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Winifred Burkle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Winifred "Fred" Burkle | ||||||||
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 Amy Acker as Winifred Burkle |
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Winifred "Fred" Burkle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Shawn Ryan for the cult television series, Angel. The character is portrayed by Amy Acker.
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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 1996, 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 (cf. "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.
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. When 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 kill him and 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.
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. 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 Illyria, 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. "Why can't I stay?" are Fred's last 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.
Fred is a normal human woman with no supernatural powers. 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 briefly is fascinated with a fern. After undergoing the transformation to Illyria, she can talk to plants while at full power. It's unclear if this is Fred's natural ability augmented or simply an Illyria-based 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.
- Angel — Fred's relationship with Angel was an interesting one: when Angel saved her from Pylea he "vamped out" but rather than his face changing like usual, the demon inside of him came out completely. After killing a dozen guards it tried to kill Gunn and Wesley- until Fred, her right hand soaked in blood, lured the demon back to her cave. Fred cared for Angel as he recovered, and remains the only person who wasn't scared by Angel's demon after learning about his vampire nature. When Angel brought Fred back to LA, he took her in and was the only member of the Fang Gang that didn't seem unnerved by her state of mind. She had a crush on him for a time after her arrival, but eventually got over it when she learned about the curse on his soul. Fred cared for his son Connor (she was the only other member of the FG who was present at his birth), both when he was a baby and when he reappeared as a teen (Until he betrayed Angel, at which point she tortured him with a taser and knocked him out). When Fred was being devoured by Illyria, Angel considered but discarded a plan that would kill millions to save her. And ultimately, as Angel's soul had been ripped out of his body to make way for the demon, her soul had been ripped from her body to make way for Illyria. Though their relationship wasn't romantic, Fred did kiss him once to fool passerbys into thinking they were just a random couple. When she asked if he thought they bought it, he replied "I did".
- Charles Gunn — The two fall in love and start a relationship that lasts for about a year, before they break up after Gunn kills one of Fred's old college professors to prevent her doing it herself. It is implied that feelings continue to linger afterwards.
- Spike — While technically not a romantic relationship per se, Spike initially flirts with Fred after he materializes at Wolfram & Hart, and his feelings later evolve into affection and esteem. Fred is the first person in Los Angeles to believe that he is "worth saving" and she works tirelessly to find a way to recorporealize him (while denying being taken in by his charm, saying that she simply wants to use Wolfram & Hart's resources for the good that Angel promised). When fighting the demented ghost Matthias Pavayne, Spike sacrifices a chance at becoming corporeal to save Fred's life, and he later chooses to remain at Wolfram & Hart after she is killed by Illyria's usurping of her body in honour of her memory.
- Knox — Fred's assistant in Wolfram & Hart; the two date briefly, but Fred leaves because she wants someone who makes her laugh. Knox apparently has a bizarre obsession with Fred, thus his actions to her vis-à-vis Illyria.
- Wesley Wyndam-Pryce — Fred and Wesley date shortly after a long build-up, a relationship that ends prematurely following her death and possession by Illyria.
The character of Fred appeared in the final four Season 2 episodes of Angel ("Belonging", "Over the Rainbow", "Through the Looking Glass", "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb") before becoming a regular in Season 3, until her death in "A Hole in the World" (episode 5x15), although her body continued to appear as the 'host' of Illyria. She appears in a total of 64 episodes (2001-2004).
Fred also appeares in the Angel expanded universe. She is featured in a number of novels such as Sanctuary, The Longest Night, and Nemesis.
- Winifred Burkle Profile at Pop Culture Heroines