Subteran – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

An Old Compaq Laptop

Episode 1 of Subteran starts with a man sternly warning a woman not to receive a call from her mother. The woman wants to inform the mother and her son that she is okay, but the man insists that she needs to disappear, and that is only possible if her loved ones believe she is dead. The man takes the phone, throws it to the back of a car, and burns it with a woman’s body inside. Next, we are taken back to 36 hours earlier. 

Camelia, an IT consultant, arrives at the National Agency for Sustainable Development to help solve an IT issue of slow internet connection. On her way up, she calls her boyfriend, an officer named Luca, and asks her to pick up her son Matei from school, since she might be late. At the government office, Camelia discovers that the reason for the slow internet is that one employee is downloading all eight seasons of game of Thrones on 4K using corporate Wi-Fi while another is streaming porn. Since it is a government office, the manager cannot just fire the employees, so Camelia suggests a different solution.

Meanwhile, Luca and his partner are called in to the chief’s office. While getting an update on a drug case they were following, someone keeps calling Luca’s phone, so the chief allows him to answer. The call is from his CI, Oase, so Luca steps out to talk to him. Oase tells him about Bank, the accountant of Cartel boss, Tanase. Bank is ready to turn on his boss in exchange for witness protection and wants to meet with Luca at Bucharest Grand Hotel later that night. Luca is sceptical, but still knows that getting information on Tanase can be a big help for his career.

Elsewhere, the cartel boss, Nicolae Tanase learns from his first hand man Dracu that Bank has stolen all their crypto leaving his accounts empty. Tanase is particularly angered by the development because he had just promised two million euros for an upcoming deal with a person named Lars. Tanase orders Dracu to enrol the help of one of his daughters, Tili, and get the money back.

After waiting for Cami to arrive home, Luca leaves for the meeting with Bank. Meanwhile, Bones talks to Bank and tells him to stay in the hotel room without using the Wi-Fi or making any phone calls until Luca arrives. In hindsight, Bank had already booked to meet a girl in that hotel room the minute he arrived earlier that day. However, he does not disclose this information to Bones. Bones secretly sets up a listening device in the room and leaves.

While Luca heads up to the room, Tili takes care of the girl booked by Bank downstairs at the hotel bar. She drugs her, leaves her in a toilet, and takes her identity. Luca arrives and Bank shows her the computer. In addition to the cryptocurrency, Bank has a folder with names of all corrupt officials, including cops, journalists, and politicians, under Tanase’s payroll. Bank then gives Luca the decoder key for the laptop.

Luca wants a second opinion to verify Bank’s statement, so he calls the only person he trusts as an IT consultant. While on video call with Cami, Tili knocks on the door and Bank is not on guard because he thinks she is the girl he booked. Luca lets Tili in and Bank ask her to take a shower. Once in the bathroom, Tili gets her gun, walks back to the room and instantly kills Luca and Bank. Tili takes a laptop and leaves, unaware that Cami is watching the whole incident through Luca’s phone. Bones rushes up to the room, but Tili has already left. Cami calls the police but she has no idea where to send them. Bones makes an anonymous call and sends the police to the Bucharest Grand Hotel.

The detectives quickly pin the story of what happened at the crime scene from hotel cameras. However, it is still unclear why Luca met with Bank, so the Chief Prosecutor orders a search into his apartment and bank account. They find the Compaq laptop since Tili took the wrong one and hand it over to IT for investigation.

Cami is heartbroken because her parents were also policemen who died in the line of duty. She asks to talk to the detective in charge of the investigation. Cami tells them that she saw everything since she was in a video call with Luca and knows that the woman who killed him has a snack tattoo on her chest

Tanase orders Dracu to head out and get the boys ready for business. Crisi, another one of Tanase daughters, sneaks into his car. She wants to learn what happens in everyday business and become involved like Tili. Dracu has no option but to let Crisi lag along.

We learn that Bones is one of Tanase’s men as he too arrives at the meeting set up by Dracu. Tanase calls them with directives on recovering the confiscated laptop. Tanase wants to use one of his people in the police force but Bones has a different idea. He convinces Tanase not to call the police. The person Tanase calls will be curious and try to find out what is in the laptop, giving him something against Tanase. Tanase changes his plan and asks his men to figure out how to retrieve it.

Bones is sent to check out Luca’s apartment, and Crisi insists on tagging along. At the same time, Cami heads to the apartment and is inside when Crisi and Bones arrive. Crisi and Bones try to pose as Luca’s friends, but Cami is not easily fooled. Therefore, bones has to use force to make sure Cami does not scream.

After questioning Cami, they learn that she is an eyewitness, and Crisi wants to kill her. However, Cami’s parents were police officers, and she knows self defence. Cami manages to fight off Bones and Crisi and reaches out for the gun. Cami shoots Crisi dead and freaks out when she sees the tattoo. She thinks that she killed the killer.

Cami wants to call the police, but Bones knows that if she is taken into custody, she will not survive since she just killed Tanase’s daughter. Bones offers to protect her and her family since Luca was his friend. To do so, they have to convince everyone that she is dead for at least 48 hours. We see Tili and Dracu in a hotel room which confirms that they are in a relationship. The episode ends back to the opening scene where Bones sets a car on fire with Crisi’s body inside. Bones says he will take Cami to a safe place to have some rest, and then they will pick up the investigation from where Luca left off. He reminds Cami that henceforth; she is dead.


The Episode Review

The pilot episode gives us an exciting background to the plot. The premise throws a simple IT guru into the world of crime, violence, corruption, betrayal, death, drugs, and the mafia. It unexpectedly intertwines an ordinary citizen’s life with that of the police and the mafia, which adds to the thrill.  The writing builds tension from the opening to the closing scene, leaving us with questions and eagerness to watch the next episode.

Will Cami survive after killing the Cartel Leader’s daughter? How will she keep her family safe? Will she seek revenge for Luca’s death? If she does, she will have to go against the ruthless killer who is also Tanase’s daughter. Since the laptop is important, will Cami and Boss try to retrieve it? Can anyone in the police force be trusted? The episode sufficiently introduces the key players and leaves the viewer looking forward to what happens next.

 

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Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!

  • Episode Rating
    (3.5)
3.5

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