XO, Kitty Season 3 Review: Friendships Stand Out While Central Romance Lacks Substance
Despite some good aspects, XO, Kitty Season 3 is not the show’s best.
Kitty juggling her romance with Min Ho, her Korean Literature class, and her Senior Sunset List seems like a compelling premise. However, the show only executes some elements well, while falling flat on others.
This season features several significant arcs for the main characters, but the best one by far is Yuri’s.
After the shocking twist revealing Yuri’s family to be broke on the Season 2 finale, Yuri is on her own for the first time in her life.
It is difficult to learn how to live without financial security, but Yuri’s journey is so rewarding. In losing her family’s money, Yuri finds herself. She learns to take risks, put herself out there, and dream big.
Now, Yuri works for renowned fashion designer Yisoo and wins a contest for her own designs. She does not need to be rich to become the person she is destined to be.
Yuri Han: Okay, Kitty, do you remember when you told me you felt like your soul was being ripped apart? Well that’s how I felt when I lost everything, and I pieced myself back together, right? That’s what I should do with my look. That’s my story.
XO, Kitty Season 3’s biggest strength is the platonic dynamics, with a particular focus on Dae and Yuri.
Dae and Yuri have come a long way since their pretend relationship; Dae is one of Yuri’s closest and most trusted friends.
They are consistently in each other’s corner. Yuri supports Dae’s family as they open their new restaurant, while Dae helps Yuri adjust to life without money.
Other compelling platonic dynamics include Madison and Mihee. They might not be as relevant as some of the other characters, but their friendship is always a breath of fresh air amidst the ongoing drama.
Kitty and Q still have an engaging dynamic, even though Season 3 puts their friendship to the ultimate test. However, they walk away from the mishap stronger than ever.
Similarly, the best storylines on XO, Kitty Season 3 focus on friendship with little to no romance.
One of the best episodes is Season 3 Episode 7, “Best Dressed List,” for its premise and execution. Kitty’s friend group is in complete chaos, with her friends fighting and refusing to talk to one another.
However, Kitty pushes everyone to come together to help Yuri finish her work in time for the fashion designer contest. Even though it is rocky at first, the characters eventually mend their fractured friendships.
This storyline highlights some of Kitty’s best qualities, including her caring heart, her relentless optimism, and her unyielding loyalty. Kitty is the ideal friend to have, especially in dire circumstances.
She may overthink too much, allow her insecurities to get the best of her, and occasionally overstep boundaries. However, Kitty always means well and has the best intentions.
Kitty and Yuri also have a phenomenal platonic dynamic on XO, Kitty Season 3 — a shocking surprise after two seasons of will-they/won’t-they.
No one could ever guess that there was anything romantic between them. Unfortunately, it is a concerning issue that presents several questionable factors.
From the beginning, Kitty and Yuri’s romance has a problematic aspect: it makes Juliana the Disposable Black Girlfriend. The longer the show fails to develop Juliana’s character beyond her relationship with Yuri, the more harmful this situation becomes.
One saving grace is Juliana’s newfound romance with Praveena. Their relationship could be the perfect opportunity to explore Juliana’s character and get to know Praveena.
Unfortunately, Juliana and Praveena break up, leading Praveena to fall off the face of the earth so that Juliana can get back together with Yuri.
To be clear, the show establishes a beautiful romance between Yuri and Juliana; they have a profound emotional bond that can never be erased. They can always count on and prioritize each other.
However, it does not change the fact that the show establishes an unnecessary cheating storyline that serves no purpose other than to humiliate Juliana.
If Yuri and Juliana were always going to end up together, it begs the question of why XO, Kitty makes Yuri cheat on Juliana at all.
There is only one possible explanation: Yuri cheats on Juliana with Kitty to isolate Kitty from most of her friends, so that Min Ho will be the only one there for her when no one else is.
It is a heinous narrative decision that reflects poorly on the show’s lesbian and racial representation.
