*RILEY DID WHAT!?!* Buffy the Vampire Slayer S4 Ep 20 "The Yoko Factor" Reaction:FIRST TIME WATCHING
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- Опубликовано: 17 май 2023
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Haha, he said "I feel like this is the most unpredictable season finale of Buffy that I'm approaching now." Well, he could be right about that!
21:50 I know what you mean by the "get a clue", but also I think Xander's reaction really illustrate the whole problem that Spike hit upon. He didn't knew about that, because they've all been separated from each other a lot this season, so they're not in each others' lives as they used to be. Spike might have capitalized on that, but it's not his fault that those four are not in each other's life anymore, and ultimately that really is what that fight was about.
It's foreshadowed by how in "A New Man", Giles was the last to find out about the Initiative.
"You never train with me anymore...hes gonna kick your ass" Lmao favorite quote from season 4 🤣💜
I like when Xander says "Tara's your GIRLFRIEND?!" and you hear Giles from upstairs slur "Bloody hell!"
@@nancytoothaker3224 lmao yessss
You cutting out Giles' drunkenly saying, "Bloody hell," in the background when Willow says that Tara is her girlfriend made me sad. It is such a funny moment!
Spike and Buffy were never married in Something Blue, just engaged
I love Spike's take on The Yoko Factor since, even today, people think of Yoko as the girl who broke the group up.
She ruined the Plastic Ono Band!
Yeah because it had nothing to do with the enormous egos those guys had.
Recently, in the Winchesters episode "Masters of War", Millie Winchester (John's mom, Dean and Sam's paternal grandmother) used "Is Yoko Ono unfairly blamed for the breakup of the Beatles?" as a rhetorical yes.
I imagine, as usual, that the truth is somewhere in-between. I've seen videos of her and she definitely is a bit weird.
It was shown during the 2nd half of the season that Spike see rigth through the scoobys psychological problems. Therefore it took him no efford to play the Yoko factor.
XANDER: “Tara’s your girlfriend?!”
GILES:
*off screen*
“Bloody hell!”
Best moment. Yeah, it’s like ‘Dead Man’s Party’ but it’s much more tolerable because it’s funny. And plus, they’re supposed to be estranged in this season. The fighting makes sense. It didn’t in ‘Dead Man’s Party’. That was just ganging up on Buffy to make her feel shitty. Nobody saw it from her side. Here it’s not about seeing sides because they’re growing apart from each other as it is. The whole conflict of the season is this. Their estrangement.
"Don't push me, boy." That's one of my favorite lines. 😅
If you rewatch the first few eps of the season: Buffy feeling awkward and hiding from Willow & Oz not wanting to burden them or during "Fear, Itself" Willow's belief that she's only seen as Buffy's side-kick. Xander feeling left out and "not seen"
I never fully understood Willow psyche, but it is just relieving to see her goofyness being appreciated by Tara 9:46
That cuteness overload 🥺
I love Buffy's and Angel's talk in this episode. Both the way it's written and the way it's acted. They just sell it.
I think I've just come to realize the whole Giles singing and playing guitar all season may be part of the mid life crisis theme lol
Also i am sooooo excited for Season 5 & 6 💜
I've never quite understood the Riley hate either. He's basically Joss's pre-Captain America. Maybe not quite as pure hearted, but he's a good guy. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that he is not Angel.
I personally just find him kind of a bland one dimensional sulky character, I really don't like him but for me it's not because he's not angel...coz I prefer when buffy and angel are not together. But that's just me
**MINOR PLOT SPOILERS**
There is a lot of later season baggage on Riley. He is everything an red-blooded farmboy Iowa boy scout, a good soldiers follow orders young man. Without his troop, he is out of place in California, he is a fish out of water without any commander orders and he never really got life skills that allows him to cope with interpersonal relationships. He's a traditionalist when it comes to the family hierarchy where the man of the house provides and the woman tends to the house. Ironically, if Riley put aside the second part of that, where he prefers Buffy stay in the kitchen, he could fill a much needed niche and provide what Buffy needed which was an income provider and that would in turn make him feel needed and reliable.
He is porridge without the charisma.
Riley represents the traditional boring boyfriend, that's it. SPACESHIPLEWIS had a good point, too. I agree with you that after a while he's not actually so bad for Buffy, but that's what he represents.
