Winnifred 'Fred' Burkle | |
---|---|
Portrayed By | Amy Acker |
Gender | Female |
Species | Human |
Date of Birth | Month Day, Year |
Age | 26 |
Zodiac Sign | Scorpio |
Aliases | Fred |
Place of Birth | Dallas, TX, USA |
Current Location | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
Occupation | Science Nerd |
Known Relatives | Roger Burkle (father), Patricia "Trish" Burkle (mother) |
Significant Other | none |
Special Powers | A Huge Brain |
First Appearance | Belonging |
Theme Song | Diamond in the Rough - Shawn Colvin |
After spending five years as a cow in a Hellish dimension called Pylea, Fred has some issues.
History
Before
I'm gonna study, mom. I'm gonna learn every damn thing they know up there, and then figure out some stuff they don't. And I'll be careful. I'll even be dull, boring. Cross my heart.
The only child of Roger and Trish Burkle, Fred grew up in a loving household in Dallas Texas. A smart girl, she sailed through high school as well as her bachelor's degree, never veering far from home. She even went to college at the Dallas State School so that she could stay close to her family. However, every bird has to spread it's wings, and Fred's time came when she found her calling to study physics. Accepted to the UCLA program in Los Angeles, she moved to the big city.
Excelling in all of her classes, Fred proved herself to be a bright, up and coming physicist. When she wasn't in the lab or studying, she was working at the Stewart Brunell Public Library. It was in this library that Fred came upon the ancient text that opened the portal to Pylea. Always curious, she spoke part of the ancient text aloud, which activated the portal and sucked her into the Hellish dimension without giving her any way of returning.
Pylea
Fred: I've been trying to make an enchilada out of tree bark.
Angel: Bark enchiladas. How's that goin'?
Fred: There's work to be done.
For five years, Fred survived Pylea. She worked as a cow with an explosive collar around her neck for two years before finally managing to disable her collar and escape into the woods. There, she found a small cave that she made her own and hid away from everyone and everything that could take her back to being a slave. Every once in awhile she would have to travel into town to steal food and sometimes her curiosity just got the best of her. Scribbling physic equations and pictographs on the wall in an attempt to both remember and forget her old life, she went a little insane. In a defense mechanism, she convinced herself that LA and that dimension never existed - that this had always been her life. Still very smart and with amazing survival instinct, she managed to keep herself alive for five years until luck sent Cordelia Chase into Pylea after seeing a vision of what happened to Fred.
On one of her information and food gathering expeditions, Fred saw Cordelia brought in to town and bought. In between yelling and disbelief, Cordelia mentioned the United States and that triggered something for Fred. She followed Cordelia to where she was put to work and tried to talk to her. Found out, she was captured and sentenced to death by beheading. Once again, luck was on her side as the man (or vampire as the case may be) called in to do the honors was none other than Angel. Unable to proceed with the beheading, he rescued Fred and took her back to the woods where she showed him her hide out. While he explored, Angel discovered that this was the woman from Cordelia's vision and told her that they could take her back to LA. Though unable to believe it possible, she couldn't help but agree to lead Angel back to the Castle to rescue his friends. On the way back, they were attacked by guards and, in order to protect Fred, Angel vamped out only to find that in Pylea his demon completely overshadowed his human form. He brutal murdered the guards, but he didn't hurt Fred, instead, he ran off. There, he met Wesley and Gunn and tried to attack them. Fred came to their rescue by luring Demon-Angel away with a bag of blood back to her cave.
There, she nursed a shell-shocked Angel back to health and never seemed to be scared of him. After his insistence to go after his friends, she followed him and offered to help him call out the Groosalugg as a diversion to let the others inside to get to Cordelia. The kingdom saved, the girl rescued, Fred accompanied the clan back to LA where she was very happy to discover that tacos had not gone extinct.
Angel Investigations
Can I say somethin' about destiny? Screw destiny! If this evil thing comes, we'll fight it and we'll keep fightin' it until we whup it. 'Cause destiny is just another word for inevitable, and nothing's inevitable as long as you stand up, look it in the eye, and say, "You're evitable!"
Even saved from Pylea, Fred has some serious work ahead of her to try and adjust to LA and a non-Hellish dimension again. Having moved into a room inside of the hotel, it's rare to see her out of it. Though sometimes she ventures out of her room and into the main part of the hotel, she still hasn't been outside and she's rather skittish. The outside world still scares her and she acts as if a portal will open up in front of her any moment to suck her back into Pylea.
Timeline
November
- 27th: Wesley manages to get Fred to have a short conversation about string theories and soda. (String Theory)
- 28th: Gunn bring Fred and Cordelia brunch. Food is always a good way to lure out Fred. However, when Dan the Delivery man comes by to drop off Chinese Food, he manages to say the wrong thing and it makes her hide again. Cordelia attempts to bring her back out and manages to get her to agree to going outside for bra shopping. (Brunch, It's Not Delivery)
- 29th: When Gunn stops by again, he and Fred talk about her upcoming bra shopping escapade and he agrees to come along. Safety in numbers! However, all the numbers in LA couldn't prepare them for a large worm exploding out of the sidewalk and attempting to eat them. With combined efforts, they kill the worm and then she, Cordelia and Gunn go over the events with Wesley. (Check Out, Moving and Shaking, The Nitty Gritty)
- 30th: Fred is there for the beginning conversation between Ava and Gunn about his priorities. (Priorities)
December
- 1st: Wesley brings Fred with him as he investigates the sewers for any clues about what brought that worm up to the surface. (Good Idea Bad Idea)
- 4th: When Fred and Cordelia try on their new bras, they discover something interesting about them - they're cursed. (Lift and Supported)
- 5th: The much more, ahem, flexible Cordelia and Fred try to seduce Wesley, who they manage to all but keep tied up till Lorne arrives to save the day. The green machine knocks them all out with his high pitched singing and then ties them up while they're all unconscious. He tries to save them, but when he goes off to call a curse breaker, Fred and Cordelia slip their bonds and head out to terrorize LA. (Forbidden Territory, No Chlamydia Happens, Tryst O'-Clock)
- 23rd: Still cursed, Fred is out on the town and find Gunn and Seth to try and amuse herself with. (Call and Raise)
Quotes
- "Handsome man. Saved me from the monsters."
- "The height of fashion I knew in Pylea was a sack. It didn't come in different colors."
Trivia
- Interesting miscellany.
Soundtrack
- Diamond in the Rough - Shawn Colvin
- Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls
- Wide Open Spaces - Dixie Chicks
- Humble Me - Norah Jones
- Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
- My Friends - Dar Williams
- Because - The Beatles
- Faith - George Michael
- A Place Called Home - Kim Richey
- Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple