Why does everyone hate Riley

[david123]

There was a thread about Riley i remember reading, but i couldn't find it, so ive made my own.

I do see the bad things he did but it is understandable, what Xander said is true in the episode Riley left (cant remember the name.) Buffy treated Riley like the rebound guy, constantly ignoring him, keeping him on the side, doesn't think he can handle himself anymore, Riley gave up everything for Buffy, and he truely loved her, his speach in replacement was very sad, especially when he says "but she doesn't love me." He took way too much crap from Buffy, and he was the one who could of made her happy, had she given him the chance. Personally i feel alot of empathy towards Riley. The way Buffy was treating him was obviouly killing him, the way he had to go to the vamp house to get fed off, it was an obvious cry for help, he was like an outsider, with nothing left but Buffy and she couldnt see that, or didnt want to.

Hopefully ive added another perspective to Riley, as i dont think Josh intended for people to hate him.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

It wasn't what he did, it was that he was boring. And he had a silly voice. I didn't mind him, but he was just there. All the time. And whenever he did do something, he did it badly.

 

[T.I.P]

I used to hate Riley, but when i watch it now i dont mind him half as much, and i actually think he's quite good in season 5.
He may be (very) boring sometimes, but when you consider we've got Spike and Willow etc to keep us entertained, its pretty good to have someone like Riley in there to make the other seem even more interesting. (plus what ya expect, he's soldier guy)

 

[JenniferAlice]

It's just too easy to hate Riley, he always saying annoying stupid crap..and he acts like such a victim, his face is annoying, his teeth are annoying, HE'S ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sosa lola]

I think fans' hate for him is more irrational than something Riley did. He's not Angel, that's why fans hate him and try in all possible ways to blame him for everything wrong that happens.

I used to blindly hate Riley because I started fandom through fanfiction and Riley was always bashed and protrayed as this bigoted, awful person. Then when I actually watched the show, I discovered that he was a very nice gentleman. Even nicer than Angel and Spike, and he made Buffy happy in ways Angel and Spike couldn't.

I really think if fans watched the show with a clear mind and put their bias on Riley aside, they'd enjoy his character as much as I did.

 

[MSchett]

getting fed off by vampires is a little to far off your rocker to be called a cry for help... i think he had some serious issues one being the whole biting thing, the other being his problem with Buffy being so much stronger than him and him not really being able to help her... Riley needed someone who was strong but not too strong and could still use his help and its what he found in his wife...

 

[Fake Shemp]

still like him.... im sure there was a thread about this already... *ponders*

 

[Aleris]

I don't hate Riley.
But I do hate that it's "all Buffy's fault". Yeah she was pretty distant and stuff and didn't really love him .. but can everyone here say that they've truely LOVED every body they've ever dated? Sometimes it just turns out that way, and you don't even realise that the relationship's gone bad.
She can't be a good slayer when she has to constantly worry about her sub-par boyfriend (which isn't his fault, he's not a slayer and even the drugs he was on from the Initiative didn't make him strong enough). Which isn't Buffy's fault either that she can kick more arse than him. Welcome to the 20th/21st century, woman powah!
Then there's the whole vamp sucking thing ... and then blaming it on Buffy. Need I say more? What an idiot.

He's a dependant and I think he really doesn't have much personality. He was dependant on the Initiative for his sense of self worth, power and usefulness. Then he was dependant on Buffy for those same things, and then the vamps for the power and usefulness throwing his self worth to the wind. Sad, really, but boohoo cry me a river you don't go and blame someone else for you being a braindead moron.

Ok ... so maybe I do hate Riley ... =/

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

I think fans' hate for him is more irrational than something Riley did. He's not Angel, that's why fans hate him and try in all possible ways to blame him for everything wrong that happens.

I used to blindly hate Riley because I started fandom through fanfiction and Riley was always bashed and protrayed as this bigoted, awful person. Then when I actually watched the show, I discovered that he was a very nice gentleman. Even nicer than Angel and Spike, and he made Buffy happy in ways Angel and Spike couldn't.

I really think if fans watched the show with a clear mind and put their bias on Riley aside, they'd enjoy his character as much as I did.

Thing about that is, the majority of fans are Spuffies. (Don't argue you lot. It's only by a small margin, but it seems in all the polls we do on here, Spuffy just comes out on top.) So, I'm not sure it's to do with Angel. Or maybe it is. Riley in contrast to Angel is nowhere near as interesting. As a stopgap, fine, but he was around for way to long to only be the character he was.

 

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

I think fans' hate for him is more irrational than something Riley did. He's not Angel, that's why fans hate him and try in all possible ways to blame him for everything wrong that happens.

I used to blindly hate Riley because I started fandom through fanfiction and Riley was always bashed and protrayed as this bigoted, awful person. Then when I actually watched the show, I discovered that he was a very nice gentleman. Even nicer than Angel and Spike, and he made Buffy happy in ways Angel and Spike couldn't.

I really think if fans watched the show with a clear mind and put their bias on Riley aside, they'd enjoy his character as much as I did.

i dont think this is true so much. i like spike AND angel, but i dont like riley. its not like i think either of them is the ULTIMATE boyfriend who MUST end up with buffy or ill die, but i still dislike riley. and the reasons i have to dislike him are not, 'he's boring' or 'he's not as cool as angel / as spike' or something like that. i feel disliking someone because, for instance, he needs to feel needed so much that he goes and gets vamps to suck his blood as a solution is very legitimate, indeed 🙂.

