As a spin-off to Netflix’s popular series To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, we suspected that XO, Kitty would indulge in wholesome romantic tropes and a whimsical atmosphere, and it has. But what comes as a delightful surprise is the delicate and fluttering crush the youngest titular Covey sister (Anna Cathcart) develops on her frenemy Yuri (Gia Kim). In fact, it quickly becomes the most compelling romance in Season 1, with the breathless, electric scenes, the heartache of unrequited love, and the beautifully organic discussions about sexual identity. XO, Kitty‘s Season 1 finale increased the ante of this blossoming crush by introducing Yuri’s lover, Juliana (Regan Aliyah), turning the romance into a weird but exciting love triangle. Despite the promise of this storyline, Season 2 was unable to deliver the tantalizing and affirming drama we anticipated, and this mainly because of how Juliana was treated as a character.

Juliana Is an Underdeveloped Character in ‘XO, Kitty’

Image via Netflix

All throughout Season 1 of XO, Kitty, Juliana was a distant figure that we could easily write off, only appearing in Yuri’s flashbacks and fleshing out Yuri’s conflict with her parents about coming out. By keeping her at arm’s length, we are able to fully invest in Kitty’s crush on Yuri, essentially forgetting that the latter is technically not really single — it’s out of sight, out of mind for us. But when Yuri joyously introduces Juliana to Kitty and the audience for the first time, we feel the same rush of awkwardness and one-sided tension as the main character, as the lofty crush suddenly had real implications attached to it.

Now that Juliana is firmly in the picture in Season 2, we expect higher stakes, drama and electricity within this bizarre love triangle (if you can call it that, since Kitty’s feelings are somewhat hidden and not reciprocated). The opening scenes initially hint at the promised drama as the three of them become roommates, but this thrilling spark is slowly doused by Juliana’s lack of character. While Juliana is intentionally crafted as a distant afterthought in Season 1, she unfortunately still remains so in the second season. The only personality traits we can discern from her character are that she is an aspiring artist, she loves Yuri, and she’s insecure about Kitty’s friendship with her girlfriend. Juliana is less of a character and more of a one-dimensional obstacle in Kitty’s romance.

‘XO, Kitty’s Queer Love Triangle Falls Flat in Season 2

Even as a narrative device in Kitty’s romantic journey, Juliana’s underdeveloped characterization actually still undermines this role and the stakes of Kitty’s taboo crush. It’s difficult to take what Juliana feels seriously, as there really is no character of substance to invest in; she comes off as an overbearing mother who disapprovingly shakes her head every time Kitty even looks in Yuri’s direction. This is emphasized because it doesn’t make sense that we don’t know more about Juliana. Since XO, Kitty is mainly from the perspective of the protagonist who lives with Juliana. We should have a better idea of who she is.

So, when the forbidden kiss between Yuri and Kitty occurs, we weirdly empathize more with the perpetrators than Juliana. We’ve been invested in their chemistry for so long, and, as such, we recognize it as an immature and reckless mistake that is a part of their character arc, particularly Kitty’s. This kiss also instigates the climax of the love triangle’s storyline, leading to Kitty’s love letter to Yuri being exposed during the friends’ trip to the ski cabin. The significance of this scene is strangely enhanced by the fact that it is a callback to a key touchstone in the franchise’s original film rather than the effect it has on the love triangle. In fact, Juliana practically disappears after this revelation, once again not allowing us to connect with her in a meaningful way.

However, the impact of this being a turning point for Kitty’s development is limited by how separated we feel from Juliana. Her pain and betrayal isn’t conveyed as acutely due to the lack of dimension in her character. By only crafting Juliana as a vehicle for Kitty’s journey, it ironically hinders its cohesive storytelling and emotional impact by minimizing the damage Kitty and Yuri cause. While Yuri’s lack of confirmed feelings toward Kitty and Kitty’s arbitrary relationship distraction with the under-used Praveena (Sasha Bhasin) all contribute to the failure of XO, Kitty‘s queer love triangle, it is really Juliana’s underwhelming characterization that seals the trope’s fate.

XO, Kitty Season 2 is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.