Can I let you all in on a little secret?
I watched the entirety of XO, Kitty Season 2, and by the time the credits rolled, I had forgotten everything important that had happened.
It genuinely sucks when that happens, but it’s worse when it’s something that happens with a show that genuinely has great potential.
XO, Kitty is One of the Few Teen Series in a Disappearing Market
One of the biggest takeaways from XO, Kitty is that the season came to a quick end by the time it started to find its rhythm, which sums up the series itself.
Kitty is a cute and fun teen protagonist in an age that lacks them.
Seriously, not to sound like an old, cranky Millennial, but when I was coming up, I was up to my eyeballs in teen and young adult programming of all calibers.
The WB phase of television had me in a chokehold, from Popular and Dawson’s Creek to family dramas like 7th Heaven.
I couldn’t relate to a single aspect of Clueless on the surface, but I loved Dionne, and Felicity was the perfect hot mess and a series I couldn’t get enough of watching.
Boy Meets World still scratches the nostalgic part of my brain for all things Shawn Hunter, Angela, and Topanga.
Let me not go on a tangent about Veronica Mars, who was the perfect reputation for us teens who casually grew up in households where having burner phones around was handy.
There was so much variety in young adult programming, ranging from pre-teens to co-eds.
But now, I still enjoy watching that genre as an adult, but it’s sorely lacking in that department.
XO, Kitty Has the Bones for a Solid Teen Drama
As a result, XO, Kitty is exciting, and its premise should be great. It has the bones, as Anna Cathcart is a charismatic leading lady.
Kitty is one of the most annoying characters, but it’s endearing and feels authentic for that stage in life.
But XO, Kitty can’t solely ride on the laurels of Cathcart and Sang Heon Lee’s charisma. Or, if they’re going to do so, then the show needs to focus more exclusively on it and take full advantage.
XO, Kitty feels like a great gateway introduction to K-dramas and K-pop. It rides on the wave of that popularity, but it doesn’t necessarily do all the work to fully embrace it, making this bizarre, unplaceable Korean-American hybrid.
The second season exposed this to the series’ detriment as it introduced a zillion new characters and focused on them at the expense of the ones we likely find more compelling or without developing others much.
Kitty’s coming to grips with her bisexuality was a defining moment in the first season, and the second season doesn’t know what to do with it.
Kitty’s Bisexuality Exploration Missed the Mark
XO, Kitty faces two issues in tying Kitty’s newfound attraction to women to Yuri exclusively.
For one, it isn’t the best attempt at allowing Kitty to explore that attraction to women when she’s instantly jumped to being in love with her best friend and pining after her to the exclusion of other possible love interests like the cool but misused Praveena.
And it also dances on the line of the usual problematic tropes of bisexual individuals or queer relationships when it introduces an infidelity component with Yuri and Kitty’s behavior resulting in a season of tension and drama amongst Kitty, Yuri, and Juliana.
Kitty also had to juggle another family storyline that felt half-baked and didn’t have nearly the same emotion or urgency as the first season. So much so that it barely registered as a plot, even when it concluded with a neat bow in the finale.
But the second season teased that Kitty would spend her semester trying to do and be better and improve, and then she mostly got lost in plots with no “oomph.”
The season also fell apart because she had to spend so much time with other characters spinning their own tales.
XO, Kitty Doesn’t Know What to Do with Half Its Characters While Focusing on New Ones
The season quickly reveals that XO, Kitty doesn’t know what to do with characters like Dae and Q. Yet, they attached Eunice and Jin to them, only one of whom should’ve had more development and had spark (Eunice).
All those characters get lost in the shuffle of seemingly meaningless plots that swallow them whole.
I can’t actually tell you much about their storylines because of the previously mentioned forgetting them once the credits rolled thing.
So much of the season also hinges on Stella. Over time, investing in this new character despite her vital role becomes difficult.
A vibrant and genuinely alluring character like Yuri, who was one of the finest aspects of the first season, is dull in comparison and simply fades away throughout the second season.
She spends so much of her sophomore season slinking after Juliana.
I understand why they wanted to expand Juliana’s role and even appreciate it on some level, but given that it resulted in a more muted Yuri, here we are.
Min Ho is the only character who survives the second season with actual character development and a decent plot.
Once they placed Alex, Professor Lee, and the family arcs surrounding Dae and Yuri in the background, Min Ho had to carry it, and he did that well.
Min Ho Carries Character Development and Consistent Plot
Min Ho and Moon’s father/son relationship evolution from the start of the season to its end is satisfying and authentic.
Many teens, especially young men, struggle with things like living in their older siblings’ shadows or not feeling they meet their parents’ expectations.
Min Ho balances this ongoing arc well with the others he partakes in, including assisting Dae and being a great friend to Kitty during her latest family mission while keeping their spark alive.
The fact that Kitty and Min Ho’s connection is yet again the best aspect of the second season shows that the series would do wise to center that and them more moving forward.
My attention was piqued during those final moments of the season when they teased an adventure between the two, and I only wish the entire season had that same energy in the first place.
At XO, Kitty’s center is Kitty herself as she grapples with identity, high school, friendship, and “found family.”
It’s best when the series leans into those aspects of Kitty more, grounding that focus rather than sending Kitty on random sidequests or going off on tangents with other, often newer characters.
If XO, Kitty Continues, It’ll Benefit in Centering Kitty and Min-Ho
Min-Ho often walks away with the strongest and most developed story arcs, and his chemistry with Kitty carries so much of the series.
XO, Kitty needs to restructure, focusing more on those two characters, individually and together, and then expanding to other key figures as supporting characters and roles.
XO, Kitty can be something truly special with proper outlines and focus. Anna Cathcart and Sang Heon Lee could save it whenever the series gives them quality storylines and writing.
We wouldn’t have to resort to gimmicks like random and meaningless Noah Centineo cameos meant only to capitalize on the To All the Boys franchise and nostalgia.
Come on, Netflix, you guys are better than this!
How do you rate XO, Kitty Season 2? Let’s hear all of your thoughts below.
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