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Riley Finn is a fictional character in the U.S. television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Marc Blucas.
Riley, a native of Iowa, was Buffy's boyfriend for parts of season four and five. Leading a double life as part of a secret organisation called The Initiative, but also as a regular college guy, Buffy found some normality in Riley, but she also found someone she could relate to. Initially, each kept the other form knowing of the secret lives, but in the truth came out during the events in the Emmy-nominated "Hush."
Buffy and Riley fought demons together and continued saving each other's lives, and the world, though to some degree Riley was never quite let into Buffy's inner circle. The Initiative was destroyed at the end of the fourth season, and Riley was relieved of his military standing. Left at loose ends, his behavior grew reckless. Seeking thrills, he began to let vampires feed from him, which Buffy discovered in the season five episode "Into the Woods". His behavior, as well as a sense that Buffy would never truly love him, led to their breakup. Riley left Sunnydale to join another army unit fighting demons elsewhere, and left the show.
Riley returned in the season six episode "As You Were", where he showed up unexpectedly, tracking a demon about to hatch eggs that could wipe out Sunnydale. However, he did not return to make things up with Buffy, having recently gotten married to a fellow demon hunter. The battle done, Riley left Sunnydale, never to return again.
Riley, the opposite of both the eternally brooding Angel and the tortured "bad boy" Spike, held out the possibilty of normalcy in Buffy's life, but most fans failed to embrace him, seeing him as a bit too bland.
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