SHE DESERVED BETTER | Doctor REACTS to Vinland Saga | 2x20

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Hi my darlings, I'm Sophie darling and welcome back to the channel. Today we're reacting to episode 20 of season 2 of Vinland Saga and I've been putting off watching this for as long as I can because it's going to be awful because Arnheid has only come back in so far as she is dying and she wishes to thank Einar and Thorfinn for everything they've done. And we saw her in the journey to the next life with Gudrid and the baby she's carrying and the son that she lost and I'm just going to be in so much pain this episode. I just I'm not going to be able to keep it together and what's worse is that like I've been recording for most of today. I cried at Flurry Run, I sobbed at Fullmetal Alchemist and I'm going to sob at this so I'm probably going to have like the worst tension headache which is not going to be ideal.

[00:00:56]But yeah and we also got the reveal that Ketil was never actually Arn First Ketil, they just shared the same name and he decided that he was going to also steal his renown by making everyone believe that he's this warrior and he never was. He is a weak-willed coward of a man who is sending numerous men to die knowing that they're not capable of actually defeating Canute and his soldiers. Thorgil's sneaking up behind Canute Olmar was supposed to go and Canute swim with the swords on his back so Olmar is currently safe but I think Ketil might see the reality of his actions in Thorgil dying because I don't know if Thorgil's going to survive because whilst Canute may be stood there with very few bodyguards, Canute's not going to die. I think there's still so much to happen for Canute to die. I feel like we need to have a canoe and fourth and reunion.

[00:02:00]So, until that happens, canoe isn't dying. I feel like it's extremely important that they have a conversation.

[00:02:09]Primarily because we've had it set up the different paths that they've now gone down on.

[00:02:15]And it's a stark contrast to season 1.

[00:02:18]But the fact that they're both in the same location screams to me that they're going to have to meet each other at some point before season 2 ends. But without further ado, I'm just going to suck it up and get into episode 20 and just embrace the fact that I'm going to cry.

[00:02:37]You can already see tear marks on my face anyway. I'm crying at Fullmetal Alchemist and Frieren, so it's been a rough filming day for Sophie.

[00:02:46]>> [laughter] >> Oh, the joys.

[00:03:13]Oh, wow.

[00:03:17]>> [screaming and groaning] [screaming and groaning] [groaning] >> Oh.

[00:03:34]Watch out.

[00:03:38]>> [screaming] >> He can't move. He's so rooted with fear.

[00:03:57]>> Oh!

[00:03:59]Fake.

[00:04:09]I'm just cattle did teach him not somebody to be smarter.

[00:04:15]You're literally losing blood. I just talking goal.

[00:04:23]And I guarantee cattle doesn't have any blood on him whatsoever, no injuries.

[00:04:29]Because these lives are just disposable.

[00:04:32]He's a weak-willed coward of a man.

[00:04:37]>> [screaming] >> Yeah, you didn't order a retreat, but they're all going to die.

[00:04:44][ __ ] your honor.

[00:04:46][ __ ] it. Who cares?

[00:04:58]>> [laughter] >> He's going to be dead.

[00:05:04]They're not going to win this. They know that.

[00:05:14]How it comes down to this, being taught a damn or famous saying about how the strong always overpower the weak, this cycle.

[00:05:29]And that's the cycle now.

[00:05:45]Yep.

[00:05:52]Then that means Olmar is the next in line. So, maybe Olmar can salvage this somehow.

[00:06:12]That's a terrifying sight.

[00:06:17]>> [groaning and screaming] >> I don't think it's going to work the way he thinks it does. I think Floki's head is going to be the one on the ground.

[00:06:31]The fact that we learn that he likely died was from a brief glimpse of the sword coming towards him, a bit of blood spraying into the air, and then Wolf saying, "I think one of my men may have just taken out someone that looks like Ketil." Because it's not important. He's not an important figure anymore. That's again tying into this idea that the strong overpower the weak, that it's this cycle, that the only reason they obeyed Ketil was because he had power over them. He was stronger than them.

