RIOTUS

As a Jenny Han lover, this show is definitely different than her past works. XO, Kitty is a lot more soapy than To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, her film franchise that is also on Netflix, but it works well. It is also a step up from The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime Video). As a spinoff to TATBILB, the story is fun and fresh and a complete hot mess. The twists and turns keep you on your toes. At first, I didn’t like Kitty’s story but I found myself thinking about it days after watching it and wondering what happens next for our cast of misfits.

We start our story with a recap of what happened in the TATBILB series, basically how Kitty and Dae first met and how much she misses him and wishes she could be with him. Then we find out Kitty has applied to his school (her mother’s alma mater) and got in! We then cut to her trying to convince her Father and Stepmother to let her attend KISS (The Korean International School of Seoul.) They let her go and after that, we’re sucked into a whirlwind of chaos!

We have a lovely cast including Kitty (Anna Cathcart) our rambunctious protagonist. Dae (Choi Minyeong), Kitty’s long-term long distance boyfriend. Minho (Lee Sangheon) is prissy yet fiercely loyal to those around him. Gia Kim is Yuri, a “Mean Girl” with a big heart and a secret. And Anthony Kevyan as Q the lovable best friend.

Throughout the whole series, Kitty was a hot mess express. She’s reminiscent of her character from the To All the Boys series but she’s grown up and her audacity is shown a lot more in this. Her morals fluctuated greatly, but she’s a teenager, she’s messy. I will say, I got a little frustrated with her through the first few episodes but I found myself warm up to her. Although she does things that make me want to rip my hair out, and she doesn’t feel bad about them, which makes it harder to feel for her when she gets called out. Because of this, when the other characters call Kitty on her bullshit it made me so happy. I wish the show gave her more of an arc so we could see her grow. I also wish at times she was more honest with herself, especially since she expects so much out of everyone else. 

I love Dae’s character so much. I find him endearing. You can tell he loves Kitty but she doesn’t make it easy for him. He’s very righteous and cares a lot for his friends and family. Through every episode, there wasn’t a moment where I could say I disliked him.

XO, Kitty also shows the characters dealing with their identity and sexuality in ways that are charged with emotions that can only be felt in your youth. I love the amount of LGBT representation. We see lots of it and Florian and Q are so cute. (The other couple is actually my favorite so look out for them when watching! ♡)

Some of the plot points such as Q’s arc towards the end felt a bit rushed and I wish they could’ve given more closure. At times, the pacing felt all over the place. But as a group watch, this was very, very enjoyable. I would say XO, Kitty is some of the most fun I’ve had in a while. The other Geek Girl Riot hosts and I laughed our way through the whole show.

This is a soap opera and it definitely gets the job done and does it well, at that. Was XO, Kitty my favorite show ever? No. Did I thoroughly enjoy XO, Kitty and will be talking about it? Absolutely.”