(thread) How Yukimura achieved a beautifully tragic prologue, through the use of Canute.

From age 6 to 16, Thorfinn followed his father’s murderer under the goal of revenge, only for that same man to have his life taken by a prince who’d never slaughtered anyone before.

Unlike Thorfinn, Canute was religious, soft-hearted and innocent. He was able to achieve what Thorfinn had dedicated his life to in seconds.
The boy with no blood on his hands had more influence and power over the boy who had nothing BUT blood on his hands. Relating back to

Askeladd’s slave quote, it was clear that Thorfinn became a slave to revenge. Askeladd too had become a slave to the notion of ‘Artorius’, or rather a change in the world which would be brought by a new king. Just like Thorfinn, his feelings were born from an early age and was

also the reason for his self sacrifice. Canute however, was not enslaved by anything. Yes, he was trapped by the crown and his father’s scheme, yet he was ultimately a victim of those who were slaves to power and the throne, not a slave himself. The tragic beauty in this is that

the boy who’s heart had not been tainted, and was not a slave to anything, became the man who freed the slaves. By taking Askeladd’s life, he freed the Viking from his worries about Wales while simultaneously removing Thorfinn’s source of hatred and his reason for revenge.

Canute had become the greatest source of change in both their lives, without ever tainting his hands with blood (prior to Askeladd). He had become the most powerful man equipped with nothing but a pure heart, despite being surrounded by slaves to the monarchy and bloodshed.

However, this is the prologue’s Canute. As in the last chapter, Yukimura reveals that Canute has turned the very thing he despised, a king who sheds blood even without wanting to. That one stain of blood soon became a mass of countless bodies, highlighting the tragic spiral of

death. Despite not being in many chapters now, Canute is a perfect display of Yukimura’s talents in characterisation. His journey juxtaposes Thorfinn’s in a tragic development, heading deeper into bloodshed.

(End)

Another unplanned thread after originally just captioning it “thinking abt how tragic vinland prologue was” well, I hope u guys enjoy it. These are just my feelings on PROLOGUE Canute in relation to Askeladd and Thorfinn!I haven’t proof read it so there might be typos, sorry!

Sorry too if these concepts might not make sense, they make sense in my head but it’s hard for me to write them out. I have a bad habit of spontaneous thread making because I don’t stop thinking so yeah