She tries to reach out to an emotionally unavailable Angel and finds no comfort. When Wesley mentions to her Gunn is trapped in a Wolfram & Hart-imposed pseudo-Hell, Illyria opens a portal and rescues Gunn without hesitation, later noting the great debt the group owes to her. . It may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. Once she realized her people were destroyed, she lost her purpose and struggled to fit in with this new world she had awoken in. . Her physical strength is decreased (although retaining a high level of strength, well above that of Slayers, vampires and the vast majority of demons shown in the series), and she no longer has the ability to open portals or commune with plants. The spin-off miniseries Spike: After the Fall charts Illyria's journey between "Not Fade Away" and Angel: After the Fall. She grows bitter and withdrawn after the loss of her powers, which she considers a significant defeat. Illyria threw Angel through two windows several stories off the ground, then revealed its ability to manipulate time while escaping from Spike, Wesley, and and a full Wolfram and Hart black ops team. He's there with Illyria. In the process of finding Gunn, she destroyed eleven torture units, two troop carriers, an ice cream truck, eight "beautifully maintained" lawns, and "rendered useless" dozens of Wolfram & Hart employees, according to Marcus Hamilton. Following this, Illyria is depicted as more compassionate in this weakened form but must sleep at least 20 minutes for every ninety-four-hour period of activity. Last seen After hours of agony, and despite Angel and Spike traveling to Illyria's former prison in an attempt to find a way to draw her out of Fred, Fred's body is completely taken over by Illyria, who also absorbs her memories (which she later likens to "sparks"). And he loved a good fight. [citation needed], Gunn attempted to convince Illyria to rewind time so that the Fall of Los Angeles would not occur, but Illyria, desperate and frustrated at its inability to create order and having what it wanted, instead vowed to destroy time itself. Lost and without purpose, Illyria agrees to learn how to adjust to the modern world with Wesley's help, who is drawn to the ancient being that now occupies the body of his love. Illyria admitted she came to help Wesley out of concern for him, and, perceiving his imminent death, she comforted the former Watcher by assuming Fred's form. Fortunately, the explosion sent Angel backward in time to shortly before Illyria killed the others, allowing Angel to use his foreknowledge of their deaths to save his friends and calm Illyria down. Initially, she killed Spike, Wesley, Lorne, and Angel in a confrontation, interpreting their actions as an attempt to kill her; however, during her time jumps she dragged an earlier version of Angel into the present, revealing what just took place before she detonated, potentially causing enough destruction to wipe out the continent. is to keep fighting, you don't have to win as long as you fight the good fight. Not only was her appearance altered, but she stated that her new condition was one different than she had felt before; she had been reduced in power before, but never completely. Spike likens a blow from Illyria to being hit by a Mack Truck. Now both Fred and Illyria are alive and cohabit Fred's body. All After the Fall stories are written by Brian Lynch, who receives substantial input from creator Joss Whedon. Buffyverse Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. Lost and purposeless, and driven by the memories of Fred, Illyria struggled to find her place in the new world, and ultimately joined Team Angel in their fight. To others, the Old One appeared to be going mad. He wounded her in her Fred form before causing her revert back to her original, primordial form. Illyria attempts to both fight and reason with Arsgomor until he kills one of her new Yastigilian pets. Illyria appears on the cover of each issue. Illyria bursts in and sends the torturer flying. Winifred Burkle*God-King of the PrimordiumIllyria the Merciless Since becoming accustomed to her current situation, Illyria had shown a greater capacity for having concern and respect for others and their well-being. [citation needed], Soon after Severin's plot was made known, he attacked the Council, having followed Illyria and the others. She continued to alternate between personas, with "Fred" emerging when around those she cared about. [2], After its release, Knox had the sarcophagus delivered directly to Fred at Wolfram & Hart's science lab. Fred stated that she recalled everything Illyria did while using her body, and subsequently revealed that Illyria was still within her somewhere, granting her intermittent access to Illyria's memories, with Illyria even able to take control for a few moments when Fred was stressed or exhausted. Telepathic fish Betta George is able to fill her with Spike and Wesley's memories of Fred, and Fred's humanity causes her to stop. The two landed safely, and Non tried to convince Gunn to join her; she drained the life of a human during her speech. In addition to this, she successfully kills several members of the Circle of the Black Thorn with minimal difficulty. She understood next to nothing about it, causing her to feel lonely. [23], Illyria was regal and had a very high superiority complex. The two set off together, searching for the humanity within them both. Illyria can alter her physical appearance on