Character Relationship Map: Strangler vs Strangler

Characters

• Pera Mitić (played by Taško Načić) — protagonist

  Pera Mitić is an overweight, awkward 48-year-old carnations seller who lives with his aging mother. Her cruel punishments drive him to kill girls who refuse his flowers. He becomes delighted by the ki...

• Spiridon Kopicl (played by Srđan Šaper) — supporting

  Spiridon Kopicl is a rock star whose obsession with the strangler inspires his hit song, “Bejbi, bejbi.” He pursues Sofija, receives public credit for saving her, and marries her, but later strangles...

• Pera's mother (played by Rahela Ferari) — supporting

  Pera's mother is an aging woman who lives with Pera Mitić and enforces his flower-selling through violent punishments, including slapping him on nutshells and locking him in a water tank. Pera's depen...

• Inspector Ognjen Strahinjić (played by Nikola Simić) — supporting

  Inspector Ognjen Strahinjić is the Belgrade police investigator assigned to catch the strangler. He is portrayed as mostly incompetent, a short loner with a thin moustache who lives only with his cat....

• Rodoljub (played by Branislav Zeremski) — supporting

  Rodoljub is used by Inspector Ognjen Strahinjić as an undercover agent in an attempt to catch Pera Mitić. The operation ends in tragedy, making Rodoljub part of the inspector's failed investigation an...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Pera's mother → Pera Mitić (mother)
• Inspector Ognjen Strahinjić → Rodoljub (Professional Investigator And Undercover Agent) — Rodoljub works for Strahinjić in a dangerous undercover investigation.

  Strahinjić tries to catch the strangler by employing Rodoljub as an undercover agent, but the operation ends in tragedy.

Story Dynamics

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

• Spiridon Kopicl → Rodoljub (Unknown Indirect Adversaries) — Their opposing connections to the strangler case place them on conflicting sides of the wider crisis.

  Rodoljub is involved in the police effort against the strangler, while Kopicl publicly celebrates and promotes the strangler through his music.

• Pera Mitić → Rodoljub (Conflict Target And Threat) — Rodoljub becomes part of the danger created by Mitić's killing campaign.

  Rodoljub's undercover operation to catch the strangler ends in tragedy, linking him directly to Mitić's murder investigation.

• Spiridon Kopicl → Inspector Ognjen Strahinjić (Narrative Unrecognized Suspect) — Kopicl remains publicly framed as a hero rather than being identified as responsible for Sofija's death.

  Kopicl receives public credit as a savior and hero after the attack on Sofija, while the crimes are ultimately credited to the late Mitić.

• Pera Mitić → Spiridon Kopicl (Conflict Obsessive Rivalry) — Kopicl's fascination with the strangler develops into a direct and fatal confrontation with Mitić.

  Kopicl records a hit song dedicated to the strangler, while Mitić becomes delighted by it. Their conflict culminates when Kopicl hangs Mitić in an aba...

• Pera Mitić → Inspector Ognjen Strahinjić (Conflict Hunter And Suspect) — Strahinjić investigates Mitić's murders, making them opposing forces in the central crime plot.

  After the first murder, Inspector Strahinjić begins investigating the strangler and attempts to catch him.

Story Analysis

A serial killer's crimes become popular entertainment, enabling a second killer to hide behind the dead man's reputation.

Plot Progression

1. Carnations and Punishment — Belgrade encounters its first serial killer in Pera Mitić, an awkward carnations seller living under severe punishment at home. His violence begins when girls refuse to buy his flowers.
2. The Failed Manhunt — Inspector Ognjen Strahinjić investigates the strangler and uses Rodoljub as an undercover agent. The operation ends tragically, allowing the murders to continue.
3. A Killer Becomes a Hit — Spiridon Kopicl turns the strangler into the subject of a nationwide hit song. Mitić hears the song and becomes thrilled by the public fascination, leading to another extreme act.
4. False Heroism — Kopicl becomes fixated on Sofija while Mitić attacks her. After Sofija bites Mitić's ear, Kopicl receives credit as her savior and is publicly transformed into a hero.
5. The Ear and the Cover-Up — During the honeymoon, Kopicl murders Sofija while Mitić watches in disguise. Kopicl kills Mitić after a final confrontation, and the dead strangler is blamed for every crime.