Since I do not like Captain America... I would say, my feelings for Riley checks out too XD
But, joke aside. For me, it's a combination of things. I don't care about him not being Angel. He is a good guy in theory. But he actually has defaults that are a deal breaker for me. I liked him better before he got with Buffy, because at that point he was gooffy and a nice guy... But as soon as he starts dating her, there is a lot of events that made me dislike him.
Like that episode, "factor Yoko". His explanation to Buffy is "I guess i'm so in love with you, I don't think straight." That doesn't sit right with me. I just don't like his personality and the way he handles disagrements with Buffy, or his jalousy. And it's only going to get worse from that point, in my opinion. There is a lot of snippets like that one, that made me dislike him more and more. I'm not saying people can't like him. Or that I'm absolutly right. But, that's why i don't like him. Little things, that turned out to be bigger and bigger.
Are you posting Angel 1x19 on youtube as well?
Is he high!? 😹 finally the cracks in the Riley foundation! Just wait.. there’s more! 🥂
Quite impressive how many people are jumping straight to asking about "Sanctuary" before listening to the intro. Must be rather frustrating.
However, I DID watch your intro and I'm still confused. Will the episode stay a Patreon exclusive? That kinda sucks. Or is there some other weird reason for not uploading it yet? A short clarification would be appreciated.
you forgot to upload Sanctuary, unless thats like a Patreon exclusive?
Can we please talk about how cute the kitten is????
No. It's a kitten. It's cute. What's there to talk about?
@@shaunhoughton9261 Its adorable so we must talk about how adorable it is! lol
@@gingershellkittens6620 okay, okay. It's a 10 out 10 on the adorameter. It's Gizmo levels of adorable. That's it, I'm all adored out.
@@shaunhoughton9261 lol
This episode is so fun! I love singing Giles, scared Giles, and especially drunk Giles. He's the star of the show. 😂😂
Angel showing up to mend things was great. He didn't need to, but it was good for my Bangel heart. Lol. The network or whomever, didn't want the shows to crossover much at all, so any time they did, I was very happy.
The ending was supposed to be ambiguous and really make you think in all the ways you did! Who knows why he's there, but you're supposed to be like, 'what the hell?!'
"Fort Dix?! *giggles*"😂😂😂😂
Also, "Zero empathy, zero humanity, you should join the watchers council at this point." 100%
I really like Adam as a Big Bad, though I think he should've been given a few more episode appearances to really flesh him out, and emphasize his particular skill with uniting the underworld. He's pretty underrated as a villain, I think!
Uh oh! Did I miss an episode?
Yeah...did I miss"Sanctuary"?______!
Same here....
@@invadertifxiii No,he wrote on the video that it's on Patreon,but...isn't it on RUclips either??And if it's not..WHY??🤨
"Is he high?!" x4 🤣
What happened to Sanctuary? Did I miss something? Im so confused and disappointed i missed it.
There was a note at the beginning of the video. I think he uploaded them on Patreon in reverse order but watched them in the correct order. So he should post Sanctuary next. 🤞🏼
@@spangelicious837 He posted them on Patreon in the correct order.
@@TheNoybusiness I figured as much. It's probably a YT issue.
Spike's gift is reading people. He picks up on the Scoobies' insecurities and exploits them expertly.
Have you been sent the ForRiley link yet? If not, ask domi e.!!!
riley is the plain vanilla yogurt of boyfriends
"Is he high?"🤣. Anthony Stewart Head's voice is dreamy, just a fact.
"Riley, bro, are you high?" gotta be the best quote x))
Btw I also ask that if ppl's actions don't make sense, maybe that's why it's so funny and relatable for me 😁
Singing Giles and Drunk Giles in the same episode is an instant win. He’s also the highlight of Dead Man’s Party imo. Yeah, Riley’s not a top character for me but I’ve never hated him personally.
Always love your villain career coaching moments
Ummmmmm…..where is “Sanctuary??!” Does this man not have the watch list?!! Oh God No!!!!
He is following the Slay Alive watch order, he discussed Sanctuary in the intro. Looks like he just messed up and uploaded them in the wrong order.
@@Rocket1377 No, he watched it in the right order, he just didn't post it to RUclips. It seems like it's only going to be on Patreon, unless he posts it out of order.
"He just thinks to much." Clearly written by someone who has no idea whatsoever about the military. Despite the myth about "mindless Myrmidons" folk in the military are expected to thinK.
