This article discusses minor plot details from “XO, Kitty.”
Now that we’ve gotten the general reviews and reactions to Netflix’s “XO, Kitty” out of the way, it’s time to dig into the delicious nuances of culture and queerness on the show.
The spinoff of “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” follows Kitty Song Covey, played by Anna Cathcart, as she embarks on an international school journey in South Korea. Kitty, the younger sister of Lara Jean from the original series, goes to Seoul to trace the footsteps of her late mother, who attended the Korean International School of Seoul (KISS) decades before. She also goes to surprise her long-distance boyfriend, who also happens to attend KISS.
But once Kitty arrives at KISS, she’s horrified to find that her boyfriend, Dae, is already dating another girl, the so-called queen bee of the school, Yuri. What she doesn’t know is that Yuri is using Dae as a beard to cover up her own sexuality since Yuri’s mom is the principal of the school and expects nothing but perfection from her daughter. In this instance, perfection means having the right grades, the right image and a male suitor.
If all of this sounds messier than a Bud Light PR apology, that’s because it is. But the series, like its characters, gets more enlightening the more it leans into that mess. It is that intersection of queerness and East Asian culture that reveals how navigating two worlds — the personal and the communal — can turn into a soul-crushing experience unless you choose yourself.
No character exemplifies how excruciating that duality can be better than Yuri, played by Gia Kim. Throughout the series, Yuri detaches herself from her emotions as she navigates her mom’s expectations while also working through the sadness of losing her former girlfriend, who was removed from the school by her mom for dating her daughter. Throughout the series, Yuri succeeds in appeasing everyone except…
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