“ | Damn, white girl, the killer in the house. Get out the house, sis! | ” |
–Kym while watching the 2007 Halloween film on her television |
Kym is a main character and the tritagonist of the third season of the television series Scream. An academic, no non-sense (reference to Maureen Evans and Hallie McDaniel in Scream 2) and bold social activist, she is, despite her background, perseverant. Having a gay best friend, Manny as her ride or die partner, Kym is the embodiment of young Black excellence, speaking for others, and an example of not letting where she is from in the projects of College Park or being from Atlanta, Georgia get in the way of pursuing higher education.
During her senior year, nearing Halloween 2018, Kym is tested alongside her best friend, after her childhood friend and neighbor growing up, 16 year old running back Marcus Elliot at Weaver High School, is targeted by Ghostface during the Atlanta Murders, testing her survival skills, as well as intelligence of the meta of modern horror movie "rules", who finds herself, along with her newly formed group of classmates in detention, dubbed The Deadfast Club, not safe from the killer. Using her intelligence, Kym remains strong, who finds her killer to be former friend, Beth, of whom she suspected, and had mad an alliance briefly, before returning for the finale showdown before she kills her by shooting her point blank three times (becoming the first Black character, as well as female in that regards, to kill Ghostface in the Scream franchise) as she headed to attack Marcus and Liv Reynolds.
She is portrayed by Keke Palmer.
Description
Kym, a bold and beautiful social activist with a big heart on one hand and zero patience for suffering fools on the other hand. When Kym and her friends find themselves hunted by a killer, she works to flip the script and survive at any cost.
Appearances (6/6)
Season 3 (6/6)
Relationships
Family
- Unnamed mother
- Monica (aunt via mother or father)
Allies
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Weaver High School
- Hawkins- Friend/Classmate
- Coach Griffin- Friend
- The Deadfast Club
- Manny †-Best Friend
- Marcus Elliot- Friend
- Liv Reynolds- Friend
- Amir Ayoub †-Friend
Enemies
- Ghostface
- Jamal Elliot †- Attempted Killer
- Beth †- Attempted Killer
- Weaver High School
- Avery Collins † - Enemy via Marcus/Former Classmate
Kill Count
The following is Kym's Ghostface kill count:
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Beth | Shot in the chest (hit on head and knocked down by Marcus Elliot and Liv Reynolds) | Endgame |
Quotes
“ | And stay down, bitch | ” |
–Kym to Ghostface chasing her, Devil's Night |
Boom! Final girl, y’all. Underestimate at your own risk.
KYM TO MARCUS AND LIV AFTER SHOOTING DOWN BETH WHEN SHE COMES UP FOR ONE LAST SCARE (“ENDGAME”)
Trivia
- Kym is a high school student at Weaver High School.
- She is a member of The Deadfast Club
- She shares similarities to John Bender from the 1985 American comedy The Breakfast Club, despite the gender swap.
- She is the second person and second survivor overall to have survived Ghostface’s killing spree this season, the first being Marcus, the third being Liv, and the fourth being Hawkins (unbeknownst to him, since he was never attacked).
- Kym is very similar to Maureen Evans, Hallie McDaniel, and Tyson Fox in that she shares a similar friendly disposition, charm and self awareness, that the aforementioned characters have. However, her sarcastic yet serious demeanor, charisma, and humor (sass) as well as her determination in herself makes her similar to Gale Weathers. This trait is also seen in other characters in the franchise such as:
- Films: Tatum Riley, Randy Meeks, Cici Cooper, Mickey Altieri, Jennifer Jolie, and Kirby Reed
- TV series: Brooke Maddox, Zoe Vaughn, Audrey Jensen, Noah Foster, Gustavo Acosta, and Emma Duval.
- Kym is also the first Black female character played by a well-known actress (Keke Palmer) in the TV series and the franchise to survive Ghostface’s killing spree and attacks overall, the first Black actress being Jada Pinkett Smith as Maureen who died from Scream 2.
