Ginny & Georgia Season 2 Review: Young Adult Drama Series Is Back and Even Better Than Expected
Cast: Brianne Howey, Antonia Gentry, Jennifer Robertson, Felix Mallard, Sara Waisglass, Scott Porter, Raymond Ablack
Creators: Sarah Lampert
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Almost two years after the release of the first season, Ginny & Georgia Season 2 debuts on Netflix, the second chapter of the TV series that analyzes the complex relationship between an intriguing and mysterious mother and a restless teenager. After a rather shocking season finale, we plunge back into the lives of the two women to discover how their apparent balance has been irreparably upset by some uncomfortable truths that should never have emerged. As we will see in our review of Ginny & Georgia Season 2, the show conceived by Sarah Lampert and directed by Debra J. Fisher, completely distances itself from the previous season and from the Gilmore Girls vibes, to delve more and more into the land of drama and mystery.
Too bad for the somewhat slow pace, especially at the beginning, which risks discouraging the less faithful fans of the series. The 10 episodes, about 1 hour each keep you glued to the screen. Time flies when you’re in the company of Ginny and Georgia. There is no shortage of ships and detestable characters. The Netflix series that can be defined as Gilmore Girls 2.0 deserves watching, the second season is to be marked on your 2023 to-watch list. If I were you, I would immediately recover the first season and throw myself headlong into the second.
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 Review: The Story
We had left Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and her younger brother Austin riding a motorcycle, fleeing the shocking truth the girl had just discovered: it was her mother Georgia (Brianne Howey) who killed – with poison – the abusive ex-stepfather Kenny. At least this is what Gabriel Cordova claims, a private investigator hired by the ex-wife of the woman’s husband to investigate that sudden death. We find the two boys at the home of Ginny’s father, Zion (Nathan Mitchell), from whom the young woman has sought refuge to escape from a mother whom she seems to know no more than her.
But the troubles don’t end there: her best friend Maxine (Sara Waisglass) doesn’t speak to her again after discovering that Ginny slept with her twin brother Marcus (Felix Mallard) without telling her. And while the girl’s existence becomes increasingly complex – as well as punctuated by episodes of self-harm, Georgia tries to keep intact that appearance of perfection so difficult to build over the years, continuing to plan the wedding with the newly elected mayor Paul Randolph (Scott Porter). Will the two be able to find a balance and return to being: You and me against the world?
The story stars feisty Georgia and her daughter Ginny. The two have moved several times and for this reason, the teenager always finds herself, always being the last to arrive at school. A situation that does not allow her to fully integrate. As if that weren’t enough, she often seems like the adult between the two. When mother and daughter move once again to make a fresh start, secrets from Georgia’s past jeopardize their future. The cast stars Antonia Gentry (Raising Dion) as the 15-year-old who often feels overshadowed by her mother, and Brianna Howey (Batwoman) as her feisty mother.
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 Review and Analysis
The first season dealt with the mother-daughter relationship but focused more on Georgia’s past and Ginny’s new friendships. Georgia was practically a single mother right from the start, not because her baby’s father had abandoned her but because of her life choice. Georgia is strong and determined, she knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to run and get it. Unfortunately, however, this fortitude did not forge itself. Georgia did not experience a peaceful and protected childhood, since she was a child, she was the victim of abuse and violence in the family.
When she was 15, she chose to leave the roof of the house and live alone. In her difficulties, he forged her rebellious and nonconformist soul. Georgia is truly willing to do anything to defend those she loves and win the position she thinks she deserves. For Georgia, the end justifies the means, sure, everything he does he does not do lightly but not with too many repentances. In this second season, you will witness Georgia in the prime of her career: she is now “mayor”, the future wife of the mayor of Wellsbury, and a member of an important group of fine citizens. She seems to have everything under control, but perhaps her children are not as easy to understand as she thought.
Ginny is the undisputed protagonist of the second season. In the first episodes of the debut season, we were all fascinated by the charisma of the girl’s mother, her ability to reinvent herself, by her strength and ambitions. Little Ginny appeared too docile, without a real defined personality and in constant disagreement with her mother. The young woman had never had real friends and therefore in the new city, she lets herself be carried away by events and she rarely expresses her opinion of her for fear of hurting the feelings of the new companions and for fear of losing them. Her relationships are not easy for Ginny and in fact, she does not immediately recognize true love she prefers to take the simplest path until her heart decides to overcome reason and mess up the girl’s life.
