Senior Sunset List, Bing On Death's Doorstep, & Th End Of The Programme!

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. This time it’s another TV Reviews, where this one includes a senior sunset list, a case where death is just around the corner, and the final term of the scholarship programme for five kids. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on these three shows!

XO, Kitty.

The first show I’m going to talk about is season 3 of XO, Kitty, starring Anna Cathcart and Sang Heon-Lee.

This third season shows Kitty and her friends explore their senior year at KISS, whilst also navigating challenges in the world of life and love, and also figuring out their next steps after school.

Anna Cathcart reprised the role of the quirky Kitty Song Covey. During this season, we got her making a Sunset list for senior year, whilst also reflecting as to whether she wants to stay in Seoul or follow in her sister’s footsteps and apply to New York. Throughout all of it, she was still her quirky chaotic self, but I think everyone knew that that’s why they like her. Her biggest journey was navigating her relationship with Min ho Moon (Sang Heon-Lee), and I think they were meant for each other, as when they both said they were falling for each other in the last seasons, thats when you know. I also liked how they brought the best in each other, supporting one another in their own journeys. Min ho had the opportunity to work with his dad when it came to managing Eunice’s music career. But things got heated when Kitty accused him of something, only to call things off. I partly understood why Min ho kept it a secret as it was a personal thing, but I also felt Kitty’s frustration when she asked why he kept it from her. And his luck wasn’t looking good as he ended up getting fired by his own father after Eunice made a big decision, but soon was encouraged by his friends to stop living by his fathers path and make his own, which he did by making music. It was then and after advice from Dae that made him realise he couldn’t have a future without Kitty, soon getting back together. Once again I loved the chemistry between Anna and Sang Heon, and from where they started in season 1 to now, this was a proper definition of enemies to lovers story. 

Once again Kitty’s friends not only supported her in her next step of her journey, but they also had their own stories to follow. One of them was Kitty’s bestie Q (Anthony Keyvan). He was Kitty’s go to whenever they got themselves into a pickle, and despite the events of Chueseok in episode 5, they ma’am he’d to patch their differences, knowing they may be going to the same place to study. His relationship with Jin (Joshua Hyunho Lee), took to the next level when they declared their love for each other in episode 4, which I thought was adorable. But one thing that got in the way was Q’s ex Marius (Sule Thelwell), who was quite the troublemaker. This did put a strain on their relationship, particularly when both his mother had questions about it (although she did reveal her past and why she wanted Q to do well, which they made up for) and when Kitty accidentally blurted out what Q did over the summer (although he admitted later it was going to come out some time), causing the pair to break up for abit. It was only after going to their “spot” he and Marius shared where he realised that Jin was the one for him, although it didn’t go down well with him, but found a way past it. Jin himself had to think about his next steps following his injury in season 2, and I’m glad he decided to make the decisions on his own, which Q supported him with. Marius himself not only caused trouble for Q, but also for Kitty, who brought back Min his first love Gigi (Christine Hwang). But thankfully got Kitty, Gigi could see how much Min ho cares for her, and you know when two people are made for each other, when your first love even notices how much their partner brings out the best in you. I guess all she wanted was for Min ho to be happy, and that was all that mattered, and without her encouragement, he and Kitty wouldn’t have gotten back together. We also got to see Dae (Choi Min-yeong), being the cutest character he is. I’m glad that he was happy to see Kitty happy with Min ho, and was there for Kitty to give her some advice, devising a plan with Yuri to get them back together when they broke up. Although it was clear that this was a new area for him, and Q asking for that advice and talking about feelings was very entertaining. But it seemed to have worked, as if it wasn’t for him opening up in the final episode as to living your life, Kitty and Min ho wouldn’t be a thing. Min-yeong also did a brilliant job in making Dae one of the biggest green flags when it comes to relationships, particularly when supporting Eunice (Ryu Han-bi), who developed her music career following winning last year’s competition, and I found it sweet about giving her a gift linked to a place she performed at. He also reassured her that he would be by her side and also be fully committed following Kitty’s discovery in episode 5, but after finding out it was a false alarm, he still stood by her anyway. I also loved the chemistry between Min-yeong and Han-bi, and as much as I did like the idea of Kitty reuniting to be with Dae, Eunice I think is the better match for him. Another character that had her one path was the straight talking but caring Yuri Han (Gia Kim). I loved how much of a supportive friend she was to Kitty. Despite her kiss last season and their complicated feelings, they managed to patch things up and gave her good advice when it came to Min ho, knowing she’s at her happiest when with him, which therefore makes her happy. After her fathers scandal in the last series, she had to start back up again without a lot of money to her name. But Gia certainly did her homework when it came to finding Yuri’s path, as she turned a negative into a positive, by making her own designs and winning a fashion competition for a company she joined. She was a fine example of how you can get back up again if you ever fall down. Then there was getting into kind of a love triangle with Julianna (Regan Aliyah), and Praveena (Sasha Bhasin). It was clear that Julianna and Praveena were anted different things, but I liked how there was no animosity and hatred when it came to separating, and Praveena could also see that Julianna was still holding a torch for Yuri. We also got to see the return of Kitty’s sister Lara Jean or LJ for short (Lana Condor and you may recognise her in the original “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” franchise). You know when you role is good, when you relate to it on so many levels. Even though I didn’t watch the original film franchise, I did my research on the character of LJ, and Lana still had those same characteristics from the films, and she was the sister Kitty needed at a crucial time. The main point being during her break up with Min ho, and so got her to focus on her university application, reminding her to live her life, whether it’s with Min ho or not. She also did a good job in making Min ho abit intimidated by the sister, but for good reason. We also saw Kitty’s cousin Jiwon (Hojo Shin), start her new job as a teacher. I felt she was abit harsh on Kitty, but in episode 6 when she revealed her relationship to Alex (Peter Thurnwald) and her tension with her halmoni, I now had a deeper understanding as to why she behaved in the way she did. But thanks to Kitty’s intervention, she managed to bring the family together to celebrate the good news. And Alex himself was still the same teacher everyone loved, and reminded Jiwon to let her have some fun. 

