Ok, Riley and Buffy...

[DrewBarroo]

Well, I had to put this on, I'm not sure whether there is another thread like this because the Search thing didn't work, so, here goes... I REALLY HATE RILEY FINN, I think he ruined Season 4 and Half of Season 5, and he is an idiot, it is his own fault he left, he got a kink for vampire's biting him, I know Buffy's been bitten a couple of times, but hey she isn't all, 'I want to be bitten again because I am stupid, and my girlfriend/boyfriend dosn't satisfy me' That is his own fault, it's not Buffys.
And how come, Suddenly in season 5, she treats him like crap, where as in Season 4 WHEN THEY MEET MAY I ADD, they are are puppy dog eyes and snogs! Xander says Buffy treated Riley like a replacement for Angel, but that was long past.
Also Riley treated Spike like Crap, that is uncalled for, Spike is the best, Spike couldn't even defend himself, because of the chip, Riley is a loser, you don't kick a man (or a vampire in this case) while his down!
I know some of you may post back saying, 'but she did treat him badly', I just wanted to make my perspective clear.
Thanks
Drew xxx
ALL HAIL SPUFFY.
SHIRTLESS SPIKE, OH YEAH! *drools*

 

[LizzieRainbow]

my girlfriend/boyfriend dosn't satisfy me' That is his own fault, it's not Buffys.

Most people who have relationship preoblems talk to each other and work through it not just run off to a vampire to get bitten. I think the scoobys looked at riley as this great guy because from the outside of a relationship they thought he was keeping buffy happy and they would have looked at riley as a great guy because he was human and he could give buffy everything he wanted.

Truth of it is, yes Buffy got bitten by dracular.....not her fault its as much buffys fault as is xanders fault for being draculars minion, then when she got bitten by angel it was because she loved him and was helping him get better, riley getting bitten was for his own pleasure he did it all out of his own free will.


Im not rileys biggest fan but maybe thats because i love Spuffy!!!!

 

[MSchett]

you don't kick a man (or a vampire in this case) while his down!

Would you kick one of the biggest mass murders in the world if he couldnt get you back?? I sure as hell would!

 

[Helga the Viking]

you don't kick a man (or a vampire in this case) while his down!

Sure you do... from a pure slayage/evil-fighting POV, they should've staked Spike, chip or no chip. and maybe even especially no-chip b/c you've suddenly got a 100+ yo powerful, and dangerous vamp who's already killed 2 slayers at a major disadvantage. but well that would be boring. 🙂

I havent rewatched Season 5 recently, but I am gonna go out on a limb and speculate that his bite addiction, was part of a sub (or not) conscious attempt to add some of the "monster"/angst/torment that spike correctly assessed Buffy needs in her man. sort of his last ditch, albeit misguided, effort to keep her. idk. just making up shit actually. 🙂 lol. When I recently watched season 4, i decided i did not hate Riley. Is he a bit dull next to Angel and Spike? Well it is sort of hard to compare to the immortal undead. He fights evil AND he can go out in daytime? He gives up his illustrious military career by defying the army, going AWOL all for buffy. he lacks that "i killed people for 100 years" brooding look, but he's not totally unattractive and as far as we are shown genuinely loves buffy. the poor guy gets a bad rap in my book.

 

[Fake Shemp]

I really liked him in season 4. Season 5, he needed to get over himself.

But gotta say im a total SPUFFY fan!

 

[anyatara]

All I can say is : Let's all go and kill Riley 😀

 

[LorneyTunes]

I think Riley is a character that you are meant to hate because hes not Angel or Spike , hes boring and has a big goofy monkey face x

 

[DarkAvenger]

I think riley was so boring :yawn:

 

[sosa lola]

I don't think Riley is a character you're meant to hate. He was a very good guy, even nicer than both Angel and Spike combined, can I even say more mature than both? He was a good guy, but sadly, he was no Angel and Spike, and he disliked them, so that's why the majority of fans hate him.

 

[Xin Rong]

Riely was not a good guy, he was petty and I think behaved bery immaturley a lot of the time and I think he tainted the show just by being there

 

[fly on the wall]

Oh God. Riley. I hated him long before the whole getting-bit-by-vamps-to-feel-wanted thing. Where to start?

- I absolutely HATE his insecurity, which was totally obvious from the very beginning. He was insecure about his strength because his girlfriend was super-strong, he was insecure because Buffy was stronger than him. He was insecure about his relationship with Buffy from the moment it began, he was insecure about how much she needed him, liked him, loved him. He was insecure about Angel. (Who the hell gets crushed by their girlfriend having sex with a former boyfriend, once, two whole years before he even knew her??) He was insecure about himself. His insecurities drove me insane.

