The youngest member of the Covey family of To All the Boys I Loved Before ventured out of the nest in 2023 in her own Netflix series, XO, Kitty. Traveling to Seoul to attend an elite high school abbreviated as KISS, Kitty Covey (Anna Cathcart) is determined to follow in her late mother’s footsteps while pursuing true love. As the familiar yet forever enticing romantic tropes of fake relationships, unrequited love, and enemies-to-potential-lovers arcs evolve, the first season ends on an ambiguous note that undoubtedly called for a second season. With Season 2 being slated to premiere on January 16, 2025, it’s time to refresh our memories of the hilarious drama that unfolded during Kitty’s first experience in Seoul.
The majority of XO, Kitty Season 1 found Kitty in the eye of the hurricane that is the all-consuming teenage love life. The victim of this chaos was her grades, which had to be maintained if she wanted to stay at this prestigious school. Though she managed to cram for her finals and pass, Kitty was expelled from KISS as the school discovered that she had been bunking in the boys’ dormitory the entire time she was there due to an error at the beginning of the season. Naturally, that wasn’t allowed. However, one of the scenes in the Season 1 finale hinted that her journey at KISS may not be over, as her friend Yuri (Gia Kim) makes a phone call to her mother, who is also Kitty’s mother’s best childhood friend and the headmaster, Ji-na Lim (Yunjin Kim), about letting Kitty stay — of course, this is also confirmed by the Season 2 trailer.
Kitty’s Romantic Arc Is Left Open in Season 1’s Finale
One of the reasons Kitty decided to study abroad is to connect with her long-distance boyfriend Dae (Choi Min-young) in Seoul, but when she lands, things immediately go awry. From a fake romance to way too much miscommunication, Kitty doggedly hangs on for dear life in this tumultuous relationship. Moreover, one of the truly defining shocks she faces this season is her unexpected (and unrequited) feelings for her frenemy, Yuri. Torn between the “stability” of Dae and the newness of Yuri, Kitty remains indecisive about her love life until the season finale. She has a long-overdue meaningful conversation with Dae, apologizing for leading him on when she had feelings for Yuri, thanking him for being her first love, and letting him go as she realizes her first love doesn’t need to be her last. The scene marks Kitty’s growth and increasing maturity that will likely carry into the second season, but another spanner is thrown into the works.
Throughout the season, Dae’s playboy roommate Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee) is constantly suspicious about Kitty’s intentions with his best friend, leading to a contentious relationship between the two. However, we are privy to Min Ho’s gradual shift of feelings toward Kitty as he slowly but surely falls for her bubbly and infectious attitude. Kitty is completely oblivious to this, even as he helps her study for her finals or when Dae accuses Kitty of having feelings for him. But in the final scenes, when Kitty boards the plane that will fly her home after being expelled, Min Ho appears in the seat next to her and confesses his feelings. As such, Kitty and Dae’s break-up, her unrequited feelings for Yuri, and Min Ho’s confession all leave the initially naive and carefree protagonist in shambles, as the fallout from these events is likely to be felt in Season 2.
‘XO, Kitty’ Introduces a Queer Love Triangle
Having an unrequited crush is painful enough, but XO, Kitty further complicates its titular character’s newly queer love life and exploration of her sexual identity with a love triangle. Kitty first feels the one-sided electricity during one of Yuri’s performances, only evolving from there as she loses her breath in slow-motion scenes whenever Yuri is close. She has a fairly philosophical approach to her newly uncovered sexual identity, simply stunned by how unexpected her feelings were and how she was supposed to tell Dae about them. After her revealing conversation with Dae, Kitty meets Yuri at the airport and figures this is the perfect opportunity to confess her feelings. However, Yuri is distracted by the arrival of Juliana (Regan Aliyah), her girlfriend, who was sent away after her mother found out about them. Deftly, a love triangle is formed, with one point burying their feelings in light of this new development.
Yuri hid her sexual identity from her family and the public throughout the season, but a key family moment turned the tides for her. After being slighted by her pitiless husband one too many times, Ji-na finally decides to confront her past and introduces her long-lost son, Alex (Peter Thurnwald), to his father, Daniel, or Professor Lee (Michael K. Lee) with Yuri present. They hash out their anger, pain, and love in a powerful scene where Ji-na forces everyone to stay and face the revelation together. This seemingly inspires her to accept her daughter wholly the next morning, as she announces she will allow Juliana to return to KISS and will also embrace their queer romance, which guarantees a love triangle in Season 2.
Kitty Continues to Learn About Her Mother in ‘XO, Kitty’
Kitty’s mother spent a year studying abroad at KISS, and thus, Kitty was determined to find meaning and connection to her late mother on the campus. Her journey to understand her mother takes a turn in the last episode, as Ji-na has a heartfelt conversation with the wide-eyed student. She reveals how she regretted the way she treated Kitty’s mother when she left Seoul to return home. She also gives Kitty a letter that she never responded to. In return, Kitty gives Ji-na a mixtape filled with tracks she initially thought were her mother’s favorites, but it turns out they were Ji-na’s. Daniel had actually made the tape for Ji-na, and when she reminisces, she helps Kitty alter the way she views first loves. This is further augmented by her mother’s letter, which reveals that Daniel Covey (John Corbett) wasn’t her mother’s first love; instead, it was someone named Simon. Kitty’s more refined perspective on love and relationships will certainly grow in Season 2, alongside her understanding of her mother, as she slowly uncovers more about her past.
‘XO, Kitty’s Side Characters Will Also Struggle in Season 2
While Kitty finds herself at the center of most of XO, Kitty‘s romantic arcs, Quincy (Anthony Keyvan) and Florian (Theo Augier) remain as an independent couple that have their own issues to contend with. With his grades slipping, Florian was facing the danger of failing out of school and being forced to return home. Unable to cope with the idea of returning to his bickering parents, who are in the midst of a divorce, Florian acts out of desperation and cheats on his finals. Q struggles with his partner’s unethical decision but slowly drifts onto his side after defending him to Kitty. However, when Florian took the top spot in the class ranking, knocking Dae off his podium, risking Dae’s scholarship and position in the school. This re-ignites Q’s guilt as he is stuck between being loyal to his morally ambiguous partner or helping his down-on-his-luck close friend. XO, Kitty Season 1 leaves us with plenty of unresolved storylines to mull over as the release date of Season 2 draws near, where unbidden secrets and rampant confessions threaten to surface in KISS’s fall semester.
XO, Kitty Season 2 will premiere on January 16. Season 1 is available on Netflix.
- Release Date
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May 18, 2023
- Cast
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Anna Cathcart
, Sang Heon Lee
, Choi Min-young
, Anthony Keyvan
, Gia Kim
, Peter Thurnwald
, Regan Aliya - Seasons
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2
- Story By
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Jenny Han
- Franchise(s)
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To All the Boys
- Directors
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Jennifer Arnold
, Jeff Chan
, Katina Medina Mora
, Pamela Romanowsky