The relationships in Ginny & Georgia Season 2 are very deep, not just the mother-daughter relationship. Surely in these new chapters, you will witness a different confrontation between Ginny and Georgia, now the daughter knows what her mother is capable of doing and unfortunately, she can no longer look at her as before. Ginny feels accomplice, responsible and a victim at the same time. She confronts Georgia several times and doesn’t spare her criticisms and thoughtful observations. The relationship between the two is more conflictual than expected. The moments of tension and sadness in Ginny & Georgia Season 2 are different but, thanks to the love story with Marcus and Georgia’s affections, there are more tender moments.
As we mentioned in the introduction, that resemblance to Gilmore Girls that the series could have had in its first season or at least in the initial episodes – here totally fades away. In Ginny & Georgia Season 2, the complex relationship between a teenage daughter in search of her own identity and a mother who is a little too cumbersome turns into an open conflict. The uncomfortable truths revealed once and for all the real face of Georgia, a face to which Ginny no longer wants to be approached; but the more she tries to free herself from it, the more she realizes that she resembles her in some characteristics that lead her to hate herself and to burn herself with a lighter. For her part, Georgia di her, while keeping her facade of perfection almost intact, suffers terribly from the absence of her daughter – her shoulder, the one for whom she has made so many dramatic choices, feeling lost for the first time in her life.
The truth is that Ginny and Georgia, as much as they struggle to admit it even to themselves, can’t do without each other, accomplices in thick and thin. Unlike the previous season of Ginny & Georgia which tended to want to address a myriad of relevant themes (from racism to homosexuality, from bullying to eating disorders) without going into any detail, the new episodes on the show tend to focus on the moment of great difficulty faced by Georgia and, in particular, on her episodes of self-harm. Mental health is therefore at the center of this new season, a theme which, this time, is given the right amount of space between a fight between friends and the mysteries linked to Georgia’s past.
We see Ginny grappling with a strong internal conflict between the desire to support her mother and the feeling that something is wrong; a conflict that causes panic attacks and leads her to think that the only way to appease the intrusive thoughts of her in her head is to cause burns with a lighter. Fortunately, the series also shows the importance of a correct course of psychotherapy which will help the girl regain control over her impulses and her life.
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 is confirmed to be a cast up to the topics covered, capable of bringing the real problems of teenagers to the small screen. As in the previous season, it is Ginny – played energetically and convincingly by Antonia Gentry – the character who shines the most and on whom most of the show focuses. And that’s a good thing since the somewhat slow pacing of the first few episodes might put off less loyal fans of the series without a persuasive lead interpretation of her. Georgia, on the other hand, despite maintaining her strong character, is further relegated to a more marginal role, or rather, functional to the events involving her daughter but less central than her. Even the interpretation of Brianne Howey is, however, fitting.
The success of Ginny & Georgia is undeniable. The TV series immediately after its launch became one of the ten most-watched series on Netflix, and the platform revealed that it is a show seen by 52 million users during the first month of distribution. Who knows if the second season will confirm the result or even improve it? The premises are all there and Netflix’s goal seems to be to continue breaking record after record. Ginny & Georgia has been dubbed into 180 languages. A clear signal from Netflix of its willingness to break through the record and set a new standard.
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 Review: The Last Words
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 took a long time to wait but I assure you that the wait is more than deserved. The second season equals the first in several respects, while as far as relationships, themes and the space that is assigned to Ginny & Georgia Season 2 are concerned, it is certainly superior. Surely the show will position itself among the most viewed products at its debut, let’s see if it will resist in the standings. What is highly probable is that the series will be renewed for at least a third season. I don’t know how long it could go on because there are 10 episodes per season and the duration is always close to an hour. I think four seasons could be done without too many problems, but Netflix can always surprise us both negatively and positively. We just must wait for the results of the series after a month from the mass broadcast, to sum up.
