Thoughts On Captain Cardboard

[white avenger]

I don't know if this has ever been the subject of any sort of thread, but I'll ask it anyhow. Why do so many of us dislike the Riley/Buffy relationship? Granted, there was the vampire suck jobs he was getting on the side toward the end, and the fact that he just couldn't seem to accept his role as the most un-super bed partner Buffy had ever had, Parker excepted, but why don't any more of us like him than we do? He was the typical all American corn fed Iowa boy, heroic and true, but he just didn't seem to mesh with the Slayer.

Anyone out there care to comment?

 

[Lyri]

He was the typical all American corn fed Iowa boy,

i think that right there is the point...he was NORMAL. everyone around Buffy was all super powerful...slayers, witches, werewolves, vampires, big balls of universe destroying energy, watchers. yeah, Riley had all that military training, and he hunted monsters, but he wasn't the guy we all wanted Buffy to be with...we all ship Buffy and the vampires.
we already had a regular Joe we all loved...Xander. we didn't want another one running around hogging all the screen time.
Riley was too much of a normal guy for the fans to bond with. the show was about the mystical and the demonic. i just think, that after Riley left the Inititive, he became boring to us, and we just couldn't be bothered with him anymore.

 

[Randy Giles]

I hated Riley. Not because he was normal, in fact I liked the concept of him and the fact that we wasn't a vampire (I'm so sick of Buffy/Angel and Buffy/Spike angst). But I hated the actor, and the way they wrote Riley. He and Buffy had no chemistry, and his constant jealousies were annoying.

I liked Buffy better with that guy from early season three, the one who broke up with her and then we found out he was gay in season seven. I liked them together.

 

[definition of insane]

I didn't hate Buffy and Riley initally...but that whole "my girlfriend doesn't need me because she's a superhero" complex really got my goat in the end.

It was a good idea originally...but as most real-to-life couple go through not so great periods in their relationship, rather than trying to work through it he went and got sucked and then flew away.

Gave up really. I think I'd to see Buffy with someone with as much strength and resilience as what she has, not necessary someone who's as physically strong but someone who's not going to be completely whipped because they can't keep up.

Basically, no-one likes a quitter 😉

 

[Tranquillity]

I remember not liking Reilly from very early in the season four. he was annoying and sexist. I think the romance with Buffy seemed forced. maybe it was supposed to because she was so determined to 'get over' Angel. She wanted a nice normal boyfriend so that's what she found and stuck with despite the lack of chemistry (and that he turned out to be not so normal). He was always competative with Buffy even in the early days and that used to drive me crazy that he couldn't deal with her being stronger than him. One of the happiest buffy moments was the night he took of in that helicopter, i wish i could say never to return again but.... alas, we had to have "As You Were"

 

[MarsGirl]

I didn't mind Riley, but neither did I miss him when he was gone. I would have rather seen Buffy in a serious relationship with a completely "normal" human. (The Initiative took away some of his normal points.)