Character Relationship Map: Hinterland

Characters

• Perg (played by Murathan Muslu) — protagonist

  Perg is a former imperial first lieutenant and prisoner of war who returns to Vienna after the First World War. He resumes police work, investigates the murders of former comrades, and recognizes thei...

• Körner (played by Liv Lisa Fries) — protagonist

  Körner is the medical examiner assisting Perg with the murder investigation. After examining Krainer's body, Körner determines that the marks on his neck did not cause his death, then helps Perg resea...

• Severin (played by Max von der Groeben) — supporting

  Severin contributes information that helps Perg connect the murders to former comrades from the prisoner-of-war camp. His knowledge supports the investigation into the betrayals and punishments that s...

• Renner (played by Marc Limpach) — supporting

  Renner is Perg's former police colleague and the officer who assigns him to investigate Krainer's murder. By bringing Perg back into active police work, Renner places him at the center of the case and...

• Starkenberg (played by Germain Wagner) — supporting

  Starkenberg is the authority demanding that the murder case be solved before an important press conference. He also suspects that Perg's years in the Soviet Union may have allowed a communist cell to...

• Anna Perg (played by Miriam Fontaine) — minor

  Anna Perg is part of Perg's troubled personal life. After his reinstatement, Perg has a brief encounter with her, yet their relationship remains painfully complicated while he continues to face unreso...

• Captain (played by Milton Martins) — minor

  Captain is a former cavalry captain whose body is discovered among the victims. He is initially dismissed as a day laborer, but his military identity reveals another connection to Perg's wartime circl...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Perg → Renner (Professional Former Colleague) — Renner reconnects Perg with police work by placing him on the central case.

  Renner is explicitly described as Perg's former colleague and assigns him to investigate Lieutenant Krainer's murder.

Story Dynamics

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

• Perg → Anna Perg (Unknown Complicated Personal Relationship) — Their personal connection remains emotionally strained and unresolved.

  After the investigation, Perg's relationship with Anna Perg is described as painfully complicated, followed by a brief moment between them.

• Perg → Captain (Narrative Wartime Case Connection) — The Captain is connected to Perg through the wartime network underlying the murders.

  A dead man initially described as a day laborer is revealed to have once been a cavalry captain, and Perg recognizes a pattern linking the victims to...

• Perg → Severin (Alliance Information Ally) — Severin supplies investigative information that advances Perg's reconstruction of the wartime conspiracy.

  Severin provides information that helps Perg connect the murders to former comrades who may have betrayed one another.

• Perg → Starkenberg (Conflict Institutional Opponent) — Starkenberg's political pressure and suspicion place Perg under institutional scrutiny.

  Starkenberg demands that the case be solved before an important press conference and suspects that Perg's years in the Soviet Union may have created a...

• Perg → Körner (Alliance Investigative Collaborator) — Perg and Körner cooperate closely to interpret forensic evidence and reconstruct the wartime pattern behind the killings.

  Körner examines the marks on Lieutenant Krainer's neck, while Perg investigates the murders and later works with Körner to study punishments used in t...

Story Analysis

A traumatized former prisoner of war investigates murders rooted in wartime betrayal while postwar Vienna offers no secure return home.

Plot Progression

1. A Ruined Homecoming — Perg returns to Austria after years as a prisoner of war. Death, displaced veterans, and Vienna's bleak postwar conditions define his homecoming.
2. The First Murder — The killing of Lieutenant Krainer brings Perg back into police work. Forensic contradictions and political pressure turn the case into a dangerous investigation.
3. Punishments From The Past — Further killings reveal links to former prisoners of war and wartime betrayal. Perg and Körner reconstruct the brutal punishments that may explain the murders.
4. The Suspect Falls — Suspicion centers on a damaged homeless veteran believed to be seeking revenge. Perg confronts him, but an unseen attacker silences him before the truth is settled.
5. Unfinished Reckoning — Perg is rewarded with reinstatement, full pay, and a pension, yet his private life remains strained. A final demand for a gun leaves him facing unresolved danger.