resort that didn't require violence but that doesn't mean it didn't exist if he had found a way to get what he wanted without hurting anyone a lot of pain could have been avoided Thor's and ashlab were not true Warriors and thorvan understands now that the choices they made were wrong because they hurt people that didn't deserve it because no one deserves to be hurt girlfriend failed like they did but this won't be his last chance to fix his mistakes and walk the path of a true warrior soon after that whole ordeal Kettle and his family arrive home aboard Leaf ship after losing favor with King knut there's an Army on their way to take cattle's farm and cattle is not taking it well so when he finds out that rnas the woman he loves and confides in tried to escape he [Music] reacts poorly cattle beats arnaze to near death not even caring that she's pregnant with his own child kettle's overwhelmed by how wrong everything is going his one's perfect life is now falling apart but he's not going to sit by and let it happen he punishes our names so shall know to never cross him again and where once Kettle shied away from violence he's now more than ready to go to war with Knute basically Kettle has entered his Joker Arc nothing can hurt me anymore my life is nothing but a comedy [Music] Leaf met up with einar and thorfin after rna's assault Leaf wants to take thorphin back to Iceland to see his family but thorphin doesn't feel like they can leave without arnaze and she's too injured to travel they know they need to move before the farm is overtaken by War but it's just not an option right now imagine how Leaf is feeling right now 16 years ago he lost that bright-eyed excited little kid then four years ago the last time he saw a Thor friend he was stabbing someone now he finds a dolphin that is more concerned about the life and safety of those around him than he is about himself thorfin's moral compass shifts so much it surprised the damn thing ain't broken Leaf is so proud of the manthorphin has become endorphin feels glad knowing has been able to change for the better orphan tells leave to leave before the fighting Begins for his own safety but Leaf won't leave without thorfin they don't have a long time to wait though Canute is coming Kettle has rallied a decent-sized army from people that work for him or owe him money in classic Norris fashion none of them are afraid to go into battle to protect their land especially when they know they're following a legend like Iron Fist cattle into battle and it's it's definitely him guys he's definitely iron for his Kettle it's not a totally different guy who's a total [ __ ] except when he's beating women he owns or something like that cattle's number is actually far exit knuts at nearly three to one but that doesn't mean they have a good chance kettle's men are farmers and security guards Knute has his own personal fans and the yams Viking some of the most accomplished Warriors in the Danish Empire before their boats even reach land cattle's forces are at a disadvantage but only men like snake and thorgil who have been on a battlefield really know it sure enough knut's men completely overwhelm kettle's Army I've covered a couple of series that use a lot of Gore and there are directions such as berserk and Chainsaw man it's a stylistic choice and one that I am a bit of a fan of I won't lie seeing Limbs and intestines flying out can lend a lot of weight to how powerful a character is or how brutally someone was injured but it's not often I see Gore used for a narrative purpose like in Vinland Saga this battle is brutal seeing an arm get caught off as one thing but seeing the man who lost that arm cry and scream in pain while his opponent laughs is another thing entirely Vinland Saga is a story that wants to tell you that violence is wrong and the way that yukimura depicts that violence suits The Narrative perfectly it's not some glorious thing not something super cool and idealized it's raw and harsh it's painful and it leaves an impact scars are not just a way to make a character look cooler or more experienced scars are meant to show the effect violence can have throughout their battles dorphin took two of thorkel's fingers left a nasty scar in his hand and got one of his eyes thorfin didn't even hold a grudge against thorkel he mostly fought the man on Ashley's orders yet he ended up permanently crippling thorkel Knute King of the Vikings once held such beauty that he was mistaken for a goddess yet now his perfect face is blemished he wears a scar that proves he's human and it came from the one act of true violence he ever experienced even thorfin himself is covered in Battle Scars From a lifetime as a warrior that cut thorf and sustained fighting snake will never heal properly he will wear it for the rest of his life as a symbol of how violence was the wrong choice to make because every act of violence has the potential to permanently change someone every decision to hurt another will leave a lasting impact every single one dolphin's group decides to leave the farm before the battle can reach them but arnaze isn't in any condition or travel she briefly wakes up as they start to move she asks where they're going and leaf explains that they'll be traveling to Iceland Arnez asks if Iceland has slaves and if there have been Wars and leaf admits that Iceland has both those things this is all rnas needs to hear she tells them she won't go she's going to a different place now where garter and our children are waiting for her einar begs Arnez not to go he tells her he loves her that she has to live on for her baby's sake knows her baby is already gone arnaze