Character Relationship Map: Flame & Citron

Characters

• Flammen (played by Thure Lindhardt) — protagonist

  A primary resistance operative who carries out assassinations against collaborators and German intelligence. He struggles with the moral weight of his missions and ultimately takes his own life with a...

• Citronen (played by Mads Mikkelsen) — protagonist

  Flammen's partner in the resistance group. He is deeply concerned with providing for his family, breaks a temporary truce to kill a target, robs a store for his wife and daughter, and is eventually sh...

• Ketty Selmer (played by Stine Stengade) — supporting

  A woman who initially poses as a resistance courier but is revealed to be an informant for Winther and army intelligence. She maintains a close relationship with Gestapo leader Hoffmann, flees to Stoc...

• Aksel Winther (played by Peter Mygind) — supporting

  The resistance handler who claims to represent the exile government. He is secretly colluding with German intelligence, orders targeted killings to protect his own position, and ultimately flees to St...

• Bodil (played by Mille Lehfeldt) — supporting

  The wife of Jørgen (Citronen). She expresses dissatisfaction with their difficult life and financial struggles, ultimately announcing that she is leaving him for another man.

• Hoffmann (played by Christian Berkel) — supporting

  The ruthless Gestapo leader who becomes the main target for the resistance assassins. He utilizes Ketty Selmer for surveillance and survives their attempts on his life, later rewarding her for her bet...

• Gilbert (played by Hanns Zischler) — supporting

  A member of the German Abwehr intelligence network. He initially escapes an assassination attempt but is later tracked down and killed by Jørgen after the resistance ignores a temporary ceasefire orde...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Citronen → Bodil (Family Husband) — Their marriage is strained by poverty, absence, and the pressures of resistance work.

  Citronen celebrates their daughter's birthday with Bodil in their car, and Bodil later announces that she is seeing another man.

• Flammen → Ketty Selmer (Romantic Lover) — Their intimate relationship is complicated by Flammen's doubts about her loyalty.

  Flammen follows Ketty after meeting her in a bar, visits her hotel, and has sex with her.

• Aksel Winther → Ketty Selmer (Professional Secret Collaborator) — Their covert operational connection drives the film's suspicion and betrayal plot.

  Ketty tells Flammen that she works for Winther and army intelligence, while Winther later identifies her as the alleged informer.

• Aksel Winther → Citronen (Professional Handler) — Citronen works under Winther's operational direction until Winther's betrayal is exposed.

  Winther assigns Citronen and Flammen the mission to kill members of the Abwehr.

• Aksel Winther → Flammen (Power Handler) — Winther initially exercises authority over Flammen's resistance missions.

  Winther gives Flammen assassination assignments and claims to be acting on behalf of the government in exile.

Story Dynamics

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

• Citronen → Gilbert (Conflict Assassin And Target) — Citronen completes the assassination that Flammen initially failed to carry out.

  After refusing to follow Spex's order to halt attacks, Citronen tracks down and kills Gilbert.

• Flammen → Gilbert (Conflict Assassination Opponent) — Gilbert is one of the German intelligence targets assigned to Flammen.

  Winther orders Flammen to kill Gilbert, but Flammen initially fails to assassinate him.

• Citronen → Hoffmann (Conflict Targeted Enemy) — Citronen shares the resistance campaign against Hoffmann.

  Citronen joins Flammen in planning to assassinate Hoffmann and later fights German forces while trying to escape.

• Flammen → Hoffmann (Conflict Primary Adversary) — Hoffmann becomes Flammen's central enemy and the target of his final resistance plans.

  Flammen and Citronen repeatedly plan to kill Hoffmann, including an attempt involving police disguises.

• Ketty Selmer → Hoffmann (Alliance Operational Associate) — Their relationship combines surveillance, manipulation, and collaboration with the Gestapo.

  Ketty stays close to Hoffmann at army intelligence's request and is later rewarded by him for helping apprehend Flammen.

• Flammen → Citronen (Alliance Teammate) — They are the film's central resistance partnership, despite disagreements over methods and orders.

  Flammen and Citronen operate together within the Holger Danske resistance group and carry out assassination missions.

Story Analysis

Two resistance fighters confront occupation, betrayal, moral injury, and the personal cost of clandestine war.

Plot Progression

1. Names in the Shadows — Flammen encounters Ketty and is unsettled when she knows his real name. Winther then assigns Flammen and Citronen a series of politically dangerous assassinations.
2. Orders Without Peace — The resistance debates a temporary halt while Citronen carries out an unauthorized killing. His attempt to support his family fails to prevent the collapse of his marriage.
3. The Informer's Mask — Deaths within the resistance trigger a search for an informant. Ketty's revelations expose Winther's collaboration and force Flammen and Citronen into open conflict with the Gestapo network.
4. The Cost of Resistance — The attempt to reach Hoffmann produces a civilian tragedy and destroys the protagonists' remaining certainty. Citronen dies fighting, while Flammen chooses suicide rather than capture.