Supersymmetry (3 Nov. 2002)

When Fred writes a physics paper, she's invited to her old college as a guest lecturer. Angel, Gunn and Wes show up to support her as she speaks in front of all her former professors. But ... See full summary »

Director:

Bill L. Norton

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator), David Greenwalt (creator),

Stars:

David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, J. August Richards

Cast

Episode cast overview:
David Boreanaz	...	Angel
Charisma Carpenter	...	Cordelia Chase
J. August Richards	...	Charles Gunn
Amy Acker	...	Winifred 'Fred' Burkle
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Connor
Alexis Denisof	...	Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Andy Hallett	...	Lorne
Stephanie Romanov	...	Lilah Morgan
Randy Oglesby	...	Professor Oliver Seidel
Jerry Trainor	...	Jared
Jennifer Tracy	...	Laurie Drummond (as Jennifer Hipp)

Storyline

When Fred writes a physics paper, she's invited to her old college as a guest lecturer. Angel, Gunn and Wes show up to support her as she speaks in front of all her former professors. But when a portal opens up over Fred's head, it becomes clear that something supernatural is happening to her... Again.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to the hulk

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 2002 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Fred sees the Syposium's "Featured Speakers," she exclaims, 'Oh, God! I'm between Ed Witten and Brian Greene!' These refer to Edward Witten and Brian Greene, two important physicists. This shows how important the speech will be that Fred gives.

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Quotes

[a decapitated demon gets up]
Angel: Come on! I'm holding your head.

User Reviews

Didn't Fred send herself to Pylea?

Don't get me wrong, I do like that they added a back-story episode for Fred. With the exception of the episode about her parents coming to visit, I felt that her character could have been explored a lot more than it was in the series. This episode, however, confuses the viewer. Back in the finale of Season 2, "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb", we learn that not only did Fred send HERSELF to Pylea by reading out of a book and opening a portal (we see this in Cordelia's earlier vision), but during the scene in the cave when Angel and Fred discuss the words she's written on the cave walls, she admits using the same words that she used to send herself to Pylea to try to get back.

ANGEL: I know these words. These are the words we used to open up the portals. FRED: They're not words. They're consonant representations of a mathematical transfiguration formula. I used to think that if you said them out loud and in the right order, the quaking and quivering would- ANGEL: You mean opening a portal. (Angel then suspects she's unknowingly been opening the portals in Pylea and sending things to the Earth dimension.) So you see, she sent herself to Pylea. I found it very difficult to simply accept that this professor had anything to do with Fred's disappearance, even after Fred's discovery of a hidden portal book in her professor's office. The second attempt on her life through her cell phone call just confirmed that there was someone trying to kill her, but nothing was ever explained about how he did it to Fred the first time or why. Had he planted the book that sent her to Pylea in the hopes that she would find it there and read that specific passage aloud? Had he told her to go to the library to look up mathematical transfiguration formulas as she states the words to be? Wouldn't she then already have had an idea that the professor was behind it from the beginning?! It all just seems rather disconnected and unbelievable storytelling that makes you question what you already know about the series.