#askeladd makes an appearance too (and thors)

[rinn-e]

After two years I finally made a (rough) animatic again! (and it’s about Vinland Saga sry)

[s5anyu]

he is a terrible man. and yet amongst men, he is the most beautiful of characters.

Character Analysis for Askeladd of Vinland saga

On the surface, Askeladd is nothing more than a self-serving man. He is cunning, charming, and intelligent, qualities that no matter the disdain people have for his abrasive personality, have earned him respect amongst the Vikings, and beyond. Floki respects his intelligence enough to approach him to request the killing of a man who is regarded to be the strongest amongst all warriors. This being his first appearance is a solid testament to his ability to overcome any predicament – the basis of his development as a character throughout the Vinland Saga prologue. His men trust in all of his decisions, no matter how rash. They believe him to be as lucky as he is intelligent. His intelligence, wisdom and kindness complements the air of arrogance with which he carries himself. When hosted by his uncle Gorm, he laughs at him, before imparting wisdom on a young man who tells him that he would sooner die than live without pride. He says:

“Look. It’s terrible. The guy who’s a slave to money holds a whip and pretends to be the master of the slave he bought with his money. He just doesn’t realise it himself. Everyone is a slave to something.”

Such a sense of wisdom places Askeladd as a tool for Yukimura to present and explore the status of elders in Norse society. As an elder to Thorfinn, he guides him through different trials and encourages him to push his limits as a warrior, and become a better combatant. Regardless of whether or not life at war is the best option for Thorfinn, Askeladd always believes in him and his ability, and though he never expresses verbally his concern for Thorfinn’s wellbeing, he always shows an interest in Thorfinn’s safety and is always waiting for his return where the rest of his band do not care. To the other Vikings, Thorfinn is just another one of their men. Bjorn says of Thorfinn, “You trusted in his [Thorfinn’s] luck too much this time. It doesn’t matter. I didn’t lose anything.” This statement also reflects the stark individualism displayed by Vikings – although they may work together in bands of warriors or mercenaries or otherwise, they do so to serve their own interests – honour, valour, wealth, among many things. But to Askeladd, he is someone important - someone he cares for. When one considers the question of whether life at war is the best for Thorfinn the answer to this question evidences Askeladd’s selfishness. Despite knowing that life as a warrior is not the best for Thorfinn, he still uses him as a tool to further his own goals. In his own words, “It’s just easy to make use of an idiot who is not afraid of anything.”

There are, however, multiple occasions on which Askeladd appears to be straying from the typical Viking individualism of the era. The first example of this, is his kindness towards Thorfinn, as introduced in the previous paragraph. Amongst Vikings, such ideas of care and brotherhood are ultimately trumped by ideas of valour in battle and honour in death. One would not be greatly concerned with the death of one’s companions as long as they are assured that the departed are well on their way to the esteemed Valhalla – however the concern that Askeladd shows towards Thorfinn is evidence of his holding of attitudes that were unconventional for his time. This ties into the subtle revelation towards the end of the prologue that Askeladd does not believe that life at war is honourable, and does not hold the Viking people in esteem because of this; going so far as to disdain his own Norse heritage in favour of his Welsh heritage. His final actions and his final words reflect his sentiment from episode 10, Ragnarok, in which he declares:

"This is the age of twilight, Bjorn. Let’s go out with a bang."

In his final moments, he kills King Sweyn to protect both his motherland of Wales and the young Prince Canute. In this, he sacrifices himself to protect what is dear to him – and to protect King Canute who he grows to respect as a man with potential to be great in their short period of companionship. This is him leaving his mark on the age of twilight; this is him going out with a bang. He tells Thorfinn:

“In the future, after I die, how do you plan to live your life, Thorfinn? You haven’t thought about it, right? Move forward already. Don’t stay stuck in a boring place like this forever. Go far ahead, go beyond the world where Thors went. You’re Thors’ son. Go. That’s your real fight. Become a true warrior son of Thors.”

These last words reflect multiple things that are introduced at the beginning of the prologue and explored throughout it, the first being Askeladd’s feelings towards Thors. At the beginning of the prologue, Askeladd shows great respect to Thors throughout the duration of their battle. He outwardly expresses an appreciation for his strength, saying that he “could lead a whole army”. This statement shows that Thors is a man who is both physically strong and strong in character, and that Askeladd recognises this. He then asks of him, “why don’t you become our leader?” which shocks his men – as mentioned before they trust in him absolutely and are already surprised to see a man who can best him in hand-to-hand combat. However, none of them express dissent to this; whether this is out of shock or acceptance is open to interpretation. When he backtracks on this statement and says he’s only joking, one of the young men from the village try to attack Askeladd, to which he responds

“Damn kid. You should start valuing your life. You should be grateful to Thors. He was a man who was worth more than a hundred bratty kids like you.”

Askeladd greatly respects Thors and despite his decision, holds him in high esteem. The first part of this statement also reflects on his belief in – or at the very least respect for – Thors and his philosophy. He calls him a man of great value and he scolds the young man who he perceives as disrespecting the sacrifice that Thors made to keep him alive. “Don’t stay in a boring place like this” refers generally to the life of a warrior as opposed to their physical location of the king’s court. As detailed briefly above, Askeladd disdains the life of a warrior, and disdains the Vikings for it. Therefore, when he reminds Thorfinn “You’re Thors’ son”, he believes that Thorfinn Karlsefni has the potential to be as great as his father, if not more so. He believes that he can grow to become something greater than a warrior.

