‘Vinland Saga: Season 2’ Episode 2 Recap & Ending Explained: Welcome to Ketil’s Farm

Welcome to the Recap & Ending Explained for Vinland Saga: Season 2, Episode 2. The second episode of this new season produced by Mappa and available on Crunchyroll and Netflix in some territories is titled “Ketil’s Farm.” A very important setting in this second arc of the story and one that will shape our main characters Thorfinn and Einar from now on. In the previous episode, we were told about Thorfinn’s fate after the end of season 1, and we see him now transformed into a slave working on a farm.

We were also introduced to a new main character, named Einar. Einar will take a very major role in the story from now on, and will pair with Thorfinn for the rest of the story. Einar comes from Northern England, and he is presented as a very normal individual. He is a farmer, and so he lacks the strength and abilities of a fighter. Einar also learned during his time in the slave market that a man named Leif was looking for someone named Thorfinn. Will Einar remember this encounter and tell Thorfinn about it?

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Vinland Saga Season 2. Read at your own risk.

What Is Einar’s And Thorfinn’s Work At Ketil’s Farm?

The episode starts right where the previous episode left off. Einar is being introduced to Thorfinn by their master, Ketil. He tells them that from now on he expects them to be friends, as they will be doing the same work together. What does this work entail? Well, Ketil asks Einar what he sees in front of him, and Einar answers that he sees a forest. Ketil says he is half right, as it is a forest that will soon become a wheat field. Thorfinn and Einar are meant to cut the trees down and leave the land ready for farming.

There is a catch, though. Ketil says that he will be leasing the land to both Thorfinn and Einar. Meaning that it will be their responsibility to work the land and come up with a good harvest. Ketil will then buy the wheat from them, and when they are able to sell more than what Ketil paid for them, then they can become free. Pater, Ketil’s assistant, says he also paid for his freedom in the same way and that he wishes them luck. Einar cannot believe, such an amazing deal. If they manage to work well, they could be free in three or four years.

From there, we spend a lot of time with Thorfinn and Einar. They start working on cutting the trees down, but we see that there are a lot of them, so the enterprise might be even bigger than what Einar expected. Thorfinn is quite silent and Einar’s efforts at conversation often just result in a couple of words from Thorfinn, but Einar’s insistence starts making Thorfinn more open up. Nevertheless, it seems as if the life Thorfinn had inside of him during the first season has been completely extinguished.

When Einar asks about food, Thorfinn informs him that some farmhands will deliver the food to them. Einar is hungry, but when the farmhands arrive, he is utterly disappointed. The farmhands feel a sense of superiority in front of Einar, who is just a slave, and they end up eating their food, leaving them only scraps. Einar is outraged, but Thorfinn defuses the situation. Einar is clearly not broken, not yet, not even after becoming a slave himself. He might be exactly what Thorfinn needs to become alive once more.

How Is The Life At Ketil’s Farm.

At the end of the day, Einar tries to report the lazy and abusive farmhands to Ketil, but then he sees the visions of an angel, or, to be more precise, a beautiful woman. Her identity remains unknown, but she seems to be connected to Ketil as they travel in the same direction. Maybe, she is her daughter or another type of family. Einar falls in love immediately and forgets about his accusations against the farmhands. It is at this moment that we see the first hint of life inside Thorfinn when he teases Einar about having lost his words.

The next day, Einar and Thorfinn work in the fields, harvesting the wheat. Einar reflects on how seeing Ketil working alongside everyone else is weird. He thought rich people didn’t have the need to work in such a way. He also reflects on how, with all of them together, there isn’t much difference between Danes and English people. We are then introduced to Olmar, Ketil’s son, and their difficult relationship. Olmar is only seventeen, but he dreams of becoming a warrior, not a farmer.

We see that Olmar has the energy of a young man, but he lacks any sort of ability. He doesn’t want to work on the farm; he wants to be a hero. However, his skills with the sword leave much to be desired. We see them having sex with the daughter of a leased farmer family. But when the parents of the girl begin talking on the other side of the door, Olmar realizes that they are just trying to push their daughter on him, so they can become family and become rich in the process.

We see Olmar having conflicting thoughts about what he wants when we see him meeting a couple of farmhands who are clearly drunk, and they take him against his will somewhere. Back in the forest, we see Einar reflecting on how Olmar doesn’t know what he is talking about. Einar says that warriors are not cool, and those who fight in wars are just animals. He tells Thorfinn how he lost his entire family to soldiers. Thorfinn is silent, but he is clearly shaken. Not only because he was one of those animals at some point, but also because he was one of their victims. Who is Thorfinn, really?