Not killing Thorfinn in his sleep qualifies Einar as being his best friend for life. Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 5 sees Canute and his army struggle to keep a hold of England. Let’s see how it went for them in this review!
Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 5 Overview
Vinland Saga Season 2 is an action, adventure, and drama that serves as the sequel to its highly acclaimed and fan favourite Vinland Saga Season 1, which aired in 2019. The series is based on an award-winning manga written by Makoto Yukimura. Read the review of the previous episode of the series here!
The show’s second season is being animated by Studio MAPPA, a different studio that the one which did its previous season in Studio WIT. However, most of the personnel behind the series have been retained. Director Shuuhei Yabuta, of Inuyashiki and Attack On Titan fame, is returning to direct the series.
– Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 5 Review does not contain spoilers –
Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 5 Review- Path Of Blood
One of the more underexplored sections of the previous seasons was the relationship between Canute and Thorfinn. While they are both somewhat strong characters on their own that have shown a lot of chemistry with other characters in the show, their chemistry with each other was somewhat suspect and felt forced at times. The way the show tried to portray Canute’s transformation as somewhat dependent on Thorfinn’s interactions with him felt far-fetched, and the two even ended on a rocky note in the final episode of Season 1 and from what can be ascertained by seeing Thorfinn right now.
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However, that’s the benefit of having a story beyond what you could tell in just 25 episodes. Right now, the show has a ton of time to mend what happened in the first season and make Thorfinn and Canute’s next confrontation a far more powerful one. For that, however, we have a lot of building up and premeditation to do. Both characters are going to go through a lot before their next fateful encounter, and we saw in Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 5 exactly the future the show has planned for Canute.
His awakening might have been suspect, but his actions after that were always going to make or break Canute, and this episode was a pretty solid mark in the “make” column. Canute hasn’t completely transformed as a person since we last saw him, as he retains much of the same practicality and stone-cold straight-forward nature as he did. The task put in front of him (trying to take over England while having no military experience) was humongous, but the show did a great job of showing how he went about doing that.
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It was also really great seeing Thorkell, and to a much lesser extent, Floki, back. Other than Thorfinn, these three are the only old characters that we have seen returning from Season 1 unless you count Thorfinn’s uncle as a major character which I do not. None of them has changed even a bit, which is much appreciated from them as Thorkell is perfect as he is, and Floki deserves to die while being the same person that he was when he arranged for Thors’ death.
Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 5‘s ability to suck you into its world full of dusty skies and destructive wars is astounding. The phenomenal animation and soundtrack, combined with the fantastic directional choices on where and how to use those resources, have done wonders for the show in the past and are doing the same right now. The time goes by very fast as you watch each episode as it sucks you into the world’s wonders and characters. Vinland Saga Season 2 has been building towards something huge, and even though it is going to take a while to get there, the wait seems to be worth it.
Verdict
Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 5 was an atmospheric outing that took us back to some familiar characters from the past to see what they have been up to. The episode was an absolute treat to watch and experience.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!