I don’t think I have any downsides per say, but I think that like on social media, a lot of the stories didn’t feel like the end. But I think that’s a good thing, as whilst it never stated that season 3 was the final season, it could leave to more storylines being developed. So there could possibly be a season 4 exploring Kitty and Min ho’s relationship further. 

Overall I would give the show a 4.50. It was chaotic, romantic, and I did see a full development of growth with the characters from the first season until now. And I do hope there is a 4th season, as I would be interested to see Min ho adapting to life in Portland and meeting Kitty’s family. 

Siren’s Kiss:

This next show I’m going to talk about is Sirens Kiss, staring Park Min-young and Wi Ha-Joon.

This show follows an SIU investigator searching for answers of the deaths of many men linking to an auctioneer, who he grows attracted to and questions if she really is guilty.

Wi Ha-Joon took on the role of SIU investigator Cha Woo-seok. After seeing him in many shows which include Squid Game, Little Woman and Bad & Crazy, he definitely upped his game with this role. I felt that throughout the series, he became an SIU Investigator to maybe harness his sister’s death before the show started, which I think for this mystery in particular is a reason why it was so important to him. And what I also like about him is how good he was with kids, as he bonded with a adorable child called Chae-rin from a previous case. I definitely think that he was drawn to Han Seol-ah for many reasons, one of them being that he knew there was more to her than the tough exterior. The second reason being that they both lost family, so their bond deepened to the point where they shared their trauma, realising they had more in common than they thought. I also thought he was the biggest green flag when it came to relationships, not wanting to pressure her to do anything she didn’t want to. Park Min young took on the role of auctioneer Han Seol-ah. She was the definition of a woman of mystery, as at first glance you would think that she did the crime taken place. But as the show went on, the tough exterior she had soon faded, and we soon got to see that her past was more haunting than people first realised. This resulted in her parents dying from a horrific fire, where she was convinced it was her fault, but discovered that it wasn’t the case at all. Soon enough she learnt how to trust someone, and she bravely put that trust into Woo-seok, and even risked her life to make sure he was safe. And I loved the connection between her and Woo-seok, and they made sure that their characters brought out the best in each other, whilst also healing through their trauma. I also liked how they helped each other by giving the same advice, with Woo-seok first initiating it, and Seol-ah using it as a reminder to look after him following the events in episode 11. But someone who was thrown into this love affair was Peak Jun-beom (Kim Jung-hyun), a businessman who became strangely intrigued by Seol-ah. But as the series went on, it was discovered that he had a strong link to one of her former lovers, and showing his true colours resulted in him meeting a fateful ending. You know when a role is played well, when you get shocked by the revelation. And NAME did a great job at making sure I was kept in my seat throughout the entirety of the show. 