a basic level, and she is capable of recreating Fred's persona accurately enough to fool Fred's parents. Angel is one of those rare shows that genuinely improves with every season, and each creative misstep manages to still be at least interesting, and is followed by a fun and inventive twist like the Fang Gang taking over Wolfram & Hart. She began to try to fit in in the world with great difficulty but began to get used to it. Her superiority complex had diminished significantly, allowing her to work well with others. "[1], Though the character only appeared in the final episodes of Angel's final season, the character appears heavily in various official and unofficial comic book continuations of the show, including licensed fictional crossover stories where Illyria is the only character from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television franchise to appear. Non kept Illyria prisoner in a cage for over a month, before unsuccessfully trying to behead her. In canonical comics, she first appears in the second issue of Angel: After the Fall (2007), the official Angel continuation. He believes she should return to the Deeper Well for answers and comfort. Each Tuesday evening, you’re invited to join me as I attempt to rediscover what made me love these shows so many years ago. She can also open interdimensional portals. Spike also explained to her why Wesley was ignoring her after she masqueraded as Fred: she may consider herself extremely weakened, but for a lot of people, her ability to take on Fred's form and persona was her strongest ability due to the emotional ties everyone had to Fred. As Spike and Illyria traveled through L.A., an ever-growing band of humans clung to them for protection, amongst them Jeremy Johns. Illyria has also appeared in Angel expanded universe material such as comics, most notably her own one-shot comic Illyria: Spotlight in 2006. [22] Talking with his new ally Nadira — a Slayer empowered with raw magic as a result of Whistler's early efforts to restore magic — Angel determined that Fred had apparently been brought back when the restoration of magic caused the old rules to be "reset." Her abilities remained undiminished. [citation needed], After Team Angel received the recently attacked Drogyn, who believed Angel had been corrupted, Illyria was chosen to protect him. Illyria also realized that she had been completely robbed of her power, causing her appearance to revert back to that of Winifred Burkle's, her body's original owner. [20], Illyria stayed by Severin's side as Buffy, Xander, Willow and D'Hoffryn made their escape from the Well. Gunn is being tortured. Plant Powers However, due to geological changes and the continental shifting from place to place, the sarcophagus teleported outside of the United States. Some convincing needed on her part, Buffy eventually allowed the two to help her. Reuniting with the other members of Team Angel, Illyria reverted to Fred upon seeing Wesley, who had been returned to Earth in ghost form via his contract with Wolfram & Hart. She also tended to go into gory detail on how she'll kill someone or something,[3] which was often unsettling and disturbing to those around her. Illyria retains the insights from her experiences as an Old One, which enable her to effectively analyze the power dynamics, personal motivations, and emotions that influence those around her. She revealed that Severin and Simone's plan would end in disaster, creating a reality tear in the universe that would ultimately end the world. After recognizing Wesley's feelings for the "shell" (Fred), Illyria wishes to explore her relationship with Wesley in a more sexual or romantic direction; he rejects any possibility of accepting her in Fred's form. She can only fight so long and tank so many hits before she needs a recharge and/or changes back to Ben. [citation needed] In IDW's ongoing Angel series, a storyline depicts Illyria attempting to seduce Connor as part of her mating cycle. [citation needed], Angel and Faith took Fred to Zane Pharmaceuticals with the hope of identifying some means of containing Illyria, but the subsequent tests actually amplified the secondary brainwave representing Illyria's consciousness, allowing her to retake control and reveal her role in the deaths of Eldre Koh's family. She hid her temple in a different time plane, rendering it completely intangible, until she could return to open the gateway and enter it. In the Angel series finale, " Not Fade Away," Illyria, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Lindsey, and Angel each fight separate groups of demons from the Circle of the Black Thorn. [14], Following the battle with Rowant, Illyria apparently vanished, although Gunn expressed confidence that she was still around,[15] which proved to be correct. Drawing on her personal experiences in Angel, she convinces Severin—whose powers threaten to rip a hole in time itself—to create a new seed, which will restore magic to the universe. Wesley is. She is a regular during the last third of season five. Buffy immediately rejected their assistance, mostly due to her lingering distrust of Koh and Ilyria to a lesser extent. She sends them to retrieve a charm from a potential suitor of hers and then opens a portal for Illyria to the Deeper Well. However, despite her power and disdain for her old alliance with Angel, Illyria was defeated when Fred was able to take back control from inside, affirming that she had grown stronger after