Page "Hush (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)" Paragraph 21

" Hush " explores issues relating to the limits and benefits of language and communication.

During the first act of the episode, the characters are presented as being overwhelmed by language that is misused, used as white noise, and employed as a means of avoiding truth.

Whedon stated that he was unaware of how " inevitably coherent " this theme was until after the script was completed.

Buffy and Riley are unable to act upon their attraction because they cannot stop babbling, primarily to keep their true identities concealed from each other, but also to avoid becoming closer emotionally.

Xander is unable or unwilling to express what Anya means to him, and Anya, still new at interacting with humans, uses blunt, often rude language that distances herself from all the other characters.

Giles desperately wants the others to stop talking.

Willow considers the women in the Wicca group to be nonsensical, later complaining to Buffy " Talk, all talk.

Blah blah Gaia.

Blah blah moon, menstrual lifeforce power thingy.

You know after a couple sessions I was hoping we would get into something real, but ..." These pseudo conversations are what Buffy essayists Alice Jenkins and Susan Stuart refer to as " locutionary acts ": language that is formed to have meaning but does not engage the listener.