INTO THE WOODS-byebye Riley (for a season at least)

[saturn5]

INTO THE WOODS

The Good; Buffy killing the 7 vamps is awesome, Xander's speech to Anya at the end is wonderful. Love Buffy's run to the chopper but do we really want her to make it?

The Bad;
Who's right and wrong in the Riley/Buffy argument? Riley cheats on Buffy but through no fault of her own she's been driving him away for a long time. In the end Riley's departure has a sense of relief about it.

Best line;
Anya (in a perfect impression of Willow) "I dislike that Anya. She's newly human and strangely literal"

Women good/men bad;
Who wins the gender war here?

Jeez!;

Kinky dinky;
Dawn refers to Buffy and Riley 'boinking'. Apparently Giles used to frequent vamp brothels in his Ripper days (hence the Draccy babes?). Xander and Anya have apparently used the vaulting horse in Buffy's training room for sexual adventures. Buffy suggests giving Joyce a wig that would make her look like a French Maid? Sure Xander would like that! Spike asks Buffy if she's naked under the sheet. Anya bathes Xander in a 'Penthousey' sort of way.

Captain Subtext;
Psychologists say that new mothers tend to lose interest in sex partly because of the exhaustion and trauma of giving birth but also because they get much of the physical and emotional affection they crave from their babies. When you look at Buffy at the hospital with Dawn in her lap and Riley sitting to one side you wonder if something similar was an aggravating factor in their breakup, that Buffy didn't need Riley so much anymore because she had Dawn? The army captain says to Riley that his organisation 'always need bodies'. Riley catches on to Spike's obsession a long time before anyone else.
Xander and Giles seem reluctant to hug at the hospital. Even now Spike realises that he doesn't have a shot with Buffy, foreshadowing Angel season 5.

Guantanamo Bay;

Scoobies to the ER;

Missing scenes;

Apocalypses; 5,

Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 1
Dawn; 1

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;1

Kills: Buffy effortlessly kills 7 vamps, you realise how far she's come as a Slayer.
Buffy: 93 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 3

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 9
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3 confirmed; Angel, Parker,Riley, 1 possible, Dracula(?)
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?)
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unknown vampwhore

Questions and observations;
If we're to believe Dawn's chopstick story then she always knew about Buffy being the Slayer which is confirmed in the comics. Spuffers must have been choking on their cornflakes at the fake staking Spike scene.
So Buffy and Riley? Could it ever have worked? Well, maybe post-Chosen but not then I think, Riley makes the right decision.
Marks out of 10; 8/10

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Riley left 🙁 I wish he didn't. Or I wish he didn't left like that. I kinda liked him most of the time, when he wasn't with that vamp whore, and he really loved Buffy.

I loved Buffy's fight with vamps. I think her boyfriends are her biggest trigers when it comes to fighting. I loved Buffy/Xander moment and how he tried to help her. I really don't know who is right or wrong when we are talking about Buffy and Riley. I think they're both kinda wrong and wright in one hand.

But I don't think they could ever work. If Buffy was an ordinary girl, sweet, little blonde girl, then they would be perfect together. But she is not. She is something that is so much higher then Riley, and I think that was bugining him. He never knew what is on her mind, or what is she thinking. She was so far away from him, but I belive they loved each other.

9/10

 

[thevikingsgirl]

I always thought (despite my Spuffy bias) that if she just could've opened up to him that she and Riley were a really good fit. She didn't have to keep things from him, and though he was "only" human, he was strong and trained to fight vampires and demons. He was tough but also sweet. he actually reminds me a lot of my husband, emotional and also manly. It's too bad she was so withdrawn (though not really, because the show would've been boring if we got a happy relationship "ending" in season 5).

 

[ubi4soft]

Buffy and Riley were already so apart of each other. Riley was so surprised to find out that she cried (so hard that she thought she will not be able to stop crying) and Buffy didn't even observed the bandages on Riley's arm.

Riley was the long haul material but not for Buffy ("I can see him anytime" looks like an ordinary shopping trip) and he knew it, he even told to Xander that 'she doesn't love me'.

Honestly, I found a little OOC Riley bullying Spike (that is Buffy's job) but if he was dumb enough to get suck jobs from vamp hos to understand Angel's and Dracula's power over Buffy, he could be dumb enough to blow his anger on a "poor innocent and helpless creature" like Spike.

Bye, bye Riley. You'll be happily married within a year.

 

[saturn5]

Buffy and Riley were already so apart of each other. Riley was so surprised to find out that she cried (so hard that she thought she will not be able to stop crying) and Buffy didn't even observed the bandages on Riley's arm.

Riley was the long haul material but not for Buffy ("I can see him anytime" looks like an ordinary shopping trip) and he knew it, he even told to Xander that 'she doesn't love me'.

