First up on the Nemesis Bingo: Milky River! Sorry, Clamface Cunthead! Sorry, Kipperlily Copperkettle! (Honestly the hardest part of making this one was deciding what nickname should go on the card.)
I love Kipperlily with all of my heart. She's so delightfully messy and flawed in a way that people are often afraid to make female characters. She threads the needle perfectly between overachieving high schooler and remorsless murderer. She was manipulated. She manipulated others. She killed her best friends. She is so obsessed with Riz that she's utterly blindsided by Kristen.
And god what a beautiful narrative foil! (Not just for Riz but that's what I'm going to be focusing on here.) Riz is a master at seeking, Kipperlily is a master at hiding. Riz repeatedly makes personal sacrifices for his friends, she literally sacrifices hers. Even their relationships to anger mirror each other. Riz's anger explodes and is almost always for the benefit of others, not himself. Meanwhile, Kipperlily's rage simmers for years and is entirely self motivated. But both of them doggedly seek their own version of "justice."
I just- what a masterpiece of a villain.
Bingos: 2
Squares: 18/25















