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He differs from all “evil for the sake of justice” archetypes because his goal of dominance is also a battle against god, you see a kid being subjected to so much hardships in life that clings to what most people cling to, a savior, his being god, a very human thing to do. https://twitter.com/mladen769/status/1304829024129159174
Losing the closest person he ever had in the world + his convo with the priest show him all of the contradictions in his savior’s trial for all of humanity, it’s the grandest theme in Vinland one that deals with the loss of love in the hearts of people and even dates back to Adam
and Eve, which is perfectly executed given the involvement of Vikings one of the most vicious group of people ever. He also represents one of the most unique takes on love ever, that it’s just discrimination and only in love can one cause no conflict or harm, again executed
greatly by having Canute see a dead soldier among soldiers who are currently fighting and that corpse being the only one not to cause any pain, even more he’s going to be made of use to the earth. So now we have multiple things that make him standout from other characters.
Then we have his inner conflict with his father, Canute’s goals are very lofty and they can hinder a person’s judgements, he embraces the method of using people to your own end as he learned it from Askeladd, a very natural change that makes perfect sense thematically & logically
And his psychological conflict is made incredibly interesting because at every decision that Canute does, his father’s there to point out his contradiction, how he would even poison his own brother for his ends even tho he could’ve let him live, he’s slipping even more, and as
his father points out, he aims to rule Denmark and England, so his suffering will be even twice that, another layer that’s unique to him.
Like even the things he says and does make him such a formidable figure and build up his presence and character as someone really willing to take on god of all things and I think that’s really one of kind.
Then there’s his parallels to Askeladd and Thorfinn, Askeladd decided that he wasn’t going to wait for Artorious anymore, that someone needed to step up because that “savior” was never going to show up, similar to Canute forsaking God and deciding to create his own paradise
not in Heaven but on earth, and I find Canute’s to be more interesting among the two because of how grander and thematic his forsaking of god is. As far as Thorfinn goes, both him and Askeladd were changed dramatically because of Askeladd’s actions, but the really interesting
thing is how Canute changed to be one who put his goal above others, much like Thorfinn used to do killing anyone in his way not carrying, only trying to get a big enough reward to challenge Askeladd, and Thorfinn changes into more of a pacifist Like Canute used to be, wanting to
be away from violence. And then tie it all up there’s them both seeking the same goal but by different methods, one who runs to avoid conflict because the only way to handle that is fight or die, and one who stays and defies god and uses anyone for his own ends almost without
mercy, and both of their changes are brought up naturally through significant events and the passage of time, both shaped by Askeladd, and because of that I understand why people have Askeladd as their fav and love him so much, but to say that Canute isn’t nearly as good is wild
to me because he certainly has as much or even more depth, he’s just as unique, and he’s more developed, and it’s all very clear too it’s not super subtle so I really don’t understand where this not thinking Canute is as well written or even touches the characters comes from but
anyway I hope any of this helps people see what those who like Canute see.
