Kings and Swords

Canute spars with Wulf as onlookers marvel at his mobility despite heavy armor. Gunnar assures a worried Estrid that a king must appear formidable, since Norsemen will not follow the weak. Told he retreats too readily when tired, Canute wins the bout by feinting Wulf's attention toward Estrid and hurling his shield before pressing a blade to the captain's throat. In his chamber Gunnar lays out that squeezing the realm's few rich men yields little, and the crown either taxes the whole population or finds another source. Because his Danish troops in England are funded by English taxes and stir resentment there, Canute decides to requisition land rather than provoke revolt, and he marks a prosperous farmer named Ketil for the first seizure.

Arriving at Jelling, Ketil reunites with his son Thorgil and learns Harald is already dead but Canute now reigns, so he seeks an audience to win favor. His younger son Olmar, meanwhile, has picked a quarrel in town by fouling a merchant's cloth and draws his sword on the unarmed Bug-Eyes. Ketil storms in, strikes Olmar, and pays the man off, after which Leif Ericson reveals Bug-Eyes as his adoptive son and introduces himself. Over a shared meal, Ketil mentions a quiet, scarred slave of his also named Thorfinn, from Iceland and once a warrior, and Leif realizes this may be the very friend's son he has searched for and resolves to detour to the farm despite Mols's objections about the freezing Greenland sea. Canute later receives Ketil warmly, praising strong farmers as Denmark's treasure, though Olmar embarrasses the family by botching an attempt to cut a roasted pig. Privately Wulf dismisses Olmar as prideful and useless, yet concedes he could still serve a purpose, and Canute confirms Ketil's farm will be the first he requisitions.

Canute resolves to fund his army by requisitioning land and selects Ketil's estate as the first target, weighing it against unpopular tax hikes. Olmar's brawl in Jelling leads to a fateful introduction between Ketil's household and Leif Ericson. Leif connects Ketil's slave Thorfinn to his long search and decides to visit the farm. Canute grants Ketil an audience and outward goodwill while secretly marking him for dispossession, with Olmar's failed sword display sealing the family's humiliation.

Airing March 21, 2023, this is the thirty-fifth episode overall and the eleventh of the second season under MAPPA. It adapts chapters 75 and 76. Yoho Ishikawa directed, with Shingo Uchida on storyboards. The title contrasts the political calculation of kingship with the raw swordplay that punctuates the hour, from Canute's duel to Olmar's disgrace.