One thing I find interesting about Thord and Walda is how differently they see leadership
In the simplest way I can describe it: Thord thinks the Illagers follow Walda, because she is the leader Walda knows she is the leader, because the Illagers choose to follow her
That's why Thord is so against the idea of rallying multiple tribes to fight the heroes in the first place. "Then who would be in charge?" I'm not saying he is the only Illager to care about hierarchy (their society is kinda build on it), but I do think he was a very warped view of it. No one has ever (successfully) stood up to him, in a way he could always do what he wanted. It's also the way he leads his raiding parties, and one reason why he's so quick to dismiss Archie even though from a logical point of view, he is right.
For Thord, it isn't really about the well-being of the members of his party. It's about how much control he has over them.
Walda, on the other hand, knows that in the end, she is very much outnumbered. Sure, what she says is rarely ever fought (from what we see), but it's not like she wanted to give leadership over the Archie. After all, there are multiple times it's implied she tried to take it back. However it's clear that the tribe, after seeing his fortress and power, wants Archie. And if she doesn't comply, well then why shouldn't they choose to just follow someone else? What is Walda gonna do?
She obviously still values her position, but she also knows that if the Illagers unanimously steer a certain direction, there is little she can do to change course.
Thord wants total control, but that isn't something Walda has. And while no one has challenged him yet, there is a great difference between a guy who's just a major ass, and a malevolent dictator. He has a lot more chances surviving as one than the other, and I'm not sure he ever would have realized that
