Jan. 16 marked the release of season two of Netflix’s “XO, Kitty”. As in the first season, the show revolves around Katherine or “Kitty”, who left the U.S. to be with her boyfriend, Dae, in Korea and reconcile with her mother’s past.
The first season garnered a large audience after it successfully portrayed Kitty Song Covey’s journey to finding her identity. This resonated with many, as it showed love can be found in different people and situations. The teen drama sparked a huge debate on Kitty’s confusion between her love interests, making season two worth the wait.
Despite the huge fan base and excitement for the new season after almost seven months, co-producer Jenny Han’s work lacked in several areas. The confusion, clichés and chaos were seen to be extremely overwhelming. “They tried to incorporate Gen Z slang and trends but it came off as cringe and unnecessary,” said senior Tanvi Devulapally.
This season, fans expected for Kitty to finally be able to feel comfortable and confident in her shoes, but instead, Kitty was deemed to be selfish. She was constantly seen to choose herself and her feelings over her friends, and even Dae, the main reason she moved to Korea. The narcissistic behavior overshadowed what Han was trying to portray, and Kitty’s individualism soon turned into her being labeled as a homewrecker.
Many fans of the show enjoyed the romantic elements in the first season, but the second season took the relationships in a direction that felt less satisfying and extremely dramatic. “XO Kitty just introduced a bunch of love interests but did not show a deep level of conception with any of them,” said senior Vibhuti Ghildiyal. “This made the entire show and its characters seem superficial and self-centered.”
Along with the addition of messy love interests came other new characters, namely Stella. While there was potential for complex discussions and character development, the characters were not treated properly and instead unfairly villainized.
Stella, also known as Esther, was a teenager from Ohio who had previously auditioned to be a part of a singing reality TV show but was humiliated and rejected due to her looks. This correlates with real issues we have in society today about body image and dysmorphia. However, villainizing Stella, only dismissed the issues rather than addressing them.
Lastly, fans were also excited to see Noah Centineo make a comeback as Peter Kavisnky. Peter Kavinsky is widely recognized as the fan favorite romantic lead from the “To All The Boys” book and movie trilogy. However, fans were taken aback by his cameo, as it didn’t quite live up to their expectations. Fans had hoped for some insight into details of his relationship with Kitty’s sister, Lara Jean, but the lack of updates made them feel disengaged.
XO Kitty’s first season had a lot of charm and generated high anticipation for season two. The pressure to deliver the same level led to disappointment among the viewers when it failed to meet expectations.
