#but this really would only apply to the version of riley whose potential the writers actually understood and explored

[hersterical]

Riley is one of the few characters in btvs who is not at all Buffy. He is not a shadow, reflection, or a part making up the whole.

The character he does thematically reflect is Adam (which is literally the only thing about his character that has ever compelled me). And I think seeing how similar he is to Adam made Riley even more desperate to be like Buffy. But the very reason why he could never be a shadow/reflection/a part of Buffy is because he doesn’t want to share and help carry Buffy’s burdens (at least not unless it was on his terms), he just wants to be the hero. He wants to replace Buffy(‘s role).

I will say this, Riley, Adam, and the first slayer were all created unnaturally and are viewed as abominations by both mortals and demons alike but the difference is that the slayers as a whole and as individuals actually learn how to reconcile these two seemingly opposing sides of themselves while Adam never understood humanity and Riley could never understand demons

While I do get why some people would use this as evidence to say that Riley is a part of Buffy, having a similarity to Buffy does not a Buffy archetype make. Because Buffy could never not understand both humanity and inhumanity. She was never given that chance. She desperately fought against this, but we see in season 6 that her demons are as much a part of who she is as is her humanity.

For Buffy it’s about who she is, while for Riley and Adam, it’s about what they are