Blind Date

Blind Date
Season 1
episode 21
Air date	May 16, 2000
Written by	Jeannine Renshaw
Directed by	Thomas J. Wright
Length	42 minutes
Angel
← Previous	"War Zone"
Next →	"To Shanshu in L.A."
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
← Previous	"Primeval"
Next →	"Restless"
Cast
Starring	David Boreanaz — Angel Charisma Carpenter — Cordelia Alexis Denisof — Wesley
Guest starring	Christian Kane — Lindsey Thomas Burr — Lee Stephanie Romanov — Lilah Sam Anderson — Holland J. August Richards — Gunn
Co-starring	Jennifer Badger Martin — Vanessa Weeks Keilana Smith — Mind Reader #1 Dawn Suggs — Mind Reader #2 Charles Constant — Security Center Guard Scott Berman — Vendor Derek Anthony — Dying Black Man Rishi Kumar — Blind Child #1 Karen Lu — Blind Child #2 Alex Buck — Blind Child #3
Uncredited	Joel Heyman — Vampire

"Blind Date" is the twenty-first episode of the first season of Angel and the twenty-first episode in the series. Written by Jeannine Renshaw and directed by Thomas J. Wright, it was originally broadcast on May 16, 2000, on The WB network.

Synopsis

BORN AGAIN BAD BOY — Angel agrees to help Lindsey McDonald crack the secret files of Wolfram & Hart to save a group of children from a demonic assassin. Ultimately, Lindsay isn't quite sure if he can stick by his decision to betray the firm and sabotage the deadly mission.

Summary

One night while on patrol, Angel encounters a woman wearing sunglasses and carrying a white cane. Using her cane as a weapon, she has just murdered a man. Angel attempts to defend himself when she attacks, but he finds that she is much quicker stronger than he expected, managing to dodge his moves. He is also surprised when, during the fight, he knocks off the woman's glasses, revealing her eyes to be completely white. She eventually manages to slip away unnoticed.

When Angel returns to the Angel Investigations offices, Cordelia looks up "blind woman murder" on the Internet, as they decide she is human rather than a demon. Their search leads them to Vanessa Brewer, who is a career criminal, having been arrested several times and is currently on trial for murder. Cordelia also discovers Wolfram & Hart is representing Vanessa pro bono, which means she is probably helping them in some way.

In court, Lindsey argues to the judge that Vanessa's disability absolves her from suspicion. Angel enters and tosses Vanessa's glasses at her from behind, and she immediately catches them. The jury fail to return a verdict and Vanessa is acquitted.

Later, Lindsey meets with his superior, Holland Manners, who is touting him to Bill and Chuck for doing so well in court. Lindsey also speaks with Vanessa, who makes him feel uneasy. As they leave, Holland speaks to Lindsey about the hardships he has faced over the past year, namely the poor decision to send Faith after Angel. Holland says Lindsey won't be happy until he figures out his place in the world.

The conversation turns back to Vanessa, and Holland tells Lindsey that it would be a good idea if he starts working on a tragic and abusive history for her, as Vanessa has been asked to do something that — on the slim chance she gets caught — would require a strong defense in court. Lindsey inquires what this is about, and Holland simply says that there are some children arriving in LA that could pose a threat to them.

At the office, Wesley explains Vanessa can see outside of the spectrum of normal human sight. Angel is upset that Vanessa was acquitted and he can't do anything about it. He's angry that Wolfram & Hart has made up their own rules. He tells Wesley he remembers living in a world like Wolfram & Hart's, where there's only power and no consequences. He misses the clarity involved and laments that nothing ever changes.

Lindsey suddenly arrives and tells Angel that he needs his help: "I want out." Lindsey explains he grew up in abject poverty, and decided he would become powerful to keep things being taken away from him — which was why he joined Wolfram & Hart. Angel is uninterested in Lindsey's life story until Lindsey tells him that Vanessa has been hired to assassinate children. Angel tells him that he'll need information that Lindsey will have to take from Wolfram & Hart. Lindsey does not want to go back, since people there are under constant surveillance, but goes to prove to Angel that he really wants to change.

