Spoiler Warning: This page may contain spoilers from the story of The Long Dark.
"Mackenzie and Dr. Greenwood are separated after their plane crashes deep in the Northern Canadian Wilderness. Struggling to survive, Mackenzie explores the small town of Milton, where he begins to understand the scope of this quiet apocalypse."
In this episode, Will Mackenzie's plane has crashed due to a mysterious geomagnetic event. He and fellow traveler Astrid Greenwood are now separated and Mackenzie does his best to survive. His journey takes him to the small town of Milton. Dr. Astrid Greenwood unexpectedly shows up at the workplace of bush pilot Will Mackenzie. She and Will have not seen each other in years, and their parting was not under ideal circumstances. She asks him to take her to a small village in the mountains. It is late in the evening and the weather is bad. She refuses to tell him why, and what the contents are in the metal locked briefcase she is carrying. When he protests, she becomes frustrated and starts to leave. He stops her and reluctantly agrees to take her.
During the trip, a geomagnetic event occurs, depriving the plane of power, sending the plane into a rocky ravine. Will finds himself alone, injured, in the dark in freezing temperatures, and with no sign of Astrid.
"Do not go gentle into that good night " is the most famous poem of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, referenced alongside The Long Dark in multiple works of popular culture. The phrase and the refrain occur throughout the poem and perfectly characterize the beginning of Episode 1: "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
