If Riley Had Stayed

I think it would hve been very different. Buffy had just decided tht she needed an wanted Riley in her life when he left. Even when he came back in S6 it was clear that Riley was "the one that got away" in Buffy's eyes. She loved him and he loved her, and he was the one real shot Buffy had at a semi-normal future with marriage and kids and the whole shebang. I think if Riley would had stayed it would have been so much better for Buffy.
 
I always thought what would happen if Angel stayed. I can't say I'm glad Riley left, because Buffy was sad, and I like him.. didn't love him, but liked him. I think plot would stayed the same, just he would be there for her. And if he stayed all the way, I think Spuffy would never happen, because she would have something next to her, some kind of suport, when she get back from Heaven. I think her character would be much much different, but plot would stay the same.
 
I think Buffy would have still made the decisions that she did. I think her general attitude might have been more positive, but then despite who was around, Buffy still felt the weight was completely on her own shoulders. So at the same time, she may well have still felt the way she did and embraced her death in 'The Gift'. And looking beyond season five, I think the problems Buffy and Riley faced would have arisen in season six, to the point of him feeling like he should leave. The problems between Buffy and Riley, for me, were always a breakdown in communication. I think Riley would have felt as alienated and isolated as he did in season five, later in season six whilst Buffy dealt with her resurrection. And if that was the case, maybe I have issues with Riley's behaviour in the same way that some people regarding his actions in season five.
 
white avenger said:
If Riley had not left partway through Season 5, but had, instead stayed, how do you think that that season would have been different from what was actually depicted?
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Oh, god. The thought of Riley sticking around that long makes me bored just thinking of it. We would have had to deal with him whining all the time about not being "needed" by Buffy, and not having a purpose in life since he was no longer in the Initiative. UGH. Plus, he never would have gotten off of Spike's back. Riley probably would have driven poor Spike out of town.

MY question is; do you think if he has stayed, would she have told him she loved him? Would he have believed her if she had?

Buffy: I've given you everything that I have, I've given you my heart, my body and soul!
Riley: You say that, but I don't feel it. I just don't feel it.
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For me, Riley had to leave. It was his fate. His life was with the service, it was so much of who he was. He had no place in Sunnydale. His role as TA and student was only a cover for his involvement in the Initiative. As his friend said, he couldn't just hang out being the Slayer's boyfriend, could he?

Riley had to leave to move on with his life, just like Angel had to leave.
 
E
Emzzie
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Well my view is that Riley really didn't want to stay in the first place. He knew Buffy didn't love him why would he stay and if he did it would be heartbreaking for him and the Buffster. She would always be comparing him to Angel.

I don't know , would she have died them. I thank she would have , would she have gotten with Spike when she came back. I think so.

Riley bored me to tears if he stayed on another season it would have been rubbish.

I think Buffy needed that raw pain to survive, Riley was trying to rap her in cotton wool she needed to be free.
 
I feel much the same way Joan does.

From a narrative perspective, Riley had to leave. While I am more fond of him than many to most our (meaning I was not nearly as bored with him as others) they had written that character into a specific corner in regards to his presence on the show.

I just don't see how he sticks around without the whole of Buffy's attitude changing and thus changing the larger narrative of the second half of the season (which I just re-watched this weekend). I mean, does Buffy end up having that emotional crisis that brings her to seek out her spirit guide if she wasn't emotionally closed down to Riley? And if that doesn't happen, where does she begin to accept the reality of her coming self sacrifice?
 
LorneyTunes said:
Well my view is that Riley really didn't want to stay in the first place. He knew Buffy didn't love him why would he stay and if he did it would be heartbreaking for him and the Buffster. She would always be comparing him to Angel.
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Agreed. So, if Riley had stayed, I think their relationship just would have dwindled even further. Riley going to that sketchy vamp house pretty much signals something wrong to me in the first place anyway, and that might just be the beginning. Though I don't doubt he and Buffy could work through that particular incident, I feel like something similar would happen again -- Buffy needs someone who understands her turmoil and doesn't get all butthurt when she doesn't first and foremost confide in them.

I think maybe Buffy would've noticed Spike's advances and maybe began to feel for him while with Riley, too. So... not good.
 
