Character Relationship Map: Playing God

Characters

• Vorsitzende (played by Barbara Auer) — protagonist

  The chair of the German Ethics Council meeting in Berlin, she opens the public discussion about whether doctors should help people end their lives. She presides over the hearing in which Richard Gärtn...

• Rechtsanwalt Biegler (played by Lars Eidinger) — supporting

  A lawyer representing Richard Gärtner before the German Ethics Council, he presents Richard's wish to die as a matter of personal freedom and self-determination. He also challenges Bischof Thiel on fa...

• Richard Gärtner (played by Matthias Habich) — supporting

  A healthy 78-year-old man who asks for sodium pentobarbital because he no longer wants to live, despite having no terminal illness. At the council hearing, he explains that his wife died three years e...

• Professorin Litten (played by Christiane Paul) — supporting

  A council expert who takes part in considering Richard Gärtner's request and the broader question of assisted suicide. The hearing addresses whether the state may restrict a person's decision, how to...

• Ärztin Brandt (played by Anna Maria Mühe) — supporting

  Richard Gärtner's family doctor, whom he approaches for help after the Federal Institute for Drugs refuses his request for sodium pentobarbital. Her connection to Richard brings the hearing's broad et...

• Bischof Thiel (played by Ulrich Matthes) — supporting

  A bishop and one of the experts considering whether a doctor can ethically help someone die. During the hearing, he responds to Rechtsanwalt Biegler's questions about Christian ideas of sin, forgivene...

• Professor Sperling (played by Götz Schubert) — supporting

  A council expert participating in the discussion prompted by Richard Gärtner's request to end his life. The experts consider state restrictions, medical responsibility, and safeguards against pressure...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Professor Sperling → Richard Gärtner (Professional Expert In Case Discussion) — Sperling participates in the council's examination of Gärtner's case.

  Professor Sperling is named among the council's experts considering the ethical and legal questions raised by Gärtner's request.

• Professorin Litten → Richard Gärtner (Professional Expert In Case Discussion) — Litten takes part in the expert deliberation about whether a doctor may assist Gärtner.

  Professorin Litten is named among the council's experts considering the ethical and legal questions raised by Gärtner's request.

• Richard Gärtner → Ärztin Brandt (Professional Seeking Medical Assistance) — Gärtner turns to Brandt for help with his wish to end his life.

  After his request to the Federal Institute for Drugs was refused, Gärtner sought help from his family doctor, Ärztin Brandt.

• Richard Gärtner → Rechtsanwalt Biegler (Professional Legal Representative) — Biegler presents Gärtner's request as a matter of personal freedom and self-determination.

  The account states that Rechtsanwalt Biegler represents Richard Gärtner at the council hearing.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Bischof Thiel → Richard Gärtner (Narrative Ethical Case Debate) — Thiel's religious perspective forms part of the debate surrounding Gärtner's request.

  Thiel participates in the council discussion about whether a doctor should provide assistance to someone who wishes to die, the issue raised by Gärtne...

• Vorsitzende → Richard Gärtner (Narrative Hearing Chair And Case Subject) — Vorsitzende opens the discussion in which Gärtner's case is examined.

  At the Ethics Council meeting chaired by Vorsitzende, the public discussion centers on Gärtner's request for assistance in ending his life.

• Rechtsanwalt Biegler → Bischof Thiel (Conflict Ethical Debate) — Their exchange brings the hearing's disagreement over faith, compassion, and assisted suicide into focus.

  Biegler questions whether suffering has a purpose and challenges Thiel about Christian ideas of sin, forgiveness, and suffering.

Story Analysis

A public ethics hearing examines whether respecting a person's wish to die can require a doctor to assist, balancing autonomy, medical responsibility, vulnerability, and faith.

Plot Progression

1. A Request Before the Council — Vorsitzende opens a public discussion about medical assistance in ending life. The council considers Gärtner's refused request and his appeal to his family doctor.
2. The Case for Self-Determination — Gärtner describes his health, age, and the loss of his wife. Biegler presents the request as a question of individual freedom and self-determination.
3. Limits of Medical Responsibility — The experts weigh the state's authority and a doctor's ethical responsibilities. They distinguish stopping treatment from actively providing a means of death.
4. Safeguards and Human Worth — Concerns about vulnerable people and pressure on the elderly broaden the hearing. The discussion also considers the dangers of valuing lives by usefulness and examples from other European countries.
5. Faith and Unfinished Deliberation — Biegler challenges Thiel about suffering, sin, and forgiveness, and Thiel offers his account of suffering. The hearing returns to the question of whether respecting a wish to die requires another pers...