I have to say, on balance, Truffaut did it better. This whole Drott/100 punches angle never really worked for me. I feel like I can see where Yukimura is going with it, and it would have worked better in the anime if it – like the manga – had made it clear Thorfinn was thinking mainly of Sverkel and Pater and not Ketil. But it still lacks the poetry and profundity most of this season has packed in my view. It’s not how I would have chosen to see the denouement of this epic arc play itself out. But I realize I’m setting some incredibly high bars there,
The larger question Vinland is getting at here is indeed profound, no question – it’s the delivery that doesn’t quite click in my view. Is this really what Thorfinn’s new way amounts to – is “endure” the only recourse available to those who want to opt out of this world of slavery and war and oppression? The reason this is all so powerful – and painful – is that Yukimura has chosen to ask questions for which there are no easy answers. I still believe the answer is to leave the world behind altogether and try to build a new one. A hellishly difficult exercise that faces harrowing odds against success, but still better than the alternative we see playing out here.
So yes, Thorfinn is symbolically taking a hundred blows for mankind here. It’s a powerful analogy but reeks a bit of torture porn, and frankly I think Thorfinn’s journey is more interesting if he doesn’t become too much of a martyr figure. But it certainly can’t be denied that he’s committed to the cause. He is indeed a very different man than the one Canute left behind (and apparently sold into slavery, based on their conversation later in the episode).
Thorfinn’s goals are different from Olmar’s – which is why he can’t stand down when Ketil’s younger son arrives with Snake (if it’s even an option). All Snake’s horrified intervention does is throw off Thorrfinn’s concentration long enough for Drott to land a real blow on him. I’m not sure it’s realistic that even an expert fighter like Thorfinn could walk away from 100 punches by a man like Drott – or however many he can manage before he effectively collapses from exhaustion (punching people is hard work). But Thorfinn isn’t here to surrender on Ketil’s behalf – he’s here to get Canute to do the right thing. It’s a noble notion – a real peace, the only possible one – but come on, it never had a chance.
Wulf is no fool, but it’s obvious he and Thorfinn are not speaking the same language. Thorfinn has won the respect of Drott and the others, and he’ll get his audience, but Canute is not going to be a receptive one. It’s hard to imagine Thorfinn ever thought he was, but in his defense Canute has changed just as much in four years as Thorfinn has. Thoerfinn takes Einar along too, and he seems little awed by being in the presence of a king. And it’s Einar who immediately calls out Canute’s motives for what they are. Einar’s speech about what it means to take a farm away from a man who’s worked hard to make it thrive is the most emotionally honest part of the episode.
Ideals are the luxury of the powerful in the world depicted here. They mean nothing to Einar’s dead family, to Arnheid. Canute represents one of manga’s great hypocrites to me. He’s forever preaching high ideas he’s all too happy to abandon when his ambition demands it. He can talk of his rebellion against God all he wants, talk about saving the Vikings – all he’s done as king is kill and steal. He’s smart, he’s formidable, he’s ruthless – all qualities than help a king gather power unto himself. But I see no evidence he has any ambition to create a world that’s any better for the ones being systematically oppressed by this one.
There is an apocryphal story of King Canute and the tide, often misinterpreted as depicting Canute as believing he has magical powers when in fact, the purpose is to display his humility. Yukimura’s Canute definitely has a curious mix of humility and hubris, and this display seems very much in character. He’s trying to show Thorfinn just how badly the odds are stacked against him, to justify why he does the things he does. I don’t think he’ll find a receptive audience in Thorfinn (never mind Einar) any more than the converse. I don’t see a middle ground here, and as such it’s hard to predict the endgame – Canute will let Thorfinn walk away, but he’s not letting the farm out of his grasp. Thorfinn’s options are narrowing all the time, and soon there really will only be that very radical one left.
DukeofEarls
June 6, 2023 at 9:25 pmThe 100 punches thing works for me in this sense: Thorfinn has been portrayed from the start as a naive idealist. That’s the root of his whole saga with Askeladd, his idealistic naivety.
He’s no longer worshipping at the altar of the revenge and honor ideology and he’s trying to find that new altar to kneel before. I think this was a somewhat clumsy “turn the other cheek” display as he is trying out a pacifist interpretation of Christianity.
