Apple TV+ premiered episodes 1 & 2 of its new limited series, “Lady in the Lake.” Created by Alma Har’el, the series stars Moses Ingram and Natalie Portman in the lead roles. Based on Laura Lippman’s eponymous novel, it is set in the 1960 United States, and it shows the lives of two women converging after the disappearance of a young girl in Baltimore. While the Jewish woman leaves her marriage to start a career as an investigative journalist, the black woman works to advance the well-being of the black community. Besides Ingram and Portman, the series stars Y’lan Noel, Byron Bowers, Noah Jupe, Josiah Cross, and Mikey Madison in important roles.
Spoilers Ahead
Lady in the Lake Episodes 1 & 2 Recap:
“Lady in the Lake” is a mystery drama series created by Alma Har’el, who is known for her work on Shia LaBeouf starrer “Honeyboy” and for “Bombay Beach.” The show stars Moses Ingram and Natalie Portman in the lead roles.
Lady in the Lake Episode 1 ‘Did you know Seahorses are fish?’ Recap:
“Lady in the Lake” begins with Maddie (Natalie Portman) finding photographic evidence about a recently recovered female body in a nearby lake. Then, we get a sense of her history in the first episode before she decides to pursue a career as a newspaper reporter. Before that, she lived in Pikesville with her husband, Milton, and their teenage son, Seth (Noah Jupe). We see her enter a crowded store to buy a specific kind of brisket. While carrying it with her, she gets some blood on her dress. So, she enters a department store and decides to buy a yellow dress that she sees on a black woman, who works as the store’s human mannequin.
The white saleswomen tell Maddie that it is the only dress available at the moment. Subtly, they try to steer her away from buying that dress since a black woman has been wearing it for a day. Still, considering the last-minute rush, Maddie isn’t concerned about their racial prejudice. Therefore, the white saleswomen take Cleo Johnson (Moses Ingram) to a fitting room and remove the dress. Then, Cleo says she needs to leave since she asked for a half-day of work at the store. But the white saleswoman tells her that she can leave only with a half-day pay. Regardless, Cleo leaves soon after for a convention.
Cleo & Maddie
As Cleo attends a racial convention, Maddie heads to a Jewish faith-based gathering where men discuss what is important for the Black-Jewish alliance. While they preach Islamophobic rhetoric, Cleo joins other black female patrons with her friend, Dora Carter (Jennifer Mogbock), as they all welcome America’s first Black woman state senator, Miss Myrtle Summers (Angela Robinson). Ms. Summers gets on the stage to talk about her work for the community’s needs. A man interrupts her to mention how the government’s integration bill led many black students to schools with predominantly white students.
Ms. Summers calls out businessman Shell Gordon (Wood Harris), sending one of his men to interrupt her event. She speaks against Mr. Gordon’s illegal businesses and claims he doesn’t care about the community as she does. As they quickly get into a heated argument, Cleo tries to bring them back to the purpose of their discussion. Instead of fighting within themselves, they should collectively work for the betterment. Back in the faith-based convention, a man interrupts Maddie to share the news about the recent murder of a young girl named Tessie Durst (Bianca Belle).
Tessie Durst’s Disappearance
During a city-wide Thanksgiving Day parade in Baltimore, we meet a small Jewish family. The young daughter, Tessie, is upset that she didn’t get a present from Santa. Her mother drags her away, saying, ‘Santa isn’t real.’ While the mother briefly looks away, Tessie walks into a store filled with fish tanks. There, she meets Reggie Robinson (Josiah Cross) and asks the store manager, Stephan (Dylan Arnold), about the fish. Later, her sudden disappearance sends shockwaves through Baltimore. Maddie gets concerned about it and feels she should investigate this matter.
Cleo returns home to find her kids hanging out with Slappy (Byron Bowers) and his friends. She hates Slappy for not taking his share of responsibility. As the men leave, she confronts Slappy for not stopping Teddy (Tyrik Johnson) from dealing drugs. So, upset at Slappy, she takes Teddy and Lionel (Samir Royal) out with her. She drops them off at her father’s house for Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, Maddie gets tired of her family life, where men do not let her speak and expect her to stick to her domestic duties. So, she has an emotional outburst. But Martin makes it about his ego.
