askeladd is genuinely such an interesting character and it pisses me off so much because genuinely I've never seen anyone actually interact with that fact. he seems to me like the kind of person that wants peace but there is no desire in the entire world that outweighs his hatred of denmark
and yet on the last days of his life he shows bjorn, canute, and thorfinn such absurd acts of kindness. telling bjorn they were friends, even if it wasn't true. choosing to trust canute's ambition to pull heaven down to earth over sweyn's promise to leave wales alone and get himself killed for it. his very last words urging thorfinn to let go of revenge and find paradise on earth itself. even paying atli off and telling him to go start a farm and a family.
there's never been any glory in killing to him but it's the only thing he could ever pursue. he can't help but destroy his life in the name of petty revenge. maybe he'd say it's the danish filth in his blood, or maybe he's more self aware than that. to know he's always had a choice and every single day he wakes up and refutes it, until he finally dies for the idea of eden.
ultimately, a very weak man.
