Ep 1. Secrets

In the small, idyllic German town of Winden, an unsettling incident occurs: a young boy named Mikkel goes missing. But as the police investigation gets underway, it quickly becomes clear that there are many more secrets lurking beneath the surface of this seemingly peaceful community.

The episode starts with a narration of a quote by HG Tannhaus, who is a clockmaker and author, saying that time is not linear, rather it is a labyrinth in which we all are lost. We are then introduced to the Winden Nuclear Power Plant, where we see a man commit suicide. Following this, we see the police in action as they try to find a missing boy.

We are then introduced to the Nielsen family - Jonas, his mother, and his grandmother. We see that Jonas is still grappling with the death of his father, who died by suicide a few months ago. We see his mother try to connect with him but she does not get any proper response from him.

Jonas’ friend, Bartosz, and his girlfriend, Martha, discuss the disappearance of the boy, Mikkel Nielsen - they talk about their theories on what may have happened to him. They then move on and start discussing plans for their upcoming Halloween party. We see that Jonas is invited too but does not seem interested.

Next, we meet Ulrich, the father of Mikkel Nielsen, who is also a police officer. He tries to gather information about his son and is joined by his colleague, Charlotte. They visit the family of the missing boy and try to gather as much information as they can. It is clear that Ulrich is both grief-stricken and frustrated with the lack of progress in the investigation.

We are also introduced to the Doppler family - Helge Doppler and his son, Peter, who is a therapist. Peter is married to Charlotte and they have two young daughters. We can see that there is some tension between Helge and his son, but we do not yet know what the root cause of this tension is.

As the investigation continues, it comes to light that Mikkel was last seen near a cave in the forest. The police and the townspeople start searching the cave and surrounding areas, but they are unable to find any leads. Meanwhile, Jonas sneaks out of his house and decides to visit the cave on his own. Once there, he has a strange and terrifying experience that leaves him even more confused and disoriented.

Throughout the episode, we see glimpses of other characters that will play a larger role in the story later on - a mysterious man who appears to have some connection to the Winden Nuclear Power Plant, a woman who seems to be suffering from some sort of memory loss, and a young boy who seems to know more than he lets on.

As the first episode comes to a close, we are left with more questions than answers. What happened to Mikkel? What is the significance of the cave? Who are these mysterious individuals that we have only just glimpsed? One thing is clear - there are many secrets hiding in Winden, and we are only just scratching the surface.