The second idea that this quote reflects is that of Askeladd’s care and concern for Thorfinn. He asks, “You haven’t thought about it, right?”. Askeladd has thought about how Thorfinn has been mentally since the passing of his father. Thorfinn has a stark hatred of battle and engages in it purely because of the hatred he has for Askeladd, and the proximity it gives him to his goal of killing him. Askeladd is aware of this. In his last moments, he could have been unkind and goading towards Thorfinn as he had been in the past – but instead he pushes him to seek something better. He knows that Thorfinn has been suffering emotionally and hasn’t known happiness from the day they met. Askeladd doesn’t appear as a man who wants to seek redemption – he wants Thorfinn to find happiness now that he has nowhere to direct the anger that has been his only motivator for the greater part of his childhood. From this, one could argue that Askeladd’s selfishness trumped his desire for Thorfinn to be happy. However, very early on in the prologue, Askeladd hints at his acceptance of defeat at Thorfinn’s hand.

"You’ve grown a lot. Well, time is on your side. You’re going to grow, and I’m going to get old. Someday, I’m going to lose to you. It’s only natural. Even the strongest dies someday."

Askeladd doesn’t attempt to dissuade Thorfinn from his desire for vengeance. Rather he tries to guide him towards the idea that vengeance is empty, and that any defeat he faces at Thorfinn’s hand is meaningless in the face of the natural order of the world. He knows that it is pointless to try and calm the resentment that Thorfinn harbours towards him; he knows the gravity of his sin and can’t tell Thorfinn not to hate him for it. From this, we can begin to explore the idea that Askeladd is similar to Thorfinn and sees himself in the younger man. Askeladd is just as full of hatred as Thorfinn is – as much as he is to a father figure to Thorfinn as a man, as a character, he serves as both a parallel and a foil to Thorfinn.

Askeladd is just as full of hatred as Thorfinn. His mother, Lydia, was taken from her homeland of Wales as a concubine to Olaf, and when she grew sick, she was of no value to him. She and her son were discarded and Askeladd grew to despise his father, and by extension his people. Askeladd, like Thorfinn, learned from the man he hated the most and sought revenge against him. Askeladd was successful in killing his father but his disdain for the Viking way of life and his bloodline led him to harbour resentment even into his old age. He is therefore a parallel to Thorfinn in that they both resent battle and war but tolerate it as a means to satisfying their own end. Askeladd, however, has seen and experienced first-hand the effects of Viking conquest on the innocent. Thorfinn has only seen it from the eyes of the oppressor.

Despite this, both continue to kill.

Askeladd’s ability to relate to Thorfinn’s anger is what makes him such a good father figure to him. He knows what it means to be so consumed by anger that you see nothing else, that you live for nothing else – to endure something you despise for the sake of vengeance. He knows that Thorfinn is miserable, and hurting, and lonely, because he is too. Such a sense of relatability is what puts him in a position to understand and take care of Thorfinn. It is because he understands how Thorfinn feels that he does not attempt to dissuade him from following him around in the hopes of killing him. He knows that Thorfinn cannot let go of the anger he has until he sees the recipient of that anger gone, because he too suffers from the same affliction. Therefore, it is not selfishness that drives Askeladd to keep Thorfinn around in his suffering – it is resignation; the same resignation he displays when he says that he will someday lose to Thorfinn.

Askeladd proves himself throughout his life to be ahead of his time. He is wise, caring, and understanding; but he is also cold, cunning, and ruthless. Man is not absolute, and Askeladd is no exception. But from those of his time, he is far above men – even with each and every of his nuances and flaws. he comes close to attaining the status of a true warrior as Thors was – and maybe if he had had more time, he could’ve seen his mother’s dream come true. The world is never that simple.

word from the writer:

When Askeladd was first introduced to me, he appeared to me as a terrible man. His intelligence and his strength is terrifying. A man who can kill for his own gain, without remorse. Such a terrible man. But amongst men he is the most beautiful of characters.

When I was writing this I wanted it to be a prelude to my upcoming essay on his relationship with Thorfinn. To some degree I’ve covered that here, so the next piece will most likely be on how Thorfinn views him and I would also like to talk about his relationship with prince Canute. Askeladd, despite not seeming like it, is a very fatherly man and I love looking at how he interacts with the other members of the cast. I hope you enjoyed this, and I’d love to hear what you guys have to say about this. my asks are always open.

Please look forward to the next piece in my Vinland Saga series.

[childofaura]

So I didn’t realize there was already a dub for Vinland Saga

Well, one dub at least. There’s two now but I’m focusing on VSI.

I tried checking it out, and... I honestly think I’m gonna stick with sub. I don’t like some of the dialogue choices they’re making (In Episode 4, Askeladd calls his men “you bastards” where in the English dub he says “my brothers”. During his talk with Thorfinn he says “I didn’t think you’d live this long” where in the sub he says “I didn’t think that little kid would be glaring at me, you’ve grown up a lot”. Lots of context being lost in the dub, sadly) and I’m not really a fan of the casting choices... 

