‘Vinland Saga: Season 2’ Episode 3 Recap & Ending Explained: Where Did The Bodyguards Take Olmar?
Welcome to the Recap and Ending Explained for Vinland Saga: Season 2, Episode 3, titled “Snake”. The episode follows the events from the previous episode. There we saw how Thorfinn and Einar were made partners by the farm’s owner. They were given the task to clean up a forest and transform it into a wheat farm. If they manage to be successful in their tasks, they can buy their freedom back with their work. It is a lot of work, but the possibility of becoming a freeman makes Einar really excited.
We also got to see Einar fall in love with a woman he saw going in the direction of Ketil’s house, the owner of the farm. Einar becomes completely smitten by this woman. We also saw Einar getting faced with the realities of being a slave by being abused and taken advantage of by the free workers on the farm. We also got introduced to Olmar, the young 17-year-old son of Ketil. Unlike his father, Olmar seems to be focused on becoming a warrior. However, he is just a kid and knows absolutely nothing about life or death.
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Vinland Saga, Season 2, Episode 3. Read at your own risk.
Where Did The Bodyguards Take Olmar?
In the previous episode, we saw how Olmar was being manipulated by other farmers into having sex with their daughter. The hope is that the daughter would make Olmar fall in love with her and then get married, so they could become part of the family. Olmar sees through their scheme and leaves, but on the way he meets, a couple of characters, named Fox, and Badger. These two are “Guests” who serve as bodyguards inside the farm. They seem drunk, and they drag Olmar and his horse along with them to an unknown location.
At the start of Episode 3, we see where they took Olmar. We see that they took him to his own camp. There we see the rest of the bodyguards fighting each other, drinking and eating. They seem to be bored to death. Which is always something that comes up in fiction and in reality. An army that becomes bored, becomes dangerous to itself. Olmar is also quite drunk and begins to complain that nobody treats him like an adult. Olmar seems to be tired of being treated as a kid, but his behavior doesn’t really help his case.
Fox and Badger seem surprised by the behavior of the young man. They state they wanted to become friends with Olmar, so they could get on the good side of his father and maybe receive some more benefits. This is quite a sad position for Olmar to be in. It seems no one wants to be his friend or lover for real. They only see the young man as a stepping stone to getting in bed with his father, the owner of the farm, and the person who actually wields all the money, and all the power.
One of the guards, named, Fox, proposes to Olmar a solution to his issues. He says that there is one way for boys to become men, and that way is by killing a person. Seeing the fragility of the human being will make him stronger, says Fox. Olmar gets convinced, and when he asks, who could be the person he would kill? Fox answers that the easier way is to do it with a slave. A person that he is allowed to kill without repercussions.
Does Thorfinn and Einar Get Killed By Olmar And The Bodyguards?
We jump straight away to Thorfinn and Einar waking up from their night of sleep. Einar wakes up normally, while Thorfinn wakes screaming. He was having nightmares. Einar gets scared; he cannot imagine what kind of dream would make someone scream like that. The audience knows about Thorfinn’s past traumas, so it isn’t surprising that Thorfinn is suffering from a form of PTSD. After they go to work, they meet the woman Einar fell in love with, on the well. Her name is Arnheid, and she is quite nice. She reveals that she is a slave, just like Einar. She is Ketil’s personal assistant.
At that moment, Fox and Badger appear on horses, and they ask Thorfinn and Einar to go with them. They do it, but on the road, Einar confesses his suspicions to Thorfinn. Knowing that these guys are bodyguards, Einar doesn’t expect anything good from going with them. They should get ready. Once they arrive at the camp, we see that Olmar is there, and they have brought Einar and Thorfinn to the camp so that Olmar can kill them. Olmar is scared about it. He doesn’t want to kill anyone, really. But the bodyguards keep pushing him to do it. They say that is the only way he can be a man.
Einar gets angry and tells Thorfinn to run. He jumps on Olmar and tries to subdue him. Einar begs Thorfinn to run and go find Ketil and tell him what is happening while he stops them. Thorfinn seems unfazed by Einar’s sacrifice, but then he says he will allow Olmar to strike him down. This alerts everyone, and Fox takes issue with it. He says that everyone is afraid of dying. He says that they, as soldiers, deliver death, and if someone is now scared of dying that devalues their services. Thorfinn says he is not afraid of dying, because he sees no value in living.
This episode also introduces us to a very important character. We see this character sleeping in a cabin, a book over his head. He falls from the chair and then screams for someone he calls “Gramps” He asks for breakfast, but Gramps answers that he will only cook if he helps with the harvest. The character leaves and arrives at the camp. There he sees that Thorfinn is being cut by Fox, but Thorfinn doesn’t even blink. The character orders Fox to stop, and everyone gets scared for a moment. This character is named Snake, and he is the leader of the bodyguards. He hits Fox in the face and breaks his nose, ending the episode.
