Vinland Saga (2007)

[ヴィンランド・サガ]

Volume 5

Author/Artist: Makoto Yukimura
Publisher: Afternoon KC

Synopsis:
Floki reports to King Sweyn on what has happened to Prince Canute.

Story/Characters:
We start things off with Floki updating King Sweyn on the situation, then we catch up with Thorkell chilling in Gloucester for the winter. He learns that the English are moving to recognize Sweyn as king, meaning the end of the war, which is bad news for Thorkell, who wants the war to keep going. Around the same time, the sole survivor of Askeladd's slaughter of that village gets found. Speaking of Askeladd and his gang, they're on the watch for any enemies that might be headed their way. While Willibald, Canute and Ragnar are paying respects to the grave of the villagers, Willibald gives as despairing prayer questioning God's love for His children, which angers Canute. Naturally, there's more than one layer to his response, since he's not just taking about the Heavenly Father when he insists that there's no father who doesn't love his children. Really hits home, enough to even resonate a bit with Thorfinn.

With the information from the survivor, Thorkell is pumped that he can reclaim Canute and, more importantly, meet up with Thorfinn again. Before that, there's an English contingent moving on the village first. In the calm before the storm, Thorfinn catches a rabbit that Canute prepares as a soup. It turns out that Canute has a knack for cooking but when he tried to make something for his father, Sweyn was furious as cooking isn't something the son of the King ought to be doing. Ragnar tries to make excuses for the King, but even if he's fooling Canute, he's not going to convince any of us in the audience. This quiet moment passes as one of Askeladd's men shows up to report on the English force that's shown up. Between the fact that they've been discovered and that they're not pulling out immediately lest the men be forced to abandon their spoils, Ragnar is properly riled up and storms off to give Askeladd a good talking to. What happens next shouldn't surprise anyone based on Askeladd's conversation with Gratianus. Ragnar walks right into a trap set by Askeladd. Showing impressive resolve, he holds out against a mortal wound to speak to Askeladd directly. He tells Askeladd about what's really going on in the court, how Sweyn is pitting his two sons against each other so that one will end up dead and the presumably fitter heir will succeed him. The real enemy is none other than Sweyn himself.

As you can imagine, Canute doesn't take the news of Ragnar's death well. Bjorn is concerned that the lie that Ragnar was killed by the English won't wash, but Askeladd doesn't seem too concerned. He tortures the captain of the English fyrdmen to find out how they were discovered and he gives the Englishman a little history lesson on how his people are no less invaders than the Danes. The Englishman doesn't believe him, but the lesson gets cut short when Thorkell's gang closes in. Canute gets dragged off kicking and screaming and Askeladd smacks him around a bit to make it clear that things are different now that Ragnar is gone. Some deserters are caught and brought back in, only for Askeladd to let them go and anyone else who wants to take their chances on Thorkell. Clearly the deserters don't understand Thorkell because he doesn't welcome them with open arms. In fact, he gibs them so casually it takes him a few moments after the bits hit the ground for him to realize what they were saying and the main thing he gets out of it is the name of the guy who's been putting him on this merry chase.

Speaking of said man, Askeladd is pushing his men to their limit and we see a lot of griping in the ranks. However his luck has been going lately, Askeladd's powers of perception haven't been blunted any. He knows things are going south and sends Bjorn and Thorfinn on ahead with the Prince while he stays behind. There's an element of Norse fatalism to the men turning on him. As far as they're concerned, his luck has run out and sticking with him at this point is only a losing prospect. The men give him an ultimatum: give up the Prince and they'll spare his life. Askeladd takes the opportunity to tell his men exactly what he thinks about them and all other Danes before tearing into them, providing the distraction Bjorn needs to break out with the sled carrying Canute. Observing from the other side of the river, Thorkell is disappointed to see that he's not going to get the fight he was hoping for but dashes in so he can at least get to enjoy some of the fun.

Bjorn's escape takes a turn for the worse when his pursuers take out one of the horses. Thorfinn splits because Askeladd is more important to him and Bjorn decides to go berserk to deal with the turncloaks trying to make off with Canute. Meanwhile, though Askeladd has taken out quite a few of the traitors in the ranks, he's getting near the end of his rope. We see a flashback of his ailing mother telling him about Artorius and hoping that when the King returns from Avalon, Askeladd will serve him. In the present, he's trying to hold out until Thorkell's men arrive and he can take advantage of the chaos to make his escape. However, the turncloaks finally come to the realization that using archers is the way to go. Askeladd tries talking his way out of it, pointing out that he ought to be taken alive or else it'll be harder for them to deal with Bjorn and Thorfinn. The solution: Aim for the legs. Given the sheer number of archers, even Askeladd can't avoid taking some hits. It seems like the jig is up, but then Thorkell rolls in.

Thorgrimm (the chunky one of the two brothers) as the effective leader of the turncloaks attempts to surrender to Thorkell and you can imagine how well that goes over. It's Valhalla time, boys. When faced with a monster like Thorkell, Thorgrimm's mind snaps like a dry twig. And then an enraged Thorfinn storms in lest he lose his kill. A delighted Thorkell absolutely wrecks Thorfinn's horse and once he realizes that Askeladd is a prize worth fighting for, our dear Murder Totoro uses Askeladd as the condition for a duel between him and Thorfinn.

Art:
Ragnar's last stand packs a punch and the torture of the English captain is suitably brutal. The real fun comes when Thorkell brings his murder game to the party. Askeladd puts up a fine showing in his fight with the turncloaks and Thorfinn's rage faces when he thinks Askeladd might die before he can kill him are something special. The MVP is the full-page shot of Thorkell uppercutting a horse. (It made my father, who absolutely hates horses, quite happy when I showed it to him.)

Other:
The only extra this time is the travel map.

Conclusion:
As rewarding as it is to watch a plan come together, seeing one fall apart makes for good drama. You can definitely say the chickens are coming home to roost for Askeladd and his men, but we get quite a show of the big betrayal. Gearing up for Round 2 of Thorfinn vs. Thorkell is definitely a fine way to get the readers excited for the next volume. This is one worth having.

Rating:
Own It