Lady In The Lake Episodes 1 & 2 Recap: Tessie's Fate & 9 Other Story Reveals

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Lady in the Lake episode 1 & 2.

Summary Natalie Portman shines in her television debut as Maddie Schwartz, an amateur investigative journalist in the captivating series Lady in the Lake.

Cleo Johnson's mysterious death captivates Maddie, leading her on a journey to uncover the truth behind the unsolved murder case.

Intrigue and suspense build as Maddie's investigation into Cleo's death unravels shocking secrets and unexpected connections in Lady in the Lake.

The first two episodes of the highly anticipated Apple limited series Lady in the Lake premiered on Friday, July 19, 2024. Based on the 2019 bestselling novel by Laura Lippman, Lady in the Lake stars Oscar winner Natalie Portman in her first-ever leading role in a television series. Portman leads an exceptional cast in Lady in the Lake which also includes rising star actress Moses Ingram, future Superman David Corenswet, and Mikey Madison, the star of this year's Palme d'Or winner Anora by Sean Baker. Lady in the Lake has opened to positive reviews, earning a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The first two episodes of Lady in the Lake introduce Ingram's character Cleo Johnson, a mother and hard-working model and bartender who leaves her political aspirations behind to work for the ambiguous club owner Shell Gordon full-time. This is before her ultimate death, of course, which is depicted in the opening scenes of the new series as a man drops Cleo's body into a lake late at night. Cleo's death becomes a point of fascination for amateur investigative journalist Maddie Schwartz (Portman) who leaves her tepid family life as a housewife and eventually becomes entrenched in Cleo's unsolved murder case.

As Cleo narrates in the opening scene, her end becomes Maddie's beginning. The timeline then jumps back to Thanksgiving Day in 1965 Baltimore when Maddie spots Cleo modeling a dress in a window. She walks into the department store and demands to buy the dress off Maddie's back after the chop of lamb she purchased at the local butcher bleeds onto her yellow coat. This would be the only direct interaction that the two characters would end up having with each other. The series also shows glimpses of Tessie Durst, a young girl who went missing on Thanksgiving Day after walking into a local fish store.

Related What Time Lady In The Lake Releases On Apple TV+ Natalie Portman will make her debut in a leading role in a television series with Lady in the Lake, which will stream exclusively on Apple TV+.

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10 Tessie Durst Was Being Held Captive By A Man In A Santa Costume

This makes a clear connection to the fish store

The title of Lady in the Lake episode 1, "Did you know Seahorses are fish?", refers to a question that Tessie Durst (Bianca Belle) asks the employee at the local fish store on Thanksgiving Day, the day she went missing. Moments later, the audience is given another glimpse of where Tessie ends up after the strange encounter with the employee Stephen Zawadzkie (Dylan Arnold) and a suspicious patron named Reggie Robinson (Josiah Cross).

Interestingly, Reggie looks a lot like the man who tossed Cleo's body into the lake in the opening scene. What's more, Tessie is briefly shown with her hands tied up looking at an unknown man dressed as Santa Claus holding a fishbowl with a seahorse in it.

9 Maddie's Husband Milton Brings Up Allan Durst After Tessie's Disappearance

Allan and Maddie have a past together

A minor but potentially key detail may have been easily overlooked about halfway through Lady in the Lake episode 1. Maddie is preparing the lamb brisket she bought earlier that day in her kitchen and listening to the radio announcement about Tessie when her husband Milton (Brett Gelman) mentions Tessie's father, Allan (David Corenswet). Milton says his name with a hint of suggestion which throws Maddie off guard, as if there is some type of history between the two of them.

Maddie's momentary surprise turns into annoyance at Milton, saying back to him dismissively "Oh, who cares?". Milton then asks Maddie with a sly grin, "Anything else you wanna tell me?" which may imply that Maddie had previously hidden something from Milton, potentially even an affair. Without reading too much into it, the scene illustrates how preoccupied Maddie is with Tessie's disappearance and how her husband and son are not sympathetic or interested in it at all.

8 Maddie Leaves Her Husband & Family Home And Gets An Apartment In "The Bottom"

Maddie rids herself of her unwanted life

Image via Apple TV+

Maddie decides to leave Milton indefinitely after he gets upset with her for putting the lamb brisket on the dairy plate, which goes against kosher tradition. While that may have been the final straw on the camel's back, Maddie left Milton and her disrespectful son Seth (Noah Jupe) because of her pent-up frustration at being reduced to a housewife.

Even though her emotions were amplified by the disappearance of Tessie Durst, it seems like this abrupt decision had been visualized long before. In desperation, Maddie is forced to pawn some of her jewelry to Sid Weinstein (Amos Glick) in order to stay in an apartment in an area of Baltimore known as The Bottom. Sid's daughter Judith (Mikey Madison) accompanies Maddie to her new apartment. Despite her friendliness, Judith seems a little too interested in becoming close to Maddie.