The thing with the gang "breaking up" the thing was that Spike dug into existing insecurities they had. The perfectly normal tendency of people when they've experienced a significant life change (like graduating high school) to to tend to drift away and lose track of their old friends, was actually rather modest here, but there was enough festering resentment that Spike was able to fan into open flame. One of Spike's main character traits is that he's remarkably perceptive, surprisingly so for a soulless monster. ;)
On the surface level... my first impression would be that Riley showed up to kill Adam for killing Forrest. Oh... you just literally thought of that on screen. Well... never mind.
As always, Thor, an enjoyable reaction! I will share one note I made mid-viewing: "NOOO, he WANTS her [Buffy] alive and present for his plan... remember?" He didn't chase her out of the cave and take advantage of her unconsciousness (fatal mistake as it turned out to be) because he's "counting on" her being in the middle of it when he makes his move. And no, you're not hardly the first to wonder if Riley was joining Adam - his last line seemed so casual. And that realization you reached, that he could have come for revenge, is pretty common, too.
While I love the fight between the "core four" Scoobies (as a comedic scene, not on general principle), it's Angel v Riley which I feel most compelled to comment on. I'm among the camp who feels Buffy was written a bit questionably in Sanctuary. (She saw [and felt] the extent of Faith's extreme self-loathing at the end of Who Are You?, and reacted to it. Sanctuary seemed to largely throw that away.) The BtVS staff seem to reciprocate here with Angel: he comes off terribly for the first three quarters of this appearance - arrogant, hostile, petulant, unreasonable.... Meanwhile, Riley Finn's totally earnest, sincere "I surely do." really makes me love him just a bit : )
So excited to see the end of this season, last episode is one of my favourite over all!
Super fun reaction thanks!
Ok, I just watched your intro. You purposely made Sanctuary a Patreon exclusive? Why? You've never done that before with any other episode of either show.
No other reactors have done that... that I can think of.
I think it's going to prove to be counter-productive.
@@UTU49 I've already unsubbed.
Yep Riley is high 😂
Love! LOVE! Your reaction to the ending of this episode. Exactly the same reaction I had during the first (yep I'm old) run.
Funny you mentioned The Avengers, since it was written and directed by Joss Whedon, there are all kinds of parallels to where Joss wrote something for The Avengers but tested it out first on Buffy.
I think you missed an episode? The episode Sanctuary (Angel) directly follows five by five, and this then follows that episode?
Did you perhaps do a collab for that ep and forget to post the link?
I just want to make sure the above doesn't come across as ungrateful. I love all your videos, and was just excited to see your reaction to sanctuary (one of my fave episodes) and then to this episode, which is also great 👍
Hope for season 5 you start doing 2 episodes a week
7:33 I think we didn't see it because it would have just been Buffy telling Riley about the last 3 seasons that we've seen so nothing new for us.
I can't wait for you to get into season 5. It's so good.
Hahaha at the ending.
Nah, I don't hate him, I just don't think he's the one for her. There are many factors that go into it but, you definitely need to watch more. It all adds up later.
Missed the Angel part 2
It would be so much fun to go down the pub for a few drinks with Giles, and Spike too!!!
"you actually sleep with this guy?" is the coolest, most petty, funniest and most condescending thing angel has ever said all at once and its probably my 3rd favorite line of his ROFL... makes me laugh every time... i mean to be fair... what does he have to lose by taking a cheap(true) shot...
i will say this every time i have the chance forever ... one of the funniest things ive ever read in my life was in the buffy subreddit... "when did y'all realize that riley was just a basic-ass lab?" ... lol they were saying hes like a dumb dog
I love this episode 💜
You’re overthinking the Riley thing… but you’ll find that out in the next episode!
My comment is assuming that Thor has finished the season given patron is usually a few weeks ahead (if I'm in correct maybe skip ahead).
With Riley, I think they were trying to set up Riley wanting revenge and we have seen how big his ego can get and we know his friendship with Forrest goes way back. Forrest's interaction with Faith didn't help this episode either. That or him staging a double cross but that was very underplayed, if so.