Maddie’s Life-Changing Choice
Maddie gets justifiably furious at Martin, who only cares that she brings food to the table when needed but doesn’t care about emotions. Subsequently, she packs her suitcase and leaves that subservient life immediately. She enters the Weinsteins’ store to sell her jewelry to realize it isn’t worth enough. The man’s daughter, Judith (Mikey Madison), offers her a sharing room with her. Meanwhile, Cleo goes to her other job and tries to help Reggie bring an inebriated Dora on the stage to sing. She suspects Officer Platt (Y’lan Noel) looking for possible suspects in the missing person’s case.
Lady in the Lake Episode 2 ‘It Has to Do With the Search for the Marvelous.’ Recap:
In 1947, back when Maddie was still a student, she was an ambitious young woman aspiring to be a journalist. Back then, she interviewed her friend, Allan Durst’s (David Corenswet) mother, surrealist painter Louise (Rebecca Spence). At the Dursts’ house, Maggie notices a painting of a woman drowning in a lake. Based on that memory, in the present, she discovers the body of missing Tessie in a lake. She informs the cops, who arrive at the site and call in this development. Then, at the station, they question her & Judith why they were there in the first place. Since she isn’t with a man, a cop tries to take advantage of her.
Maddie returns home to take her belongings. But Milton still selfishly victimizes himself and makes her feel terrible for abandoning their teenage son. Maddie doesn’t pay heed to Milton’s narcissistic whining and leaves. During Tessie’s funeral, they see antisemitic messages on some gravestones. Meanwhile, after Dora’s performance, Reggie & Cleo carry her back to her room. Cleo suggests she work at another place and not go through any more pain working for Shell Gordon. But Dora understands working for self-serving Myrtle isn’t going to be of any help to her either. Stephan puts on a mask and lies in a bathtub filled with tiny fish. His mother finds him in that state and beats him.
Lady in the Lake Episode 2 ‘It Has to Do With the Search for the Marvelous.’ Ending Explained:
Who is responsible for Tessie Durst’s disappearance?
Cleo meets Myrtle to speak about a full-time job for her. Although Ms. Summers is impressed by Cleo’s work, she is concerned about Cleo’s past work for Mr. Gordon. She thinks it won’t look good to their donors, considering Mr. Gordon’s criminal associations with illegal gambling. Besides, Myrtle believes Shell wouldn’t let Cleo ever leave. As Dora mentioned, Myrtle uses Cleo’s story as a single mother earning by making white people feel charitable as it benefits her. So, in the middle of their video shoot, Cleo gets furious. She returns to Shell and asks for more work, even if it’s the accounting of his illegal activities.
While walking out, Cleo sees Teddy, who gets tricked into playing the Dream Book game of unfair odds. So, she beats Teddy and takes him back home. Meanwhile, Maddie’s new place gets robbed. She calls the police from a nearby payphone to report it. Officer Platt & Davis (David Johnson III) show up to check the state of her apartment. She mentions her missing diamond ring. Platt reveals that the police thought she was behind Tessie’s death until they found evidence that connected her to the local aquarium store. Someone saw her enter it.
What does Reggie force Cleo to do?
Shell is impressed by how Cleo behaved at Ms. Summers’ office. With Shell’s help, Cleo finds a stand-up gig for Slappy. While that happens, the cops arrest Steven from the aquarium for his connection to Tessie’s disappearance. So, Davis advises Reggie to stay low for the time being. Reggie shows up at Shell’s club and tells Cleo to deliver a package. She shows up at the delivery location to realize she is in danger. The men she meets there get violent and stop her from leaving their apartment. Then, they use her as their driver for their next job at Ms. Summers’ house. Meanwhile, Maddie smokes with Judith at their apartment. Officer Platt shows up there and walks in with Maddie.