Honestly, I found a little OOC Riley bullying Spike (that is Buffy's job) but if he was dumb enough to get suck jobs from vamp hos to understand Angel's and Dracula's power over Buffy, he could be dumb enough to blow his anger on a "poor innocent and helpless creature" like Spike.

Bye, bye Riley. You'll be happily married within a year.

To me the moment when Riley realises it's over is in The Replacement when he and Buffy are in the car and he reassures her he wouldn't want non-Slayer Buffy and tells her he loves her. And she doesn't say she loves him back. Of course in Restless she imagines him leaving anyway so perhaps it was on her mind before then?

 

[ubi4soft]

To me the moment when Riley realises it's over is in The Replacement when he and Buffy are in the car and he reassures her he wouldn't want non-Slayer Buffy and tells her he loves her. And she doesn't say she loves him back. Of course in Restless she imagines him leaving anyway so perhaps it was on her mind before then?

The closest to an ILY was in Yoko Factor, when Riley said that he's so in love with her that he cannot think straight and Buffy replied "Tell me about it". So either the spell in Primeval or most probably the Restless events made Buffy reject him.

It's like she's supposed to pass serial tests: are you willing to die (Prophecy Girl-pass), are you ready to kill your boyfriend (Becoming-pass), are you ready to share command (Graduation Day-pass), are you ready to kill your family (Gift-fail), are you ready to live (Grave-pass), are you ready to command (Chosen-pass), probably S8 - are you ready to resist ...

And because she failed the Gift test, Buffy had to do some groveling in S6 (my fanwank anyway). But each test is harder than the previous one. So from this POV, Riley had to go (been there done that with Angel in S2)

 

[GrrArghx]

Goodbye Briley. Ew, I hated them together. I kind of wished Xander didn't convince Buffy to stop Riley, regardless of the fact she was too late anyway.

 

[BillyidolwannaB]

I actually felt bad for Riley when it ended, he was a good guy. But it was better for him as him and Buffy were never gonna last long term, she just didn't love him like that. I dont totally blame him for letting a vamp bite him, after all, he was kinda weak and insecure.
Anyhoo 8/10, a strong ep in the midst of boring stage of the season.

 

[saturn5]

Riley wasn't weak, he was insecure but then he was dating a superhero

 

[Misty]

I actually really like this episode, because it was good that Buffy/Riley ended, because I hate Riley.

 

[BuffyElevated]

This episode made me so sad. Riley's departure made my heart feel so heavy. After everything we'd seen, I was finally hoping Buffy was going to get the man she needed in her life and then they made him go. 🙁

LMFAO@all the kinkiness in this episode. I had never noticed just how much there was in it, til I read the recap ^^^ there. Hilarious!

 

[Rack]

I think that by losing Riley it's established that Buffy will never be able to have the "safe" guy, the white picket fence. It's part of the burden/gift of being the Slayer that she will always be an island. Riley was soooooo white bread, and he would have loved Buffy forevereverever, but like Spike says, she needs a little monster in her man. Joss commenting on love's irrationality? I don't hate Riley, he was jsut wrong for the Buffster. The running scene blatantly references Woody Allen's "Manhattan"--where despite the chase, he doesn't stop the girl from leaving (no W.A. jokes--yes a creep but an influential filmmaker). And I have to add this episode to the list of guaranteed tear-jerkers...not for Riley's departure but for Xander's speech to Anya at the end.

 

[Emzzie]

Although I was not a fan of Briley, I have to say that I felt terrible for Riley at the end of the eppy, even if he was with that vampish slutty girl. They both made some mistakes ( Riley more so, in my opinion. I really hate him for going and getting sucked on) and if they had just spent a little while talking about it without going and getting sucked on and then flying off in a helicopter, well they may just still be together! But thank god in TV land it is not like that, because then Spikey would have never come into the buffy love interest picture.

 

[Flannen]

This episode also made me really sad. I felt terrible for Riley having to leave under those circumstances. It must have been truly gutting for him. The stupid idiot still should have looked out the darn window though! Grr.

I actually think the scene in the training room between Riley and Buffy was one of the first times I got annoyed with Buffy as a character and felt like I needed to pull her to one side and give her a good talking to. I think this is the first time that her superiority complex rears its ugly head and I have never and will never lay the blame for the way Riley feels at his feet.

It's strange, I actually really liked his character and despite the fact I'm Bangel all the way (darn Christmas just put stupid song in my head...😛) I enjoyed the Briley relationship and I genuinely liked Riley and thought he deserved to be happy. Which I guess he is come As You Were.

 

[Cherchezlafemme]

Ugh...Xander's speech. It made me detest this character who was supposed to be the heart of the group, but was so heartless.

 

[ubi4soft]

I actually think the scene in the training room between Riley and Buffy was one of the first times I got annoyed with Buffy as a character and felt like I needed to pull her to one side and give her a good talking to. I think this is the first time that her superiority complex rears its ugly head and I have never and will never lay the blame for the way Riley feels at his feet.

