Let’s talk about Kitty Song Covey, the meddler—I mean matchmaker. On May 18, 2023, Netflix decided to make a spin-off TV series called “XO, Kitty.” This series is set in South Korea, where Kitty attends a school called the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS), navigating through confusing relationships and finding more about her mom. Its second season was released on January 16, 2025, and I didn’t think this show could get even more dramatic. But with random plot twists and seesawing romantic moments with literally everyone, it lacked a solid plotline and character development. While this show had some good moments (namely a Peter Kavinsky cameo), “XO, Kitty” season 2 proves to be dramatic just as much as it is problematic.
The awful love square
At the beginning of season 2, Kitty promised herself not to cause too much drama within her friend group, but what’s a show without drama? The love square became even more complicated this season that if you were to try to map all the relationships in the show, it would be even more confusing than a murder evidence board.
The murder evidence board becomes a sea of red string when you add the plot that goes both nowhere and everywhere at the same time. I get the thought of trying to date outside the friend group, and with Praveena, Kitty tried, but her love interests from season 1 comes back to haunt her (dreams and all), so that plan failed.
Too many characters
You know the feeling when an author introduces too many characters at once, and it becomes too difficult to identify who is who? Yeah, that’s what “XO, Kitty” did. Adding new characters, caused a lack of growth for the already existing characters and their relationships, so much so that many of the characters in the show were flat and lacked depth.
From Stella (Min Ho’s girlfriend with a secret agenda) to Praveena (the girl that Kitty tried dating but ultimately didn’t work out because she still liked Yuri) to Eunice (the misunderstood spoiled rich girl), season 2 may have added more characters to further the drama, but it was too much at times.
Unnecessary plot lines
For being one of the main reasons that Kitty travels to South Korea, the plotline of her wanting to find out about her mom’s life takes a backseat in order to highlight the immense amount of relationship drama that Kitty entangles herself in.
Though there are moments of Kitty finding her long lost family, there was also many episodes of Kitty and her friends finding out what Stella was really up to because she was acting “sus” (Q’s words, not mine). In the end, she just wanted revenge against Min Ho’s family; a cliché and trivial plot if I say so myself.
Yuri vs. Min Ho
Boy, do I have some qualms with this love triangle. From the end of season 1, Kitty has two main love interests, Yuri, her girl best friend, and Min Ho, her rival, and fans were divided between who Kitty should end up with.
Though season 2 gave ample screen time for Kitty to navigate her feelings with both of them, her feelings transition from Yuri to Min Ho as Kitty realizes she became “the other woman.” The last few episodes focus on her feelings for Min Ho, yet the ending was lackluster because what was supposed to cement her and Min Ho’s feelings with a kiss (that many fans hoped for) ended up with a boring “Can I come with you on tour?” Ugh.
*****
So how would I describe “XO, Kitty” season 2? A show so comically bad that it kept me watching to the very last minute. It made me want to bang my head against the wall at times, but that’s the beauty of this show. This limited series is a hit or miss (more miss), and if you’re looking for something to watch, you’re better off with the hit trilogy, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” than this train wreck of a spin-off.
