Vinland Saga: Did Thorfinn Lose His Memories?

There is no doubt that the entire Vinland Saga series revolves around Thorfinn’s journey and character development. We saw him as an angry teenager that only wanted to kill Askeladd but ended up becoming someone who was willing to give his life away for nothing when he became a slave. In that regard, Thorfinn ended up becoming a shell of his former self as it looked like he didn’t have anything to hold on to, even if we’re talking about the memories of his family and his life before becoming a slave. So, does that mean that Thorfinn lost his memories?

Thorfinn did not lose his memories. It might be true that he got hit on the head. But he merely lost his purpose in life and had already decided to give up everything he’s ever held on to. This includes the memories of his life before and during the time he was with Askeladd’s mercenary crew. 

It was that incident when he got knocked out and hit hard on the head that actually allowed Thorfinn to change and develop into a better person that no longer cared about killing people. Instead, he has now become someone who would make sure to never harm another person in his life without any good reason to do so. That said, let’s look at what happened to Thorfinn.

What Happened To Thorfinn In Vinland Saga?

One of the things that we know about Thorfinn is that he went through a lot of things in life. This series of events began when he was still just six years old as that was when he saw Askeladd ordering his men to kill Thorfinn’s father Thors in cold blood so that Thors could save his son and the men that he was with. That was when Thorfinn decided that the only thing that he had to live for was to take revenge on Askeladd for the death of his father. As such, he joined Askeladd’s crew so that he could kill him in a hard-earned and honorable duel because that was what Thors would have done.

However, Thorfinn had another important thing taken away from him when Askeladd was killed by Prince Canute, as the only thing that the young teenager worked hard for was taken from him. Thorfinn spent more than a decade with Askeladd’s band, but the right to kill Askeladd was no longer available to him due to what Canute did. Out of range, the teenager tried to kill Canute, and this action forced the prince to send Thorfinn to slavery as punishment for his crime.

As a slave, Thorfinn became a lifeless young man that simply lived to work as he didn’t even care about what he was being told to do or whether or not he had a decent meal to eat. At one point, when the mercenaries working for Ketil’s farm picked on Thorfinn and Einar, his newfound friend, he even allowed the mercenaries to leave wounds on him as Thorfinn simply didn’t care.

But if there was something that Thorfinn cared for at that time, it was his best friend. Einar, who was also a slave, had become Thorfinn’s first true friend as they worked together on Ketil’s farm to grow wheat that they could possibly sell and use to buy their freedom. Einar became his best friend because he was the first one to understand what Thorfinn went through as a young man. 

Ketil’s mercenaries, however, burned all of the wheat that Thorfinn and Einar grew because they claimed that slaves couldn’t grow good wheat. This angered Einar, who attacked the slaves. 

Seeing that his friend was in trouble, Thorfinn tried to stop him because he knew that Einar was not a fighter. While Thorfinn was trying to fend off the mercenaries, he ended up getting hit on the head with some wood. As such, he got knocked out in that incident.

Did Thorfinn Lose His Memories?

So, as mentioned, Thorfinn got knocked unconscious when one of the mercenaries hit him hard on the head with a piece of wood. While that didn’t kill Thorfinn, we know it was strong enough to knock down a young man who wasn’t a stranger to getting hit hard. So, did Thorfinn lose his memories?

Thorfinn did not lose his memories when he got hit on the head by wood. Instead, Thorfinn only dreamt of the past while he was unconscious. At that moment, he dreamt of the woman that took care of him when he was still just a child during the time that he and Askeladd’s men attacked and raided a village. Of course, despite this woman taking care of him, Thorfinn still betrayed her as his only goal was to please Askeladd so that he could earn a duel with him.

Then, of course, we also know that Thorfinn also dreamt of his father while he was unconscious. He started dreaming of the other men he killed as well, as he killed many people during the time he was working for Askeladd. So, with that said, he was haunted by the ghosts of the people that he killed meaninglessly in the past.

Thorfinn did not lose his memories but lost his purpose in life when he lost Askeladd to Canute. But that incident with the piece of wood knocked him out and ultimately made him realize that enough was enough. He no longer wanted to kill people because there was no longer a point to doing so, as he realized that he had killed many people in the past for a revenge quest with no deeper purpose.

So, with that, Thorfinn became a more empathetic person that no longer wanted to kill or harm another person for no good reason. He became someone who focused more on making sure that he talked his way out of a fight first before trying to harm another person. In that regard, this was one of the most important parts of Thorfinn’s character development as it transformed and changed him into a better version of himself.