XO, Kitty review: A chaotic and cute American high school drama infused with the Hallyu wave!

XO, Kitty starring Anna Cathcart and Choi Min-Young will make you feel like you know the story and surprise you in ways you didn’t expect it to!

We’ve all gushed over Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky’s swoon worthy love story but now it’s time for the matchmaker who actually brought them together to take charge of her own love life. Yes, I’m talking about Kitty Song Covey,(Anna Cathcart) Lara Jean’s youngest sister who wants to go to Korea and attend the Korean Independent School of Seoul aka KISS, just so that she can reconnect with her long distance boyfriend Dae (Choi Min-Young) and also learn about her late mom’s culture and her alma mater. You might think this would be a long process for her, but nope. As a mere 17 year old, she not only manages to instantly get permission from her dad to move halfway across the world for a boy, but also is literally on the next flight out to Seoul. TO SEOUL, KOREA! Do you know the planning that goes in before you get a scholarship and move there? There was no waiting list, no visa problems, not to mention that she doesn’t speak a word of Korean. XO, Kitty is unrealistic and the sooner you accept that, the easier it will be for you to let go and just enjoy the teen drama!

Once she reaches her dreamland, she somehow finds her way to the university only to find out the person she traveled miles for is actually in a relationship with Yu-Ri, (Gia Kim) the principal’s daughter. So why would someone like Dae who has loved Kitty all these years, who literally feels like the best boyfriend ever, do something so unlike himself? Why would he leave Kitty feeling so heartbroken in an unfamiliar place? That’s where the plot thickens and throws a curveball at the end of every episode which makes you want to watch till the end. 

Also Read: The K-pop influence in XO, Kitty is making the Janta go crazy

But it's not like Kitty is completely alone, she does eventually become pals with Min-Ho (Lee Sang-Heon) and Quincy, (Anthony Keyvan) who are Dae’s best friends. Also due to unfortunate circumstances, she very conveniently and sneakily stays in the boys dorm with them. But there’s more to just teen drama here. As she said she is here to know more about her mom and she in a way does get closer to her with the support of her Professor Alex (Peter Thurnwald). There are many subplots like this in the show and each of them makes sure you binging on the series. 

Now let me tell you, every character that I have mentioned so far is good looking. No actually, that’s an understatement. They are hot! Every single person in the frame is an eye candy and even after watching more than 50 K-dramas I’ll never get used to seeing this level of beauty. If not the story, this will be a strong motivation for you to be glued to the screen. But coming to the plot, it’s predictable and cliché in the first half but just as surprising and unexpected in the second. When you press play here you feel like you already know how this will end, just like every romantic teen drama ends. But it completely takes a turn with its unconventional climax.

It is a mixture of two cultures and you can clearly see that when it reminds you of the typical American teen dramas but also the larger than life K-dramas. With the PG-13 makeout sessions and high school life with a dash of smartly placed popular K-pop songs from BTS, BLACKPINK, Seventeen and more it stays loyal to both its roots. Even the characters often switching between Korean and English helps keep the show authentic and makes K-culture fans feel right at home. 

XO, Kitty is a fair attempt at trying a new twist in the teen drama genre. It has representation in all the right ways. Be it having people of different ethnicities or representation for the LGBTQIA+ community. For once, it feels natural and none of it feels forced just to fit into the current culture. But with its far fetched standards of living yet cute young love moments, it brings out mixed emotions about the story.

XO, Kitty is currently streaming on Netflix!

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