7 Maddie & Judith Discover The Body Of Tessie Durst

Maddie stays with the body as Judith runs for help

At the end of the first episode of Lady in the Lake, Maddie and Judith walk through the woods as Judith smokes a joint. Shockingly, Maddie discovers the body of Tessie Durst at the edge of a lake. It's unclear whether Tessie's body was left there or if it was dropped into the lake and floated ashore. Maddie refuses to leave Tessie's side as Judith runs off to get help. Maddie attends Tessie's funeral in Lady in the Lake episode 2 titled "It Has to Do With the Search for the Marvelous."

6 In 1947, Maddie Interviewed Allan Durst's Mother Louise

Maddie learns of Hal Durst's inappropriate interest

Episode 2 begins with a flashback sequence that features a de-aged Natalie Portman in 1947. The flashback reveals that Maddie was in a relationship with Allan Durst while they were in school together, which explains why Milton brought up Allan in a suspicious manner in the first episode. Obviously, Maddie and Allan never worked out, although the flashback doesn't fully explain why.

A young and ambitious Maddie interviews Allan's mom Louise, who is a well-known surrealist painter. During the conversation, Louise grows tired of Maddie's overly polished questions and instead asks her what she believes makes an artist a surrealist. Maddie responds thoughtfully, "I think it has to do with the search for the marvelous." Louise gets up to take a call as Hal Durst, Allan's dad, stops in to offer encouraging support about her pursuit of becoming a journalist. However, Maddie alarmingly discovers that he is an artist himself who has seemingly used Maddie as inspiration for some suggestive body artwork.

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5 Cleo Starts Working Full Time for Club Owner Shell Gordon

Cleo learns Senator Summer isn't as pure as she seems

Cleo discovers through her friend Dora Carter (Jennifer Mogbock) that Myrtle Summer (Angela Robinson), a former teacher turned Senator who she volunteered to support, received donations from none other than Shell Gordon (Wood Harris), a notorious club owner and racketeer. Cleo asks Myrtle for a full-time position supporting her campaign, but Myrtle says hiring her would reflect poorly on her image because of Cleo's association with Shell.

Knowing that Myrtle had accepted large donations from Shell Gordon and that she was basically lying to her face, Cleo takes matters into her own hands. She decides to "hang on to her dignity" by essentially withdrawing her support of Myrtle Summer during a filmed interview, causing a tense scene. Having given up on trying to find an honest career, she returns to Mr. Gordon, fully aware of his massive power and influence throughout Baltimore, and offers to work for him full-time.

4 Maddie Stages A Fake Burglary To Get Insurance Money For Jewelry

Officer Ferdie quickly sees through Maddie's scheme

Image via Apple TV+

Still desperate to pay the rent on her apartment, Maddie tries selling her car to no avail since nobody will permit it without her husband's signature. Rather than attempting to forge Milton's signature, Maddie lightly stages a burglary in her apartment just one day after discovering the body of Tessie Durst. This raises the suspicions of Officer Ferdie Platt (Y'lan Noel), who spotted Maddie at the station after finding Tessie. It doesn't take long before Ferdie starts to suspect foul play on Maddie's end although he doesn't fully accuse her of staging the burglary in the episode.

3 Stephen Is Arrested After Holding His Mother Hostage In Fish Store

Stephen appears to be the most obvious suspect

Image via Apple TV+

In an intense scene, Stephen bizarrely dances with a mop while his mother, who was alone at Tessie's funeral, is tied up and being helped hostage. A fleet of Baltimore police officers have their guns pointed at Stephen, who strangely continues dancing and is oblivious to what's going on around him until several officers open fire, breaking the exterior glass of his fish store. Stephen's mother is able to convince the officers not to shoot as he walks out of the store with his hands up wearing a gas mask that appears to be from World War II and is taken into police custody.

2 Reggie Sends Cleo On A Drop That Ends In A Shooting At Myrtle's House

Cleo finds herself in the middle of a dangerous situation

Image via Apple TV+

Reggie decides to lay low after receiving a tip from a police officer that Stephen's mother is implicating someone who looks exactly like him in Tessie Durst's murder. He sends Cleo with an envelope full of cash to go out and do a drop with an associate named Duke. Duke turns out to have his own agenda in mind and forces Cleo to drive him and two other men to Myrtle Summer's house. Cleo waits in the car as one of the men knocks on her front door and opens fire into the house. It's unclear whether anyone was injured in the shooting, but a man who is presumed to be Myrtle's husband comes out with a shotgun in retaliation.

1 Maddie & Officer Ferdie Platt Sleep Together In Maddie's Apartment

Maddie makes a bold move on the police officer

Image via Apple TV+

During the time of the assassination attempt on Myrtle Summers, Officer Ferdie decides to make a late-night visit to Maddie's apartment to inform her of Stephen's arrest. Maddie had been getting high with Judith when Ferdie arrived after Judith told Maddie she would ask her father to go easy on the rent payment if Maddie smoked weed with her. One thing quickly leads to another after Maddie invites Ferdie in for a beer and things become rashly intimate in the final scene of Lady in the Lake episode 2.

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