Retro Review- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 4, episode 10, 'Hush'
August 5th 2008 02:51
Wow. I never cease to be impressed by this all-round brilliant episode from one of my favourite television series. I was amazed when I first saw it in 2000, and I remain amazed in 08 when I rewatched it on DVD last night. This series, and this episode especially, has lost none of its potency in those eight years.
After being critically praised for his snappy dialogue for years, series creator Joss Whedon crafted an episode which takes place mostly bereft of spoken language. The story is told predominantly through visual means, and with the help of Christophe Beck's excellent and chilling musical score. Ever since Janet Leigh drove down that midnight highway and saw the Bates Motel neon sign flashing, to the strains of Bernard Herrmann's bone-chilling violin score in 'Psycho '(1960), or when the Star Destroyer swept majestically over the planet Tatooine to the fanfare of John Williams' inimitable soundtrack in 'Star Wars' (1977); I have paid close attention to the way music adds atmosphere to film texts.
The actors do a phenomenal job in this episode. It reminds one of a theatrical play. They mime their lines, and its times like these when I wish I could lip read properly. I caught Willow Rosenburg (Alyson Hannigan) mouthing 'Have I gone deaf?' in one scene, but that cue unfortunately is all I managed to pick up. I don't exagererrate when I say that the cast of this series can look Shakespeare in the eye without shame. Shakespeare himself played with reality and fantasy in plays like 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'The Tempest'. I think that shows in the sci fi and fantasy genres are often looked down upon by the mainstream as 'hack work' which is indiscriminately gobbled up by droves of fans. Some of the most intelligent and cultured people I've met have been sci fi, especially 'Buffy' fans. Shakespeare was not always the quintessence of literary aspirations, either. At the time, he was considered a popular entertainer. Buffy is a modern day fairytale, a postmodern one at that. It is brilliantly written, and will be remembered long after formulaic 'real life' shows like CSI and Law And Order are forgotten in the mists of time.
As if to prove wrong the critics who say his show is nothing without the dialogue, Whedon succeeds admirably in telling a narrative through visuals and music alone. His direction is equally as adept as his Emmy nominated screenplay. I particularly love the scene in which wiccan Tara (Amber Benson) is desperately banging on a door in the college dorm, trying to escape a Gentlemen attack. This is interspersed with footage of Willow reacting to the sound of knocking from within a dorm room. When Tara's door opens, she is greeted by a Gentleman, fresh from his latest kill. Very clever direction on Joss' part, and reminiscent of a similar scene in Demme's 'Silence Of the Lambs' (1991). I just love the way this show plays with genre conventions and cliches and subverts them, challenging the viewer's expectations.
As for the monsters of the week, the Gentlemen, they are the stuff nightmares are made of. I was chilled to the very bone when I first saw them in 2000 (being 18 at the time!), and they are still very creepy indeed. They join the ranks of the Daleks, Cybermen, Borg, and many others as genre creatures which would send millions of children across the globe diving behind the sofa in mortal terror. They are straight out of a child's nightmare, or from a classic fairy tale narrative.
The episode has it all, pathos, humour, horror, drama. It represents all the aspects of this series which make it great. Buffy has always refused to play by the conventional rules. It doesn't belong solely in the drama genre, or comedy, or fantasy, or horror. It blends all of these into a seamless whole. 'Hush' features so many wonderful ideas, and fantastic scenes. I just love the reaction of the populace of Sunnydale to the silence epidemic. What do humans do in times of great crisis (as was seen after 9/11) ? They band together in religious worship (the crowd on the main street praying, with a guy holding a placard of the Book of Revelations), and stoop to anarchic chaos (guys fighting in the street) and merciless capitalism (the bloke selling message pads for 10 dollars each!)
Several moments are important for long-term fans. Tara appears for the first time, and Buffy and Riley (Marc Blucas) learn of each other's true identitites for the first time. The arc significance also has more subtle displays in this episode. Xander (Nicholas Brendon) beats up Spike (James Marsters) when he mistakenly thinks he is making moves on his girl Anya (Emma Caulfield). This motif is repeated for real in season 6 when Xander tries to kill Spike when the blonde haired vamp really does have an affair with Anya. I don't know how much of the foreshadowing and recurring motifs is accidental, but even if it was, it all hangs together beautifully by the end of the series. Even stand alone episodes such as this one have significance to the main story arc. The last scene is powerful. Even with their voices restored at the conclusion of the episode, Buffy and Riley cannot find any words to communicate with each other, and they sit in contemplative silence.
Fantastic work. I really miss this show, and Joss Whedon's writing. He is thankfully returning to our screens soon, with a new series, Dollhouse. He has been sorely missed. It's interesting how season 4 of Buffy contains both the very worst episode (Beer Bad) and one of the very best (Hush). I don't see why this season has such a poor reputation among fans. There is at least one more superb episode to come in this season (Restless).
