The following contains spoilers for Vinland Saga Season 2, episode 3, "Snake," now streaming on Netflix.
For many viewers, Vinland Saga is the front-runner for the anime of the season. The first two episodes of the new season have been extremely impressive. The quality of the animation and the direction mesmerized the audience.
In the second episode, Einar and Thorfinn finally started working on the farm to earn their freedom. The episode also introduced several new characters, such as Olmar, Fox, and Arnheid. All the characters will have important roles to play in the arc for sure, so fans can expect to see them again in the upcoming episodes.
To Be A Man
In the previous episode, Olmar was talking to a couple of men with swords. The two men were drunk, and they approached Olmar after he ran away from a worker's house. In the third episode, Olmar finally caved into their incessant requests and decided to go with them for a drink. The two swordsmen were planning to get Olmar drunk and figure out a way to get closer to Ketil's family.
Olmar was initially attentive to their efforts, but as he chugged one drink after another, he lost control of his tongue.
The two men, Fox and Badger, easily got answers from an inebriated Olmar. After they found out that he was insecure about being treated like a child by everyone at the farm, Fox advised Olmar to take the trial that was needed to become a man. Olmar immediately became attentive and keenly listened to Fox as he told him that the trial required him to kill a man. Olmar meekly asked where he would find someone he could kill. Fox reassured him that the prey is on the farm, and then the focus changed to Thorfinn and Einar.
Nightmare
The shift in focus meant that Fox was insinuating the killing of Thorfinn and Einar, who were still soundly sleeping. Out of the two, Einar was the first to get up. Shortly afterward, he heard Thorfinn's screams, and he immediately went to check up on him. After a few attempts, he was successful in waking up Thorfinn, who was having a nightmare. Thorfinn was so shaken that he couldn't believe it was only a dream. Following the early morning scare, the two headed towards a well to wash and get ready before beginning the rigors of the day. Near the well, they saw the same young woman who had bedazzled Einar.
Things weren't that different the second time; Einar was blushing and could barely talk to her without stammering. The young woman talked to him and introduced herself as Arnheid. She also cleared up Einar's misapprehension about her being the daughter of Ketil. Arnheid told him that she was only a personal slave. The conversation between them was cut short by the arrival of Fox and Badger, who ordered Einar and Thorfinn to accompany them. As they walked to their destination, Einar couldn't help but think about Arnheid. Minutes after their arrival, the two slaves were told what fate awaited them.
Snake
When Einar found out that Olmar was supposed to kill them, the former got angry and immediately charged toward Ketil's son. The two of them jostled with each other, while Thorfinn just watched. Fox was not impressed by Thorfinn's behavior, so he decided to push his buttons. Fox used his sword to cut Thorfinn at different places in an attempt to evoke fear, but the slave was still unfazed. Meanwhile, away from the action, a man could be sleeping on a chair with a book over his face.
After being denied breakfast by an old man, he moved to the location where Thorfinn and Einar were being kept. As he reached the destination, the person watched as Thorfinn's stoic attitude infuriated Fox, causing him to lob off a part of Thorfinn's ear. Fox felt insulted by Thorfinn, so he decided to kill him, but the mystery man ordered him to stop. The soldiers, also known as "Guests," were shivering in their boots. Fox called the man boss, and Olmar called him Snake, so it's obvious that he is their leader. Snake ordered Fox to come forward and immediately punched him in the face, breaking some of his teeth. Snake then asked Badger to explain the situation, and the episode promptly ended.
The third episode of the second season was pretty interesting, and it officially introduced two new characters. Plus, it perfectly managed to capture Thorfinn's emotions. The episode was a bit slow in comparison to the last two episodes, but the fall-off in quality was hardly noticeable.
There were many talking points from the episode, one of them being Thorfinn's willingness to be killed by the Fox, demonstrating how much he had changed. Thorfinn from season 1 wouldn't have wasted any time retaliating and killing them. It is becoming increasingly conspicuous that something inside Thorfinn has drastically changed, and the same thing has been causing him nightmares. At times, he feels like a completely different character, someone who just exists because someone else hasn't killed him. The man named Snake is definitely very powerful, and judging by the way the Guests reacted, it is very likely that they fear him. Needless to say, he will have a big part to play in the story.