her restoration by the Seed, halting Illyria's rampage and regaining control of her body. She could no longer alter time, walk through dimensions or commune with plant life. It was revealed that Illyria defeated the T-Rex, and does the same to Non (throwing her into the air with all of her strength). Amy Acker, Illyria, also known as Illyria the Merciless, was one of the Old Ones, the powerful pure-bred demons that ruled Earth prior to and during the rise of humankind. Spike stated that she had continued to become even more unstable than before. Eventually, she got through to Severin and he agreed to help them. Illyria was one of the legendary Old Ones that plagued the world before the time of man and was one of the most feared and worshiped in that time. Your actions will cause humans to worship for a time a woman made of bugs." The last time she was there, … Though Wolfram and Hart reverts time to before they destroyed Los Angeles, Illyria retains the memories of her experiences like everyone else. As expected, he overpowered her once more, and began to absorb her abilities, but Illyria teleported Buffy and Koh, as planned — only they were teleported to the wrong place, Severin apparently interfering with her skills. The character is portrayed by Amy Acker. She is a regular during the last third of Season Five, while she possesses Fred Burkle's body. Spike also later invited Illyria to go demon hunting with him, when she easily killed the demon with a kick. Name Aliases [citation needed], Illyria was greatly confused by her surroundings and disgusted with the world, including the people. And I cannot think of a better way to end the show than the way it did, the whole point of ANGEL. Debut Illyria joins Team Angel against the Senior Partners. Illyria is commented as so fast by Angel himself as she blitz him. Spike takes Illyria to Sally, a Frellian demon who grants favors for a price. [citation needed], When Wesley mentioned to her that Gunn was trapped in Wolfram & Hart's Holding Dimension, Illyria opened a portal and rescued Gunn without hesitation, later noting the great debt that the group owes to her. The two depart Los Angeles and an encounter with an Old One from her past while she and Gunn learn to accept their humanity. Her wish was granted when the Senior Partners sent their army against the surviving member of Angel's team; Illyria joined Angel, Gunn, and Spike in the final battle against the demon army sent by the Senior Partners to punish Angel. She spent her nights with the oft-drunk Wesley and her days wandering the corridors of Wolfram & Hart. Upon her awakening in Wolfram & Hart, she viewed those around her as ants and lesser beings compared to herself. Subsequent to this, she appears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine (with blue-and-black hair) and comments on her full powers having been restored. [citation needed] At this point, her pastimes included talking to plants and training with Spike (or, more accurately, beating him up while he tried to ask her how she felt when he hit her and recorded the details on a clipboard). This had been evidenced by her eventual exploits in the Council she belonged to. In truth, Illyria was being thrown out of linear progression of the timeline, altering her perspective as her power sought a way to escape its shell. [2] Lost and purposeless, and driven by the memories of Fred, Illyria struggled to find her place in the new world, and ultimately joined the Angel Investigations team in their fight. Though declaring there is no more of Fred's soul in her, Illyria reverts to Fred for her significant ones, like her parents and Wesley. In the series Angel: After the Fall, Illyria's powers behave erratically and are closer to their full potential. This is somewhat of a necessary but not sufficient condition. Illyria was loved and feared as few of the Old Ones were, so much so she still had followers and acolytes in the modern day. [1], Prior to her death, Illyria planned her resurrection and revenge against the world. She retains her ability to morph her physical appearance, and also her ability to differentiate between humans and non-humans. Illyria's army was locked in inside Vahla Ha'nesh and the temple was put out of phase with our time-stream in order to keep it hidden. Becoming increasingly unstable due to her uncertainty over whether or not she had done the right thing, Illyria began to skip through moments in time uncontrollably. [19], Illyria became more concerned about Severin's intentions and took it upon herself to confront him. After hours of increasing agony, Illyria completely overtook Fred's body,[1] also absorbing Fred's memories (which she later likened to "sparks").