Basic Trope: He Who Must Not Be Heard paired up with someone who does all the talking; in some cases, the assistant who never speaks.
- Straight: Charlie and Dan are the main characters of a show. Charlie does all the talking in the show, while Dan never talks.
- Exaggerated: Dan drops a dumbbell on his foot. He doesn't cry out in pain.
- Downplayed: Dan speaks a line or two every few episodes.
- Justified:
- Dan is mute.
- Dan is a little kid who can't yet talk.
- Dan is extremely shy and doesn't like to talk unless he has to.
- Inverted: ???
- Subverted: Dan stays silent until the end, when he gives a long speech or delivers a Punchline.
- Double Subverted: It wasn't really Dan; it was Charlie's friend Bob disguised as Dan.
- Parodied: ???
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: Dan does a reasonable amount of talking along with Charlie.
- Enforced:
- The studio couldn't find a voice actor to fill in the role of Dan.
- The stations wanted the show writers to include a mute character.
- Lampshaded:Ella: [to Charlie, about Dan] "He's quite the chatterbox, isn't he?"
- Or:
Charlie: [to Dan] Sometimes I wonder if you're mute... - Invoked: Dan gives Charlie the silent treatment.
- Exploited: Ella trusts Dan with a secret.
- Defied: Dan talks to Charlie.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "Why do they call this The Charlie and Dan Show if Dan never talks?"
- Implied: Charlie frequently talks about Dan, but never mentions talking to him.
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