u/Historical-Air2275

This is the only thing which I could never truly comprehend in the story,they dramatically changed in each arc-

In war arc he did his bidding to avenge his father in an honorable duel,Askeladd also taught him about the ruins and coming of Ragnarok in between,Thorfinn also learned about his past and Askeladd called him a clown and told him to use his head for once in their final duel.

When askeladd was dying thorfinn cried at him to get up and duel him yet again,to which askeladd told him to move on already,go further and become a true warrior,dying in his hands.

In slave arc it's even more complicated,he tells Einar he no longer hates him after recalling Askeladd telling him to stay back and become a true warrior,he pretty much accepted Askeladd wanted to save his life in the end.

In their dream sequence in Oath he saw Askeladd sitting above thousands of the blood thirsty Vikings fighting mindlessly,heavily implying his subconsciousness saw Askeladd as something far more than just another bloodthirsty Viking,instead he saw him as someone with answers,perhaps a twisted guide,he installed Thorfinns goal to take the dead with him,and when Thorfinn was crying as the Bloodthirsty Vikings tried to shoot him with their arrows he fought them and yelled at Thorfinn to become a true warrior.

Later on in slave arc when Thorfinn is about to fight snake askeladd appears yet again,mocking him for having to raise his fists despite his Oath,he questions him what path leads to becoming a true warrior and tells him there's no time to think.

In Baltic sea war somewhere in eastern expedition while thorfinn fights a couple of soldiers he tells them that they are too slow,his facial expression heavily mimicks Askeladds too.

In his final fight with Garm in Baltic sea war,he uses Askeladds technique to bait Garm in mindlessly attacking him,he then catches him just like Askeladd did,he even replies to what Askeladd asked him years back, "see?", "Ah,I see" and although he finds it a horrid thought to have used Askeladds teachings,he at the same time acknowledges they are what kept him alive,he tells Garm that once blood rushes to an individual's head their chances of winning falters,something he learned from a man a long time ago (Askeladd,the man who killed his father).

In the final Vinland arc before departing to Vinland to establish his dream,he meets with Leif who urges him to follow his heart and calls him his son,we then see Thors smiling and Askeladd smirking behind Leif,at first I was confused because he showed some resentment to Askeladd just a while back and now saw him in positive light but then I realised there had been a 2 year timeskip when he returned back,I feel here although he didn't forgive Askeladd,he accepted him as one of the three men in his heart who deeply shaped him as the man he has become now,just alongside Leif and Thors.

Bonus-Makoto Yukimura,the author himself describes askeladd as a second father to Thorfinn,albeit a harsh and extremely twisted one,for me I see him more as a sort of mentor figure and harsh teacher in the end,someone who he knows would be deeply proud of what he has become.

Please let me know if I missed something,and I would love to know about your thoughts on their dynamic,it is one of the best relationships I have seen.

Before presenting my thoughts on the subject I would like to say I myself prefer season 2 more than season 1 for the character development.

Ok now let me dig in cause I see alot of people call season 1 a battle shonen and I don't get why,I know I can't stand for changing opinions but season 1 had so much more than just battles.

Hell the only thing shonen you could argue about it is maybe thorfinn jumping around like Naruto (which is reasonable due to thors genes) or the installment of the character thorkell.

Other than that even the battles are brutal (although it's a little toned down compared to manga understandably) and its political maneuvering is simply fantastic with askeladd carrying the season after thors is gone to the very end.

Canutes transformation and the subject of love being discrimination with the priest being one of the best side characters I have seen,season 1 is deeply philosophical too (you could argue vinland saga switched from shonen to seinen but even by then war arc wasn't done,making it a seinen).

I just feel it's a little insulting to call season 1 a mere battle shonen with some of the greatest antagonist of anime in it and his dynamic with thorfinn which drives the prologue,please let me know what your thoughts are.

Just wanted to share my thoughts on some of askeladd's most extreme feats-

1st ASKELADD VS THORS- I know people here might argue thors was out of the game for a decade but that was still the troll of Jom who one shotted thorkell the tall under seconds,and younger askeladd held for quite a few minutes before being defeated. (although the match was one sided,thors literally stated he won't hold back against askeladd and called him strong) I also feel this wasn't askeladd in his prime either he was in his early-mid 30s here.

2nd ASKELADD VS HIS MEN- so later on in mid half of vinland saga askeladd fights and holds his own against dozens of his men (although he struggles) he complains about his age and comments something like "to think that I askeladd,would struggle against 50 men" heavily implying 50 Vikings weren't enough to overwhelm this strategist back when he was young,and then he literally cut a man in half through his helmet.

3rd ASKELADD VS THEGNS (most underrated and most extreme)-In the end of the prologue,askeladd after beheading king sweyn goes on a rampage and literally pierces through some of the most elite soldiers in all of Denmark (argubly even stronger than the jomsvikings,thegns). In total he mutilated/killed over 16-20 thegns and the numbers would have been even higher if floki (who got overwhelmed as well) didn't intervene and canute delivered the lethal blow,this man showed such master swordsmanship even decades after his prime.

BONUS-In the end I think people downplay askeladd a little and just reduce him as a slower version of snake (not stronger,thorfinn only said snake was quicker on the strike so we don't know if he's overall stronger,just faster) or a psychological player who only defeated teen thorfinn once he got in his head (people also say thorfinn could have beat him if he fought calmly,that could be debated upon but askeladd himself never explicitly said he would win if he fought with a calm head,only that he would have a better chance and I feel askeladd himself was holding back in the duels)

So all of this got me thinking,how strong would you guys think was askeladd in his prime? Counting all prime versions I put him in top 5,I feel even a calm prime thorfinn would face high-extreme difficulty against this man (thorfinn is the son of thors indeed but askeladd is overall a more natural swordsman who showed promise even when he was a kid with his swordsmanship).

Please let me know if I missed something,thanks.