The premiere episode of "Subteran" kicks off with a gruff man issuing a stern warning to a woman, urging her to ignore an incoming call from her mother. Despite her inclination to reassure her mother and son of her wellbeing, the man insists on her disappearance, emphasizing that her loved ones must believe her deceased for the plan to succeed. With that, he seizes the phone, casts it to the rear of a vehicle, and incinerates it alongside a female corpse. The scene then flashes back to 36 hours prior.
Camelia, a seasoned IT consultant, arrives at the National Agency for Sustainable Development to troubleshoot a lingering issue of sluggish internet speeds. En route to her destination, she dials her beau, Luca, an officer, and entrusts him with the task of fetching their son Matei from school, anticipating a potential delay. Upon arriving at the governmental office, Camelia uncovers the culprit behind the sluggish connectivity: one employee indulging in downloading all eight seasons of "Game of Thrones" in 4K on corporate Wi-Fi, while another is engrossed in streaming pornographic content. Given the government setting, the manager finds himself in a dilemma, unable to terminate their employment outright. Camelia, however, proposes an ingenious alternative.
Elsewhere, Luca and his partner are summoned to the chief's office for a briefing on a drug case they were pursuing. Amidst receiving the update, Luca's phone buzzes incessantly, prompting the chief to grant him permission to attend to it. The caller is Oase, his confidential informant. Luca excuses himself to converse with Oase, who reveals crucial information: Bank, the accountant for Cartel boss Nicolae Tanase, intends to turn states' evidence against his boss in exchange for witness protection, and wishes to meet Luca at Bucharest Grand Hotel that evening. Though skeptical, Luca acknowledges that acquiring dirt on Tanase could be a game-changer for his career.
Concurrently, Tanase learns from his right-hand man, Dracu, that Bank has emptied their cryptocurrency accounts by stealing all funds. Tanase's fury intensifies as he had just pledged two million euros for an impending deal with a person named Lars. In a bid to recoup the losses, Tanase tasks Dracu with enlisting the aid of his daughter, Tili, to retrieve the stolen money.
After anxiously awaiting Cami's arrival, Luca finally sets off for his meeting with Bank. Meanwhile, Bones engages in a hush-hush conversation with Bank, instructing him to stay confined in the hotel room, refraining from using the Wi-Fi or making any phone calls until Luca's arrival. Unbeknownst to Bones, Bank had already prearranged a clandestine rendezvous with a girl in the very same hotel room upon his earlier arrival that day, a detail he conveniently omitted from his conversation with Bones. Sneakily, Bones plants a listening device in the room before departing.
As Luca ascends to the room, Tili attends to the girl whom Bank had booked,打发她在酒店楼下的酒吧里。 She administers drugs to her, abandons her in a toilet stall, and assumes her identity. Upon Luca's arrival, Bank unveils the computer to him, revealing not only cryptocurrency but also a folder containing the names of corrupt officials, encompassing policemen, journalists, and politicians, all under Tanase's payroll. Bank subsequently hands Luca the decoder key for the laptop.
Seeking a second opinion to corroborate Bank's revelations, Luca dials the only person he deems trustworthy as an IT consultant. During his video call with Cami, Tili raps on the door, and Bank, mistakenly assuming she is his booked companion, lets his guard down. Luca admits Tili, and Bank urges her to freshen up. Once ensconced in the bathroom, Tili retrieves her firearm, returns to the room, and swiftly executes Luca and Bank. Tili absconds with the laptop, oblivious to the fact that Cami is an eyewitness to the entire gruesome episode through Luca's phone. Bones hastily ascends to the room, but Tili has already vanished into thin air. Cami dials the police, albeit clueless about their destination. Bones makes an anonymous call, directing the police to the Bucharest Grand Hotel.
The detectives swiftly piece together the narrative of the hotel room carnage from the surveillance footage. However, the motive behind Luca's meeting with Bank remains a mystery, prompting the Chief Prosecutor to order a search of Luca's apartment and bank account. They uncover the Compaq laptop, which Tili inadvertently took, and hand it over to the IT department for scrutiny.
Cami, whose parents were also policemen who perished in the line of duty, is devastated. She requests a conversation with the detective spearheading the investigation. Cami reveals that she witnessed the entire ordeal, as she was on a video call with Luca, and recognizes that the murderess bears a snack tattoo on her chest.
Tanase orders Dracu to set out and prepare his men for business. Crisi, another of Tanase's daughters, sneaks into his car, eager to glean the intricacies of daily operations and immerse herself like Tili. Dracu, with little choice, acquiesces to Crisi's tag-along.
We uncover that Bones is indeed one of Tanase's trusted lieutenants, arriving at the clandestine meeting orchestrated by Dracu alongside his boss. Tanase issues instructions to retrieve the confiscated laptop, contemplating the involvement of his contact within the police force. However, Bones harbors an alternative strategy. He persuades Tanase against involving the police, arguing that curiosity might lead the contacted individual to delve into the laptop's contents, thereby providing Tanase with unwanted leverage. Convinced, Tanase alters his course of action, instructing his men to devise a plan to reclaim the laptop discreetly.
Bones is dispatched to investigate Luca's apartment, with Crisi insisting on accompanying him. Meanwhile, Cami, unaware of their intentions, arrives at the apartment. As Crisi and Bones attempt to pass themselves off as Luca's friends, Cami, sharp-witted and perceptive, sees through their charade. Bones resorts to force to silence her, fearing her screams could alert others.
Upon questioning Cami, they discover she is an eyewitness to crucial events. Crisi, driven by a ruthless streak, intends to eliminate her. Yet, Cami, whose parents were police officers and who has honed self-defense skills, manages to fend off both Bones and Crisi, grabbing a nearby gun. In a panic, Cami shoots Crisi, who collapses, revealing a tattoo that terrifies her—she believes she has killed the infamous killer.
Desperate to call the police, Cami is warned by Bones that, as the killer of Tanase's daughter, she would not survive custody. Bones proposes to shield her and her family, driven by his loyalty to Luca. To accomplish this, they must convince everyone of her demise for at least 48 hours. Elsewhere, Tili and Dracu's intimate encounter in a hotel room confirms their romantic entanglement.
The episode concludes with a revisit to the opening scene, where Bones sets a car ablaze, Crisi's lifeless body inside. With a solemn vow, Bones assures Cami that he will escort her to a safe haven for rest, before resuming their investigation from where Luca left off. He impresses upon her the gravity of their situation: from this moment forth, she must embrace her new identity—as the deceased.
