Vinland Saga (TV Series) The Path of Blood (2023) User Reviews

Reopening the main storyline and it's still breathtaking!

[moritzherz · 8/10 · 6 February 2023]

After last week's extraordinary episode of picture perfect character development this week's episode goes into another direction without losing any of its quality.

The second season until today has the purpose of developing the character of Thorfinn and giving him Einar as his companion. This episode now reminds us of the bigger picture.

The main storyline is back with the king and more already known characters of the first season. How they made this comeback is really good, setting up a new major antagonist for Thorfinn to fight in the next season. I do not want to spoiler anything more, just watch it yourself.

If they continue to surprise us every week with even better episodes this could easily become the first big highlight of the year! I cannot await what comes next!

Gradual.

[Tasteless_Critic_Takes · 8/10 · 6 February 2023]

This episode was, once more, good. I wouldn't say it was my favourite or least favourite this season, but I liked a lot about it, and to do that I have to go more detailed.

What I did like about this episode was the art and cinematography and how it complemented the plot well. Often I think MAPPA sacrifices quality of art for quality of effect, using ugly images to add emphasis to inhumane or dramatic scenes, however I think they made the right call in not going too far into changing the original art of the manga. I think they used great ranges of angles in the frames, and some of the background moments were top notch.

I also, while the plot was slow, did like the episode. I think it's interesting when a show steps away from a main character, because it risks losing a lot, and I mean a lot, of charisma, but Vinland Saga isn't afraid of it, and it really feels of high calibre for this reason. The climax of the episode was interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic at the ending points of the episode.

That being said, I don't think the pacing was as ideal as it could've been in this episode. I think too much happened at the end and too little happened at the beginning, and really the content should've been spread more carefully. I don't know if it was just me, but I just felt like the speed of the scenes was weird and erratic, and while the dialogue was interesting I hadn't engaged with earlier parts. I have read the manga, so I may have lost engagement here, but I think there were reasons I found it boring. I get the character is intended to be cold and wicked, I found the voice acting a bit too levelled from the focal point of the episode and I much preferred how Thorfinn and Einar spoke last episode. I think really this could have been a 9.1 or 9.2 episode if it just had that bit more, but it was still really strong.

Overall, probably a less notable episode but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

The true beginning to season 2

[thefoochie · 8/10 · 6 February 2023]

Well now we finally know what the other characters have been up to! Thorkell is still his violent, rambunctious self who hasn't changed a bit. Canute on the other hand... has changed drastically. I haven't seen season 1 in a while but I do not remember him being this cold-hearted. It seemed like in s1 he was one of the only good people in the show. Now he is just a straight up villain lmao. I'm not sure whether to call his new self terrifying or badass, cause to be honest he's a mix of both.

The mind games that Canute plays on eadric in order to manipulate him into killing the king were insane (dare I say satisfying?) to watch. Thank god I didn't rewatch s1 before this dropped cause canute's sudden character change would have been so jarring (and it already is). Canute does an excellent job at making eadric feel absolutely powerless, like there's no hope. When eadric begins to feel a tiny spark of hope that his men can still fight back, Canute completely squashes that bit of hope by showing him- in the most devastating way- that he's already lost. This fire scene was definitely the best scene of the episode, you can really tell just how powerful Canute is in just this one brilliant moment.

Now that we know how Canute became king, I can't wait to see how his path intersects with thorfinn and einar! At the end of last episode, I was really happy when Canute showed up cause I thought he was try and save both of them. Now that he is cold-hearted, I'm not so sure, but that just makes it all the more interesting. This season is doing an excellent job at carefully planting the seeds for future exciting plotlines. Even though it's not amazing so far, I have no doubt that this season will reach the heights of season 1. 8 out of 10.

Fire *Pun Intended* Episode!

[akhtarneruda · 9/10 · 7 February 2023]

A near-perfect episode, in my opinion. It succeeds in showing more of Canute's new-found personality from the previous season, as well as showing the current state of the politics in this part of the world's history. Canute is now established as a more ruthless character, willing to resort to any means necessary if it means reducing casualties from his side, but also showing how he is still rather caring from how he seems to care for the civilians in his enemy's side.

I especially love how, with Thorfinn's new established personality in the previous four episodes, it shows how they progress in the opposite ways - Thorfinn seemingly to a more peaceful route (perhaps an arc for him to become a "true warrior") and Canute progressing to a more violent one. It actually reminds me of a similar opposite progression by Gon and Meruem from HxH.

All-in-all, this was a great episode, it's only negative in my opinion being that it needed more screentime to show Canute's new, more ruthless personality and his way to becoming king.

But above all that, we get to see Thorkell again. Instant 9 stars for that alone.