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Lady in the Lake, an Apple TV+ original, released its first two episodes on the streamer on July 19, 2024. The show is based on Laura Lippman's novel of the same name. Directed by Alma Har'el, the show stars Natalie Portman, Moses Ingram, and Noah Jupe, among others.
The first episode of Lady in the Lake starts with Thanksgiving, right after which Tessie goes missing. The search party fails to find her. Maddie later teams up with Judith and finds Tessie near the lake as the episode concludes.
The story of Lady in the Lake hints at subtle themes of racism, politics, and gender disparity. Cleo is a black woman who struggles to keep her family happy, even by doing two jobs that she doesn’t like. On the other hand, we meet Maddie, a journalist who is married to Milton. Maddie is surrounded by all the crème de la crème.
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However, when Tessie goes missing, Maddie is the only one who gets extra affected, as she knows Tessie’s father. Her family cannot understand Maddie’s reaction to Tessie’s disappearance, and because of this, she leaves the house disappointed with her son and husband, who do not want to join the search party.
Lady in the Lake episode 1 ending explained
The inception of mysteries
The first episode of Lady in the Lake starts with Cleo Johnson, who narrates her story via a newsletter, which Maddie reads. With Cleo’s body dumped into the lake by a mysterious figure as Maddie reads the letter, we get to know that Cleo is now dead. In the letter that Maddie is reading, Cleo doesn’t seem to be happy with Maddie, as she has exploited her death to garner fame, as revealed in the beginning of episode one of Lady in the Lake.
Cleo, who is now dead and dumped in the lake, is the titular character of the show ~ The Lady in the Lake.
Tessie goes missing
The scene then moves back in time with Thanksgiving, the arrival of Santa, and celebrations all around. However, the whole city's mood changes after Tessie Durst goes missing. Tessie’s parents walk her away from the Thanksgiving parade, telling her that Santa isn’t real.
Next up, Tessie goes to the fish store, where she asks the owner about seahorses. Here, Tessie meets the mysterious, whistling black man, Reggie, for the first time. This is the last time we see Tessie alive on the show.
Maddie bloodies her dress
Maddie, who goes to buy a brisket, stains her dress because of the meat's improper packaging. She soon goes to a dress shop and asks for the dress Cleo was displaying outside the shop. Cleo notices the blood mark on Maddie’s dress right away. This is where Maddie and Cleo cross paths for the first time.
Maddie buys the dress in a hurry, as she has to attend an important Jewish event. Later, Cleo and Dora Carter attend the same event, and their agenda to educate black children is interrupted by the news of Tessie being missing.
The scene then moves to Cleo’s house, where she is upset with her husband. She wants her to find a good job and look after the family. However, he doesn’t bother, which makes Cleo leave the house with her two sons.
Read more: Is Lady in the Lake based on a true story? Explained
Maddie leaves the house too
Milton, after hearing about Maddie’s past with the Durst’s at the Thanksgiving meet, gets upset with Maddie. Although Maddie makes Thanksgiving lunch for them, Milton and Maddy agree to disagree about a few things, after which Maddie breaks the plates and cuts her hand. Milton throws away all the food that she has made, following the quarrel, with nothing left to serve the guests.
As Maddie goes to the restroom to cry her heart out, she looks at the blood on her hands and the dress and gets visions of her past. But we are not sure what those visions are yet.
Next up, Maddie later leaves the house and finds herself an apartment by pawning her gold. Here, she meets Judith, who shows her the apartment and insists on being her roommate. On her way to the apartment, Maddie starts getting glimpses of her past, which is linked to Tessie’s disappearance.
Halfway into the episode, Cleo is again seen working a double job at a bar. Here, she meets Reggie. After hearing about Tessie’s disappearance, Reggie gets weirded out and flushes down a seahorse. This gives us a hint that Reggie is involved and has a link with Tessie’s disappearance; however, we do not yet know what it is.
Read more: Lady in the Lake complete release schedule
Maddie and Judith find Tessie
Later, the scene shifts to Maddie and Judith, who are around looking for the young girl. As they reach the lakeside, they find Tessie’s lifeless body, all blued out, next to the lake. Judith stops Maddie from going and touching the body as she screams in pain after seeing Tessie dead.
As Judith holds down Maddie and tries to console her and calm her down, she reveals to Judith how losing a child hurts the mother, and Judith would understand that too if she were a mother. A deeper blood connection is hinted at between Tessie and Maddie as the first episode ends. We hear the police sirens and a call for investigation before the end credits roll.
Does Maddie have a dark past, and is Tessie her daughter? Also, how did Maddie know she would find Tessie by the lake? Who killed Tessie? These are questions that are bound to linger in every viewer's mind after the end of the first episode.
Episodes 1 and 2 of Lady in the Lake are now streaming on Apple TV+.
