Riley's sudden insecurities that "she doesn't love me" seemed to come out of nowhere
To be fair, they could have come out of his growing realization that he was in love with her. I think Riley's marriage in Season 6 shows that he was in an emotional place where he was looking for The One, and he wanted it to be Buffy, but he was starting to suspect that the feeling wasn't mutual.
In fact, if this particular episode were better handled, I would really like the reversal of the traditional sex roles -- the guy who's looking for serious commitment, the girl who's, like, "what are you talking about, we're barely twenty."
Also, stabbing Spike with plastic wood grain was just a stupid writing ploy.
Maybe, except I love the way that scene plays out, where Riley is trying so hard to be self-righteous and then realizes he's the asshole and gives up. (He doesn't stake Spike, because he wants to kick Spike's ass.)
But then it makes me even madder when he's so self-righteous with Buffy, without ever having that "hey, maybe I'm the asshole" moment. Is this suggesting that Riley is male-defined? He hates Spike, but he recognizes Spike as an equal and fully autonomous individual?
To be fair, they could have come out of his growing realization that he was in love with her. I think Riley's marriage in Season 6 shows that he was in an emotional place where he was looking for The One, and he wanted it to be Buffy, but he was starting to suspect that the feeling wasn't mutual.
In fact, if this particular episode were better handled, I would really like the reversal of the traditional sex roles -- the guy who's looking for serious commitment, the girl who's, like, "what are you talking about, we're barely twenty."
Also, stabbing Spike with plastic wood grain was just a stupid writing ploy.
Maybe, except I love the way that scene plays out, where Riley is trying so hard to be self-righteous and then realizes he's the asshole and gives up. (He doesn't stake Spike, because he wants to kick Spike's ass.)
But then it makes me even madder when he's so self-righteous with Buffy, without ever having that "hey, maybe I'm the asshole" moment. Is this suggesting that Riley is male-defined? He hates Spike, but he recognizes Spike as an equal and fully autonomous individual?
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