Season 1 |
Episode Guide
Episode 1 “XO” – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 2 “WTF” – | Review Score – 5/5
Episode 3 “KISS” – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 4 “TGIF” – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 “TBH” – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 6 “BYOB” – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 7 “TIL” – | Review Score – 4.5/5
Episode 8 “LGF” – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 9 “SNAFU” – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 10 “OTP” – | Review Score – 4/5
The is a stark contrast between the romance in K-dramas compared to American dramas. While one offers a slow-burn kind of romance with melodrama, suspense and many more genres at the same time, the other is comparatively fast-paced and mature in nature.
Turning into an amalgamation of these two worlds, Netflix sitcom XO, Kitty brings an Americanised version of the genre. This is a 10-episode series that follows the life of Catherine ‘Kitty’ Song-Covey, the youngest of the three Song-Covey sisters from the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before universe. Kitty is the only sister who was not able to reconnect with her mother before she passed away.
At the age of 17, Kitty decides to move to South Korea on a whim to attend the same school her mother studied at in order to learn more about her. Conveniently, Kitty’s long-distance boyfriend of four years is also a student at the Korean Independent School of Seoul where she shows up all of a sudden to surprise him.
Things get out of hand for Kitty when she learns that her boyfriend, Dae, is actually dating Yuri, the rich kid at the school. The show is a quick watch with 10 short episodes which offer a stark contrast to how K-dramas are paced. XO, Kitty is a sitcom by nature but it does not offer the humour the genre is supposed to offer.
Throughout the show, Kitty, the main character, goes through a lot of chaotic ups and downs but one thing that sticks out is how everything around her conveniently falls into place. In the first episode alone, Kitty is in South Korea for the first time, all by herself, at the age of 17. She conveniently crashes into Yuri’s car, who happens to be a student at K.I.S.S as well as the person whom Dae’s (her boyfriend) father works as a chauffeur for.
Not only that but Kitty also manages to live in the boy’s hostel for an entire year without any of the authorities finding out about the mix-up in her name which is a rather absurd plot contrivance. The show is not all bad but these contrivances do make it feel a bit redundant.
Out of all the characters on the show, the character of Min-ho, Dae’s best friend, is a breath of fresh air. Min-ho’s character is just hilarious because he is so full of himself and thinks that the world revolves around him. While other characters do an excellent job at their roles, it seems like Kitty is still hanging on to her part in Lara Jean’s story from the To All The Boys movies.
I wish the makers would have allowed her to let go of her role as a matchmaker and be a little selfish because the show is about her and not how she sets other people up. XO, Kitty has a great soundtrack but the number of random K-pop songs that are part of the scenes without any connection to the actual story sticks out like a sore thumb.
The K-pop songs do seem like a great way to promote the show, however having so many songs just in the OST that do not contribute to the personality of the show is a bit overkill.
One thing that does stand out though comes from the way the series handles Kitty’s sexual awakening. The story leaves room for Kitty to learn more about her sexuality in South Korea, a place that is not quite open to the existence of the LGBTQIA+ community. The show offers two opposite sides of the spectrum by showing how Jina, Yuri’s mother was initially so opposed to Yuri’s sexuality while Kitty’s father is the polar opposite, making it so easy for her to talk to him.
XO, Kitty is a great teen show which makes for a very enjoyable one-time watch. With the show returning for a new season, possibly next year, it’ll be interesting to see where the makers go with this one.
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Verdict - 7/10
7/10
I don’t understand how kitty sexuality changed. She and her boyfriend went well together.I lost interest in the whole dream after she said she likes girls like why . The movie was really interesting like why did they change the whole dream it’s wasn’t fun at all .