Angel: Shells

"Shells" is the sixteenth episode of season five of the vampire television series Angel and the 104th episode of the series overall. It was written and directed by Steven S. DeKnight. It first aired on the WB Network on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2004. In this episode, the members of Team Angel have to accept the fact that Fred Burkle is dead and gone, and now only Illyria stands in her place.

Episode notes

 * Angel was created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. It is a spin-off of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which in turn, is a soft remake of the 1992 feature film of the same name.


 * This episode is rated TV-14.


 * This episode is production code number 5ADH16.


 * This episode is included in the Angel: The Complete Series DVD collection as well as disc six of the Angel: Season Five DVD collection.


 * This is the third and final episode of Angel with Steven S. DeKnight as a director. He previously directed "Hellbound".


 * This is the eleventh episode of Angel with Steven S. DeKnight as a writer. He previously wrote "Why We Fight". His next episode is "The Girl in Question".


 * This is the second appearance of Amy Acker as Illyria. She appeared last in "A Hole in the World".


 * This is the seventh and final appearance of Knox. He appeared last in "A Hole in the World".


 * Winifred Burkle appears in flashback only. This is the final appearance of the character.


 * This is the third and final appearance of Doctor Sparrow. He appeared last in "Smile Time".


 * This is the third appearance of Trish Burkle, who is Fred Burkle's mother. She appeared last in "A Hole in the World". She appears next in "The Girl in Question".


 * This episode aired on the same night as the "Thy Kingdom Come" episode of Kingdom Hospital.

Story notes

 * The Winifred Burkle flashback scene takes place in Texas in the mid-1990s.


 * The title given to Illyria's high priest on Earth is "Qwa'ha Xahn". Knox fills the role of this function. All of Illyia's previous Qwa'ha Xahns have been taller than Knox.


 * Wesley Wyndam-Pryce stabs Charles Gunn in the stomach with a scalpel for the role he played in Fred's death.


 * The toy bunny that Wesley Wyndam-Pryce picks up is Feigenbaum, and it belonged to Winifred Burkle. It was named after chaos theory physicist Mitchell Jay Feigenbaum.


 * Illyria gets her red leather body-suit in this episode.


 * Illyria demonstrates the ability of molecular immobilization in this episode. This is the ability to slow-down time, and possibly even halt it. Generally, the person who casts this ability is immune to the effects themselves. This is also an ability utilized by the Charmed Ones on Charmed.


 * Illyria also demonstrates her invulnerability as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce breaks the head off an axe across the back of her head.


 * Anegl and Spike are on their way home from a failed mission in England in this episode.


 * The mini-bottles that Spike is consuming on the airplane is Jack Daniel's, which is a popular brand of Tennessee whiskey.

Body Count

 * Knox - Shot in the chest and killed by Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.

Crew

 * Skip Schoolnik - Co-producer
 * David Greenwalt - Consulting producer
 * Steven S. DeKnight - Supervising producer
 * Ben Edlund - Supervising producer
 * Sandy Gallin - Executive producer
 * Gail Berman - Executive producer
 * Fran Rubel Kuzui - Executive producer
 * Kaz Kuzui - Executive producer


 * David Fury - Executive producer
 * Jeffrey Bell - Executive producer
 * Kelly A. Manners - Producer
 * Joss Whedon - Executive producer
 * Ross Berryman - Director of photography
 * Stuart Blatt - Production designer
 * George Pilkinton, A.C.E. - Editor
 * Robert J. Kral - Composer