As “Vinland Saga” Season 2 winds down with its final episodes set to premier in the coming weeks, it’s slowly revealing the series’ thesis on what it means to be a man, as well as what separates great men from everyone else. 

Season 1 introduced us to Thors (Jason Douglas), the father of series protagonist Thorfinn (Aleks Le), who is a great man. Thors abhors war despite being one of the best warriors in Denmark during his youth and introduces us into a phrase that his son grapples with throughout the series: “You have no enemies. No one in the world is your enemy. There is no one you need to hurt.”

This is greatly contrasted to the reality Thorfinn faces when Thors dies at the dishonorable hands of Askeladd (Kirk Thornton), who leads him directly into warzone after warzone, where he must kill or be killed. On the battlefield, there is no room for those philosophical questions and in Season 1, they are largely brushed to the side in favor of scene after scene of visceral action. It’s not until Season 2 that the show revisits and builds off of it, as Thorfinn reflects on the consequences of his killing in Season 1. 

In Season 2: Episode 22 “Emperor of the Rebellion,” Thorfinn finally lives up to his father’s legacy and joins him as a great man. He endures 100 punches from a warrior known as a bear-killer in order to talk to King Canute (Jessie Grelle) in hopes of brokering peace. Thorfinn’s vow of nonviolence and the fact that he doesn’t break it make his endurance so significant as, like Thors, he proves that he is so committed to his ideals that he is willing to die for them. 

The episode also provides a baseline for what it means to be a man, though this terminology can be broadly interpreted as what it means to be an adult. Olmar (Ryan Levy), the cowardly son of Ketil (Doug Jackson), who is the owner of the farm Thorfinn is enslaved on, finally owns up to his mistakes and faces the consequences of his actions by surrendering — a decision that was his to make as the incapacitated Ketil named him heir to his estate. Olmar has been brash and immature and he was manipulated by Canute to lash out at his guards when the king rejected him, which he promptly used as justification for taking Ketil’s farm. 

Olmar, seeing the carnage firsthand of battle, rejected his brother Thorgil’s (Earl Baylon) definition of manhood that required him to slay those that insult him. Olmar realizes that he lashed out because he wasn’t mature enough to take the criticism and mockery of the guardsman and he should have owned up to his failure rather than demand a risky duel. Olmar’s grandfather, talking to the unconscious Ketil, cements this: “In exchange for your farm, your son has become a man.”

What sets Thors and Thorfinn apart from men like Olmar is that Olmar does the bare minimum of what is expected from an adult, whereas Thors and Thorfinn go thought great hardships to achieve their sense of justice. In the process, they pull off great feats that earns them the respect of their peers and their dedication and conviction are what make them great.

Askeladd and Canute sit somewhere in the middle of ordinary men and great men, as they display dedication beyond most of their peers, but their character flaws prevent them from being great. Both are characters whose sense of morality is flexible in order for them to achieve their goals; Askeladd for instance, is more than willing to resort to deceptive and dishonorable means to be victorious in battle, whereas Canute is not much different. Canute so far has used deception in order to gain the crowns of Denmark and England and resorted to similar tactics to frame Olmar in order to take Ketil’s farm. There’s also the matter of selling Thorfinn into slavery, who was one of his closest friends.

Season 2 is certainly not for everyone, especially those that enjoyed Season 1. But the deeper I get into Season 2, the more I appreciate it and its ideas. While it is much slower pace than last season, it has some interesting things to say about the nature of war, what it means to be an adult and what it takes to be great.