Drama, romance, love triangles, and a whole lot of new faces. Netflix’s new show, XO, Kitty, is a spinoff centered on Kitty Song Covey, Lara Jean’s little sister from the beloved series To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. But is the show worth the watch? Taking viewers on a whole new journey, XO, Kitty follows Kitty as she travels to Korea to attend an international school called KISS.
XO, Kitty is a show that’s lighthearted nature, making it an easy watch that will keep you hooked. For me, the show was great whenever I didn’t want to watch a fast-paced show but still wanted to be engaged. This same viewpoint is shared by other viewers like freshman Jane Barnes who connected her love to the series To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before as the main reason she watched the show, ‘I love To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and so when I saw that Kitty got her own little spinoff show, I was like, okay, I’ll watch it.’ On the other hand, junior Nico Alvero had a simpler reason: ‘I watched it because I had nothing else to watch.
The show brought a whirlwind of mixed emotions, with viewers expressing both frustration and enjoyment based on whatever season they were watching. For instance, Alvero found the first season to be pretty enjoyable but found the second season not comparable and was left feeling disappointed. Alvero shared, “I think the first season was good, but the second season, I didn’t really like that much because they kind of went everywhere with the plot, and I just didn’t expect that.” In comparison Barnes found both seasons of the show to be entertaining. I found myself agreeing with Barnes who loved both seasons of the show as I found the plot twists the show added in both seasons to be refreshing, bringing a show that could’ve been boring and making it super interesting. On the other hand, I can see how having a chaotic plotline can make the show a little hard to understand, but I love how the creators decided to experiment with something new. The show’s direction in their plot line brought a lot of different opinions. Junior Iesha Zia, for example, loved the unpredictability and chaos of the show, saying, “I was jumping half the time because it was so crazy!” Would having a more streamlined plot help the overall experience and draw more viewers to start or continue watching? That’s a tough call to make, but it certainly leaves me wondering what could’ve happened.
The appeal to the drama in the show seemed to vary among the viewers. I for one really enjoyed the added drama that was in the show especially during season 2. One thing I personally loved this season was the new characters that were added and their role throughout the show. My favorite addition was the character Praveena, an Indian queer student, who was Kitty’s love interest for part of season 2. The inclusion not only added another level of depth to the plotline but also brought a lot of diversity to the show. “I think it’s a good representation because there’s not a lot of LGBTQ+ representation in shows nowadays, so that’s cool,” said Barnes, showing how the show’s However other viewers such as Alvero and Barne felt that the storyline became too chaotic in season 2, with no particular episode standing out to them. Alvero commented, “I don’t know, that show was so much drama. I don’t think I resonated with any of it.”
Overall, XO, Kitty is engaging for those who love plot twists, romance and drama. Whether you watch the show for its connection To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the romance, or the drama, the show has something for everyone.
