I wasn’t very complimentary of season 1 of XO, Kitty. I thought the characterisation needed work, and the setting wasn’t very fleshed out despite the hype of Kitty (Anna Cathcart) attending school in Seoul. But I did say that if the show got more seasons it could overcome these weak spots. I’m happy to say that show has improved, with there being a lot more focus on these characters outside their romantic relationships. Even the so-called villains actually end up being fairly likeable and redeemable.
We ended season 2 with Kitty inviting herself to join Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee) on his summer trip, but of course this doesn’t actually play out in season 3. This makes sense as you can’t make the endgame couple get together too soon if you want to keep the momentum of the season going. Instead, Kitty joins Lara Jean (Lana Condor) in New York, to help her sister deal with her heartbreak. It probably pains To All the Boys fans to know that LJ and Peter are going through a rough patch, but this was bound to happen in a long distance relationship. So Kitty and Min Ho spend their summer apart, reuniting at Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS) for the start of senior year, only to be greeted by an obstacle called Marius (Sule Thelwell). Marius doesn’t like that Kitty has hijacked their friend group and sabotaged his relationship with Q (Anthony Keyvan), so he sets out to sabotage her senior year bucket list.
Compared to Stella last season, Marius is a much better antagonist. He’s very good at being unlikeable, but when the show redeems him later he manages to make it work. This wouldn’t be possible in the hands of a lesser actor, so massive kudos to Thelwell for actualising the character beyond his flaws and messiness. His heart to heart with Kitty is probably one of my favourite moments of the season, with the frenemies allowing themselves to sit in their vulnerability and reveal uncomfortable truths. Q’s whole storyline with Marius feels so true to real life, especially him reaching out due to the lack of closure. We always ponder the what-ifs in life, which can lead to us sabotaging good relationships. The show doesn’t rush to resolve issues in relationships – the characters take time apart and own their mistakes before working towards a compromise.
Kitty and Min Ho get to have plenty of romantic moments, which play out in K drama fashion. There’s the intense kiss on the beach with Kitty’s dress lighting up, a tender kiss as they experience their first sunrise as seniors, a cutesy photobooth moment with the pair unable to keep their hands to themselves. It’s a dream for MoonCovey fans who have rooted for the pair to get together since season 1. While I do think that the narrative was always written with Min Ho as the eventual love interest for Kitty – each season ends with him as the first and last character she interacts with – I do wish the Yuri-Kitty romantic pairing had more development before it was written off entirely. As a bisexual character, Kitty should be given more room to explore that side of herself. Narratively, Yuri (Gia Kim) was always going to end up the best friend character due to the friendship between their moms, yet it does feel that the writers just wanted to stick to the endgame script and not take any risks.
All the characters do get more development this season. The show has learned to capitalise on smaller moments, with the focus moving towards deeper and richer conversations. Now that we’re in the third season, the writers are shaping the narratives to play more to the actors’ strengths. Dae (Choi Min-yeong) isn’t really good as a romantic interest, but he does well in the friend role, sharing good moments with both Yuri and Min Ho. Yuri gets an arc that’s not focused on romantic relationships (finally!), and she spends most of the season single and rebuilding herself.
Kitty’s romantic arc with Min Ho is well-handled. The obstacles feel authentic and not contrived, with Kitty feeling insecure about her place in Min Ho’s world, and Min Ho feeling betrayed by Kitty’s lack of trust in him. We understand both perspectives, and I like that the characters take the time apart to figure things out before working their way back to each other. The one thing that feels half-baked is Kitty’s sudden love for NYU after hanging out in New York with LJ. We don’t get to see any of Kitty’s time in New York beyond the one conversation with LJ, and Kitty never quite articulates what exactly she loves so much about NYU. What exactly doe she find appealing? We never get any insight into this, which makes her decision to apply for early admission a little perplexing.
Kitty’s Korean family drama isn’t as dominant this season, which is to the show’s benefit. I do think that Kitty’s Korean does need to improve in some fashion because it’s starting to feel like a Emily in Paris situation. Kitty has a Korean boyfriend and Korean family members, yet her Korean hasn’t gotten any better. The show has started to add more Korean speaking scenes in the show, so it would be good if the main character could work herself up to some level of competency.
While character conflicts aren’t so easily resolved, what the show doesn’t do as well is allowing the characters to fail. Yuri debuts her fashion line and kills it, Min Ho produces a song for the first time and it’s a banger, Kitty excels at her exams despite her struggles with Korean Lit – you get the picture. It feels like everything goes so swimmingly for the characters despite setbacks. For example, Dae doesn’t get into Seoul National University, something that he has been working towards his entire life, and he’s okay with it because he wants to do music. I get that maybe it wasn’t what he really wanted, but he bounces back so quickly into another life plan.
XO, Kitty would be a stronger show if it allowed its characters to fail a little more, instead of hobble down the perfect narrative path set out for them from the beginning.
REVIEW SCORE: 3.5/5