Ultimately, it takes this kind of person to want to found a pacifist utopia across the sea anyways. If he was more pragmatic, I think he’d see more eye to eye with Canute.
TriHard
June 6, 2023 at 10:13 pmIt’s really an act of frustration and stubbornness after his failure with Gardar. Aside that , after realizing his past crimes , for a near suicidal Thorfinn the one thing that kept him clinging to his life , the value he saw in it was his atonement. Stuff like Snake’s speech impact him a lot , the idea that he really deserves and in fact should be dead is something viking culture is shouting at him and he clings onto a higher purpose as a way to justify his existence.
Vinland does actually at points acknowledge the internal problem here , Thorfinn’s survivor’s guilt. But as far as this scene is concerned , this definitely isn’t supposed to be a ”smart” move by Thorfinn. It’s a sobering moment caused by a person too fed up with the justifications , excuses and the ”logic” of the conflict. There’s no ploy or plan just Thorfinn being authentic , which actually is relevant for the Canute stuff.
DP
June 7, 2023 at 12:22 pmI agree with the problems in this two episode arc. The “100 punches” wasn’t quite as bad torture porn as I’d feared, mostly because they did indicate that Thorfin had a strategy to roll with the punches, and also seemed to subtly indicate that after about the 32nd punch, his opponent was perhaps not going all out (either due to respect or simple fatigue), but still…. Vinland Saga is in some ways such a good “realistic” anime that its moments of over-the-top excess sometimes jar. Less so when they’re battle scenes like Thors or Thorkel’s herculean strength or Thorfin’s super-agility, but more so when they’re integrated into deadly serious elements like this. I think the mental adjustment one has to make is to remember it is Vinland SAGA and perhaps the series is best viewed as the dramatized retelling by someone like Lief Erikkson of “what really happened” and thus “in reality Thorkel only tossed a spear 100 yards instead of a mile through several men ” or “in reality, Thorfin’s endurance test was to endure 10 blows to the head, not 100″ and the tale grew in the telling… But moving on to weightier issues — ” I still believe the answer is to leave the world behind altogether and try to build a new one” – itt will be interesting to see how the story interrogates the issue of Vinland, the native folk, and colonialism, something presumably not an issue when barren Iceland was settled.
Marty
June 8, 2023 at 4:42 amOk, 1st thing 1st, what’s the reference to Truffait? Like, besides him being a director, idk what specific film of his is being referenced, but I would like to know.
On the subject of this episode, I liked the 100 Punches thing for several reasons.
1. As heavy-handed as the Jesus “turn the other cheek” metaphor with Thorfinn may be, I will give Yukimura a pass because Christian symbolism has been present throughout this arc.
2. On the surface level, this is a nice change to the standard Shounen (and sometimes Seinen) formula for a Decisive conflict in an arc. Is it realistic that Thorfinn can handle 100 punches from a beast like Drott? Obviously not, but characters like Thorfinn, Thors, and Askeladd have shown superhuman feats of strength and endurance. I can see Yukimura using this scenario to beg the question, what if someone with superhuman abilities used them exclusively in a defensive manner?
3. Thematically, I think this ordeal puts him on the same level as Thors. Despite the fact their situations were completely different, both took the punishment and held on to their morals. However, this brings me to my last point.
4. I think Farmland was the arc where Thorfinn developed his new ideology and outlook on the world, but it will be later arcs that will focus on its refinement. The fact remains that as impactful as the 100 punches were, THIS isn’t sustainable, not for him, and much less for a whole ass community.
However, just because Thorfinn has reached EMOTIONAL Enlightenment doesn’t mean his mental capabilities have necessarily improved. I think the 100 punches are the best solution he could come up with right NOW, but later arcs will explore the possibility that Thorfinn can, like Askeladd alluded to in his dying breaths, “go BEYOND Thors” and find a way to maintain his pacifism without becoming a martyr in the process.
But either way, that’s just my personal read on it. I can understand where u coming from as well tho.
Guardian Enzo
June 8, 2023 at 6:34 amhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_400_Blows
The number is a little different but it just puts me in that title mindset.
Marty
June 8, 2023 at 9:28 pmOHHHH.
I’ve heard of that movie (haven’t seen it yet).
Puns aside, is it any good?
Guardian Enzo
June 8, 2023 at 11:17 pmI consider it among the 10 best films ever made.