Later, the group plans Angel and Lindsey's break-in at Wolfram & Hart. Lindsey decides to use his own pass to get into the building, then leave the pass for Angel to use to get into a demon-guarded vault. Lindsey suddenly remembers the firm's vampire detectors, which will go off as soon as Angel enters at the building. That night, Angel meets with Gunn to ask a favor, which Gunn agrees to when he learns it's dangerous.

The next day at Wolfram & Hart, Lindsey runs into Lilah Morgan, who is surprised to see him heading towards a records room. Once she's gone, he leaves his security pass under a fire extinguisher then heads back upstairs as Angel waits for the right time to move. Gunn steps into the lobby causing a commotion before some of his crew enter carrying a large bundle at the exact time Angel enters the building. As the vampire alarms go off, Gunn cuts the cord holding the bundle, revealing a captured vampire inside. Security guards chase the vampire and stake him, as Angel grabs Lindsey's security pass and uses it to enter the vault.

Angel takes CDs labeled "restricted access" and is about to leave when he notices a tube covered with symbols. Despite not knowing what it is, he grabs it. This activates another alarm and drops a grate over the door to the vault. Angel is able to make it under the grate before he is trapped inside. On his way back to the sewer, he calls Lindsey and tells him that he's done and that Lindsey should get out of the building. Lindsey tries to avert some security guards but soon realizes that they're everywhere. Lilah tells him that there's a sweep, and Lindsey sees Holland leading two mind-readers into an office.

A handful of lawyers are lined up for the mind-readers to read. Lindsey fears that he's been caught, but Holland announces that Lee Mercer has been in secret meetings with another firm and planned to leave Wolfram & Hart, taking clients with him. Lee attempts to protest his innocence, but he doesn't get very far before he gets a bullet to the head. Holland dismisses the others, asking Lindsey to stay behind.

Holland asks Lindsey if he's scared; Lindsey admits that he is. Holland says that's understandable, since he went to Angel for help, stole from the vault, tried to sabotage a case, and lied about everything. Lindsey says that he didn't want to lie or betray the firm, he just wanted to leave. Holland says that few men make their own destinies, but those who do "have the courage of their convictions, and they know how to behave in a crisis." He thinks that Lindsey has what it takes to be one of those men, but he still doesn't know where he belongs. Holland decides not to have Lindsey killed, instead giving him a few days to figure out what he wants to do.

Angel returns to his office and is surprised that Lindsey isn't already there. Cordelia asks if Angel is going to go back for him, but Angel won't, explaining that if Lindsey got out he'll head to them, and if he didn't, then there's no reason to go back. Wesley finds the tube in Angel's briefcase and finds a roll of parchment inside. He asks why Angel took it, and Angel admits that he's not sure. Wesley says that he'll translate the ancient Aramaic on the parchment, but Cordelia discovers that first they'll have to translate the encrypted disks.

Cordelia calls Willow for help decoding the disks. The now un-encrypted information reveals that Vanessa blinded herself when she was 21, then trained with a group of monks who believed that "enlightenment is seeing with the heart, not the mind." Vanessa is supposed to kill the three children — blind seers that for the Holy Triumvirate. Lindsey arrives at the office, not telling them about what happened with Holland and still offering to help. The children arrived in the country earlier that day however they are staying with a guardian as their mentor is yet to arrive. Angel instructs Cordelia and Wesley to intercept the mentor while he and Lindsey go to protect the children.

Vanessa arrives at a safe house, killing the man guarding the children with her cane. Angel tells Lindsey to get the kids out. Vanessa fights them both, and manages to knock Lindsey out, but Angel turns the tables on her as he finds she is unable to see him if he stops moving. As Vanessa panics and starts stabbing at thin air, Angel is able to land punches and reposition himself before she recovers. He eventually ends up right in front of her while she can't see him, and manages to kill her by stabbing her with her cane.

