Riley's Age...?

[Lyri]

Ok, I know we all get hung up on how much older Angel and Spike were, what with being vampires and dead and all, but has anyone ever stopped to wonder how old Riley was?

I'm reading a fic at the moment that got me wondering. Riley was Maggie's TA in her class, right? Which meant he was at least a Grad student, if my knowledge of American college is correct, which would make him, at the least, 22/23 in S4, compared to Buffy's 18. Now add to that the fact that he was pretty highly ranked in the Initiative, enough that Maggie, Graham and Forrest all turned to him as the person in command, or the one to take command, on more than one occasion. This would mean that he would have to have had a fairly decent career in the Army/Marines/wherever the Initiative pulled him from, which takes years to build up. He wasn't just dropped into his position, he would have had to show that he could handle it, years in the military, which adds more years to his age.

I'm going to guess that he was somewhere around 25/26, so how come no one mentioned that he was so much older than Buffy? And I'm talking older in human years, maturing the way a normal, human man should mature, not killed at 20-whatever and staying that age as some vampires who shall remain nameless seem to have done. Was everyone just so happy that she was dating someone who wasn't dead that they let it slid? Joyce thought Angel was too old for Buffy even before she knew he was a vampire, and suddenly Riley's getting a pass? Xander even commented on how much older Wood was than Buffy, and Buffy was verging on 22 at that point.

So, am I being ridiculous in my guesstimations? Or was Riley really that much older than Buffy?

 

[Revolver]

I'd probably put him around 24 or so, but really what is that compared to her other boyfriends?

---------- Post added at 08:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:57 PM ----------

Joyce thought Angel was too old for Buffy even before she knew he was a vampire, and suddenly Riley's getting a pass?

big difference between an older guy dating your sixteen year old in high school and an older guy dating your college student.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I'd guess Riley was about 24 or 25... Which is really not that big a deal after you've been dating a man who's older than you by 2 centuries. LOL 🙂

 

[Lyri]

Yeah, but I still think it's strange that NO ONE mentioned anything, especially after finding out of his involvement in the Initiative, and yet Xander pointed out Woods' age. It just seems weird.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Very true, Lyri... It seems some of them were preoccupied with the age thing. I guess because Riley was in college at the same time Buffy was, he didn't seem that much older.

 

[Mumrik]

Yes, I'm going with Revolver here. There's a huge difference between a sixteen year old high school student and an eighteen/nineteen year old college student. I think Joyce put Angel's age (before she knew he was a vampire, of course) at around Riley's age, which I think was around 24, 25. The thing with Wood was probably based on him being a high school principal (albeit a very young one) and Buffy having dropped out of college and just being older college age and therefore the age difference seemed bigger than it probably was. Wood didn't seem older than 30, at most.

I don't think Riley had much of a military career before going to college, I just figure he was just smart, a good leader (there are just people born to be leaders and I think Riley was one of them) and had a little experience with that demon stuff/had little difficulty with adjusting to that kind of stuff.

 

[Revolver]

At least in the US, it seems to be more acceptable for a younger woman to date an older man. i mean, this might not hold true if you're talking about someone decades] older, but I don't think too many people around here would bat an eye at a 24 year old man dating a 19 year old woman. The reverse wouldn't necessarily be unacceptable, but it would be a lot more surprising to see.

 

[white avenger]

Bear in mind that Riley was in the military (apparently Army, and probably some sort of Special Tactical Unit geared toward fighting HST's) and that being a grad student was just his cover story. His non-military training might have been no more than Junior College or even less. I can't remember for sure what his military rank was, or even if it were ever actually mentioned, but a Second Lieutenant could be as young as 20, and probably no older than 21 or 22 in Season 4.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

I think he was around 24. Yeah I guess Angel and Spike weren't that much older then him when they got sired, actually I think Angel was 2 years younger then Spike when he got sired. I guess no one really took an interest in their age difference because Riley was a normal guy.

