Riley Getting Turned

[white avenger]

Assume for the sake of argument that somehow, in some Season, Riley wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time and got himself turned into a vampire. It could be in Season 4, when he and Buffy were just beginning their relationship, in Season 5, when they were a serious "thing," or even in Season 7, when the menace that came to town was him instead of a Suvolte demon. Choose any Season, any circumstance, or every one. How do you think that Buffy would have handled the decision of having to kill another lover?

 

[Kean]

I think Riley being turned would have devastated Buffy. She has expressed regret many times about how her life negatively impacted him. Even though he was a demon hunter, I think she would view Riley being turned as one of, if not the, greatest failing of her time as a Slayer. Buffy has an idea of what Riley's life should/would be like and to see him dead and evil (I think he would be especially cruel evil) I think that would ruin her and cause her to lose hope.

She'd kill him, but the effect of the whole ordeal would tear her apart.

 

[Buffy Summers]

Wow, I kind of wish they had done this. Because chances are, Riley wouldn't be any kind of "special" vamp, he would be the soulless, "evil" kind. I think losing any of the Scoobies (heck, even losing Jesse) would be devastating for Buffy, but yet another boyfriend turned into a monster because of her? I think we would have seen Wishverse Buffy sooner rather than later. BUT at the same time, I don't think we would have seen the struggle of "to kill or not to kill" - it would have happened quickly.

 

[Kean]

Wow, I kind of wish they had done this. Because chances are, Riley wouldn't be any kind of "special" vamp, he would be the soulless, "evil" kind. I think losing any of the Scoobies (heck, even losing Jesse) would be devastating for Buffy, but yet another boyfriend turned into a monster because of her? I think we would have seen Wishverse Buffy sooner rather than later. BUT at the same time, I don't think we would have seen the struggle of "to kill or not to kill" - it would have happened quickly.

Yeah, the killing would have been standard, but the fact that he was turned at all is what would have destroyed her. It would have reinforced every negative thing she things/worries about herself.

 

[Buffy Summers]

And it would have solidified her belief that she can't have a normal life/relationship.

 

[brinkster130]

While I would be sad to lose Riley, having him turned late s4/early s5 could have been a really interesting story line. Not only would we see a devastated Buffy, but we would have seen Willow and Xander (plus Tara and Dawn to a lesser extent) actually have to deal with losing someone close to them to vampires. It would have been cool to see the scoobies go through something like that together.

 

[Taake]

I feel like a special breed of ruthless now because A. I thought this sounded like a great idea and B. I really think it should have happened when they were in a relationship.

B. Because it's jucier stuff story-wise and would have more impact on Buffy I think. As well as the gang who had by then gotten to know Riley as well.

As previous posters have mentioned this would have been a hard blow for Buffy to deal with. I do find it curious to think about what Riley would have been as a vampire... though they would have had to tread carefully to not repeat any Angelus vibes I suppose. I feel like Riley would have been a Penn kind of vampire (Ats s1) in the sense that he would have sought some kind of mentor. Riley and Spike - evil duo plotline? 😱😛

 

[Buffy Summers]

He could have been Angelus without the whole, "Well maybe he can get his soul back" thing.

🙂

 

[Taake]

That's true! I'm just not sure I could picture Riley as that kind of vicious... he just seems like such a follower to me, and I can't help but feel it would you know "carry over" to vampified Rie-Rie and that he'd need a master for his strings.

🙂

 

[white avenger]

Personally, I think that it would have made a great story if he had shown up in Season 6 as a vampire, but Buffy not knowing it immediately. It would have been especially hard on her if he was using her to cause some sort of special trouble or mayhem, and she didn't catch on until almost too late.

(And no, I'm not trying to replace "As You Were," with this plot. I just like stories with a real twist at the end)

 

[Buffy Summers]

You know how he had the whole vampire feeding thing? I feel like Vamp Riley just does a total swing to not caring about anything: killing, feeding, sleeping. Maybe he's not a mastermind of evil plans, but I feel like he's going to be Gluttony 101. Just think how restrained he had to be as part of the Initiative. When those "duty" cords are cut, he's going ripper on the world. 😀

 

[BuffyElevated]

Wow, I kind of wish they had done this. Because chances are, Riley wouldn't be any kind of "special" vamp, he would be the soulless, "evil" kind. I think losing any of the Scoobies (heck, even losing Jesse) would be devastating for Buffy, but yet another boyfriend turned into a monster because of her? I think we would have seen Wishverse Buffy sooner rather than later. BUT at the same time, I don't think we would have seen the struggle of "to kill or not to kill" - it would have happened quickly.

I agree. In my mind, I could see it happening sometime during Season 5, and I agree that it would devestate Buffy beyond belief, and possibly beyond repair. I think if any of them had ever been vamped and Buffy was forced to kill them, it would have ripped her apart inside. It would have been really interesting to see, though.

 

[Robb Stark]

I actually love this idea.

