obsessed w your analyses so i was wondering about your opinions/ideas on kam? they’ve got such an interesting dynamic where they’re so similar yet so different at the same time so I wanted to hear your thoughts if you’ve got time 👀
Ah yes, them, the infamous duo. Also, thank you! I have a lot of fun doing the analyses and just generally talking about kotlc, so glad you enjoy them in some capacity! And I do have time and many thoughts!
You're very right about that similarity thing, it's even mentioned in the books by Linh. Something like "No wonder they don't get along. They're basically the same person" in...Lodestar? When they're searching Keefe's room? The point is that they're like reflections of each other, so similar in so many ways and yet so off when you look closer.
There's the obvious where Keefe and Tam both grew up with issues with authority, specifically their dad's authority. They were both constantly reminded of how much their parents didn't care about them, how much their parents wished for someone better (subjective word) than them. And both of them lashed out in response. They took it to heart and let it fester, finding satisfaction in disappointing their parents, in destroying things and speaking out. They didn't take it quietly. I think that's where the majority of the comparison stops in canon, not going deeper.
However, there's another crucial similarity that ties into something that separates them distinctly as well. Neither of them have ever had someone to care for them or look out for them. Keefe has been entirely on his own for years, at least emotionally. His physical separation from his parents is more recent, but for years and years everything has fallen to him. There's never been a person he can go to with his troubles and honestly talk to, no one to cover where he faltered, no one to take on any of his responsibilities. And it's been the same for Tam. Yes, Linh was with him, but Linh didn't take care of him or look out for him in the way he did for her. In addition he couldn't rely on anyone else for physical needs like food and shelter. There's never been anyone for him to fully confide in. For both of them, it helped create that defiance they both have, the instinct to challenge and question anything that extends a helping hand because it's so different from what they've come to know as how the world works.
But like I said, there's a crucial difference tied into that. Simply put, Tam knows he's needed. Keefe doesn't. Tam knows that he's made a difference for Linh, and that she needed him for all those years and still does--though not in the same way. He knows he has a place in others' lives and that his contributions matter. Keefe sees himself as useless, as dangerous. He doesn't have anyone or anything safe to channel himself into the way Tam channeled himself into protecting Linh. Sophie doesn't need him like that, and he's the closest thing he's got to understanding how needed and appreciated his presence is emotionally. That lack of connection is what allows him to make the reckless decisions Tam doesn't, because Tam has something to protect and Keefe doesn't (not to say he doesn't try to protect Sophie, just that he's not needed in that way)
and that in a relationship would definitely be of note. Neither of them knowing what it's like to be taken care of, to be equal partners in something. They've always given or shouldered more than their share, so it would be a learning curve to let go and to trust each other. And they'd be confronted with themselves, seeing someone who is so much like them that reminds them of all the worst parts of themselves. But they love this other person so how can they hate this aspect of them? How can they hate it in themselves when it's a part of this person they cherish?
I think given the chance it could be a very healing relationship, the two of them confronting each other and working through their past differences, their childhoods and how they were impacted. Kam has such a specific feeling I don't know how to communicate it. It's hesitant and raw, all or nothing. It's a bonfire spilling acrid smoke in the middle of winter. It's looking into a mirror and not hiding from any piece of the reflection. It's carving out your heart in an offering, risking rejection of the most vital degree.
We see a lot of bickering between the two of them, but there is definitely a lot of potential between them, so thank you for bringing it up!!
