Vlada Gelman
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Warning: The following contains spoilers through XO, Kitty‘s season finale. Proceed at your own risk!
Netflix’s XO, Kitty has a lot of LGBTQ representation in the titular characters’ friends, Yuri and Q, but the To All the Boys spinoff series also finds its main gal exploring her sexuality.
Kitty may have come to Seoul for her boyfriend Dae, but she unexpectedly develops feelings for her gay classmate Yuri (played by Gia Kim) over the course of the season. Considering she’s also in love with Dae, Kitty’s newfound crush leaves her understandably confused. During a conversation with her wonderfully accepting dad (John Corbett, reprising his To All the Boys role), Kitty wonders if she is bisexual, pansexual or fluid.
“I was really excited that we were going to explore” Kitty’s sexuality, her portrayer Anna Cathcart tells TVLine. “I was also really proud of the way that we portrayed that, and it’s amazing to see multiple, different queer characters. It kind of emphasizes the fact that not every queer person has the same experience and the same feelings when they’re going through that.”
While Kitty is able to be more honest with herself and her dad about her sexuality, the character of Yuri represents a different kind of coming-out story. Unable to see her girlfriend Juliana, who was sent away, Yuri struggles with acceptance and keeps the fact that she is gay a secret from her parents.
“She comes from a very conservative Korean family, who also [have] a lot of reputation to uphold, and having a gay daughter would not be OK with them because of the conservativeness of it all,” Kim says. “On paper, she has everything. She is the It girl. But then she’s, like, rotting inside because she can’t be herself, and the one person she loves the most, other than her family, is someone that she’s not allowed to be with.”
Meanwhile, Kitty is navigating her feelings for Yuri and Dae with a sort of freedom.
“It’s really cool to see Kitty give herself the space to figure it out and to be honest with her feelings and honest with people in her life that she loves,” Cathcart enthuses. “She’s never apologizing for how she’s feeling and what she’s going through, which is really cool, even when she’s really overwhelmed, and it can be scary, for sure. She’s still not apologizing for that, and she’s discovering it’s a part of who she is and a beautiful part of who she is.”
Adds Cathcart: “I love that storyline, and I really hope that fans can find comfort in it and feel seen or heard… And her having Q and other characters in the series to support her in that and accept her is such a beautiful thing to see, as well.”
Yuri, too, eventually finds support, coming out to her mom and her friends as the season comes to a close. Then Kitty almost confesses to Yuri that she has feelings for her. However, the moment is interrupted by Yuri and her girlfriend Juliana’s reunion, leaving viewers to wonder if Yuri has any romantic affections for Kitty.
“I think she adores Kitty, and honestly, I’m open to whatever happens,” Kim shares. “I also think that that is a really fun experience because they hated each other, and then they became friends, and now it’s like what’s going to happen next? That’s all really exciting.”
XO, Kitty viewers, what did you think of the show? Grade it below, then hit the comments!