Published by Mason Oldridge, 1 June 2023
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Netflix’s new teen comedy-drama is both heartwarming and heartwrenching, tackling love, deceit, sexuality and family.
A spin-off of the To All the Boys film trilogy, the series follows Korean American student and self-proclaimed matchmaker Kitty Song Covey as she travels to South Korea, where she has enrolled in the KISS school to meet her long-distance boyfriend Dae as well as learn about her late mother, who was also a student there. However, upon arrival she is stunned to find that Dae is in a relationship with fellow student Yuri.
This initial setup provides the show with a full season of drama. Dae’s fake relationship with Yuri, Kitty falling in love with Yuri, Q and Florian’s relationship, Yuri hiding her sexuality, Min Ho’s hilarious love-hate relationship with Kitty and the history surrounding Alex’s birth parents all contribute towards the interweaving storylines that leave viewers clueless as to where the story is going and how it will end.
Love forms the primary concept as Dae and Yuri’s fake relationship and Kitty’s feelings for Yuri sees the creation of a truly complex love triangle. While it is sad to see Kitty’s heart get broken, it is equally as nice to see her develop many bonds with her fellow students and teachers. Anna Cathcart steps up to the plate in the titular role from Kitty’s excitement to meet Dae and find out about her mother’s history to her heartbreak at discovering Dae’s relationship with Yuri and her confusion about her sexuality.
The finale leaves a lot of loose ends that will hopefully be tied up in a second season, particularly Kitty’s future at KISS and Kitty’s relationship status following Min Ho’s confession on the plane.
There may be no major shocks in the series but XO, Kitty provides a delicate balance of drama and humour while sensitively touching upon difficult subjects too, seeing it excel on its own merit away from the films it arose from.
7/10