Jenny Han, Author of All The Boys I Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty, creates another slam dunk with Netflix Hit Series XO, Kitty. In the last six years, the world finally took notice of Han's incredible storylines and captivating characters by turning her two series into three movies and two shows. Netflix Productions skyrocketed her books into the spotlight along with the actors that found their start on one of her projects from August 2018 until the present day. In January 2025, she's a household name in the romance entertainment world.
**Caution: Spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 of XO, Kitty streaming on Netflix now.**
Katherine Song Covey, Kitty to her friends, is a force to be wrecked with because she is the main character of her story, even when she is Laua Jean's matchmaking little sister. After the All the Boys trilogy ended, we thought we'd never see Kitty's future, but Jenny Han and Netflix surprised us all when they announced Anna Cathcart would lead her own Netflix project. In May 2023, Cathcart graced our small screens again, but on her terms.
Kitty Covey meddled almost beyond repair in XO, Kitty Season 1, much like she did in Lara Jean's life in her middle school days. Fast forward to her teens (she grew up fast!), and she's meddling in the lives of new friends and potential lovers. Because of her "chaos queen" antics, she's kicked out of KISS after the first semester. "After leaving for winter break, I thought I'd never come back to Korea, but here I am a month later on my way back to KISS for the second semester," Anna Cathcart monologues as she is texting her sisters (Lara Jean and Margot) from her taxi. Right before winter break, Kitty comes out as Bi because of her crush on Yuri (Gia Kim), who also talked to her mom (the principal in season 1) so Kitty could return to school. But her antics don't go unpunished. After secretly living in the boy's dorm (by mistake), she and the boys are on cleaning duty to make up for them breaking the rules.
Not only did we see Kitty meddle and break the rules, but on arriving in Seoul, she finds out Dae (Choi Min-young) - her boyfriend, whom she met while visiting Korea in the OG movie trilogy - was having a fake relationship with Yuri most of the time he was with Kitty. It seems he was lying to her while they were long distance, leading to their sad breakup and awkward moments at the end of the first season. Although our hearts and Kitty's may be broken because Dae was our tie back to the original storyline, this also gave Kitty a chance to start anew and focus on her new friendships, find herself, learn about her Korean background, and learn more about her mom's past.
Like the typical high school drama, Kitty discovers that love and forgiveness are the most significant life lessons. Being a "chaos queen," she must also learn to love herself and others and ask for forgiveness from herself and others along the way. In a January 2025 Teen Vogue article, Anna Cathcart tells us how much Kitty loves all kinds of love: “We know Kitty loves love for sure,” Cathcart says. “She always has when [it comes to] romance, but familial and personal love are also just as important to her. [They’re] worth chasing and require vulnerability and bravery.”
With her massive love for others comes trouble. In season one, Kitty had trouble around every corner. Wherever she went, drama and chaos followed. At the beginning of season two, Kitty states that she will "focus on her studies, keep her nose clean, and stay single." To no surprise, her new lease on life ends within the first five minutes of the first episode when she opens the door to her dorm to find that not only is she not in a single room, but she's also rooming with Yuri and her girlfriend, along with a transfer student. Throughout three episodes (her first few days back at KISS), she meets a new girl, sets up Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee) with her roommate, confesses she's failing to get over Yuri, and accidentally outs Yuri rooming with her girlfriend. Again, this is no surprise to Jenny Han's fans as we've come to expect drama and hardship in her stories. Although it sucks for her characters, it makes for a great story. It wouldn't be a Jenny Han story without a group trip. At the end of the third episode, Min Ho invites the group to ski over the weekend, and things will get messy. They leave for the trip on the heels of Min Ho walking in to find Yuri and Kitty kissing after watching a video of their moms as teens.
SKI WEEKEND
Snowed in with their many secrets and hearts on the line, XO, Kitty Ski Weekend may top Laura Jean and Peter's hot tub scene in To All the Boys I've Loved Before. As I'm thinking about that exact life-changing scene, someone mentions a hot tub. Ten minutes later, the entire group is sitting in a hot tub in the middle of the blizzard's aftermath. Kitty is forced to be in close quarters with her new girlfriend, crush, and crush's girlfriend, as well as her ex, Min Ho (who professed his love at the end of season one). In my opinion, Kitty's ski weekend tops Laura Jean's hot tub scandal by a ton.
Min Ho pulls a play from Lara Jean when he finds Kitty alone in the hot tub. She cries after her friends discover her lingering feelings for Yuri. Min Ho fails to persuade Kitty to get out of the hot tube so he can help her. She counts his help with, "No, I am going to stay in here until I shrivel up and die." It was a tad dramatic but very understandable after Min Ho's no response to Kitty's wondering if she broke up Yuri and her girlfriend with their one kiss. He removes his fancy coat and steps into the hot tub in his clothes. This little hot tub scene snowballs into more significant issues as the episode ends with many connections broken.
After everything that transpires, Kitty's ski weekend ruins more than just her relationship but a few more characters' relationships. In All the Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean and Peter's hot tub scene only ruined her reputation while skyrocketing his. In terms of teenage moments ruining their lives, Kitty massively wins over Lara Jean.
