A Dissection of Shell Gordon's Cleo Plan in Lady in the Lake
In the fourth episode of Lady In The Lake, Shell Gordon tells his right-hand man, Reggie Robinson, about his scheme involving Cleo Johnson, and gives him the order to murder Cleo. The story of Lady in the Lake, which is set in 1966 Baltimore, follows homemaker-turned-journalist Maddie Schwartz as she looks into the deaths of Cleo Johnson, age eleven, and Tessie Durst, age eleven. Shell Gordon's motivation for killing Cleo differs from Maddie's as she looks for a link between the killings.
The Resentment Shell Gordon Has Towards Myrtle Summer
Progressive politician Myrtle Summer is the target of a long-standing resentment held by wealthy businessman Shell Gordon, who also owns the Gordian Hotel and The Pharaoh nightclub, from the first episode. A pawn in this struggle is Cleo Johnson, who is trying to support her family and is torn between wanting to support Myrtle's cause and working for Shell. Due to Cleo's affiliation with Shell's companies, Myrtle declines to hire her, further alienating Cleo and placing her in a precarious situation.
Cleo's Inadvertent Engagement
As a sign of her devotion, Cleo consents to produce a drop for Reggie, thinking it's an instruction from Shell Gordon. Reggie is the mastermind behind the drop, which turns out to be an attempt on Myrtle Summer's life. Cleo, troubled by her role, ends herself driving the getaway car against her choice in this effort. As Shell finds out about the police probe into the attempted murder, he begins to worry that Cleo's association with the case would reveal his own hand in it.
Shell gives Reggie the order to remove Cleo.
Shell confronts Reggie for including Cleo in the attempted murder in a terrifying exchange on The Pharaoh's roof. He warns Reggie that Cleo is a witness and that Shell's own demise could result from her identification. Shell gives Reggie the order to kill Cleo by dawn, determined to remove any threat.
Reggie's Inner Battle and Cleo's Destiny
Because to Shell's intimidation, Reggie finds himself in a challenging situation. Reggie hopes Cleo will leave town before Christmas morning by giving her the winning number from the numbers game, knowing that she wants to disappear. Reggie is heartbroken, though, when he witnesses Cleo leaving her parents' home to pick up her money. As the show comes to a close, Reggie disposes of Cleo's body in the lake's fountain, leaving the viewer to question whether or not he actually followed Shell's instructions.
Relationship of the Book to the Series
Although Laura Lippman's book of the same name served as the inspiration for Lady In The Lake, the television series makes substantial changes to the book. The plot and cast of characters in the play are different from those in the book, making for an exciting and thrilling divergence from the original tale.
