Kana
Soulless human
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2007
- Messages
- 1,305
OMG!!!! There is no thread pertaining to the almighty Riley Finn???!!!!! I cannot believe it. Ok I can believe it as he's not the most popular character, but I feel the need to defend him, for several reasons. One being my mum loves him and Ruffy with a passion, so I feel I'm doing a service to her in way and secondly I think he's a grossly misunderstoo character.
Now, do not misunderstand me. I'm not attempting to get you to like him, but maybe, perhaps open your mind to possibility of not writing him off just yet.
Now there are common criticisms I'd like to address, in regards to Ol' Captain America.
He's Boring!
I must admit, I wasn't far removed from this opinion when I first saw him grace our screens, but you know what? He actually grew on me.
I think the tempting thing was to focus too much on the duality of his character: "Joe Normal" vs "Demon Fighting soldier", but this duality is not what I wanted to focus on.
When we are presented with a character with Riley we immediately think "What drives him?" "Whats his background?" The truth is, that he's a little like a blank canvas of naivity which contrasts with the older and larger than life Angel. While Buffy loses innocence in her relationship with Angel, Riley loses his with Buffy. She introduces him to moral ambiguity and his world is turned up side down. He still, for the most part rises to the occasion and goes through the journey of self discovery.
We tend to shout at the screen "God can't you see you hold such ill-advised views" or something, likely to be less polite, yet forget that the characters don't watch the show nor necessarily ship Bangel, especially if the are love with the girl who was once part of it, nor do they swoon over soulless vampires with histories of killing, maiming and torture because they are 'cool' or 'interesting' and this is what piques my interest. We see the Verse through different eyes, redefining, black and white and of course grey. Riley is a dichotomy between Angel et al, is not boring to me but refreshing. Seeing a guy who actually still believes in courting, is almost beyond the cliche of representation of guys we see on the screen. He was a contrast, and I live for such differences
Riley Couldn't Handle The Fact That Buffy Was Stronger Than Him!!
Is Riley old fashioned? A little. Do I think he's a chauvanistic pig? Hardly. Do I believe Riley had an issue with Buffy being stronger than him? To a degree, but we have to look at this in context.
I have no doubt that he loved being in charge when he was in the Initiative but I don't think being physically weaker than Buffy or even deferring to her, was the main problem. He lost everything in a relatively short space of time, his job, friend, world view, super strength, it's enough for anyone to struggle. Buffy began to get stronger but she also grew distant all the while Riley loses his strength and begins to focus (maybe a little too much) on the relationship.
It reminds me of the the successful woman who was really moving up in her career but puts in on hold to have kids and sees her husband move up the ladder she was. She's genuinely happy for him but it reminds her what she lost, or is losing.
In all fairness, this would all be well and good but why does Buffy pull away from Riley? He believes because he's not strong enough for her and that is why he moves toward the crazed. People often go on about this, but they miss the point, his question for a long time is "Does she love me?"
Ruffy vs Bangel Vs Spuffy
Ruffy is certainly an underdog ship if ever I saw one. A lot of it hangs on two things: People don't like Riley and fans don't believe Buffy loved him. Well, the first thing is all about favourite characters etc, so I'm not going to delve into the subjectivity of that arena here but the second is interesting. Now in my heart of hearts, I don't believe she did love him, not because he's douche but because she never allowed herself to. At that point her heart was closed to romantic love. I honestly think she could have loved him.
The only person who I think she loved unequivocally is Angel anyway. Riley and Spike were always a question mark considering: She never got to see Riley before he flew off and the fact that she told Spike right before he was going to die that she loved him, meant it was never actually affirmed that she wanted to have a romantic relationship with him.
So with all this in mind, it comes down to preference, but I still think Ruffy had as much of a chance as the other mainstream ships, considering Spike barely having to balls to see her and Angel and Buffy being unable to consumate their relationship without the world almost ending and/or Buffy ending up in tears.
Bloodsucking Whores and Ultimatums
This possibly pisses off the fans the most and I'm in no way defending his actions. However, I still believe that addressing why he did it is useful when analyzing his character.
Now the common argument is that Buffy had a lot to deal with and couldn't take care of the boyf as well.
As I've said, many a time, Buffy is always going to have things to deal with but if she doesn't open up then she shouldn't be a relationship. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I don't believe you should push everyone out when things are hard but then be all kissy when things seems rosy. This is what hurt Riley and Buffy didn't get that until it was too late.
Of course she's not obligated to love him if she doesn't feel it. His ultimatum was never about "I'm in the right and you're in the wrong, so admit or I'm gone", it was "Love me or let me go" which when you think about it, is totally fair. Maybe Riley didn't explain it well enough because Buffy didn't get it until it was too late and most fans still don't get it.
So join me in the defence of Mr Riley Finn. The only boyfriend Buffy could bring home to mum, the only boyfriend who actually got on with Xander was intergrated well into the Scoobies. The guy who comes complete with first aid training. The guy who helped OZ (in the end). The guy who's attentive, loving, romantic, practical and doesn't drain her emotionally.
