Spoilers forward for XO, Kitty. When Gia Kim logged into her Netflix account, she couldn’t imagine her eyes. XO, Kitty was the number-one present watched on the streaming web site. The teenager rom-com has captured hearts internationally with its sophisticated love triangles and squares, and the overwhelmingly constructive response to the present continues to be very touching for the South Korean actress.
“To simply see it hit primary in a day is loopy,” she tells me on a Zoom name the day after the present premiered. “Many individuals, at the very least in North America, have watched it already. I see some feedback being like, ‘Oh, I binged the whole factor already.’ So it’s all the time wild to suppose that we took so lengthy to shoot and produce the entire season, after which individuals can simply end it in a single sitting in a single day.”
Associated: XO, Kitty‘s Anna Cathcart on That ‘Sudden’ Twist: ‘I Ship Whoever She Ships’
Gia performs Yuri Han, the Queen Bee of KISS (the Korean Impartial Faculty of Seoul). Her character had a curler coaster of a primary season: She began in a rivalry with Kitty (Anna Cathcart), pretended up to now Kitty’s boyfriend Dae (Minyeong Kim) when she was truly hiding the actual fact she had a girlfriend, later made up with Kitty, after which got here out to her strict mom. In Season 2, Yuri and her girlfriend Juliana’s (Regan Aliyah) relationship turns into fractured after she spends extra time with Kitty (who got here out as bisexual to her), and her lavish spending habits have been mysteriously halted when her bank cards declined.
Forward, Kim talked to StyleCaster in regards to the buildup that led to Yuri kissing Kitty, and if we’ll ever see them romantically collectively within the present.
After Season 1, I believe Yuri has develop into one of the vital iconic Gen Z Asian queer characters. What have the fan interactions been like listening to tales from younger individuals who have the identical experiences as Yuri?
Plenty of the suggestions that I’ve gotten was extra on-line. Even when I meet followers in particular person, I haven’t had fan conferences the place I can truly converse with them and listen to their suggestions personally. However on-line, I’ve followers sending me lengthy tales of their private journeys with their sexuality, how the present got here into their life on the time once they wanted to observe it, the way it gave them solace, and that they’re not going by means of it alone.
I can inform from how they write these messages that it’s very private for them, and so they had been being very weak once they’re sharing it with me. It simply meant the world. What makes my job significant and fulfilling is after I know that my work has made an influence in that manner in somebody’s life. Even when it’s only one particular person, to have a number of individuals achieve braveness or reduction, or no matter it’s that they might have felt after watching the present. I’m simply so past grateful for that.
Park Younger-Sol/Netflix
Particularly with Kitty’s popping out scene in Season 2, I really feel like that’s one thing very particular for younger individuals—to see a assist system like that.
Yeah! Yuri’s popping out, after which Kitty’s popping out are simply actually all very fascinating. For Kitty, it wasn’t very apparent from the very starting of Season 1 that she’s queer. She wasn’t conscious of it totally. After which as Season 1 progressed, she was like letting herself really feel all the pieces that she was feeling with out judging it. I really feel like that journey in itself is a stupendous factor too.
Yuri is looking for herself and is type of occurring this journey of self-discovery and goes by means of this kind of tumultuous time with Juliana, what was it wish to channel all these complicated feelings?
I don’t know if I can articulate it fairly nicely, as a result of all the pieces was an instinctual course of. As an actor, I attempt to analyze the scene earlier than, after I learn it, and analyze all of the issues I can with my head. On the finish of the day, it needs to be one thing that comes from intuition or instinct. Clearly strategies are concerned to assist the method alongside of exploring the character and entering into her and embodying her.
Season 2 was undoubtedly harder when it comes to preparation as a result of I used to be making an attempt to construct an entire basis for this world. I believe in the course of the method I spotted that Yuri is confused and misplaced. So, it’s OK that I’m confused and misplaced on this complete course of too. I don’t must have all the pieces discovered as a result of my character doesn’t have all the pieces discovered. So why would I, proper? I believe after I considered it that manner, it relieved numerous burden on myself to have discovered all the pieces beforehand.
A serious turning level within the season is Yuri kissing Kitty after they uncover who Simon is. What was your response if you first learn the scenes, and what was filming the scenes like?
I used to be simply screaming to myself as I learn that a part of how they kiss in that dorm room. I used to be like, “Oh my god, it occurred!” The precise filming a part of it was fairly simple. Like, not simple, however easy crusing, I’d say, as a result of Anna and I’ve already constructed a really snug relationship and rapport. So we’re very snug working with one another usually, and we rehearsed that particular scene with the director the night time or two previous to capturing that scene.
The one factor was it was the primary day of working with the director the place we needed to shoot such an essential, intimate scene with the brand new director as nicely. In order that was nerve-wracking, as a result of clearly we haven’t labored with this particular person. Nevertheless, we’ve to shoot this very momentous scene for each characters. Ultimately, the director was pretty. He was very beneficiant in making us really feel snug. Anna and I had been very snug vocalizing no matter we wanted to speak about and discussing the type of choreography of all of it on the day. Actually, I believe I can communicate for each me and Anna, that we had been each fairly snug and we had been pleased with how the scene turned out.
So Season 2 ends with some disappointing information for Yuri, The place do you suppose Yuri’s future is heading?
Actually, I don’t know. Part of me thinks that despite the fact that her household is broke, the most important deal to her is Juliana. I don’t even know if her household’s monetary scenario hit her but. I don’t suppose she even realizes what the repercussions of that’s in her life.
However so I believe thus far, at the very least in Season 2, she’s nonetheless very preoccupied with Juliana and the way she thought they had been going to get again collectively, however they haven’t. That’s actually disappointing, and I really feel like that’s all the time on her thoughts. If we do have season three, possibly it’s time for her to take care of what it’s like not having the monetary privilege that she’s all the time had. That’s going to be one other fascinating factor for her to type of work on.
Do you suppose Yuri and Kitty can find yourself collectively sooner or later?
Simply based mostly on what I see largely within the feedback, I believe the Kitty/Min Ho shippers are very dominating. I really feel like that’s what the present is gonna give them as a result of we don’t need to piss off too many individuals. There’s a better likelihood of Kitty/Min Ho shippers getting what they need than Kitty/Yuri shippers I’d say. However I don’t know, I’m not a author, so who is aware of?
I noticed that you simply’re a fan of rom-coms. What rom-coms do you suppose XO, Kitty is a mixture of and which rom-com would you like the subsequent season to be impressed by?
Actually, the enemies-to-lovers trope is so frequent in Ok-dramas that I really feel like I may say something and it might match that trope. I haven’t watched current rom-coms, however I’d say Ok-dramas from the early 2000s like Secret Backyard, Boys Over Flowers, or Lovers in Paris. We’ve already performed with so many tropes. We’ve achieved enemies-to-friends, enemies-to-lovers, frenemies-to-friends. Like, what’s left? I don’t know!
No matter it’s on the finish of it, I simply hope that everybody finally ends up with everybody they need. Possibly that’s not gonna please everybody, however it’s what it’s. The characters will go on their very own journeys and discover who’s proper for them, even when which means selecting themselves over another person. The writers and administrators clearly studied the Ok-drama method so nicely that they’re doing such a superb job of integrating it into an American present.
Season two of XO, Kitty is now accessible to stream on Netflix.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability.
