Directed by Scott White
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn & David Hoselton
"The Lady in the Lake" is the 6th episode of Season 9 and the 186th overall. It originally aired November 2, 2012.
The team find much more than they're looking for while draining a lake in Central Park in search of a murder weapon...including another body. Adam "loses" the Avalanche and spends the episode at the precinct waiting to report the theft. More team members become suspicious of Mac's condition. He apologizes to Jo for being curt with her the week before, and attempts to reconcile with Christine.
Tropes for the episode:
- Area 51: Adam finds what he thinks is a piece of an alien spaceship, figures he'll be famous for making first contact, and immediately makes plans to open his own theme park called ARea 52. note
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Inverted by the victim's boyfriend who berates his mother for the reasons she despised the young woman:Matthew: You hated her guts! She didn't like high heels, she wasn't Catholic, she didn't come from money!
- Character Narrator: While waiting at the precinct, Adam recounts the details of the current case to two little girls, sisters waiting on their mom who is there to view a lineup.
- Continuity: It's subtle, but Adam asking Sid to invest in his potential theme park is a nod to Sid making a fortune on his pillow patent (as well as a hint that others are finding out about it, in spite of Sid asking Jo to keep it in confidence).
- Derailed Fairy Tale: While talking to the sisters, Adam frames the case as a "princess story." He starts off telling them a story about a Cinderella-esque victim who was found in the lake during a ball at Belvedere Castle in Central Park. The suspects actually line up fairly closely to a Prince Charming (the victim's wealthy fiance), an Evil Sorcerer (her drug-dealer ex who wasn't so evil after all) and a Wicked Witch (the fiance's snobbish mother) Of course, the story is derailed because it's Adam telling it; he keeps getting off on tangents about a piece of a spaceship he found, and there's a murder involved.
- Discarded, Not Delivered: Early in the episode, since Christine is still ignoring him, Mac leaves her a voice mail which ends with "I don't wanna leave things... Just call me, please." Near the end, when she still hasn't responded, he calls again. Getting her voice mail, he finally admits to something being wrong that he wants to talk about. A recording comes on telling him to press one to send the message or press two to delete it. The camera focuses on his screen as he presses the number two.
- Forged Message: The killer uses the dead girl's cell phone to send a fake message to her boyfriend, making him believe she'd merely left town.
- Intrafamilial Class Conflict: A wealthy young man falls in love with a poor young woman who also happens to be a recovering drug addict. His mother is so against their relationship that she tries to buy the girlfriend off by forging her son's name on a $50,000 check to her. When that doesn't work, she kills the girl and dumps her body in a lake in Central Park.
- Let Me Tell You a Story: Adam explains to the two girls waiting how a poor young woman was taken to a party by her new, rich boyfriend. He refers to the couple as a prince and princess.
- Silent Treatment: Christine continues to ignore Mac's texts and calls.
