Summary
ZeroZeroZero Season 1, Episode 1 conjures the scenario between the buyer, the seller and more importantly the brokers as tensions heighten immediately.
This recap of Amazon Prime Series ZeroZeroZero season 1, episode 1 contains significant spoilers.
- Read the Season 1 review.
- Read the recap of Episode 2.
- Access the archive of all the episode recaps.
Well, ZeroZeroZero Season 1, Episode 1 is an insightful opening and a tense chapter. It opens up with a narration about being no longer useful. A man named Don Minu leaves a bunker type environment, looking quite worn by years of work. There are cattle all around him when he leaves — he’s in Calabria, Italy and “The Buyers” pop up on the screen.
In the following scene, a festival is occurring in the town. Don Stefano walks through the crowds and is greeted by many people. He meets his grandpa Don Minu and they hold a meeting in the woods. He talks to a group of people, stating he needs the money to feed everyone; he says he was forced to live in a bunker and that he wants their trust again — he provides the rates on the drugs: “Best family price”. In the next scene, Don Stefano hands over a lot of money.
But the situation deepens quite quickly, introducing us to various characters and unknown variables. Luciano’s car breaks down and Nicola points a gun at him and tells him to open the trunk. Stefana and Nicola burn loads of money, presumably the money offered by his grandpa. A pigsty is nearby and Stefano says he wants one of the pigs to diet so he can feed her his grandpa.
Stefano really does not like his grandpa, apparently.
“The Sellers” then pops up on the screen, with ZeroZeroZero Season 1, Episode 1 really firming up the story; we are witness to a chili factory and there’s a secret drug assortment done in the back by women. A man named Nancy answers the phone and his mama says his brother is acting like a fool again, but what he does not know is that the military outside has a squad at the ready, tapping into his phones. The chilli factory is hiding the cocaine in the chilli cans. Nancy rings a man about a big order of 5,000 chili tins and claims it is unsafe to keep all the drugs — but the man on the other side of the phone does not care. Nancy tries to plan to hide all the chillis on a farm and he does not want trouble with the Italians. He is followed by the military squad.
What follows is a thrilling but tragic, saddening shoot-out — one of the military men kills a young girl nearby with a stray bullet. The scene of this man trying to reassure her that she can live by asking her to keep her eyes open was upsetting. Nancy is interrogated and beaten; he’s asked where he’s meeting the buyers.
At the halfway point of ZeroZeroZero Episode 1 the military squad take over the episode. They track down some SUVs and monitor a situation; they are watching a meet-up. One of the squad members notices Enrique enter a restaurant with his brother Jacinto. The squad awaits orders on what to do with the Leyra brothers. Their radios are intercepted, and the Leyra brothers depart quickly in the SUVs. The police try to protect the brothers, but the military start shooting anyway. One of the military members looks dazed by the whole thing. One of the men escaping the restaurant with the brothers is shot and he lays on the ground looking almost lifeless.
ZeroZeroZero Episode 1 then changes course again — it heads to New Orleans, and “The Deal Makers” pop up. Edward Lynwood meets Francios and Mark on a cargo ship. Edward asks about the value of the ship and demands that they bring down the price. Emma Lynwood, who works with her father, goes into the offices and it is raised that the Italian accountant has noted that the money has not come through.
Emma approaches her father Edward about this and her brother Chris who has hearing difficulties lip-reads their conversation; they are worried about the money, the ship and the Italians.
At dinner, the tension of the situation boils over; Emma tries to bring up the money issue again at dinner but Edward gets angry. Outside, she reminds Edward that they are talking about 31 million dollars. Edward claims he still needs to broker cocaine, but Emma contests that, claiming they don’t need to broker anymore. Edward states that they need to show Don Minu that they can trust him. Emma goes to the bank and sets up a transfer for 31 million dollars. Emma then tells Edward that they have four weeks to return the funds, and if not, they will have to start selling assets.
Edward continues dismissing Emma’s concerns, and lectures her about keeping the economy afloat — this is a rather stranger father-daughter relationship.
Anyway, we flit to Monterrey, Mexico in an episode where you have to really appreciate the amount of depth they are attempting to induce early on. Edward and Emma arrive; she tells Edward that Chris understands what is going on — they discuss Huntington’s disease and Emma states that he has to live his life. Edwards says if anything goes wrong, he doesn’t want Chris to run the family business.
ZeroZeroZero Season 1, Episode 1 closes by going back to the middle of the episode but from a different perspective; it shows Emma and Edward meeting the Leyra brothers at the restaurant. Edwards talks about usefulness and how they are the most important cog — they broker the cocaine money. The brothers are alerted about the military squad outside and depart, which is where Edward was shot.
And breathe…
Additional Notes
- Don Stefano puts his son to bed.
- One of the squad members asks everyone if they believe in God in response to killing the girl by accident.
- The son Chris goes to an anonymous therapy group for people with Huntington’s disease. He listens intently to a woman’s story but he refuses to share his experience so far with the disease.
