#Thors the throl

[sayaka19fan]

Askeladd vs Thors

I think some people don't understand the meaning of the duel between Askeladd and Thors and why Thors couldn't act differently.

Look at Askeladd's plan first: he suspected that his opponent was a fearsome foe based on Floki's behavior. That's why he decided that the archers were the best choice to do the killing. His job was to take down Thors and nobody else. He could order to shot at any time and Thors was aware of the archers' strange inactivity.

When Thors asked for a duel he thought that the archers were there as an intimidating measure. He thought that he was facing some pirates who were looking for slaves. He hoped he could scare them enough and the duel was intended as a demonstration of strength. When Thors realized that they were after his head the duel was already accepted. At that point he knew that whatever he did he wouldn't probably have saved his life. Had he killed Askeladd the archers would have shot their arrows anyway and Askeladd's crew would have taken over the ship, the captured slaves and would have got the reward for the assassination.

Accepting the duel was pointless but Askeladd indulging in it was for Thors a hint that the man was trustworthy and honorable, because he was keen to giving him a death fitting for a warrior instead of taking the easy win.

Askeladd offered to serve Thors when Thors showed that he was aware of how killing Askeladd was futile at that point. Askeladd gave him this way out but since he didn't want to throw away his pacifism, Thors was dead the moment they fell in Askeladd's trap. Askeladd misunderstood the refusal at first as Thors looking down on him, it was only when he was told that none of his men had died that he realised Thors's reasoning.

Bjorn reminded Thors that they would sacrifice the others to take him down and that there was only one thing worth in the negotiations: his life. And it showed that Bjorn has no squarm if he can help Askeladd not to lose his face in front of the crew, that he was all and though his man. No one else in that crew except Askeladd was going to honour a warrior code, so it became crucial that Askeladd kept being their captain.

Askeladd didn't swore not to kill Thors, he swore to retreat immediately. He didn't break his promise at all. He accepted the humiliation of defeat in exchange of a major humiliation: Thors suffered the death of the fool to save Askeladd's face so that he could keep his promise. Were there no witnesses it could have ended in another way, this is for me the element that turned it into a tragedy.