Throughout the show, there were characters that were not only there to help the two lovers, but some of them had secrets of their own. One of them was fellow auctioneer Kim Yun-ji (Lee Elijah). Whilst she only appeared in episode 1, her death had a major link with the case. Seol-ah was the obvious suspect of killing her, which linked to a moment of getting a promotion. But it wasn’t until we saw flashbacks where it might’ve been someone else. There was also Seol-ah’s childhood fiend Do Eun-Hyuk and his sister Do Eun-hye (Han Joon-woo ans Han Chae-lin). They were rescued by Seol-ah following abuse from their parents, and Eun-Hyuk in particular would’ve done anything to be with her following a string of deaths that have been following her. At first I had my suspicions on Eun-hye, who had an obvious disliking to Seol-ah. But I then soon had my suspicions on Eun-hyuk, especially when some clues were mentioned which were linked to Jun-beom. And I was right, as it turned out that Eun-Hyuk had a massive part to play in not only this case, but in previous deaths. He was convinced that following killing his father (because of the abuse), he thought it was too late to change, but soon he met his fate when the truth came to light. Alongside Woo-seok, there was the force of Gangha police station, one of which was Gong Ju-yeong (Kong Seong-ha). She was literally the definition of girl power, but was also there for Woo-seok when his sister died, and often uses his flat as a stakeout. She also shows concern for when he got too involved with Seol-ah, reminding him she’s still a suspect. But gradually she saw that he really cared for her, and also eventually realising she was innocent in all of this. There was also her boss Pyo Seong-il (Hong Ki-joon), who was convinced Woo-seok needed to take time to heal knowing he was doing too much. But upon discovering that Seol-ah was more innocent than guilty for him rethinking his decisions being made. And after confiding in his wife in previous episodes, I’m glad he managed to sum up the courage to apologise to Woo-seok for giving him a hard time. One of Seol-ah’s friends who was by her side was Hwang Sook-Ji (Song Li-wu), the owner of her own bar called Midnight. I liked how she was just frustrated on not being able to meet a man, and that was something I could relate to on many levels. At first she seemed like a suspect in Yun-ji’s death, but it turned out she was completely guilty, and in shock by Eun-hyuk’s secret. Never the less she was still by her side after all of that, showing that she’s a true friend to her. Another person who had ulterior motives were Kim Seon-ae (Kim Geum-soon), the chairwoman of Royal Auction. Whilst she gave Seol-ah a lifeline to work for her, many flashbacks saw that she was there on the day her parents died, and how she deliberately made their lives torture, and using rip offs of paintings for her own gain. She did mention in the past about how she was part of a forgery case, and also spent time in Spain (showing off some brilliant skills in Spanish), but under that cleverness was a wicked woman who eventually got caught for her crimes. We also saw an appearance from Ju Hyun-su (Park Ji-an), the man who got involved in Woo-seeks sisters death. Throughout his runs, he saw a shop which Hyun-sun owned, which brought back memories of his sisters final days. But it was then revealed to be working alongside Chair Kim and the paintings, and let’s just say that by episode 11, you wouldn’t want to mess with Woo-seok. It was also clear to see that Woo-seok’s and Seol-ah’s colleagues each had their own thoughts on the whole storyline. Woo-seok’s colleagues brought the humour during a dark time, using a reference to the film “Basic Instinct” to make me chuckle abit, whilst Seol-ah’s colleagues at Royal Auction were more curious than anything. Go Sang-mi (Kim Si-hyun) was one of the very few that showed her kindness, and also showed her the ropes for when she left. If that’s not a good work relationship then I don’t know what is. 

