Episode 1 of "Black Out (Snow White Must Die)" unfolds in the year 2013, painting a grim picture as a young, innocent Bo-yeong is brutally slain within the confines of an ancient, dilapidated warehouse. Simultaneously, across town, Da-eun, another youthful soul, engages in a tender conversation with her mother over the phone, her voice echoing warmly in the night air—until a sudden, sinister intrusion shatters the tranquility as a blade flashes, striking her without mercy.
As the darkness deepens, the police arrive at the warehouse, their footsteps echoing through the desolate space as they embark on a grim investigation. Section Chief Hyun Gu-tak soon discovers the chilling reality: not one, but two lives have been cut short, and the trail leads to Goh Chang-soo's son, Jeong-woo, whose vehicle bears telltale traces of the victims' blood.
The following dawn finds Jeong-woo in the throes of slumber, his dreams shattered by the jarring intrusion of law enforcement. Disoriented and bewildered, he is whisked away from the sanctuary of his bedroom, his uncle—Chief Hyun and his team—leading the charge as they escort him to the police station, accusations of double murder hanging heavy in the air.
A flashback, a glimpse into the events that preceded this tragic turn, reveals Jeong-woo as a high school student, freshly emerged from the CSAT Exam. With his parents embarked on a Hawaiian getaway, leaving their home eerily vacant, Jeong-woo seeks solace in the company of his friends. His first attempt, a phone call to Da-eun, meets with rejection, prompting him to venture out into the night, seeking her presence.
At Da-eun's abode, Jeong-woo stumbles upon a trove of lavish dresses, their opulence a stark contrast to the ordinary surroundings. This discovery propels him to his family's warehouse, where he searches frantically for the keys to his father's car. There, he encounters Bo-young, tears streaming down her face, her words laced with accusations as she labels Da-eun a derogatory term. The confrontation escalates, and Bo-young storms off, leaving Jeong-woo to procure alcohol as a balm for his troubled soul.
Returning to the solitude of his home, Jeong-woo embarks on a night of reckless indulgence, drowning his sorrows in the numbing embrace of alcohol. Hour after hour passes, until finally, he succumbs to exhaustion, collapsing into a fitful slumber, unaware of the fateful events that would soon unravel, casting his life into a vortex of darkness.
The following morning, Jeong-woo jolts awake amidst the harsh reality of being dragged to the police precinct, his fate now entwined with accusations he never imagined. Detective Kim Hee-do looms large, accusing him not only of the gruesome murder of his closest friends but also of desecrating their lifeless bodies.
Concurrently, Jeong-woo's circle of acquaintances is summoned for interrogation, each one testifying that they had witnessed Bo-young in his company. Their narratives weave a tale of Jeong-woo's frustration, simmering from his inability to reach Da-eun. Amidst this turmoil, Jeong-woo's parents arrive at the station, their hearts heavy with worry.
Dae-eun's mother, her voice trembling, offers her testimony, painting a picture of Da-eun spending her last moments at the warehouse, accompanied by her beloved Jeong-woo. She recounts a chilling detail—a male voice on the phone line, moments before her demise. Even Bo-yeong's father, Dong-min, lends his voice to the investigation, his words recorded for posterity.
As Jeong-woo undergoes a lie detector test, the air thick with tension, the machine serves as a silent judge, attempting to discern truth from lies. The investigation deepens, and incriminating evidence emerges—Jeong-woo's shoes, stained with traces of blood, pointing towards a grim reality. Chief Hyun whispers a chilling theory to Chang-soo: perhaps Jeong-woo, consumed by rage, had succumbed to a blackout, his mind erasing the horror of his actions.
In the cold confines of a prison visit, Jeong-woo's eyes meet his mother's, filled with anguish. He confesses, his voice breaking, that he cannot recall "not killing" his friends, his mind a void where memories of that fateful night reside. Forced to relive the nightmare, Jeong-woo is confronted with the harsh reality that Bo-young's body remains undiscovered, sealing his fate with a decade-long sentence.
Prison life is a relentless battle, and Jeong-woo finds himself at the mercy of his fellow inmates' cruelty. Through the years, Deok-mi stands as a beacon of hope, her visits a rare oasis in the desert of despair. Her heart shatters as she lays eyes on the scars Jeong-woo bears, silent testimonies to his relentless torment. Meanwhile, Jeong-woo's mind is a labyrinth, where he spends a decade wandering, desperately seeking fragments of memory that might shed light on what truly transpired that fateful night.
While incarcerated, Jeong-woo received the devastating news of his father's passing and the even more heartbreaking rejection from his mother, who refused to visit him. This sequence of events ignited a fiery transformation within him, as he grew increasingly aggressive and eventually developed a resilience to the relentless bullying that plagued his prison days. As his sentence drew to a close, Jeong-woo found his voice and began to strike back, turning the tables on his tormentors.
In a twist of fate, he discovered that Deok-mi, now reborn as Na-kyeom, had soared to international fame as a model. On the dawn of his freedom, Na-kyeom hastened to the prison gates, her shoot barely concluded, to personally escort Jeong-woo to his father's resting place. As they stood before the grave, Jeong-woo's mind drifted back to the idyllic days of fishing with his dad, reliving his father's words of patience etched deeply in his heart.
