XO, Kitty is the show I would have loved as teen, but it falters with a convoluted storyline
Jenny Han's 'To All The Boys' spin-off is messy at best, but it's found stars in lead Anna Cathcart and its supporting actors
(Photo credit: Netflix)
As someone who grew up seeing very little Asian representation on TV and movies, Jenny Han’s To All The Boys series helped fill a void that was very much needed.
As a teen who loved rom-coms and young adult novels, I liked the fact that Han centered her stories around Asian women who make mistakes but ultimately learn to make decisions for themselves in the end.
However, there’s always been one thing that has bothered me about Han’s narrative choices. It’s that her lead characters always end up with a white man at the end of the story. We see this in All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and her other series The Summer I Turned Pretty, which both centre around biracial Asian American women who are grappling with their romantic prospects. And while I have nothing against dating outside of one’s race, it’s a common trope we’ve seen plenty of times in other television shows and movies including Partner Track, The Mindy Project and Never Have I Ever.
I’ll spare you all the details on why these narrative outcomes are worthy of criticism. But I will say that I’ve always been bothered by the fact that Asian men have historically been desexualized as quiet nerds, sidekicks, punchlines and villains on the screen. (In fact, I wrote about the lack of Asian couples on screen for The RepresentASIAN Project last year. )
What’s more, Han’s response to the lack of Asian men in her stories have been equally disappointing. As she told Indiewire in a past interview, “I understand the frustration and I share that frustration of wanting to see more Asian-American men in media. For this, all I can say is this is the story that I wrote.”
As complicated as my feelings are about Han’s work, I was still excited to watch XO, Kitty because it appeared to address a lot of the concerns I had about her previous narrative choices. I looked forward to the fact that it was going to take place in Korea and that it would feature Asian love interests. Not to mention, Anna Cathcart is a star in the making. And I wholeheartedly wanted to support a fellow Canadian girl.
Unlike To All The Boys, XO, Kitty shifts the focus on Kitty Song Covey (Cathcart), the spunky little sister of Lara Jean Covey. In TATB, Kitty is seen as a matchmaker, someone who pushes her older sister to find love. But now grown up and in high school, Kitty goes on her own journey to find true love for herself.
In the last installment of TATB, Kitty is seen meeting a young boy named Dae while on vacation in South Korea with her family. Since that faithful meet-cute, the two have kept in touch and embarked on a long distance relationship with one another.
But tired of the distance between her with Dae, Kitty convinces her father to let her move halfway across the world to Seoul to reconnect with her boyfriend and attend school with him at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS). KISS coincidentally also happens to be Kitty’s late mother Eve’s alma mater. This all serves as the perfect opportunity for Kitty to go on her self-discovery journey.
But despite improvements made from the To All The Boys film series, this spin-off unfortunately still falls for common tropes and is hindered by a convoluted storyline.
(Photo credit: Netflix)
The moment Kitty arrives in Korea, her surprise appearance at KISS ends up being disastrous. She discovers her boyfriend Dae (Twenty-Five Twenty-One’s Choi Minyoung) has been two-timing her with a fellow classmate/hotel heiress Yuri (Gia Kim). Yuri’s mother Jin (played by Yunjin Kim), is also the principal of KISS. And for reasons unbeknownst to Kitty, she has decided to lie about being friends with Kitty’s mother despite a two decade photo of the two of them together. Plus as it turns out, Yuri’s got a secret of her own too: her relationship with Dae is fake and a cover-up from her real love with a fellow classmate named Julianna.
This all happens within the first 24 minutes of the 10-episode series, and the conflict between Kitty and Dae remain one of the longest, most frustrating cases of miscommunication I’ve ever witnessed on a teen sitcom.
(Photo credit: Netflix)
Thankfully, there’s much to enjoy amongst XO, Kitty’s supporting characters, as seen in Dae’s best friends and roommates. Anthony Keyvan plays Q, an athlete who has a crush on a French boy at school. He serves as Kitty’s voice of reason, and the person who calls her out on her actions. Then there’s Min ho (played by Sang Heon Lee), the handsome, skincare-obsessed playboy who is the show’s comedic relief and another love interest to Kitty.
But as great as they were, the show ultimately gets caught up in too many storylines involving a love triangle (or square?), Kitty’s burgeoning sexuality and her mom’s history at KISS that I ended up getting whiplash from all the plot twists.