 

[MinwaraYana]

I'll go with 22-24 because he looks/acts younger than 25. I don't know how to explain. 😛 And about his high rank in The Initiative, I think it's because he's good at slaying demon than the others and he seems to be a good boy, following every orders without asking. 🙂

 

[Bluebird]

I always thought he was about 21 when he met Buffy, I don't know much about what age people are in college. I've honestly never thought about it until now.

 

[Tueuse de Vampires]

I haven´t really ever thought about it, but here's the thing, at least where I live.

As soon as you hit 18+ as a girl, it's pretty ok to date guys to at least up to 25, possibly even late 20's or early 30's.
And that's what makes the difference with Angel. Back then she was 16, so there dating a guy in his late 20's does sort of border on creepy.
As far as I remember, nobody was really commenting on Spike's age either. He was more than a century older than her (or at least a few human years), but there it was okay again, because Buffy herself was over 20 even.

As for Riley's age....early 20's makes sense.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Ok, I know we all get hung up on how much older Angel and Spike were, what with being vampires and dead and all, but has anyone ever stopped to wonder how old Riley was?

I'm reading a fic at the moment that got me wondering. Riley was Maggie's TA in her class, right? Which meant he was at least a Grad student, if my knowledge of American college is correct, which would make him, at the least, 22/23 in S4, compared to Buffy's 18. Now add to that the fact that he was pretty highly ranked in the Initiative, enough that Maggie, Graham and Forrest all turned to him as the person in command, or the one to take command, on more than one occasion. This would mean that he would have to have had a fairly decent career in the Army/Marines/wherever the Initiative pulled him from, which takes years to build up. He wasn't just dropped into his position, he would have had to show that he could handle it, years in the military, which adds more years to his age.

Great points, Lyri. I've never really thought about this before.

Regarding his position, it's important to remember that it was obvious that Riley was a personal favorite of Maggie's. Perhaps she promoted him despite him lacking in the usual experience required for the position? This might have been the source of Forrest's resentment towards Riley. It never really made sense to me why he hated him dating Buffy so much.

I'm going to guess that he was somewhere around 25/26, so how come no one mentioned that he was so much older than Buffy? And I'm talking older in human years, maturing the way a normal, human man should mature, not killed at 20-whatever and staying that age as some vampires who shall remain nameless seem to have done. Was everyone just so happy that she was dating someone who wasn't dead that they let it slid? Joyce thought Angel was too old for Buffy even before she knew he was a vampire, and suddenly Riley's getting a pass? Xander even commented on how much older Wood was than Buffy, and Buffy was verging on 22 at that point.

I'd agree with you and say that they were all just so happy that she was interested in a normal guy they probably just let it slide. They probably all thought Riley was a great catch.

I'd guess he was about 25.

 

[CrystalW187]

It doesn't seem too odd to me. When I was 19, I dated a 26-year-old (ahh first love...), so Riley and Buffy's relationship seemed normal to me.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

It doesn't seem too odd to me. When I was 19, I dated a 26-year-old (ahh first love...), so Riley and Buffy's relationship seemed normal to me.

Both of Buffy's relathionships seemed normal to me. I think she was beyond her and theirs age.

 

[Kana]

Regarding his position, it's important to remember that it was obvious that Riley was a personal favorite of Maggie's. Perhaps she promoted him despite him lacking in the usual experience required for the position? This might have been the source of Forrest's resentment towards Riley. It never really made sense to me why he hated him dating Buffy so much.


.

Bit OT but I was always under the impression that it was Buffy that was the cause of contention between Riley and Forrest. They was no tension between them before they started dating.

The reason being is because Buffy challenged Initiative as an establishment and therefore everything he believed in. In short he was threatened by Buffy. Even Riley himself got freaked out when Buffy questioned Maggie's intentions. He also a little jealous of her as well. I would have thought Riley and Forrest were pretty tight before she came along.

As for Riley's age? Not a clue. I'm not sure how a ranking system would go in the Initiative. I always assumed as a TA he was older than 22. I don't think it's a big deal though. Buffy was legal. Marc was about 27 at the time btw.