: During the chaos, the crew manages to land a hit on the beast with a cannon (the "first shot" referenced in the title). While it doesn't kill the creature, it proves the predator is not invincible, though the victory is short-lived as morale continue to plummet.

: Thomas Blanky, the ice master, has a harrowing confrontation with the creature. He manages to survive by climbing the ship's rigging and using a torch to fight it off, but he suffers a horrific leg injury that leads to an amputation.

The episode centers on a terrifying encounter at a temporary observation camp. Lady Jane Franklin’s niece, Sophia, and other characters in England are shown in flashbacks, contrasting the warmth of Victorian society with the freezing nightmare in the Arctic. On the ice, the creature (known as the ) attacks the men. Key Developments

: Dr. Harry Goodsir begins to suspect that the canned food—meant to sustain them for years—is actually poisoning the crew. He notices that the lead soldering on the tins is leaching into the food, causing lead poisoning , which explains the crew’s deteriorating mental and physical health.

By the end of the episode, the psychological toll of the isolation and the physical threat of both the monster and the environment leaves the men of the Erebus and Terror more fractured than ever.