[2]. [14], Gunn and Illyria connected, relating to each others' faults and weaknesses. Interviews have revealed that had there been a sixth season of Angel, Illyria would have used Fred's appearance as a disguise more often. Illyria is aided in combat by her ability to selectively alter time, which allows her to easily dodge both attacks and bullets; she can accomplish a goal and leave an area before her opponent even realizes she has moved. Lost and without purpose, Illyria agreed to learn how to adjust to the modern world with the help of Wesley, who was drawn to the ancient being that then occupied the body of his love. Appearances Illyria also took it upon herself to carry Gunn into the hospital and dress him. [13], Illyria and Spike took Non's position as Demon Lords of Beverly Hills, with the other Lords too afraid of Illyria to attack them, using their new capacity as a cover to rescue innocents and evacuate them into the care of Connor, Nina Ash, and Gwen Raiden. It was an issue of connection. Jewel connected to Illyria, Angel connected to the jewel by holding it, Angel able to connect to Illyria's time pocket. This sparked an interest in Illyria, and she told Gunn that she wanted to learn how to drive the car. Sahjahn is winning the fight. In her/its natural form, Illyria is a massive genderless cephalopod-like monster, similar to Lovecraft's Cthulhu, with inhuman size and numerous tentacles, with all of her powers at full capacity. [4], In the canonical comic Angel: After the Fall, it is confirmed Illyria survived the final battle against the Senior Partners.[5]. As with any Buffyverse episode, the banter between the characters during the fight scenes was amazing. Her primary emotional connection is with Wesley, who continues to help her adjust to the world. It was especially a treat to "hear" Illyria … Illyria has empathic abilities that allow her to perceive the emotional states of others. She awoke to Buffy and Koh standing over her and learned that the Council members fled, to save themselves from the Siphon. She releases this new baby Arsgomor to the new guardian and returns to L.A. with her pet Yastigilian hound, Pancakes. Throughout the series, Illyria features temporary reversions to her Fred state as the hell dimension causes her powers to go out of control. He was . Before Illyria could detonate again, Wesley used a Mutari generator to extract a large portion of her power, effectively ending the threat. She spends her nights with the oft-drunk Wesley and her days wandering the corridors of Wolfram & Hart. As Severin began to lose more control of himself, she gave a speech to him about what he was doing for the one he lost. He died saving Angel. For whatever reason, Illyria survived, and she was curious as to why and how. Subsequent episodes featuring Illyria document her struggle with adapting to the human condition, Fred's memories, and the continuing grief of Fred's friends and loved ones, who make up the central cast of the show. Alive (Hell dimension) With the aid of Knox, Illyria attempts to bring about the destruction of humankind by resurrecting her ancient army. To others, the Old One appears to be going mad. In her battle with Angel and Spike, Illyria dodges every attack without really even looking at them. Although she criticizes Spike's adaptability, declaring adaptation to be a compromise, Illyria enjoys beating him up and even being beaten up by him in sparring (both of them, as a goddess and a vampire, being immune to deadly concussion hits); at one point, she expresses her desire to keep him as a pet (a strange but true sign of affection, which lasts until the final episode). Unfortunately, Gunn started the fight off looking more than a little worse for wear. Her primary emotional connection was with Wesley, who continued to help her adjust to the world. Because Glory is limited on endurance. Illyria, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Lindsey McDonald, and Angel each were tasked with eliminating the members of the Circle of the Black Thorn. [5], She was loved and feared as few of the Old Ones were, so much so that she still had followers and acolytes in the modern day, arguably millions of years after her reign. [citation needed], She also had a love for violence, as she thoroughly enjoyed beating up Spike when he was testing her abilities and never shied from a confrontation, making her be very overconfident. [citation needed], When the world went back right before the Fall, Illyria regained her human body and continued to fight along the team. When Severin ripped her of her power, he should have left behind a hollowed shell, but didn't. ILLYRIA: HAUNTED #3 Covers: (click for larger) Angel: Illyria #3 (of 4) Scott Tipton, Mariah Huehner (w) • Elena Casagrande (a) • Jenny Frison (c) The Deeper Well—something about the name fills everyone with dread, even Illyria. There, Illyria saw her state of being in a mirror for the first time and shared the fact that she should be dead. Illyria quickly dispatches the Vastari demons guarding the entrance and enters to find the new guardian is a rare matriarchal demon. Illyria is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Angel.The character is portrayed by Amy Acker.She is a regular during the last third of season five. Somehow it was transported to U.S. soil, but it was held up at Customs at LAX airport. A lot of my affection for this episode - one of the earliest attempts to tie it clos… By unknown means, Illyria's sarcophagus would teleport itself back to California, where her Qwa Ha Xahn, her high priest, would resurrect her. Willow points out to Illyria that she is showing very human compassion, which Illyria herself recognizes. Spike was stunned by this action, but comforted Illyria by agreeing that she was his priority again. I think the real fight would be between Jasmine and Illyria. Spike and Illyria were eventually kidnapped by Non,[11] a demon who absorbed her powers from the life-force of humans. [17] These powers were later stolen from her by the Siphon, leaving her as mortal as an Old One could be. She ruled over the area of modern California from her temple Vahla ha'nesh and commanded an Army of doom comprising thousands of demons, which she used to constantly make war on her rivals, as well as taking action on her own, such as when she destroyed the tribe of Eldre Koh s… However, Illyria could not carry out the task of murdering Gunn, because of Spike's and Wesley's memories of Fred that were then within her own head.