I agree that Riley's not responsible for actions he didn't do. And certainly signing up for a situation in which he might be asked to do something evil, at which Riley could excuse himself (by breaking down and refusing) is reasonable. That said, seriously considering doing evil actions still counts in the minus column for me, though it's not on the same order of magnitude of minus as doing them. I think I overstated my case about Riley's darkness in this issue and the general arc though; Riley has exactly the doubts he should have (and you made a good point in my lj that Riley's options about spike guy were basically nil).

Faith is also letting your husband go help his ex he still has feelings for, because you know you still come first, as well. I just noticed another Angel parallel, this time with Sam: Sam is generous about Riley's feelings about Buffy, but Angel doesn't really try to understand Buffy's feelings for Riley (such as they are) and just dismisses them--"I didn't know what she saw in him." (Which I just thought as a metacomment on fandom, but is pretty revealing about Angel.)

It's an act of faith to talk about the future of their relationship. Faith is walking with surety through the pitch black (or unknown). I find it interesting that it immediately follows Angel on a church following what he thinks he knows (knowledge = light) into the dark, rather than trusting in the unknown (dark) in the hopes that it will bring him to the light.

Ooh, I like that.