"Dead End" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of Angel and the fortieth episode in the series. Written by David Greenwalt and directed by James A. Contner, it was originally broadcast on April 24, 2001, on The WB network.
Synopsis[]
BODY SNATCHERS — Angel and Lindsey must grudgingly work together when Cordelia's disturbing vision leads the gang to a grotesque Wolfram & Hart body shop where parts are harvested from live humans.[1]
Summary[]
Lindsey wakes up and goes about his daily routine of washing, affixing his prosthetic arm, and getting ready for work. As he removes a shirt from his wardrobe, he looks forlornly at his guitar, which he can no longer play.
Elsewhere, a man and his family go about their morning routine before the wife and kids rush off to their destinations. The man follows moments later, but he picks up a large kitchen knife. In the Hyperion Hotel, Cordelia gets bloody visions about the man that sends her flying, landing on the floor in tears. After she recovers, she says she saw a man who stabbed himself in the eye. Angel, Wesley, and Gunn split up to call hospitals, check out morgues, and the streets for any information on the man from Cordy's vision.
Lindsey and Lilah speak with their boss, Nathan Reed, about their upcoming reevaluation. Later, Nathan privately tells Lindsey that he has made a surprise doctor's appointment for him. At the Fairfield Clinic, Lindsey learns from the doctor that Wolfram & Hart has arranged for him to get a hand transplant. During the procedure, a Pockla demon is brought in to perform a brief ritual and complete the attachment of the hand to Lindsey, leaving only the faint outline of a scar as evidence that the hand had not originally been Lindsey's.
The next day, Lindsey wakes up and goes through his morning routine, this time with the benefits of his new hand. While getting ready, he notices his guitar again, but this time picks it up and plays. Later, at the office, Lilah notices Lindsey's new hand and grows very nervous about her job since Wolfram & Hart spent so much money on him. While the two lawyers meet with a client, Lindsey's new hand repeatedly writes the word "kill" on a legal pad, without Lindsey being aware of it, and seemingly despite Lindsey wanting to write other things.
In the hotel office, Angel has a wide assortment of food delivered; he wanted to get lunch for Cordelia but didn't want to bother her by asking what she wanted. She appreciates it and, as she leaves, she remembers from her visions that the man was happy about his eye before he stabbed it. Wesley and Gunn discover the identity of the man: Joseph Kramer. He and his family have all suddenly disappeared, with the explanation that he was suddenly transferred overseas and his house has been emptied and scrubbed.
Having reached a dead end, the gang goes to Caritas. On stage, they are surprised and impressed to find Lindsey singing and playing guitar quite beautifully. The Host informs them that Lindsey and Angel need to work together to solve the case, but both are opposed to the idea. Lindsey storms out, and Angel tells the team that they've got a new lead: the fingerprints of the new hand are left on the glass. Based on the fact that Lindsey got a new hand and Kramer a new eye, it's concluded that somewhere body part transplants are being done and causing problems.
At Wolfram & Hart, Lindsey sneaks into Nathan's office to look up information on Fairfield Clinic. He later spots Lilah stealing files. Angel hires a private detective with a friend of the force who traces the fingerprints to Bradley Scott, a former Wolfram & Hart employee who went to prison for embezzlement and, after serving his sentence, reported to his parole officer once before vanishing. Lindsey visits Scott's parole officer to get information about the clinic, but the man gets violent when Lindsey doesn't know "the code." Before the man can shoot Lindsey in the head, Angel arrives and saves him. Holding the officer by a rope around his neck, Angel demands information.
Wesley and Gunn worry about Cordelia; she seems to be suffering from the visions for as long as the problem remains.
Angel and Lindsey head for a building as Angel confirms their location with the parole officer tied up in the trunk. Angel and Lindsey take care of the security guards inside, and they head downstairs through a trap door to the place where the body parts are harvested. The room has various people held in upright glass cases, awake but immobile. Most of the people are missing multiple body parts. Lindsey spots Bradley Scott and asks him who he wants to kill. Scott answers: "Me. Kill me." Angel frees all of the others from their glass prisons, but he lets Lindsey decide what to do about Scott. Angel cranks up all the oxygen tanks and blows the place up.
Back at the Hyperion Hotel, the AI team asks Cordelia how she is doing. She admits the visions are starting to get more painful, but she accepts it as part of the job.
Back at Wolfram & Hart the next day, a meeting is called to announce to Lindsey and Lilah that they have made a decision about who to promote and who to terminate. Nathan starts to give Lilah empty platitudes, causing her to start to freak out, knowing that they have decided to choose Lindsey. Before she can reach into her bag, Lindsey interrupts her, telling her that she didn't have what he has: an "evil hand." He punches out and shoots a security guard in the foot, before firing shots in Nathan's direction.
