Riley

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

but i think Riley, in his "ordinariness" grounded her... i think an ordinary guy was exactly what buffy needed. So she could have someone to go to that isn't constantly reminding her that she's a slayer and she lives in this weird world... ok granted Riley had the initiative but really, he was the most normal and i think she needed that. She always wanted to have a part of life that was normal, and having that little bit of comfort and someone she could be that normal girly girl around i think was good.

Sometimes people need taking care of, and Buffy never liked to admit it. But Riley was there to do that. It's too bad she was so convinced she could deal by herself, which we see in season 6 wasn't the case.

 

[Senior Watcher]

i have mixed feelings toward riley. on the one hand, he loved buffy with everything he had. he would have done anything for her. on the other hand, there wasnt much chemistry (mostly on buffys part).

when they were together, i was happy for them, but i always knew in the back of my head that it wasnt going to work. i mean, come on, we just got done with 3 love/hate/fight seasons with angel. because of that, im not sure if riley ever stood a chance.

maybe if he was introduced in season 5 or later, i would be more interested in a ruffy/biley relationship.

 

[Bangelxx]

I was SOOOOO happy when Riley left. I felt like celebrating!😛

 

[eunsoma]

Riley did get a little annoying, yes, but I think that if Buffy had have treated him more like 'the one' and less like the rebound, things may have gone a lot better. I agree with Xander's speech in the episode where Riley leaves (forgot what it's called, but around the middle of S5). I think that if Buffy had caught up with Riley that night before he left and told him her true feelings, things would have worked from then on and they would have worked out.
Still though, if she had have gone on to die in 'The Gift' and was resurrected in S6, I think their world would've crumbled. Riley wouldn't have been able to handle the 'darkness' of it, where Buffy wouldn't want him around, cuz it's true, she needs that 'darkness' in her men, especially right after she was brought back from the dead and couldn't even connect to her best friends.

 

[Spuffy is true love]

Riley just couldn't handle it. He couldn't handle Buffy being stronger than him. He couldn't handle the fact that she had friends and he didn't. He just was a normal human which buffy can never date. The thing that pissed me off the most when in Buffy vs. Dracula when he finds out that Dracula bit her he was like "Where is he and how hard can I Kill him." GIMME A FRICKIN" BREAK!!! are you kiddin' me? That right there made me realize that one I hated Riley and 2 Riley was going to be gone soon enough. He was too bitchy, too whiny, and lets face it, the relationship stemmed from the Initiative, nothing good ever stems from that....

 

[Crazy Flakes]

I, too, am part of the minority. I never minded Riley. In fact, I kind of liked him, particularly at the beginning of season 4. He was just a nice, attractive, average guy who was bad at talking to girls and had a big crush on Buffy. And as soon as he punched Parker for making fun of Buffy, I was rooting for Briley. Then, the Initiative came in, and I liked the whole "Buffy and Riley are both Clark Kent" kind of thing. After they got together, I wasn't as big a Buffy/Riley supporter as I had been before, but I still liked them. Fine, they were no Bangel, but still. They were a nice, genuine couple and they didn't have that whole "forbidden romance" thing that just makes you roll your eyes (yes, this is coming from a Bangel fan.) By season 5, when their bond started to loosen, I pretty much knew they were going to break up, and just thought, "Oh. Oh well."

My main problem with the Buffy/Riley relationship wasn't the fact that Riley didn't have the "monster" in him, or the fact that they were a bit bland. I hated how Buffy was using him. In my opinion, it wasn't much better than Buffy and Spike's physical relationship in season 6. Riley loved Buffy more than anything, but Buffy just thought of him as "the post-Angel guy," which is what most fans think of him as. She didn't love him...she just wanted a boyfriend. Maybe if their affections had been mutual, more people would've liked them together. In fact, I almost think her disregard for him justified him going to those "vampire whores."

 

[LadyLavinia]

I must admit that I find it difficult to feel any sympathy for Buffy in regard to her relationship with Riley. On some level, I got the feeling that she was using him to prove to herself that she could have a "normal" love life. Mind you, Riley was also to blame for what happened between them. He allowed himself to be used . . . at least for a while. Nor was he honest with her about how he felt about her treatment of him, until it was too late.

