guys i need G:KND to be a thing so bad. i’ve been obssessing about Lizzie so hard these days as I usually do but the fact that there will be a GKND teaser at Nostalgia Con and I can’t attend it because I’m poor asf and live in Brazil?? Ourgh I’m in pain I NEED to know if Lizzie will get mentioned anywhere in that
cuz analyzing Lizzie’s character is just so great, and I absolutely adore her evolution, here’s the Lizzie yapfest I’ve been wanting to do for a while, all in order from her first appearances all the way to our current situation with the GKND:
as much as I love her I can see how a lot of peeps dislike her, I mean, the show makes sure that our first impression of her is Lizzie at her worst compared to all other episodes that have focus on her. All her jealousy, insecurities, anger issues and demanding attitude are front and center to the point my first impression of Op. L.I.Z.Z.I.E was “Wow Numbuh 1, so girls with issues are your type???”, overall tho I found it a cool way, since it was very early into season 1, to show the confident leader of Sector V surprisingly has a weak/blind spot when it comes to romantic love?! Especially considering how unbothered he was with the fact Lizzie had used him to hurt his friends and easily forgave her and all…
At that point I honestly wasn’t looking too deep into her character as I was 100% sure she was going to fall into the category of “annoying gf with no character depth that protagonist should’ve broken up with ages ago”, as it’s what I would expect from a show from an era with more misogynistic writing- But turns out, I was a bit wrong on that assumption!
Sure, her next appearance in Operation Q.U.I.E.T also had her kind of playing an antagonistic role? But unlike the last one, she was WAAYY more reasonable. I mean, the episode established that Numbuh 1 had been doing nothing but working these last few days and considering he DID program a date with Lizzie and the others from Sector V gave her no context besides “Ah ye your boy can’t go on that date he promised he’s sleeping”, her pulling that megaphone was completely understandable.
Most of all, only these two episodes already start showing the pattern that Numbuh 1 is not a perfect boyfriend to Lizzie either. He obviously adores her and appreciates her even with the big shows of affection, but right from the start it’s clear he’s not the best at showing vulnerability (Numbuh 4 and 2 egging on him for having a girlfriend doesn’t help too lol) and most importantly, that Numbuh 1 tends to always prioritize KND work above everything else, that be himself or Lizzie.
Operation D.A.T.E is the prime example of how Lizzie’s want for affection and attention often clashes with how much of a workaholic Nigel is, even if interpreting the while mission as a date was Lizzie’s fault and she was obviously being super ignorant of the mind control plot going on, Numbuh 1’s paranoia and over prioritizing of his job made him treat Lizzie like a mere hindrance rather than his partner, which occasioned on him humiliating and yelling at her AND their mini-fight by the end of the episode (in which we discovered that Lizzie can forgive Nigel just as easily as he can despite her temper, if her immediatelly hugging Nigel after he called her brilliant once is anything to go by)
Either way, this episode was the first where Lizzie is not shown in an antagonistic light, saves the day (even if accidentally) and where my interest in nizzie as a whole sparkled. They weren’t toxic, just dysfunctional and even when it was clear one didn’t know what was the best for the other, it was clear that their care was mutual and they were just really different people showing that love in their own ways.
Her next two appearances (Operation C.A.K.E.D T.W.O and Operation L.E.A.D.E.R) also show us a bit more about her personality. How impulsive she can be, how determined she can be to right her wrongs when she sees she messed up, how she weirdly had the ability to repair the mechanical ship to crash it into the DCFDTL’s cake hinting that she’s way smarter than she looks (suspicious much?), and most importantly how her loyalties will always be with Nigel. In both episodes she tries to help him, in one she saves the day to make up for daring to cooperate with her boyfriend’s enemies and in the other she gets in the way in the name of letting Nigel rest up a bit for a change, even if she’s obviously not cut out for the leader role due to how bossy and impatient she can be (she can’t get along with the rest of Sector V to save her life istg). At least she apologized for meddling with things by the end tho, so that’s a bonus!
By this point I could also see why Numbuh 1 had fallen in love with Lizzie. She’s charming, intense, loud, has lots of moxie, is strong-headed like Nigel, is unafraid when faced with peril and yet she’s very caring and patient/accepting of Nigel’s quirks, as he’s obviously also very patient with hers. They’re not perfect but they’re honest, just right my alley for quickly becoming my OTP for the show. The sillies.
