XO, Kitty

XO, Kitty is The CW and K-Drama’s Secret Love Child

Dept. of Teenage Moondreams

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XO, Kitty’s two seasons have 18 episodes in total, each running at approximately 30 minutes. That’s roughly about 9 hours worth of television. Watching all of them felt like a breeze. They were fun, snappy, and easy to consume. I barely felt the time pass.

A spinoff of the massively popular To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy (2018-2021), XO, Kitty centres around Katherine “Kitty” Song-Covey as she transfers to the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS) to follow in the footsteps of the mother she didn’t get to know (and also follow her long-distance boyfriend of four years, Dae). Once there, she gets a lot more than she bargained for — as she finds herself unintentionally involved in interpersonal drama, while trying to juggle her grades, and finding out more about her mom. 

XO, Kitty is the secret Netflix love child of 2010’s The CW (think Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl) and high school K-Dramas. If you expect anything else, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

The series is cheesy, fun, and a little improbable, yet it has a surprising amount of heart in it. It explores teenage woes, high emotions, and dumb decisions, with little to no tact, and that’s what makes it so addictive. You can’t help but get into each storyline and eventually fall in love with all of these characters, even if they can get grating at times.

XO, Kitty

What stands out the most in both seasons is the magnetic casting. Anna Cathcart is in the middle of it all as Kitty, and the series would only be half of what it is without the fantastic chemistry she has with her three (yes, three!) love interests. Her bright presence basically carries the pace and sets the tone for the show, making it distinct from the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before films. 

All three main love interests bring about different high points and romance tropes, which is why each of their individual relationships with Kitty has rabid fans. Siblings Gia Kim and Sangheon Lee as Yuri and Minho, in particular, are charismatic in their roles, swinging their rather unlikeable characters into fan favourites with each passing episode.

The ensemble cast rounds out the series wonderfully, particularly Anthony Keyvan as Q, working as the classic sidekick best friend. Even side characters like Madison (Jocelyn Shelfo) and Eunice (Ryu Han-bi) add depth to the stories though their roles are comparatively smaller.

Season 1

XO, Kitty

Season 1 opens with a first episode that reeks of cringe and the overuse of K-pop songs This fades with every new episode, and is a clever demonstration of Kitty’s changing expectations about moving to Seoul.

Kitty lives through a picturesque lens, matchmaking and meddling in lives for the betterment of others (or so she claims). She expects the same for her own life, but it gets shattered by the end of the second episode. The show then settles into something a lot more enjoyable as the episodes run, they are a lot less cringe, even if the melodrama is consistent (though that’s to be expected). 

There’s an outstanding balance to each main character’s stories that doesn’t pull you away from Kitty and her journey. There are some janky and awkward bits here and there, but it’s an earnest and appropriately dramatic exploration into teenagers’ lives with just a dash of K-drama theatrics – including CEO fathers and affluent students galore.

XO, Kitty

The way the queer themes are handled in this season is commendable too, culminating in Kitty’s realization that she’s bisexual. 

Once you get past the soapy conventions and constantly high stakes, the biggest issue of the season is that the aesthetic choices can get abhorrent. The style has that too-clean Netflix sheen, which can leave a bit of a sour taste. It’s sorely disappointing because the aesthetics of the original To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before films were so charming.

Season 2

XO, Kitty

Season 2 of XO, Kitty takes all the best parts from season one and ups the ante in every way. It is messier, funnier, and focuses less on the romance — though there was technically no lack of it. And while there were no issues with cast chemistry before this, it nevertheless got better, seemingly reflecting the close relationship of the actors. The writing is more engaging (even with the added K-drama antics), going into more depth with themes of (chosen) family, identity, and individuality.

Kitty finally gets to explore her mother’s past, and the scenes where she sees her mother at her age stand out in particular. The show explores her grief, however briefly, with the loss of her mother and the lack of connection to her Korean family, taking center stage. It’s within that too that she connects with her friends and love interests more deeply, making their relationships the most grounded thing about the fast-paced show.

XO, Kitty

The biggest improvement, however, comes in the form of the show’s aesthetics. The sets and filmography add so much more visual interest, plus there’s actual colour grading (OMG!) that creates a better overall watching experience.

The one nitpick that I have is with regards to the ending of the season that comes off as feeling lazy and rushed, capping off some important plotlines with convenient solutions. It may be in line with the XO, Kitty universe, but it still felt too easy. I think that the season would have benefited from an extra two episodes. 

Ultimately, Season 2 is a great way to end Kitty’s first year at KISS. Given its popularity, Season 3 seems to be fast on its way (fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc.), and if the current pattern continues, it only stands to improve on itself. 

TL;DR: XO, Kitty is a cheesy, fun, quick watch with lots of heart. If you love teen coming-of-age stories and K-dramas, then this is totally up your alley and worth a watch, if you can look past some strangely written bits. 

XO, Kitty is now streaming on Netflix.

Zahra is probably asleep right now as you read this. When awake, they enjoy gushing about the things they love like coming of age films, k-pop girl groups, and Ms Marvel, among others. Armed with a MA in Film Studies and a penchant for overthinking, they've got all the tools to tell you why they think the curtains in a scene are blue. (It's a symbol for sorrow, dammit!)

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