Guest Starring: 
     
 Emma Caulfield: 
 (Anya) 
   
 Leonard Roberts: 
 (Forrest) 
   
 Phina Oruche: 
 (Olivia) 
   
 Amber Benson: 
 (Tara) 
   
 Brooke Bloom: 
 (Wicca Girl) 
   
 Jessica Townsend: 
 (Wicca girl) 
   
 Lindsay Crouse: 
 (Maggie Walsh) 
   
 Doug Jones: 
 (Gentleman) 
   
 Camden Toy: 
 (Gentleman) 
   
 Don W Lewis: 
 (Gentleman) 
   
 Charlie Brumbly: 
 (Gentleman) 
   
 
 
  10. Hush.  
   
  The 'gentlemen' are in town, forcing the inhabitants of Sunnydale to loose the power of speech.  
   
  Great quotes:  
   
 
The Gentlemen.
  • Riley: "As a psyche major I'm qualified to go hmm."
  • Spike: "I like to crumble up the Wheetabix in the blood, give it a bit of texture."
  • Anya asks Giles if Olivia is an 'orgasm friend'. Giles responds: "Yes that's exactly the most appalling thing you could possibly have said."
  • Anya to Xander: "... all you care about is lots of orgasms!"
  • Willow is unimpressed by the Wicca group: "Blah blah Gaia, blah blah moon, menstrual life force power thingy ... bunch of wanna-blessed-be's. Now a days every girl with henna tattoo and a spice rack thinks she's a sister to the dark ones."
  
  Fantastic moments:  
   
 
Buffy and Willow listen intently to Giles.
  • Buffy's dream at the episode's opening sets the scene beautifully. Maggie Walsh says "We're talking about communication", then the lecture theatre clears before the girl sings her spooky ditty warning about the Gentlemen.
  • The Gentlemen are just about the scariest bad-guys they ever had on the show. Kudos to Joss Whedon's brain and the make-up department; the Gentlemen, with their boney fingers and silver teeth, look like a cross between Mr Burns and something out of the 'Tales of the crypt'. Then there are the arm-failing goons that have a 'mental asylum' madness to them in their relentless pursuit of their prey. The horror of this unholy union is realised when they cut the still-beating heart out of a silently screaming university student.
  • Best single scene in the whole series; the theatre exposition scene in which the music 'Dance Macabre' plays as Giles gives his slide show on the Gentlemen. As Giles plays the role of teacher Anya sits silently nodding and eating popcorn as he shows gruesome images of the Gentlemen performing their work, Xander thinks Willow is talking about 'boobies' while Sarah Michelle Gellar gets the best visual gag I've ever seen; her 'staking' hand motion isn't quite understood by everyone in the room. Buffy is then more interested in the fact that Giles' picture of her has unflattering hips than what it's telling us about the Gentlemen.
    The secret's out.
  • The massive battle sequence at the end is truly magnificent; Riley has a wicked extendable knife while Buffy pulls a couple of great moves including a Batman-style rope swing kick. The battle builds to two climaxes, firstly when Buffy and Riley turn and discover each other fighting the same battle, the secondly when Riley smashed the box and Buffy screams to save the day. Finally BtVS lives the horror cliché (the blond girl screaming), and it's great.
  • The episode's final scene then forms the perfect foil for everything that has just passed; with the power of speech returned to them, Riley and Buffy sit down to discuss their relationship. The final shot shows them both lost for words, unable to express themselves.
  
  Duff Bits:  
   
 
  • You are kidding aren't you? Anything I could say would just be picky.
  
  Dean's comments:  
   
 
Willow and new friend Tara cast their first spell.
Is this the most imaginative and innovative episode of any television show ever to be aired? The jury is out, but my vote is in the 'yes' box. 'Hush' pushes the medium of television to its limit and show any doubters that still remain about BtVS's credibility as a 'proper' TV program that this series is serious. The episode opens with the characters being unable to communicate, Buffy and Riley talk with their respective friends about how they can't get anywhere because "All we seem to do is talk", Anya and Xander are having similar problems as she accuses him of not listening to her. The final line before the silence is "That's enough small talk don't you think?", everyone then reacts differently to waking up mute, Xander accuses Spike of cursing him somehow while Willow thinks she's deaf; the camera work and music then kick in, taking over and giving the episode an intense power. The characters then begin to find strength in their relationships as a result of camaraderie in trouble and the fact that they're no longer inhibited by the fact they're forced to talk. This is most notable in what happens to Willow, she finds a new relationship in an unexpected quarter, all because of the silence imposed upon them. The first meeting between Willow and Tara is very similar to how Buffy met Willow in 'Welcome to the Hellmouth'; they were both attracted to the silent vulnerability. The spell that Willow casts with Tara is a big hint to the future development of their relationship. If you don't like this episode then I'm afraid you're a lost cause, this is a tour-de-force in storytelling. Joss Whedon said that the point of the episode was that "People start communicating once they stop talking."; just beautiful.		 
   
 10/10 
 
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