Ghosts: Devan Chandler Long on Thorfinn’s Season 2 Twist [Interview]

Ghosts Season 2 Episode 6, “The Baby Bjorn,” introduces a twist of plots for our favorite TV-bingeing Viking when a trip to the Farnsbys uncovers a startling truth about Thorfinn — and the son he thought he would never see again!

I had the opportunity to speak with Devan Chandler Long, who plays Thorfinn, about this shocking family reveal and its ramifications for his centuries-old ghost.

“What shocked me most is that we find out that I have a son, but that my son lives two properties away,” Long revealed. “I had to discover as an actor that Thorfinn had a son, which was very exciting. But you have questions, and you desperately want to connect with this guy to see if there are similarities.”

“So, there’s lots to unpack with Thorfinn as he goes through all the emotions. To hear this news after being dead for a thousand years, it’s probably one of the more shocking things you could ever imagine. So it was really interesting to try and play that.”

As fans will recall, Thorfinn’s tragic backstory left him abandoned by his Viking comrades. So the reveal that someone came looking for Thor is undoubtedly an emotional turning point.

For Long, it was necessary to offset those somber tones with comedic relief.

“It’s a comedy, too, so you can’t really lean into these heavy moments. It’s a balancing act. But, thankfully, a lot of the time, the writing is on the page, and with Thorfinn, he’s like an old rickety muscle car. You put him in the scene and see what he does.”

The episode also witnesses Thorfinn take a page out of the Jack Pearson parenting book with an incredibly brief and unceremonious reunion for father and son. As Long explained, the scene is a somewhat accurate depiction of the dated father figure.

“It’s so classic of the eighties and nineties, even seventies dads. You know, like the kid comes home from college, and the dad is like, ‘Good to see you, son.” and the son says, ‘So good to see you, too, Dad’ — that’s their way of saying I love you,” he said.

“I think back in the day, people didn’t communicate very well, especially emotionally. And I guess if you keep going further back it might get even worse. So I thought it was hilarious that he kept it short and sweet.”

And when asked if Bjorn’s “betrayal” could lead to a change of heart for Thorfinn, Long admitted the Viking’s hatred of Danes is part of his identity, and Thor will be stubborn about letting go.

“Thor can’t hate someone forever. He’s going to have to figure that out, and that’s part of the learning process for Thor. Obviously, him having hated the Danes for over a thousand years, that’s a long time to hold on to something that has become part of who he is. So I think in order for him to get past that he’s going to have to do some more therapy,” Long joked.

“But that hate for the Danes, it is a continuance. That doesn’t end any time soon.”

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Ghosts airs Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.

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