As for the Fandom Riley hate I kind of think a lot of it has to do with opinions of a a particular Fandom RUclips (PTN's), which is one I happen to love btw. However, I often see those opinions get spread and regurgitated over and over in the reaction videos (without credit at that). But, of course that doesn't explain all of it. Another aspect is probably just the fact his character isn't that interesting, and they don't have much chemistry, and healthy relationships don't often make for good television. All that being said, there were scenes of Riley's I've just always hated. His persistence pursuing Buffy when she said "No" being one of them.🤷♀️
I forgot to add how excited the precommentary got me about the next episode and the finale. Definitely fun imagining Thors reactions and predictions moving forward.
15:15 Wish we had voiceover by Spike about this 😂😢
That would have been awesome, but which one would be the magnificent pouf in this situation?
four candles, fork handles
Not watching this until after I watch Angel's "Sanctuary", you know the correct order for viewing and posting. This episode first does not make any sense, and is extremely disappointing.
Completely agree. I'll come back later if it is ever posted.
Angel destroyed Riley
Oh great hos brain is a phone charger. 😃😂
On my re-watch and Rely first showed up I was thinking (why do I hate this guy so much, he's so sweet.) but i quickly remembered why I hated him....I stand by this.
Ah, I see you have now seen the magic that IS kitty fantastico!
23:15 most of the Riley hate is coming from season 5. Although even in season 4 he reminds me of a saltine cracker, i never got the actual hate for him. 🤣
One of my biggest gripes with this show when I was a teen was that they felt like they never learned anything from Season to Season. Willow always reverted to thinking she knew better and being secretive. Xander always reverted to jealousy and insecurities. Buffy always reverted to thinking her friends exist only as moral support but were useless otherwise. They had to relearn these lessons at nearly every season finale no matter what progress they made before. So I totally get your frustration with how fast they fall apart.
Don't forget Buffy never fully investing in her relationships post Angel. And using her boyfriends as a convenience for her trauma.
You missed an episode of angel before this episode.
Where is Sanctuary??? You missed Angel, dude!!!
@@davidmeadows5627 pretty sure he'll do it the way he wants to, and not be told by some dictator online, what he should, and shouldn't do 🙄
@@Davie1875 Pretty sure he didn't want to upload it in contradiction to the chronological order but was just careless. This had nothing to do with what he wants. I just pointed out his mistake. Doing him a favor doesn't make me a dictator.
Spike never married Buffy. They were engaged.
I remember being soooooooo mad at Riley when this originally aired
Well, the anti-Riley stance doesn't come into it's own until season 5. He's just boring in season 4.
I'm disappointed. I've followed you since White Noise Reacts, but the fact that you made "Sanctuary" Patreon-only made me unfollow.
Everyone flipping out about Sanctuary. 🤣🤣 If you pay attention at the beginning, he clearly already saw it. Not sure why he posted this first, but I'm sure he'll post Sanctuary when he can.
Anyway, great reaction. As for Riley, we'll talk later. 🤣
Not everyone's favorite season, and for good reasons. It kind of fell apart in the middle and had to recover, but it remains perhaps my third favorite season (behind 5 and 3, other opinions may vary. Season 6 for me sometimes replaces Season 4 in the personal rankings, but Thor, you aren't there yet, make your own call when you arrive.)
God Bless you all😊❤️ Jesus loves you all so very much. God Bless😊🙏🏽❤️
Yes, Angel, kick his a...! I've always felt that wasn't such a chemistry between Buffy and Riley, but as long as she was happy with that, it was ok for me. But now he's becoming annoying, sort of a toxic boyfriend who tries to put the blame on her for his insicurities. After he acts like crazy in the 'Angel situation' his excuse is "It's because I'm so in love with you I can't think straight". I'm team Angel in this: "Do you actually sleep with this guy??"
Riley just lost his best friend thats why he wants to kill adam
Riley makes it pretty clear that he doesn’t trust Buffy multiple times in season 4. And he has some pretty sexist views on the world that I don’t think really fit with someone dating the Slayer, literally the strongest person in history.
Also, Drunk Giles is the best haha.
Yeah, that's part of it, though upon rewatch I think some of his views could have been dealt with, and were exaggerated by the fandom, and Buffy could've handled him. They were pretty compatible.
But given his character's stage presence, it was disappointing to have so much screen time taken up by Riley, no shade to the actor, but the character himself was bland.
Why does so many reactors miss the point of Riley showing up to Adam at the end of the episode as him turning on Buffy?
Common sense told me that after hearing one of his friends were murdered that he was going to seek revenge.
