Spike/Riley – Don’t want to play.

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

I just realized that both say something really similar to Buffy.

-

Riley, from "Who Are You":

FAITH/BUFFY: (in a huff) Well, if you don't wanna play--

RILEY: Right. I don't wanna play.

-

And Spike, from "Once More, With Feeling":

SPIKE: "But I don't wanna play 'Cause being with you touches me. More than I can say ..."

-

Of course, both are alluding to how neither wants just part of Buffy, or in other words, just for sex "“ they both want all of her, as in her heart. I just thought that was an interesting connection between the two guys. If you think of them as both wanting Buffy's emotional commitment as well as physical, an interesting parallel can be drawn between the two. Both "had" her but neither (while in a relationship with her) really felt she was "all there." Riley was upset when she didn't think to tell him about Joyce's illness, and Spike was hurt she wouldn't acknowledge their relationship to her friends.

Just a thought.

Thoughts? Anyone else notice this? Or do I just think wayyyyy to much into things?

 

[ruth]

Welllllll..... I agree with what you are saying about both the boys and buffy but I think you are thinking way toooooo hard about it :hehe:

 

[Lacrimosa]

I think Riley was very obssesed about Buffy and his vampire lover(s). He never felt himself enough for her. He was never sure about his relationship with Buffy maybe thats why he found Spike as a threat for them. I cant even compare Spike and Riley, Spike will always be my best but until Spike get a soul (even after that) he felt the same way too. Beeing not enough for Buffy... Thats the similarity i found.

 

[Kean]

Buffy never gave her whole self to Spike or Riley. In fact after season 3 she never gives her whole self to anyone again. Personally, I don't think she was capable of it, not after Angel. Of course I would think that 😉 but once he left, Buffy was far less open with her emotions and when her mother died she shut down completely. There were several reasons for that of course but Angel was a big one for me. He was her backbone in a way. She could be weak and just a scared girl with him, she didn't have to be the hero or the brave one. There is no one else she could be that person with, so she had to cut that part of herself off and I really think it broke her.

Spike and Riley in season 5 always struck me as kindred spirits in a way. Both of them so desperately seeking a connection and being denied. They would have made a great couple lol

 

[white avenger]

He was her backbone in a way. She could be weak and just a scared girl with him, she didn't have to be the hero or the brave one. There is no one else she could be that person with, so she had to cut that part of herself off and I really think it broke her.

Spike and Riley in season 5 always struck me as kindred spirits in a way. Both of them so desperately seeking a connection and being denied. They would have made a great couple lol

I think that it might be more accurate to call Angel Buffy's crutch rather than her backbone. Sure, he was a comforted her, he allowed her to be the little girl to his big strong man. He held her when her mother died, and promised that he would be there for as long as she needed him. That was fine for awhile, but if he had stayed in Sunnydale much longer, Little Girl Buffy would never have grown up into Big Bad General Slayer Buffy that she needed to be by Season 7. Buffy had to learn to stand on her own two feet, and she could never have done that with Giles making all of the hard decisions and Angel trying to protect her from the responsibilities and dangers associated with her mission.

And as for Riley and Spike, I can't see any kindred spirit connection there at all. If anything, Riley tried to be just as protective as Angel was, despite his being totally underqualified for the job. Both men tried to be Buffy's shield, to either protect her completely or to at least share her responsibilities, both obviously failed miserably.

Spike did something entirely different. He encouraged her. He helped her fight, but he also accepted the fact that, ultimately, "the Slayer fights alone." It's her job, so she might just as well get on with it. He would cover her back, or he would fight by her side. Ultimately, he covered her retreat, allowing her to continue her fight.

If Angel had been the one to have found Buffy in that house in "Touched," he would have held her while she cried, told her everything was going to be alright, because her Angel was here now, and he would set everything straight.he wouldn't have to worry about a single thing.

And Caleb would have had time to recover the scythe, the First Evil would have been triumphant, and the world would have been doomed.

Luckily, Spike found her instead. Remember what she said the next night? "Do you see this? This may just help me to win this war, and I've got it because of the courage that you gave me." I seriously doubt that she would have gotten that same courage from either Angel or Riley. Attempts to give comfort and support, maybe, but never the kind of "You're the one" encouragement that she got from Spike.

And to get back to the original question (I'm sorry, Joan, but you KNOW how I tend to drift off the subject sometimes):

The two men said the same thing, but meant the exact opposite.

Riley didn't want to play kinky sex games with who he thought was Buffy, because he had an image of her that wouldn't allow that sort of thing.

Spike, on the other hand, DID want to play those exact same games with who he KNEW was Buffy, because he had fantasies of them doing those things.