reflects on how all of her loved ones have died that her entire life has been full of pain she asks einar why she has to keep on living what would she gain by continuing to fight in such a dreadful world the same question thorphin once asked RNA slips out of Consciousness as thorfin and einar try desperately to bring her back but they're too late orphan stops to think about the pain this woman has lived through a pain he knows all too well a pain brought on by a world ruled by violence and he remembers something his father once said far to the west across the sea there is a place called Vinland it's a warm and fertile land free from slavery and War he tells Arnez she can live there without feeling that pain he asks Arnez to go there with them where they'll create a country of peace of course he's only offering peace to rna's Soul she's already gone the battle on the farm came to an end as kettle's men retreated Kettle himself was injured but not killed on the battlefield seeing kettle's face after watching the woman he loved pass away einar snaps he swears to kill the man that took rna's Life as a rage like no other takes over forfeit tries to stop einar by telling him killing Kettle won't solve anything but einar won't listen to reason thorfin warns einar that he'll be cursed if he goes through with this but he can't just stand by and watch someone he cares about make the same mistake laughs there's a reason I've constantly referred to it as an endless cycle of violence Thor has killed dozens if not hundreds of men during his time as a yams Viking eventually that pass came back to haunt him and Thor's was killed by Ashland that death led to a deep anger and hatred being born in a thorphin who spent 12 years killing dozens more just to get back at the one man that took someone precious from him see the horrible irony that thorfin failed to realize for so many years is that he is the exact same monster he hated how many sons Brothers husbands and fathers did thorphan take in order to get his revenge on Ashland Undead the same way thorphan wanted ashalab Dead Ashland was not the first in this cycle but he was hardly the last either every act of violence has the potential to permanently change someone every decision to hurt another will leave a lasting impact thorfin killing so many men did not bring his father back it only sowed the seeds of further violence ashlad's death did not bring Thor's back it only left thorfin empty and incomplete Kettle took the woman einar loved yet killing Kettle will not bring her back it will not make him feel better it will only leave him cursed and empty thorphin won't let his first friend and brother bear the same curse he carries [Music] when Arnez asked why she had to keep going on living thorpin didn't have an answer for her after rna's lost everything she lived for she had no reason to go on thorfin couldn't answer our Nays because he still had nothing to offer those he has killed in order to walk the path of a true warrior girlfriend knows he needs to give the debt he carries a reason to forgive him he needs to offer them more than he ever took and now for our Nays he needs to build something for those that have nothing to those people who are better off dying than they are living on in a world that persecutes them girlfriend wants to offer them a place to be long a place free of war and slavery for rna's sake and for the people left dead in the wake of dolphin's anger thorfin and einar will build that place in Vinland [Music] years thorphin finally knows what he wants and he knows how to get it if he can't protect a land of Peace in a world surrounded by violence then he'll build a new world where peace is status quo where swords and slaves have no place yet at the same time now that thorfin has found his purpose he knows he can't just abandon a land of doomed to war doing that would be like ignoring the cycle of violence knowing it would one day find its way to you one of ashlad's mini lessons finally makes sense to thorfin nothing will change until someone takes matters into their own hands thorfin goes to the king's encampment and requests to speak to canoe canute's thanes refused to let him through saying they'll only negotiate with kettle's family directly but dorphin is persistent and refuses to leave in response the man attacks Norfolk to try to scare him off however instead of striking back thorfin Dodges the man's hits and continues to politely ask to speak to Canute this is another test of thorphin's resolve just like with snake before dorphin knows he can't use that last resort of violence yet all these men want to do is fight he needs to find a way to get through to them without hurting them off to the side thorfin notices that the men are taking bets on how many hits it will take until thorphan gets knocked out seeing this girlfriend asks if he can bet on himself if you can take more hits than the highest bet he wants to talk to Knute the men accept and tell thorf and he has to withstand a whopping 100 hits if he wants to talk to the king and orphan accepts the true battle begins [Music] long ago when dorphin was still a boy a young man asked thorus to tell him about the battlefield rather than regaling a lad with stories of heroic victories on the field of battle thorus told him about when his first child was born he told the boy that when his daughter was born his wife yelled at him to give her a name Thor is named his child yilva and ever since that day Thor's feared the battlefield before that Thor's was a Viking Warrior like any other he respected strength and made his name on the battlefield it didn't matter if he died on the battlefield