 

[scarybunny97]

I have complicated feelings about Riley. When he first came on the scene he bugged me. Some of it had to do with the acting, but it was also because it seemed like his character had fallen through some sort of hole in the floor of another show and accidentally landed in the buffyverse--where he clearly didn't fit. All through S4 I felt like he was only there as a convenient way to draw Buffy into the Initiative and make them/it part of her social world. It felt forced.

In S5 I actually did feel for the guy. Buffy may need people on an emotional level, and it's pointed out many times in the series that her emotional connections are a great strength for her--but as the Slayer, as far as just staying safe and protected goes? No. She actually doesn't and never will need people in that sense. Or at least, her needing others to protect her would be the extreme exception rather than the rule. And here's Riley who so clearly is not built to be the "support player," it's not enough for him. I think the only way he and Buffy could have worked out is if he had become he kind of guy who could handle being with someone who would say "I love you," but never, "I need your help." Riley wanted to be loved and be a part of something. Whereas Buffy just wanted the relationship for the love, and Riley's need to be a part of the bigger picture never made sense to her until it was too late. Poor Riley.

Y'know, it would be interesting to compare/contrast Riley's "ultimatum" speech to her about how she needs to give him a reason to stay or else he's leaving--with Spike's speech to her in S7 about how he's not asking her for anything, and that his love for her has nothing to do with him, because it's about who she is. That would be an interesting comparison.

 

[Aethra]

Riley... perhaps my least favorite character in all of Buffy. Wait, maybe that's Kennedy. Okay, he's my second least favorite. I didn't like him from the beginning. At first I thought it was because I'd liked Angel so much, but then I liked Spikie more than I'd liked Angel, so I don't know. I do agree that he is whiny, so maybe it was that. Maybe it was because he was a mere mortal--I just don't know.

I threw a party on the inside when he left, although, Xander's speech to Buffy had me almost rooting for him. Almost. It was just written and delivered so well! But then the episode ended, and I returned to my senses.

And, season four's "Where the Wild Things Are," nearly killed me.

 

[girlunstrung]

Where The Wild Things Are made me quite a depressed muffin.

I think Buffy could never truly love Riley because she was in love with pain, thanks to Mr Billowy Coat, King Of Pain.

Okay, that's one good thing about Riley. He gave me that quote.

 

[The Ferg]

What is wrong with Riley? I just started watching S4, and I'm loving Ruffy (Is that what it's called? idk). He just seems... idk, perfect for the situation, you know? He's like the other thing you do besides school and slaying. Besides Bangel was WAY to romantic for me. Riley and Buffy seems like a relationship that could truly happen.

(Angel's a pansy)

 

[Vampmogs2]

I liked Riley, I personally don't understand why people hate him so much.

He was exactly what Buffy needed at that time of her life, and he was a very decent guy. I don't think he gets anywhere near the credit he deserves for the sacrifices he made for Buffy by the fans of the series. This is a man who changed his entire black and white view of the world, who gave up a very promising military career and who turned his back on all his closest friends, all for Buffy. His whole world was basically shattered and he did it all for that one girl, that's just as selfless to me as it was when Angel left in 'The Prom.'

And 'As You Were' was a great episode for Riley. He told Buffy exactly what she needed to hear at a time in her life when she was feeling really down and lost. All season she felt disconnected from her closest friends, and alienated from the world she's meant to be a part of. The only person she could talk to at that point was Spike, and he tells her that she doesn't belong with her friends and that she belongs in the dark with him. Riley told Buffy exactly what she needed to hear, that all the stuff going on with her doesn't touch her because "she's one hell of a woman." He gave her the strength to make changes in her life, to stop using Spike and for her to try and get her life back on track.

I personally don't think he has a problem with strong women at all either. If he did he wouldn't have married Sam, who's every bit the strong woman. His issues stemmed from the fact she wouldn't let him get close to her, and I know a lot of fans think he was whiney about it, but many characters, including Joyce and Xander as Buffy tells Dawn, "everyone who wasn't Buffy," picked up on this too. Riley wasn't just imagining it, she was pushing him away, and after loving her so much and sacrificing his career and his friends for her, you can't expect him not to be upset about it. In fact he never mentioned it, never even whined, until their argument just before he leaves. So I'm not even sure where the whiney remarks come from, he never whined to anyone.