LONG-LOST RELATIVES OF THE SONGS
Kitty is known for her matchmaking skills, but she also loves her family and grieves the mom she lost during her childhood. After successfully matching her sister with Peter and their dad with their neighbor, Kitty sets off to Korea to follow in her mom's footsteps. Along the way, Kitty uncovers her mom's life at KISS - she was best friends with Yuri's mom and found her cousin, Simon, while in Korea. But there's a catch. Kitty's grandma didn't want Kitty's mom to go to Korea because Simon is the son of the sister Kitty's grandma doesn't speak to. For decades, Kitty's grandma tells her daughter and granddaughters that she's an only child. Meaning she had her daughter go to her grave without telling her daughters about their long-lost Korean relatives.
As a longtime Jenny Han fan, I was shocked to find out there was a big Song Covey family secret. But, leave it to Kitty to go through her mom's boxes and find her KISS memos.
Unfortunately, Kitty's discovery leads to more heartbreak and unanswered questions at the end of season 2, episode 5. My heart breaks even more for Kitty and her mom. Hopefully, Yuri helped Kitty start the mending process by persuading Kitty's cousin to talk to her. Potentially breaking the ice on the family feud. I won't be relieved if they do because it is better to experience it firsthand. After all, it is a touching moment. I can't begin to describe it, but I can say that it warmed my heart so much. Kitty is on her way to mending something that her mom didn't get to see before she died.
CAMEOS in SEASON 2
With heartbreak comes even brighter moments. Noah Centineo talks to Glamour (January 2025) about his cameo in XO, Kitty Season 2, which comes on the heels of Kitty damaging her heart tenfold while also trying to fix the damage. Centineo easily steps back into his To All The Boys heartthrob and the internet's boyfriend, Peter Kavinsky. He tells Glamour, “Stepping back into the To All the Boys universe was a true joy, and I hope our incredible audience enjoys seeing Peter again as much as I did."
Along with making our hearts burst with joy, Peter doesn't arrive empty-handed in episode 6. He brings something from home for Kitty that connects to her search for unanswered family questions and news that the Lara Jean surprise isn't a ring ("We're 22," Peter says smiling.). As if no time has passed since we saw them on screen together, Anna and Noah slip back into their older sister's boyfriend and kid sister's hilarious banter ways. The camera pans out, and we are graced with Peter confirming that Kitty is a bit insane as she tells him the drama she's in the middle of and why she has a new enemy.
"You remember when you mailed out all of Lara Jean's love letters? You not minding your business landed me the love of my life. Kitty, you have this killer instinct. It is literally your superpower...You are Kitty Freaking Song Covey. You can't forget that!" - Peter giving Kitty a brotherly prep talk.
As I was scrolling Instagram, I found out that Janel Parrish (Margot Song Covey) also made a cameo in season two. It launched my binge-watch, and I kept waiting for her. I can confirm that Margot appears in the last episode in the best way possible, reuniting the grandmothers.
Nothing like a sister moment to warm our hearts and fix everything wrong in the world. Sisters can't fix everything but they can make the world go round a little easier which is what the song covey sisters do for each other from any part of the world. Margot flew in with a purpose and gave us a much needed song covey sister reunite after so many years. There wouldn't be Kitty without Lara Jean and Margot. Maybe next time, Lara Jean can pop in for a visit but for now that's on my wishlist.
OX, KITTY REVIEW
OX, Kitty brought the All the Boys universe into our homes again with just as much drama, love, and adventure as the original trilogy. But, Kitty stood on her own apart from her sisters' stories and navigated her own journey. In All the Boys books/movies, Kitty Song Covey was a quirky, meddling middle schooler who spoke her mind and made sure her sisters and dad were happy. Soon after, she discovered that she could steer her own ship, fall in love, and adventure out into the world. After the trilogy concluded, Jenny Han brought the Song Covey Sister back to tell Kitty's love story, but it turns out it was her coming-of-age and finding herself story with a dash of love story. Even though Kitty prides herself on being a matchmaker (thank goodness she matched Peter with Lara Jean), Jenny Han ironically makes Kitty very bad at matchmaking herself.
Like any teenage girl, Kitty jumps through a million hoops to survive her changing life. Somehow, she survived an entire school year in Korea and the drama that followed her (mostly due to her creating it). But, unfortunately, she's still that confused, hopeless romantic that we know and love. On the brightside, she's learned a whole lot more and is still eager to jump in the deep in to prove she's grown.
Thank you to Jenny Han and Netflix for putting Kitty Song Covey front and center and telling her story. Anna Cathcart gave us so much with only two seasons. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll see more of her in the future as Kitty.
AUTHOR BIO
Emily Craig Hooie is an author, poet, and blogger. With a Bachelor of Science in English from the University of North Alabama, she always knew writing was her future. Her background in writing covers many genres, ranging from Southern Gothic to young and new Adult. With five pieces of published poetry under her belt and after the success of her debut book, Will You Love Me Again?, she wanted to fuel her passion for writing with two sequels, thus Where Will We Go?: A Sequel and What’s Next, Lucy? were born. She lives in Athens, Alabama, with the love of her life Dustin and their dogs, Buttercup and Copper.
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