Winifred Burkle

"I am not—I am not the damsel in distress. I am not some case. I have to work this.  I lived in a cave for five years in a world where they killed my kind like cattle.  I am not going to be cut down by some monster flu, I am better than that!"

- Winifred Burkle

Winifred "Fred" Burkle was a physics student and member of Angel Investigations, and later the head of Wolfram & Hart's Science Division. She's portrayed by Amy Acker. Later on she turns into Illyria.

Background
Fred was born in Dallas, Texas to Roger and Patricia "Trish" Burkle. When she finished college, she moved to Los Angeles for graduate school at UCLA. Originally majoring in history, Fred took a physics class with Professor Seidel which inspired her to take another path. Around this time, she began working at Stewart Brunell Public Library. In 1997, while shelving a demon language book, a curious Fred recited the cryptic text out loud and was accidentally sucked into a dimensional portal to Pylea (her future friend Lorne was sucked into the same portal on his side and ended up in Los Angeles). It was later discovered that the portal was actually opened by Fred's jealous college professor, Professor Seidel, who had sent every promising student to it, essentially sending them to their death; Fred was the only one of at least six to return Supersymmetry. In high school or college, Fred was a marijuana user as shown in the episode Spin the Bottle. In that episode she asks Wesley and "Liam" for "weed", and was also revealed to be something of a conspiracy theorist. Fred was good friends with "Willow", whom she was similar to in that they started out as painfully shy and slightly naive, despite their intelligence and power.

Pylea
For five years, Fred spent an arduous life as a "cow," the Pylean equivalent of a slave. The harsh life of solitude and serfdom took a serious toll on her social skills, as well as her mental health; When Angel meets Fred she is curled up in a cave, scribbling on the already-covered walls, having seemingly convinced herself that her previous life in LA had not been real. It was revealed that Fred had once been forced to wear an explosive shock collar. However, Fred's salvation comes when Angel and his crew arrive in Pylea to find Cordelia Chase, who had become trapped there. It is notable that when Angel's demon came fully to the fore, it attacked just about everyone but Fred- including Charles and Wesley. Despite this shocking display of violence, Angel never seemed to scare Fred, and even at his most demonic, he never attacked her, with her actually seeming to have a calming effect on him.

"Handsome man saved me from the monsters."

- Fred is saved by Angel in Pylea

Angel Investigations
"Look, I could go home with you and pretend the last five years didn't happen. I could even pretend to have a normal life. But the truth of it is... well, I'm not normal anymore.  I guess what I'm getting at is... I-I missed you both so bad.  But, I belong here."

- Fred tells her parents she wants to stay with Angel Investigations.

After Pylea is liberated, Fred accompanies Angel and the rest of the gang back to Los Angeles and stays in the Hyperion Hotel to re-adjust to life on Earth and regain her mental stability. Despite several traumatic instances, such as being held hostage by Gunn's old vampire-hunting crew, she adjusts quite well to "normal" life. Her knowledge of physics and mathematics make her an excellent asset when researching and developing strategies. Fred quickly develops a romantic relationship with Gunn, which lasts roughly one year. She is also the object of affection of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who attempts to step aside after Gunn and Fred started dating, but is still drawn to her. Near the end of her relationship with Gunn, Fred and Wesley share a kiss, but after discovering that Wesley had been in a relationship- albeit a rather complex one- with Lilah Morgan, her feelings for Wesley cool.

Eventually, Fred discovers that it was actually her former professor's fault that she had been trapped in Pylea, and indeed, Professor Seidel had attempted to trap her in another world again. Furious, she plots to kill him, with Wesley's help. Gunn, however, feels that such a brutal act, even against Seidel, will ultimately destroy her, and as a result, in a battle where she is trying to trap him in a hell dimension, Gunn snaps Seidel's neck himself and drops the body into the portal. Unfortunately, this causes a rift between Fred and Gunn, and ultimately ends their relationship.

Later on, when Jasmine comes to the mortal realm and puts everyone under her thrall, Fred manages to break free of the mental brainwashing (by way of scrubbing Jasmine's sweater so hard that her fingers bleed, and subsequently mixing Jasmine's blood with her own), and ends up much in the same situation as Pylea: Alone and fighting against a population that wants her dead. Eventually, she manages to free Angel from the thrall as well by shooting through Jasmine and hitting Angel, and, after the two escape, she breaks down to him:

Later, the two free the rest of Angel Investigations, sans Connor, and Fred helps participate in the battle against Jasmine's followers, led by Connor.

Wolfram & Hart
However, everything changes for Fred when she and the rest of Angel's crew joins Wolfram & Hart. Her memory is altered by a spell and it is unclear how much of Seasons 3 and 4 she remembers differently or at all (everything specific to Angel's son Connor is certainly lost). Fred receives her own laboratory and becomes the head of Wolfram & Hart's Science Division. She is a major asset to the team; Angel consistently relies on her department to quickly and efficiently solve problems. After going on a few dates with co-worker Knox, Fred begins to have feelings for Wesley again. The two pair for about a week, but the couple's happiness is not to last.

A mysterious sarcophagus, allowed through customs by a signature from Gunn, appears in the lab. As Fred examines it, a hole opens in the cover and a breath of wind blows into her face. It turns out that the sarcophagus is a holding cell for one of the original, pure-breed demons known as the Old Ones, which is predestined to rise again. The air Fred inhales is actually Illyria's essence, which immediately begins a parasitic existence in her body, eating away at it and making her a shell. Worse still, Knox had worshipped Illyria for years and worked at Wolfram & Hart for the sole purpose of bringing the demon back. Because of his affections for Fred, he chose her as the only one "worthy" to house his god.

