Hush (Buffy episode)
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"Hush" is an episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer centered on the characters' decreasing ability to communicate with each other and, notably, the nascent relationship between Buffy Summers and Riley Finn.
The Emmy award-nominated tenth episode of season four is unusual in that it contains very little actual dialog; due to the presence of some very Brothers Grimm-style monsters, The Gentlemen, who steal the voices of the population of Sunnydale, none of the characters can speak. The episode is notable, thus, for the actors succeeding in expressing the storyline without using words, and for its "background" music — Christophe Beck mentions, on DVD interviews, that he thoroughly enjoyed the task of writing the episode's soundtrack; one scene also uses Camille Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre to somewhat melodramatic effect.
The Gentlemen, played by mime artists and accompanied by "goons" wearing un-tied straitjackets, are trying to gather together seven human hearts from the residents of Sunnydale, who, of course, cannot scream or alert anyone to their being attacked. In the expository scene, part-way through the episode, it becomes apparent that the only way to defeat The Gentleman is a human scream, so the focus turns to how Buffy can regain her voice.
The episode is also notable for containing the start of Buffy's relationship with Riley and each character's discovery that the other is not what they seem — again playing out the theme of the characters' inability to communicate with each other. At the start of the episode, it is made clear that each character is attracted to the other, but neither knows how to broach the issue. Equally, neither character knows of the other's "secret identity" — that Buffy is a vampire slayer and that Riley also slays demons and vampires, for the US government.
Whilst muted by The Gentlemen's magic, the two characters run into each other and enjoy their first kiss. Subsequently, whilst fighting The Gentlemen and their goons, they encounter each other again, their mutual secrets revealed. Similarly, Anya and Xander start the episode arguing, as Anya believes Xander does not love her; later, though, his actions when he believes Spike has bitten her resolve her doubts.
That the episode is all about communication is highlighted when Buffy and Riley sit down to talk about their feelings for each other and their respective secrets, once The Gentlemen have been vanquished, and they sit in uncomfortable silence until the credits start.
This is also the episode where Willow's girlfriend Tara Maclay first appears. Willow's homosexuality had first been hinted at in the Season 3 episode "Doppelgängland".
External links
- BBC episode guide to "Hush" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/indetail/hush/)
- BuffyGuide.com episode guide to "Hush" (http://www.buffyguide.com/episodes/hush.shtml)
- Buffy Body Count synopsis of "Hush" (http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/Episodes/410_Hush.html)