Reviewed By: Adam Bardwell
Rating: 8.5/10
Despite the title this episode is not about a date and the blind person it refers to isn't even the focus of the episode. The blind woman, Vanessa, is a necessary part of the plot but the main focus of the episode is Lindsey's crisis of conscience. He doesn't know where he belongs in the world and in learning that Vanessa (a lady he got of for murder) is commission to kill three children he decides that he can't be part of W&H and wants out. As a result he goes to Angel and between them they ultimately stop Vanessa.
Unlike with Faith Angel appears less convinced that Lindsey wants to change and as a result seems less committed to helping Lindsey. I can understand his position especially after he lost his cool because of Lindsey's court victory. In fact the whole season had been building to that moment with Angel losing his cool. He said in "I've Got You Under My Skin" that he wasn't unflappable and here he proves it. He has had to go though so much this season that it is unsurprising. He has been sadistically tortured, lost a friend in Doyle, kill for survival, the list goes on. It was refreshing to see him snap but it doesn't excuse the fact that he can't chose whose soul is worth saving. This may have contributed to Lindsey's decision to accept the promotion he was offered at the end of the episode as we find out in "To Shanshu in LA".
Lindsey gave Angel his life history of poverty as an attempt to justify his position as basically being evil. I wasn't impressed, nor was Angel. Lindsey's mentor, Holland, at W&H was introduced here. He is a bit off a cliché for the temptations of the dark side but still an interesting new character. Unfortunately he basically replaces Lee in the W&H trinity with Lee being shot in this episode because he was looking to take clients to a rival company. He's death shows how dangerous W&H are for their own employees let along anyone else. I was disappointed Lee died - I quite liked him as a villain.
As a side note I noticed that the W&H employees had numbers on their badges. Lindsey and Lee had a 6 on theirs while Holland had 7. This may denote rank with in the firm. The only problem with that theory is that the badge that Lindsey left for Angel had a 8 on it. I'd be very interested to find out what is upstairs in the firm which is where Holland was heading at the end of the episode.
Although Vanessa wasn't at the centre of the plot I though it was an interesting idea. I think the beginning, with a man moving stuff out of her way before she goes off and murders some one shows how we naturally assume people with disabilities need help and are naturally innocent (as shown by Lindsey's defence of her in court) but this need not be the case. This is a similar idea to a X-Files episode, "Mind's Eye", which was written by Tim Minear, Angel's Supervising Producer. To quote him; "The fact is that disability doesn't necessarily ennoble a person. I know I wouldn't be ennobled. In fact I'd be pissed.". I have to point out that Venessia self mutilated herself to become blind so the situation is a little different.
I have to question Angel's decision to kill Vanessa - she was human. This is not a good example for the viewers but I can see that doing something else might have complicated the plot but they could have easily had the cops turning up to take her away.
Some could argue that Lindsey's side swapping came about a bit quickly. This is true but it is realistic that the thought of children being killed caused Lindsey to question what he was doing. You hear of criminals who would do anything but would find the concept of hurting children completely wrong. Lindsey has reached a cross roads in his life similar to Faith and Angel in the "Five by Five" flashbacks - there is nothing to say that you would see this coming. This has been a theme for the season and it has been interesting to see the different paths the characters chose. By the end of this episode it is unclear what choice Lindsey has made but of course ultimately it seems Lindsey is going in the other direction to Faith and Angel at his cross-roads.
I was glad to see a small appearance from Gunn. The fact that all it took to convince him to help Angel was that it would be dangerous reaffirms that he is a bit of a daredevil. His scene in W&H's foyer was so funny. His "You can cater to the demon man, cater to the dead man, what about the black man?" speech has to be one of the funniest moments of the season, along with his, "Evil white folks really do have a Mecca!", although Spike's rooftop Angel impression is of course the undisputed funniest moment of the series so far.
I liked the action of the operation to steal the disks about the children from a W&H vault. The part of it which I don't understand is why Lindsey said the vault was on sub-level two and then when to sub-level three to leave a badge for Angel. The only explanation can be that Angel needed to go to sub-level three to get in and had to go up a level. A brief slot of Angel leaving a elevator would have been nice for as it is it looks like a mistake. I like the fact that Angel was drawn to taking the scroll from the vault. This set things up nicely for "To Shanshu in LA" and still could prove important in the new season.
I really didn't like the very end of the episode with Angel looking out over the city. It was ment to compare Angel and Lindsey and the choices they have and have to take. This is fair enough I just think its too much - I hope we don't see an ending like this again.
Great Angel Moment: Gunn in the W&H foyer.
In a Nutshell: A very good episode which is bound to have long term implications for the character of Lindsey.