TNMC
This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
So far this season we've seen the highs and lows for Buffy, going from the brilliant musical episode last month, to the depressing and obvious drug parable that was "Wrecked" last week. Well, the roller coaster of quality continues, as UPN replays the fourth season episode that may very well be the best hour in this series has ever produced.
"Hush"
Season 4, Episode 10
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon
(A brief synopsis for those of you who joined up late in life: This episode shows Buffy in her first year of college, sharing a dorm room with Willow. She is becoming interested in grad student Riley, who unbeknownst to her is a military recruit for a secret government Initiative that is capturing and experimenting on demons and vampires. Willow just joined a group of students interested in Wicca - yes that's Tara among them, but no, she and Willow haven't really met. Spike, recently rendered harmless by the Initiative chip in his brain, has been captured by Buffy and friends, but since he is now harmless to humans he's more of an annoying houseguest than a prisoner.)
Communication as the focus of the episode is pretty easy to pick out, but there is enough going on with each character so that the episode is a compelling story with an overarching subject, not a theme with a tacked-on story. Buffy and Riley lie to each other, Tara is too shy to speak, the rest of Willow's Wicca group talks too much about trivia, Spike talks too much about ghastly things, Anya talks too much about private things, and Xander doesn't want to talk at all. The only ones who seem to get it right are Giles and Olivia. Then everyone's voices mysteriously vanish, and people must find other ways to speak. Professor Walsh turns to technology; old-fashioned Giles turns to an old-fashioned overhead projector. And everyone employs a wealth of gestures and facial expressions that serve in place of spoken dialog.
But I'm getting way too analytical. Don't watch it for the subtext, watch it because everything about this hour was first rate - the writing, the acting, the direction. The interaction between characters. The balance between drama and comedy. Make that, the balance between utter horror and sheer hilarity. Going back to that spoken dialog - can you find a single scene that didn't sparkle? I was reviewing my tape, trying to find a few outstanding lines, and found myself instead transcribing the entire episode.
Here's one of my favorites, where Forrest tries to persuade Riley that he must keep his Initiative work a secret from Buffy. Fifteen seconds that in a less ambitious script would have been "Well you have to keep it secret, so deal with it." Or something equally pedestrian. Instead we were given this gift: "This is the burden we bear, brother. We have a gig that would inevitably cause any girl living to think we are cool upon cool. Yet we must Clark Kent our way through the dating scene, never to use our unfair advantage. Thank God we're pretty."
Speaking of Forrest - what a waste that he didn't become a regular. Leonard Roberts gave us a character who had charisma, style, physical presence, verbal charm and a more modern, less mystical take on the Hellmouth than the Scooby gang. It would have been interesting to watch the tension produced by that difference. (I know one thing - he wouldn't have been threatened by having a slayer for a girlfriend. What was Buffy thinking, going for Riley when Forrest was right there?) But I won't dwell on the disappointment of his departure at the end of the season. It's enough that he makes a significant appearance here.
Another minor character who didn't get nearly enough subsequent development was Olivia. Actually, she didn't get any subsequent development - this was her one and only appearance. But she filled the role so naturally and with such confidence that she immediately felt like an old friend, and I for one kept hoping for a return appearance. For once we got to see the adult side of Giles' life, and his interaction with Olivia provide some of my favorite moments for his character, period.
Enough about the good guys - let's talk about the villains. Has there ever been a more nightmarish group than the Gentlemen? I meant that literally. Everything about them evoked the worst kind of night terror: the effortless dreamlike gliding, the formal manners and formal clothing on the wasted cadaverous bodies, and the way they invaded the bedrooms of their prey, rendering them immobile as well as speechless, as though the victims were in a horrific dream from which they could not awaken. If you've never had a real nightmare, watch this episode and learn, because this is as bad as it gets. These were no rubber headed clowns.
As said before, though, the horror side of this episode was brilliantly balanced with comedy. Soon after the terrifying Gentlemen make their way through town, we are treated to the deliciously silly meeting of the Scooby Gang. Which raised some questions (if you really need to think this much): Why did they meet in a lecture hall when Giles' apartment was just fine? Why did Giles need an overhead projector and multiple slides, when he could have just written out a one-page explanation? Why the cartoons on the slides? Why the music?
Answer: Because he was having fun. And so were we. It wasn't useless humor, tacked on to the script because it was time for the comedy bit. They were, after all, accomplishing something: discussing how to fight the fairy-tale fiends. But as serious as their purpose was, there was also a sense of joy and friendship in that room: Buffy alternated between firm determination, and outrage that Giles' drawing made her hips too big. Xander was exposed once again as having only one thing on his mind. Giles got to use an artistic side that you just know he's been longing to display. (Funnier yet, he has the abilities of a eight-year-old, along with a eight-year-old's enthusiasm for drawing gore and violence.) Everyone understood one another perfectly without needing to speak a word.
I was recently asked to consider whether it was fair to rank as the best ever an "event" episode - an episode built on a unique approach or a one-time-only story development. But it's the question that isn't fair. I don't think it's possible to have a top episode that is not an "event." This wasn't a gimmick episode - there have been plenty of episodes where people have been cursed, bewitched or terrorized into acting strangely. "Hush," is definitely unique, but it is because of the sheer overwhelming quality that pours out of every single scene.
Episode rating: Ten out of Ten.
Is "Hush" the best episode ever? Maybe. Tune in next week for another superlative episode, "The Body."
What do you think? Talk about it on the Forums
