"Just sorta hoping you'd think I had an honest face."
Iowa-born Riley Finn, Clean cut college boy with a big secret.
We first meet lovely teaching assistant Riley when Buffy and Willow go shopping for textbooks and Buffy manages to concuss him with a stack of books. He takes it well though, not holding it against the two girls. However, he seems more interested in Willow than in Buffy.
It soon becomes clear that Riley is going to be figuring more in the girls life when he shows up as the assistant to Professor Maggie Walsh's Pyschology class. As we said he seems so nice and normal but as we know there is no such thing as normal in Sunnydale and it turns out that Riley is the top-agent for a covert military operation called the Initiative, run by Prof. Walsh and staffed with most of the college boys in Riley's dorm.
Soon though Riley begins to notice Buffy and confides to his friends that she is hot (as Forrest says she's all-temperature Buffy). He makes attempts to meet up in the halls and walks with her after classes, but Buffy doesn't seem to notice him and he goes to Willow for help. She helpfully tells him that Buffy likes cheese as well as giving him the warning that if he breaks Buffy's heart she'll rip him into little pieces. He does finally pluck the courage up to talk to Buffy properly but makes a bit of a mess of it. But he comes to the conclusion that practice makes perfect and starts rehearsing the conversations he's going to have with Buffy.
Unfortunately, he gets confused over which one's he's actually had and which one's he's just been practicing, but in a roundabout way does get Buffy to go on a picnic with him. Talking to the object of his desire doesn't get any easier and it took the loss of everyone's voices to make him kiss Buffy.
It also led to the discovery of each other's secrets when both of them went to battle the mysterious Gentlemen. Riley decides (once they get their voices back) that they need to talk and Buffy tells him that she's the Slayer (he hadn't even heard of her) and she tells him that she figured out that he worked for the Initiative, the commando outfit and the high-tech weaponary was a bit of a give-away.
Initially, Buffy doesn't want to have a relationship with Riley, she can only see it leading towards the bad, but Riley can be very persuasive when he wants to be and convinces her that not all relationships are doomed. When Buffy has to return to Sunnydale High to prevent the Hellmouth from opening, Riley turns up to help and saves Buffy's life in the process, as well as helping stop the Hellmouth from openeing. Xander and Willow see through his cover story (paintballing) and tell him so. Riley is mortified that his cover has been blown so quickly and decides he's a terrible secret agent.
Buffy convinces him that he isn't with a kiss. Buffy isn't the only happy person in this relationship, Riley looks like he's walking on air. Impressed by his new girlfriend's fighting skills (and face it who isn't?) he challenges her to a fight and she sorely whips his bottom, kicking him across the room, (bless). It doesn't diminish his affection for the Slayer though. Although it is sorely tested, first when Buffy goes to LA to see Angel (and Xander accidently tells him about the moment of happiness) and secondly after he sleeps with Faith-in-Buffy's-body.
When Walsh is found dead and Adam goes on the ramage, Riley learns, very quickly, that there is no such thign as black and white, just shades of grey. It shakes him to his core and he has to re-assess a lot about his life. Including his role in the Initiative. When he has to choose between Buffy and the Initiative he follows his heart. Which gets him into more trouble. He loses the respect of his friends and has to go into hiding. He suffers badly with withdrawal fromthe Meds he was on. And there's always the looming shadow of a certain brooding vampire.
When the Initiative is destroyed in the final battle with Adam, Riley has to go to explain what happened and they let him go with an honourable discharge. well it's the least the miliatary could do after he saved the lives of so many soldiers.
Buffy's second year with Riley opens seemingly blissful, but the cracks are appearing. Buffy won't let Riley in, she doesn't even tell him how ill her mother is. She starts keeping secrets from him and he hates the way that the women he was been taught to protect (in a socialality way) is much stronger than him and doesn't need his help. he feels inadequate and the whole Angel thing still looms over his head.
He starts sneaking out at night, visiting a vampire lair and letting the ladies of the establishment feed off him. He wants to know how Buffy felt when Angel and then Dracula drank from her, why she is so obsessed with them. it becomes an obsession with him and eventually Buffy finds out.
She tells him that he needs to make a decision. Can either pick the vampires or he can pick her. He tells her that he'd love to pick her but she won't let him in, instead she's pushing him away. They have a huge argument. Like a bad smell, Graham shows up and offers Riley the chance to get back into the Initiative, if he'll go with them to South America to deal with a demon problem. There is no assurity that he'll come back alive.
He tells Buffy that he's thinking of going, unless Buffy can prove to him that he's wanted here. He tells her when he's leaving and walks out. He goes to the helicopter and it is just leaving as Buffy gets there, she screams for him to come back but he doesn't hear, he doesn't even see her.
Please don't treat Riley harshly. He's not Angel's replacement and I don't think he's trying to be. He is a truly sweet character and he should be judged in his own right and not by what has gone before.