XO, Kitty reveals something brand new and exciting for fans of the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise. Katherine Song-Covey (Anna Cathcart), or Kitty as she is known to her friends, flies almost halfway across the world to surprise her long-distance boyfriend Dae (Minyeong Choi). But many obstacles come in the way of Kitty’s pursuit of love and she tries to overcome these by making new friends with exciting opportunities along the way.

Anna Cathcart is the perfect protagonist for the TV show, stealing the show with her wit and charm. Although I am not Korean American myself, I can definitely say that Cathcart shows the correct representations of Korean Americans without any harmful stereotypes. With the emergence of new feelings and juggling the perils of teenagehood, Kitty Covey tries to navigate her way through her semester abroad at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS).

The first three episodes of XO, Kitty follow through nicely but they are definitely plot heavy. There are many different stories intertwined as well as Dae and Kitty’s relationship which takes centre stage. The issues raised in the show are very important, namely the LGBTQ+ issues with Yuri (Gia Kim) and her family’s acceptance of her coming out as well as Q and Florian’s relationship which is very significant throughout the show.

The pacing and editing of the show are done very well by Netflix producers as they make the show as smooth as possible without any complications. Although the plot was confusing in some places, and this did make the pacing very fast at times with the show ending suddenly. I felt as if Netflix could improve on that part with the potential new season of the show coming out.

The soundtrack of the show was definitely one to remember. With Korean pop, or K-pop as it is widely known, on the rise the show’s directors and producers definitely took their chances by including as many K-pop songs as possible. My favourite tracks include Icy by Itzy as well as ABOUT LOVE by Marina (which gives a nod to the infamous movie trilogy To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before).

There were many overarching themes and motifs and these were very significant but the one theme which stood out to me was identity. Knowing yourself and where your roots and heritage are can be a very scary and daunting experience but Kitty decided to take this step for herself to learn more about her mother as well as her Korean heritage.

The social implications of the show are widely accepted by society today. Kitty’s identity and how she feels about her sexuality are very significant. This shows that it is okay for teenagers in this day and age to question their identity and who they truly are, it is all part of growing up.

I was hooked from the start of XO, Kitty and I cannot wait for a new season to be potentially announced. The show is all about the perils of growing up as well as navigating your way through life with a newfound identity. I could not recommend it enough.

Rating: 4/5

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