Episode 1 of "Prison Cell 211" opens within the confines of a prison, where inmates appear to be mobilizing for conflict. An announcement echoes through the halls, instructing the inmates to prepare for their weekly familial visitations. Yet, amidst this apparent semblance of order, some inmates are engrossed in sharpening blades and unearthing concealed caches of firearms, ammunition, and an assortment of other lethal implements.
Elsewhere, Juan Olvera, a dedicated human rights lawyer with the Human Rights Commission, rises at the break of dawn, preceding his pregnant wife's awakening. She discovers him outdoors, struggling to assemble a crib. She gently remarks on his apprehension regarding an upcoming prison visit and suggests he entrust the task to someone else. Juan, however, remains steadfast in his resolve to meet with his client, spending the subsequent morning crafting a heartfelt breakfast and savoring precious moments with his wife and their unborn child.
Concurrently, a clandestine rendezvous transpires, involving a figure who dispatches a cartel leader into the desert. The cartel boss issues a directive to ensure that a man named Baldor does not breach the border. The recipient of this command reassures the enigmatic figure that Baldor will not face extradition, provided the cartel boss refrains from entering the city.
Back at Juan's abode, he meticulously prepares for his prison visit, eventually setting forth on his journey. Upon arriving in Ciudad Juarez, he proceeds to the prison after procuring a few sandwiches and yogurt from a bustling street vendor. The town throngs with individuals purchasing sustenance and other essentials to convey to their incarcerated loved ones.
A news broadcast reveals that Baldor, whose official moniker is Gustavo Aguilar, serves as the accountant for the North Division Cartel. He is currently detained at Cereso Number 3 state prison, the very facility Juan is visiting for his client.
Baldor is an infamous accountant notorious for exposing the financial machinations of the North Division Cartel. Despite his incarcerated state, his circumstances starkly contrast with those of his fellow inmates. He occupies a plush cell equipped with a laptop, where he indulges in hacking endeavors, sips on alcohol, and enjoys the companionship of a woman within the confines of his bathroom.On the opposite side of the same formidable prison, the second enigmatic figure from the earlier meeting contacts Calancho, an inmate, and stresses the crucial nature of the impending Baldor transfer. Calancho reassures him with confidence, vowing to execute his role flawlessly and hand over Baldor within twenty minutes.
Elsewhere, Juan navigates through a labyrinth of rigorous checkpoints before being ushered in to meet his client, Flavio Gonzalez. As the prison guard accompanies Juan, recounting tales of the inmates' pasts and the fierce rivalry between the Mostros and North Division inmates, an eerie ritual unfolds in a distant corner of the prison confines.
Concurrently, the inmates intensify their preparations for an impending conflict, extracting concealed weapons from mattresses and walls. Calancho receives an update that his men are in position, and precisely at this moment, a prison guard informs Baldor that it is time to depart.
The North Division inmates launch a brutal attack on the Mostros gang members, slaying some on the spot and seizing others as hostages. The prison issues a code red alert, striving to usher visiting family members to safety. However, they are all captured and held hostage by the North Division gang.
A frantic prison guard calls the colonel, who is monitoring the situation from a bank of screens, pleading for backup. The colonel, though assenting, remains a mere observer as the riot escalates into a full-scale frenzy. Moreover, the guard accompanying Juan is assaulted, leaving him defenseless and stranded.
Meanwhile, Baldor nearly escapes, but Calancho and his men anticipate his every move. They ruthlessly eliminate his entire extraction team and haul him back into the prison's depths.
It transpires that the second mysterious man is indeed the prison warden. He arrives on the scene shortly after the chaos erupts and is ushered into the CCTV room. Juan attempts to remain inconspicuous as the inmates continue to round up families and Mostros gang prisoners, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.
Colonel, the Prison Warden, and the head of the North Division cartel have forged an unholy alliance. Their scheme revolved around leveraging the cartel members incarcerated within the prison's walls, under Calancho's command, to thwart Baldor's extradition. The plan was for Calancho to surrender Baldor into the cartel's custody on the 25th, but instead, he betrayed them, seizing Baldor as a hostage.
As Calancho escorts Baldor back to the main hall, where his men have corralled the hostages, the true nature of the riot unfolds: a protest against the prison's dehumanizing conditions. In an impassioned speech, Calancho decries how, despite their unwavering loyalty to their cartel leaders, they were abandoned in an overcrowded, unsanitary prison with inedible food and no medical care.
Meanwhile, Baldor languished in comfort for three weeks in a room equipped with a television, pool tables, and liquor, only to be set free. Enraged, Calancho vows that their superiors will heed their plight and shacks Baldor away in the icy cell 211.
Juan realizes that the only way to ensure his safety is to blend in seamlessly with the inmates. He dons prison garb plucked from a deceased inmate. Simultaneously, the warden becomes aware of Juan's presence among those still trapped within the confines of the prison.
The episode culminates in a harrowing confrontation between Juan and the menacing "flame thrower," who demands to know Juan's identity or face immediate execution. With quick thinking, Juan claims to be a newly arrived inmate, hoping to avert his fate.