in fact that would be preferred if he wanted to go to Valhalla Thor's like any other Warrior was living to die they battle day in and day out in search for the battle that will end their lives that changed when yova was born suddenly thorves wasn't living only for himself Thor's fell in battle who would be there to protect yova to raise her into adulthood thores came to understand the value of his own life and through that knowledge he came to understand the value of every life he had ever taken every person he had ever killed had someone waiting at home for them not one of them wanted to die not one of them deserved to be hurt he held no grudge against any of them they had never done anything to him not one person Thor's had ever killed was his enemy what does it mean to be a true warrior as a true warrior one who was accomplished on the battlefield one who holds strength unparalleled one who would take the life of someone who doesn't deserve it no a true warrior understands the value of a single life the weight of a human the gravity of their death a true warrior does not fight on the battlefield a true warrior needs no sword because a true warrior fights a battle within their own heart a battle to be better than they were a true warrior fights for a purpose beyond their own Glory they strive to build more than they could ever take knuts had Thane asks thorpin why he didn't fight back why didn't he prove himself by defeating the King's Men dorfin responds by questioning what kind of person negotiates for Peace by creating War he only met them today he holds no grudge against them why must they shed blood when it is Kettle and canoed who are fighting why can't they find a compromise on their own dorphin just met them today they are not his enemies thorphin has no enemies [Music] thorphin spent his life on the battlefield trying to avenge his father he took the lives of more men than he can count yet it did not ease his pain he did not ease his anger the death of his enemy turned Mentor left him feeling empty and dorphin realized the gravity of the mistakes he made he came to understand the value of a single life and the weight of a single death thorfin fought a battle within himself to come to terms with what he'd done and to find a way to make up for it thorfin found a purpose bigger than himself a purpose to build more than he ever took thorphin is a true warrior [Music] [Music] buffing cleared their challenge and gets a chance to speak to King knut [Music] seeing canoe for the first time in four years the first thing girlfriend does is apologize for scarring knute's face canoe's taken aback and they both acknowledge that they've changed in the past four years dorfin has become more gentle and passive and Knute wears the face of a man with power thorphin asks canoe to give up on taking cattle's Farm but canoe refuses he tells dorphin that what he's doing is simply revenge for the lives kettle's family took but INR isn't buying it inrc's right through knut for the man he really is he accuses Knute of setting up the whole thing as an excuse to steal kettle's land R tells canoe that he wants Farmland so badly he should till them with his own two hands that way he'll understand how painful it is to have that taken from you the meeting of these three characters could be seen as an argument between all of the people that are affected by War Nar is the civilian that suffers from war thorfin is the warrior that thrives off of war and Canute is the king that has something to gain from war Knute can stand up tall and say that his battle is just because he never has to face men like INR who lost so much to war and men like thorphin that I've realized nothing is truly gained by battle his promise to build a paradise on Earth for those who suffer outside of God's love he asks the king of the Vikings whether or not he still wants to do that it's an appropriate question for a man like thorphin who's become a true warrior to ask mankind cannot exist within God's love because mankind cannot exist within the natural cycle by gaining the knowledge that they could take more for themselves man lost the ability to live off of only what they need yet here stands thorphin a man who took so much yet now desires to create more than he ever took a true warrior is one who is closer to love than any other human because they've lost the desire to take more than they need rather than answering the question directly canoe tells the pair he is the Emperor of all Vikings the strongest Viking in the world he rules over the largest territory in the north and commands a million men he has the power to make the impossible possible canoe points to the Sea and tells them that with his power he can even calm the waves then he shouts out to the Sea and commands the waves to be still but the waves don't stop despite all the land he controls all the men He commands Knute is still just one human he does not have the power to sway the natural cycle only God has that kind of power yet that same God cast men out from the natural cycle building Paradise on Earth means defying God rebelling against God as the emperor of the Vikings knut intends to direct their power to build his paradise because without him they will wage war aimlessly canoe will save the Vikings He commands by ensuring their battle is just and that they fight with a purpose he has to because one man alone cannot fight God once again einar isn't buying it if knut wants to say the Vikings then who will say the people that end up dead because of his decisions though they may seem worlds apart thorphin and einar's Mission to build a peaceful land is not that far removed