Day 7

„Hey now - it seems

Vinland Saga is definitely an exceptional manga and anime. It starts off similar to your typical seinen, a story that puts a heavy emphasis on its violence. Hell, the protagonist, Thorfinn was a boy who was out for revenge against the viking who killed his father, Askeladd. Then Askeladd fucking dies and Thorfinn is just left completely hollowed out. He spends four years being a completely depressed, haunted, and broken slave, until he rebuilds himself. He grows into a pacifist, one who still struggles with his anger once in a while, but he ultimately grew into someone who wants nothing more than to establish a place where violence can never reach anyone. Want to see the little twink who killed Askeladd and enslaved our protagonist?

Canute is introduced as a hopeful and meek prince with a living shitty dad. He was the purest contrast to the angry and vengeful Thorfinn, and much like how Thorfinn ended up becoming hollowed out in his quest for vengeance, Canute became hollowed out by the cruelty of the world. However while Thorfinn was on a quest to avenge his father, Canute conspired with Askeladd to kill his own father so he could take the throne. And he did, murdering Askeladd mere moments afterward and enslaving the broken Thorfinn. While Thorfinn eventually rebuilt himself during his enslavement, Canute underwent the biggest twink death of all time and became a "benevolent" tyrant who conquered England. And now he's currently undergoing a money problem and needs to sell off a farm, the same farm that Thorfinn happens to be working on. So naturally, they end up seeing each other again and their first meeting after so long is telling.

They simply catch up for a little bit. There's no malice, no hatred, no ill will, and absolutely nothing personal. It's surprising to see, especially since they didn't depart on the best terms. They almost feel like old friends catching up, but this friendliness is unsurprisingly momentary. After all, Thorfinn still has to negotiate and Canute is still headstrong.

Thorfinn pleads with Canute to spare the farm, but the king explains why he cannot do that. Not only does he need to sell it off, he needs to make an example out of these people for the mistakes of Ketil and his family. It's a heavy handed approach, and it's instantly called out.

Einar, a man who has suffered under the royal family's reign, calls Canute out and his majesty doesn't even defend himself. Then Thorfinn spoke up, asking him if he lost sight of his dream for a heaven on earth? It is only then that Canute starts his answer by not denying that he is a "Chief of Chiefs," before revealing his ambition in its entirety.

That is Canute's ultimate mission as king. Not a quest of pure domination, not a thirst for blood, just a mission to defy the will of God. If there is no paradise for the damned, no heaven on earth for the vikings, then he will make one. There's just one massive problem...

There may be a level of nobility behind the goal, but this "paradise" is going to be built on the same violence that's been happening for centuries. While Canute doesn't let that violence consume him entirely, he has clearly become desensitized to it. He has gotten so used to the idea of building his paradise atop corpses, that he has grown to believe that if he doesn't make sacrifices everything will fall apart. This desensitization to violence and fear of failure are exactly what define his villainy at this point in the saga, and it contrasts perfectly with Thorfinn's personal growth and newfound pacifism.

While Askeladd is the fan-favorite villain of Vinland Saga for a multitude of good reasons, Canute is just as great in a different way. Instead of embodying the barbarity of the vikings, he is a mortal who wants to defy God. He wants to create a paradise for vikings, for these damned souls who have spent centuries doing nothing but adding onto the cycle of violence. Unlike Askeladd who acknowledges that he's a bastard and goes along with the violence for his own ends, or even the real main antagonist, Floki who has reaped the benefits from the endless barbarity, Canute actively tried to go against it... before becoming yet another cog in that same cycle. He sits at the top of the viking hierarchy, though unlike his subjects who enjoy the carnage, Canute both loathes it and was a slave to it. Thank god Thorfinn actually managed to get to him.

Canute doodle

„You should know that I died slow,

Running through the halls of your haunted home.

And the toughest part is we both know,

What happened to you,

Why you’re out on your own”

Stages of grief.