Did anybody else have tremendous amount of respect for Illyria?

[Joshua]

I watched "The Girl In Question" last night for my season 5 rewatch, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Illyria when she saved Fred's parents and Wesley the heartbreak of losing Fred. Her appearing as Fred was amazing imo

 

[white avenger]

I liked the character, and I thought that she was another one of those who should have been, and possibly would have been, if there had been a televised Season 6, better developed and her character explored in depth. What happened in the "After The Fall" comic arc was only a shadow of what I would like to have seen about her, or, more accurately, it.

 

[Lyri]

I like Illyria, but I wouldn't say I respected her.

What she did for Fred's parents wasn't really to spare them any sort of grief - she just didn't want to deal with their pain when they found out what really happened to their daughter. She was selfishly motivated, whatever her motives were, despite the fact that they benefited other people, Illyria's always thinks of herself first.

She had to make the best of a bad situation. She found herself in a world she didn't know or understand, so she had to learn and adapt. She changed everything about what she thought about the world in order to fit in with Wesley and the rest of the team and she grew to really care about Wesley.

But everything she did was for her own benefit and well being, first and foremost, at least at the beginning. Can't speak for the comics, because I stopped reading before Illyria appeared.

 

[Give Us A Kiss]

To say that I was pleasantly surprised when Illyria transformed into Fred when her parents were in town would be an understatement.
In fact, I gained a new kind of respect for Illyria.

 

[white avenger]

I think that, if "Angel" had lasted on TV for a couple of more years, we might have seen Illyria go through a slow evolution, not unlike Spike's story beginning in Season 4. Consider a parallel between Spike's chip and the reduction in Illyria's power , each reducing its recipients power, making them have to learn to adapt to conditions and a general life style that would have been repugnant before.

With Wes' death, Illyria might have actually been drawn to Spike, going so far as to accept, if not actually like, his guidance in adjusting to her new life style. I can definitely see her finding release and even enjoyment by joining in with the routine demon Slaying, the same as Spike did in his early chipped state. He might have even taught her to smile convincingly on special occasions.

And if you thought that Buffy was mad about the Buffybot, just imagine her coming looking for Spike and finding him hunting demons with another woman! She might quite possibly go the Willow route and go Dark Buffy all over Illyria.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I love Illyria. I don't think she turned into Fred to spare hey parents and it clearly upsetted Wesley. But i thought it was a great episode showing Amy Ackers talent. Switching back and forth between Fred and Illyria. And i did like her interest in Spike because Fred also took an interest in him. I do wish we got more time with her.

 

[RedRosenburg]

Fred was my favorite Angel character and I was very sad when she died, however Illyria is a badass

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I was relieved as much as pleased to see Illyria change into Fred for the duration of her parents' visit because otherwise we would have been wrapped around the axle with a story of the Burkles and how they reacted to the loss. That may have been at least one or two episodes of emotion-laden non-entertainment with them asking why and what was going on and being filled in on a subset of what we already know. This is also the first clue we get that Fred has not been completely annihilated - Illyria, who has never had to act like anyone else before, got Fred and all her mannerisms completely correct. Just like Spike, Fred was one of those characters who was a fan favourite and the writers still may have been hoping to get picked up on another network where they would be able to figure out how to reconstitute Fred in Season 6. To follow up on what @Lyri said:

ILLYRIA as FRED
(in a lower voice, as Illyria)
Your grief hangs off of you like rotted flesh. I couldn't tolerate it from them as well. I thought this would be more convenient.

WESLEY
How's it possible?

ILLYRIA as FRED
(in a lower voice, as Illyria)
It's a simple modulation of my form. I appear as I choose.
(cocks her head, looks closely at Wesley)
Do you wish me to stop?

Yes, she did this as a convenience to herself, but when she says "I appear as I choose", she would have come from an era when marriages were arranged and would not have tried to shut her mother up during this exchange:

TRISH BURKLE (to Wesley)
Well, I want to hear absolutely everything, but most importantly, have you got a young lady in your life?

FRED
Mom!

TRISH BURKLE
What? I was just asking. Well, can I help it if there's a perfect gentleman hiding in plain sight of my single daughter?

FRED
Dad, make her stop.

There is no correlation between the customs of any society in Illyria's time and this reaction. This made me hope that there would be a recovery plan for Fred that might materialize with Illyria sharing an existence with Fred the same way Glory shared an existence with Ben. If Fred had been annihilated, Illyria would not have been able to draw on her appearance, mannerisms and understanding of modern family dynamics.

