‘Vinland Saga: Season 2’ Episode 15 Recap & Ending Explained: Does Garnar Manage to Escape?

Welcome to the Recap and Ending Explained for Vinland Saga: Season 2. This is episode 15 of the second season and bears the title “Storm.” The ominous title gives the episode a lot of expectations, and without a doubt, the episode delivers on them. This is a very important episode, not only for what is happening right now in the story but also for what is going to happen in the future. Vinland Saga has truly become so much more than just a normal anime. It has gone beyond that storytelling style into something that could be considered prestige television.

For some, this might sound farfetched, but Vinland Saga has the same storytelling quality as Succession on HBO or any other marquee type of show on television. This is a show about characters, their growth, and how they experience their lives with each other. The drama in this episode is quite high, but a wonderful conversation shows just how good the writing is and how these characters are more than just mere constructs for delivering a message. They are actually remarkable, three-dimensional beings.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Vinland Saga: Season 2, Episode 15. Read at your own risk.

Does Garnar Manage To Escape?

Episode 15 begins just after the events of the previous episode. We remain at Ketil’s farm as we deal with the entire Garnar situation. Let’s remember that Garnar is a slave who killed his master and then went on as a fugitive. On the run, he ends up killing one of Snake’s men and then gets into Ketil’s farm, where we learn that he is actually Arnheid’s husband. Arnheid also reveals that she is pregnant with Ketil’s son and that she just wants to live a normal life at the farm raising her child. However, destiny had other things in mind.

In the middle of the night, she stands up from her bed, and after talking with Master Sverkel on the principles of destiny and action, she decides to go where Garnar is being held to tend to his wounds. She arrives and faces Snake. She asks for permission to tend to Garnar’s wounds, but she is denied. Snake and some other of his men leave and give orders to keep a watch on Garnar. Arnheid uses her beauty to convince one of the guards to give her a chance to talk to Garnar. The guard accepts and takes Arnheid to her husband.

Garnar is all beaten up and tied with ropes to some posts. He seems to be quite wounded, but when he hears Arnheid’s voice, his spirit comes back to life. It is quite a powerful scene, and you can see that Arnheid is keeping Garnar alive. They start talking, and Gargar asks Arnheid to free him so they can return home. Arnheid suggests that she needs Garnar free to tend to his wounds, but the guards will not fall for that. Garnar says he is sorry for everything. He says that he wants to go back home with Arnheid and their son and be as they used to be.

We don’t know the fate of Arnheid’s son, but we haven’t seen him. This could mean that he is dead or was taken away from her and is a slave in some other place. Arnheid cries and cries. The guard allowing her to see her husband comes near her, telling her time is up, and Garnar launches himself against the man, biting the man in the neck. Garnar spits the pieces of flesh in his mouth, and we see the results of his attack. The guard bleeds through his neck, and he is dying. He takes his sword, but it is too late, as he falls dead on the ground.

How Do You Get Rid Of War And Slavery?

When the guard falls to the ground, his friends, who are resting inside a cabin, come out and see the bloodshed. It is quite an intense moment. The guards prepare to battle Garnar, and Garnar himself screams at Arnheid. He tells her to pick up the man’s sword and cut his ropes with it. He says that if she doesn’t, they will kill both of them. Arnheid freaks out, not because she or Garnar could die, but because she is pregnant, and the thought of losing another kid seems just terrible to her. The series makes a cut, and we don’t see what happens after.

We jump back to Thorfinn and Einar. The morning brings the sun, and the rain stops. It seems none of the two men were able to sleep all night. They were thinking about Arnheid and the entire situation. Einar asks Thorfinn if he didn’t sleep because he wants to keep an eye on him. Einar assures him that he wouldn’t do anything stupid. Einar then asks Thorfinn about his promise of never doing violence again. He asks if something like that is possible and if it is possible to get rid of war and slavery. It all seems like a dream when they talk it out loud.

Thorfinn and Einar then have a very interesting conversation. Thorfinn explains that he knows that vowing to never do violence again is not enough. He can’t believe that, at one point, he destroyed so many lives so easily. He says that to find true redemption, he would have to build and create new lives with his own hands. He says he cannot carry another dead person on him. Einar asks what would happen if they got attacked. Sometimes, you need to fight to defend yourself. Thorfinn explains that it is true Vikings would always find them, and they would be in danger.

Thorfinn explains how the Viking culture is dominated by those who kill and plunder more. The more you kill and plunder, the more you are respected. Einar wished there would be a land they could go to where no Viking could find them. A land for outcasts. Thorfinn then remembers the land beyond the sea, the land Leif told him about, the titular Vinland Saga, which would be America. Einar’s eyes go bright after hearing there could be a place, even far away, where they can start anew without war and slavery.

Snake’s men arrive, interrupting Thorfinn and Einar’s conversation. They are looking inside their barn, and Thorfinn concludes that Garnar has escaped. He is right. Garnar escaped along with Arnheid, leaving four of Snake’s men dead. We see Snake as he sits inside Sverkel’s house. He promises to find Garnar and kill him.