Angel Investigated - 2.18 Dead End

Posted by Jason Chamberlain on 03.02.2010

Lindsay's conflicted relationship with his employer finally reaches its head, while Angel teams up with the confused lawyer to track down a body-part harvesting operation!

2.18 Dead End
Writer: David Greenwalt
Director: James A. Contner

Whedon Speak

Gunn: Angel's gonna sing?
Cordelia: Isn't there some other way?
Wesley: There has to be. Think damnit!

Case Files

This is Christian Kane's last appearance as Lindsay until season five.

Jeremy Thomas has the full review!

Since the beginning of Angel, there has been a consistent villain who has been there every time Angel tried to do good. He has been an enemy, a reluctant ally, a rival, a soul to save and an obstacle to obliterate. His name is Lindsey McDonald, and for the first two seasons, even when he was surrounded by his fellow lawyers from Holland Manners to Lilah Morgan to Nathan Reed, he has been the face of Wolfram & Hart. But all things must come to an end, and eventually so did Lindsey's tenure on Angel…at least, for a few seasons. Before we get there though, we have a last adventure for him to run through. And man, it's a doozy.

Lindsey has always been shown to be a man for whom loyalty is important. He's remained loyal to Wolfram & Hart throughout his time with the company, despite some decisions that were questionable, even to his morally flexible ways. That loyalty cost him his hand, a difficulty he had to live with throughout Season Two. Finally, in "Dead End," that loyalty is rewarded as the Senior Partners arrange for Lindsey to have a hand transplanted onto his own. Of course, it's not for purely benevolent purposes—nothing done by Wolfram & Hart is. They're concerned that Lindsey's been slipping lately, and they're hoping that the new hand might get him back on his game. When he wakes up he's ecstatic…but as he finds out during a meeting with the client, his new hand has a mind of its own. It starts writing "Kill" repeatedly on a page while Lindsey isn't paying attention, and that rather disturbing revelation drives him to Caritas, where he ends up being pushed into working with his old "friend" Angel to figure out what's going on. As it turns out, Wolfram & Hart are keeping ex-cons-turned-low-level employees who couldn't cut it "on ice" so that they can provide these transplants on demand. This will drive Lindsey away from the company for good, and pseudo-reconciliation with Angel at the end.

"Dead End" was written by David Greenwalt, who as we have covered before is one of the better screenwriters the show ever had. Greenwalt was responsible for episodes such as the pilot, "I Will Remember You" and "The Trial" among others. Greenwalt was with the show from the beginning, and understood the importance Lindsey had as a character; thus, he made sure to send the character out in style. With James Contner ("Lonely Hearts," "Five by Five" and "Reunion") directing they had one of their strongest teams not directly involving Joss Whedon here, and they make this episode fantastic. The opening scene were Lindsey is getting ready for work is wonderful in the way it shows all the different problems a one-handed person would have just in day-to-day life. These are the moments you never see in most television because everything needs to be played for melodrama or comedic effect. By focusing on the little problems that Lindsey has, it is instantly relatable to viewers. How hard would it be to manually shave without another hand, or to tie a necktie? I imagine we'd have them pre-tied as well. It all plays out to great effect here.

Of course, this is Christian Kane's swan song (for the time being) and he gets a huge chance to shine. We see his skills as a musician when he performs in his room and again in Caritas—the second time singing a song that the actor himself wrote. I don't mind saying that it's a pretty damn impressive song and a very good performance on top of it. His chemistry with David Boreanaz is in full force here, particularly in the scene in the car as they're driving to the body part storage building. And one of his final scenes, his big goodbye from Wolfram & Hart is one of the best scenes he would ever have. We'd seen Lindsey wasn't afraid of death, and we'd seen that he was willing to defy the firm when he needed to. This was the first time he ever told them, in no uncertain terms, to screw off. He has so much fun with it, and you can't help but laugh as you watch. He then has a last scene with Angel and is gone. Kane left us wanting more, and in such a great way.

There are a few other things that happen here, of course. The most significant involves Cordelia, whose visions are taxing her more and more. Wesley theorizes that the visions, once house by Doyle, are not supposed to be held by a human. We'll see this become more and more significant as time goes on, but it's starting well here.

Ronny Sarnecky	This was the final “Angel” appearance of the Lindsey character until Season Five. Ever since Lindsey lost his hand, and received a fake one, I always wondered what happened. I could have sworn he had two good hands in Season Five. Since I only saw the whole series once, maybe twice, I forgot a lot of what went on. Lindsey was one of my favorite characters in the series. Even though he was a villain, Lindsey had a conscience. If he didn’t agree with something that Wolfram & Hart was doing, Lindsey wasn’t afraid to go against them to stop their plans. This episode was no different. I liked that the writing crew had Angel and Lindsey working side by side despite hating one another. It reminded me of when a top heel in wrestling just turns face, and he team with the top face. Both work together, but don’t trust each other yet. A face Lindsey had a lot of possibilities. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be as he departed the series. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable episode.	8.5
Mike Gorman	This week we say goodbye to Lindsey and as is often the case, a characters gets most interesting before we get our last glimpse. Lindsey has always been a character who seemed to be more than just a mindless Wolfram and Hart lackey and in "Dead End" he proves this fact. Sure the vehicle for that discovery is a wacky plot about him getting an evil had attached to his body but isn't that par for the course on a paranormal show? It is a pretty interesting episode overall in my opinion as the interactions between Angel and Lindsey always create some good tension. It also sets Lindsey up for his return later in the series.	8
Jason Chamberlain	It's definitely sad to see Lindsay go and I can't help but feel he was under used. I always thought he would have made a very interesting addition to Team Angel had he chosen the good side, and he would have given the group an interesting dynamic (as well as a ready made lawyer when they take over the law firm a couple years from now). But nevertheless, his exit is orchestrated pretty well.	9

GRR!!! ARGH!!!

The 411: Christian Kane's swan song is one of the better episodes of the season. Lindsey's departure, as sad as it is to see, makes complete sense and allows a more sinister element of Wolfram & Hart to take center stage as opposed to the morally ambitiousness of the character. A very skillfully-told story that features great performances from Kane, David Boreanaz and Stephanie Romanov as Lilah Morgan, "Dead End" is definitely a can't-miss episode.

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]