Angel/Dead End

Dead End
Season 2, Episode 18
Airdate	April 24, 2001
Production Number	2ADH18
Written by	David Greenwalt
Directed by	James A. Contner
← 2x17 Disharmony	2x19 → Belonging
Angel — Season Two

Dead End is the eighteenth episode of the second season of Angel, and the fortieth episode overall. Lindsey gains a new hand to replace the one Angel cut off, but when it turns out to be evil, he must make a decision on where to take his life.

David Boreanaz (Angel), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce), J. August Richards (Charles Gunn)

Guest Starring: Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald), Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan), Andy Hallett (Caritas Host), Gerry Becker (Nathan Reed), Michael Dempsey (Irv Kraigle), Mik Scriba (Parole Officer)

Co-Starring: Meagen Thomas (Young Lawyer #1), Ted Broden (Young Lawyer #2), Dennis Gersten (Dr. Michaels), Kavita Patil (Nurse), Pete Gardner (Joseph Kramer), Stephanie Nash (Wife), Steven DeRelian (Bradley Scott)

Plot Overview

Wolfram & Hart give Lindsey a new hand, but it’s strange behaviour makes him question his law firm. Meanwhile, Cordelia gets a vision of a man that inexplicably stabs himself in the eye. Soon, they find they are the same path and Angel and Lindsey must begrudgingly work together.

Notes

Monster of the Week

• The Pockla: The Pockla are a group of demon healers who have the ability to regenerate flesh. But, because they're demons, they likely have no love for any humans who aren't sacrificing things for them, so they possibly imbued the reattached body parts with some of its former owner's mind.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Brad	Lindsey	Cut Life Support	Travel Agency

Music

No licensed music was used in this episode. The song that Lindsey sings was written by David Greenwalt and is called "L.A. Song."

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Wolfram & Hart: Wolfram & Hart has giving its employees new appendages care of a bank of bodies in life support fueled holding cells. The people in this bank are apparently disgraced old employees, possibly ones who were caught doing something illegal or were scapegoatted to save the firm. Lindsey destroys the bank when he feels sympathy for Brad.

Characters

• Lindsey: Wolfram & Hart give Lindsey a second chance at having two hands. A new right hand is grafted onto where Angel hacked it off in the first season. He uses his newfound dexterity to start playing the guitar again. But, when the hand starts to act on its own, he decides to leave Wolfram & Hart because they gave him an evil hand.

• Lilah: Although Lindsey was going to be the one promoted, he lays the "evil hand" speech on the board room and makes a case for Lilah. She's promoted when he leaves.

Referbacks

• 1x22 - To Shanshu in L.A.: When Lindsey attempted to incinerate a prophecy that involved Angel, Angel cut off his hand to keep it away from the fire. Also in this episode, Cordelia was sent into seizures when the Powers' filter was removed from her vision abilities.

Lindsey: I've got a murderous hand on me and you're telling me to team up with the guy who cut mine off in the first place?

Wesley: Last year a demon unleashed a slew of these visions on her. She wound up in a hospital out of her mind.

• 2x16 - Epiphany: Kate was once an ally on the police force for Angel, but she was fired after being blamed for Angel pummelling a police captain who was raising zombie cops.

Angel: We did, but she got fired. Get over it.

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• Ratings: On its first airing, this episode scored a 4.0/6 in the overnight Nielsen ratings. It was ranked 4th out of the 17 WB shows which aired that week.

Allusions and References

• Sally Field: Lilah misquotes the ending line of Sally Field's Oscar acceptance speech for 1985's Places in the Heart. The correct ending line is, "...I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" But this is routinely misquoted to "you like me, you really like me."

Lilah: I guess they like you. They really, really like you.

• Stairway to Heaven: "Stairway to Heaven" is an eight-minute long song on Led Zeppelin IV (otherwise known as Zoso) about Robert Plant's search for spiritual perfection. The song is the most requested song on FM radio despite never being released as a single and routinely tops "best rock song" lists.