I think the one thing I guess I struggled with was taking longer to process the story due to watching and listening to it in its native language. I know there were options to change the English dubbing, but at the same time, I felt like it would’ve got rid of the authenticity of the show. So I felt like listening to it in English would’ve led me to slowly turning it off, and I’m also fascinated by how each word and phrase is pronounced in Korean. 

Overall I would give the show a 4.50. It had suspense, drama, romance and a little bit of humour to break the seriousness of the story very well. 

Boarders:

The final show I’m going to talk about it is series 3 of Boarders, starring Josh Tedeku, Jodie Campbell, Sekou Diaby, Myles Kamwendo and Aruna Jalloh.

This final series sees the gang going into their final year at St Gilbert’s, facing more trials and tribulations as they prepare for their next steps.

Josh Tedeku reprised the role of “leader” of the scholarship gang Jaheim. Despite being in another country, as he took the decision to go to the US for his last part of school, he was there to help the gang to give them advice for navigating the world and their next decisions. I would’ve liked to have seen more of Jaheims time in the US, possibly looking at his first day, making new friends and eventually finding his place. So if a prequel were to happen, it would’ve been great to see how he settled into his last term of school whilst the rest at St Gilbert’s we’re still finding their feet. 

But someone who I guess had to step in was cheeky crappy Toby (Sekou Diaby). This guy was still his smooth talking, laid back cheeky self, but this series saw him really wondering what he wanted in the future. These included navigating his relationship with Abby (who I’ll mention in the next section), and also wondering if Cambridge is right for him. But a visit from his mum in The Last Supper and a B in his mock exams for him rethinking his decision. And amongst all of this, he took a job as a translator from a man called Steve during a careers fair. But I think it was draining him more than helping him, and soon finally got him taking a stand to quit and focus on his exams. Although the job did help with the topic of the oral exam, so I guess there were some positives. Jodie Campbell reprised the role of Leah. I definitely related to her during this season, as like Leah, during my college time, I was convinced that the work was more important and that I had no time for a social life. But what I’ve learnt is that life is all about balance, and that too much work can stress me out, which was what happened to Leah throughout the course of the season. But with advice from her friends, and an encounter with a new romance (which I’ll mention in the next section), she learnt that lesson and fingers crossed she’ll take it with her, whether she goes to Oxford or wherever she chooses to study next. We also saw aspiring artist Omar (Myles Kamwendo), go through abit of an existential crisis after being rejected from art school, along with a controlling relationship with fellow student Jonny (Louis Thresher). Whilst it wasn’t as extreme as previous coercive controlling relationships, some of the things Jonny did really made Omar feel uncomfortable. I couldn’t tell if they officially broke up, but by the end of the season, he certainly had more clarity about what he wanted from his life. I guess that’s the main thing. And finally we saw Femi’s journey of growth (Aruna Jalloh). After a reality check about the life of an actor, he decided to take a different route to try and make his parents proud. But in doing so he learnt more about himself and had the confidence to apply for the Dom, which I think was a really good choice for him, even though he was under suspicion of being set up. And despite his challenges with posh friends Cheddar and Graham, and his new relationship with Cheddars sister Pixie (who I’ll mention in the next section), Femi has learnt that being himself is just enough. 