[00:07:03]So, they obeyed him, but now the tables have turned, and it all links back again to season 1 of Askeladd talking about how cultures shift over time. The Romans are replaced by the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons are potentially replaced by the Vikings. It's on and on and on again. The strong overpower the weak, and so it goes, and it will happen to you. You stand in this place of power and authority, but for how long? Because someone stronger than you could come along, and it'll be gone in the blink of an eye. And that's what's happened to Ketil. Re-iterating the point that Canute's authority is superior to Ketil's now. And the fact that they're listening to the retreat by snake over cattle is because snake actually has respect. He's fighting. He's a warrior.

[00:07:52]He's risking his own life for his men for these men despite the fact that he's fighting for cattle that's not even I am face cattle. He's doing it because he doesn't want to leave a debt unpaid that he feels he owes him but at the same time he has mustered so much respect and authority that they're listening to him over cattle in essence showing that in this moment he is stronger than cattle.

[00:08:18]They have more admiration and respect for him especially in the recognition that these men are going to die if they continue throwing themselves at the enemy because the enemy is stronger than they are. They're going to get devoured and how many more men are going to die for cattle's hubris? Too many and snake wants to save as many lives as he can.

[00:08:46]Oh, my God, his sword.

[00:08:51]He has been training.

[00:08:59]I mean it was strong enough to cause your sword to [ __ ] break.

[00:09:15]Fogel is a menace.

[00:09:22]>> [screaming] >> I was going to say I mean he trained with Wolf.

[00:09:30]Wolf isn't someone to be [ __ ] around with either.

[00:09:41]>> [screaming] >> The fact that he can still strangle him.

[00:09:49]And have the strength to pin him down while he's like gouging his eye out.

[00:09:56]>> [groaning and screaming] [screaming] >> He has to retreat. What other choice does he have?

[00:10:16]Oh, so he wants to give him another opportunity. He said I wish he'd serve me again. Sorry. We might see Folgel and Omar forgiven.

[00:10:37]>> [laughter] >> Can't shock it. All these men spilled blood because of you.

[00:10:49]All this death and destruction because of you.

[00:10:53]Where's Peter? We didn't see Peter. Was that supposed to be Peter? Because there's a young boy crying. I don't know if it's just meant to be a young boy crying over his father having died or if it's meant to be the young boy that was being trained by Peter. The young boy and his sister whose family was starving and he was stealing and Peter said I'll take responsibility for them. And that's maybe Peter that he's mourning. Cuz we haven't seen Peter. I'm hoping Peter's not dead. But Peter wasn't a warrior.

[00:11:43]>> I feel like Folkthenna she's dying.

[00:11:50]Oh, they're going to tell her about Vinland.

[00:11:54]To bring her peace and comfort in her final moments.

[00:12:08]Oh, links back to Folkthenna's words.

[00:12:14]Of creating a place where there were no wars, no slaves.

[00:12:32]Are waiting for her.

[00:12:54]And then they came along and shined some light onto her life, gave her hope.

[00:13:17]>> [screaming] [gasps] [screaming] >> Going to go out.

[00:13:33]>> [snorts] >> All the music is so beautiful.

[00:14:04]>> [screaming] >> It's so painful.

[00:14:31]They're so desperate to bring her back.

[00:14:37]>> [screaming] >> To show her that life is worth living, but she just wants to go. She wants to be with the people she loves where there's no suffering, there's no pain.

[00:14:54]The thought that he confessed his love for her, but she was already gone at that point. She's happy. There's smile on her face. She's where she wants us to be.

[00:15:05]Isn't it crueler to bring her back when she doesn't want to?

[00:15:09]I mean, that's one of the philosophical questions.

[00:15:13]If she doesn't want to continue living, if she wants to go to the people But loves who are waiting for her on the other side.

[00:15:24]>> [snorts] >> Is it not crueler to bring her back to a life she doesn't want to live anymore?

[00:15:30]It's so sad because I understand what Iyna wants. He wants her to come back.

[00:15:36]He wants to show her that life is worth living.

