Professor Daniel Lee is a supporting character in the Netflix original series XO, Kitty. He is Alex Finnerty's biological father. In Season 1, he was an English Teacher at The Korean Independent School of Seoul.
Background[]
Personality[]
Daniel Lee quite reserved and strict, with a dry sense of humor. Although he is frustrated by the behavior of many of his students, he does show a genuine desire to share his love of literature with interested students, most notably when he leaves detention to get a book for Florian from his home office.
Physical Appearance[]
Daniel Lee is tall and slim, he was black hair and brown eyes and wears squared glasses.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
When Daniel Lee was a student at KISS he dated Jina Lim (who got pregnant but didn't tell him). Daniel's son Alex Finnerty was born on August 12, 1993 to Jina Lim in Seoul, South Korea. Then after graduation, he moved to America to become a rockstar. Years later, he returned to KISS to teach literature to Korean and international students.
XO, Kitty[]
Season One[]
In KISS, Professor Lee meets Jina Lim to tell her that he suspects that Yuri Han had asked Dae Heon Kim to write her daughter's summer homework essay. Jina sides with her daughter and asks Professor Lee to prove that Dae had written the essay for her. When he can't, then Jina opts for ending the conversation. Later, Alex Finnerty greets Lee, who is also going in the same direction. Professor Lee is curt with Alex leaving him confused about his attitude. After class, Professor Lee tells Kitty that she was way below her peers in terms of grades and needs to get tutored.
In TGIF, Professor Lee reassign Kitty to a room in the girl’s dormitory. Later, when she talks to Alex about how bad her roommate is, he tells Kitty that there are no other empty rooms in the girl's dorms. So she’s just going to have to try and make it work.
In TBH, Professor Lee shocks Kitty when he gives her an F on her test, asking her to make time for studying during the break. During the EXPAT Chuseok dinner, Alex shows up with Professor Lee who says he is at the dinner to monitor the students who were still on campus. During dinner, Kitty learns from Professor Lee that most East Asians are lactose intolerant which has them avoid mashed potatoes she made with goat cheese in it. Unbeknownst to Lee, Alex shocks Kitty when he tells her that Professor Lee is his father. Kitty cannot process the fact that their mother dated Professor Lee while Alex is shocked to learn that Kitty is his half-sister.
In BYOB, Alex tells Kitty he does not want to force himself onto Lee, who made it clear he never wanted children. Later, a drunk Kitty ends up texting Professor Lee instead of Alex by accident and tells him that she’s at a party. Which leads to Professor Lee to call Jina who tracks Yuri’s phone and learns the name of the nightclub the students were at.
In TIL, Florian explains to Q that everything is under control because he is well liked by Professor Lee really. Afterwards, Professor Lee tells the rest of the students that Kitty is to blame for the party being busted. Later, Yuri and Kitty look the yearbooks where they try to find the 1993 yearbook from the adult's graduation. Thus, Kitty and Yuri wonder if Professor Lee and their mothers were involved in a love triangle. The girls then decide to sneak into Lee’s house to find his copy of the yearbook. Meanwhile, Professor Lee makes it back to the library and is pleased with Madison Miller for maintaining the decorum. Unfortunately, Professor Lee decides to take a pre-lunch roll call but Florian distracts him by asking to borrow a copy of Gilgamesh, which is not in the library. He is excited to share the copy with a student in need and decides to go home to bring it for Florian. Kitty calls Q from Professor Lee’s landline and tells him that they are at his house. Lee beats the girls to get back to the library and starts taking attendance. Thus, Madison distracts Professor Lee again and the girls go back to their respective seats. Eventually, detention ends with Professor Lee handing out the phones back to the students.
In LFG, Alex considers speaking with Jina; as he’s pretty sure that Professor Lee is also in the dark regarding his paternity.
In SNAFU, Alex tells Jina how at one point in his life, he got curious about where he came from, so he used ancestry tests, which led to Professor Lee’s nephew. At school, Professor Lee announces that anyone participating in the talent show will earn ten points toward their lowest grade. Later, Lee follows behind Jina who walks out of the talent show holding Alex and Yuri’s hands, and taking them out of the room together.
In OTP, Professor Lee is introduced to his son, Alex. He is surprised by the news and hurt that this secret was kept from him for so long. Jina tries to explain herself, stating that in her own way, she only wanted to protect Lee and the bright future he had
Season 2[]
In Season 2, Professor Lee is now the headmaster of K.I.S.S. after Jina leaves the school. He is faced with an uphill battle after the school lost important funding, forcing them to make certain cutbacks. However, Professor Lee decides to hire Young Moon after a generous donation and he allows him to teach a class.
Professor Lee continues to be strict, yet understanding at times, throughout his career at the school. He bosses around Alex quite often. However, he can be kinder at times like when he gave Kitty the opportunity to change rooms.
Relationships[]
Kitty Covey[]
He doesn’t immediately take to Kitty Covey because she is not the best student, but he challenges her to become better.
Alex Finnerty[]
Alex is Daniel's biological son, though he does not know that he has a son until the end of season 1, since Jina Lim never told him that she was pregnant. Prior to the revelation that Alex is his son, they are colleagues together at KISS, and Professor Lee criticizes Alex for being an ineffective authority figure. However, after the revelation, he seems open to getting to know Alex better.
Appearances[]
Season 1[]
- KISS (appears)
- TGIF (appears)
- TBH (appears)
- BYOB (appears)
- TIL (appears)
- LFG (mentioned)
- SNAFU (appears)
- OTP (appears)
Trivia[]
- He is the second character in To All the Boys franchise to be named "Daniel" the first being Daniel Covey.
- He plays the guitar.
- He attended the New England Conservatory.
- He is lactose intolerant.
- He attended The Korean Independent School of Seoul at the same time as Jina Lim and Eve Song.
- He had no idea that he had a son for many years because Jina Lim never told him about it.
- He lives close to The Korean Independent School of Seoul.
- He is Jina Lim's first love.
Gallery[]
