Why does everyone hate Riley

[fly on the wall]

-He's kind. He gives Buffy support in The Freshman and Fear, Itself.
- He has a sense of humor and can laugh at himself "Yes. I am a lesbian"
-He's sweet and romantically old fashioned. He even says "courting someone like Buffy" rather than "dating"
-He's endearing. e.g when he blows his chat-up conversation with Buffy and so holds up a piece of cheddar with the offer "Cheese?". Ansd the fact he goes to Willow before hand to see how to approach Buffy and what she likes.
-He's protective. He hits Parker when he is comparing having sex with Buffy to using a toilet.
-He loves Buffy more than anything the world and would do anything for her. Even when he knows she doesn't love him the same way back.
-He willingly spends time with Dawn when Joyce is in hospital and Buffy is fighting hell god lady.
-He becomes good friends with Xander. Xander's ONLY male friend since Oz.
-He can fight his own battles.

All good points, no?

It just always seems to me that while people can just dislike Riley for reasons they can't pinpoint, the ones tht adamently HATE Riley are either devout Bangels or Spuffies. Everyone else tends to think nothing on Riley or just not prefer him. What I never get is when people agree with Spike's definition of "Captain Cardboard". As proven by the list above, I have to say Riley is anything but cardboard. He's very multi-dimensional and while his old-fashioned ways prevent him from being Emotional Man he has a lot of deep and emotional levels. His speech at the end of The Replacement was one such example.

Riley I believe was the guy Buffy could have stayed with and had the happy life with and some little semblence of normalcy with him. IF she had realized in time that he wasn't the rebound guy anymore and she did love him. But the fact that she didn't realize doesn't make it her fault, it just kinda proved that even if the potential for all that was there, it unfortunately wasn't meant to happen.

I disagree with your post, but I can appreciate the thought and eloquence you put into it. So kudos for that. 🙂

I can pinpoint EXACTLY why I hate Riley, and it actually has nothing to do with the vamp whore thing. Sure, that added fuel to the fire, but I'd already hated him before that. It also has nothing to do with Spike or Angel. It has nothing to do with anything but Riley's character.

1. He was insecure. I cannot STAND this about people, and Riley was the most insecure person the show's ever seen. S1 Willow is the only one that comes close, but at least she grew as a character. Riley didn't. If anything, he grew more and more insecure throughout S4 and towards S5. Buffy's power and strength made him feel inferior. The feminist in me rages at that. He was insecure about their relationship, himself, hell, he was even insecure about ANGEL before he'd even met him. It was annoying.

2. He was totally needy. He needed Buffy, he needed Buffy to be needy about him, he needed to be big macho military man, he needed someone to be hungry for him, he needed the relationship with Buffy, he needed to be the strong one...Hell, he complained about Buffy STUDYING because she wasn't paying attention to him. He was suffocating on screen, which was also annoying.

3. He was boring. I'm sorry to bring this up as a point, but it's true. His "old-fashionedness" is exactly what made him so predictable, so corn-fed and dull. (In fact, the only thing I can think of that he did that wasn't completely predictable was being fed on by vamp whores, and we've already covered that was bad.) I hated when he'd say things like "courting Buffy," describing himself as a gentleman, etc etc. He rarely said anything interesting/funny. Sure, he had a few moments ("I'm a lesbian", "I will (skip down this hall to Xander's apartment)", etc..) but if anything these few moments of interesting/witty comments seemed out of place for Riley's character. The Initiative was boring by itself, and Riley made it more so. Again, annoying.

4. Goes off of the boring thing, but he seemed...devoid of a true personality. Maybe it was the soldier in him. But he took orders. That was his nature, but add this to the boringness, the fact that he didn't seem to have any passions (other than Buffy), and I think this is why people call him Captain Cardboard. He would sacrifice doing the "right" thing for doing what he was TOLD was right. Even when he left the Initiative, it just seemed...like he was copying Buffy leaving the Council. I rolled my eyes when he called himself an anarchist. His character felt too forced, too round, too bland. Like, okay, we get it, he's from Iowa, he's a gentleman, now could you please give the guy some DEPTH? Annoying.

