Character Relationship Map: Terribly Happy

Characters

• Robert Hansen (played by Jakob Cedergren) — protagonist

  Protagonist and Copenhagen policeman temporarily stationed in Skarrild after a psychological breakdown. Initially seeks a quick transfer to reunite with his daughter, but becomes entangled in the vill...

• Ingerlise Buhl (played by Lene Maria Christensen) — protagonist

  Victim of severe domestic abuse by her husband Jørgen. She gradually inserts herself into Robert Hansen's daily life in Skarrild. During a tense encounter at her home, she attempts to seduce Robert, w...

• Jørgen Buhl (played by Kim Bodnia) — supporting

  Abusive husband of Ingelise Buhl. Initially found passed out drunk during the night of his wife's accidental death. The townsfolk suspect him of murder and attempt to force him into a bog, but Robert...

• Dr. Zerleng (played by Lars Brygmann) — supporting

  Local physician and member of the village's unofficial ruling quartet alongside the grocer and priest. He examines Ingelise Buhl's corpse and pressures Robert to falsify the cause of death as cardiac...

• Dorthe (played by Mathilde Maack) — supporting

  Young daughter of Ingelise and Jørgen Buhl. After her mother's death, she hides at the grocer's house and reveals to Robert that she saw him leaving their home the night of the incident. Robert reassu...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Dr. Zerleng → Ingerlise Buhl (Professional Examining Physician) — His examination supplies the official local explanation for Ingerlise's death, despite Robert's attempt to tell the truth.

  Dr. Zerleng arrives to examine Ingerlise's body and declares her death to be cardiac arrest.

• Jørgen Buhl → Dorthe (Family Father) — After Ingerlise's death, Dorthe is separated from Jørgen temporarily, then returned to him by Robert.

  The plot identifies Dorthe as Jørgen's daughter, and Robert takes her back to her father after finding her hiding at the grocer's.

• Ingerlise Buhl → Dorthe (Family Mother) — Ingerlise's death leaves Dorthe without her mother and at the center of Robert's effort to return her to her father.

  The plot identifies Dorthe as the daughter of Ingerlise and Jørgen.

• Ingerlise Buhl → Jørgen Buhl (Family Abused Spouse) — Jørgen's abuse shapes Ingerlise's circumstances and leads villagers to suspect him after her death.

  The plot identifies Jørgen as Ingerlise's husband and describes her as a victim of marital abuse.

• Robert Hansen → Ingerlise Buhl (Romantic Lover) — Their intimacy ends in Ingerlise's accidental death, which Robert conceals and which drives his subsequent guilt and criminal decisions.

  Robert develops feelings for Ingerlise, and she attempts to seduce him at her home. During their encounter, he accidentally suffocates her with a pill...

Story Dynamics

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

• Robert Hansen → Dr. Zerleng (Conflict Coerced Cover-Up) — Dr. Zerleng steers Robert into concealing the circumstances of Ingerlise's death, drawing him deeper into the village's secretive justice system.

  When Robert makes a vague attempt to tell the truth about Ingerlise's death, Dr. Zerleng declares it cardiac arrest and pressures him to keep the Tønd...

• Robert Hansen → Dorthe (Alliance Protector) — Robert responds to Dorthe's fear and protects her by reassuring her and reuniting her with her father.

  Dorthe tells Robert that she saw him leaving her house on the night Ingerlise died. He reassures her that she misunderstood and takes her back to Jørg...

• Robert Hansen → Jørgen Buhl (Conflict Murderer And Victim) — Robert initially rescues Jørgen from the villagers, but later kills him when Jørgen confronts him with evidence connected to Ingerlise's death.

  After Jørgen reveals Robert's missing uniform button, Robert shoots him twice; the second shot is fatal.

Story Analysis

A troubled policeman seeking to return home becomes entangled in a village's private justice and is ultimately trapped by his own concealment and violence.

Plot Progression

1. A Posting in the Marshes — Robert arrives in Skarrild after a breakdown and hopes to return to Copenhagen to see his daughter. He encounters Ingerlise and discovers that the village handles trouble on its own terms.
2. A Fatal Encounter — Robert visits the battered Ingerlise and their encounter ends with her accidental suffocation. Dr. Zerleng imposes a cardiac-arrest explanation, leaving Robert complicit in a cover-up.
3. The Village Takes Its Justice — At Ingerlise's funeral, Robert learns that villagers suspect Jørgen. He intervenes when men take Jørgen toward the bog and later reassures Dorthe after she says she saw him leaving the house.
4. The Button and the Bog — Jørgen confronts Robert with the missing uniform button, and Robert kills him before taking his body to the bog. The police chief offers a convenient explanation that could let Robert return to Copenh...
5. A Place at the Table — Robert prepares to leave, but Dr. Zerleng and the other card players reveal that they know what happened. Their leverage binds Robert to the village, and he sits down to join the game.