Vinland Saga – 13

OP2 : “Dark Crow” by MAN WITH A MISSION

You could watch an awful lot of anime and never see a better 22 minutes than that.  Vinland Saga has been a marvel of consistency, but even so some episodes have stood out as truly exceptional, and this was definitely one of them.  This is a story that has so many twists and turns in the road that the scenery is always changing, new ideas and new conflicts perpetually entering the narrative.  It’s a big story, soaring with ambition, and what’s more has shown no signs that it doesn’t have the chops to pull that off.

Every so often in fiction a character comes along who earns the lordly title “magnificent bastard”.  And Askeladd is one such character.  There’s so much depth to the man that there’s a risk that the characters around him (especially Thorfinn) could come off as shallow – and they’re not.  It’s just that Askeladd is next-level when it comes to layers, the puff pastry of characters.  The men who know him best – especially Bjorn – know this well.  But there’s a contradiction and a danger in this.  It’s a major reason why they follow him even when his decisions don’t seem to make sense, but for someone like Bjorn the constant sense of never knowing what makes your leader tick is an ongoing source of internal tension.

The whole Wales situation has been really fascinating to watch play out.  The extent to which Askeladd is playing 3-dimensional chess here is something we can’t be sure of yet – as big as the secrets revealed about him this week were, there are surely more to come.  On the surface, it appears that Askeladd is no less than acting as a covert agent for the land he consider his true home, Britannia – in fact he goes so far as to tell the Welsh commander Asser that he “hates the Danes”.  If indeed he’s the true descendent of Artorius that certainly makes sense, especially when you add in the fact that he probably hates his father for the way he treated his mother, Lydia.

There’s way too much complexity to all this to feel confident about what the man is really thinking, though.  I have to believe he feels some sense of loyalty to the men (Danes) who’ve served under him all these years, first of all.  And the current narrative is necessary to get he and his men safely through Wales – even if it means pretending to be Asser’s prisoners for P.R. reasons.  Askeladd’s handling of Asser’s initial show of bluster was as magnificently bastardly as it gets.  He isn’t remotely ruffled by the seeming threat against he and his men – one senses he would be a wonderful poker player, because like most bluffers Askeladd is unerring in spotting bluffs.

Askeladd isn’t going to let something as silly as Viking pride complicate matters – he’s happy to let Asser bluff and bluster so they can get down to business afterwards.  Not content merely with that, though, he seizes on the moment as an opportunity to try and develop his second surrogate son.  In practical terms having Canute step up and make an impression would certainly have helped, but more than anything Askekadd is trying to slyly wrest the boy out of Ragnar’s overprotective grip.  That, and to keep testing him to see what he’s truly made of.  Whatever they are, Canute is surely critical to the execution of Askeladd’s larger plans.

I would go so far as to say that having Thorfinn act as Canute’s bodyguard was (once again) more than a practical decision – though it was practical.  Another possible way to begin nudging Canute out of the nest is to give him someone he could possibly confide in besides Ragnar – someone his own age, who could care less about his lineage and will treat him (albeit rudely) just like anyone else.  Canute’s reasons for being timid and quiet are certainly valid – it was indeed probably the best way for a sickly and frail fledgeling to survive in the snakepit of Sweyn’s court.  And he’s not wrong that as the King’s official representative in Britain, his words pack more meaning than anyone else’s.  But he still needs someone to call his bluff – and Thorfinn, possessing all the tact of a kick in the nuts, is a perfect candidate.

One thing is clear – it’s Askeladd who’s seeing the biggest picture as the pieces move around the board.  He truly is the Yin to Thorkell’s Yang, the latter having desires utterly straightforward and driven by the stimuli they provide.  Does the descendent of Artorius content himself with pulling the strings from the shadows, or does he see a rightful place for himself atop a throne in Caerleon, restoring the honor and glory of his ancient kingdom?  Among the many faces Askeladd shows us, that of the romantic certainly hasn’t been one of them – so far, at least.  But with this fellow, I think it’s wrong to take anything as a certainty.

ED2: “Drown” by milet