Courtney A. Kemp has taken her talents to Netflix with an action-packed crime thriller that unpacks the meaning of a nemesis and just how far one man will go to bring down his archenemy.
When reflecting on iconic literary nemeses — think Hannibal Lecter or Lord Voldemort — a common thread is that they often share a personal, deep-rooted connection with the hero, going so far as to mirror the hero’s traits or act as their shadow.
In the case of Nemesis, led by Matthew Law and Y’lan Noel, their portrayals of Isaiah Stiles and Coltrane Wilder embody that dynamic fully.
A show filled with main character energy
“I think these are two men who are, as much as the Jungian analysis that I might try to spring into, and saying that the shadow side, like you’re speaking about, is so mirrored for them,” Law told Blavity. “I think I’m too compromised as a person with my love for Isaiah, but there is definitely this sort of fog of war where he can’t even see beyond the fact that all he knows is that this man is an enemy and has to be eliminated.”
Law added, “I don’t think he even has the space to see anything different than him being a villain and Isaiah being a hero, even as his life starts to crumble around him.”
Noel agreed that both characters view themselves as the protagonist of the story.
“Everybody’s the main character in their story,” Noel said. “Coltrane, for sure, believes that he’s the hero, and everything that he’s doing is virtuous and noble and all of those things. He also thinks that he needs to do this.”
Noel explained that Coltrane’s motivations are rooted in protecting the life he’s built.
“He’s driven by this desire to afford his men and his family this lifestyle,” he continued. “Now, of course, I think ultimately, it’s a line. Who’s bad and who’s good depends on who shows up that day, who’s being asked, right?”
The downfall of obsession
Both characters become consumed with outsmarting the other, ultimately pushing themselves toward destruction. At its core, Nemesis explores the idea of vengeance and what happens when obsession overtakes reason.
“It’s like sound and fury signifying nothing,” Law said. “I mean, if I zoom out of the show, outside of Isaiah’s perspective, you’re watching the self-destruction in real time by that obsession.”
He continued, “We’ve been talking about the value of obsession. I have these qualities myself, and to also watch the dangers of them and the way they can become a cannibalistic practice that starts to eat at the edges of your life.”
Law also pointed to the relationships both men risk sacrificing in pursuit of revenge.
“These are men who are blessed to have people who love them,” he said. “Even if, well, at least for Isaiah, maybe you can’t see that so clearly. But I think for all of us, we have to question where that line is of enough-ness. Like, okay, that’s enough.”
For Coltrane, obsession eventually transforms into a need for control.
“Obsession can quickly become, I think at least for Coltrane, an obsession with control,” Noel explained. “And that’s the thing that becomes really self-sabotaging, and he doesn’t know how to deal with not being in control.”
Because Coltrane has spent much of his life succeeding through domination and power, Noel said the character struggles once that certainty begins slipping away.
“When he’s been in control, he’s won, and there’s more confidence coming from the ability to, like, when you win, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I become more and more unstoppable every time,’” Noel said. “And what happens when you have no more tail left to eat? Because these are two men who know how to make war. I just don’t think they know how to make peace.”
All eight episodes of Nemesis are now streaming on Netflix.