English Dub Review: Vinland Saga: “Freedom”

Overview: Thorfinn (Mike Haimoto) and Einar (Ian Sinclair) struggle with how to help Gardar (Jarrod Greene) as Arnheid (Natalie Van Sistine) wrestles with how to proceed with him. 

Our Take: Gardar’s arrival does more than create a tense battle with Snake, with close call killing shots. His presence reminds Thorfinn, Einar and Arnheid of their lowly status in Snake’s eyes, no matter how chummy they seem. The harsh reality is a bitter pill they continue to swallow, stripping them of any dignity. It’s especially difficult when all they want to do is help Arnheid and Gardar. Their indecision also plays beautifully into the message of the episode. 

Arnheid’s grief-stricken past with her son acts as a compelling reason for her inaction. Her scarring experience makes her decision to endure her husband’s punishment an understandably painful one. While it’s not painful, the art also takes a blow as the sedentary, dramatic scenes suffer from shoddy art with designs looking off. 

The concept of greed is also re-integrated seamlessly with key to Gardar’s downfall and Sverkel’s turmoil in the tragedy that befell Ketil’s first love. His mistakes serve as a heart-wrenching motivation for Arnheid to face conflict to change the outcome rather than be submissive to her fate.