The Sound of Music And Other Evils...

The first paragraph of my blog is specifically for Dr. Berry. He mentioned that he wanted us to comment on the music in "Hush." Since there was no speaking through most of the episode, music became an even more important part of the show than usual. I thought that the whole episode had a very Tim Burton feel, and the music certainly had that same eerie effect that Danny Elfman always achieves in Burton's films. Lots of strings, lots of pizzicato. I wonder why plucking a stringed instrument makes the music sound creepier? I also loved that Giles played Saint Saens' Danse Macabre during his overhead projector presentation.

The four episodes we watched for Thursday share a common underlying element: the Initiative. Once again, the writers seem to be pointing to a distince distaste for forced hierarchies. The Initiative could easily stand in as a metaphor for organized religion or any form of enforced morality. Buffy seems to managing the usual Sunnydale influx of evil just fine when the Initiative moves into town. Immediately, the viewer is confronted with the ethical questions surrounding the Initiatives' practices. The standard Buffy blurring of good and evil occurs as we see bad guy Spike at odds with his captors. We root for his escape. Never mind that he's tried to kill Buffy countless times. He's being imprisoned, and we feel the wrongness of it. What makes it feel so wrong? Perhaps it is the experimentation that goes on in the underground lab.

The Initiative's practices contrast sharply with Buffy's upfront killing style. She has a live-and-let-live attitude that means the demons are only in danger if they cause trouble. Somehow, Buffy's way of defending Sunnydale just feels more moral. When Buffy joins the Initiative in "The I in Team," her usefulness as the Slayer is hampered by their regulations and practices. The good/evil line is blurred beyond all recognition when Professor Walsh takes a walk on the dark side and attempts to have Buffy killed. Ultimately, forcing a structure/hierarchy on Buffy makes her less effective, not more.