from knut's mission to build Paradise on Earth the difference is in how they go about doing it knud's approach is one where the ends justify the means the death of a few is okay as long as it builds Paradise for the many while thorphan's approach is one where the ends are just as important as the means you can't build a land of Peace if you wage war to do it just like with thorphin and snake's Duel who you believe to be right depends on your own definition of right at the end of the day they both want the same thing dorphin asks Canute again to leave the farm and Canute refuses Knute asks thorfin what he'll do to stop him because Knute won't stop until he's dead the only way dorphin can stop Canute is to use that last resort of violence and base with that option thorfin gives in he tells Knute that he'll run from him in his violent ways thorfin acknowledges that what canoe does is right by his own definition and so it's not Dolphin's place to criticize it yet he can't agree with it either so dorphin will run and in response all Knute can do is laugh [Music] Canute is struck by the absurdity of a peace negotiation where one side would just give up when they don't get what they want yet he's impressed by it too thorfin is not the man he once knew he's not the violent arrogant [ __ ] he used to be he's a man that defies all the Norms of a Viking man in canoe respects him for that canoe tells dorphin that his territory will continue to expand he asks what thorpin will do if he catches up one day thorfin responds that as long as he has a place to run he won't fight Canute he'll go beyond canoe's Kingdom and build a land of peace a land for people who can't live in knut's world a place for thorphin and a place for Knute who once hated War the way thorphan does now finally thorfin asks for knut's help if knud continues to wage war the way he does now more and more people will suffer and run from him the way thorfin is doing now Thor from tells canoot to get to work building his paradise instead of making thorfin's job harder and once again Knute laughs at him [Music] canoe withdraws from cattle's Farm he decides he needs to rethink his strategy and find a new way to accomplish his goals he doesn't want to make thorfen's job harder canoe reflects that he thought he was alone in his fight to build Paradise but now he knows girlfriend and Aina are out there too fighting for the same goal by different means he feels at peace with that knowledge until now canoe was doing exactly what Swain said he would canoe was controlled by the crown no matter how he tried to justify his actions yet in meeting thorphin again Knute was reminded that there is a way to build his paradise without using Force thorphin saved Canute from becoming another King's win this was the ultimate test of thorpan's resolve the ultimate battle at the end of a long journey this is what thorfin's first and Only Resort looks like and he won he convinced knut to surrender without using violence he took one hell of a beating but he won because thorphin has become a true warrior I titled this video why thorphin stands out from other protagonists and knowing that some people might question why I went into so much detail with characters like knut and Ashland that's because I lied this video isn't about why thorphin stands out it's about why Vinland Saga stands out Saga gets its name from the Norse Vinland sagas which tell the stories of voyages to Finland thorphin is based on thorf and Carl cefni one of the men who would attempt to settle Vinland the name Carl Stephanie is not a family name it's a title there's no direct translation but it means one who's expected to do great things Carl Stephanie lived up to that name through the mark he left on History yet there's very little that is known about his life before the events of the Finland sagas because we live in a time period after the events within the Finland sagas we already know how Thor from the story ends both the real-life dolphin and the manga thorphin so I would argue that we can't read Finland Saga like we would read other manga series winland Saga does not have a beginning middle and end like other stories do it's an Ever evolving recounting of events we're seeing history on a much more personal level Through The Eyes of the people that lived in those times Vinland Saga is not the story of thorf unsettling Finland it's a biography of how he became the man that would settle Finland that's why thorphin lacks direction for so long that's why Finland Saga has nothing to do with settling Finland until 99 chapters into the story and thorfin's not the only one canoe is based on the real life Knute the great thought to be one of the most effective Kings in Anglo-Saxon history knuth the great was able to unify not only England and Denmark but also Scotland Wales Norway and part of Sweden before his death Knute was the most powerful ruler in Western Europe bested only by the Roman Empire and once again Finland Saga attempts to answer the question of how he became the man who would rule over such a vast territory knut's attempt to stop the waves on the manga is actually based on the most popular story of Knute the Great's Legacy of course it goes a bit differently in reality when he was at the height of his ascendancy he ordered his chair to be placed on the seashore as the tide was coming in then he said to the rising tide you are subject to me as the land on which I am sitting is mine and no one has resisted my Overlord ship with impunity I command you therefore not to rise on my land nor to presume to wet the clothing or limbs of your master but the sea came up as usual disrespectfully