Aleks Le is a pretty good Thorfinn, but sometimes you can hear where he sounds like he’s gritting his teeth to make it sound forced. OG Thorfinn has his batshit insane moments but he also has quieter lines that hold more subtle venom. Le kinda has no chill sometimes.

Askeladd... Is Kirk Thornton a good choice? Hell yeah. Is his Askeladd voice any good?... Not quite. I feel like if he made his voice lower, he could really nail it but his voice is higher than it should be for Askeladd, and it also feels like it’s too smooth for Askeladd. I also feel like he doesn’t change his inflections enough for certain scenes. During his talk about the Romans, he doesn’t seem to get enough of an “honest” tone; the important thing about Askeladd’s scenes with Thorfinn is that Thorfinn’s one of two people (the other being Bjorn) that Askeladd is 100% honest with; no facades, no mask. He has no reason to pretend to like or care for Thorfinn, and in that weird way, he still does. Thornton just doesn’t quite capture it.

Greg Chun as Thors... I’m sorry, I respect Chun doing the best he can but this was a bad call. His voice combined with Thors’ physical appearance is incredibly jarring, he sounds too young and he also sounds higher than a guy like Thors should. If I had to pick someone else, I’m sure Jake Eberle or someone similar would sound better.

Thorkell probably sounds the best out of all of them. Patrick Seitz manages to mimic Akio Otsuka’s voice “rolling” pretty darn perfectly; my only minor nitpick is that he doesn’t make Thorkell sound like he’s enjoying himself enough sometimes, but again it’s a minor nitpick.

Bjorn’s all right. Not outstanding, I personally prefer the sub voice because it sounds nicer. English actor (can’t remember who he was) does a good enough job.

And those are really the only voices that matter to me, I don’t care too much about anyone else.

[golden-saga-imagines]

Can you do some Thorfinn and Caunte in college headcanons?

Yeah! I’ve loved write these headcanons. Maybe it has exceeded me in length? But his request is worth it. So, I hope you like it. Enjoy! 💕

 THORFINN

🐺 In spite of the intimidating appearance of Thorfinn, he’s a great student. The average of Thorfinn’s marks bring closer to the B. If he tried harder, he will have better marks.

🐺 At first, Thorfinn doesn’t know what to study, he doesn’t have something that love it so much as for to work in it. He thinks what the things he loves to do, they don’t need to become in your job. Also, he has the pressure of the leading figure of his father, Thors is a great police and everyone want to he becomes a police.

🐺 Thorfinn is one of these persons that he doesn’t lend his notes down at least you are his best friend, someone who really needs his notes down or someone who talked with him one more than one occasion. If you never talk with him and you ask for his notes, Thorfinn glares you and rejects to lend you it.

🐺 Sorry.

🐺 Thorfinn isn’t party-going, he prefers stay with you drinking some beers and talking about your interests, the series he loves to watch and criticises teachers. Between class and class, you both rest in the garden side the faculty, doing nothing. You rest your head in the Thorfinn’s abdomen, he never groans about it. Other times, you both are in the cafeteria, in the times when there is nothing to do, you teach him to play poker, Uno, blackjack and others. Between both make your owns cards against humanity. Here there’re a lot of mentions to university. Teachers too.

🐺 Thorfinn doesn’t like study in the library, he prefers study in home, but he loves study with you. Usually, Thorfinn studied a week before to exam, but since met you, he studies a month before the exam. And he’s calmer and sure of he will has a good mark.

🐺 If he has Askeladd like teacher, here will be a bit confrontation. Thorfinn doesn’t stand Askeladd, but he knows that he’s a great professor. He’s tough and explain very well, if you didn’t like his subject before, now you will like. Thorfinn pinchs you every time you get dumbfounded looking to Askeladd.

🐺 When you both finish the exam period, this night burn the notes and drunk.

 CANUTE

👑 Canute is the prince of faculty, he’s a great student, he always has the best marks, he’s very charm and nice. No one understand how someone like Canute can be your friend, you don’t get me wrong, you’re awesome and cool, but Canute is Canute. Still, you don’t believe how he has a group of fans in your faculty, even others faculties. The live is a simulation? You’re in shojo manga?

👑 You don’t care. Canute is your best friend and you love him.

👑 To study with Canute is delight, he explain very good, Canute has an infinite patience. You’re a great student too, but you love study with your friends; you can have a storm ideas about concepts and lessons about the subjects, this helps a lot of for study. Canute asks you about the lessons as if were an exam; and you ask him too.

👑 Between class and class, Canute and you play to rock-paper-scissors game, play the cards like poker and if there is a long period without something to do, you take people to play wolf game. One day, the game will las a lot of and the teacher caught you.

👑 Canute lend his notes no matter who you’re of if he ever saw you. You insist him on he sells his notes, but Canute refuses. He want get a better world than this, therefore he doesn’t sell his notes.

👑 You study a month before the exam, but Canute studies three months before. You glares him. You love him, but you deny to make a project with him, Canute is very organized and strict, he always is the leader in the project’s group and this hit a lot of with you because you’re a leader too. And both want rule the project and there are a lot of disputes. Therefore, you and Canute decide do the projects in different groups.

👑 Canute and you exchange notes, in this way both have the best notes in the class.

