After watching the first season of XO, Kitty on Netflix I can confirm — my high school career was decidedly boring. I did not, in fact, get a scholarship to study abroad in Korea. I did not chase an online boyfriend halfway around the world as a sweeping romantic gesture. And I did not discover that said boyfriend already had a girlfriend, yet still decide to room with him and his two friends.
Does this even happen to people? Real question.
Suspending my disbelief, as one must do with most romantic dramas, I discovered that I actually really loved the show. Even though it is a spin-off of the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series, I still found it fresh and exciting. Part of its draw and humor lies in its implausibility; how does one even get into the messy situations the main character, Kitty (Anna Cathcart), more often than not finds herself? And how does she consistently manage to charm her way out of them?
Turns out, after binge-watching all eight episodes last Saturday instead of starting my homework like a responsible college student, I still don’t know who she ends up with. In fact, the love square became a love heptagon. Possibly octagon. Yuri (Gia Kim) reunited with her ex-girlfriend, Juliana (Regan Aliyah), complicating her relationship with Kitty. A new character, Praveena (Sasha Bhasin) begins to show interest in Kitty. And Stella (Audrey Huynh) starts dating Min-ho (Sang Heon Lee), who may or may not still be hung up on Kitty.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the drama. I have not seen a messier friend group on a television show for a hot minute, so it kept me thoroughly entertained. But after almost four hours of remaining glued to my computer screen, I did expect at least some amount of resolution. I expected Kitty to at least try to declare her feelings for someone, instead of indecisively lofting longing looks at three different people.
And no, I do not consider Kitty’s decision to accompany a particular someone on a summer tour at the end of the series to be a declaration of love. She can do better than that. We, as viewers, deserve better than that.
I also was not 100% sold on the second season’s choice of plot. Min-ho’s father (Philippe Lee), a famous talent manager, decides to host a talent competition at Kitty’s school, all while one of the characters in Kitty’s inner circle plots to ruin him. It comes across as a bit over-the-top, which is saying something considering Kitty makes it her whole personality to be over-the-top. Honestly, I think the drama of high school is enough to keep the plot moving forward without introducing this subplot that comes across as exaggerated and outlandish. This show did not need a one-dimensional, nefarious mastermind. It already toes the line of being just barely believable.
That being said, I loved watching the cast perform “Seven” by Jung Kook in the talent competition. It was so cute, and Choi Min-young has a great voice; it actually sounded like Kook’s. Side note, but side character Jin (Joshua Lee) has amazing dance moves. Seriously, respect. That break-dance, flip thing was awesome.
The end of the season also introduces loose ends, which only adds to the show’s obvious play for a third season. Dae’s father is going to be a part of a class action suit against the Han Group, which happens to also be Yuri’s father’s company. So, while things start looking up financially for Dae and his family, Yuri stands on the brink of losing everything. If the show does get renewed for a third season, I’m excited to see how this reversal in fortune plays out. I think it could be an interesting commentary on class in Korea if the writers choose to explore it.
If you watched the first season of XO, Kitty and enjoyed it, I would definitely recommend you watch the second season. No, it’s not as good as the first season, but it delivers what you would expect of a light-hearted, teenage comedy-drama: messiness, cuteness and more messiness. I would not recommend watching it all in one sitting as I did, but, hey, I’ll leave that up to you.