I doubt that Riley would have stayed in Buffy's life any longer than Angel.

Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike Riley. In fact, he is a favorite of mine. But I never thought that he and Buffy were romantically suited for each other. If Riley had stayed, I doubt that his romance with Buffy would have lasted. Chances are, they would have become allies and friends. From a romantic point of view, Riley was just another step in Buffy's personal development.
 
I think it would have been awful. And not just because I hate Riley more than words can express, but because what Buffy was trying to achieve throughout S5 is so very different from what Riley could give her. She was trying to become a better Slayer and a large part of that involved getting in touch with her inner darkness. Riley could not have handled that, he proved that time and time again - Buffy vs. Dracula showed that perfectly.

It wouldn't have worked.
 
Oh god. If Riley hadn't left in... whenever he left then I'm sure that he would have left not too long after. Riley couldn't possibly ever be on the same level as Buffy. He knew that, felt inferior, and eventually he would have left. So it would have been mostly the same for a while, and hopefully someone would have killed him to save us from the impeccable boredom. 😀
 
A lot of fans didn't like Riley; that's the vibe I got from reading around and talking to people.

I actually liked Riley. With that said, he wasn't a necessary character and his departure helped the show more then it would have if he had stayed. It was getting "too comfortable" with Riley around.
 
I liked Riley and the scene where Buffy is all like running after him and the goddamn idiot doesn't turn around even once when he's in the helicopter to see her hopping around shouting his name ALWAYS makes me sad and teary.
But I don't know whether him being around would have changed the story. I mean their relationship would have changed because Buffy had realized how she felt about him so I don't think there would be as much of a shutting-out problem. And when her Mum died Buffy would have had someone to lean on more- because the only person she could get that support with was Angel and because of their situation he had to leave anyway so I can't help thinking that would have left her feeling worse, whereas Riley wouldn't have been going anywhere.
The death scene in the gift would have been interesting- I imagine Riley would have broken down as much as Spike and would have tried so hard to save her (I'm looking from a narrative persepctive of the writers wanting her to die so I'm not debating whether her would have saved her)

Season 6 however....would probably bring us back to where they were in season 5. Buffy shutting him out and THEN talking to Spike instead- problems!
 
I don't think anything would have been different. Buffy would have continued to shut him out, he would have continued to fall apart because of it. Riley was barely on Buffy's radar in season 5, I can't see a single thing that would have been different because that's how unimportant he was to her life. More than likely he would have gotten himself killed trying to save Buffy in The Gift.

It's not that I don't like Riley, he is actually a really nice guy and if he had been with any other character I probably would have thought he was adorkable but he never fit Buffy, she never fit him, so him leaving was more about relief than anything else.
 
Kean said:
I don't think anything would have been different. Buffy would have continued to shut him out, he would have continued to fall apart because of it. Riley was barely on Buffy's radar in season 5, I can't see a single thing that would have been different because that's how unimportant he was to her life. More than likely he would have gotten himself killed trying to save Buffy in The Gift.
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On the contrary, I think that there actually would have been a major difference. I agree that Buffy had begun to shut Riley out, and the more that she did so, the greater his dependence on vampire prostitutes would have become, until, instead of any kind of asset to the Slayer, he became a complete liability. I would go as far as to say that, if Riley had stayed in Sunnydale, he might very well have died there, killed by his addiction, the same as almost every addict, unless they are able to break away from their addiction, is. He might have even, ultimately, wound up becoming a vampire. That would have been the kind of plot twist that Joss would have loved.

Also, if Riley had stayed, there would have inevitably wound up being a confrontation concerning Spike, which would have almost certainly ended quite similarly to what did actually happen later in Season 7 in "Lies My Parents Told Me," with Buffy making pretty much the same decision for exactly the same reason. The less she needed Riley, the more Buffy came to depend on Spike, especially once Glory showed up, for the very reason that she gave Giles. "Besides me, he's the only one who has a chance of protecting Dawn from Glory. He stays. Get over it."

Day 5. 25 days to go.

Greater love hath no man than that he would give up his Spuffy for a friend.
 
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