[00:15:39]That all the sacrifices that people have made to get us to where we are shouldn't be forsaken. That we should keep going for as long as we can, but at the same time, you also have to ask the question, is it not cruel to force her to come back, to bring her back into this world that she doesn't want to be in? Is it not crueler to force her to live this life that she doesn't want to live anymore? She wants to go somewhere that has no suffering, no pain, no slaves, no war. She wants to be with Gareda and the children that she's lost. She doesn't want to live in this world without them anymore. And I think that's what they have to come to accept. They're desperate to bring her back. They don't want to lose her. They don't want to lose another person, but it's not fair to expect her to want to continue living, to expect her to keep going. All she wants is to be with them, and she only came back to express her gratitude, to say thank you. She's where she wants to be. You can see that on her face, the peace and serenity that she feels. Not everybody wants to continue living through the pain and the loss. And I know that life has a purpose, and that's what Iyna was saying to Forfin, and it's what his mother said to him, is that you have to keep living because in living you are honoring the sacrifices that people have made to get you to where you are.

[00:16:58]But for Anh Haide, after everything she's gone through, after all the suffering she's experienced, all the loss she's gone through, the people that she loves most are waiting on the other side, so she wants to be with them. She doesn't see this world as something that she can continue to live within. She just wants to go.

[00:17:19]She wants to be at peace.

[00:17:23]Oh, no.

[00:17:28]I knew he was going to talk about Vinland to her.

[00:18:04]Leif's face, he's like, he's changed so much. He's become his father.

[00:18:32]He's not going to give up. He recognizes that he's blinded by rage.

[00:18:43]He needs to shock him out of it.

[00:18:47]He almost looked like Bjorn with their eyes rolled back.

[00:18:51]That wasn't Einar.

[00:18:53]>> [groaning] >> It won't heal what's already broken.

[00:19:10]Death begets more death.

[00:19:21]>> [laughter] >> Don't fall into that cycle.

[00:19:36]This is father and he's crying with him.

[00:19:39]This morning with him.

[00:19:42]Did they bury her overlooking the sea?

[00:19:49]Is it she gave a face Finland?

[00:20:16]Please let this be the moment that four finger is home to his mom.

[00:20:23]Please.

[00:20:26]>> [snorts] >> I feel like he's going to go confront Canute because those were Canute's once.

[00:20:35]Going to try and reason with him.

[00:20:44]He won't go.

[00:20:46]Not if he can make a difference.

[00:20:49]He's trying to protect other people's lives. He's trying to help.

[00:21:06]He won't flee.

[00:21:08]Not if he can try and stop it.

[00:21:27]Oh, the music is stunning.

[00:21:37]Wait for him.

[00:21:39]And then he'll go to Iceland. Just wait for him.

[00:21:51]Then he's going home.

[00:21:57]Oh, he's going home. Finally. Oh, I'm not having a great day of filming.

[00:22:05]>> [laughter] >> Everything is leaking. My nose, my eyes, everything. Nothing is going well today.

[00:22:13]My brain is also mush, so I'm going to try and make sense of this episode. I knew we were going to have to get Thorfinn and Canute meeting at one point, especially when we were hearing Canute's words. I was like, "Oh, no, he's not just going to get on the ship. He's not going to leave if he thinks that he can somehow reason and bargain with Canute." But I think the Canute he's about to see isn't who he anticipates, that it's completely different. I don't know if there's any reasoning with him. I feel like he might be able to somewhat get through to him.

[00:22:46]I feel like we might see him able to bring a stop to this somehow, but I don't know. For Arnheid, death is honestly a mercy for her, and I can see the struggle and the conflict that they feel in wanting to bring her back when she's saying that she has nothing to live for everyone she's loved and lost is waiting for her on the other side.