Angel: I was thinking about Stairway to Heaven.

• 48 Hours: 48 Hours is a buddy cop movie starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte. The movie was Eddie Murphy's film debut and set many of the standards for "Buddy Cop" movies, particularly the wacky sidekick and the grim straight man.

Host: Am I the only one who saw 48 Hours?

• The Jetsons: The Jetsons is an animated series by Hanna-Barbara about an average family living in the late 21st century. Many of the technological advances that people think of when they think "the future" come from this show, including flying cars and robots.

Angel: You know, back in the fifties we all thought life was gonna be like in the Jetsons by now.

Quotes

• Irv Kraigle: Why can't people take responsibility for their own problems? We didn't give them cancer, the Chinese did.

• Angel: Thanks. Keep the change.

Delivery man: Wow. A whole dollar just for me. I'm the luckiest delivery man ever.

• Cordelia: You don't eat food.

Angel: Oh, I can. It doesn't keep me alive, but, you know, sometimes I get a hankering.

• Angel: There's only one thing we can do now.

Cordelia: Oh, God! Oh, no.

Wesley: The karaoke bar.

Gunn: Angel's gonna sing?

Cordelia: Isn't there some other way?

Wesley: There has to be. Think, damn it!

Angel: Hey!

• Cordelia: You should pick something short.

Angel: I was thinking "Stairway to Heaven".

Wesley: Don't even joke about that.

• Angel: (listening Lindsey sing) What is that? Rock? Country? Ballad? Pick a style, pal.

• Host: (to Lindsey) Well, you know what they say: the hand is quicker than the eye. You'll get that later.

• Cordelia: (to Lindsey) Hi. You probably don't remember me. Cordelia. I know you're evil and everything, but that was just so amazing.

Gunn: That was kind of tight.

Wesley: Terrific, really.

Angel: Is everyone drunk?

• Lindsey: Work with him? Work with him?

Host: Am I the only one who saw 48 Hours?

Lindsey: I got a murderous hand on me and you're telling me to team up with the guy who cut mine off in the first place?

• Angel: You know, when I was in charge here, nobody questioned my methods or my singing.

Cordelia: You're half right.

• Lindsey: What are you doing here?

Angel: Gee, I don't know. Saving your life.

Lindsey: I don't need you to save my life!

• Lindsey: You got no business -- Why aren't you trying to kill me?

Angel: Excuse me. I'm on a case here, Lindsey. Does everything always have to be about killing you all the time?

• Parole Officer: You can kill me, but Wolfram & Hart will do a lot worse.

Angel: Kill you? Why would I kill you (transforms) when I could live off you for a month? Mmmm, can't you just taste that butter fat?

Lindsey: You are really gross, you know that?

• Lindsey: Stop it, evil hand, stop it. I just can't control my evil hand.

• Lindsey: Lilah is your guy. Me? I'm unreliable. I got these evil hand issues... and I'm bored with this crap.

• Lindsey: (to Angel) If you're going to kill me, grab ya a ticket and get in line.

• Lindsey: The key to Wolfram and Hart - don't let them make you play their game. You gotta make ‘em play yours.

Angel: Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

Song Lyrics

Pretty girl on every corner

Sunshine turns the sky to gold

Warm, warm, it's always warm here

I can't take the cold

Streets littered with diamonds

Every one's glistening

This whole world shines so brightly

I can't see a thing

Pretty as a picture

She is like a golden dream

Fills me with love and laughter

I can't feel a thing

The sky's gonna open

People gonna pray and crawl

Gonna rain down fire

Gonna burn us all

The sky's gonna open

People gonna pray and sing

Oh I can't feel a thing

Pretty as a picture

She is like a golden dream

Fills me with love and laughter

And I—I can't feel a thing

The sky's gonna open

People gonna pray and crawl

Gonna rain down fire

Gonna burn us all

The sky's gonna open

People gonna pray and sing

And I can't feel a thing

Oh, I can't feel.