Though the highly anticipated Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival will surely bring back some OG cast members, there are a few characters the fandom would rather not see again. Currently, the only original cast member confirmed to return is Sarah Michelle Gellar, who is reprising her role as heroine Buffy Summers. Though it’s easy to see fan-favorites like Alyson Hannigan coming back as Willow, few details have been revealed.

For every fan-favorite like Spike or Cordelia, it seems there’s a Buffy character that fans just loathe, whether it’s the toxic Xander or the poor Tara replacement, Kennedy. Many of these reviled characters are Buffy the Vampire Slayer boyfriends, and there’s one in particular who could very well grace our screens again.

Buffy Revival Director Chloé Zhao Admitted She’s A Riley Fan

Buffy fans have a big reason to be excited for the upcoming revival, and that’s because the pilot episode will be directed by Chloé Zhao. Zhao is the Oscar-winning director of Nomadland and the upcoming awards season contender, Hamnet. She’s also a huge Buffy fan, enough that she presented Sarah Michelle Gellar with a replica Class Protector Award as a wrap gift for the revival’s pilot.

In an interview with Lauren Veneziani, aka DC Film Girl, the director also weighed in on Buffy’s love interests, with Zhao confessing that she is Team Spike over Team Angel. However, this wasn’t the most shocking revelation, as Zhao revealed that she actually has an affinity for Riley Finn, by far Buffy’s least popular boyfriend.

Zhao said: “I actually, in my 40s, appreciated Riley more… When I was younger, I thought, ‘kind of boring. I prefer Spike. And now I’m older, go like, ‘You know what? Maybe a little less Spike, a little more Riley.‘”

Riley is certainly less physically dangerous than Spike or Angel, and Zhao is onto something in that we tend to think being “normal” is the same as being “boring,” which, for many people in their 20s, is a searing character indictment.

In that regard, the director is right that Riley should be appreciated more, especially in the underrated Buffy season 4, when he was a perfectly adequate boyfriend to Buffy. But Riley shows his toxicity in season 5, and it’s for this reason that he should not return for the Buffy sequel show.

Why Riley Shouldn’t Be In The Buffy Revival

Though Buffy’s relationships with both Angel and Spike are filled with toxicity, there’s still so much that could be explored. Buffy had an epic love for the ages with Angel, while her chemistry with Spike radiates off the screen. But there’s nowhere for the revival show to go with Riley.

In Zhao’s interview, Veneziani agreed with the director that Riley was a good boyfriend to Buffy, but in the lead-up to the demise of their relationship, this couldn’t be further from the case. The writing is on the wall at the beginning of Buffy season 5 when Riley confesses to Xander that Buffy doesn’t love him the way he loves her.

This is a devastating realization, but rather than process his feelings and actually talk to his girlfriend about them, Riley bottles them up, which is incredibly unhealthy. Riley’s resentment of Buffy boils over, with him getting a disturbing sort of revenge on her by paying female vampires to bite him.

Buffy finds out and is understandably furious and concerned for his safety. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Riley to express remorse for his betrayal and finally tell Buffy his feelings. Instead, he blames her for driving him to behave this way, and then doubles down, giving her an ultimatum about their relationship — either she fully commits to him, or Riley will leave Sunnydale for good that night.

But what’s really upsetting is how this storyline is portrayed, with the show fully taking Riley’s side. There’s even a scene in which Xander — ugh, Xander — chews Buffy out, essentially gaslighting her into believing that Riley is fully in the right. Buffy chases him down, but he’s already gone, and the series makes it seem like this whole toxic conflict is entirely Buffy’s fault.

This is just one example of the insidious misogyny peppered throughout the original Buffy series, and there’d be no way of bringing Riley back without opening that wound again. Plus, beyond that, Buffy and Riley’s story is complete. He returned to Sunnydale once with a new wife in tow, and he seems to be living his Captain Cardboard best life.

So while Chloé Zhao has every right to appreciate Riley, or any unpopular Buffy the Vampire Slayer character, she’ll hopefully keep him out of the revival.