👑 Canute likes go to parties but not a lot of much, he loves go with you, in fact. And doesn’t mind where, if he’s with you, Canute has a good time. Go to pubs? Yes. Go to cat cafeteria? Of course, he loves to caress kitties. Go to hiking? Yes, he loves how your eyes shine when you catch a perfect panorama with your camera.

👑 When the exam periods ends, Canute and you watch a marathon of yours favourites series, with a cup of chocolate and marshmallows.

 THORFINN & CANUTE bonus track

✨In the breaks between class and class, you play to cards against humanity in the grass side the faculty and the cafeteria. One day, some teachers approach to you and join with you guys. You sweat a lot of for it, when Askeladd is sit at your side and you see he has the card you wrote, which says: “Askeladd’s butt…”. Thorfinn laugh of you, but his laugh doesn’t take a long time when the old Sverkell win the game.

✨One night, when Canute and Thorfinn are in your home, Thorfinn have the great idea of play strip poker. The two naive thought they will win, but no. “Haha, you stupids”, you say, when you win. Canute and Thorfinn are naked and his faces are red.

✨Neither of two return to play poker with you.

 Ari 🌿

[recentanimenews]

Vinland Saga – 24 (Fin) – The Prelude Hath Ended

I tell you, gentle reader, I was not ready for the epic-ness this episode dished out, nor the way it completely exploded my idea of where I thought this show might be headed in a rhetorical second season. But I don’t watch shows to have my feeble theories proven right; I watch to be entertained and surprised, which I very much was. Though in hindsight, it was folly not to expect absolutely anything from Askeladd.

Last week we saw Askeladd dreading the corner into which he’d been pushed. On one hand, he must make nice with King Sweyn in order to keep the longer-term plans for Canute’s ascent viable. On the other, Sweyn seems to have deduced Askeladd’s Kryptonite to be Wales, and aims to mercilessly exploit that weakness.

Sweyn entertains Askeladd’s boldness after he attempts to dissuade the king with logic: Wales just isn’t worth it. But in exchange for his lenience, he draws in close to Askeladd and gives him a choice: Canute or Wales. He can only save one. Sweyn twists the knife by telling Askeladd the only good export from Wales is slaves.

Out at the port, Thorfinn boards Leif’s ship—the very same ship he dreamed of boarding as a boy so he could join Erikson on his adventures hither and thither. Finally he’s been given permission to embark, but Thorfinn’s attention is captured by a seabird preening then taking flight into the bright blue sky.

It almost looks like a metaphor for Thorfinn’s present state of freedom and potential for more, but it turns out to be an omen. The bird isn’t his freedom, but the lodestar to which he’s hitched his wagon these past eleven years, about to take off without him. Thorfinn suddenly vanishes from the ship, to Leif’s unyielding dismay.

Let it be said that Askeladd is, as Thorkell puts it, “good with words.” It’s why he had his own loyal army for so long, and why he’s able to openly question the king’s judgment.  But he’s always had deep thoughts to match behind those words, as well as decisive action to back them up. But had thought long and hard for a scenario in which Sweyn would make him choose between his homeland and his chosen heir to the throne?

Hard, perhaps; long, hard to say. “Plan B” happens in a hurry, because Askeladd would never get as good a chance as he had in that moment. So he draws his sword and beheads Sweyn with one swipe before the guards can come near. If he and Sweyn were playing chess, this is Ashy flipping the board and letting the pieces clatter on the ground in chaos. He also reveals his true birth name, Lucius Artorius Castus, offering it as proof he is the rightful King of England.

Askeladd, to most in the hall, appears to have gone quite mad, and the extremity of his rambling continues as he carves through the guards, who it is notable to mention follow orders from Prince Canute. Askeladd isn’t really mad at all; he simply surveyed the board and knew he wouldn’t win without sacrifice. When Canute tells Thorkell of Askeladd’s “act”, Thorkell makes it clear that it must be Canute who executes his father’s murderer.

Canute manages to do so, plunging his sword into Askeladd’s heart, impressing the old man with the precision of his first killing strike. Thorfinn is too late to stop it. The plans surrounding who will rule the Danes and England proved too large and important to pay any bother to his personal vendetta, something that had gone on so long it had soured into a pathetic futility; a source of pathos, not fear.

When a stunned Thorfinn suddenly lashes out at Canute, cutting his perfect cheek, the new king’s loyal subjects line up to kill his would-be assassin. But Canute interrupts their attempts to win favor with the new boss; Thorfinn still isn’t that important. Canute immediately cancels any incursions into Wales, and as everyone assembled bends the knee, he orders his armies to prepare for English revolts in the wake of his father’s death.

The conquered must be made to understand that the new king has no intention of giving up what has been taken. Thorfinn could potentially have a part in that, thanks only to Canute’s surpassing charity, which saved his life. It would be too easy to say Canute did a disservice to Thorfinn, even if the kid’s life has never looked bleaker.

There he sits, beside the fresh corpse of his surrogate father and nemesis, unable and even possibly incapable of even considering how he’ll live the next five minutes, let alone the remaining years of his life. Before he dies, Askeladd begged Thorfinn not to let himself get stuck in “such a boring place” as he currently inhabits.

As he’s carried away, Thors’ dagger falls out of his son’s hand, the past twenty-four episodes of Vinland Saga thus far rapidly unfold, reflected in the blade. Then we’re teased with new locations and new characters, but no explicit announcement of a second season. While it seems highly likely one is coming, questions abound: Will Thorfinn be a part of it, or will his story conclude in an upcoming film?