All hail Riley, or maybe hate him slightly less????
Now, do not misunderstand me. I'm not attempting to get you to like him, but maybe, perhaps open your mind to possibility of not writing him off just yet.
Now there are common criticisms I'd like to address, in regards to Ol' Captain America.
He's Boring!
I must admit, I wasn't far removed from this opinion when I first saw him grace our screens, but you know what? He actually grew on me.
I think the tempting thing was to focus too much on the duality of his character: "Joe Normal" vs "Demon Fighting soldier", but this duality is not what I wanted to focus on.
When we are presented with a character with Riley we immediately think "What drives him?" "Whats his background?" The truth is, that he's a little like a blank canvas of naivity which contrasts with the older and larger than life Angel. While Buffy loses innocence in her relationship with Angel, Riley loses his with Buffy. She introduces him to moral ambiguity and his world is turned up side down. He still, for the most part rises to the occasion and goes through the journey of self discovery.
We tend to shout at the screen "God can't you see you hold such ill-advised views" or something, likely to be less polite, yet forget that the characters don't watch the show nor necessarily ship Bangel, especially if the are love with the girl who was once part of it, nor do they swoon over soulless vampires with histories of killing, maiming and torture because they are 'cool' or 'interesting' and this is what piques my interest. We see the Verse through different eyes, redefining, black and white and of course grey. Riley is a dichotomy between Angel et al, is not boring to me but refreshing. Seeing a guy who actually still believes in courting, is almost beyond the cliche of representation of guys we see on the screen. He was a contrast, and I live for such differences
Riley Couldn't Handle The Fact That Buffy Was Stronger Than Him!!
Is Riley old fashioned? A little. Do I think he's a chauvanistic pig? Hardly. Do I believe Riley had an issue with Buffy being stronger than him? To a degree, but we have to look at this in context.
I have no doubt that he loved being in charge when he was in the Initiative but I don't think being physically weaker than Buffy or even deferring to her, was the main problem. He lost everything in a relatively short space of time, his job, friend, world view, super strength, it's enough for anyone to struggle. Buffy began to get stronger but she also grew distant all the while Riley loses his strength and begins to focus (maybe a little too much) on the relationship.
It reminds me of the the successful woman who was really moving up in her career but puts in on hold to have kids and sees her husband move up the ladder she was. She's genuinely happy for him but it reminds her what she lost, or is losing.
In all fairness, this would all be well and good but why does Buffy pull away from Riley? He believes because he's not strong enough for her and that is why he moves toward the crazed. People often go on about this, but they miss the point, his question for a long time is "Does she love me?"
Ruffy vs Bangel Vs Spuffy
Ruffy is certainly an underdog ship if ever I saw one. A lot of it hangs on two things: People don't like Riley and fans don't believe Buffy loved him. Well, the first thing is all about favourite characters etc, so I'm not going to delve into the subjectivity of that arena here but the second is interesting. Now in my heart of hearts, I don't believe she did love him, not because he's douche but because she never allowed herself to. At that point her heart was closed to romantic love. I honestly think she could have loved him.
The only person who I think she loved unequivocally is Angel anyway. Riley and Spike were always a question mark considering: She never got to see Riley before he flew off and the fact that she told Spike right before he was going to die that she loved him, meant it was never actually affirmed that she wanted to have a romantic relationship with him.
So with all this in mind, it comes down to preference, but I still think Ruffy had as much of a chance as the other mainstream ships, considering Spike barely having to balls to see her and Angel and Buffy being unable to consumate their relationship without the world almost ending and/or Buffy ending up in tears.
Bloodsucking Whores and Ultimatums
This possibly pisses off the fans the most and I'm in no way defending his actions. However, I still believe that addressing why he did it is useful when analyzing his character.
Now the common argument is that Buffy had a lot to deal with and couldn't take care of the boyf as well.
As I've said, many a time, Buffy is always going to have things to deal with but if she doesn't open up then she shouldn't be a relationship. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I don't believe you should push everyone out when things are hard but then be all kissy when things seems rosy. This is what hurt Riley and Buffy didn't get that until it was too late.
Of course she's not obligated to love him if she doesn't feel it. His ultimatum was never about "I'm in the right and you're in the wrong, so admit or I'm gone", it was "Love me or let me go" which when you think about it, is totally fair. Maybe Riley didn't explain it well enough because Buffy didn't get it until it was too late and most fans still don't get it.
So join me in the defence of Mr Riley Finn. The only boyfriend Buffy could bring home to mum, the only boyfriend who actually got on with Xander was intergrated well into the Scoobies. The guy who comes complete with first aid training. The guy who helped OZ (in the end). The guy who's attentive, loving, romantic, practical and doesn't drain her emotionally.
All hail Riley, or maybe hate him slightly less????
MinwaraYana
[No message]
VisionGirl
[No message]
S
Summerlilly
I love you!
C
Christopher
Awesome thread
