Episode 1 of "In the Mud" kicks off with a somber scene as a convoy of women is escorted towards a foreboding prison facility. As they step into the transport vehicle, the screen introduces us to the central figures of our narrative: Marina, Olga, Soledad, Yael, Romina, Amparo, and Gladys.
During the journey to the prison, haunting flashbacks interweave with the present, illustrating the dark deeds that brought these women to this fateful crossroads — theft, smuggling, assault, and even murder haunting their pasts.
Suddenly, a fleet of cars tails the conveyance and launches an assault, sending the van careening off a bridge and plunging into a murky lake below. As the van begins to sink, a commando squad, led by Amparo's lover, swoops in, dispatching the police officers and diving into the lake. They manage to secure Amparo's freedom, but Gladys, in a moment of cunning, forces the leader to leave the van's key behind.
Gladys swiftly frees herself from her restraints and springs into action, assisting the other women in their desperate bid to escape the sinking death trap. However, as she turns to aid Romina, the van's waters rise perilously close, leaving no room for hope. With a heart-wrenching apology, Gladys is compelled to abandon Romina to her fate, leaving her to drown in the icy depths while she narrowly saves her own life.
News of the harrowing incident spreads like wildfire, catching the attention of Cecilia, the Director of La Quebrada Prison. The five survivors are subsequently brought into the facility, where they undergo a degrading and humiliating examination by a male doctor, their dignity further stripped away.
Once the ordeal is over, the women are segregated into different wings of the prison. Gladys and Marina find themselves paired and confined to the same ward, while Olga and Soledad are shunted into the realm controlled by La Zurda. Yael, meanwhile, is assigned to the family ward headed by Elba, a space that also houses mothers, children, and expectant mothers.
Yael, despite everything, finds herself yearning for her daughter, whom she has been separated from ever since her incarceration for smuggling contraband into the country concealed within her body. Cecilia, bearing the solemn news, conveys the tragic tidings to Romina's aunt, Maria, who happens to be incarcerated within the same bleak prison walls. Upon discovering how Gladys and the other inmates abandoned her niece, Maria resolves to exact justice from those who wronged her.
Zurda, a pimp exploiting the women in her ward for adult videos and sexual services to willing payers, is overjoyed by the arrival of a cosmetic surgeon among her ranks. Her name is Olga, and Zurda envisions her as the key to rejuvenating the women's bodies, thereby boosting her profits. When Maria dispatches two inmates to extort money from Zurda, the latter feigns poverty, causing quite a stir. The following day, Marian reveals to Gladys her vegan diet's incompatibility with the prison cuisine. Reunited with Marina, Olga is filled in by Gladys on the grim realities of Zurda's ward.
Eager to retrieve her cellphone, Gladys persuades Olga to seek Zurda's assistance. Meanwhile, Marina finds herself entangled in a dispute with fellow inmates, only to be rescued by a benevolent male guard who introduces her to Coco Viridi, a transgender inmate functioning as a counselor within the prison. Coco endeavors to uplift Marina, who has fallen into despair following her arrest for fatally wounding her ex-boyfriend amidst a heated altercation.
Olga swiftly gains Zurda's favor and observes the internal strife brewing among the inmates. Notably, Zurda and her sister-in-law Victoria serve as mediators in resolving most conflicts. Zurda urges China, one of her most profitable adult content stars, to maintain composure. Cecilia, seeking to preemptively quell any disturbances, requests Gladys's visit and issues a stern warning. The quintet of women strive to navigate their respective cliques within the prison hierarchy.
Elba, the supervisor of the family unit, lends a compassionate hand to a new mother, assisting her in pumping breast milk for her newborn, whisked away to a hospital outside the prison confines. A shocking revelation unfolds: Cecilia, without the mother's consent, had arranged for the baby's adoption.
Inside the confines of the prison facility, the women are seated in their designated clusters, engaged in a heated discussion that quickly devolves into a spat between Maria and Zurda. Zurda, assertively declares her intention to withdraw from their earlier pact, emphasizing that her unit had borne the brunt of the contributions. In response, Maria threatens to sever Zurda's internet privileges, a move that could devastatingly cripple her adult content venture. Undeterred, Zurda enlists Victoria to remain vigilant, anticipating a potential assault from Maria.
Meanwhile, Gladys expresses her worry over Marina, who remains refuse to eat. She urges Marina to prioritize her own well-being above all else. That evening, Gladys, Marina, Yael, Olga, and Soledad find themselves assigned to shower last. Concurrently, another altercation erupts between China and another inmate within Zurda’s unit, both of whom are known for their involvement in adult content creation. Zurda hastily intervenes, striving to halt the scuffle amidst the looming tension of Maria's impending confrontation.
Elsewhere, Cecilia surreptitiously hands over an inmate's baby to an unsuspecting couple, perpetuating a secret act within the prison walls. Gladys' suspicions are aroused when she notices the guards' unusual absence from their posts near the showers. Instinctively, she braces herself for an impending assault.
The episode culminates in a dramatic confrontation, where Maria confronts the quintet. Gladys, displaying remarkable prowess, retaliates by wielding bars of soap as makeshift weapons, inflicting severe injuries upon her assailants. Subsequently, she is escorted to solitary confinement, the aftermath of her bold defense lingering in the air.