Then we get to Operation P.O.O.L, and dude, if I wasn’t in love with their dynamic before, this episode (which is probs my favorite before Operation Z.E.R.O) REAAALLY sells the deal. Through the whole thing they’re being not only adorable, but an absolute power couple. The way Nigel untenses and smiles when being reunited with his girlfriend and learning she’s fine, how Lizzie smacks the SHIT out of Negative Numbuh 1 for daring to touch her boyfriend, how they enter in perfect sync when pretending they are their’s alternative counterparts together and how they’re so horrified with the dystopian nature of the alternative world that they keep holding onto one another basically the entire episode for comfort… AUGH the cuties!!! But most of the episode I was wondering “man, if negative Lizzie was part of the DNK, why wouldn’t our Lizzie be part of the KND too??!!!!”, I mean they would probably still have hiccups in their relationship but making Lizzie part of KND would probably close the gap on a lot of misunderstandings Lizzie and Numbuh 1 have, especially since by all means, Lizzie sounds like perfect KND operative material- Either way, I brushed how suspicious that was for the time being and just assumed it was because the civilian x hero dynamic thing was just something their relationship was based on and that’s why she wasn’t included, there’s nothing wrong with a girl just wanting to have more or less peaceful life with her boyfriend, right? (Oh, that was def foreshadowing wasn’t it?)
The next appearance of Lizzie is actually a fully Lizzie-centric episode! Operation L.U.N.C.H shows us more of how Lizzie’s anger issues mixed with her intelligence and prowess while commanding KND machinery can be crucial in combat of adult tiranny, even if she was mainly fighting adults so she can have a romantic lunch with Nigel. It was honestly so refreshing to see Lizzie kicking ass and being her stellar self in an episode that focused on not her partner for once. Her compassion towards the elderly was also noteworthy, especially since we know that she has a grandmother of her own. The end gag was a bit annoying but honestly I was mostly laughing my ass off at how Numbuh 1 said “fuck everything” and listened to Lizzie’s order of staying in the cafeteria until dark- He knows best to not provoke her, knowing fully well how capable she can be.
Ah, Operation S.N.O.W.I.N.G… Considering how messed up it was of her to use the boyfriend helmet on Numbuh 1, despite her boyfriend having forgave her a long time ago, karma seemed to bite back in a special later date. Her being supportive and being the only one keeping Numbuh 1 company while he’s sick was sweet, but I really loved to see how much Numbuh 1 respects her that even if he found her soup gross and useless for now, he still kept onto it and in the end it was just the thing that helped save the day. Him playing knight in shining armor and having his heart shattered by the possibility of Lizzie not loving anymore- Ohhh these kiddos know how to make a good drama, absolutely stellar nizzie episode! Jimmy can fuck off tho for all I care. Also, I’m pretty sure this was the first appearance of Lizzie’s most notable and horrible hobby, being that she does absolutely disgusting food, I really enjoyed that addition to her character, especially what they do later on with it.
Though she does appear in Operation F.E.R.A.L and Operation W.H.I.T.E-H.O.U.S.E, it’s so little that it’s not even worth mentioning, which brings us to Operation H.O.L.I.D.A.Y. And man, I fucking LOVE rewatching this episode. Lizzie’s jealous stunt to follow Nigel into the jamaican KND resort, I know there’s a lot of people that think she was being “too much” in this episode but I honestly couldn’t disagree more, I always find most of the episode hilarious to go through and the gag of her horrible pie making everyone pass out and the whole stretch where she’s desperately trying to fly that plane on pure spite so she can scream her head off at her boyfriend for “cheating” while the hamsters panic at the back and Numbuh 1 is just absolutely dumbfounded- God it’s just so good. Her impulsivity and jealousy, no matter how much they drive Nigel crazy, always gets Lizzie in the craziest of hijinks. Gotta love how chaotic the episodes focusing on her tend to be lol
Next episode that stars the nizie dynamic is Operation R.E.C.C.E.S.S, and it’s the classic “Lizzie accidentally saving the day” deal, with Numbuh 1 promising her a date at the start of the episode and proceeding to avoid her throught the entirety of the episode with Lizzie completely ignoring the stakes of Nigel’s mission (much like Operation D.A.T.E tbh, same episode dynamic), and even if the joke of Lizzie becoming emotional not because of how passionate Numbuh 1’s speech was but more because he would choose HER and abort a mission if she chose to was a bit expected, it got a chuckle put of me anyways. But the difference in this episode from others, is that we actually learn a bit more about Lizzie in this one! Not only she’s more of a smarts girl that prefers spending her reccess doing extra credit work for school instead of playing, but she’s also works as the principal’s secretary! And again, it reinforces how despite the fact that Nigel and Lizzie are very close, they live very different lives, with Numbuh 1 being the ever school hater versus Lizzie that by all accounts seems to be a model student! Except when she makes an exception for her boyfriend, but even in that case things don’t always end up well for her.
I find it super funny that they just??? Casually dropped the lore that Lizzie got stuck at a SYBERIAN DETENTION CAMP FOR A MONTH because of Numbuh 1??? Like you can’t just drop that info and go on like that??? Where’s the context?!!! Tho I truly appreciate how much fuel it gave nizie fanfic writers, every single fic I read based around exploring that scenario is so goated I swear-
And well. That leaves us with the last Lizzie episode of the show, Operation G.I.R.L.F.R.I.E.N.D, or as the codename means, “Guess It's Realistic Lizzie Finally Realizes It's Essentially Nigel's Dysfunction”- The dreaded breakup of my comfort couple, even the best things can’t last forever.
