Anna Cathcart Breaks Down Every TATB Easter Egg In XO, Kitty Season 2
Wait, I didn't even notice #7 until now!
It’s been seven years since To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before premiered and the world was introduced to Lara Jean and Peter’s love story. Now, LJ’s sister Kitty Song-Covey (Anna Cathcart) is navigating her own love life in Netflix’s spin-off series, XO, Kitty.
While Kitty’s adventures in South Korea involve more love triangles and K-Pop than Lara Jean’s, there are a lot of parallels between the TV series and movie franchise. Season 2 of XO, Kitty pays homage to the TATB films with some Easter eggs, cameos, and clever parallels. The biggest one is obvious. Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) makes his long-awaited return to the TATB universe in one episode of the new season.
Cathcart tells Elite Daily her scenes with Centineo were the first ones they filmed after getting back into production. “I hadn't been acting in so long and I was nervous, so it was really cool to get to work with someone that I look up to and think is talented,” she says. The 21-year-old also reveals that while there are a lot of parallels between Kitty and Lara Jean’s stories, “the context is so different, which is what this show is all about.”
Below, Cathcart walks through all the To All the Boys Easter eggs in the new season. Spoiler alert: This post discusses scenes from XO, Kitty Season 2.
1. Kitty Writes Her Own Unsent Love Letter
Season 1 ended with Kitty releasing her feelings for Yuri (Gia Kim), who is in a relationship with Juliana (Regan Aliyah). Instead of telling Yuri how she feels, Kitty is convinced by Lara Jean to get over her crush by writing a goodbye love letter she doesn’t plan to send. It’s the same way Lara Jean attempted to get over her crushes in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
2. Kitty Faints On The Track
When Q (Anthony Keyvan) is late for his track meet, Kitty attempts to delay things by fainting and causing a diversion. The scene is identical to when Lara Jean falls on the track during P.E. in the first TATB movie after finding out her letters were sent out. Cathcart says they worked hard to make sure they got the exact same shots from the film into the show.
“We had Lana [Condor]'s track fall right up on the monitor to make sure my ponytail was in the right spot and the line on the track lined up,” she says. “That was so cool to see everybody put in so much care and consideration to be like, ‘fans are going to love this and we want to make sure it’s done right.’” This homage was Cathcart’s favorite to film.
3. The KISS Crew Have A Ski Weekend
Similar to Lara Jean and Peter’s school ski trip, Kitty and her friends travel to Min Ho’s father’s cabin in Episode 4. It may not be a school-planned resort trip like in the movie, but it’s hard not to compare the two weekend getaways that end up causing drama for both LJ and Kitty.
4. Kitty’s Love Letter Is Stolen
Karma has finally come for Kitty years after she sent out all of Lara Jean’s love letters. While everyone is trapped in Min Ho’s ski cabin, Kitty’s goodbye letter to Yuri is discovered and passed around for everyone to read. It’s also revealed in the episode that her letter getting out isn’t by accident, similar to LJ’s situation.
5. Kitty Has A Flirtatious Hot Tub Moment
The fourth episode of Season 2 is jam-packed with TATB Easter eggs, including a sweet moment between Kitty and Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee). The tension between the two is palpable all season after Min Ho revealed his true feelings for Kitty at the end of Season 1, and they have a Lara Jean and Peter-like hot tub moment during the ski weekend.
Min Ho gets into the water with his clothes on to comfort Kitty, which is similar to LJ joining Peter in the hot tub with her nightgown on. Cathcart says this scene was a “big” parallel between the movies and spin-off series.
6. The Return Of Lauv’s “I Like Me Better”
When Peter visits Kitty in Episode 6, their reunion is set to a song that every TATB superfan knows all too well: Lauv’s “I Like Me Better,” which was featured in the first TATB movie. “I was so excited to have him there,” Cathcart says of Centineo’s return to the series. “To be shooting in Seoul and to re-establish our character's dynamics on screen so many years later was so special.”
7. Kitty’s Red Dress
In the second movie To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, Lara Jean wears a red dress to her first official date with Peter. So it was important that Kitty wore a red dress to the Cherry Blossom Ball in Episode 7. Cathcart reveals this was an intentional callback to her sister’s iconic look. “I'm really excited to see fans notice the parallels themselves and make TikToks about it, like we both wore a red dress,” she says.
8. Margot’s Cameo
Peter isn’t the only one who visits Kitty at KISS this semester. Her sister, Margot Song-Covey (Janel Parrish), also flies to South Korea to meet up with their newfound family. Cathcart says, “I love Janel so much. I honestly think we are all sisters for life.”
