Character Relationship Map: Euthanizer

Characters

• Veijo (played by Matti Onnismaa) — protagonist

  Veijo is the film’s central figure, earning a living by euthanizing unwanted animals while judging people who abandon or mistreat them. He confronts cruel owners, punishes a fisherman and a motorist,...

• Petri (played by Jari Virman) — supporting

  Petri works at a repair business and asks for a raise, but becomes entangled in missing tires after Jomppe’s inventory. He also tries to care for an abandoned dog and claims he wants to find it a safe...

• Martti (played by Heikki Nousiainen) — supporting

  Martti is Veijo’s suffering father, whom Veijo regularly visits with flowers and helps to care for. He eventually refuses resuscitation through a living will and dies, leaving Veijo enraged that his p...

• Vatanen (played by Jouko Puolanto) — supporting

  Vatanen is one of the men who mocks Petri’s attempt to care for an abandoned dog. Alongside Simo, he increases the pressure surrounding Petri and the animal, contributing to the hostile environment th...

• Elisa (played by Alina Tomnikov) — supporting
• Simo (played by Ilari Johansson) — supporting

  Simo joins Vatanen in mocking Petri’s attempt to care for an abandoned dog. His ridicule helps intensify the social pressure around Petri and the animal, linking him to the hostile group that drives t...

• Fisherman (played by Santtu Karvonen) — supporting

  The Fisherman practices catch-and-release fishing, presenting it as recreation despite the suffering inflicted on the fish. Veijo treats him as another example of cruelty disguised as acceptable behav...

• Elisa's Father (played by Juha Lehti) — minor

Canonical Relationships

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

• Elisa's Father → Elisa (father)
• Veijo → Martti (Family Son And Father) — A strained but deeply important father-son relationship shaped by illness, caregiving, and unresolved resentment.

  The plot identifies Martti as Veijo's suffering father. Veijo visits him regularly, brings flowers, and helps with his care.

Story Dynamics

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

• Veijo → Simo (Conflict Indirect Adversary) — Simo is part of the hostile environment surrounding Petri and the later threat against Veijo.

  The final confrontation involves men connected to Petri, while Simo is established as one of the men pressuring Petri.

• Veijo → Vatanen (Conflict Indirect Adversary) — Vatanen belongs to the hostile social circle surrounding Petri, although the plot does not directly identify him as the person who kills the dog.

  The final confrontation involves men connected to Petri, while Vatanen is established as one of the men pressuring Petri.

• Veijo → Fisherman (Conflict Moral Adversary) — Veijo confronts the Fisherman over competing ideas about animal suffering and moral responsibility.

  Veijo punishes the Fisherman for practicing catch-and-release fishing, viewing the fish's suffering as cruelty disguised as entertainment.

• Vatanen → Simo (Alliance Teammate) — They function as a coordinated pair in pressuring and ridiculing Petri.

  Vatanen and Simo act together when they mock Petri and his attempt to care for a dog.

• Petri → Simo (Conflict Harasser) — Simo participates in the ridicule directed at Petri.

  Simo joins Vatanen in mocking Petri's attempt to care for a dog.

• Petri → Vatanen (Conflict Harasser) — Vatanen ridicules Petri's protective intentions and reinforces the hostile social environment around him.

  Vatanen mocks Petri's attempt to care for a dog and contributes to the pressure surrounding Petri.

• Veijo → Petri (Conflict Adversarial Association) — Petri's surrounding group becomes connected to the violent pressure placed on Veijo.

  In the final confrontation, men connected to Petri demand money from Veijo, threaten the dog Veijo is protecting, and ultimately kill it.

Story Analysis

A lonely animal euthanizer turns his belief in moral punishment into a destructive response to suffering, guilt, and grief.

Plot Progression

1. Work Among Abandoned Animals — Veijo earns a living euthanizing unwanted animals and condemns owners who abandon or mistreat them. His punitive approach becomes visible when he confronts a person who leaves a dog locked in a car.
2. Caregiving And Social Pressure — Veijo cares for his suffering father while his harshness is linked to his inability to accept the pain. At the same time, Petri is mocked and pressured for trying to protect a dog.
3. Suffering Without Balance — Veijo punishes the Fisherman and reflects on his loneliness, while Martti refuses resuscitation through a living will. Martti's death leaves Veijo angry that suffering ended without the balance he exp...
4. Punishment Reaches Its Limit — Veijo forces a Motorist to admit responsibility, apologize, and bury a dead dog. The final demand for money turns his moral world into open violence when the threatened dog is killed and filmed.