Episode 1 of "Vladimir" begins with the protagonist, M, smoking in her cabin.** She confides to the viewers that she feels powerless and that her life has become mundane. Her students see her as outdated, her daughter is in her rebellious phase, and her husband, John, no longer finds her sexually attractive. A man is chained to a chair beside her, adding to the tension.
The episode cuts to six weeks earlier. M heads to the grocery store to make her famous salad for the 30th faculty retreat. The same chained man is at the store, and they share a fleeting glance. As M waits outside the venue, she tells us that her colleagues are likely discussing the latest sex scandal. John has been suspended for sleeping with six students. M wistfully comments that she too wanted to sleep with her professors, of all ages and genders, but wasted her youth being too shy.
To regain some sense of control, M takes her salad to the retreat and claims it is a hit among her colleagues. She runs into the same man again and there are instant sparks. He is Vladimir, the new assistant professor. They banter and M is enthralled until his wife, Cynthia, shows up. Cynthia is another assistant professor and a fan of M's novel. M tries to invite them for cocktails and is jealous that they are the hot new professor couple, having replaced her and John.
M overhears her colleagues gossiping about her, pitying her and judging her for her lack of self-respect. However, she is more annoyed at the girls who reported John. She claims that having a consensual affair with a power imbalance is half the fun. It turns out that she has an open marriage with John and has also had an affair with one of her colleagues, David.
At home, John tries to get in her pants but she isn't interested. They talk over each other and don't take each other seriously.
The following day, three of M's beloved students encouraged her to leave her cheating spouse. Shortly thereafter, another professor, Florence, asserted that the students' anxiety indicated M had been inappropriate with them, warning her to maintain a distance. David did not support M and grew annoyed when she snapped at them. Vladimir's arrival caused M to suddenly act shy. After work, M picked up her daughter, Sid, who had just arrived in town. Sid revealed that her girlfriend wanted a child, leading to an argument as M believed she was too young. It ended with Sid putting on her noise-cancellation headphones. M stopped at a bakery for Sid's favorite cake, but the tension grew as the worker was a former student she had failed.
During dinner, John and M clashed as she didn't understand the excitement surrounding the Kardashians. He mocked her for being snobbish, and she lashed out by bringing up his scandal and how she was forced to deal with the aftermath. Sid was shocked and blamed M for keeping this from her. She stormed off after throwing the cake. As for John, he was busy eating directly from the pot. Fed up with it all, M kicked him out to their cabin, tired of playing the supportive wife.
She sulked and brooded while listening to Vlad's interviews. The next morning, she woke up to a million texts from people either checking in on her or suspecting her of similar predatory behavior. She wished she could be free of drama. Right then, Vlad showed up for cocktails. It cut to a montage of them having sex.
