Buffy - The Replacement 5x03 - Full Reaction

Buffy has never told Riley she loves him. But I think she can show her feelings without verbalizing it. Perhaps she is gun shy because of how much she was hurt by her Angel relationship. Or maybe she just doesn't feel as intensely as she did with him. He should just be patient.

Riley has been vocally saying "I love you" to Buffy since at least episode 17 season 4 but we have never heard Buffy say I love you to Riley. I think dought creeping into his mind is very natural at this point.

I think that Kelly was only involved when there are two of them, rather than playing the entire other version. It's not the last you'll see of Kelly (this is totally non-spoilery btw). A little later, Nicholas was going through some health issues and wasn't able to be on set for a few days. Kelly stepped in for some Xander shoots so they didn't have to do re-writes or delay production. Again, he doesn't get any meaty parts, they just moved a few things around so it was smaller scene's or background appearances. It's so great that they were able to use him like that though. Did you know that Tom Hanks brother has such a similar sounding voice that he plays the part of Toy Story's Woody in the non-movie media (video games, TV shows, etc). I think he might have a couple of lines in the movies when Tom wasn't available for "re-shoots" or whatever the voice equivalent is called. Just a fun little parallel I thought was pretty cool.

Erm Juliette, xylophone starts with an x. She should've said zweihänder, a large two-handed sword. In fact, they were about as long as Buffy is tall, and sometimes even longer than Riley is... Nobody ever sees the twist coming, it's really good. And I love that it shows, once again, that Xander is more than the guy who eats bugs and gets the funny syphilis.

I love the fact that when everyone assumed dirty xander is the real one, Anya sees both and sides with fancy xander because that's how she sees him; all his positive attributes ♡

Contrary to your initial belief, the intro of this episode is actually very relevant and (like most scenes in this show) very cleverly thought through: - It shows us how horrible Xander's living situation is. This later motivates him to find a new apartment. - It reminds us of Anya's injury, which also comes back into play later in the episode. - It shows us how much Riley craves Buffy's attention, and how she sometimes ignores him. One of the many little scenes which cause Riley to think she doesn't love him. - Furthermore, the scene where Buffy criticizes the movie's fight scenes is a subtle reminder of how much more Buffy is training this season, and it also reveals how she has become a bit obsessed with martial arts. I always end up writing way too much in these comments, sorry. :-D Anyway, I love this episode and as always I loved your reaction. :-)

Riley has some insecurities to work through

Buffy has never told Riley she loves him. But I think she can show her feelings without verbalizing it. Perhaps she is gun shy because of how much she was hurt by her Angel relationship. Or maybe she just doesn't feel as intensely as she did with him.

I think Riley was expecting an "I love you" back when they were talking in the car. When he said "there's no part of you I'm not in love with."

"But she doesn't love me." This is the line that pretty much sets into motion my dislike for Riley. I didn't mind him at all last season, but I really don't like him this season. I'll explain more of my reasoning later on as we progress through the season because I don't want to spoil anything.

Xander is becoming a true adult. Moving out and getting your own place is always a big step but he has done it. Riley told buffy he loved her this episode and her response was silence so to him that is definitely a bad sign.

Anya is so Shallow,. lol She's hilarious though. lol and Poor Rilly, I hate that he can't see how buffy feels about him. Although i've been in his shoes many times.

Xander to Willow..."wait until you have an evil twin and see how you handle it" Willow, quietly to herself..."I handled it fine" Nice little callback to Doppelgangland😃

I love a Xander focused episode. How lucky were they that Nicholas Brendon has a twin right!? Made this episode a lot easier to make I'm sure. Spike making that Buffy dummy was kind of weird/sad. He really needs to get a hobby. Or move some place else. Something I never really thought about before this episode, where does Anya live and how does she pay for it? Thanks for another great reaction Juliette. Hope you feel better 💜

I believe Nicholas Brendon had all of Xander's lines, or the vast majority. His brother was there mainly to be a body double, so to speak, although I think I remember reading they did use some of his lines.

Kelly Donovan is also Nicholas' stunt double. So there's a lot less of "oh look the stunt double!" when they're doing an action shot. :D

Xander episodes are always great! Excited for more, this season is so good. Hope you feel better soon!