Buffy Blog

Hush

The tenth episode in the fourth season of the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer begins with one of Buffy's professors teaching the class about communication. Buffy had fallen asleep during the lecture, unaware of how much its lesson would impact her in the near future. The episode, called "Hush", shows the viewers a dream Buffy has of a little girl singing a song about "The Gentlemen" and how "they need to take seven and they might take yours." Both she and Giles are unsure of its message and are unable to find information on the subject. That night, the Gentlemen, a group of monsters, arrive in Sunnydale and steal everyone's voices, locking them away in a small box. This leads to everyone in the town being unable to speak, making more than half of the episode mostly dialogue-free. The Scoobies spend the rest of the episode not only trying to figure out how to defeat the Gentlemen, but also finding new ways in being able to communicate with each other and those around them. The "silent" episode helps both the characters and the viewers learn of communication and how vital it is for a society to function.

The Gentlemen are a group of monsters that have the physique and appearance of a human. They are bald with white skin and have several features on their faces that make them stand out as monstrous, such as pointed noses, large pupils, and are always smiling but have long and rotted teeth. The Gentlemen themselves wear black suits, making them come off as proper, and hover above the ground instead of walking. Working alongside them are two creatures who wear straitjackets, have bandaged heads, and seem to hobble as they walk. Though they are always smiling, the Gentlemen never speak in the episode.

According to Giles, the Gentlemen come from a fairy tale where they steal all the voices in a town and lock them away in a small wooden box. Once they accomplish this, they go around at night and carve out people's hearts. The townspeople that get killed are defenseless, since they are unable to scream for help. The Gentlemen's goal is to take seven hearts in total. However, their reason for stealing the hearts is never explained. Giles goes on to explain through a series of projection slides that the Gentlemen cannot be physically killed, such as with a weapon. The only way they can truly be destroyed is by someone screaming.

From the very beginning of the episode, it is clear that "Hush" wants the viewer to understand the importance of verbal communication. Once everyone in Sunnydale loses their voices, the entire town is forced to shut down, closing businesses and schools for the time being. They take this action since no one would be able to understand each other. People could not say what they would want in a store or teachers would not be able to teach their lessons. The residents spend their days either wandering around aimlessly or silently crying, unsure of what they should do. They feel this is all they can do since no one can understand what they are saying. As Sunnydale continues to be silent, the viewer can begin to see how the town is slowly becoming less civil. Two men are shown getting into an argument, almost getting physical and hurting each other before Riley can break them up. Neither man could explain what happened so they seemed to have no other choice but to argue. Since no one is able to speak to each other, Sunnydale begins to plunge into a state of dystopia.

"Hush" also presents the issue of how not being able to share our true feelings can damage our relationship with others. The main characters are all shown to have individual issues with each other due to a lack of communication. Buffy and Riley's relationship has become awkward, due to both of them not being able to tell each other about their supernatural professions. Xander is not able to verbally express his love for Anya, causing her to doubt his true feelings. Willow wants to find other witches in college but no one in the university's Wicca group wants to listen to her ideas. Once the characters lose their voices, they are able to find solutions to all of their issues. Buffy and Riley discover each other's secrets and decide to talk about it once their voices return. Anya is able to see how much Xander loves her when he tries to protect her from the vampire, Spike. While fighting off the Gentlemen, Willow meets another witch named Tara and the two begin to talk, forming a friendship. The characters were already unable to express what they wanted to say with their voices. It took losing their voices to realize how vital they were to their problems and that they needed to be solved with (In Buffy and Riley's case) or without them (In Xander and Anya's case).

"Hush" shows the viewers just how frightening a world of silence can truly be. While the Gentlemen taking advantage of no one being able to speak is a major plot point, the real focus is on how people need to communicate more in their everyday lives. If we do not talk to one another and vocalize how we feel, nothing will ever be accomplished and society will be unable to function. A lack of communication with each other can lead to misunderstandings and a damage in our relationship with others. There is the old phrase that says, "Actions speak louder than words." But in Buffy the Vampire Slayer's case, sometimes, words may be just as powerful.