- He was boring. Plain and simple. So boring in fact that when he declares "I'm an anarchist," trying to be all hardcore, I roll my eyes. As Spike says, he's Captain Cardboard. Nothing interesting about his personality. The only thing he had going for him was the Initiative, and even that bored me to tears. Once he left the government, he got a million times more boring.

- His comebacks (I use that term loosely) were TERRIBLE. "I surely do." "Those are some serious accusations, soldier!" What. The. Heck. I want to know what the writers were thinking when they wrote his stuff..

- He whined too much.

- That whole vampire thing..yeah.

I could keep going.

I think he definitely helped to ruin Season 4, and I for one cheered when he finally left.

 

[Atren]

I did not like Riley, but i also did not hate him. Was not sad to see him go, but at least he got away alive.

 

[Tranquillity]

Poor Reilly - nobody seems to like him much. I think he was just an unfortunate character construct. What i mean is that he was introduced in season four as this likeable doofus in an effort to get us (the audience) to like him. And then they made him Mr. Super soldier too, sort of to make him like a human version of Angel. The trouble is he felt forced and unatural as a character so there was no real impetus to like him because he was like a one-dimentional hero type with all these perfect qualities who is ultimately not very interesting. By the time they decided to 'roll him in the dirt' a bit, try and get him in touch with his dark side it's too late and his efforts just seem a bit pathetic.

 

[white avenger]

Riley was a good guy in Season 4, but in season 5, without the Initiative, he began to fall apart. With his Army buddies, he was the top man, the best, or at least ONE of the best, fighters in the group. He was pumped full of drugs, revved up with implanted electronic gadgets, and as close to being a super hero as modern science could make him. Without the Initiative, it's support, its weapons, and its enhancements, he was just one of Buffy's sidekicks, not the leader, not the best, and not even the one Buffy comes to for comfort in her time of crisis.

It's no real surprise that he started looking for ways to recapture his sence of importance, first by bullying Spike, who is completely defenseless against him and therefore a safe target, then allowing himself to be fed on by the vampire equivalent of prostitutes, and it's likewise no real surprise that he goes running back to his Army buddies again when the opportunity presents itself. With them, he can, once again, be one of the best, a leader, and a hero. No doubt, his initial attraction to Sam was that he was her rescuer, her protector, and her hero, the very things that he wanted to be to Buffy but never could. Ironically, though, by the time of "As You Were," there's the hint that he might be about to fall off of that hero's pedestal again. When Buffy asks Sam if Riley is her superior, she replies, "He wishes." It would be interesting to see just how well their marriage lasts if Sam becomes a better demon fighter than Rily himself is, which wouldn't be as far fetched as it might seem. If a previously untrained (we assume) former Peace Corps member can trach the level of proficiency that Sam exhibits after less that a year, what will she be like in a couple of years? How will Riley handle being the Number 2 man again? (Wouldn't it be really wild if Sam's natural aptitude as a demon fighter was due to her being one of those thousands of undiscovered Potentials that Willow activated? It would no doubt drive Riley completely over the edge, never to recover again)

 

[sosa lola]

I really don't see Riley's need to be the protector, he was in awe with Buffy's strength and he's also in awe with Sam's strength and superiority. I think Riley's problem was that he didn't have a purpose anymore. He was just this normal guy after he was the super guy. It's like Spike's complaint with losing his bite, and Buffy's complaint with losing her strength, all of them didn't handle it well. Spike wanted to suicide because of it. Riley wasn't better.

He could see that after he lost his strength how Buffy started to treat him like a weakling, not to mention keeping him in the out: not telling him about Joyce's illness or Dawn's keyness. It hurts. He's her boyfriend, he wants to be in, like Willow makes Tara in, and like Xander makes Anya in. I think he wants to be needed and not just a good shag for Buffy.

 

[EveryNiteISaveU]

I dont think Riley was all bad. I think he was a good "college boyfriend" and it gave Buffy the experience to know what she really liked in a guy.

 

[Fake Shemp]

sharp pointy teeth! *does tim impression*

 

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

this is quite the ongoing issue around these boards, isnt it.

for the record, i liked riley. he was the best, normal relationship for Buffy.

 

[Fake Shemp]

i did too, in season 4... nice country boy... seems we are alone

 

[fly on the wall]

this is quite the ongoing issue around these boards, isnt it.

for the record, i liked riley. he was the best, normal relationship for Buffy.

The best relationship for her?

What's a good relationship without any fire? Passion? Trust? Dependence? Love (on Buffy's end..she may have loved him but not in the same way Riley loved her)?

Not even touching on the fact that Riley was so boring, and pushing my hatred for him aside, but it's always kind of confusing when people call Riley the "best" boyfriend for Buffy. Best how? I guess because he's "normal"...but he lied to Buffy. He was insecure about everything. He gave Buffy an ultimatum instead of trying to work things out. She didn't care about him the same way he cared about her. I guess I just don't think that a "normal" guy equals the "best" guy.