Vinland Saga season 2 episode 1 recap & review: Slave

Open Go TV / January 12, 2023 / Reviews

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The first episode of ‘Vinland Saga’ season 2 follows Einar, a resident of Northern England, as he watches his family get killed while he gets sold as a slave. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.

Recap

Einar rebuilt his village from the ground up and is now training in case another attack comes their way. Einar’s mother and sister continue to live their lives to the fullest.

Einar wonders why losses don’t worry them. Einar’s mother likes to look at the bright side. She lost her husband, but she still has Einar, who is protecting this village.

Einar delves deep and thinks about it. At night, another attack ensues on the village. The family attempts to run as far as they can, but an arrow attacks Einar’s mother.

Before she could pass away, she fuels Einar with empowering words, asking him to live. The group of attackers arrives and notices Einar and his sister.

Einar tries to save his sister but gets beaten. Einar’s sister manages to stab one of the attackers. In exchange, the attacker immediately kills her. The attackers then take Einar and plan to sell him for some beer money.

Einar finds himself on a boat of slaves. The men guarding them get rid of a sick girl by throwing her into the sea. Einar confronts one of the men and questions why they would do that.

The man punches him in the gut and clarifies that he has no authority to question his decisions. The men then offer blankets to the slaves so that they can keep themselves warm.

They tell them that they have paid a fortune for them. Therefore, they shouldn’t get sick no matter what. Upon reaching the land, the men groom these slaves to make sure that rich people will buy them.

Einar still remembered his mother’s words. He desired to live. Without wasting any time, he escaped the slave camp. On his way, he steals bread from a cottage.

He crosses paths with a woman who screams, calling him a thief. Einar fails to escape as one of his captors finds him. The captor beats him in front of everyone.

He reminds the slaves that they are in a foreign land and penniless. Running away is not an option. They will have to find a good master and serve them the best they can.

Einar begins to accept his fate. Certainly, the captivators are not lying. He has no one to run to. Rich masters come and pick the slaves they want.

One of these buyers includes Leif, who is desperately looking for Thorfinn. The captivators claim that they don’t know anything about a short, blonde person going by the name of Thorfinn.

Einar watches Leif walk away and thinks that Thorfinn is lucky to have someone looking for him.

Soon, a tall, blonde man comes and asks Einar a few questions. When this man learns that Einar was a farmer once, he asks Einar whether he would like to help him out on his farm.

Einar is brought to the farm, which reminds him of his village and his family. He comes to accept that he has got a very nice master, and he should do his best to serve him. This way, he will survive and never starve.

As they explore the farm, the man introduces Einar to Thorfinn, and the former quickly recognizes this slave’s name.

Review

The season kicks off by introducing a new character and an episode dedicated solely to him. The premiere makes the most of the 20 minutes by adding a sufficient amount of ambition and emotion to Einar’s story.
Einar is certainly a character to look out for. His attitude towards life is quite the opposite of Thorfinn’s. Einar here only desires to live a happy life protecting his village, while Thorfinn grows up wanting to be a warrior.
The animation continues to be rough, slick, and detailed. Beautiful scenes of farms give a feeling of warmth that is not only felt by the character of Einar but also by the viewers.
Lastly, the show has already hinted that they are not compromising on brutality. The death of Einar’s family is a sign that Einar’s story after meeting Thorfinn will bring more of that ruthlessness.