- Kym receiving a call from Ghostface as well as being attacked while at home alone is likely a reference to Sidney Prescott and her confrontations with the killer throughout the Scream franchise.
- Kym is the only main character this season to kill Ghostface.
- In “Blindspots”, Kym states to have an aunt named Monica.
- This is a subtle yet loose reference to Courteney Cox, who before starring in Scream, was best known for her role as Monica Geller on the NBC show Friends.
- Despite there being only four survivors (with Kym, Marcus, and Liv being from the now disbanded Deadfast Club), in Season 3, it is notably one less but still a group of survivors much like the Lakewood Five from Season 2.
- Kym is also the first female in this season to actually be confronted by Ghostface in person (the second person overall, the 1st being Marcus), as Liv Reynolds was only taunted by the killer at her window but who didn’t confront her in “The Deadfast Club”.
- In “Endgame”, the trio including her, Marcus, and Liv, standing down after the showdown looking down at the dead body of their killer(s) after being put down after “one last scare” (Beth, who awakens only to be shot down and killed by Kym after she warned Marcus and Liv of this rule) is likely an homage to the ending of Scream, as Randy, Sidney, and Gale stand over after Sidney shoots down Billy Loomis for his last scare, exactly one moment after Randy told her about the same rule.
- Kym is officially the first Black female character to have survived Ghostface’s attack on her and in the franchise, the second being Liv Reynolds.
- Her and Liv are joined by Mindy Meeks-Martin as the third and most recent Black female character from the fifth Scream film, with each having survived their attacks from their respective Ghostface.
- Kym is also the first Black character to kill a Ghostface.
- Kym survives both predecessors Maureen Evans and Hallie McDaniel from the film series, and Zoe Vaughn from the TV series, respectively.
- The trio of Kym, Marcus, and Liv is most likely an homage to the trio of survivors from the first four Scream films, and whose season finale is especially referenced to Scream 3, which include Sidney Prescott, Dewey Riley, and Gale Weathers with each character, with the TV trio being similar to the movies at the finale such as:
- Kym to Sidney (seeing as both are single at the end, having survived their killers spree, and who outsmarted their respective killers)
- Marcus to Dewey (seeing as he’s at the end in a relationship to Gale and who defended both females throughout against the killer)
- Liv to Gale (also is the other half and in a relationship at the end, who talked the killer down, much like Gale has done in the films, and outsmarted them)
- Hawkins also survives, despite not having been attacked and was perhaps one of many characters whom interacted with the main characters in the franchise but not be attacked due to a rule in the franchise.
- In a promotional teaser, Kym is called "The Rebel".
Gallery
Character Photos and Stills
Promotional
Video Clips
Character Guide
TV Series Characters | ||
Lakewood Five | Emma Duval • Audrey Jensen • Brooke Maddox • Noah Foster | |
Lakewood Residents | Maggie Duval • Miguel Acosta • Gustavo Acosta • Kristin Lang • Gina McLane | |
Previous Lakewood Residents | Kieran Wilcox • Eli Hudson • Zoë Vaughn • Jake Fitzgerald • Seth Branson • Quinn Maddox • Haley Meyers • Tina Hudson • Eddie Hayes • Kevin Duval • Clark Hudson • Nina Patterson • Rachel Murray • Riley Marra • Tyler O'Neill • Will Belmont • Brandon James • Piper Shaw | |
Lakewood Slasher(s) | Piper Shaw • Kieran Wilcox • Third Killer | |
The Deadfast Club | Marcus Elliot • Kym • Liv Reynolds | |
Atlanta Residents | Sherry Elliot • Mr. Fitch • Mrs. Pell • Officer Reynolds • Hawkins • Coach Griffin • Becky | |
Previous Atlanta Residents | Beth • Jamal Elliot • Deion Elliot • Tommy Jenkins • Amir Ayoub • Shane • Manny • B. Westbrook • Luther "Hook Man" Thompson • Latavious • Avery Collins | |
Ghostface(s) | Beth • Jamal Elliot |