Later, back at the office, Wesley tells Angel the parchment he stole from Wolfram & Hart contains the Prophecies of Aberjian, which mentions a vampire with a soul. Wesley tells Angel that he may not know what his place is in the chaos, but he belongs somewhere in there.

Lindsey returns to Wolfram & Hart with the disks Angel stole and apologizes to Holland, saying he did what he needed to. Holland proclaims his rescue of the children "noble" and notes that Lindsey probably made copies of what was on the disks. Lindsey says that he wants his own life, but Holland tells him that "we're all part of something larger." He tells Lindsey that he handpicked him to join the firm because he saw potential in him. Lindsey stood up to the firm and won, and Holland wants him to stay with them. In fact, he's giving Lindsey his own job, since Holland is getting a promotion. He tells Lindsey that it's his choice, then leaves. Lindsey stays put, looking out the window at the city lights as Angel does the same thing elsewhere.

Continuity

• Lindsay and Holland talk about the failed mission of sending "the rogue Slayer after the vampire," referring to when they tasked Faith to kill Angel in "Five by Five."
• Cordelia phones Willow to hack codes and find information on Vanessa, and Cordelia learns that Willow has also been getting information on Adam through hacking, as seen in "Primeval."
• Angel says he killed "just the one" servant his father had. The servant Anna appeared in the episode "The Prodigal."
• When Lindsey asks Angel for help, Angel pretends to fall asleep to show that he does not take Lindsey seriously. In "Not Fade Away," Lindsey will do the same with Angel.
• Wesley first discovers the Shanshu Prophecy in this episode, an influential event that will heavily affect Angel and his actions until the final episode of the series, "Not Fade Away."
• Wolfram & Hart's decision to promote Lindsey, hoping that the power corrupts him after he wins a "righteous" battle against them, closely foreshadows Wolfram & Hart offering the L.A. offices to Angel and his team in "Home."

Appearances

Individuals

• Adderly
• Angel
• Anna (Only mentioned)
• Willard Batts (Only mentioned)
• Bill
• Vanessa Brewer
• David Burns (Only mentioned)
• Cordelia Chase
• Chuck
• Charles Gunn
• Howard
• Faith Lehane (Only mentioned)
• Holland Manners
• Mr. McDonald (Only mentioned)
• Lindsey McDonald
• Lee Mercer
• Lilah Morgan
• Phil
• Willow Rosenberg (Only mentioned)
• Sandra Struth (Only mentioned)
• Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
• Liam's father (Only mentioned)
• Unidentified decoy
• Unidentified Guardian (Blind Date)
• Unidentified mind reader I
• Unidentified mind reader II
• Unidentified vampire (Blind Date)

Organizations and titles

• Angel Investigations
• Holy Triumvirate
• Klein & Gabler (Only mentioned)
• Los Angeles Police Department (Only mentioned)
• Order of the Nanjin (Only mentioned)
• Seer
• Slayer (Only mentioned)
• Wolfram & Hart
  • Special Projects Division

Species

• Demon
  • Preggothian demon
  • Vampire detector
• Human
• Vampire

Locations

• Los Angeles
  • 317 Elisabeth Street, apt 2C
  • Angel Investigations offices
  • Wolfram & Hart Los Angeles branch
• San Francisco (Only mentioned)

Objects

• 926MEA
• Scroll of Aberjian
• Soul (Only mentioned)
• Stake

Death count

• Two vampires, staked by Angel.
• Decoy man, killed by Vanessa Brewer.
• One vampire, staked by Wolfram & Hart security guards.
• Lee Mercer, shot by Phil with a gun.
• Old man, impaled by Vanessa Brewer.
• Vanessa Brewer, impaled by Angel.

