Written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, it was originally broadcast on February 25, 2004 on the WB television network.
The entire crew searches for a cure, but give up hope when Spike and Angel discover that the only way to save Fred's life would kill thousands of people.
Angel, Spike, and Lorne go to Lindsey's apartment, where they encounter Eve, who denies knowing anything about what is happening to Fred.
In Wesley's office, he tells the group that the demon in question is called Illyria and she is coming back to life by hollowing Fred out.
He also reveals that Gunn contributed by unknowingly getting the sarcophagus through US customs by signing the contract to make his law knowledge permanent after finding out it was temporary.
Drogyn leads Angel and Spike into the Deeper Well, explaining that Illyria's sarcophagus disappeared a month before as it was predestined to do but the demon's essence can be drawn back to the well by a champion.
Sarah Thompson sings "LA Song", which was written by series co-creator David Greenwalt and Christian Kane for Lindsey McDonald to perform on-stage in the Angel episode "Dead End".
"[4] After filming the scene where Fred dies, Whedon, Acker, and Denisof "went out for drinks and ended up just sitting around quietly, exhausted from the day's events".
[5] Whedon and the other writers decided to kill the character of Fred so that Amy Acker could "play somebody new, somebody who's regal and scary and different than anything she's gotten to do on the show.
The character Drogyn – who is established as someone who cannot lie – was introduced so that when he says Fred cannot be saved, the audience believes it, explains Whedon.