‘Vinland Saga: Season 2’ Episode 14 Recap & Ending Explained: What Is the Story Behind Arnheid and Garnar?

Welcome to the Ending Explained for Vinland Saga: Season 2, Episode 14, titled “Freedom.” This episode pretty much focuses on the character of Arnheid after the events of the previous episode, where a slave named Garnar arrived at Ketil’s Farm looking for her. The slave was not strange to Anrheid. Actually, he was his husband, and a terrified Arnheid stood there watching the man who once shared her life, all-bloody, riding a horse that emitted death behind it. There is a tragic story behind both of them, and this episode executes it beautifully.

It seems like things are becoming more and more complicated with each passing day. Some episodes ago, after having quite a bit of an epiphany, Thorfinn decided that he would abandon violence for the rest of his life, which is great. Still, the world has other ideas in mind, and tragedy and violence seem to be following Thorfinn wherever he goes. It is going to be interesting to see if Thorfinn’s will is strong enough actually to maintain himself away from violence and to live a peaceful life. In this episode, both Thorfinn and Einar are put to the test.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Vinland Saga: Season, Episode 14. Read at your own risk.

Does Garnar Rescue Arnheid From Ketil’s Farm?

The previous episode left us on quite a cliffhanger. We saw Garnar kill his master and burn his master’s house before taking a horse in search of a woman, whom we would later know to be Arnheid. On the way, Garnar killed Lizard, one of Snake’s men, and reached Ketil’s farm to find a surprised Arnheid looking at him with terror. It was a shocking moment, one that becomes tragic when we know just how strong Einar’s feelings for Arnheid are. It seems our farm boy can’t catch a break, even regarding love.

In this episode, we see Garnar trying to talk to Arnheid, and it all seems quite off. Arnheid’s face doesn’t express any sort of happiness at seeing his husband. Instead, Arnheid is filled with fear, this event was not part of her plans, and she now fears that her world is about to crumble once again. Garnar tries to take Arnheid, but Snake interjects and stops Arnheid from going closer to her husband. One of Snake’s men takes Arnheid away while Snake gets ready to fight Garnar and capture him alive.

Snake kills Garnar’s horse, and he falls to the ground. Now the fight is one on one equal terms. Garnar looks furious and out of control, but Snake looks confident in his fighting abilities and takes on the slave head-on. Garnar is incredibly fast, but Snake is faster and avoids every single blow from Garnar. Snake takes his sword and assumes correctly that Garnar is wounded on his body and attacks that exact place. Garnar falls to his knees, and then Snake just strikes him unconscious with a strike to the neck.

Garnar is tied up and taken away. However, during the fight, we glimpse Einar and Thorfinn. They are watching the event unfold, and Einar is clearly shaken. He doesn’t like to see Arnheid suffer, so at one point, he takes his axe and is about to help Garnar, so he can take Arnheid and be free. Thorfinn stops him and tells Einar that they don’t know the complete story and that acting on such little information would be irresponsible. Thorfinn also warns Einar that killing someone would be terrible, and he doesn’t need to have that in his consciousness.

What Is The Story Behind Arnheid And Garnar?

Garnar is captured and placed in one of the barns. Snake places several guards around him. He knows the man is dangerous and could get away as easily as he killed Lizard. Back at Sverkel’s house, we see Einar and Thorfinn assessing the situation. Einar is about to stand up to do something, but Arnheid stops him. Einar doesn’t understand why Arnheid doesn’t want to help her husband. Does she not like him? Arnheid explains that for her, it is better to just let the storm pass. She asks if she can tell her story. The three men pay attention as the woman talks.

Arnheid begins to tell her story. She explains that she and Garnar got married through an arrangement between their families. Yet, Garnar was a good husband, a kind man. They lived in a village somewhere in Sweden. One day, a conflict started between her village and a neighboring village over the control of a swamp that contained iron. The men decided to go to war, looking to make claims over the swamp, while the women stayed with the kids. When the ships returned, they didn’t carry their men but the enemy.

That was the end of Arnheid’s freedom and the beginning of her hell. She lost her husband and son. However, Arnheid reveals she is pregnant with Ketil’s son. She is sure that Ketil will receive the kid with open arms. Arnheid has become complacent with what she has. She wants to stay at the farm, raise her child, and just live a normal peaceful life at the farm, nothing more and nothing less. Einar is baffled, but Thorfinn seems to understand Arnheid’s feelings. The same can be said for Sverkel, who has been listening from his bed.

Arnheid wakes up in the middle of the night and is about to go out. Sverkel stops her and tells her he thought she had said she would wait for the storm to pass. Arnheid was about to visit Garnar to tend his wounds. Sverkel tells her the story of how, many years ago, Ketil fell in love with a girl who was being claimed by a more powerful master from another farm, and Sverkel obeyed. The master and the girl were killed not long after. Sverkel explains that we can let the storms pass, but they will still leave us with scars. Arnheid leaves the house, saying she will be back soon.

What will happen now? Will Ketil arrive at this mess, or will things solve before Ketil’s arrival? The next episode is titled “Storm” so things might get even worse.