The Lady in the Lake (Agent Carter)
"The Lady in the Lake" is the first episode of the second season of the American television series "Agent Carter", inspired by the films "" and "", and the Marvel One-Shot short film also titled "Agent Carter". It features the Marvel Comics character Peggy Carter as she travels to Los Angeles to assist with a strange new case, and is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The episode was written by Brant Englestein and directed by Lawrence Trilling. Hayley Atwell reprises her role as Carter  from the film series, and is joined by regular cast members James D'Arcy, Chad Michael Murray, and Enver Gjokaj. "The Lady in the Lake" originally aired on ABC on January 19, 2016, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 3.18 million viewers. Plot. In 1947 New York, Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) Agent Peggy Carter and Chief Jack Thompson apprehend Soviet spy Dottie Underwood during an attempted bank robbery. In Los Angeles, newly appointed SSR Chief Daniel Sousa meets with Los Angeles Police Department Detective Andrew Henry, who informs him that a woman's body was found in Echo  Park Lake with stab wounds similar to victims of a notorious serial killer, the Lady of the Lake Killer, but that the body was oddly discovered encased in a block of ice during a scorching heat wave in the city. Sousa requests backup from New York and Thompson sends Carter, interrupting her interrogation of Underwood. Carter travels to Los Angeles, where she reunites with Edwin Jarvis and meets Sousa at the SSR office, hidden in a Hollywood talent agency. During an autopsy of the body, the medical examiner shows them the frozen body glows in the dark. An SSR scientist  also finds an unidentified substance in the skin sample from the body, likely caused by a particle accelerator built by Isodyne Energy. Carter sneaks into Isodyne's offices and meets scientist Jason Wilkes, who identifies the body from the lake as Jane Scott, a physicist at the company who had an affair with Calvin Chadwick, the company's owner and an aspiring candidate for U.S. Senate. Back in New York, Thompson takes over Underwood's interrogation and attempts to physically intimidate her, but she quickly turns the tables on him. Carter confronts Chadwick and his wife, actress Whitney Frost, at  a horse race with the news of Scott's death, but he refuses to disclose any information about Scott and Isodyne's projects. Upon returning to the medical examiner's office, Carter, Sousa, and Henry discover the medical examiner handling Scott's body has frozen solid. After the examiner's body shatters from the cold, Carter contacts Wilkes to ask him for help. Sousa learns from the autopsy report that Scott died from the exposure to the toxic substances, not from the stab wound, and that her shoes were on the wrong feet — a detail from the Lady of the  Lake Killer's profile only the killer and the police know, causing both to realize that Henry knows more than he let on. At a water fountain, a sickly Henry freezes the stream of water while trying to take a drink and takes Wilkes hostage. Thompson is interrupted in his interrogation of Underwood by the FBI and Vernon Masters, who take Underwood into custody. Masters, revealed to be a family friend of Thompson's and the younger agent's mentor, informs him the SSR will soon be replaced by a new peacetime intelligence organization and warns him to look elsewhere  to continue his career. Carter, Sousa, and Jarvis pursue Henry and Wilkes into the Los Angeles River, where Henry begins to fully freeze over. Carter and Sousa offer their help to reverse the condition, but Henry is shot by a uniformed police officer and shatters. Wilkes thanks Carter for saving his life, but is rebuffed when he asks Carter out on a date. The officer who killed Henry meets with Chadwick, who gives the officer an envelope of cash — Frost's contingency plan to cover up Scott's death and eliminate proof of Chadwick's affair. Back at the SSR  office, Carter asks Sousa out for a drink, but he declines; at the window, she watches as he kisses another woman and leaves with her. At Isodyne, Wilkes enters a room and watches a black substance moving in a large glass container. Production. Development. On May 7, 2015, ABC officially renewed "Agent Carter" for a second season. In January 2016, Marvel announced that the first episode of the season would be titled "The Lady in the Lake", to be written by Brant Englestein, with Lawrence Trilling directing. Casting. In January 2016, Marvel revealed that main cast members Hayley Atwell, James  D'Arcy, Enver Gjokaj, Wynn Everett, Reggie Austin, and Chad Michael Murray would star as Peggy Carter, Edwin Jarvis, Daniel Sousa, Whitney Frost, Jason Wilkes, and Jack Thompson, respectively. It was also revealed that the guest cast for the episode would include Currie Graham as Calvin Chadwick, Lotte Verbeek as Ana Jarvis, Lesley Boone as Rose, Sarah Bolger as Violet, Bridget Regan as Dottie Underwood, Sean O'Bryan as Det. Andrew Henry, John Gilbert as elderly teller, Kurtwood Smith as Vernon Masters, Edward Deraney as SSR agent #1, Kevin Ashworth as Agent Fisher, Angela Cristantello as receptionist, Bruce Katzman as medical examiner , Alex Alcheh as rookie cop, Matt Braunger as SSR lab tech and Jonathan Lavallee as commanding officer. Gilbert, Deraney, Ashworth, Cristantello, Katzman, Alcheh, and Lavallee did not receive guest star credit in the episode, while Everett and Austin received guest star credit instead of regular starring. Boone and Regan reprise their roles from earlier in the series. Release. Broadcast. "The Lady in the Lake" was first aired in the United States on ABC on January 19, 2016. Reception. Ratings. In the United States the episode received a 0.9/3 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning  that it was seen by 0.9 percent of all households, and 3 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 3.18 million viewers.