Askeladd is one of the titular characters ofVinland Sagaand the antagonist of the first season. Interestingly, he also mentors the protagonist, Thorfinn. Despite their animosity, the two often fight side by side against a common foe. Thorfinn follows Askeladd, hoping that one day he will become strong enough to kill him, while Askeladd is intrigued by the young man.
Despite occasional positive and honorable qualities, like bravery, Askeladd is still a very apathetic and monstrous person overall. He has no regard for the lives of others and acts out of his selfish desires, which makes him similar enough to Thorfinn so that both of those characters can understand each other. His actions are what set him apart from more heroic characters, as season 1 clearly demonstrates.
8Led A Mercenary Life
Killed For Coin
Askeladd is a selfish character, and he is presented as such at the start of the anime. He is a callous killer who plunders and slaughters for profit. As a mercenary, he took on countless tasks from various people who paid well. Most of those were dirty jobs, such as murder, but Askeladd did not feel any regret or concern over that.
This is how Askeladd lived most of his life and thus made a name for himself as a killer and a bandit. This speaks a lot about his moral compass, or lack thereof, as Askeladd was willing to do anything for the coin, not caring who he worked for or who he battled against, making him a wild card in the war.
7Held Few Values
Didn’t Let Morals Restrain Him
As expected, such a lifestyle did not make much room for honor and personal values. While Askeladd was not a complete monster and had some compassion in his heart, it was never his priority. Most of the time, Askeladd felt no emotion towards people he worked with or those that he killed, making him all the more dangerous.
Among his crimes are a coup, the slaughter of innocents, countless enemy soldiers, and even some of his own. Throughout all this time and all of those actions, Askeladd shows no remorse or desire to change his ways at any point, which makes him all the more sinister and ruthless as a villain and a character.
6Killed The King
Staged A Coup For Canute
Askeladd’s final act is chaotic and villainous yet also admirable. He is the one to kill King Sweyn, who he claims to be the legendary King Artorius, in what seems to be a fit of madness. Askeladd strikes the vile king down, encouraging Canute to step up and eventually kill Askeladd for good.
On the one hand,Sweyn was a cruel king and a tyrant who did not care for his own children, and his death was deserved, but Askeladd did not do it out of pure motives, though he believed this would cause Canute to claim his new place as king. He still committed a coup and rejected the king’s hospitality, making him a treasonous terrorist.
5Manipulated Thorfinn
Used A Broken Child For His Own Gains
The relationship between Thorfinn and Askeladd is one of the most intriguing and captivating aspects of the anime. While Askeladd has some genuine admiration, if not compassion, for Thorfinn, he doesn’t act on it and does not try to steer the young warrior from his destructive path. In fact, he does the complete opposite.
Askeladd is eager to manipulate and use Thorfinn as a weapon against his enemies. He promises Thorfinn one duel after another if only he fulfills more tasks. This leads Thorfinn to commit multiple crimes and participate in wars, sometimes even including him in the slaughter of innocents, further driving Thorfinn to madness.
4Humiliated Thorfinn
Took Away His Only Purpose
All those years of games and manipulation ended with one final humiliation of Thorfinn. In a duel between the two warriors, Askeladd wins and breaks Thorfinn, and he makes him realize that all of his attempts were pointless and lead to nothing butcontinued depression for Thorfinnand benefit from Askeladd’s schemes.
While Thorfinn spent years practicing and preparing for his battle with Askeladd, the crafty mercenary used each of their duels to learn Thorfinn’s moves and how to counter them. This made him all the more skilled and powerful, leaving Thorfinn no chance to claim victory, which was a breaking point for the young warrior.
3Killed Thors
Left A Boy Without His Father
Askeladd’s defining action was killing Thors, Thorfinn’s father, at the beginning of the series.Thors was a former warrior who tried to escape conflict and ensure that his children would live a peaceful life. For a while, he succeeded at this, but eventually, the peace was broken by Askelad’s hands.
Askeladd was a hired mercenary working for those who wanted to dispose of Thors. He fought the man in a battle, and even though Thors put up valiant resistance, Askeladd and his soldiers were able to overwhelm him and end the warrior’s life. This put a dent in his family and traumatized Thorfinn for years to come.
2Held No Regard For His Own Soldiers
Sacrificed His People
While Askeladd was held in high regard by his soldiers most of the time, eventually, they rebelled against him after a few errors on his part. While his former underlings were not intent on killing Askeladd and were willing to solve the conflict peacefully if he agreed to step down, the leader himself had another idea.
He lashed out at his own men, talking about how much he despised them and wanting nothing more than to get rid of them all. Askeladd ended up murdering them and demonstrating his superior fighting skills, once again showing no mercy or regret for his actions, which made him a truly horrifying antagonist.
1Slaughtered Innocents
Was A Ruthless Raider
As eager as Askeladd was to kill soldiers, nothing compares to the slaughter of civilians that his mercenaries commenced under his command. An example of this comes early in season one, beginning with him being willing to kill Thors despite being long separated from any form of conflict.
Another more grievous example was his leading an attack on a defenseless village after Thorfinn gave his signal; it is one of the most ruthless acts Askeladd ever committed. He felt no hesitation when ruining civilian lives and pillaging their villages, which solidifies Askeladd as a morally corrupt and cruel person.