5. The stupid things he says. "I surely do", "Those are some serious accusations, soldier!", "Affirmative...I mean, yes." God, his lines always irritated me in some way. Yes, you got it, annoying.

There are many more reasons why I hate Riley. But just so you know, I didn't hate him to start. It was only during the re-watches, years later, that I began to hate him. I ended up wanting to punch him in the jaw whenever he spoke. I don't understand how he was the "best" boyfriend for Buffy. Because he was "normal"? How exactly is "normal" the best? I personally think Buffy is better off with someone who challenges her, who she has passion with, who doesn't solely depend on her, who has his own two feet on the ground. And as much as the writers may have tried, that just was not Riley for me and never will be.

 

[Perny]

I disagree with your post, but I can appreciate the thought and eloquence you put into it. So kudos for that. 🙂

I can pinpoint EXACTLY why I hate Riley, and it actually has nothing to do with the vamp whore thing. Sure, that added fuel to the fire, but I'd already hated him before that. It also has nothing to do with Spike or Angel. It has nothing to do with anything but Riley's character.

1. He was insecure. I cannot STAND this about people, and Riley was the most insecure person the show's ever seen. S1 Willow is the only one that comes close, but at least she grew as a character. Riley didn't. If anything, he grew more and more insecure throughout S4 and towards S5. Buffy's power and strength made him feel inferior. The feminist in me rages at that. He was insecure about their relationship, himself, hell, he was even insecure about ANGEL before he'd even met him. It was annoying.

2. He was totally needy. He needed Buffy, he needed Buffy to be needy about him, he needed to be big macho military man, he needed someone to be hungry for him, he needed the relationship with Buffy, he needed to be the strong one...Hell, he complained about Buffy STUDYING because she wasn't paying attention to him. He was suffocating on screen, which was also annoying.

3. He was boring. I'm sorry to bring this up as a point, but it's true. His "old-fashionedness" is exactly what made him so predictable, so corn-fed and dull. (In fact, the only thing I can think of that he did that wasn't completely predictable was being fed on by vamp whores, and we've already covered that was bad.) I hated when he'd say things like "courting Buffy," describing himself as a gentleman, etc etc. He rarely said anything interesting/funny. Sure, he had a few moments ("I'm a lesbian", "I will (skip down this hall to Xander's apartment)", etc..) but if anything these few moments of interesting/witty comments seemed out of place for Riley's character. The Initiative was boring by itself, and Riley made it more so. Again, annoying.

4. Goes off of the boring thing, but he seemed...devoid of a true personality. Maybe it was the soldier in him. But he took orders. That was his nature, but add this to the boringness, the fact that he didn't seem to have any passions (other than Buffy), and I think this is why people call him Captain Cardboard. He would sacrifice doing the "right" thing for doing what he was TOLD was right. Even when he left the Initiative, it just seemed...like he was copying Buffy leaving the Council. I rolled my eyes when he called himself an anarchist. His character felt too forced, too round, too bland. Like, okay, we get it, he's from Iowa, he's a gentleman, now could you please give the guy some DEPTH? Annoying.

5. The stupid things he says. "I surely do", "Those are some serious accusations, soldier!", "Affirmative...I mean, yes." God, his lines always irritated me in some way. Yes, you got it, annoying.

There are many more reasons why I hate Riley. But just so you know, I didn't hate him to start. It was only during the re-watches, years later, that I began to hate him. I ended up wanting to punch him in the jaw whenever he spoke. I don't understand how he was the "best" boyfriend for Buffy. Because he was "normal"? How exactly is "normal" the best? I personally think Buffy is better off with someone who challenges her, who she has passion with, who doesn't solely depend on her, who has his own two feet on the ground. And as much as the writers may have tried, that just was not Riley for me and never will be.

Pretty much summs up why I hate him ....

Captain Cardboard...A dustbunny is more exiting than you!