Expert: H Louise - 1/3/2010

Question
In Angel on the very last episode why did Loren (The green guy) kill Lindsey?  

Answer
Hi Anthony,

Thank you for your question.

In the final episode 'Not Fade Away' Lorne and Lindsey are sent to fight the Sahvrin demon clan.
After they both kill all the demons, Lorne and Lindsey say the following:

Lindsey: You don't trust me. You don't think a man can change?
Lorne: It's not about what I think. This was Angel's plan.
Lindsey: Come on. I could sing for you.
Lorne: I've heard you sing.
(takes out a gun with a silencer and shoots Lindsey twice in the chest)
Lindsey: Why, why did you...
Lorne: One last job. You're not part of the solution, Lindsey. You never will be.
Lindsey: You kill me? (collapses to the floor) A flunky? I'm not just... Angel... kills me. You don't... Angel... (his body goes limp)
Lorne: Good night, folks.

Lorne ultimately kills Lindsey as Angel ordered it, however Lorne says that he has heard Lindsey sing before and so has seen his soul etc and knows that although he is fleetingly on the side of good, it would not last long. Angel said to Lindsey earlier in the episode that he wanted him to run Wolfram and Hart when it was all over, this was to entice him to help fight with Angel and probably to make sure that he was there to be killed along with the Black Thorn members.
Lorne tells Lindsey that he isn't part of the solution, that they were doing all this to cripple the evil Wolfram and Hart - if not forever at least for a while and Lindsey taking over would only be replacing one evil for another. Another thought is that the writers like to go full circle, Lindsey was in the pilot of Angel, working for Wolfram and Hart and had been a nemesis on and off since then. So it was only fitting that in the final episode that rivalry and conflict was resolved.
Also when Lorne tells Lindsey that he isn't part of the solution, this echoes what Angel says to Agent Hauser in the episode "Conviction," the season premiere. Angel says the same thing to Hauser before kicking a shotgun to blow off his head.

Another thought is that had there been a sixth season, Lindsey may not have been killed off as it has been said by Joss Whedon that had the series continued Wesley would not have been killed off. However I still believe that had the series continued and Lindsey did live - it would only be until the very last episode or so, so that Angel would defeat a threat that had been with him since the first episode of season one. It could be that Lindsey lives on in some form in the sixth series which is in comic book form or may rise again soon if not - as no one is ever truly dead in the buffy/angel verse!

I hope that helps, if you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks H Louise