Whatever the case, this finale was a brilliant culmination of the events that have unfolded thus far, with the stories of old players like Sweyn and Askeladd coming to a close and the stories of young players like Thorfinn and Canute still up in the air. More than anything, it left me wanting more, and hoping to get it as soon as possible. After all, if such a tremendous work was merely the prologue, how does that bode for the story proper?

By: braverade

[ceies]

The Struggle of the Hufflepuff Primary in Vinland Saga

Whenever I finish watching a story I start going back to my roots. My roots are the Harry Potter Fandom and a few years ago a good friend of mine showed me the hogwarts house system of @sortinghatchats​ / @sortinghatchats-deactivated​​. Give their system a look, it’s really interesting and well-thought out!

I’ve recently finished watching Vinland Saga, and I really loved it... So, let’s do this! My first sorting I want to publish on Tumblr and as I am unable to put all my thoughts into a single Tumblr post I try to keep it as short as possibe while still dedicating enough time to the important characters.

So what is the Sortinghatchats Sorting system?

With this system characters are placed into two Hogwarts houses. “WHY do they act?” For example, do they act out of loyalty -> Slytherin, or Hufflepuff or do they follow an ideology -> Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. That is the Primary House. The Secondary House is based on “HOW do they act?” (Secondary House). If you want to know more about the details head over and read their posts on the matter. Recently, they also have a quiz that can help you sort yourself if you’re interested.

The Characters of Vinland Saga

Placing Vinland Saga characters more than ever I had the problem, that the characters often undergo such a fundamental character evolution that their primary motivation over great parts of their lives can suddenly change. It also seems to be very much a ‘coming of age�� story for the younger characters such as Thorfinn and Canute. So I decided to – in many situation – treat this evolution of the character’s motivation as some sort of “Awakening“ of the Primary House. So, just keep in mind that some of the actions of a character before that “Awakening” may not always fit with the primary I assign to them.

I have called this Post the “Struggle of the Hufflepuff Primary” after I realized that a big junk of the show seems to address a very Hufflepuff-ish mindset that is almost doomed to burn in a world as wartorn and brutal as the Viking era. The desire to simply HELP people in a world where not focusing on your own interest may get you and your loved ones killed. This is a struggle that we will see again and again with many of the themes and characters in the show.

In any case, feel free to agree, disagree and discuss this to your heart’s content.

Thors

Thors is a Hufflepuff Primary. This could be hardly any more obvious. I’ve thought a bit about whether there is maybe a Gryffindor in him, as his broad almost “constitutional” declarations sound idealistic, but I decided that the specific wording was far too Hufflepuff to put my money on anything other than that. The most telling part is when he tells Thorfinn that “There is nobody you can kill. Nobody is you’re enemy. Nobody has enemies.” While at the end of the day it makes no difference whether you tell somebody “You cannot kill” or “There is nobody for you to kill” the wording seems to put specific emphasis on people more so than even the general prohibition of killing. It’s not so much “you cannot kill” and more “there are no PEOPLE you can kill. There is not a single PERSON that is your enemy.” In many ways Thors doesn’t tell Thorfinn not to kill, he tells him not to have enemies, or in other words he tells him to LOVE everybody. So this seems to be a loyalty Thors feels for humans in general. And it’s not limited to a specific circle of people. At one point he sells eight sheep to free an already dying slave. And even when the slave died shortly after, he did not regret it.

Thors more than anybody is one of those “awakened” characters. Before said awakening he spent most of his life fighting, killing without any empathy, or really emotions of his own. He was a killing machine. It was only his daughter – and not even so much the birth of his daughter but rather the act of NAMING her – that made him fear battle. He feared leaving his family behind. That sounds rather Slytherin-ish, but it seemed to have almost immediately evolved into a general empathy for all people.

About his Secondary he seems to be rather passive during his time on Iceland. That may be due to a general satisfaction with his quiet life – something his son for example doesn’t share. He seems to have come to the conclusion that to not hurt anybody it is best for him to move away from crisis to an isolated island where he can raise his family in a peaceful environment. He is not going out to actually do something against the cruelty in this world which makes it really difficult to decide on his secondary. Mostly he seems to be reactionary, meaning we can only see his reactions to plans other characters put into motion. The only thing I can really exclude here is the Slytherin. He is very honest and Askeladd essentially defeated him just by being dishonest. Overall it seems like other characters like Floki and Askeladd are quite effectively scheming their way around Thors in a way that the best Thors can really do is protecting the people around him while giving these people what they want. There is some strategical thinking to his actions in how he planned to safe his men both from war and later from Askeladd, and while he did charge at Askeladd’s men jumping into action quickly, he did so mostly out of necessity. So, I’m kind of split between a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw secondary. Ultimately, I choose the Gryffindor Secondary because of how honest and direct he is in his approach even calling upon his enemy’s honor to try and safe his men.