Right after Buffy and Riley break up, as he's running to the helicopter and she's chasing after him, a vampire just grabs him out of nowhere and turns him to end the episode. That would have been a Game of Thrones like twist, that's for sure.

That could lead to a great multi-episode arc where Buffy has to deal with what happened. As a resolution, I would have loved multiple conversations between her and the Scoobies, with them debating about killing Riley, similar to what happened when Angel was turned. As the audience is hooked into thinking that Buffy is going to go with the "we saved Angel we can save Riley" line (I would LOVE some lines about how, for whatever reason, they couldn't just restore Riley's soul like they did Angel's, but Buffy refuses to see that), Spike quietly leaves. The arc climaxes with Spike going alone to kill vamp-Riley, them having a brutal fight, and Spike winning clean. After that, instead of trying to score points, Spike tells Buffy that Riley is dead (I'll think of a way to make this work plot-wise later), and doesn't reveal that he was the one to do it. I'd make it clear that Spike did it to spare Buffy the pain of having to kill him herself, not solely because he disliked Riley.

I think that could have been really cool.

 

[bespangeled]

I actually love this idea.

Right after Buffy and Riley break up, as he's running to the helicopter and she's chasing after him, a vampire just grabs him out of nowhere and turns him to end the episode. That would have been a Game of Thrones like twist, that's for sure.

That could lead to a great multi-episode arc where Buffy has to deal with what happened. As a resolution, I would have loved multiple conversations between her and the Scoobies, with them debating about killing Riley, similar to what happened when Angel was turned. As the audience is hooked into thinking that Buffy is going to go with the "we saved Angel we can save Riley" line (I would LOVE some lines about how, for whatever reason, they couldn't just restore Riley's soul like they did Angel's, but Buffy refuses to see that), Spike quietly leaves. The arc climaxes with Spike going alone to kill vamp-Riley, them having a brutal fight, and Spike winning clean. After that, instead of trying to score points, Spike tells Buffy that Riley is dead (I'll think of a way to make this work plot-wise later), and doesn't reveal that he was the one to do it. I'd make it clear that Spike did it to spare Buffy the pain of having to kill him herself, not solely because he disliked Riley.

I think that could have been really cool.

You have to be a writer!

Head canon here - I really see different classes of vamps. The ones Buffy stakes are probably turned by minions, just a small amount of blood, they take forever to rise and they remain blood hungry idiots. The ones from a strong Order (Aurelius since the Master camped there for decades) who get more blood are the ones who wake quick and smart (Sheila, etc). This resolves a lot of vamp disconnects.

If Riley were turned by an Aurelian, not Spike - chip, he could have made an interesting big bad. He has a lot of useful training. Spike would be able to beat him down and get serious respect, with the two of them mustering an army.

End of season 4, one of the last scenes. I am not a Glory fan. And I really do like snarky evil Spike

 

[Taake]

Poor Buff, the more I think about this thrilling plotline I just feel like it would have been so much worse for her if it was Riley who turned evil (as opposed to Angel who already had evil in his baggage when they met, she just accidentally unlocked it). Of course he was Mr. Initiative before they met but how could she not feel responsible, entirely, for that happening to him?

Besides if Riley had gotten turned it would have felt kind of personal. If he had been out hunting with the Initiative it would have been like a military operation, "saftey" in numbers and probably his teammates would have made sure to kill him instantly upon turning should it come to that. It just doesn't feel like with the Initiative Riley would have been much of a desirable target for turning. But as Buffy's right hand man...

 

[white avenger]

I actually love this idea.

Right after Buffy and Riley break up, as he's running to the helicopter and she's chasing after him, a vampire just grabs him out of nowhere and turns him to end the episode. That would have been a Game of Thrones like twist, that's for sure.

That could lead to a great multi-episode arc where Buffy has to deal with what happened. As a resolution, I would have loved multiple conversations between her and the Scoobies, with them debating about killing Riley, similar to what happened when Angel was turned. As the audience is hooked into thinking that Buffy is going to go with the "we saved Angel we can save Riley" line (I would LOVE some lines about how, for whatever reason, they couldn't just restore Riley's soul like they did Angel's, but Buffy refuses to see that), Spike quietly leaves. The arc climaxes with Spike going alone to kill vamp-Riley, them having a brutal fight, and Spike winning clean. After that, instead of trying to score points, Spike tells Buffy that Riley is dead (I'll think of a way to make this work plot-wise later), and doesn't reveal that he was the one to do it. I'd make it clear that Spike did it to spare Buffy the pain of having to kill him herself, not solely because he disliked Riley.

I think that could have been really cool.

The same thing could have been done by Faith when she returned in Season 7. Riley could have come back as an agent of the First Evil, turned, recruited, and brought back to Sunnydale just to play mind games with Buffy and the others. Faith would rationalize that everyone already hated her, so her staking Buffy's ex wouldn't matter all that much if anyone ever found out.