“Lady in the Lake” returns to Apple TV+ with the anticipated finale, i.e., episode 7. The penultimate episode of this miniseries took us through Maddie’s fever dream. After Stephan Zawadzkie’s mother stabbed Maddie, she was brought to the hospital. Throughout the episode, we saw her going through her memories and reflecting on her wishes as she tried to figure out the culprit behind Cleo’s death.
It showed us key details of her relationship with the Durst family, especially Allan. At the end of this episode, we saw Cleo meet Maddie in person. Maddie wondered whether she was imagining it. Cleo clarified she wasn’t. Now, “Lady in the Lake,” episode 7, follows Cleo’s backstory and the circumstances that led to the Lady in the Lake investigation.
Spoilers Ahead
Lady in the Lake (Miniseries Finale) Episode 7 “My Story” Recap:
The 7th episode follows Cleo’s (Moses Ingram) story before she got attached to Shell Gordon’s (Wood Harris) business. Back in 1952, she was a singer like her friend, Dora Carter (Jennifer Mogbock). They both hoped to get a spot to sing at the club owned by Mr Gordon. To get an entry inside, the security guard asked Dora for a kiss. Once they entered the club, Cleo walked past Slappy (Byron Bowers), who was working there as an entertainer. Shortly after, one of Shell’s men escorted Cleo and Dora to Shell’s office. There, Shell confronted them. He wondered how the two entered his club without paying the fee.
Suddenly, Shell recognized Cleo as Al Sherwood’s daughter. Cleo’s father, Al, worked diligently for him for years. That’s why Shell realized who Cleo was. Cleo admits she & Dora sneaked in because they wanted a chance to perform on the stage. So, Shell agreed to fulfill her wish and to forgive their mistake if she decided to do his accounting work for him as her father did. Cleo was hesitant at first. She tried to avoid this work, citing her school education. But Shell convinced her to work for him. When it came to the performance, Cleo decided not to join Dora. That’s how Dora became the only singer working for Reggie.
Is Cleo alive? Who was the lady in the lake?
Around the time of her bet, Cleo learns about Dora’s unfortunate death from a drug overdose on Christmas Eve. Reggie (Josiah Cross) accepts that his ignorance led to Dora’s loss and feels guilty. However, at the time, Shell tasks him to kill Cleo. So, he and Cleo create a plan. Cleo dresses up Dora in her clothes and puts on her ring on Dora’s finger. Then, Reggie drives Dora to the lake. Later, Dora’s body is found in the fountain. So, Dora Carter, not Cleo, was the lady in the lake. However, the authorities concluded it was Cleo based on the available evidence. As a result, Cleo stayed alive.
In the hospital, Cleo pretends to be a cleaning lady to be able to speak with Maddie. She reveals that she sent the letter to the helpline at The Star, knowing Maddie would lead the authorities to Dora’s dead body. Cleo did this after allowing a sufficient amount of time for Dora’s body to be undistinguishable from hers. Cleo knows that Maddie is ambitious and would want to pursue her story. So, she asks Maddie to help her expose Shell Gordon as the man who ordered the assassination of Myrtle Summer. She tells Maddie to meet her in a few days near the lake for further updates.
Does Maddie end up with Ferdie Platt?
After Maddie gets discharged, Milton drives her back to her place. While traveling through her new neighborhood, she notices the signs of destruction caused by the Nazis. The black folks remain brave in recovering from their loss. As Maddie watches it, she realizes the different layers of Cleo’s story as a black woman. Afterwards, she goes on her first date with Ferdie Platt (Y’lan Noel). He reveals that he is no longer in the police force and was forced to resign. She offers her help to get him reinstated. But he reveals that it is impossible since his superiors cannot stand a black man being with a white woman.
Maddie suggests Ferdie can move somewhere else to start his new life. Ferdie thinks about moving to Virginia since he heard about a biracial couple living together over there. Maddie gets overwhelmed by his spontaneous response. She admits she is not ready to take such a big step in her life just then. He leaves her with his address if she changes her mind and wants to speak with him. Later, Maddie returns to her office at The Star, where she gets applause from her colleagues. After speaking with her senior officer, she finds a new and better job. She promises to expand their readership by making it race-inclusive but not letting anyone else take credit for her work.
Lady in the Lake (Miniseries Finale) Episode 7 “My Story” Ending Explained:
Reggie shows up outside Cleo’s house to meet her son, Teddy (Tyrik Johnson), and offers him a job. Teddy doesn’t want to get into any other drug deal. So, he refuses to get in a car with Reggie and asks about the job. While that happens, Maddie meets Slappy in the prison. She asks him for details from Cleo’s life before her disappearance to help him get out of prison. Then, Maddie reveals that Cleo is alive. Slappy doesn’t believe Maddie. Besides, he doesn’t want to jeopardize Cleo’s plan if she is alive and hiding out somewhere. So, he refuses to help Maddie even if it means he remains in jail.
How does Cleo seek revenge against Shell?
Reggie helps Cleo get into the disguise of a man. As she prepares for her operation, Teddy arrives at Shell’s Hotel and requests a meeting with Shell. Teddy claims that Reggie is unfairly profiting from Shell’s bets behind his back. While Shell remains busy and distracted with this discussion, Reggie takes the disguised Cleo to their secret records, claiming the man is the new bookkeeper replacing Cleo. Then, Cleo enters the private records room and burns all the files except a dirty book from 1966. She offers some money to the man who helps her with this endeavor.
Shell rushes out of his office as the fire breaks out in the building. Reggie tells Cleo to leave immediately as he takes care of Shell. Eventually, Reggie meets Shell and forces him to report his crimes to the police. Cleo escapes the hotel with Teddy. Later, she meets Maddie and hands over the evidence of most of Shell’s wrongdoings. She also shares files revealing her involvement in the attempted assassination of Myrtle Summer. Reggie also takes the blame for a crime he didn’t commit because of his dreadful work for Shell. Cleo leaves her life for good with her husband and her kids.
What happens to Maddie & Cleo in the end?
Soon after, Maddie vacates her apartment and thanks Judith for her help. Then, she appears at Ferdie’s doorstep and reveals she is moving to a different house. However, she cannot be with him anymore because she does not want to be bound by marriage. She still agrees to be in a sexual relationship with him. But he doesn’t want that. The final frames of the series show visuals of racist KKK parades that led to severe civil unrest. Around this time, Slappy escapes jail and moves to Paris with Cleo. Cleo assumes her friend’s identity, Dora, and starts performing again. By 1976, Maddie had published her book, Lady in the Lake.
