Page "Riley Finn" Paragraph 5

The Initiative was destroyed at the end of Season Four, and Riley was relieved of his military standing.

He was left at loose ends, and his behavior became reckless.

Over time, Riley began to see himself as below Buffy in strength, and began to push his body well past its limits.

In " Out of My Mind ," it was discovered that the drugs that Professor Walsh had secretly fed him were causing Riley's pain receptors to shut down and his heartbeat to spike, and would eventually have killed him.

Even with this knowledge, Riley initially refused medical treatment from the government out of paranoia, though Buffy eventually convinced him to do so.

Rendered a normal human by the procedure, Riley's insecurities and feelings of weakness only increased, and he became increasingly frustrated with Buffy's seeming inability to open up to and be honest with him.