Thorfinn:

Thorfinn’s single minded and stubborn pursuit for revenge is very Gryffindor. Here we have a prime example for a Gryffindor Secondary. However as far as the prologue goes his Primary is very jumbled and garbled together. It’s very obvious that this is a boy who wanted to go on an adventure and see the world and then utterly lost his way. His pursuit of revenge could just be a surface motivation hiding away his true purpose in life, which makes it difficult to judge what he is about or what he will do in the future. However just looking at what we see, his pursuit of revenge seems to be motivated by a Slytherin Primary (possibly a very strong Slytherin Primary model). He seeks revenge for his father’s death because he can’t live with the idea that his Dad’s murderer might still run free. It is something he does for his father even though he knows his father would not want this. Even the way he goes about it – doing it the honorable way – is in loyalty to his father because he does not want to dishonor him by being a dishonorable son. This also makes Askeladd’s death in the finale very hard for him to accept, because Askeladd somehow over time snuck his way into Thorfinn’s inner circle. As I said, it’s very possible that this is just a model that he may strip in the next few seasons, but it could also be his actual primary.

Leif:

Although Leif did not appear that much in the story, I wanted to include him, because I think he is a very important character, but there’s not really much to go by. I think he is a Ravenclaw Primary. That fits very well with his role of being a very established explorer of the sea. At times he acts a little bit like a Slytherin who acts out of loyalty for his friends, but there seem to be moments when that is refuted. While he absolutely loved and adored both Thors and Thorfinn, ultimately, he goes to look for Thorfinn not so much out of loyalty for these characters themselves, but because he owes Thors. It’s something he does more because of honor than loyalty. There is also this story he tells about when all six of his comrades died on Greenland, which seems to me an experience that would utterly devastate a Slytherin but to him, while surely traumatizing at the time, he tells it more like the successful story of his own survival. As I said we don’t have much about him yet in the Anime, so I’m waiting for season 2, but for now I’m assuming he is a Ravenclaw Primary/Hufflepuff Secondary. Hufflepuff because he seems to have friends everywhere.

Floki

Again, a character we have not seen much about. So far, he seems to be a very sneaky character who first lures Thors out of his home and then sets an assassin on his tail. So, this looks rather like a Slytherin Secondary but he’s missing a certain aspect that makes a Slytherin a Slytherin. He doesn’t improvise, and if he does not very well. This is seen most effectively when he ultimately clashes with Askeladd. So, he’s either a very bad Slytherin, or not a Slytherin at all. So, I’m putting him as a Ravenclaw Secondary who moves his pieces across the board but is really shocked whenever one of those pieces suddenly appears where he did not see them coming. I don’t want to talk too much about his primary, as it is very much in the air as long as we don’t know why he wanted Thors dead. Was it in fact because of the (perceived) “code” of the Jomsvikings that Thors broke – then he would be Ravenclaw – or was it out of purely personal dislike – than he’d likely be a Slytherin? We cannot quite deduce that from the story. For now, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he acts out of his own ideal version of honor, what it means to be a Jomsviking and a servant to his king. As I said I am willing to accept a Slytherin/Slytherin for him, but for now, I go with Ravenclaw/Ravenclaw.

Askeladd

So… My favorite character. Also, likely the most complex and most difficult to place of the main characters in the show. Askeladd wants to protect his homeland Wales, he hates pretty much everybody, but especially Danes, Saxons, Vikings, Warriors in general, Christians, stupid people, weak people and himself. So… just about everybody and then some. But he loves Wales. He is firmly loyal to Canute – which is a loyalty which seems to come out of nowhere but is actually really complex in how it came to be. He was waiting for a fabled king for decades that he wanted to serve, and when that king did not come, he essentially took a young and weak Prince with some potential and “made” him into his perfect king. He’s very judgmental, meaning he essentially looks at people and immediately know what they are about. He’s very much faking his personality, putting on the mask of a nonchalant, careless, and really cruel Viking leader – which even at the end we can never be quite sure about how much of that was fake. And he’s extremely intelligent! So… That’s just the briefest overview of his character. Let’s talk about this.

Let’s begin with the Secondary: Here we really have to make our choice between the Ravenclaw and the Slytherin. Askeladd is at his best, when he is using his mind. He is willing to lie and scheme and gamble and play shrewd games to get to his destination. He uses and manipulates people around him to his liking. He also is very much willing to just take the spoils with minimal effort. Compared to people like Thorfinn or Thors he even goes so far as to mock there more Gryffindorish ways to handle situations. While he has a lot of respect for Thors, he also thinks he’s stupid for having died the way he did. This to me makes it clear that he is clearly not a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor Secondary – and that he even has a bit of a dislike for Gryffindor secondaries in general. So at this point the question is only, Slytherin or Ravenclaw? He proved time and time again that he is a planner, a strategist. He plans fifty steps ahead of everybody else, and he’s doing it so well that he dances circles around his enemies. However, when those plans failed, he also proved how adept at improvising he was. While this was not his preferred situation and he was suddenly forced to sacrifice things, he wasn’t really willing to sacrifice going into the situation, he still managed to turn an impossible situation “in his favor”. So, as he seems to be both a magnificent Ravenclaw and a magnificent Slytherin let’s look at the nature of his actions and plans to distinguish what is at his core:

