"Hush" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired in the United States on December 14, 1999, on The WB. After reading critical response to the series in which the dialogue was praised as the most successful aspect of the show, Whedon set out to write an episode almost completely devoid of speech. Only about 17 minutes of dialogue is presented in the entire 44 minutes of "Hush".

In "Hush", a group of fairytale ghouls named "The Gentlemen" come to town and steal everyone's voices, leaving them unable to scream when The Gentlemen cut out their hearts. Buffy and her friends must communicate with one another silently as they try to discover why no one can speak and find whoever is murdering the townspeople. They must also find ways to express their feelings about each other and keep some semblance of control as the town descends into chaos.

The episode was highly praised when it aired and was the only episode in the entire series to be nominated for an Emmy Award in Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series; it also received a nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series (Michael Gershman). "Hush" addresses the limits and assets of language and communication and the disruption to society when communication breaks down. The Gentlemen are often counted as some of the series' most frightening villains, and the episode is frequently included on lists of the best of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Plot During a college lecture where Professor Walsh is discussing the difference between language and communication, Buffy has a dream in which Riley kisses her. They are interrupted by a young girl holding a distinctive box, singing a cryptic rhyme about "the Gentlemen". Riley and Buffy speak after class and they almost kiss, but are unable to stop talking. They leave when it becomes awkward. Buffy calls Giles to tell him of her dream and the details of the little girl's rhyme. In the middle of Xander and Anya's argument with each other over the meaning of their relationship, Giles asks Xander to allow Spike to stay over at his house, as Giles' girlfriend Olivia will be visiting him from London for a few days.

Meanwhile, Willow attends a meeting of the campus Wicca group, hoping to meet others who share her interest in studying witchcraft, but is disappointed when they only talk about bake sales. Willow raises the subject of spells but is chastised for pandering to the stereotype about witches performing magic. A shy woman in the group, Tara Maclay, starts to speak up to support Willow's suggestion, but falls silent when the attention turns to her.

That night, as Sunnydale sleeps, white wisps float from each person's mouth to a belfry, where they settle in the box from Buffy's dream, as ghoulish skeletal figures with metal-toothed grins and impeccable black suits look on. In the morning, Buffy and Willow discover they are unable to speak and become visibly distressed; they soon discover that everybody is unable to speak. The group gathers at Giles' house, where they see that the news is reporting that Sunnydale is suffering from an epidemic of laryngitis. Buffy and Riley, each concerned that chaos will ensue, find each other attempting to keep order on the streets. Buffy does not know about Riley's paramilitary role as an agent of the government-controlled, demon-capturing Initiative; he in turn is unaware that she is the Slayer. They exchange a look and then their first kiss, before parting to continue their efforts.

The next night, the ghouls leave the belfry and float into town accompanied by their straitjacketed, deformed minions. They knock on the door of a student. When he opens it, roused from sleeping, they hold him down and carve out his heart while he tries in vain to scream. At Giles' apartment, Olivia is frightened by one of the Gentlemen outside Giles' window. The following morning in a campus classroom, Giles uses a series of overhead transparencies to explain to the others that the Gentlemen steal the townspeople's voices so no one can scream as they gather the hearts they need, and that folklore indicates that they have been vanquished before when a princess screamed: the only thing that will kill them is a live human voice.

On her own, Tara finds a spell to help the town get their voices back, and goes out to show it to Willow. On the way to Willow's dorm she trips, turns around and sees the Gentlemen floating toward her. In Willow's dorm she frantically knocks on doors which no one will open; the Gentlemen steadily pursue her. Willow hears Tara's panicked knocking down the hall and exits her room as Tara sprints into her, sending them both tumbling. They lock themselves into a laundry room and try to barricade the door with a vending machine, but it is too heavy for them to move. Willow, injured, sits and concentrates on moving the machine with telekinesis; she fails, but Tara sees what she is doing. They clasp hands and the machine moves swiftly across the room, blocking the door.

On patrol, Riley notices shadows in the belfry and goes to investigate. Buffy finds two of the Gentlemen's minions, kills one and runs after the other. Riley fights his way into the belfry and while he is embattled, Buffy crashes through a window to fight the Gentlemen. He turns to attack and finds himself face to face with Buffy; she sees him as an armed agent of the Initiative for the first time. When a minion aggressively holds her from behind, she sees and recognizes the box from her dream and gesticulates wildly for Riley to destroy it. When he does so, the stolen voices escape. With her voice returned, Buffy screams until the heads of the Gentlemen and their minions explode.

The next day, Tara tells Willow she is special and has significant power. Olivia tells Giles that she now believes that everything he told her about witchcraft and darkness is true and that she is scared by the experience. Riley comes to Buffy's dorm room; they agree they "have to talk," but then sit in silence.

