English Dub Review: Vinland Saga: “Storm”

Overview: Arnheid (Natalie Van Sistine) speaks with Gardar (Jarrod Greene) and makes a critical decision as Thorfinn (Mike Haimoto) and Einar (Ian Sinclair) discuss the truth of their situation. 

Our Take: Arnheid and Gardar’s fateful reunion is about as saddening as it could be. Their own respective sorrow and guilt over their role in their son’s death is heart-wrenching for both of them. It puts her in an emotional bind that soon becomes a desperate one in her setting him free and Snake on the hunt for them.

Thorfinn and Einar’s conversation about war and slavery gets to the core of the issue, without dawdling. Their discussion of how integral valor and violence are to Vikings, and therefore war, is riveting in breaking down the societal pathos of Norsemen. Einar delves into the jarringly inhumane nature of being ripped from one’s home into slavery. He also continues as the caring friend Thorfinn has been sorely lacking and it’s gratifying to see him uplift him. 

With that said, it also tackles the perpetual nature of war and what they can do as a result. Thorfinn’s decision to heal, to balance his scales for his own little slice of peace is a compassionate new aspiration. It brings it all back to Thorfinn’s white whale: Vinland. His and Einar’s new mission sets up a hopeful light at the end of their tunnel. 

The moral struggle of Thorfinn’s peaceful ideology establishes yet another harsh hurdle for him. Fighting is still a necessary evil Thorfinn does not want to come to terms with. It’s how he’ll inevitably do so for Arnheid and Gardar’s greater good, as well as his own, that’s compelling.