In the solitude that followed, Na-kyeom stumbled upon a trove of criminal psychology books in Jeong-woo's bag, their pages adorned with meticulous notes on the enigmatic blackout phenomenon. That evening, as the shadows lengthened, Jeong-woo ventured to confront his mother, accompanied by Na-kyeom. Meanwhile, Bo-young's father kept watchful vigil outside Geum-hee's restaurant, his eyes ever-vigilant.
In a separate corner of the city, Sang-cheol, a Seoul-based cop renowned for his no-nonsense approach, apprehended a fugitive and dealt with him in his unyielding manner. His colleagues, fearing the escalation, urged him to compose himself as he stormed off in his car. Fate, however, had other plans as Sang-cheol's vehicle collided with a truck, sending him on a reckless chase after the driver responsible. Amidst the chaos, Jeong-woo emerged from Na-kyeom's car, demanding compensation for the damage incurred.
At the Mucheon Police Station, Hee-do warmly greeted Sang-cheol, who had been transferred in as the new detective. Coincidentally, Jeong-woo's high school chum Byeong-moo, who had once testified on his behalf, now stood as a detective within those same walls. News of Chief Hyun's errand with his son, Su-ho, echoed through the station, leaving a temporary void in his duties as he entrusted Su-ho's care to a caretaker, instructing her to administer his medication punctually.
Grateful for Na-kyeom's unwavering support, Jeong-woo bid her farewell at his doorstep and braced himself for the emotional confrontation with his mother, whom he hadn't seen in a decade. As he approached her doorstep, memories of a bygone era flooded his mind, particularly the night of a party where he first laid eyes on Da-eun, freshly moved into the rooftop abode adjacent to his own, amidst a gathering of high school friends, Chief Hyun, and Su-ho. The memories, both sweet and bitter, painted a poignant backdrop for the reunion that lay ahead.
In the present day, Jeong-woo's path unexpectedly crosses with Ha-seol, who toils away at Geum-hee's bustling restaurant. Inside, a tumultuous scene unfolds as Dong-min and his accomplice attempt to stir up trouble, falsely accusing Geum-hee of deliberately serving them overly salty fare. Geum-hee, her apologies sincere, finds herself caught in the fray when Dong-min's recklessness leads her to stumble.
Enter Jeong-woo, eager to lend a helping hand, only to be met with resistance from Geum-hee as she physically distances herself. Dong-min, aggressive, seizes Jeong-woo by the collar, probing about Bo-young. Amidst the chaos, Geum-hee makes a heart-wrenching decision, evicting Jeong-woo from her restaurant and severing ties, declaring him no longer her son.
Meanwhile, at the Mucheon police station, detectives gather for a celebratory drink, marking Sang-cheol's transfer with camaraderie. Along the street, Jeong-woo stumbles upon Min-soo, another high school friend and crucial witness in his case. Their reunion overflows with nostalgia, until Min-soo's phone rings, summoning him to a meeting with Byeong-moo.
As they board the bus, Min-soo divulges a poignant tale: his father's acquisition of Jeong-woo's family home after the latter's father's passing, and Geum-hee's resilience in continuing her culinary endeavors as a chef. Min-soo, a nurse in the hectic emergency room, explains the whirlwind of life that kept him from visiting Jeong-woo during his incarceration.
Their journey to meet Byeong-moo is interrupted by a chance encounter with a menacing gang. Taking advantage of Sang-cheol's inebriated state, the thugs prepare to strike. Jeong-woo, swift and decisive, intervenes, saving the cop from harm's way. Min-soo, panicked, summons Byeong-moo, who promptly arrives with reinforcements to apprehend the menacing group. The scene unfolds with a tense energy, each moment etched with the weight of Jeong-woo's past and the unpredictable nature of the present.
Byeong-moo warmly introduces Jeong-woo to Sang-cheol amidst a nostalgic reunion of their high school days. As they catch up, Byeong-moo extends a helping hand to Jeong-woo, encouraging him to reach out should he ever require assistance. With a heavy heart, Jeong-woo embarks on his journey to the police station, where Chief Hyun urges him to embark on a fresh start in Seoul, despite his status as an ex-convict.
Before bidding farewell to his former life, Jeong-woo seeks solace in checking on Su-oh, his thoughts swirling with memories of his bygone friendships and the complexities of his relationship with his mother. These reflections leave him deeply unsettled.
Meanwhile, Sang-cheol finds himself alone in his new abode, where the ghost of his wife's tragic passing haunts him, causing him to break down in sorrow. As night falls, Jeong-woo returns home to his mother, hoping to find comfort, but also with a decision brewing within him. He implores Geum-hee, his mother, to accompany him to Seoul, yet she steadfastly declines.
The dawn brings with it a new resolve for Jeong-woo. Just as he prepares to embark on his solo journey back to Seoul, Su-oh unexpectedly arrives, presenting Jeong-woo with a painting that holds a hidden message. Unfolding the artwork, Jeong-woo's eyes widen in shock as he discovers a sketch of the warehouse, a chilling reminder of the fateful night that altered his life forever.
The episode reaches its harrowing climax as tragedy strikes unexpectedly, with Geum-hee's life cut short in a horrific accident—plunging from the rooftop of a building onto a passing vehicle, leaving Jeong-woo reeling from yet another devastating loss.