I don't understand why you get annoyed by this. Buffy's mom just got out from a terrible surgery, Dawn her sister was hunted down by Glory, a powerful creature which beat down Buffy, so here comes Riley asking for her attention and giving an ultimatum.

My annoyance in here goes to Riley the vamp ho bite lover.

 

[Flannen]

I don't understand why you get annoyed by this. Buffy's mom just got out from a terrible surgery, Dawn her sister was hunted down by Glory, a powerful creature which beat down Buffy, so here comes Riley asking for her attention and giving an ultimatum.

My annoyance in here goes to Riley the vamp ho bite lover.

Riley is not wrong for feeling the way he does. He's blamed by so many fans for feeling helpless and pushed away by the person he loves most in the world. For me, my partner is my rock. He's the person I go to for support and comfort in anything and everything, which for me, and apparently Riley too, is how it should be.

It is SO painful not to be able to help the person you are in love with at the best times when there's nothing you can do, but it must be so much worse when you're not even allowed to. Buffy really should have taken a second to try and see it from his perspective. And I am not referring to what he did, but why he did it. For me, she never did that and that's what annoys me so much. Sure, Buffy had all that going on but Riley had issues and concerns too and just because they weren't supernatural/saving the world issues does not mean that they didn't feel as huge as those to him.

The poor guy made a mistake, a bad call of judgement and its been lorded over him ever since.

I just want to give him big squishy hugs in this episode! 😉

 

[ubi4soft]

Riley is not wrong for feeling the way he does. He's blamed by so many fans for feeling helpless and pushed away by the person he loves most in the world. For me, my partner is my rock. He's the person I go to for support and comfort in anything and everything, which for me, and apparently Riley too, is how it should be.

He knew she doesn't loves him back, that's self torturing for insisting. Unfortunately, I've been through that and now I hate myself for not seeing the right colors. When my mother was going through hell (cancer treatment) I turned to my lover who ditched me almost to hell. I survived with the support of my family (sister, father). You're lucky if you can get strength from your partner, I get it from my family.

 

[Flannen]

He knew she doesn't loves him back, that's self torturing for insisting. Unfortunately, I've been through that and now I hate myself for not seeing the right colors. When my mother was going through hell (cancer treatment) I turned to my lover who ditched me almost to hell. I survived with he support of my family (sister, father). You're lucky if you can get strength from your partner, I get it from my family.

I get it from family too. I didn't mean that your partner should be the only person you get support from but it's really not unnatural for Riley to have felt that he should and could be there for her too.

I don't think her not loving him back was a huge deal for him at this point. He loved her and she was hurting which hurt him too.

 

[Tome]

I honestly don't know where all the hate for Riley is coming from. Sure he did something stupid but what the heck! Every character including Buffy have been stupid before. I always felt this episode was one of the saddest, and the ending almost get me teary every time. I knew she wouldn't get there in time, because what's the point of bringing the military guys and all this for them to stay together at the end.

Back to Riley. It's been a while by now that we all can see that each time he tries to help Buffy with something she hastily shut him down. You can't help but feel bad for him each time he's left standing there feeling useless. I really felt for Buffy in this season(I think this is the most emotional one), but not being able to help someone we care about is freaking horrible.

I never really got the 'she needs a bit of monster in her man'. Is this supposed to mean she need a guy that isn't always nice with her? That smack her emotions around and such? I get the point they trying to make with Angel/Angelus and Spike, but I just didn't get the complete meaning of it.

I always thought the biggest problem between Buffy and Riley is that every time there is something wrong, they just don't tell each other. So the things just keep stacking up over time, and I think that's why it got to this point. Riley should have told Buffy about his feelings way before, and Buffy should have open up to him about what was going on in her head too. If she just couldn't, then I think she just wasn't gonna be able to trust Riley ever enough.

In this episode though, they finally let some things out(mostly Riley though). The scene in the training room was great. I like how Riley is finally honest with her and just bluntly tell her what he feels. Sure Buffy tell him that maybe it's his problem, that he expect things that just doesn't exist. But 'we' have seen Buffy throughout, so i'd have to side on Riley on this part. I also found it intriguing when he ask her to hit him and she just go by with that look on her face. Is she showing that he's not worth it(one of the few scenes in BtVS where Buffy seems to have a complex of superiority)? Or she just held back because she didn't wanna hurt him?

The speech of Xander to Buff was pretty nice and it's one of the few scenes in late BtVS seasons where he's talking alone with her. You can see he really cares for her happiness still. He seems to know more than her that she needs Riley, and he makes her realize that.

As some peoples have said, this is really where it starts getting down hill for Buffy in season five. Sad sad. I honestly wish he would have stayed with her to see what would have happened in the last episodes of this season with Riley around her.