As Angel and Spike travel to England to find a cure, Wesley remains in Fred's bedroom with her, comforting her as she fights bravely, but slowly begins to die. Angel learns that the only way to save Fred would be to draw Illyria back to the Deeper Well in England by using her sarcophagus as a beacon. However, thousands of others would die as Illyria's essence cut across the world back to the Well. Thus, Angel and Spike are forced to do nothing.

As she lies dying, Fred's mind begins to give way. Nearing the end, she panics, stating that Feigenbaum, a stuffed rabbit named for mathematical physicist Mitchell Feigenbaum who studied chaos theory, should be there. When Wesley asks her who Feigenbaum is, Fred replies that she doesn't know. Cradling her in his arms, Wesley stays with Fred until the moment she dies, after which her body is taken over by Illyria. "I'm not scared. I'm not scared. I'm not scared.  Please, Wesley, why can't I stay?"

- Fred's final words.

According to Dr. Sparrow, Fred's soul is consumed, making it impossible for her to return from the dead or enjoy an afterlife. Later, though, Illyria states that there are remnants of Fred in the form of her memories, which are a source of confusion for Illyria. On occasion, Illyria takes on the appearance of Fred in order to go about unnoticed and to deal with Fred's parents.

Joss Whedon originally intended for Fred and Illyria to be split in two had Angel gotten a sixth season, as revealed by Amy Acker in an interview: "As I’m playing this new character now, it was just some stuff that he was going to do with her and bringing Fred back and getting to work with both characters."

After The Fall
Fred reappears in the fifth, sixth and ninth issues of Angel: After The Fall, manifesting as a transformation of Illyria into not just the physical appearance of Fred, but also her personality. This happens a first time upon the initial fusion of Hell and L.A. and then a second time upon a reunion of Illyria and Wesley. Issue #9 reveals that the Illyria and Fred essences have been struggling for dominance over their shared body, and that Spike has been trying to suppress Fred's manifestations (even going so far as to ask Angel for help), and admits that he would have kept Illyria away from the battle had he known Wesley was going to be present.

It is later revealed in Spike: After the Fall that seeing someone Fred cared for triggers the change, while dangerous situations transform her back into Illyria. However, issue #14 explains that the Fred manifestations were just Illyria's interpretation of Fred; with these remnants lost, Illyria reverts to her true form.

Powers and abilities
Fred is a normal human woman with no supernatural abilities. However, her brilliant mathematical mind, immense knowledge of quantum physics and science, and a natural ability in designing inventions make her an important asset of Angel's team; Wesley once says, while addressing most of Angel's crew, "She's smarter than all of us put together."

During this time, Fred also acquires some reasonably good fighting skills, mainly with weapons such as stakes, guns, swords, knives, etc. Later, when Jasmine takes over Los Angeles, she's forced to face down all of Los Angeles on her own, and it is shown that she is also able to hold her own unarmed, effortlessly taking out a few armed Jasminites, including one armed SWAT member. It's seen in Season Three that she likes plants, actually talking to them during her period of mild insanity. In the episode "Spin the Bottle," while she's under the effect of a magical spell, Fred is briefly fascinated with a fern. After undergoing the transformation to Illyria, she can talk to plants while at full power.

Fred is also portrayed as an innocent, unassuming young woman which often leads people to underestimate her. On many occasions, she has used this to her advantage, such as shocking Connor with a stun gun and knocking out a suspicious lab assistant at Wolfram & Hart. Also, she shows signs of great inner strength and an innate ability to survive on her own despite overwhelming circumstances. This is shown in season four as she attempts to flee from Jasmine's followers, and earlier with her experiences in Pylea.

Appearances
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Angel Season 2

 * Belonging
 * Over the Rainbow
 * Through the Looking Glass
 * There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb

Angel Season 3

 * Heartthrob
 * That Vision Thing
 * That Old Gang of Mine
 * Carpe Noctem
 * Fredless
 * Billy
 * Offspring
 * Quickening
 * Lullaby
 * Dad
 * Birthday
 * Provider
 * Waiting in the Wings
 * Couplet
 * Loyalty
 * Sleep Tight
 * Forgiving
 * Double or Nothing
 * The Price
 * A New World
 * Benediction
 * Tomorrow

Angel Season 4

 * Deep Down
 * Ground State
 * The House Always Wins
 * Slouching Toward Bethlehem
 * Supersymmetry
 * Spin the Bottle
 * Apocalypse, Nowish
 * Habeas Corpses
 * Long Day's Journey
 * Awakening
 * Soulless
 * Calvary
 * Salvage
 * Release
 * Orpheus
 * Players
 * Inside Out
 * Shiny Happy People
 * The Magic Bullet
 * Sacrifice
 * Peace Out
 * Home

Angel Season 5

 * Conviction
 * Just Rewards
 * Unleashed
 * Hell Bound
 * Life of the Party
 * The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco
 * Lineage
 * Destiny
 * Harm's Way
 * Soul Purpose
 * Damage
 * You're Welcome
 * Why We Fight
 * Smile Time
 * A Hole in the World
 * Shells
 * The Girl in Question (As a persona of Illyria)
 * Not Fade Away (As a persona of Illyria)

Angel: After the Fall

 * Angel: After the Fall Issue Five
 * Angel: After the Fall Issue Six (First Night, Part 1)
 * Angel: After the Fall Issue Nine
 * Angel: After the Fall Issue Eleven
 * Angel: After the Fall Issue Twelve
 * Angel: After the Fall Issue Thirteen
 * Angel: After the Fall Issue Fourteen
 * Angel: After the Fall Issue Fifthteen (only in memories)

Spike: After the Fall
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 * Spike: After the Fall Issue One
 * Spike: After the Fall Issue Two
 * Spike: After the Fall Issue Three (only in Spike's dream)
 * Spike: After the Fall Issue Four