Review of Episode 5, Season 4 "Supersymmetry" An enthusiastic round of applause for newbie Angel writers, Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, on their debut episode Supersymmetry. The duo came right out of the gate with a really strong episode, which worked as a solid standalone while continuing the season arc and the character development. Best of all, the ladies wrote an episode that takes another look into the back-story of Fred and the woman she was pre-Pylea. Not since last season's Fredless, have we been treated to a much-deserved Fred-centric episode and Amy Acker again rose to the occasion. This episode gave us a taste of the many sides of Fred: sexy Fred, brainy Fred, a little bit of crazy Fred and the surprising, vengeful Fred. Don't let the sweet demeanor fool ya, Winifred Burkle is shaping up to be an amazingly complex woman. While the majority of the story is about Fred, the rest of the cast also get their moments to shine. Lorne, suffering the effects of his Wolfram & Hart attack, convalesces in his smoking jacket refusing to do another reading on Cordy for fear of getting brain-jacked again. Andy Hallett continues to prove he has some of the best comic timing on TV. Wes and Lilah's rift from last week deepens as Wesley can't help but be drawn back to his former compatriots and Lilah seems genuinely distressed she may be losing her lover back to the "Good and Plenty's". Stephanie Romanov and Alexis Denisof are electrifying together and as much fun as their coupling has been, the disintegration of their "relationship" promises to be even more compelling. And then we have the new, disturbing triangle of Connor, Cordy and Angel. While Charisma and Vincent gave lovely, turns of nuance as the lost souls drawn to one another, I was not ready to see the two of them macking on one another. My eyes! I can only thank The Powers That Be that it was stopped by having Cordy come to her amnesia-addled senses. I'm still scratching my head over this amnesia storyline for Cordelia wondering what it means for the big picture. But I have to say, I sighed in relief at Cordy's return to The Hyperion and the ever-patient Angel. It was a moving reunion with a humdinger of a final query, "Were we in love?" And yet for all that goodness, the final act with Fred confronting her evil professor with an unyielding desire for justice was amazing. Craft and Fein lay the groundwork for the expected "white hat" conclusion -- the good guys doing the right thing and preserving the rules -- only to throw it out the window. Having Gunn commit an act so completely in conflict with his code of ethics in order to provide peace and justice for his love was spine chilling. Gunn spared Fred her conscience and her morals but at what expense to himself and ultimately their relationship? A challenging and refreshingly ambiguous ending to a fine episode. Fun Fact: The Dark Horse reference by the Comic Book Guy was an obvious Shout Out to the company that produces the official Buffy, Angel and Fray comic book series. I give it... Review by CoA Staff member, Phoenix

CoA Stakes Rating Guide = Disappointing, stake it, bury it! = Not too bad, Lacking a few graves. = Typical Dark Avenger saves the day Saga. = Better still, Quality Headstones. = Outstanding! Reward it with mortality!

Angel: How's your head? Lorne: Smashing. Listen, I know I've been a wee bit jumpy the last couple of days, but did I hear a scream? Angel: Oh, it's just Fred. I think it's a Texas thing. Lorne: Well, it's all too much strum und drang for my appetite: Cordelia shacking up with your hell-spawn. No offence. Lorne: Hey, death just doesn't look good on me. Angel: Wait. You should take her fuzzy slippers. Her feet get cold. Cordelia: I know. She's always stealing the covers. Gunn: You don't want to go in there. [grunts] Girl kept me up all night. She is unstoppable. Angel: More than I need to know. Fred: Did Charles tell you?! Angel: He--he didn't describe it. Fred: 5 years of unendurable torture and mental anguish aside, if I hadn't been sucked through that portal I never would have figured out my string compactification theory. Gunn: Exactly, 'cause, you know, strings . . . need . . . to compactify. Lilah: (re: bringing Wes a gift) Surprise! Wesley: Oh, look, a bribe. How thoughtful. Fred: I was gonna be a history major, and then I took professor Seidel's physics class, and, well . . . Prof. Seidel: Winifred's a natural. By the end of the first semester she was taking on W.I.M.P.s. Gunn: You should see her now, killer left hook. Fred: W.I.M.P.s are weakly interactive massive particles. Gunn Oh yeah, uh, ha ha, just kidding. Gunn: Listen man I'm gonna need simultaneous translating on this thing. You know, like the president with the Russians, but just give me the highlights. Angel: No problem. Of course, I have no idea what she's talking about. Gunn: Will you tell Fred that? If she thinks we're both stupid, I won't stand out as much. Angel: (re: Angel being attached by serpent demon) Yeah, yeah. Vampire. Strangling not gonna happen. Angel: About Lorne, there's gonna be a conversation. Lilah: You know, Angel, coming from you, idle threats are so, well . . . idle. Gunn: (re: attacking Comic-guy) I'm not happy! Comic-guy: (to Angel) Jeez! Is he gonna hurt me?! Gunn: Think Daredevil 181, I'm Bullseye, you're Electra. One wins, one dies. Get what I'm saying? Comic-guy: Yeah, but we're kinda crushing the Dark Horses. Comic-guy: Yeah, like you're Angel right? There are whole forums on you in chat rooms, man. But who knew you, like, actually existed. Angel: They talk about me in chatty rooms? Fred: (re: looking in Prof. Seidel's bookcase) Plasma & Fluid Turbulence in with Neutrino books? That's just wrong. Fred: (to Prof. Seidel) You know what they say about payback? Well, I'm the bitch. Angel: (re: as the Voynok demon reanimates) Aw, come on, I'm holding your head. Cordelia: Whoever I was before, I'm still her. She didn't need protecting, and neither do I. So no more lies? Angel: No more lies. Cordelia: Good. Because there's something I need to know. Were we in love? Quotes by CoA Council member, Swoop