 

[GwenRaiden]

Tremendous amounts of respect for Amy Acker for pulling off two amazing characters who were so completely different, yet both with such substance. When Fred died I thought the show lost a great character, irreplaceable, but Illyria stepped in (literally) and I was taken aback at how well acted and interesting she was.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Tremendous amounts of respect for Amy Acker for pulling off two amazing characters who were so completely different, yet both with such substance. When Fred died I thought the show lost a great character, irreplaceable, but Illyria stepped in (literally) and I was taken aback at how well acted and interesting she was.

Yes, I was astounded at Amy Acker's portrayal of Illyria. Honestly, I couldn't take my eyes off of her.
And as I've said before, it was like watching two completely different people. This is a tribute to Amy's talent. Seriously, that was some of the BEST acting I've ever seen...and one of the most amazing characters created by Joss.
If only Angel had been allowed two more seasons!! Just IMAGINE the awesomeness that would've occurred...

 

[Mr Trick]

I sort of took it that because there were still aspects of Fred in Illyria than it was partly those which took over when putting on a front for Fred's parents and Wes. I find her an really intriuging character and certainly one I would have liked to have seen more of. Respect might be pushing it of course, but I did respect her for showing up for the final fight at the end of the finale.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

To say that I was pleasantly surprised when Illyria transformed into Fred when her parents were in town would be an understatement.
In fact, I gained a new kind of respect for Illyria.

Also, the fact that Amy can portray Illyria even without the makeup is worthy of massive respect.

She's killer in this role.

 

[thrasherpix]

There are many subtle things about her that fascinated me. One subtle bit was how after she slowed time she focused her gaze on Angel, seemingly frozen in time, as if something was bugging her about it...and then Angel hits her from behind (he'd taken something from Illyria's crypt that gave him resistance to Illyria's powers, which even she thought was clever, though not enough--I've wondered if he still had that on him when Angel would later be caught in her "wake" as she shifted through her own time loop). I imagine she was sensing a "hollowness" to the image that looked more like a photograph rather than a person there, which is why she stared (and perhaps frustrated with her host body to get a better idea on what was wrong with the image before her).

I like when she goes to Wes...not just that she went to him and all that most others like, but how she's not sure why. He asks, "Concerned?" And says with some amazement, "I think so." No disgust or anything, just bemused with herself, which really made her feel like an alien mind trapped in a human body, and how she was learning to be human as well as live in the world. The "I wish to do more violence" after really struck me as "hurt people hurt others" rather than anything demonic, though of course she wouldn't yet fully realize that.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

There are many subtle things about her that fascinated me. One subtle bit was how after she slowed time she focused her gaze on Angel, seemingly frozen in time, as if something was bugging her about it...and then Angel hits her from behind (he'd taken something from Illyria's crypt that gave him resistance to Illyria's powers, which even she thought was clever, though not enough--I've wondered if he still had that on him when Angel would later be caught in her "wake" as she shifted through her own time loop). I imagine she was sensing a "hollowness" to the image that looked more like a photograph rather than a person there, which is why she stared (and perhaps frustrated with her host body to get a better idea on what was wrong with the image before her).

I like when she goes to Wes...not just that she went to him and all that most others like, but how she's not sure why. He asks, "Concerned?" And says with some amazement, "I think so." No disgust or anything, just bemused with herself, which really made her feel like an alien mind trapped in a human body, and how she was learning to be human as well as live in the world. The "I wish to do more violence" after really struck me as "hurt people hurt others" rather than anything demonic, though of course she wouldn't yet fully realize that.

I liked her comment when Angel explained he'd taken that item from her sarcophagus; "Sneaky."

I really liked her relationship with Wesley; both of them so emotionally lost. It was some GREAT acting by Amy and Alexis! Very moving and compelling. Of course, Blondie Bear and Blue Thunder were also amazing together. "I like hurting you." Ha. It makes me wonder once again how a S6 would've turned out! Illyria and Fred appearing; that would've been sooo brilliant...

 

[spikenbuffy]

Not specially but I have much more tremendous respect for Glory The Godess

 

[NeddaSai]

Not really. If I was one of Fred's parents I'd be pissed.I'd want to know if my daughter was dead and possessed by a god who can masquerade as her.