Riley was a pretty fantastic guy. Sure he's not my favourite character, he had his bad moments as all our characters do, but I personally don't feel he deserves the hatred he gets by the fandom. And lets face it, a lot of it stems from the fact he wasn't Angel or Spike, and why would he be? Not only would that be boring to see a repeat of another character we already have, but he represents a different sort of character and shouldn't be compared to others as a basis to determine his worth. 🙂

 

[Joyce Summers]

Wow. Just wow. That was EXCELLENTLY put. I'm a Riley fan myself and you've pretty much covered what I've always thought.

And I definitely like your comment about how he was never whiny- he wasn't was he? I mean he found she called him cute and kitteny (Not exactly what a guy wants to hear) and instead of taking umbridge and being off with her, he teases her about it and takes amusement from the situation- mocking himself in fact.

You've pretty much covered everything else hence the shortness of this particular post haha.

 

[Vampmogs2]

Wow. Just wow. That was EXCELLENTLY put. I'm a Riley fan myself and you've pretty much covered what I've always thought.

Thanks, I went into a rant a bit but I tend to when I'm defending Riley. Poor guy 🙁

And I definitely like your comment about how he was never whiny- he wasn't was he? I mean he found she called him cute and kitteny (Not exactly what a guy wants to hear) and instead of taking umbridge and being off with her, he teases her about it and takes amusement from the situation- mocking himself in fact.

Great example. Instead of having a go at her or sulking, he sucks it up and wants to take some frustration out in the training room and that's perfectly ok. Because it wasn't just Buffy's choice of words that upset him, but the fact she'd been treating him differently to how she perceived him around others. He even comes to her house later that day to help her do the spell and even when he knows it was a pity invite, instead of getting grumpy he says "how about we take care of each other" before a nice peck on the lips. He was very nice to her.

Buffy is my favourite character but I have no problems accepting that she wasn't the best girlfriend to Riley. And the fact he took how she treat him so well for so long probably made her feel he was even more dependable. In many ways his pleasantness did more harm to their relationship than good.

Glad I'm not alone in liking his character 🙂

 

[Joyce Summers]

Buffy is my favourite character but I have no problems accepting that she wasn’t the best girlfriend to Riley. And the fact he took how she treat him so well for so long probably made her feel he was even more dependable. In many ways his pleasantness did more harm to their relationship than good.

Very good, and ironic point. That it was his kindness and acceptingness of Buffy and her attitude toward him that helped the relationship fail. He was too considerate for his own good. Haha.

Glad I'm not alone in liking his character

Ah, don't worry about it there are a few of us Riley fans on here. Emphasis on few. I just always really liked him. He was the sweet, wholesome all-american-boy protective guy. And he was normal!!! And normal can be good. Especially in a decidedly non-normal world. Buffy could have had the normal, white picket fence life with Riley definitely. But then maybe Buffy isn't the white picket fence type unfortunately.

 

[palabravampiress]

I'm rewatching seasons 4 and 5. I liked Riley the first time around. Now, the second time around, I love him. I like the way he plays with Buffy (like on the beach) and hangs with her friends and is just generally nice and supportive and awesome. Riley was fun. In general, though, my opinion on him pretty much mimics Joyce Summers' (no surprise there).

I do wonder if the Initiative isn't what doomed their relationship. I mean, for basically the whole time Riley was on our screens, the government was pumping him full of weirdo hormones and vitamins and chips (either that, or he was going through withdrawals). Coming down off of that had to be pretty intense on a physical level. I think that might have driven a lot of his insecurity. I'm not saying the emotional stuff wasn't there... just that I would have liked to have seen how their relationship would have played out if Riley had stuck around for long enough for his body to reach some sort of equilibrium. I think that once his hormone (or who-knows-what) levels evened out and stabilized, he probably would have been better equipped to handle his relationship with Buffy. They still may have broken up, but I think he would have been more mature and less reactionary about it. I mean, think about it: even the vamp whore thing is only half emotional. The other half is physical, as it is implied that he gets some sort of chemical rush/high from it. I think a lot of poor Riley's emotional confusion during that period of his life was due to the influence of the experiments that were being performed by the Initiative. Had Buffy and Riley met at a different time in his life, maybe things would have worked out better.

 

[LorneyTunes]

Riley was a nice guy and a complete opposite from Angel , which i think thats why people don't like him they want Angel back to be with Buffy x

Riley was never for Buffy really it was nice to see them together and Buffy being happy, but as spike says she like men who hurt her. Riley was to much of a gentlemen to be what Buffy wanted x