When Askeladd decided to take Canute from Throkell’s army all the other characters were expecting a battle, they couldn’t hope to win. But instead of fighting Thorkell, Askeladd waited for a different army to approach Thorkell, and while they got slaughtered, he put the forest on fire and sent a kid he didn’t really care about into the flames to find the prince. The prince could have died, but then at least nobody would have been able to proof it was Askeladd. This of course is a very smart plan, but it’s also kind of uncommon, as it seems almost cowardly. Immoral, as he is gambling both Thorfinn’s and even Canute’s life on this plan. There is also the way he mocks the more honest warriors, saying it’s a fool’s errand to try and kill somebody in a fair battle, when a dagger in the night has the same effect. The plan of how he murdered his father was full of lies and schemes and playing a huge charade, even faking love for his father. And when he talks about it, he doesn’t feel bad about these lies or acts. He feels even somewhat elated, accomplished. Even in the end he’s pretty much lying his way to death and seems almost satisfied with that end. So he obviously lies, and he doesn’t feel bad about it, which seems to be a clear sign for a Slytherin… Or is it? One thing, that I think I have to mention here, is that he doesn’t always lie. There seems to be a difference to when he swears a pledge on his father’s name compared to when he swears a pledge on his ancestor’s name. It’s almost as if he knows and feels, like a lie would sully the name of whatever person he swears it on, but he just doesn’t care…or maybe even enjoys sullying Olaf’s name. Overall, there are also many situations where he is surprisingly sencere. So, there seems to be at least a part of him, that realizes that lying is wrong. However I think that part is more rooted in his primary, than his secondary. So, he seems to be very clearly Slytherin Secondary, although I think he models a Ravenclaw, because he is just so good at it and it’s so useful to him, that he realized it’s his easiest way to success. Most of the time he behaves rather careless, nonchalant, as if nothing really faces him, laughing loudly, even being a bit flirtatious and acting for seemingly material gains. He purposefully hides his own skills with the sword to be underestimated until the time for him to strike comes. However, it seems quite clear that this is only a performance if at all – though maybe one he quite enjoys putting on. This is a Slytherin Performance.

His primary is just as complicated. At first, to me, he looked a lot like a Slytherin Primary, making him a Slytherin/Slytherin. His motivation for big parts of the show, seemed rather selfish. Later we find out, that his primary goal is to protect his home and his people in Wales. While this still made him look like a Slytherin at first, I think, it’s far more fitting to describe him as a Hufflepuff. The Welsh are his community, in many ways they are tied to the soil of Britain, which gives fuel to Askeladd’s hatred for the Anglo-saxons who robbed his people of their home over 500 years ago. His people’s history is very important to him. Another thing that makes him look Hufflepuff rather than Slytherin is that he does not really have a personal connection to most welsh people apart from his blood. He did not grow up in Wales, he doesn’t have family in Wales and none of the people he travels with or seemed to care about during the course of the show are Welsh. In fact it seems like the only two welsh people he has any sort of personal connection to are his mother and Gratianus. It’s more his mother’s people than it is his own, yet he loves it and the country deeply. I think it would be strange for a Slytherin to feel such deep devotion to a country, place, culture, history and people that he has so few actual connections too. It would be far more likely for a Slytherin to ultimately value the well-being of their friends, comrades, brother’s in arms or the boy he essentially (though somewhat reluctantly) raised over the well-being of a country and people he never really knew.

Then there is his loyalty to Prince Canute, who he himself raised to the throne. This however, again does not seem to be a sort of loyalty born out of love for Canute as person, but rather a deep-rooted believe, that Canute will be a good king and not just protect Wales but maybe even be a good king to the Danish, the island of Britain and on an even broader perspective. In Canute he somewhat sees the chance for a better and freed Britain – the same as he had expected of the fabled Artorius in the past and was ultimately disappointed. With Canute he puts somebody on the throne, who seems to be a rather peaceful yet strong ruler. In an odd way, Askeladd helps not just his people (the Welsh) to maybe find a period of peace but also his other people (the much hated Danes) to gain a ruler who would value his subordinates lives and is not a killer. Ultimately, he also tells Thorfinn to become a “True Warrior” similar to his father. As we’ve already mentioned, Thors father was a Hufflepuff, valuing human life. And it seems fitting for a Hufflepuff like Askeladd to tell a young and confused kid to lern “valuing life like his father”.

Askeladd overall showed great contempt for warriors because – as I believe – he sees them as nothing but killers. That seems somewhat hypocritical as he is one himself and a very ruthless one at that, but it makes sense, once we factor in how much Askeladd hates himself. Askeladd is the kind of Hufflepuff who excluded most people and himself from his community. As I mentioned before, Askeladd hates just about everybody with a passion. That makes him surprisingly similar to Thors who loves everybody. He’s like the other side of the same coin. This hatred is very much based on attributes that he gives people – often when he first sees them (Danes, Saxons, Warriors…). The interesting aspect of this however is, that while he hates Danes with a passion – all danes at that, as well vikigs and warriors - the closest and most important people in his life, all fall into these categories. So, in a way, he hates all of them. He hates Bjorn, he hates Thorfinn, he hates Canute, he hates his men, he hates Thors. Yet, in the more quite moments it’s quite obvious that while he does hate them for being Danes he also cares for them. Like with some of Torgrims and Atli’s last moments in the show, it is quite obvious that Askeladd does feel a lot of empathy for them, cares for them and even helps them out in the end.