drenched the king's feet and shins so jumping back the king cried let all the world know that the power of Kings is empty and worthless and there is no King worthy of the name save him by whose will Heaven Earth and the Sea obey Eternal laws the hymn that Knute the great referred to was of course God just like knut and the manga Knute the great was a deeply religious man who made many decisions based on his faith and propped up the Catholic Church as the belief swept across Europe this is what I find so special about Finland Saga despite how long it took to get here this is still just the beginning of thorfen and knute's stories they still have so much to do and such a legacy to leave yet because of how much time we spent learning where they got their motivation their actions are given more weight and legitimacy yukimura could have started Midland Saga with dorphin you know sailing to Finland but we wouldn't understand why he was doing that we wouldn't understand as a version to violence or why he wants to settle Vinland in the first place so instead we watched thorphan create a mountain of bodies we watched him toil as a slave we watched him come to terms with his mistakes and find a new way to move forward when thorphin tells us violence is wrong we understand why he's saying that because we saw what violence did to him and those around him when canoe tells us he's going to rebel against God we understand where that comes from because we watched him lose his faith Finland Saga stands out from other manga because how incredibly real these characters are they are humans written with human struggles and human beliefs they make mistakes they lose their faith they struggle to find their way yet eventually through all that hardship they find their purpose and when they do you know exactly where it came from just like if you look back at your own life you'd understand how you came to be the person that you are ultimately we as viewers have the benefit of living in the future long after these events we already know how thorfen and canoe's stories end they end in failure War would eventually find its way to Finland and knut's North Sea Empire would eventually fall but that doesn't matter everything comes to an end someday Empires fall and Wars end so it doesn't matter if thorfen and knut's Legacy eventually dies because villain Saga isn't about that Vinland Saga is about how those legacies were built and it accomplishes that goal remarkably well the Manga Entertainment medium is dominated by stories depicting violent characters attaining their goals through violent means villain Saga by contrast wants us to believe that violence is foolish and accomplishes nothing it sounds like an impossible task yet somehow Against All Odds Makoto yukimura wrote a character that breaks free from the endless cycle of violence endorphin does so in a way that is so believable that you just can't help but side with him foreign [Music] holy crap that was a long video thank you so much for watching all of it I really appreciate it I worked very hard on this video and I hope you enjoyed it uh and thank you so much for watching all the way to this point uh I want to give a massive shout out to all of my patrons over on the captain Mac patreon especially my gamertier Patron Lucy Ray gear and all my sim tier patrons marzak belgara Bill Nye The Bounty guy David D Skippy ramu nerd and Jimmy B uh remember the patreon is only five bucks a month you get access to all kinds of behind the scenes content and it is the best way to support me in what I do and I really appreciate all of them they make this much easier especially in terms of being able to afford things that I wouldn't otherwise be able to join the Discord which is in the description if you want to chat with me and a lot of other people in the community we have a great community of people who are super into manga and by the way I do live stream no longer on Twitch I've said on the past that I stream on Twitch I'm not on Twitch anymore I stream right here on YouTube so stop by the stream sometimes if you want to talk if you want to hang out if you see that I'm streaming come say hello or don't I can't tell you what to do but it would really be sweet of you and thank you all of you for being so patient with me taking so goddamn long to make videos uh I want you to know that I am always working on something even the videos take a long time to come out it's just because they take a long time to make I am sorry that it takes me so long to make videos but I think you guys generally are of the opinion that quality over quantity and so I think you guys understand that my videos just take a long time to make and uh but I appreciate it nonetheless that you do wait so long and uh I'll try I'll try to get videos out faster it really depends on how long they are if we end up with more three-hour monsters then yeah it's gonna take a few months but I'll do my best so uh thank you guys as always I really appreciate it um I hope you enjoyed the video let me know in the comments what you think check out the patreon if you want to throw your boys some support make sure to like the video and I'll see you in six to eight months [Music] thank you

Channel: Captain Mack

Views: 641,364

Keywords: captain, mack, manga, anime, video, essay, deep, dive, analysis, vinland, saga, thorfinn, einar, thors, canute, cnut the great, thorfinn karlsefni, lief, erikson, leif, makoto, yukimura, 2023, winter, mappa, askeladd, sweyn, history, viking, england, denmark, nordic, nords, north, sea, empire

Id: 95Wqq4vOLPM

Length: 181min 45sec (10905 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 02 2023