Production and writing

Joss Whedon's impetus to create "Hush" was his reaction to hearing that the primary reason behind Buffy'''s success was the dialogue. He felt that he was stagnating as a director, turning into a "hack" by making formulaic episodes. Whedon tended to concentrate so much on the visual aspects of the series' production that he was chastised by Fox executives in earlier seasons.Whedon, Joss (June 10, 2003). Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season; DVD commentary for the episode "Hush". [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Thus, writing and producing "Hush" depended almost solely on visuals and not on dialogue, a prospect that Whedon found terrifying, worried that viewers would find the episode boring. Much like the fourth-season finale "Restless"—which consisted almost entirely of dream sequences—and the sixth season musical "Once More, with Feeling", Whedon was certain he would fail at attempting to present the show in such a novel way. Initially, this was to be the episode where Riley and Buffy have sex, and Whedon took comfort in that plan because he knew people would not mind the silence, but ultimately he decided it was too early for the characters to sleep together, and he scrapped the idea.

The Gentlemen, called the "creepiest villains we've ever done" by series writer Doug Petrie, were inspired by a nightmare Whedon had as a child, specifically one in which he was in bed and approached by a floating monster. Whedon fashioned The Gentlemen as something from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, intending them to be frightening to children — monsters who carve out people's hearts, smiling as they do so. Nosferatu, Pinhead from Hellraiser, and Mr. Burns from The Simpsons all served as physical models for The Gentlemen. Designing them with elegantly Victorian costume and demeanor, Whedon found their politeness and grace especially unsettling. Their metallic teeth were inspired by the intersection of Victorian culture with the height of the Industrial age,Stafford, p. 228. an era that Whedon considers "classically creepy". For Buffy studies scholar Rhonda Wilcox, The Gentlemen and their straitjacket-wearing minions, who clumsily flap, gyrate, and crouch as they move, are representative of class disparity and patriarchy: The Gentlemen, with their Victorian suits, move effortlessly to accomplish what they set out to do while their minions, whom Whedon called "footmen", do the "dirty work".Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season; "Hush" Featurette. (June 10, 2003) [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.Wilcox, p. 150–151.

Doug Jones, Camden Toy, Don W. Lewis, and Charlie Brumbly—the actors who played The Gentlemen—had previous experience performing as monsters and were professional mimes as well. This gave them an elegant grace, especially in their hand movements. Their floating effect was accomplished by suspending them from cranes with wires (digitally removed in post-production), or by pulling them on dollies. The cast found the actors in make-up and costume to be terrifying in broad daylight, and Whedon was so impressed with the physical movements of The Gentlemen that he admitted on the DVD commentary that his mocking of mimes in general "went down about 40%" after the episode was filmed.Jones, Doug (October / November 2004), "", Buffy The Vampire Slayer Magazine (hosted at dougjonesexperience.com). Retrieved on June 11, 2010.

As newcomers to the Scooby Gang, Tara Maclay and Giles' girlfriend Olivia (Phina Oruche) are inexperienced with monsters, and were brought in to express "real childlike terror". Willow had, after three seasons, grown considerably more confident, having found her intellectual and emotional niche at college, and therefore was no longer evincing the terror she once had; Tara, shy, unsure of herself, and unaccustomed to such experiences, served to fill the gap that Willow's maturing had created. According to Buffy essayist Patrick Shade, Tara's and Olivia's fear "heighten(s) our sense of vulnerability and so make these scenes more frightening". Joss Whedon has said that one of his favorite shots in the episode is of Olivia's frightened reaction to a Gentlemen floating by her window, leering in at her.

Tara became a regularly recurring character throughout the fourth, fifth and sixth seasons, eventually becoming Willow's girlfriend in what would be the first long-term lesbian relationship in U.S. television. The writers decided to replace Seth Green, who played Oz, Willow's lycanthropic boyfriend, after he announced that he would be leaving early in the fourth season. They were unaware at the time that the relationship between Willow and Tara would become romantic, but Benson's performance and demeanor "made up our minds for us", according to Whedon. The writers wanted to make the scene in which Tara and Willow move the vending machine by working together "sensual and powerful", and "a very empowering statement about love; that two people together can accomplish more than when they're alone". Whedon considers the scene one of the "most romantic images we've put on film" in the course of the series. Benson and Hannigan's chemistry was impressive enough that two episodes into Tara and Willow's friendship Whedon took the actors aside and informed them the relationship would be turning romantic.Byrnes, Lyndsey (June 8, 2010). An interview with Amber Benson, Afterellen.com. Retrieved on June 13, 2010.