Here are the thoughts I had upon finishing the book:

-I was not happy with the progression of Dana and Rufus’ relationship during the latter part of Kindred. The two continued to depend upon each other, but I felt that their bond was based more on coercion than friendship. I think this is due to the fact that Rufus acquired character traits in resemblance to that of his father, Tom Weylin. Not only did Rufus become bitter towards Dana and the other slaves, but he also made imprudent choices (i.e.-drinking, attacking Isaac and Alice).
I found a line in the last chapter that adequately described Rufus. Dana remarked, "Maybe he'll never be as hard as his father was, but he's still a man of his time." I agreed with Dana that Rufus' attitude could be justified in accordance with the current conservative and racist time period.
Might I also add that it was extremely awkward to read about Rufus always trying to rape Alice, and even Dana for that matter. I never imagined that Rufus would stoop that low, but I suppose he was only mimicking his father's relationship with Tess.
I was also disappointed that Dana ultimately killed Rufus. It was always obvious that she would have to commit the killing in order to preserve her future with Kevin in 1976, but murdering Rufus only made their alliance seem less authentic. I think that the friendship between Dana and Alice proved to be the most genuine relationship in the novel.
-On a more positive note, it was nice to see softer sides in both Margaret and Tom Weylin. As Tom aged, he was more hospitable to Dana and seemed less demanding towards the other slaves. After he died, Margaret came back to the plantation in a completely different temperament. Her disposition towards the slaves, and especially Dana, was surprisingly pleasant (granted, she was on drugs). Despite being addicted to laudanum, it was much more bearable to read the end of Kindred without Margaret’s intolerably cruel behavior towards everyone that wasn’t well-to-do or white.
-The worst part of Kindred had to have been the ending. In the prologue, I was very intrigued to see the cause behind Dana’s amputated arm. I personally had no idea how Octavia Butler would explain that situation at the end of the book. Turns out, Butler never logically explained how it happened. Dana was in the middle of killing Rufus and OOPS! her arm got stuck in a wall. Talk about random! How in the world does Rufus' arm clamping down on Dana's turn into a wall?! The way it happens is highly unrealistic, but I understood that this was Butler's attempt at symbolism to let the reader know that Dana was leaving a piece of herself behind. I personally think leaving behind an arm is quite disgusting. I'm sure everyone was glad to have Dana's limb laying up in the attic!
-The epilogue ended the novel on a really bland note. I was disappointed to know that Rufus never freed all of the slaves, due to his selfish reasoning that Dana would only kill him upon releasing the slaves. I guess I'm just an advocate for happy endings, but at the same time, I know it's more realistic for all of Rufus' slaves to be sold to other people rather than being freed. I wished I could have known what happened to all the other notable characters that Dana taught, befriended, and nurtured. I hated that I had to assume the worst for people like Sarah, Nigel, and Carrie.