 

[Crazy Flakes]

I'd like to come up with some intelligent, possibly philosophical reason for why everyone seems to hate Riley, but let's be honest...the real reason why people hate him is because he's not Spike or Angel. I agree, he was a bit boring at times, and that was reason enough to dislike him, but if Angel and Spike had never been around, I don't think people would have hated him half as much.

That being said, I didn't mind Riley. I didn't love him, and definitely preferred Buffy's relationships with Angel and Spike, but there was something about him that I liked. Must've been that Southern charm. Plus, he had some pretty funny lines here and there.

 

[Schillaci]

I didn't like Riley because the actor that played him(whose name escapes me right now) was f*****g awful. It seemed like, to me, that all he ever did was stand there clenching his jaws. I've heard the phrase "acting chops" being used, in this guys case it would be kicking the f**k out of irony to use the phrase "acting chops" in the same sentence as him.

I certainly didn't not like him because of anything his character ever did. Man, I loved Warren, and the guy in season 4 who slept with Buffy. In fact theres a scene in season 4 where Riley punches the guy that slept with Buffy for liking her with a toilet seat. That scene would have been awesome, and in fact would have made me really like Riley.. If Riley had been any other actor on the planet.

If Riley had been played by somebody who knew how to act I have no doubt that there was enough meat in the scripts for me to like him.

 

[Joyce Summers]

Now speaking as one of the few Riley fans on this board, I have to admit that the first time round I didn't so much hate him as I had no feeling for him at all. He never caused a huge story arc in the way that Buffy's relationship with both Spike and Angel did so I wasn't forced to take much notice. But then in reruns- and eventually the DVDs- I was able to take the time to absorb the episodes as a whole rather than just trying to keep attention on the main action so as to know what was going on. And it was then that I was able to pay more attention to Riley- I discovered I liked him.

Riley's the normal guy. He isn't I-must-feel-the-burden-of-souliness and he isn't Mr Sometimes Screws Things Up with Inadvertent Vamp Tendencies. He's The Guy. There are three types of guys that we gals typically fall for.

1. The Bad Boy. This would be Spike.
2. The Mysterious Older Guy. This would be Angel.
3. The Macho Sweep You Off Your Feet Clean Shaven Guy. This would be Riley.

And while type number one was decidedly my type throughout my teens, now I can honestly say that type number three is my type. Which would go to explain why I like Riley. Now I know the whole Vamp Whore thing was so VERY bad, but for a moment put that aside and stop using that as an argument as to why Riley is "stupid". Just put a pin in that reason and ignore it. Now other than that does Riley ever give us a reason to dislike him?

-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.

Okay, so yes I'm a Ruffy/Briley fan. So sue me.

 

[T.I.P]

I didn't like Riley because the actor that played him(whose name escapes me right now) was f*****g awful. It seemed like, to me, that all he ever did was stand there clenching his jaws.

hahahaahahahahahahahaaha, i noticed that alot too, i think it was his silly way of looking like a hardman.
It was all: jaw clench ''Stand down soldier'' jaw clench ''I surely do'' jaw clench ''But she dosnt love me'' jaw clench.
That was pretty much Rileys character.
Oh yeah, his real name is......... wait for it.......................

MARC BLUCAS

 

[Perny]

Two words: Captain CARDBOARD!

Lack of personality much?

 

[Fake Shemp]

he didnt have a great personality in season 5, unloved and having a case of slayer envy, but he was lovely in season 4 and was what buffy needed until he tried to be macho.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

See, Joyce, I agree with pretty much everything you say, but I also had the feeling that it was all waaaaay too spread out with big blank periods of him just being there. I didn't mind the vamp nonsense. I can like a character because of their flaws, it's what makes them interesting. I was glad that he was actually doing something. But, it just seemed to me that every time Buffy really needed Angel, he would move mountains to get there. Same with Spike, even as an unsouled Vampire. Riley? Well, he'd turn up, but he'd be too busy keeping himself superpowered, or being upset that calling him slipped her mind when her mother was in hospital. When did she ever call Angel?

But anyway, all that makes it sound like I don't like Riley cause he's not Angel. But that's not the case. I just think that despite the romance and courting, despite the fact that he's Mr. Guy, he was never the rock of support that Buffy so badly needed at that point in time.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

he was never the rock of support that Buffy so badly needed at that point in time.

Because she would never let him be that. She wanted someone she could control and contain- something she never had with the vampires- after coming off of her one night stand with whosehisname. She wanted someone reliable that could be there when she wanted it and be gone when she didnt. She wanted to be chased instead of the chasee. She just used Riley as a convenience and nothing more.

She wanted normal, and once she found out he WASN'T, that he was a PT demon hunter, the allure of Mr. Iowa ran out. She even mentions something along those lines to Willow saying 'she thought he was normal'

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

Because she would never let him be that. She wanted someone she could control and contain- something she never had with the vampires- after coming off of her one night stand with whosehisname. She wanted someone reliable that could be there when she wanted it and be gone when she didnt. She wanted to be chased instead of the chasee. She just used Riley as a convenience and nothing more.

She wanted normal, and once she found out he WASN'T, that he was a PT demon hunter, the allure of Mr. Iowa ran out. She even mentions something along those lines to Willow saying 'she thought he was normal'

That doesn't mean he shouldn't have been there for her. Perhaps he should have talked to her about it, rather than just putting more and more distance between them.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

That doesn't mean he shouldn't have been there for her. Perhaps he should have talked to her about it, rather than just putting more and more distance between them.

She was the one putting the distance. Maybe instead of spending her time on the porch confiding with a vampire she should have called him instead. It goes two ways. He WAS there for her, when he found out (through spike) yet once again she dismissed him.