Vinland Saga: Does Thorfinn Kill Askeladd?

Ever since the beginning of Vinland Saga, we learned that the entire storyline revolved around Thorfinn’s quest for vengeance against one of the other main characters of the storyline. The very reason why Thorfinn even joined up with Askeladd’s crew was to become strong enough to kill him and take revenge for the death of his father, Thors, who was unlawfully killed in a manner that was dishonorable. So, does Thorfinn ever kill Askeladd in Vinland Saga?

Thorfinn doesn’t kill Askeladd because he failed to be strong enough to kill him before Askeladd was killed at the hands of Prince Canute. This happened when Askeladd betrayed King Sweyn and decided to kill him to prevent him from invading Wales. Canute killed him in a surprise attack.

The fact that Thorfinn wasn’t able to fulfill the one thing that he desired the most in life affected him long after Askeladd’s death. All he wanted to do was to kill the man that murdered his father, but even that was taken away from him. In that regard, Askeladd’s death at the hands of Canute developed Thorfinn’s character and storyline. Now, let’s look at how Askeladd dies.

Does Thorfinn Kill Askeladd?

During the start of the Vinland Saga storyline, we saw how cheerful of a child Thorfinn was while he was growing up with his family in Greenland. His father, Thors, was actually a respected Viking leader during his younger years but had become a family man that wanted to leave the world of pillaging and fighting. Nevertheless, Thors was still regarded as the strongest Viking to ever live during that era, as his help was requested by the Danish King in their efforts to invade England.

Thors agreed to come with Floki, who he used to fight alongside back in the day. But what Thors didn’t know was that Thorfinn snuck aboard their ship to join his father in his latest adventure. Unknown to both Thors and Thorfinn, Floki actually contracted the services of a mercenary named Askeladd to kill the legendary Viking warrior for deserting them long ago.

As such, Askeladd’s forces engaged Thors, as the two powerful fighters engaged in single combat. While the fight didn’t take long because of how strong Thors is, Askeladd dishonorably killed Thors using a band of archers that were hidden. He never planned to kill Thors honorably in single combat, as Thorfinn watched on as his father got killed in the most dishonorable way possible.

Thorfinn, of course, went with Askeladd’s crew instead of going back to Greenland together with Leif. The reason why he joined up with Askeladd’s crew was to find a way to kill the man that murdered his father. However, because Thors taught him that the only honorable way to kill someone is through a fair battle, Thorfinn never tried to kill Askeladd dishonorably.

Instead, throughout the entire time that he was with Askeladd’s crew, he regularly challenged the mercenary leader in a fight so that he could kill him in a fair battle. He never achieved that goal during his younger years, but he still continued to fight alongside Askeladd’s crew because it was the only way for him to become strong enough to defeat the mercenary. And Thorfinn, as a young teenager, became strong enough that he was second only to Askeladd in terms of his battle prowess.

Thorfinn even became strong enough to put some pressure on his grandfather, Thorkell, who had become the strongest Viking in the world after Thors had died. In that regard, Thorfinn knew that he was getting stronger during his time with Askeladd’s crew, as he even joined the war against England to eventually earn another battle with Askeladd.

Despite the fact that he was under Askeladd, Thorfinn was actually quite disobedient because he knew that he only wanted to fight alongside him out of convenience. Thorfinn was essential in helping King Sweyn of Denmark secure victory against a large part of England during their invasion of the British island. But did Thorfinn ever kill Askeladd?

Unfortunately for the young man, Thorfinn never got the chance to kill Askeladd in Vinland Saga. That’s because, at the end of season 1, Askeladd died before Thorfinn could even get a chance to try to kill the man he loathed with all his heart.

The fact that he never got to kill Askeladd emotionally and mentally affected Thorfinn because the only reason why he ever joined up with his mercenary crew instead of going back home to his family in Iceland was the fact that he wanted to kill Askeladd honorably out of revenge for what he did to his father. And Askeladd’s memory continued to haunt Thorfinn’s dreams until he finally accepted that nothing would ever come out of his vengeful heart.

Who Killed Askeladd?

While it was always Thorfinn’s goal to kill Askeladd, he never got the chance to do so because Askeladd died at the hands of someone else. This happened during the celebration after Denmark’s victory against the English forces. In that celebration, King Sweyn of Denmark announced that he wanted to invade Wales next.

This was important to Askeladd because, throughout his entire life, the only reason why he joined Denmark was to find a way to protect Wales from the attacks of the Vikings. Askeladd was, in fact, the descendant of a Welsh noblewoman that was enslaved long ago when the Vikings invaded Wales. But the one thing that Askeladd always thought was that he was the descendant of King Artorius of Wales, as this was something that his mentally broken mother constantly told him when he was still young.

In that regard, during his time as a Viking mercenary, Askeladd made friends in Wales and tried to make sure that this kingdom was kept away from the invasions of the Vikings. As cold and as cruel as Askeladd may have been, he valued Wales more than anything in his life and even joined up with King Sweyn’s forces despite the fact that he never loved the Danish people.

So, when Askeladd learned that King Sweyn always intended to invade Wales, he snapped. He tried to convince the king to stay away from Wales. But King Sweyn gave him a choice between him and Wales. 

As such, Askeladd had no choice but to declare himself the lost descendant of the legendary King Artorius. He killed King Sweyn and butchered several of his men so that they would stay away from Wales, as he believed that Prince Canute, the descendant of King Sweyn, wasn’t going to attack his beloved homeland.

After killing some of the king’s men while laughing maniacally, Askeladd finally saw his end at the hands of Prince Canute. The young prince, who was never skilled with the sword and was always trying to avoid fighting, was the one that finally ended the life of the cruel mercenary leader. 

And Thorfinn snapped upon seeing Askeladd’s death because he always wanted to be the one to kill him. He lost all purpose in life when he saw that Canute killed the only person that gave his life any meaning at all. That was when he tried to attack Canute, only for the new king’s men to subdue him.