Behind the scenes

Production

• Jennifer Badger Martin, who guest stars as Vanessa, has previously been Charisma Carpenter and Eliza Dushku's stunt double in both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
• Special Effects Supervisor Loni Peristere says they couldn't afford to shoot Vanessa's perspective using green-screen, so instead they came up with the "crazy idea" of painting the actors with glow-in-the-dark paint and shooting the scenes in the dark. The effect was intensified by offsetting the footage to create tracers, and then reversing the image: "It was supposed to tell the story that she sees the action before it actually happens," explains Peristere. "It was such a wacky idea and it really worked out well."
• The names of the investigating officers on the arrest record for Vanessa Brewer are those of crew members who worked on the series: set designer Will Batts, set decorator Sandy Struth, and second unit director David M. Burns.
• Scott Berman, who portrays the toy vendor is this episode, also portrays Mover #2 in the Buffy episode "Buffy vs. Dracula."

Broadcast

• "Blind Date" had an audience of 3.7 million households upon its original airing.

Pop culture references

• Cordelia jokes if Vanessa is of the demon species "Helen Kellerus homiciadalus," referring to the disability rights advocate Helen Keller (1880–1968).
• Cordelia compares Vanessa's seeing abilities with Superman.
• Gunn describes the Wolfram & Hart offices as the Mecca for "evil white folks," referring to the holiest city in Islam.

Goofs

• Angel announces: "They acquitted her. Hung jury." In fact, it's one or the other: a hung jury is one that does not reach a verdict, and the accused is subject to retrial if the prosecution wishes. An acquittal occurs when the jury returns a verdict of "not guilty." There is no retrial possible after a criminal acquittal.
• When Lindsey returns from the sub-basement and exits the elevator, the writing on the security guard's shoulder badge is backwards; the video has been reversed.
• In the closing credits, the character Vanessa Brewer is listed as "Vanessa Weeks."

Music

• Christophe Beck and Robert J. Kral — original score

International titles

• Czech: "Schůzka naslepo" (Blind Date)
• Finnish: "Sokkotreffit" (Blind Date)
• French: "Force aveugle" (Blind Strength)
• German: "Die Augen der Vanessa Brewer" (The Eyes of Vanessa Brewer)
• Hungarian: "Vakvágány" (Pocket Track)
• Italian: "Appuntamento al buio" (Blind Date)
• Portuguese (Brazil): "Encontro às Cegas" (Blind Date)
• Russian: "Свидание вслепую" (Blind Date)
• Spanish (Latin America): "Cita a ciegas" (Blind Date)
• Spanish (Spain): "Cita a ciegas" (Blind Date)
• Turkish: "Kör Buluşma" (Blind Date)

Quotes

Lindsey: "Well, our files aren't 100 percent, but I guess it's fair to say that you've never seen anything like real poverty. I'm talking dirt poor. No shoes. No toilet. Six of us kids in a room, and come flu season it was down to four. I was seven when they took the house. They just came right in and took it. And my daddy is being nice, you know? Joking with the bastards while he signs the deed. Yeah, so we had a choice. Either you got stepped on or you got to stepping and I swore to myself that I was not going to be the guy standing there with the stupid grin on my face while my life got dribbled out—"

Angel: "I'm sorry. I nodded off. Did you get to the part where you're evil?"

Lindsey: "Oh, yeah. You're doing some research?"

Lilah: "Only when I want it done right."

Lindsey: "I know what you mean. I don't mind making myself look like an idiot, but I hate it when some clerk does."

Lilah: "I was under the impression that you never touch a book anymore."

Lindsey: "Little secret between you and me: if the amoebas find out you're willing to read, they lose all respect for you."

Lindsey: "I get myself killed, that'll convince you I've changed?"

Angel: "It's a start."

Gunn: "Give me one good reason."

Angel: "It'll be extremely dangerous."

Gunn: "Okay."

Gunn: "Whoo-whoo! My god! They told me it was true, but I didn't believe 'em. Damn, here it is! Evil white folks really do have a Mecca. Now, now, now girls, don't get all riled up. Ow! Did you just step on my foot? Was that my foot you just stepped on? Are you assaulting me up in this haven of justice? Somebody get me a lawyer, 'cause my civil rights have seriously been violated. Oh, I get it, I get it. Y'all can cater to the demon, cater to the dead man, but what about the black man?"