That was best death scene I've seen in a good while

TT^TT

The guy was brought back to life so many times, I guarantee that he's probably going to isekai back lmao.

True, when he regained consciousness for the last time I legit thought he'll get better and they'll live happily ever after, but ig even I was dreaming like Gardar in his final moments. I was against him, but looking at things from his perspective and what he has lost made me tear up for him

If only he didn't leave their island then this wouldn't have happened it's their fault the men in his island

there will be another one next but the opposite of it..

I CRIED AT THAT PART IN THE MANGA

Man this arc really focused on Arnheid's suffering, she got her son killed, she got a child with a man due to slavery, she got her husband killed, and she will also be beaten to death by ketil with a lasso till she and her unborn child die. man :::

Oh god I couldn't stop myself reading that spoiler, Ahh next week is going to be hard to watch..

Shouldn't have come to comments, actually shouldn't have read this one.

Sleep won't feel same, food won't taste same after this for a while.

Damn bro I hope he dies slowly and painfully for that.

More than that, he will lose everything.

I'm aware of this

Tragic ;)

it was indeed beautifully done

Idk, it felt too drawn out and over the top, especially for a minor character.

Calling him a minor character is wild. The man was the focus for the last few episodes.

Wow the man got a whole 15 minutes of screen time, so much focus. Dude the story would hardly be different without him, they just needed a reason for Thorfinn to fight again, and even now that reason was more Arnheid than him cause Thorfinn literally exchanged his only words with the man in this episode ( "stop you're killing him" and "ah umm ehh").

Not about getting him to fight again but to see the results of a warrior life after enslavement. How war effects those that lose but don't die in battle. Those who haven't given up the idea of living.

Each of the slaves has a different take:

Thorfinn Gave up and awaited death
Einar Wanted revenge at first but settled on farming
Arnheid Found some happiness in a new child
Gardar Couldnt move on from his past and died

He is definitely a minor character. This whole gardar stuff felt nothing less than a filler while we wait for canute to arrive at the island.

yall dont understand real storytelling.

The story telling is pretty bad and the pace is off. It did not really fit at all, cause the perspective is useless.

L take and shows complete lack of understanding of what the show has been spending time to portray

"L take" is cringe, stop trying to act cool. Go ahead and explain what the show is spending time to portray smartass

From a plot perspective, it helps show Thorfinn the entire picture of war and it's ramifications and paves his path forward. As a warrior he only knew revenge, battles, killing and moving on to the next battlefield, while turning a blind eye or growing numb to anything else.

Now as a slave he broadens his vision by looking at the other side of the coin, how it affects the lives of people, of those left home, those taken into slavery, families broken and all the heartache and tragedy that comes with it.

And as secondary storytelling, Gardar's story shows us that we should value the truly precious things in our lives and not be blinded by the promise of wealth, fame etc. When we make a choice, also think about what we have to lose when going for an "opportunity". In the eyes of society it can be frowned upon and seen as cowardly or unambitious not to take all the opportunities given to you, but sometimes you have more to lose for only a chance at something gained.

From Thorfinn's perspective a dude who turns out to be Arnheid's husband shows up and kills a few men, then 2 days later the dude is dying. He literally doesn't know the guy, he didn't exchange any words with him, he only saw the man's face 2 times his whole life. It doesn't make sense to be so hung up on his death for Thorfinn, it makes much more sense for Thorfinn to see Arnheid's suffering and get the entire picture that way. Because she's someone he's known for a while now (how long are they there? Half a year? More?), talks to every day, has some connection to.
As for Gardar's story and message that's all fine and dandy but we don't have enough of a connection with him as viewers to warrant an emotional 15 minute death scene. He literally had more screen time in his death scene than he did for the whole show leading up to it.

Gardar and Arnheid are linked, they're part of the same life lesson, his suffering is her suffering and other way around. And he doesn't need to talk to the guy to observe what's happening and empathize, plus like you said he interacted with Arnheid and knows the story from her. As for connection part on the viewer's part, that's subjective and to some extent it isn't even fully needed. Only issue is if you're watching without a proper state of mind and with certain expectations, then you'll just be annoyed and impatient for it to end.

