Summary
Thorfinn shines as he confronts his demons in this heartwrenching episode. It beautifully illustrates the moment when Throfinn finally comes to terms with his past, giving him and the viewers closure.
We recap the Crunchyroll and Netflix anime series Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 9, “Oath,” which contains spoilers.
In Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 8, viewers watched Thorfinn (Yuto Uemura) struggle on multiple levels. Not only was his psyche under attack, suffering from vicious nightmares of his past, but his crops as well, with farm hands destroying his and Einar’s (Shunsuke Takeuchi) hard work. The men could only take so much, with the conflict coming to a head as Thorfinn assaulted one of the farm hands. Although they were technically in the right, it’s unlikely Thorfinn and Einar will get away with this unscathed.
Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 9 Recap
The episode opens with a younger Thorfinn waking up, relieved to find his current life has been a dream. At the same time, the real Thorfinn lies on the ground, still unconscious from the fight with the farmhands.
While Thorfinn is out, Einar continues taking on the farmhands alone. When he refuses to quit fighting, the farmhands give up and leave.
Thorfinn’s dream
As Thorfinn lies in the grass in his dream, his father walks up, telling Thofinn he smells blood. He asks who his son killed as the tone of the dream suddenly shifts to a bloodred nightmare where Thorfinn stabs a small child. Thorfinn begins to sob when he turns the child’s head to reveal Einar. Above him, his father apologizes for not being around to teach him more.
Thorfinn then plummets through a crack in the ground, falling through a rocky cavern, before catching himself over a hell-like abyss filled with the corpses of fallen warriors engaging in an endless battle. He sees Askeladd and wonders if this is Valhalla, to which the man replies that “the underworld is a much better place.” He describes what Thorfinn sees as the final destination for warriors, where there is no winner or losers, and everyone is your enemy.
READ: Vinland Saga Season 2 Review
Askeladd tells Thorfinn he was once trapped in this final destination, back when he’d been empty. Thorfinn remembers but also remembers being able to break free, which isn’t a common feat for broken warriors. However, he finds himself back now after letting his anger take control and punching someone.
As the corpses begin to climb one another to reach, Askeladd tells him they are the corpses of people Thorfinn has killed.
When Thorfinn begins to sob, Askeladd tells him to take the people he killed to his true battle and become a true warrior.
Throfinn wakes up
Thorfinn wakes up from his dream to find Einar lying in the snow. He rushes over to see if Einar is dead, but the man quickly wakes to tell Thorfinn they won the fight.
Despite Einar’s praises for winning, Thorfinn begins to cry, catching the other man off guard. He wonders if Thorfinn is hurt, but instead, Thorfinn is upset about having reacted with violence after years of murdering so many innocent people.
Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 9 Ending Explained
Thorfinn tells Einar that he is starting a new life and never hurting anyone again. Although he doesn’t quite understand, Einar still tells Throfinn he understands.
Meanwhile, when the farmhands speak to Ketil about their fight with Thorfinn and Einar, they are enraged to find out he will not punish them. Ketil reveals the evidence he found against the farmhands and says the official story will be that boar ruined the field and there was no fight.
The episode ends with Sverkel leading Thorfinn and Einar as they plow more fields.
In Season 2 Episode 9, Thorfinn’s dream sequence was animated beautifully, with some parts being so vivid they were almost hard to watch. I don’t think we’ve ever seen Thorfinn express his emotions through such strong tears before. It was a heartbreaking scene but also well-acted and decisive for his character. It finally felt like Thorfinn had accepted his past in a way that would allow him to move on from the person he used to be. It will be interesting to see where the series goes since so much of the first half hinges on Thorfinn coming to terms with his trauma.
What did you think of the anime series Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 9? Comment below.