[14]. Illyria commands the local plant life to subdue Arsgomor and then degenerates him to a fetal form. Noelle found herself unable to control Illyria because there was no humanity within her, and the manifestations of Fred were revealed to merely be Illyria attempting to be human. Being bum-rushed by a horde of orc-like demons seems like a guaranteed death. Eventually, Illyria's power becomes extremely unstable. [9][25] While she did had occasional instability, she was often seen composed and collected. The team confronted Severin at his new home in Silver Lake, where he was prepared for their arrival. [3] This would have led to an identity crisis, according to Joss Whedon. Illyria, Severin, and Willow worked together to use the magic on the new Seed to save Dawn. At one point she makes clear to Angel that while she's not and never will be Fred, like him she's now a formerly evil being trying to be good and redeem their past sins. Illyria is one of the legendary Old Ones, original pure demons from the Primordium Age who ruled territory including modern-day California. Peter David also published an Illyria crossover with his own comic book, Fallen Angel. After the restoration of magic by the new Seed of Wonder, Fred appeared in Magic Town, carrying all of Illyria's memories, with Illyria able to take control of their body at times with her powers fully restored.[28]. [18] She decided to venture into the Well in support of Buffy's mission in spite of her full mortal frailty and stood by that pledge even when faced with the resurrected Old One Maloker. On separate occasions in her presence, both Angel[26] and Spike[27] found themselves thrown through history and into the future by unintentional time distortions. Her wish is granted when the Senior Partners send their army against the surviving members of Angel's team; Illyria joins Angel, Gunn, and Spike in the final battle against the Senior Partners. Illyria was one of the legendary Old Ones that plagued the world before the time of man and was one of the most feared and worshiped in that time. You are giving this realm something it desperately needs. The team has more or less dissolved following Angel's actions as Twilight and subsequent relocation to London, with Gunn continuing to fight demons in LA as a solo act, Connor returning to college, Spike returning to the Scoobies, Nina marrying and leaving LA, Kate returning to the LAPD, and following Illyria's Heroic Sacrifice, a newly-revived Fred joining Angel and Faith in London. Illyria had a wide vocabulary of large words uncommon in everyday language because of her extremely long life. [citation needed]. Her powers became dangerously limitless: as a raging gargantuan beast, she possessed incredible strength in her tentacles and sufficient power to destroy time itself. During her time on her own, she had managed to find a place in a Magic Council relating to the Siphon Severin and other large-scale threats. Finale Plus I think Jasmine is a tad stronger than Glory we've never seen Glory pick up a car and just toss it. Gunn and Illyria decided to be a duo and help one another through their life struggles. Illyria's army was placed there as well, waiting to be raised once again by its leader. But if Illyria plays the endurance game like Buffy and the gang did, Illyria wins. Illyria easily teleported Buffy Summers to her Mystical Council in from San Francisco to Los Angeles, abruptly forcing her to join her. Somehow, it is delivered to American soil, but is held up in Customs on its way to Wolfram & Hart. Angel turns to Vail, but he's no longer holding the Orlon. After recognizing Wesley's feelings for the "shell," Illyria wished to further explore Fred's relationship with Wesley; however, he rejected any possibility of accepting her in Fred's form. Angel tries to enter, but a mystical barrier keeps him out. This is central to understanding existentialism. Why? Illyria said that she tried to live up to Fred's face, yet failed, and felt that she will never be able to live up to it at all. Tagged since May 2011. In Angel: After the Fall, Los Angeles has been sent to hell by Wolfram & Hart. It needs additional citations for verification. On the other side, Spike (being immune to concussion damages and sort of masochistic) enjoyed as well his training with a goddess-like creature to improve his hand-to-hand combat skills. The comic book Illyria: Spotlight (2006) by Peter David depicts Illyria's encounters with Fred's friends and family, and she even begins to cry when she watches home movies of Fred's life; she later asserts to Wesley that she feels no regret. Illyria screamed as Severin continued draining her of her power. Illyria guards a hospitalized Gunn — human once more — in his hospital bed from angry demons, and her new memories of Fred make her crisis of humanity even more apparent. She ruled over the area of modern California from her temple Vahla Ha'nesh and commanded an Army of Doom comprising thousands of demons,[2] which she used to constantly make war on her rivals, as well as taking action on her own, such as when she destroyed the tribe of Eldre Koh so that the cult he belonged to would be disbanded after he was accused of the crime.