rachel is genuinely so refreshing for a female character. she is not gonna beat around the bush, she doesn't give a shit about the protagonist and she is willing to commit murder and more just to reach her goals

rachel turns around the tropes i hate most that are handed over to women in male-oriented works and that's why i like her

1. her existence doesn't revolve around a man and she's actually super selfish and determined to reach her own personal goals

2. beauty/romance/etc isn't the center of her character. instead it's actually a fascinating weakness she has because she hates her appearance and all to a huge degree but it isn't like. her Goal or whatever to become beautiful or attaining beauty isn't her entire character

instead her complicated relationship w/ her appearance is tied into a much more deeper intrinsic problem with her and it's her desire to be more than what she is (a fairy tale princess/legend/etc) which doesn't match with her very plain looks.

3. she isn't a "pure" "clueless" female character or a "super" "evil" female character who's "evil" because she's a woman. rachel is just a very manipulative horrible person and that's it. she's a character of her own. no connection to weird prejudicial thoughts of women