He is in an emotional state. He's lost his military career, is out on the run and was betrayed by his mentor that he looked up to whom Adam also murdered, thanks to Xander he now has doubts that he's enough for Buffy to love, so of course he's not thinking right, but going on emotions.
Why is that so hard to see?
Also, Riley isn't boring. He just isn't supernatural. He's a great fighter and the type of boyfriend that Buffy claimed she wanted back when she was with Angel.
Now that she has that, people are so against him.
How Buffy behaved back when Angel was her everything and first true love, it's now Riley in that position. He was perfect enough for her but fans biasesly sh*tted on his character just because he wasn't Angel. That was unfair.
I will ALWAYS defend Riley.
Funny you mentioned the Avengers fighting under the influence of the mindstone in Loki's scepter.
When I watched that scene it hit me that the Avengers movie had Whedon's signature style on it and the movie must have been written and directed by him. He's had several hit shows with a team of similar minded writers that carry a style with ensemble casts.
That camera pan around the room while they are all arguing and making valid points against the others is used in every successful Whedonverse show.
I didn't pay attention to who was directing or writing the Avengers movie before watching it in theaters. I also saw a few Alumni in the movie. An actor that played Victor from DollHouse was the younger cop who was told by Steve Rogers to put up street barriers. As soon as I saw him, I knew for certain who wrote and directed the movie.
Alexa Denisoff who plays Wesley actually played the alien who threatened Loki when Loki used the Scepter to project himself to that other planet to report about getting that chitari army soon.
Not to mention Jeremy Renner is a Whedonverse Alum.
There are a lot of other universes that are adjacent to the Whedonverse that set the bar for a lot of tv shows today...especially sci-fi/fantasy because alumi writers, production teams, crew members, actors from the Whedonverse keep each other employed: MCU (which also includes Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D), SUPERNATURAL, WILL AND GRACE, LEVERAGE, BONES, How I met your mother.
I stopped liking the Buffy character after her relationship with Riley. It's clear that she's too immature to invest in another relationship post Angel.
And she's wasting his time, using him as a substitute she can use at her convenience instead of an actual boyfriend.
That shtick gets tired. Because she already did this with her boyfriend in Lie To Me when she had an argument with Angel. She did it with Scott Hope, then he got tired of her nonsense and broke up with her. She did it with Parker, only to find out that he was using her too. But now Riley. It's just like "Buffy. Grow up."
Great commentary lol. I was looking in the comments just to find one that's referring to why all reactors think Riley turns on her in that scene. It is quite obvious, he heard his friend got murdered, the most obvious explanation would be to seek revenge yet everyone assumes he's joining Adam ffs.
Tbh, I always went with the assumption that Riley WAS boring. I never questioned that until I read your comment tbh. You're right, he's not boring, he represents a healthy person in a healthy relationship. He is what a good boyfriend should be. I think people hate him because people in general are drawn to drama, the toxicity, the bad boy thing and Riley is none of that. It is a sign of immaturity to be honest that many women have this attraction.
As for S5 Riley, tbh ye, he made mistakes, but you could understand it. He was trying to cope with the fact that Buffy was shutting him off, keeping him at a distance, and not loving him back. He was just a convenience to her. They both made mistakes but most of the fault is on Buffy. I don't blame her either tho, it is perfectly normal the way she acted considering all that she's been through. It was just not meant to be. As said later in the series, there were no bad guys in that relationship. Tbh anyone would be lucky to call Riley her boyfriend. He's a great guy. I certainly like him way more than Angel.
If you're looking for boring, you don't need to look that far, that's literally Angel. Guy literally had no personality of his own. He was constantly moping, depressed and moody and it was full of drama. I'd prefer Riley over that any day. I am among the rare few that really dislikes Angel lol. Although I do like him with Cordelia. Now that's a great relationship. Buffy x Angel was just too immature and didn't really click that well but Angel x Cordy was great, very mature and full of chemistry.
Spuffy anyway...
Riley was raped just four episodes ago and hasn't had any on screen support for it. Then the woman he loves hears the person who did it is headed to the city her ex is in and she rushes off at the drop of a hat to ostensibly warn him in person. Then that ex, who even before all this was basically a dark cloud hanging over their entire relationship, show's up here and beats the shit out of him and his men. Then just as Riley was finally starting to get a real one on one conversation with Buffy, he finds out someone who had been an incredibly close friend was murdered by Adam. It's odd that "jealousy over an ex" is the first thing someone'd jump at to explain the ending here, rather than just "Riley, who's head has been messed with in every conceivable way, is incredibly angry and now grieving and has hit breaking point", doing essentially exactly what Giles did when Jenny died.
what do you mean "raped"?
