Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘XO, Kitty’ is a rom-com series that focuses on the romantic endeavors of Kitty Song Covey. Kitty moves from Portland to Seoul after enrolling in the Korean Independent School of Seoul, aka KISS. Being in a new place without her family and friends is a huge change for Kitty, and she learns many things about her roots as well as the history of her mother. She also discovers that as a matchmaker, she’d seen love only from the outside and has a rather romantic idea of it. In reality, things are much more complicated, as Yuri’s story proves. If you want to find out more about her sexuality and who she ends up with, here’s all you need to know. SPOILERS AHEAD
Yuri’s Hidden Truth
Yes, Yuri is gay in ‘XO, Kitty.’ Despite belonging to a wealthy and modern family, Yuri cannot come out to her family and friends because homosexuality isn’t accepted by society. Being the daughter of a rich businessman, all eyes are on Yuri, and if the news about her sexuality comes out, it could ruin the family. This is why she keeps her relationship with Juliana a secret from everyone. One day, however, a maid witnesses her and Juliana kissing each other and reports it to their parents.
To save their family’s reputation, Yuri’s mother, Jina, expels Juliana from KISS, forcing her parents to send their daughter elsewhere. Jina thinks that Juliana is a bad influence on her daughter and that once she’s gone, everything will go back to normal. At first, Yuri doesn’t know what her mother did, so she creates a fake relationship with Dae to make them think she is straight. In return, she pays Dae’s tuition fees, allowing him to stay at KISS.
Eventually, when Yuri discovers that her mother has sent Juliana away, she leaves her family. She becomes completely disillusioned with them and realizes that her parents love their reputation more than they love her. So, she decides not to fake anything for them anymore. She comes out to her mother, revealing that she is gay and is in love with Juliana, and there is nothing her mother, or anyone else, can do to change that.
Kitty’s Unspoken Feelings for Yuri
Yuri was in love with Juliana long before Kitty came to KISS, but things were complicated for a while between them. Kitty didn’t know anything about Juliana or the fact that Yuri was gay and was faking a relationship with Dae, who was in love with Kitty. Kitty had been struggling with moving to Korea and was heartbroken about seeing Dae with Yuri. However, her understanding of Yuri changed somewhere down the line, and Kitty developed feelings for her.
Even when Kitty discovers that Yuri is in love with Juliana, she can’t help but be attracted to her. In between this, Yuri also softens toward her, and at times, it looks like she might have feelings for Kitty too. However, they don’t get to discuss this as more important issues come to the fore. Yuri discovers that her mother had a child when she was a teenager, which makes Alex her half-brother. She is angry at Kitty for keeping this a secret from her. However, she is also happy that her mother is finally breaking out of her shell and is accepting Yuri for who she is.
Jina confesses that she paid too much attention to her husband’s reputation and didn’t pay any attention to her. She wants to rectify that now, so she revokes Juliana’s expulsion, allowing her to return to KISS. By this time, things turn wrong for Kitty, who is expelled for staying in the boys’ dorms. She packs up her things to take a flight back to America. She sees Yuri at the airport and thinks this is a sign. She starts to confess her feelings to Yuri, but then Juliana arrives.
Seeing Yuri and Juliana together, Kitty is heartbroken. Still, she also knows there is no point in telling Yuri about her feelings because she might not return from America. Even though Yuri has a clue about Kitty’s feelings, she doesn’t let it show, and it looks like she wants to focus on her relationship with Juliana. However, she also calls her mother to bring Kitty back to KISS, meaning we might have a love triangle for the next season. For now, Yuri is with Juliana.
Read More: Is Professor Alex Finnerty Kitty’s Brother? Who is His Father?
