‘Vinland Saga Season 2’ Episode 6 Recap & Ending Explained: Who Is Old Man Sverkel?

Welcome to the Recap and Ending Explained for Vinland Season 2, Episode 6, titled “I Want a Horse.” Vinland Saga Season 2 is one of the most exciting anime shows on the air right now. The pacing change from the action-packed first season to this more calm and meditative story is just fantastic. Focusing entirely on the characters seems controversial for some people, who call what has happened so far in season 2 boring. However, we can feel that this is where the Vinland Saga’s real story begins.

There is a reason why the show’s first season encompasses what its author, Makoto Yukimura, calls “The Prologue.” Vinland Saga is undoubtedly the story of someone relearning to live his life, and as such, Episode 6 could be one of the more wholesome episodes in the show. There is a lot here, and you can feel that what is happening in this episode is essential for the characters, especially for Thorfinn, who is basically relearning to live in ways that he never imagined.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Vinland Saga Season 2, Episode 6. Read at your own risk.

How Are Einar And Thorfinn Doing With Their Farming Tasks?

At the start of the season, when Einar meets Thorfinn, both characters are given a straightforward task. To clean a piece of land and get it ready for farming. If they managed to do this and then sell whatever they would farm back to their master, Ketil, then they could repurchase their freedom. We learn that this is not a lie, with a character named Pater being the living proof that it is possible. However, the task seems too much for just two people. The forest they need to cut down is just too big, and getting the roots out of the ground is harder than it seems.

The episode starts with poor Einar and Thorfinn putting all their strength into getting some roots out, but the tasks are just too tricky for them alone. If they push too much, it could be dangerous, and they could hurt themselves, which would be a huge step back. Einar, who is clearly the expert farmer in the duo, explains that what they need is a horse. A horse has enough strength to help them clear the field quicker and more efficiently. But how can they get one?

Einar has been trying to borrow a horse from one of the tenants, but all of them seem adamant about treating Thorfinn and Einar as slaves. The tenants mock and denigrate our main characters. Einar tries to motivate Thorfinn and explains to him that to be free, and they need a horse; it is the only way they can accomplish their task in the shortest amount of time. Einar says this out loud in the middle of the road, and it seems that Thorfinn isn’t the only one listening to the speech. An old man we met before giving food to Snake is also listening and understands Einar’s situation.

The old man invites them to his plot of land and simply starts giving orders to Thorfinn and Einar. The old man doesn’t say it out loud, but if they do what he tells them to, they can borrow one of the old man’s horses. The old man says his name is Sverkel.

Can A Warrior Like Thorfinn Become A Farmer?

After our pair of heroes finish the chores at Sverkel’s house, they get to borrow a horse. They return to the forest and use the horse to pluck the roots from the ground. Thorfinn is fascinated by the progress they are achieving. The difference between doing the work with their own hands and doing it using a horse is like night and day. They clear a big enough patch of land, and when taking the horse back to Sverkel’s house, Thorfinn asks what they plan to farm in the fall.

Einar is baffled; he says they should farm wheat in the fall. It is basic knowledge, but Thorfinn explains that there was no farming in his homeland. Thorfinn only knows about the battlefield, nothing else. They are still harassed by some tenants, who see it as wrong that they are using a horse. Here, it is revealed that old man Sverkel is the “old master” of the farm and Ketil’s father. The tenants explain he is the most important man on the entire farm.

When Einar and Thorfinn arrive at the house, they discover that Ketil is inside the house having a heated discussion with his father, Sverkel. Ketil doesn’t want his father to keep farming and living alone so far from the main house. Ketil says Sverkel is too old and he shouldn’t be doing any physical work. Sverkel, on the other hand, says that he wants to die farming, and he wants to die on his little farm. He says he is doing fine, especially now that Einar and Thorfinn are helping him.

Einar explains to Thorfinn the wonders of the plow and how Ketil seems quite wealthy. Each plow is quite expensive, and the farm has at least ten of them, while eight farms share one plow in his homeland. Snake is inside Sverkel’s home, and they seem to have a love-and-hate relationship. The four sit down to eat, and Snake explains that plenty of thieves enter the farm at night. Sverkel explains that he believes that too much wealth is wrong and that the farm is too big for just one farmer to own. He says that too much power makes men fear losing it.

On the way back, Thorfinn has a different aura about him. He says he learned much today, and Einar seems happy with this comment. There seems to be a time skip, as Einar and Thorfinn are planting seeds on the ground and have beards now. When Einar calls Thorfinn a friend, Thorfinn is shocked but happy that after everything he has lived, he now has someone he can call a friend.