“Angel” might be the most underappreciated show in Joss Whedon’s entire oeuvre. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is rightly touted as his greatest achievement (it’s my favorite show of all time), but if you ask me, it’s spin-off deserves more affection than it gets. “Angel” might get less attention from fans that its parents series or Whedon’s space western “Firefly,” but during season 4, it actually wasn’t getting much attention from its creator, either. Because the allegations against Whedon have understandably tarnished his legacy, it can be difficult to remembered there was a time when the filmmaker was so in demand that he had three shows on the air at once. Like anyone working on too many things simultaneously, Whedon was simply spread too thin, which directly affected the much-maligned fourth season of “Angel.”

“Hush” fully embraces the monster-as-metaphor template, with the Gentlemen as representations of government officials who restrict speech. Under a censorship regime, messages, especially those perceived as being contrary to the state’s ends, are banned by removing the political voices of both citizens and media. Like the Gentlemen, those who censor often do so to conceal truths. As Yale historian Timothy Snyder writers, “Since the truth sets you free, people who oppress you resist the truth.” Modeling some heads of state both past and present, the Gentlemen don’t care what norms have been established; they’re all about getting their way.

“What’s great about Season 4 is we’re allowed and we’ve earned the right to really get underneath their skin and see where their head is,” Boreanaz added. “And they’re all not there. I mean, they’re going to lose a lot. When you sacrifice, you lose a lot. And in losing a lot, you see more doors open for them. And some will be good that the audience will like and some the audience won’t like. But it’s a continuous revolving door that we can’t shy away from.”

SEAL Team begins its fourth season the way it intended to end its third (before production had to shut down early): Bravo hunting down the terrorist who eluded them, and major decisions made for three of the team members.

***SPOILERS*** Do not read if you have not seen SEAL Team Season 4 two-hour premiere

“We see Jason when he was Bravo Three and we see a young Neil Brown when he was Bravo Four, so you see the two in different worlds, what their attitudes were like and what they were all about,” Boreanaz says of exploring his character’s younger, gung-ho self. “It becomes this journey — almost a character study — for [Jason] to find his resolve as to why he wants to possibly step down from Bravo team, which gives us a whole different light.

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