I would say that Askeladd is very much tiptoeing the line between a rather hateful Hufflepuff and an already buned Hufflepuff. It fits, that he does exclude himself from his community. His community are the welsh, but he does not live among them. Instead, most of the time, he just hides that part of himself and lives as a Danish Viking among Vikings – an identity that utterly disgusts him. There are many things about him that just scream burned Hufflepuff. But I don’t think he is quite burned yet… He’s tiptoeing that line, but there seems to be too much purpose to his actions for a burned Hufflepuff. Maybe it was seeing Thors, that saved him from burning, or maybe he was just always like that. Because, while there seems to be a lot of self-hatred, there does not seem to be that cynicism that often goes along with the burned Hufflepuff. While he is a point where he pretty much pushed everybody and himself out of his community – his community is still fairly huge, it’s an entire country. And despite everything he had to suffer and all the hardship his people had to go through, he seems genuinely determined and hopeful that it is possible to protect them.

So to put it all together: Askladd is a Hufflepuff / Slytherin with a Ravenclaw secondary model and a Slytherin Performance.

Canute

A very comlex character, but surprisingly easy to sort: Canute is one of those characters who grow up in the show and have their awakening. Like many of the main characters so far, he is another example of a Hufflepuff Primary. And in his case a very textbook Hufflepuff who loves all humans equally. He even arrived at a point where he as willing to forgive his “father’s” murderer. The only exception to his love for all, might be his actual father, the King, but this seems to be mostly out of necessity. Like he feels this is the best for the country.

He is a Gryffindor Secondary, who – after getting over his initial shyness is very forthright in saying what he wants to a point where other more sneaky characters tell him that he may want to act a bit more careful.

Ragnar:

Ragnar is a Slyhterin Primary who’s love, and loyalty is to Prince Canute. I think he’s also a Gryffindor Secondary, and maybe Canute learned it from him. But he’s much less effective. He says and does what feels right to him, but he ultimately often lacks good arguments in any given situation to persuade somebody like Askeladd to … I don’t know; not kill an entire village? However, he does feel very bad about it – I would even say that of all the characters who showed remorse for the act, Ragnar’s remorse lasted pretty much to the end of his life, as he saw himself as partly to blame for what happened. It also fits to his Gryffindor, that when he learned he had to raise the prince, he did it with all his heart, trying to make the king happy, rather than follow the schemes of the court, which seem to be something he utterly despises, as it hurts Canute.

Willybald:

Willybald is a bit of an exception. While he has a similar outlook on life and motivation as many of the Hufflepuff primary characters, to him this was not something that came naturally, nor was it something he just suddenly realized. Instead he was seeking for this for a long time and only when he heard of Thors did his concept of “Love” manifest. It is his explanation of that concept, that first triggers Canute’s “Awakening as a Hufflepuff”. But Willybald himself is not a Hufflepuff but rather a Ravenclaw Primary. Fitting to his role as a priest I would say that he is a Hufflepuff Secondray, although I could be convinced otherwise.

Bjorn:

Bjorn is fiercely loyal to Askeladd which makes him a Slytherin Primary. He also seems to be a very straight forward character in terms of his actions, making him a Gryffindor Secodnary.

Thorkell:

Thorkell is a very brutish, almost oafish Gryffindor Secondary. There is not much thought he puts into his actions beyond just doing what feels right for him. He’s however not stupid. He’s very honest in how he goes about his life and honors the framework of a duel. He’s a warrior and a rather straight forward character. His Primary however, is more complicated, as I seem to be equally split between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. I don’t think he acts out of any loyalty, as he has no qualms whatsoever to kill his own grandnephew and son of his best friend, or to betray his country and people and fight against them purely for the thrill of it. However, I’m not sure if his driving motivation is a hedonistic lifestyle in a more gryffindorish sense, or the search for what it means to be a true warrior. Most of the show he spent just wishing for a great fight. His wish to find out what a true warrior is, seems to lie beneath that. However, it is difficult to say, whether he wants to be a true warrior, because he just enjoys being a warrior that much and he wants to be the best at it, or whether that missing piece actually leaves a whole in his heart. As his hedonistic behavior does not change, after his acknowledgement of the search for the True Warior, I feel more inclined to put him into Gryffindor.

King Sweyn:

Sweyn I think is a Ravenclaw/Ravenclaw. His actions in regards to Canute seemed either very selfish or in a misguided loyalty to his country. However later we find out, that it was actually neither, and instead the “Will of the Crown”. This seems to me to be a constructed system of values, morals and duties, that does not come naturally. It’s the power of the crown that corrupts. And I think that will of the crown is ultimately artificial and a Ravenclaw Primary. I also think he is a Ravenclaw Primary s he is scheming and planning ahead a lot, although not always to his advantage.

tl;dr:

Thors: Hufflepuff / Gryffindor

Thorfinn: XX? (Slytherin or Slytherin Model)/ Gryffindor

Leif: Ravenclaw / Hufflepuff

Floki: Ravenclaw (?)/ Ravenclaw

Askeladd: Hufflepuff / Slytherin (Ravenclaw model, Slythein Performance)

Canute: Hufflepuff / Gryffindor

Ragnar: Slytherin / Gryffindor

Willybald: Ravenclaw / Hufflepuff

Bjorn: Slytherin / Gryffindor

Thorkell: Gryffindor / Gryffindor

Prince Sweyn: Ravenclaw / Ravenclaw