Double Blind
Directed By: Uli Edel
Story By: Tom Fontana and James Yoshimura
Teleplay By: Jeanne Blake and Lee Blessing
Charlie Flavin, the man who blinded Chris Thormann is up for early parole, which makes both Lewis and Thormann upset. Bayliss and Pembleton investigate the shooting of Franz Rader, a chef who was abusive to his wife, though it was his daughter Billie (Monica Keena) who killed him to stop the abuse, and it's Pembleton who sees this as justifiable, while Bayliss wants her prosecuted for murder one, though it turns out he has other reasons for this which he finally confronts.
This episode contains examples of:
- Chekhov's Gunman: Billie, who appears at the beginning of the episode, screaming at the desk sergeant to get him to send someone over to stop her father from abusing her mother, turns out to be the one who shot her father to death.
- Domestic Abuse: Franz constantly beat his wife Lucille (Maureen Kerrigan). When Bayliss and Pembleton interview her at the hospital, she's badly bruised and her arm is broken.
- I Always Wanted to Say That: After Pembleton interviews a neighbor of the Rader's, he tells him, "Don't leave town." The neighbor, an airline pilot, looks confused until Pembleton, laughing, assures him he was kidding. As he and Bayliss are walking away, Pembleton confesses to Bayliss he always wanted to say that.
- Mirror Character: Pembleton sees Bayliss as being this to Lucille, in that they were both abused and they both took it without doing anything. Pembleton tells Bayliss he needs to confront this in himself.
- Mirthless Laughter: After Pembleton gets chewed out by Bayliss, Danvers and Giardello on how he's handling Billie's interrogation, and Pembleton concedes they'll have to charge her with murder instead of manslaughter, he starts laughing. When Bayliss wants to know why, Pembleton responds, "You're the sensitive one, right?"
- Prison Riot: Turns out to be the reason why Flavin is having a parole hearing in the first place - during a prison riot, Flavin saved the life of a prison guard and then negotiated for the release of other prison guards who were being held hostage.
- Role Swap Plot: In the reverse of their usual roles, Pembleton is sympathetic to Billie Rader, to the point of bluntly trying to cue her in the interrogation about what she should and shouldn't say, while Bayliss wants her charged with murder one.
- Shout-Out: When Lewis is out drinking with Thormann and Eva, they discuss jazz musicians Crosetti and Thormann were fans of, including Chick Corea
, Charlie Parker, Louis Jordan, and T-Bone Walker.Lewis: Since you're an expert on black music, where's Teddy Pendergrass in all this?
Thormann: Teddy who? (laughs)
Lewis: Blind or no blind, if you're gonna disrespect Theodore, I'm gonna come across this table, I'm gonna kick your ass. - Take Me Instead: Billie's boyfriend (who worked for her father) tries to take the blame for Franz's murder to keep Billie out of jail. Billie isn't having any of it.
- Wham Line: When Bayliss knocks on the door of the uncle who sexually abused him:Bayliss: Uncle George...do you remember me?
- What the Hell, Hero?: Bayliss, Danvers and Giardello get upset at Pembleton for trying to give an out to Billie for murdering her father - the three of them think it was cold-blooded murder, while Pembleton tries to introduce the idea she was in fear for her life because she was trying to stop her father from abusing her mother, but they think what she did was not justified by that.
