Season three of the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” spin-off, “XO Kitty,” was released on Netflix on April 2.
Viewers are once again reintroduced to the youngest of the Covey sisters, Katherine “Kitty” Song Covey, in season three of her hit Netflix series.
In season one, Covey (Anna Cathcart) made her way to the Korean Independent School of Seoul, to trace her mom’s footsteps and meet her boyfriend, Daeheon “Dae” Kim (Choi Min-yeong). At the end of the season, Kim and Covey broke up, with Min Ho Moon (Sang Heon Lee), Kim’s best friend, confessing his love for Covey on the plane ride back to the U.S.
That led to the starting conflict in season two. Covey rejected Moon and fell in love with her best friend, Yuri Han (Gia Kim), which led to Han and her girlfriend, Julianna Porter (Regan Aliyah), breaking up. Then the show introduced Covey’s Korean family, her cousin Jiwon Ahn (Hojo Shin) and her great aunt, Soon-Ja (Jung Hye Sun). Through her journey to find and reconcile with her family, Moon acts as a confidant to Covey. This results in Covey realizing her feelings for Moon, and asking if she can spend the summer with him.
In season three, the show picks up where it left off.
At its core, the show is a giant coming-of-age ceremony for Covey; however, season three takes a more mature approach. Still keeping the light-hearted nature of the previous seasons, it is easy to tell that the audience is transitioning into adulthood with the characters. The audience sees Covey and Moon, now 18 and about to graduate high school, navigate their relationship together, being each other's first adult relationship.
Audiences watch as they grapple with the future, now having to plan for their rapidly incoming next chapter, which may pull them apart after they have finally gotten together.
Covey is also faced with rectifying her own impulsive nature, understanding it is a double-edged sword. Although her on-the-fly thinking has offered her and her friends multiple opportunities, there are major setbacks that her speak-first-ask-questions-later behaviors have been the catalyst for.
This leads to her relationship drama with Moon, and conflict with her best friend Quincy “Q” Shabazian (Anthony Keyvan). Although some of the drama is, debatably, not Covey’s fault and rational conclusions or misunderstandings from the evidence she was provided, she learns not to assume.
Relationships between the characters remain the main focus of the show. Seeing how each character interacts, and the addition of newer characters like returning bad-boy Marius (Sule Thelwell). Removing the majority of the love triangle plots and focusing on showing the strong understanding and emotional bonds in each platonic and romantic relationship shows how the world-building involved in seasons one and two has built up.
They truly interact as high schoolers who are about to embark on the next chapter of their lives.
Season three follows the themes of love, self-identity and self-discovery, which are present throughout the entire show. The show is both humorous and emotional. Audiences see Covey become more deeply ingrained in the Korean side of her identity, wanting to become more immersed in the culture of the place where she has built a life for herself.
Han is reeling from losing her family fortune, and is now learning to live a normal life while also trying to break into the fashion industry with the support and help of her friends and a passionate Covey.
Each cast member has a strong performance. The show feels serious and emotional when it is meant to, and feels goofy and cringeworthy in moments of awkward playfulness. The writing is consistent and entertaining, but it can feel repetitive at times. It can feel predictable, repeating patterns from earlier seasons and tropes for the romance-comedy genre in general.
The series is visually vibrant. Adding to the fresh-eyed, youthfulness of the show. It adds a bit of familiarity, reminiscent of teen sitcoms of the early 2000s and 2010s. The styling of each character adds to the development of their identities; each has their own style and unique way of being that shows their individual characteristics and upbringings.
This season develops the characters into real young adults, even though some of the writing may feel rushed or overused. It would have been nice to escape the romance drama for a season, adding to the more identity-based conflicts of the story. Seeing Covey really dive into her Korean heritage would have been a better challenge than the ultimate relationship issues she and Moon face.
There were so many more pressing conflicts that each character was going through than their relationship drama.
Season three took a deeper step into the world of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” with the life and relationship drama of the youngest Covey sister, and a cameo from our original Covey protagonist. It is a satisfying continuation of a beloved series.
RATING: 3.5/5
