Riley Finn

“You’re still the first woman I ever loved and the strongest woman I’ve ever known. And, I’m not advertising this to the missus, but you’re still quite the hottie.“

Played by Marc Blucas

First Appearance: The Freshman

Riley Finn first appeared as a seemingly ordinary farm‑boy‑turned‑teaching‑assistant at UC Sunnydale, but beneath the surface he was a soldier in the Initiative, a covert government program capturing and experimenting on supernatural beings. His romance with Buffy grew slowly, built on mutual respect and a shared instinct to protect. When the Gentlemen stole the town’s voices, Riley and Buffy fought side by side, and his secret life was revealed. Disillusioned by the Initiative’s creation of Adam and its moral collapse, Riley defected and joined Buffy’s circle, fighting alongside her to destroy the hybrid monster he had once unknowingly served.

After Adam’s defeat, Riley struggled with his place in Buffy’s world. Feeling isolated and unable to match her strength, he turned to vampires for the numbing thrill of their bite. When Buffy discovered the truth, their relationship fractured. Believing she no longer needed him, Riley accepted a deployment to Belize with a military demon‑hunting unit. Buffy arrived moments too late to stop him. A year later he returned, married to Sam, and helped Buffy confront her destructive relationship with Spike. Despite the emotional turbulence, Riley and Buffy parted on good terms, their history acknowledged but no longer defining them.

Over a year later, Riley resurfaced as a member of the Twilight Group — seemingly an enemy, but secretly working as Buffy’s double agent. Marked with Twilight’s symbol, he fed the organisation false intelligence while gathering information for Buffy. During the assault on Oz’s Tibetan monastery, Riley was gravely injured, and Buffy revealed to the Scoobies that he had been working for her all along. After the battle, Riley comforted Buffy as she grappled with the cost of leading the Slayer Organization into war. He later secured full amnesty for every Slayer under U.S. jurisdiction, using his military influence to protect Buffy’s people.

After the Twilight crisis, Riley was stationed in San Francisco, where Buffy and the Scoobies had resettled. With magic gone from the world, he monitored human extremist threats from a surveillance van and remained a quiet ally. When Faith joined Kennedy’s Deepscan security firm, her first assignment was to locate Riley, who had gone missing in South America. Captured by Walt Zane, Riley was rescued by Faith and Sam, and the reunion allowed Faith to apologise for the damage she had once caused. Riley, in turn, insisted the only apology that mattered belonged to Buffy.

When magic returned, Riley and Sam were deployed to global hotspots — Rome, Buenos Aires — responding to supernatural disasters triggered by the Restless Door and the Mistress’s forces. As the world struggled to adapt to new magical laws, Buffy formed a new Magic Council to prevent future betrayals. Recognising Riley’s integrity and his ability to bridge the human and supernatural worlds, she appointed him as the council’s representative for the military, ensuring that human institutions had a voice she could trust.

Across his journey, Riley Finn evolved from clean‑cut soldier to seasoned operative, from Buffy’s partner to one of her most reliable allies. His arc was defined not by superpowers but by loyalty, discipline and a willingness to confront his own flaws. In a world of demons, gods and cosmic crises, Riley remained something rare: a human being who chose courage, service and honour every time.

APPEARANCES

Buffy SEASON 4