Well said Shruthi!
Indeed Kaikeyi will be viewed very differently after Raven is killed and Ram returns to Ayodhya then .
It was infact her strength and depth of love for Ram that was taken into consideration by God before putting in that dark cloud in her mind to make her act in such a way that he is able to proceed towards the mission of his avatar ! She was the only one who could take all the pAin and sustain ( another beautiful Leela by Lord Vishnu !) . How else could he leave Ayodhya or dasharath to accomplish the mission . Also to fulfill the condition of sita being the cause of ravan's end , Vaali vadh and so on ...
It was indeed kaikeyi's penance period ( during the 14 years ) that must have got her salvation as well as the price that she had paid to earn the greatest affection among the mothers from Ram !
Infact , the charecter analysis of each would bring about very interesting and fascinating points in these wonderful works of our ancient land !
Which for sure could prove more useful in understanding the complex minds of human society .
There sure can't be better studies available in the modern world .