I recommend 'Hush' for anyone who is a fan of this series, or for anyone who loves serious, intelligent TV which is unafraid to experiment with the limitations of genre rules.
After being critically praised for his snappy dialogue for years, series creator Joss Whedon crafted an episode which takes place mostly bereft of spoken language. The story is told predominantly through visual means, and with the help of Christophe Beck's excellent and chilling musical score. Ever since Janet Leigh drove down that midnight highway and saw the Bates Motel neon sign flashing, to the strains of Bernard Herrmann's bone-chilling violin score in 'Psycho '(1960), or when the Star Destroyer swept majestically over the planet Tatooine to the fanfare of John Williams' inimitable soundtrack in 'Star Wars' (1977); I have paid close attention to the way music adds atmosphere to film texts.
The actors do a phenomenal job in this episode. It reminds one of a theatrical play. They mime their lines, and its times like these when I wish I could lip read properly. I caught Willow Rosenburg (Alyson Hannigan) mouthing 'Have I gone deaf?' in one scene, but that cue unfortunately is all I managed to pick up. I don't exagererrate when I say that the cast of this series can look Shakespeare in the eye without shame. Shakespeare himself played with reality and fantasy in plays like 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'The Tempest'. I think that shows in the sci fi and fantasy genres are often looked down upon by the mainstream as 'hack work' which is indiscriminately gobbled up by droves of fans. Some of the most intelligent and cultured people I've met have been sci fi, especially 'Buffy' fans. Shakespeare was not always the quintessence of literary aspirations, either. At the time, he was considered a popular entertainer. Buffy is a modern day fairytale, a postmodern one at that. It is brilliantly written, and will be remembered long after formulaic 'real life' shows like CSI and Law And Order are forgotten in the mists of time.
As if to prove wrong the critics who say his show is nothing without the dialogue, Whedon succeeds admirably in telling a narrative through visuals and music alone. His direction is equally as adept as his Emmy nominated screenplay. I particularly love the scene in which wiccan Tara (Amber Benson) is desperately banging on a door in the college dorm, trying to escape a Gentlemen attack. This is interspersed with footage of Willow reacting to the sound of knocking from within a dorm room. When Tara's door opens, she is greeted by a Gentleman, fresh from his latest kill. Very clever direction on Joss' part, and reminiscent of a similar scene in Demme's 'Silence Of the Lambs' (1991). I just love the way this show plays with genre conventions and cliches and subverts them, challenging the viewer's expectations.
As for the monsters of the week, the Gentlemen, they are the stuff nightmares are made of. I was chilled to the very bone when I first saw them in 2000 (being 18 at the time!), and they are still very creepy indeed. They join the ranks of the Daleks, Cybermen, Borg, and many others as genre creatures which would send millions of children across the globe diving behind the sofa in mortal terror. They are straight out of a child's nightmare, or from a classic fairy tale narrative.
The episode has it all, pathos, humour, horror, drama. It represents all the aspects of this series which make it great. Buffy has always refused to play by the conventional rules. It doesn't belong solely in the drama genre, or comedy, or fantasy, or horror. It blends all of these into a seamless whole. 'Hush' features so many wonderful ideas, and fantastic scenes. I just love the reaction of the populace of Sunnydale to the silence epidemic. What do humans do in times of great crisis (as was seen after 9/11) ? They band together in religious worship (the crowd on the main street praying, with a guy holding a placard of the Book of Revelations), and stoop to anarchic chaos (guys fighting in the street) and merciless capitalism (the bloke selling message pads for 10 dollars each!)
Several moments are important for long-term fans. Tara appears for the first time, and Buffy and Riley (Marc Blucas) learn of each other's true identitites for the first time. The arc significance also has more subtle displays in this episode. Xander (Nicholas Brendon) beats up Spike (James Marsters) when he mistakenly thinks he is making moves on his girl Anya (Emma Caulfield). This motif is repeated for real in season 6 when Xander tries to kill Spike when the blonde haired vamp really does have an affair with Anya. I don't know how much of the foreshadowing and recurring motifs is accidental, but even if it was, it all hangs together beautifully by the end of the series. Even stand alone episodes such as this one have significance to the main story arc. The last scene is powerful. Even with their voices restored at the conclusion of the episode, Buffy and Riley cannot find any words to communicate with each other, and they sit in contemplative silence.
Fantastic work. I really miss this show, and Joss Whedon's writing. He is thankfully returning to our screens soon, with a new series, Dollhouse. He has been sorely missed. It's interesting how season 4 of Buffy contains both the very worst episode (Beer Bad) and one of the very best (Hush). I don't see why this season has such a poor reputation among fans. There is at least one more superb episode to come in this season (Restless).
I recommend 'Hush' for anyone who is a fan of this series, or for anyone who loves serious, intelligent TV which is unafraid to experiment with the limitations of genre rules.
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