Riley and Violet have taken turns offending and upsetting the other all season.
On Season 6, Episode 15, it was time for Riley to head home.
Don’t worry. She gave him one last painful rejection to tide him over on the flight.
Riley and Violet
The two enjoy a walk through Ho Chi Minh City. It is a beautiful place, and Riley compliments it. We know that Violet has been sensitive about outings that Riley has not enjoyed (such as the smells of the marketplace) so she really appreciates this. But soon, it will be time for Riley to leave.
But Violet still has concerns
One of their many miserable outings included Riley’s confession on the day of the bus tour. He told her that he’d hired, but ultimately not pursued anything with, a private investigator. Violet felt creeped out, which is understandable. Perhaps this is a more common practice in the US (to some extent — we’d hardly call it normal), but she found it unsettling. Violet does take comfort in the knowledge that he didn’t follow through.
Riley has to leave tomorrow
While wearing a truly spectacular shirt, Riley tells Violet that he’s mostly enjoyed his time in Vietnam and with her. Considering everything that went down, that is sort of impressive. We have to assume that the cameras simply did not show us a lot of their happier moments.
“I don’t know how I am feel now”
Violet pretty bluntly admits that she is unsure of her current feelings, because there have been so many highs and lows. Riley notes that they’ve been part of each other’s lives for two years, and thus cannot let things go so easily. As is often the case, Riley sounds more into Violet than she is into him. Which is pretty sad. They then affectionately flip each other off.
So … what does any of this mean?
Even though they have both made the other feel miserable, they’re working on it. Violet says that Riley has a lot to work on, and he agrees.
Time to pack
Violet arrives at Riley’s hotel, where she helps him to pack his belongings. She won’t be able to see him off at the airport due to a family obligation. So she’s saying goodbye now.
The L Word
Riley explains to the camera that he feels like confessing that he “loves” someone will jinx things, so he just tells Violet that he more-than-cares about her. She knows him and she knows what he means. But she doesn’t say it back. In fact, she doesn’t even want him to say it.
“No, don’t tell”
In what must have been a very painful rejection, Violet tells him that she doesn’t want him to say this to her. To the camera, she explains that she wants Riley to make these changes to his personality first. Before she’ll return his affection.
Awkward
Riley is dropping numerous nonverbal hints that he’d love to kiss her goodbye before getting into his car and heading for the airport. But Violet isn’t returning the affection. He gives her a peck and touches her neck a lot, but that’s it. Riley feels hurt. One can only imagine how uncomfortable Violet feels. And yet they’re both determined to keep trying to make this work. In the car, he says that he feels “a little somber” and that Violet holds all of the cards in their relationship, and that she will decide what happens next.