Post by dazz on Feb 23, 2019 22:02:46 GMT
In hindsight I agree Illyria served no great purpose in the show, so why kill Fred to make room for Illyria? But I do think it was because she was meant to have a bigger part to play or a more vital part in the next season, I mean Angel declared all out war on Wolfram & Hart and they set a dragon after him for heavens sake, Fred's awesome and all but she cant take no dragon down.
I would expect had the series continued, they might have done more with plumbing the depths of Ilyria and what it means for her to be in Fred's body and have her memories. I've always thought there's a great deal to explore just with the concept of identity; and if Ilyria has access to so much of what made Fred, Fred, does something of her potentially survive?
But it also brought the season into sharper focus; it underscored the reality of the world they stepped into and that they were obviously kidding themselves to think they could change it instead of the other way around. It brought the team back together and gave it purpose; and that little thread of Gunn unwittingly being the one at fault was great.
From what I've read, the idea was mainly rooted in Joss knowing what Amy could bring as an actor and wanting to explore a different facet of her range; and I can't say I blame him, because she did such an amazing job.
I should have been more clear, Illyria being a separate character to Fred imo had no great impact on the show that couldn't have been achieved without killing "Fred" outright, like had Illyria retained part of Fred's personality or spirit, which we learned about later it would have achieved the same ends, except kept "Fred" alive, which would have also been more interesting for S6 had they got it.
Also would have made for a great threat in the end if Illyria later purged what remained of Fred from her body say if they got S6 but it was to be their last, so the final enemy would be Illyria, but yeah Amy did an incredible job, to the point in my head before I rewatched the series I forgot Amy was still on the show, I just remembered Fred died and I loved her character, so when I then saw the episode where she dies and Illyria is reborn I got happy because oh yeah Amy isn't going anywhere she just has to endure hours of make up everyday, hooray.