FEATURE: Compassion Is What Makes a True Warrior in Vinland Saga

 

Across the season and a half of VINLAND SAGA that’s aired so far, characters have often mused about what it means to be a “true warrior.” As a child, Thorfinn thought it meant fighting and killing his enemies (whoever they might be). As a teenager, he thought it meant avenging his father. Now, Thorfinn is focused on a different battle: the battle to be a better person. It’s not a fight most of his old comrades would understand or respect, but it’s one worth fighting, one that Thors left the battlefield to fight.

 

To understand precisely what Thorfinn meant, it’s best to start by looking at Thors. Though he died early in the series, Thors’ words and actions have been hanging over everything that’s happened since. Thors is strong enough to punch out Thorkell (a monstrous warrior in his own right), defeat a ship full of Askeladd’s men, and overwhelm Askeladd himself in single combat. He’s also the kind of man who’d happily pay an exorbitant price to allow a slave he just met to die in peace and refuse to kill anyone, even in the heat of battle. In Vinland Saga’s time and place, that attitude is striking.

 

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Medieval Europe, particularly the Viking cultures featured in Vinland Saga, was very much a world of “might makes right.” The Vikings are strong, so they raid England and take what they want. All of the cruelty we see, the raids, the slavery, the murders, are done with a very matter-of-fact attitude. If you asked, say, the people who attacked Einar’s village what gave them the right to do that, they’d probably respond that they did it because they wanted to and they could. Things like honor and status come from showing off personal strength and taking as much as you can from others.

 

 

People who live in that kind of world would look down on a man who refuses to fight or take from others. To them, that kind of attitude would seem like cowardice and weakness. What the other warriors in Vinland Saga don’t understand is how much resolve it takes to buck the world around you and declare that you’re going to live according to what you believe is right, not what other people say you should do.

 

We see this conflict in the second season with Ketil and Olmar. When Olmar’s struggling to prove his toughness, Fox and Badger encourage him to kill a slave since, in their eyes, killing someone is what makes a “man.” Olmar doesn’t seem particularly eager to kill anyone but goes along with it anyway because he wants to prove himself to the mercenaries, only stopping when Snake intervenes.

 

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Ketil, on the other hand, wants to make an effort to do the right thing but never takes a real stand. He lets his slaves earn their freedom and treats them well, but still owns slaves. He wants to show the young thieves mercy, but caves to pressure from the people around him to beat them. Snake and Thorgill pressure him to punish the thieves because showing them mercy would be looked at as weakness, but that begs a question: What takes more strength, beating two helpless children who only stole because they needed food to live, or choosing kindness while knowing others would look on you with contempt? It’s easy to imagine Thors, if put in that situation, doing the exact opposite, showing kindness and mercy because he knows it’s the right thing to do.

 

That brings us back to Thorfinn. It’s fitting that he talks to Thors in his dream because the ghost of Thors and his ideals hangs over all of VINLAND SAGA. Thorfinn’s new resolve on waking up is to live his life as a better person, to find things worth living for away from the battlefield that dominated his youth. The conclusion of his dream tells it best: Thorfinn climbing out of a pit of warriors fighting an endless battle while carrying with him the corpses of all the people he killed. The guilt over his past actions, brought to light when he realized the futility of his quest for revenge, is almost too much for one person to bear, but it’s a burden Thorfinn accepts and carries with him into his new life.

 

By making an effort to actually live, Thorfinn’s able to find joy in things a warrior would never appreciate. There’s the satisfaction of growing something yourself, the awe at the ingenuity and insight it must’ve taken to invent the plow, the simple pleasure of relaxing with a friend after a hard day’s work, and so much more. Thorfinn spent years living the life most warriors would respect, but is now realizing how much he missed out on. It’s the same path Thors once walked, fighting as a Jomsviking and earning honor and glory on the battlefield until he realized he was missing out on the opportunity to have a life with his wife and daughter. Father and son have both shown the same strength, resolving to turn their backs on the life their culture says is ideal in order to do what’s right.

 

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So what is a true warrior in VINLAND SAGA? It’s simply someone who has the strength to live their life without taking from others, someone who’s willing to be viewed as weak for their convictions, someone who fights to be a better person instead of taking the easy road. Thors did it, now it’s Thorfinn’s turn.

 

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