Lindsey thanks Nathan for choosing him but tells him that he should pick Lilah instead, as she has enough secret files on everyone in the room to destroy them if the Senior Partners got a hold of them. He adds that she has proven herself to be intelligent, conniving, and ruthless: the perfect Wolfram & Hart employee. Lindsay then announces that he's leaving, and he invites the firm to chase him if they want but reminds them of his "evil hand." As Lindsey leaves, he wishes Lilah good luck in her new job before copping a feel as he goes past, blaming his "evil hand" again. Nathan amends the minutes of the meeting to reflect Lilah's promotion instead.
Lindsey packs up his belongings in his truck, ready to hit the road. He encounters Angel outside by his truck and reluctantly talks to him, telling Angel he's leaving Los Angeles for good. Lindsey also gives Angel advice for fighting Wolfram & Hart: don't play their game, make them play yours. Angel sees Lindsey off, whose truck has a sign Angel secretly stuck, bearing the words: "Cops suck."
Continuity[]
- This episode marks the beginning of the visions starting to take a more serious toll on Cordelia's physical and mental health. In "Birthday," the AI team will discover that Cordelia has been having medical tests on her head for over a year.
- The Host has a visibly disturbed look on his face when he reads Lindsey's future at Caritas. In "Not Fade Away," he will be the one to kill Lindsey, remarking, "I've heard you sing," before shooting him.
- Nathan's files include "Manners Massacre," referring to the deaths in the Manners residence in "Reunion"; "Bethany Project," referring to Bethany Chaulk; "Drusilla (vampire)"; referring to the firm using her in "The Trial"; and "Youth Cntr. Project," referring to the fundraiser for the East Hills Teen Center in "Blood Money."
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Allen
- Angel
- Charlie
- Cordelia Chase
- Bethany Chaulk (Only mentioned)
- Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan
- Drusilla (Only mentioned)
- Charles Gunn
- Hayley Kramer
- Irv Kraigle
- Mrs. Kramer
- Jesse Kramer
- Joseph Kramer
- Leon
- Holland Manners (Only mentioned)
- Lindsey McDonald
- Michaels
- Lilah Morgan
- Nathan Reed
- Ronnie
- Sam
- Bradley Scott
- Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
- Unidentified Pockla demon
Organizations and titles[]
- Angel Investigations
- LyCor
- Seer
- Senior Partners (Only mentioned)
- Shaman
- Wolfram & Hart
Species[]
- Demon
- Deathwok Clan
- Pockla demon
- Vampire detector (Only mentioned)
- Human
- Vampire
Locations[]
Objects[]
Death count[]
- Bradley Scott, euthanized by Lindsey.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- The song Lindsey sings at Caritas was written by David Greenwalt.[2]
Broadcast[]
- "Dead End" had an audience of 2.8 million households upon its original airing.[3]
Pop culture references[]
- Angel mentions The Jetsons when talking how people used to image the 2000s.
- Lorne mentions watching the buddy cop movie 48 Hrs.
Goofs[]
- When Lindsey is logging in to the computer, the keyboard is mirrored.
- The hand that is being transplanted onto Lindsey's arm ends at the wrist, but his actual arm had been severed close to the elbow.
- The first line on the Fairfield Clinic on Nathan Reed's computer has "health care" spelled as "heath care."
Music[]
- Christian Kane — "LA Song"
- Robert J. Kral — original score
International titles[]
- Czech: "Slepá ulička" (Dead End)
- Finnish: "Umpikujassa" (At a Dead End)
- French: "Impasse" (Impasse)
- German: "Die Hand des Bösen" (The Hand of Evil)
- Hungarian: "Zsákutca" (Dead End)
- Italian: "Vicolo cieco" (Dead End)
- Portuguese (Brazil): "O Impasse" (The Impasse)
- Russian: "Смертельный исход" (Fatal Outcome)
- Spanish (Latin America): "Sin salida" (No Exit)
- Spanish (Spain): "Punto muerto" (Dead Point)
- Turkish: "Çıkmaz Sokak" (Dead End)
Quotes[]
Lindsey: "That's my lead! You're choking my lead!" |
Angel: "'He's my lead. He's my lead.' What, are we out in the schoolyard here?" |
Lindsey: "Lilah. Please. They chose me. I'm clearly the guy." |
Nathan: "Yes, you are." |
Lindsey: "You could've had it, but you didn't have what it takes... an evil hand. I mean, come on, who here does, huh? Leon doesn't. Charlie doesn't. You do know you gave me an evil hand, right? I've been writing 'Kill, kill, kill' on everything. It's crazy. It's crazy. Anything could happen!" |
References[]
- ↑ "Angel Season 2." Craig's BuffyVERSE 4ever. Retrieved on March 30, 2023.
- ↑ "LA Song - song and lyrics by Christian Kane." Spotify. Retrieved on January 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Nielsen Ratings for Angel's Second Season." Nielsen Ratings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008.