Even if they're link and share the same tragic story, there's a fundamental difference between showing things from Gardar's perspective and from Arnheid's perspective.
The previous episodes with Arnheid showed exactly that: Arnheid's struggling, her dilemma, the consequences of her actions and her husband's actions. Those were things Thorfinn would be able to observe, and learn from.
And from the viewers point of view, while it may be subjective how much something influences someone, but there are things that are certainly objective. Gardar had very little actual time to leave any impression on viewers, the viewers were never even given the chance to get to know Gardar, we know nothing about his personality as the little time he did spend on screen was either spent being quiet on the sidelines or rampaging like a berserker. Objectively speaking we had more of a connection to Askeladd's minions than we did to Gardar. And this was followed by a death scene that tried to be more emotional and had more time spent on it than even the death of Thors.
I'm not saying he shouldn't exist, I'm saying that the attention given to his death was disproportionate to the value he actually held whether it was to Thorfinn or to us the viewers.

Ok I'm sorry you're upset they spent an entire episode on the dying thoughts and moments of a side character. I disagree with you but I can accept your opinion. Let's move on.

You are dead right here. Story telling is horrible and the pace is bad. Sometimes we have very long episodes with almost no progress. Then we jump like crazy. They are on the farm for about 3 years now, iirc. Gardar view does not add anything to the story but feel like a filler. He is background character who got pushed heavy in the front, just to fell over and be forgotten again. Especially they hype for the episodes was horrible, which made it even worse.

As it went from THORFINN FIGHTS to a random dies half an episode, here are his thoughts, not that they bring you anything good. So from someone people really want to see to something people absolutely have no interest in. It was like from Formula 1 to Granny in the parkin lot. For me it was the worst episode due to story telling and pacing. It was just annoying.

You can do one episode of dying of characters like Askeladd... but half an episode for Gardar dying? cmon... Just a few tweaks on the right spots and S2 could be so much better. I hate it when its far beyond it's potential.

It was definitely a bit drawn out for drama. I get that this is what the animators are trying to share though.

Felt the same, the dude is maybe flashed out more in the Manga, but in the Anime it was a minor character who got so much screen time.. i even started to get annoyed with the dragged out scene that did nothing to my feelings because i didn't know the character

Agreed, idk how ppl keep defending this season.

Yeah at least his end was peaceful going away in the arms of his loved one, I feel sad for Arnheid the most she lost her child first and now her husband the only two members of her family and now she'll have to face the punishment for only wanting to be free it's really hurt breaking T T

I'm crying rivers rn

ah, poor thing

yea the feels are there but it really didnt hit me as hard i have watched Kimetsu where they are masters of well death scene moments of flashing there lives before passing on and i have watched Fumetsu no Anata e (To your Eternity e) witch gets you right there in ep 2 man o man and it keeps on giving every 3 ep ark it got me right in the feels 3 times in season 1 i highly recommencement that one to anyone that wants and experience close to this seasons over all themes with out the Slave aspect being so much focused on

just wait... this season... TT^TT

I'm glad he can reunite with his son in HELL.

His son is not dead. At least not that we know.

Damn that fight is fantastic

Thorfinn is still extreme flexible, even after been gone from action for few years O_O

well, he may not fight anymore, but he is always working out, farm life is not easy

Homie was doing the work of a horse for many Months before they got the help of the old master.

well, he's MC

In the end it's Arnheid who has to suffer so much from the loss of both her kid and her husband😔

If only Gardar had listened to her T^T

THe gardar she knew was already dead, war has killed the old one , just like new and old thorofinn they are almost different people.

I’d argue that the tragic part about Gardar’s character is that war killed the old one, but his love for his family returned him from the dead and trapped him in the past. He’s both monster and victim, different yet exactly the same. He’s still the exact same Gardar that she knew and that’s what’s eating her up so much on the inside. That’s why, in the end, she realizes that all she can do is offer him is peace. She moved on as best as she could and changed…but he never moved on at all.

No part of him is a victim. His life was tragic due to his own choices. He lived and died by them. The best you can do is live a life you're proud of. He missed his.