Once again throughout the show, several characters had an impact on the Boarders’ journey as well as having decisions of their own. Whilst we didn’t see their individual stories happening in more detail, we saw a friction in the friendship group that consisted of Bea (Tallulah Greive), Florence (Rosie Graham) and Abby (Assa Kanoute). Whilst Bea and Florence were able to patch their differences when it came to Jaheim last series, they had their own plans by planning to take down a rival school which Abby went to (due to not having the money to go back to St Gilbert’s). This was all constructed by fellow student Yelena (Ruxandra Porojnicu who you may recognise as Alina Pop in Coronation Street), who got Toby roped into it, particularly in the first episode when the school was in lockdown.  For Abby, after her rejection from Cambridge, she made the decision to have other plans which would mean being away from Toby. It did cause a strain on their relationship, but meeting his mum at The Last Supper gave them a wake up call as to what they want in life. It was an emotional one to say the least, but throughout it all I loved the connection Tallulah, Rosie, Assa and Ruxandra had on screen, really bringing the lovebirds to life! There was also Leah’s quirky best friend Mabel (Georgnina Saler), who once again I could relate to on so many levels personality wise, and was still on cloud nine in her relationship with Devonye (Kendra Brown). They were beside Leah and wanting her best interests, and whilst they didn’t have issues of their own (other than Mabel being upset about Femi being picked for the Dom), they helped the gang know what path they want to take. Dev herself was also supporting Omar, and was understandably mad when his plan to show his art was ruined. But I think she forgave him for finally telling the truth, and it’s definitely something he will take going forward. There was also fellow student Xiang (Zheng Xi Yong), who after his encounter with Leah in the last season, wanted to know where he stood with her. Mabel and Dev were convinced that she likes him, but I could understand why Leah didn’t want to say anything in fear of hurting his feelings. But I’m glad he understood when they finally talked in episode 5 (which resulted in them getting stuck in a cupboard), and whilst they admitted to liking each other before, they knew that they would just be friends. And it did work in their favour, as Leah met someone who helped her find balance and has a lot in common with her (which I’ll mention in a moment), and Xiang had a surprising kiss with Yelena. So I guess it all turned out pretty well in the end. We also saw head teacher Carol (Niky Wardley), being the usual strict self, who I think didn’t care about the outcome of the gang. But it wasn’t until Leah was paired up on a project with her son Felix (Maxim Ays), that soon gave her a wake up call. And it all came down to fixing Felix a hard time, in his studies, his dad not helping, and Leah got to see it first hand. It was also the reason why Rupert wasn’t about this season, and Felix being pushed to breaking point, and finally standing up to her on why he did what he did soon got her thinking about her intentions and if even the headmistress was the role for her. There were also two love interests for two of the Boarders gang. One of them was Severtone student Benjamin (Kenyah Sandy), who took a shine to Leah, and made her see there’s more to life than school. Despite a tiff in episode 4, he helped her when she reached her breaking point, and it was great that her time at St Gilbert’s ended on a high with a romance. There was also new student Pixie (Diasy Jacobs), who made quite the impression on Femi, particularly when it came to a drama class. What I liked about her character was how confident she was, and not really caring about the consequences. She also helped Femi when being blackmailed by Cheddar (who I’ll get onto in a moment), who turned out to be her brother, and also made him see that who he was is okay. And last but not least there were Femi’s posh friends Cheddar and Graham (Archie Fisher and Andrew Harmon-Gray ). You know when they play good parts, when it gets to the point of Femi finally having enough of them teasing him, as seen in episode 4 when he reveals all of the embarrassing things Cheddar did. And Cheddar himself had schemes of his own as seen in episode 5. 

I think my only downsides were that I didn’t get much clarity on some of the things that happened. These included if Dev actually forgave Omar, Omar confirming his break up with Jonny, and the confirmation of Femi’s friendship with Cheddar and Graham. As it was the final season, I can only go with what I’m assuming. So I assume that things were patched up knowing that they were wanting to end their final year on a high. 

Overall I would give the show a 4.75. It was chaotic, funny and saw a journey of growth for the Boarders. As I said earlier, it would be great to see a prequel to the show where we explore Jaheim's journey in the US, which included finding his feet on his first day, making new friends and what happened moments before the gang ring him for advice. 

And that is it for my latest instalment of TV Reviews. Let me know which shoe you watched and your thoughts on them.

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)