^ Yup it's very strongly acknowledge! She was referred to as his "guardian" for a comic series because she was watching over him to make sure nothing bad happened to him.

The love Fred has for Gunn is strong on Illyria. lol

So I think personally you would have loved this Gunn as a vampire storyline for that! we even got a little glimpse of a Fred/Gunn scene and it explains why being around Illyria just feels right for Gunn since she does have some Fred still in her because of the memories.

I felt they really cared about writing a good Gunn arc and if you are a Fred/Gunn fan, it made up for them being forgotten about in season 5 and a bit disrespected at the end of season 4.