[00:23:09]These are two men that have also experienced significant loss that have continued to choose to live to find new purpose and new meaning and they probably think on height can do the same. It's why they don't want to let her go. It's why they're trying to bring her back so desperately. But at the same time, I think it sort of delivers this moral question of if somebody doesn't want to live, if they don't want to come back, should we force them because we believe that that choice isn't a correct one? Should we make that choice for them? And this has been a philosophical moral question that's existed for a long time especially in relation to things like assisted suicide and, you know, should people be allowed to take their own lives if they feel that that is what they want to do? Should they be allowed to make that choice or should we decide to not allow that to happen because we believe that we know better than they do. So, it's sort of presenting this issue of we obviously don't want on height to die. We have seen these two young men traverse how difficult life is that have found new purpose and new meaning despite the hardships, despite all the loss. But at the same time, is it right for them to make that choice for on height when they had to make the choice themselves? They didn't have anyone make it for them. They made the choice to live. I know made the choice to continue living. Both in made the choice to continue living. On height doesn't want to. She wants to die. She doesn't see the point of going forward.

[00:24:46]She doesn't want to fight to live. She wants to go. She wants to slip into this new life of peace and freedom away from slavery and war and death and violence.

[00:25:00]She just wants to be with God and her children. She doesn't want to fight anymore and I think that's the point they're trying to bring her back, but they can't bring her back cuz she made that choice herself. She was resolute in that decision and it's more cruel to bring her back and force her to continue living in this world that she doesn't want to live in. But it's the way that orphan again comforts someone with the use of Vinland. But Vinland again is this idea of a better future, of this idealistic new world that they can venture to and start again. This hope for something more, this goal to achieve. But it also brings peace to those in their final moments that even though they're gone, they may join them in Vinland one day.

[00:25:46]Vinland's almost like not only this actual real place that they're aspiring to go to, but a euphemism for heaven that, you know, one day we'll all be together in heaven, we'll be reunited there and in this Vinland we won't have any war or bloodshed or violence or suffering or slavery because we will all be together in this peaceful existence under God's eye and God's love. But yeah, it's a real place, it's a real goal, it's a real aspiration to actually build a society that removed from this socialization of war and slavery and violence. But at the same time it's also an allegory for heaven and I believe I have talked about that previously, but I think it's made all the more clear here that when she's dying, they're reiterating those words about her joining them and then when they bury her, they bury her in the direction towards Vinland so that she can join them and watch them from her place of rest that when they achieve Vinland one day, she will be there. But heart-wrenching. I wonder what's going to happen with Floki and Ormar though.

[00:26:49]We haven't seen Ormar since last episode where he didn't follow Floki.

[00:26:55]I worry what's going to happen if Floki finds Ivar, if he's going to berate him or what because he didn't come with him.

[00:27:05]Not that it would have made a difference. If Ivar had gone, Ivar would have died. Seeing Ivar confess his love and she's already gone, she doesn't get to hear it and he wants to make her laugh and he wants her to live with him again was just so painful. Was just heart-wrenching because she never got to acknowledge how he felt. think with her smiling, that's an indication that she heard him, but she's also at peace with her decision. She's at peace with what she's chosen. But your hearing is the last to go when you die. So I think she did hear him, but she couldn't respond.

[00:27:40]But that's why she's smiling because she understands his feelings for her. And in a way, that's her acknowledgement of it.

[00:27:47]But Ivar has come so far in his ability to comfort Ivar to cry with him, to pull him out of that rage and desire for revenge to impart upon him the wisdom that he has learned from his own journey, that revenge isn't going to solve anything. It's not going to make it better. What's happened is awful and it's horrendous and you don't have to forgive it. You don't have to forget it.

[00:28:18]But killing Ivar isn't going to solve the issue. It's not going to heal what's broken and hurt inside of you. And who knows better than that than Floki after everything he's gone through. So just seeing how far he's come and the journey he's gone on to get there is just incredibly moving. But it's going to be interesting to see him confront Canute.

[00:28:42]But what I'm most interested about is him going home. Finally, he's going to go see his mom. That means so much.

[00:28:50]She's not even going to recognize her boy. I mean, that's all I want to say for now. I'm just emotionally drained.

[00:28:56]I've cried at like three things today. I am exhausted, so I think that's all my brain can really pull out here. But, thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this react, please consider liking, subscribing, and leaving a comment below to help boost this video into the algorithm. Until next episode.

[00:29:14]Bye.