Black and lesbian characters do not exist as a plot device for a straight relationship. They deserve their own space to deliver complex and compelling stories.
It is awful that Juliana does not get to be a fully realized character. She has so much potential with her passion for art and her love for her friends. As graduation nears, the show could take the opportunity to explore how Juliana envisions her future.
Unfortunately, Juliana is not the only Black character who acts as a plot device for another relationship. XO, Kitty Season 3 introduces Marius as an obstacle between Kitty and Min Ho, and later as a plot device for Q and Jin.
It makes no sense for Q to cheat on Jin — after all, Q could not even handle a boyfriend who cheats on his exams. The narrative is also quick to villainize Marius for no reason, illustrating how the show constantly portrays their Black characters as plot devices or as villains.
It is even more horrifying that every queer relationship on XO, Kitty involves cheating, while the straight romances have riveting storylines with complicated stakes.
Meanwhile, XO Kitty reduces queer relationships to juvenile and superficial cheating drama. It illustrates how the show values its straight romances significantly more than its queer ones.
Kitty and Min Ho have three seasons of enriching storylines that set up their romance, and none of them include cheating.
The closest one occurs on XO, Kitty Season 3 Episode 5, “Off the List,” and it only involves Kitty thinking Min Ho slept with someone else over the summer. However, this storyline becomes about Kitty’s insecurities and the lack of trust between these two characters.
Considering how much more material Kitty and Min Ho get, it is surprising how their romance falls flat once they are actually together.
Kitty and Min Ho’s most exciting moments on XO, Kitty Season 3 occur when they are not even in a relationship. From their intimate moment in the cable car to their longing glances after their breakup, Kitty and Min Ho are far more interesting when they yearn for each other without actually dating.
Their love confession on Season 3 Episode 8, “Wish List,” is fulfilling because it follows a cozy slow dance and a heartfelt song Min Ho wrote for Kitty.
However, Kitty and Min Ho confessing their love for each other might not hit the same way if they had never broken up in the first place.
It is possible that Kitty and Min Ho are not compelling as an official couple because of how the show exploits lesbian relationships to advance their romance.
It is difficult to determine whether Kitty and Min Ho can stand on their own if the show cannot bring them closer without destroying a happy lesbian couple to isolate Kitty from everyone else.
Kitty Song-Covey: I’m not a person that lets go of control easily. I like taking the wheel, and I like knowing where I’m going. But I learned something on my 18th birthday. If you’re surrounded by the people you love, you can always trust them to get you exactly where you need to go.
If Netflix renews XO, Kitty for another season, the show must learn from its mistakes.
Another season is the perfect opportunity to explore other characters in depth, most notably, Juliana and Marius. XO, Kitty should establish individual storylines that allow them to grow.
Kitty and Min Ho’s relationship seems finalized, so another season would also give other couples a chance to shine, such as Yuri and Juliana. XO, Kitty still has time to repair their problematic portrayals of lesbian relationships and Black characters.
Hopefully, the show capitalizes on this opportunity if a fourth season is in the cards.
What did you think of this season of XO, Kitty? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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XO, Kitty Season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.
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Sarah Novack
Sarah has been a passionate writer and blogger about various forms of media for as long as she can remember, and her favorite method of expressing this passion is through writing and discussion. She loves way too many TV shows, books, and movies, specializing in book-to-screen adaptations, fantasy, sitcoms, and procedurals.
One thought on “XO, Kitty Season 3 Review: Friendships Stand Out While Central Romance Lacks Substance”
Thank you for bringing up Jenny Han’s usage of black and lgbt characters as nothing more than plot devices. It’s really disappointing to see shows be praised for “diversity” in story telling when the actual diverse parts of the show are always treated as lesser than or only put in place to move along the main storyline. It’s also very surprising and disappointing how often this is seen in Han’s other series, like John Ambrose coming between Lara Jean and Peter in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Jeremiah’s bisexuality in The Summer I Turned Pretty being used to show his promiscuity.