As episode 1 begins, we see a man named James Norris wearing a military-grade
Sandevistan implant attacking police officers in the middle of the streets. James kills
several policemen very easily with the help of the implant, which gives him a
bulletproof body, immense strength, and speed. But when special police officers, also
wearing powerful implants, arrive on the scene, James is arrested.
In the next scene, we are introduced to a boy named David Martinez. David lives with
his mother, Gloria Martinez. Gloria wants David to attend the best academy in the
Night City, so she sends him to the prestigious Arasaka Academy, even though the
Martinez family is struggling financially. When I say financial problems, I mean that
Gloria doesn’t even have the money to recharge her washing machine.
Before I go any further with the recap, let me tell you that this entire story of
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 1 takes place in the year 2076.
David needs to keep attending his classes at Arasuka Academy, but even to attend
classes, David requires an update and he has no money to pay for that. He tells Gloria
that he will take care of the update and asks her to recharge the washing machine.
However, instead of legally upgrading his cyberware by paying money, David
illegally upgrades his cyberware to avoid paying. As a result, David’s illegal
modifications to his cyberware end up crashing the school’s system.
The school principal summons David and Gloria to his office. At first, he asks Gloria
why David illegally updated his cyberware. The principal suspects that Gloria and
David have financial problems, so he suggests that Gloria send her son to another
school. Gloria immediately refuses and lies to the principal, telling him that she is
financially stable and promises that David will not make this mistake again. Gloria
then agrees to pay for the damages that were done because of David.
Gloria and David drive home, where David argues with Gloria. He says that he will
drop out of school and look for a job because there is no way they can pay for the
damages and fees for this school. Gloria rejects David’s decision, telling him that she
thinks he is a talented boy and like all the other kids in the city, even David deserves
to get the best education. Gloria also tells David that the reason she works longer
hours is so she can give him the best education.
As David and Gloria were talking in the car, they became involved in a street fight
between two other cars. Basically, Gloria’s car is in the middle of a street battle
between two other cars. After the shooting, Gloria’s car flips over and both (Gloria and David) have an accident.
Some rescue people came to help them, but it turns out they were corrupt and would
only help people who were on their “list”. David somehow manages to get his mother
to a cheap hospital. David is fine with just a few minor injuries, but Gloria is seriously injured.
David discovers that Gloria had several bank accounts and that she had been saving
money in all of these accounts. David manages to access Gloria’s savings account so he can pay her medical bills.
While looking for money, David discovers that Gloria has stolen the military-grade
Sandevistan implant from the man who was arrested at the beginning of this episode.
Later, David is assaulted by one of his classmates, Katsuo. Katsuo tells David to drop
out of school because he is poor and doesn’t fit in with the other students at school
who come from good families. Katsuo also asks David how Gloria can pay him to go
to such a good school. He does this to imply that she must be doing something illegal or dirty.
Later, David receives a call from the hospital, and, to his dismay, Gloria dies in the
hospital. The doctor informs David that the operation was successful, but she still died.
David is at home when he gets a call from Katsuo, who insults Gloria on the phone.
David meets Doc after hearing Katsuo insult his mother. Doc is a local ripperdoc (a
medical practitioner who can install cybernetics prosthetics). Doc is also the same
person from whom David regularly buys black market goods. David requests Doc to
install the Sandevistan implant in his body.
And here, the recap of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 1 Episode 1 ends. I hope you liked the episode.