And mind me that as much as watching this episode leaves a bittersweet taste on my mouth, it’s really fucking good episode. I especially find interesting how the episode that introduced the nizie dynamic portrayed all of Lizzie’s worst contributing traits to the dysfunction they have, while the episode that ended it shows all of Nigel’s worst contributing traits to their dysfunction. Even if Nigel WAS being sabotaged through the whole thing, as Lizzie herself said, it just gets tiring competing with the Kids Next Door, and in the end, Numbuh 1 showed time and time again, not only in this specific episode, that his loyalty to the KND purpose will always be first. The episode is beautifully written, the action scene at the start is super cool, the two dancing in the ballroom and Nigel trying to win back Lizzie’s favor even if it’s obvious he’s not interested in the wedding at all, and all the suspense built up with the scenes with Numbuh 362 and the Splinter Cell. The chase scene with the treehouse was super awesome and the sad moment where Lizzie breaks up while fireworks go out in the distance… Beautiful scenery, but it left me understandably heartbroken.
Lizzie is my favorite character from the show, tho that probably isn’t anything surprising at this point, but unfortunately despite all the little facts to her character, she’s still attatched to the role of “protagonist’s girlfriend”, and with that being the last season and there still having a huge plot point left to solve, I correctly guessed that Lizzie wouldn’t be appearing in any more episodes from that point on.
I didn’t expect anything else from the character, her flaws and qualities explored from all angles, there was nothing left for Lizzie, or that was what I thought until… The Stop The G:KND teaser.
How they gave so much depth to her character and even explained a few unexplained things about her habits and quirks is beyond me, but the reveal that Lizzie is an alien recontextualizes a lot, even if most of my previous observations stay true. Me along with the rest of the fandom put together the pieces that Lizzie was probably sent to Earth to scout the chosen Earth operative that was to join their ranks and see how strong his alliegance to the KND is.
Tho there are some people that think their relationship was entirely a ruse all along, I severely disagree with this fact, and though the literally ALL of the gestures of affection mentioned in this post should serve as proof, the most damning of all being that she forced the GKND to create that whole scenario with Nigel’s treehouse computer only so Lizzie could have a valid excuse to break up with him, he passed the GKND test so in the end, her mission as Numbuh 1’s girlfriend was complete…
I swear that when I finally grasped the character arc that Numbuh Vine went through??! Alien girl who’s obviously interested in the primitive Earth and it’s culture/people, learning how to feel loved and cared for through the bond she formed with her mission target, learning to appreciate Earth by his side so much that by the end she decided to betray the hugest anti-adult organization on the planet, one she had allied with and believed in this whole time because she decided to protect Earth.
The same Earth Nigel once swore to protect, the same Earth he decided to destroy because of Lizzie’s influence. Numbuh 1 taught her freedom from the G:KND’s radical views while Lizzie just pushed the one she loved right to their brainwashing. She of course thought she was doing it for him, but when she noticed the damage she’d done and broke free from the GKND’s influence herself, she turned back.
It’s so tragic. Their relationship at the current state of the timeline is just so beautifully doomed, that I just can’t help myself but wonder how they could explore their dynamic in a possible G:KND show. Maybe it’s silly that I wish the one character half the fandom hates to actually be relevant as her own person, dealing with the guilt of her actions and how that would repercute through her already not good relationships with the members of Sector V. How she’d try to make Nigel see sense, and man, I don’t even need them to become a couple again, or even to Nigel immediately forgive her. I just need them to talk, put everything on the table with 100% honesty for once and maybe, just maybe end things on better terms. Nigel knowing she loved him even though she hurt him so much… Urgh, the possibilities of angst are immesurable.
That being said, I really wish I could go to the Nostalgia Con. Not only for the possibility of getting a glimpse of my favorite character, but to know what the future of KND as a whole could have in store for us. It’s seriously a franchise that I hold dear to my heart, and don’t get me started on the amount of headcanons I have about Lizzie’s secret identity and about her and her relationship with Numbuh 1 as a whole, counting them all together would get you a stack that goes right through the stratosphere! So don’t even get me started on those! (But if you want to, my inbox is always open lol)
Either way, doubt anyone will read this to the end but IF you did, thank you. Hopefully I got to express half of what makes me love Lizzie so much, and maybe get you to start appreciating her a bit more than before. I’ll end things with this lovely concept art of the lovely character that she is. Cutie patooties <3
hopefully someone will go to the nostalgia con and record the thing and post it to youtube or at least tell in detail how it was here on tumblr or any other social media god pls i have hope. . .
