Shell Gordon's Plan For Cleo In Lady In The Lake Explained: Why He Orders Reggie To Do THAT

Spoilers are ahead for Lady in the Lake episode 4.

Summary Shell Gordon orders Reggie to kill Cleo in Lady in the Lake episode 4, emphasizing the dangerous consequences if Reggie fails.

Torn between her allegiances and needs, Cleo becomes entangled in Shell's assassination plot against politician Myrtle Summer.

Reggie faces a difficult decision regarding Cleo's fate, leading Lady in the Lake episode 4's shocking ending scene.

In Lady in the Lake episode 4, Shell Gordon (Wood Harris) reveals his plan for Cleo Johnson (Moses Ingram) when Shell orders Reggie Robinson (Josiah Cross), his right-hand man, to kill Cleo. Set in 1966 Baltimore, Lady in the Lake chronicles homemaker-turned-journalist Maddie Schwartz's (Natalie Portman) investigation into the deaths of two recent murder victims — 11-year-old Tessie Durst (Bianca Belle) and mother, activist, and job-juggler Cleo Johnson. Although the murders are seemingly unrelated, Maddie, a lover of telling others' stories, tries to shoehorn in some connective tissue between the deceased characters.

Although the Apple TV+ series is based on Laura Lippman's novel of the same name, the Lady in the Lake show makes big changes to its source material. While those alterations have been evident since the first episode — even Lady in the Lake's cast of characters differs from its book counterpart — episode 4 hammers home many of the new additions to the narrative. Eager to lie low after Tessie's disappearance, Reggie tasks Cleo with making a drop on his behalf, which is how Cleo becomes implicated in a Shell-ordered assassination attempt on politician Myrtle Summer (Angela Robinson).

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Why Shell Gordon Wants To Kill Cleo In Lady In The Lake

Shell Wants To Tie Up Loose Ends After The Failed Assassination Of Myrtle Summer

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In Lady in the Lake episode 3, Shell Gordon tells Reggie just how much loyalty means. The ruthless businessman, who not only owns The Pharaoh nightclub and the Gordian Hotel but runs the fixed numbers game, has had it out for progressive politician Myrtle Summer since the first episode. Cleo, meanwhile, has been torn between needing to work for Shell — as both a bartender and, more surreptitiously, his bookkeeper — and wanting to support Myrtle's platform. Ultimately, Myrtle uses Cleo as a political pawn and refuses to give her a job because of Cleo's connection to Shell's businesses.

Related Who Killed Tessie Durst & Cleo Johnson In Apple TV+'s Lady In The Lake? Lady in the Lake presents two killings — the murders of Tessie Durst and Cleo Johnson — in its opening episode, making for a compelling premise.

Feeling used and frustrated, the struggling bookkeeper finds herself in an extra vulnerable position when it becomes clear what's wrong with Cleo's son — he has sickle cell anemia — isn't improving. Determined to prove her loyalty to the powerful Shell, Cleo agrees to make Reggie's drop because she thinks it's an order from Mr. Gordon. When Cleo becomes the unwilling getaway car driver in the attempt on Myrtle's life, she's haunted by what's happened. Shell learns that the police are after several men as well as a woman in her 30s, which helps him realize what Reggie has done.

Shell reminds Reggie that the police will be able to ID Cleo and, potentially, discover Shell's involvement.

Toward the midway point of Lady in the Lake episode 4, Shell summons Reggie to the roof of The Pharaoh. Shell calls Reggie out for tasking Cleo with the drop. When Reggie tries to explain that he wanted to keep the heat off of them both since a witness saw him near the site of Tessie's disappearance, Shell reminds Reggie that the police will be able to ID Cleo and, potentially, discover Shell's involvement. After Cleo and her boys attend the Gordian Hotel's holiday event, Shell wants Cleo dead by morning — and he wants Reggie to handle it.

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Does Reggie Actually Kill Cleo For Shell? What Happens In The Book

Reggie Isn't A Character In The Lady In The Lake Novel

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After Shell's intimidation on the roof, Reggie finds himself in an incredibly difficult position, as Shell insinuated it was a kill or be killed situation. Knowing that Cleo wants to disappear, Reggie gives Cleo the winning number so that she can nab some cash before leaving town ahead of Christmas morning. When he sees Cleo leave her parents' house to retrieve her winnings, Reggie cries in his car. The episode ends where the show began: Reggie dumps Cleo's body in the lake's fountain. A riveting crime drama, Lady in the Lake might not have shown the whole truth yet.

New episodes of Apple TV+'s Lady in the Lake air on Fridays through August 23, 2024.