@@gingershellkittens6620 It's a pretty self explanatory word to be honest. Not a whole lot of room for ambiguity.
@@troikas3353 But he didn't get raped?
@@gingershellkittens6620 Faith raped him, and Buffy as well for the that matter, in Who Are You.
@@troikas3353 Doesn't really seem like rape to be honest...
While season 4 has some of my favorite episodes of the series, like Hush, Adam as Big Bad is my least favorite villain. I can’t wait til season 5!
I totally agree with your opinion as to how easily they were divided, it felt like super lazy writing to me and Buffy doesn't often fall into that trap imo. The resolution is also very clunky a bit like season 4 overall.
I absolutely hate Angel's apology. Him telling Buffy to basically F-off was one of the best moments in all of Angel season 1 and IMO... it was well deserved. I get that you don't want to leave things like that forever... but maybe let it linger for half a season or so.
I really agree. I love Buffy as a character, but she was in the wrong in Sanctuary for her behavior and I didn’t think Angel owed her an apology for any of it.
A season is like an entire year.
Yeah but she apolagized too when he did... I think it was nice that they got to exchange apologies.
Posting my BUFFY REWATCH recap for ‘The Yoko Factor’. May contain spoilers.
So it's only been one episode since the big reveal and Willow and Tara are now so comfortable with each other that they're able to spend time together without involving magic. Playing with the new kitten that Tara has gotten, of which Willow already considers their pet, affectionately referring to it as 'ours', and Tara agrees.
In fact Willow seems to be more invested in the relationship between them than Tara realizes as she proposes they share an off-campus living environment together. Tara automatically thought she'd just want to dorm with Buffy again, but Willow knows she's growing a part from her best friend and getting closer to and much more personal with her girlfriend. She figures sharing a living environment with her is the next step for them. She wants to live with Tara.
It's a big step for them but one Willow is already well ready for despite the way Tara feels about it. Tara still thinks Buffy and the Gang is where Willow's head and heart is. But Willow's already in deep with what she feels for Tara. The way she sees it: They're both adults. They go to the same college. They're pretty much with each other every minute of the day anyway. It's more than logical for her to live with her. Miss Kitty Fantastico included. And when we get into the beginning of Season 5, we find out that's exactly what happens.
As we follow their journey through the show, we continue to see Willow being far more invested in the relationship than Tara. Sometimes to an uncomfortable degree. She's always been a clinger due to always worrying she's going to lose the ones she loves. This is a huge insecurity for her that we learn more about as the show progresses. As their story develops.
It's also in line to the way Riley feels about Buffy going into Season 5. The fact he believes that she does not love him. And he does some very extreme things to be as close to her as possible, to show his affection and commitment to her, fearing their relationship is really only one-sided. He is also a clinger. The way I interpret it: Codependency becomes an issue for both couples, and for Willow in particular, that's a big reason why she starts to abuse magic.
I have to admit, at this point in Buffy's relationships with dudes I de prefer Riley over the other options. I never really felt anything positive with her and Angel. that fool at the early part of this season is just trash. Riley has been pretty solid for me as a supportive boyfriend. He clearly really cares for her. Angel and Buffy was just creepy...
Riley isn't that bad at all. Unfortunately, he's vilified just like Xander. He makes mistakes, and he can have a very antiquated outlook, but that doesn't make him the worst person on the planet like most fans portray him. As with everyone, he has his own insecurities. I find with the male characters, this is forgiven less than the female characters. It's a double standard, as you'll see more towards the end of the series and how other characters develop. Also Buffy doesn't really have a right to be lecturing Riley when she just gotten super jealous over Angel and Faith.
SPOILERS
The reason I continue not to like Riley is because unlike Xander, Willow or Buffy, he never apologized for screwing up and continued to act like Buffy made him do it. Xander never blamed Anya for his mistakes, and he acknowledged that they were mistakes. However, this only applies to things Riley did in Season 5 which only happened in order to write him out of the show. His characterization in Season 4 doesn't feel the same.
this is one of those episodes where sarah's acting to me is a bit too much.. its def good but its like she takes her characters anger scenes for granted