EPISODE CONTEXT

As Episode 1 of 4, this is the series' full cold open — there is no prior episode to reference, and everything introduced here is foundational. Ayano and the doctor are established as the central pairing, and the thematic framework of hidden desires within clinical or authority-based settings is planted here to carry through the remaining three episodes. What this episode sets up tonally and narratively will likely define the template each subsequent episode follows, potentially with new characters introduced alongside or in place of Ayano.