(Photo credit: Netflix)
What’s more, we also rarely see Kitty and her classmates venturing out into the streets of Seoul to explore all life has to offer in a foreign country. In fact, I often forgot the show was even set in Korea. I was interested to see how they would immerse Korean culture into an American show. However, it just gave me real Emily in Paris vibes instead. The show may be set in Asia, but is ultimately made with white audiences in mind.
Full disclosure: I am NOT Korean and do not claim to be an expert on the culture at all. But as someone who enjoys Asian media of all kinds, I was intrigued to see how the show would find ways to incorporate the nuances of Korean society into a North American production.
The only culture there seemed to be were some K-pop references and a white student praising her love of K-culture and language (cringe). Not to mention, the sprinkling of random K-pop songs throughout the show’s pilot was incredibly hilarious to me because the tunes did not match the tone of the scenes. (For instance, why would you play Seventeen’s “Darl+ing” while Kitty discovers her boyfriend’s been two-timing?!)
The one thing that seemed realistic was how many of the XO, Kitty’s characters effortlessly switched between Korean and English. Han commented on a TikTok video that the translations were “probably the most challenging part of the show.” And for that, I do applaud her for working hard on this.
Plus, part of the enjoyment of the show is also seeing Kitty find a gateway into her Korean side…however small it may seem. She learns about the joys of Chuseok, a mid-autumn harvest festival similar to Thanksgiving. And by being a student at KISS, she also gets glimpses into her late mother’s life.
(Photo credit: Netflix)
While I realize my review of XO, Kitty sounds quite harsh on paper, none of the show’s faults actually stopped me from binging the entire series in a day. I stayed because this is the kind of program I would have EATEN UP as a teen. The show’s charming and lovable classmates are definitely worth sticking around for. Not to mention, Cathcart’s Kitty is the perfectly quirky and hilarious lead worth cheering on.
Sure, this is far from high-brow television. But that doesn’t mean I won’t indulge in another season of XO, Kitty.
Many shows require another season to get its footing. And should it get renewed, I can only hope that XO, Kitty doesn’t feel the need to fit everything into a 10-episode arc and can build on adding more cultural nuances and character development.
In other news…
Seventeen announces upcoming tour ‘Follow’
For weeks, Seventeen and Pledis have been jumpscaring fans with the words “SEVENTEEN WORLD TOUR”, followed by content from their “BE THE SUN” tour last year.
So when I woke up this past Monday to actually see a real tour announcement from Seventeen, I could hardly believe it myself. But it’s official! Something is happening!
According to an announcement posted on Weverse and Twitter, Seventeen will be holding concerts on July 21 and July 22 at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The show will be held both in -person and online through live streaming.
What remains unknown is where else Seventeen plans to tour this year.
The 13-piece group recently made a comeback with their 10th mini album FML, which became the most pre-ordered album in K-pop history with 4.64+ million orders.
Blackpink’s Jennie and BTS V continue to fuel dating rumours
As someone in the news business, it’s my job to be skeptical around videos and pictures as the sole proof of anything. After all, things can be easily doctored in the world of social media!
So while I cannot say with 100 per cent certainty that V and Jennie are dating in real life, my group chats and social media feeds have been blowing up after a video of the two reportedly holding hands in Paris starting circulating online last week.
Jennie is in France to promote The Idol at the Cannes film festival, while V is also there as part of his job as a Celine ambassador.
As for the video itself, the agencies representing Jennie and V have only briefly responded to the reports. When reached out for a response by media outlet Sports Seoul, HYBE and YG Entertainment both commented, “It is difficult to check [regarding this matter].”
Rumours of Jennie and V being an item have been circulating for more than a year now. And if the most recent video is a soft launch of their relationship, then I am happy for them!
Idols are human beings and deserve to live their lives openly.
See me elsewhere!
Before K-pop, top 40 hits and pop-punk music, my first love truly was Cantopop...and I didn't even know it. Growing up, I'd listen to tunes from the likes of Sam Hui, Beyond and Anita Mui with my parents in the car. So I was super excited to get the opportunity from GRAMMY to write a guide to Cantopop over the decades. I have to say, paring down this list to just 10 artists was extremely hard! Please give it a read!
Last call: Come party with Bangtan Ball!
In honour of 10 years of BTS, Bangtan Ball will be holding their 10th FESTA BTS Dance Party on May 27th at Toronto’s Axis Club! If you’re in the city this weekend, Bunni Pop readers can also get a discount to the event.
Just use the promo code “bunnipop” at checkout to get your ticket for 50 percent off! Click here to buy tickets.
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