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Date Posted: 16:51:16 08/15/05 Mon
Author: Rosie
Author Host/IP: 170.97.67.91
Subject: Re: Rewatched "Freshman" and "Living Conditions"...
In reply to: DawnsMan 's message, "Rewatched "Freshman" and "Living Conditions"..." on 22:42:52 08/12/05 Fri

"And yes, Riley was bland, a little bit dull, kind of clueless and totally white bread."

When I read these comments about Riley, I realize that not many fans have bothered to view the character underneath the so-called "bland" facade. Riley was a hell of a lot more than that. But since he seemed "normal" on the outside and he dated Buffy after the over-appreciated Buffy/Angel romance, many fans tend to put him down.

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Replies:

[> [> You just looooove to think the worst of me. -- Eurydice, 18:34:41 08/15/05 Mon [1] (141.154.22.57)

I like Riley a lot, but that doesn't blind me to what the writers were doing, which was to paint a direct contrast to Angel. Compared to Angel, Riley was bland. Compared to Buffy's life, Riley's was dull. Compared to what Buffy knew about the "real" demon world, Riley and the Initiative were clueless. And there's never been a character in the Jossverse so scrubbed and shiny and stereotypically American White Bread.

And having said that I'll go back to my post in this and earlier threads. I always liked Riley and I sympathized with him more than I did with Buffy, and that wouldn't have happened if he didn't have additional layers. But the point of his existence as a character wasn't about additional layers, it was about Buffy's perception of normal, and Riley embodied that.


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[> [> And while you're searching for those layers... -- Eurydice, 18:38:20 08/15/05 Mon [1] (141.154.22.57)

You might toy with notion that real live people have layers, too - and that you can't instantly judge everything they say as black or white.


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