'Ginny & Georgia' Season 2 Review: A Powerful, Emotional Follow-Up
The mother-daughter duo returns for season 2 with more sparkly secrets than ever.
Netflix's Ginny & Georgia returns for season 2, and that means more teen drama, questionable parenting moments, and, of course, more chilling secrets to unravel. When we left the dysfunctional Miller family for the last time, Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and her younger brother Austin (Diesel LaToraka) were riding their motorcycles down the Wellsbury Highway Drive out, hoping to get as far away from dearest mom Georgia (Brian Howe) and her gleaming web of lies and secrets (murder kind). From falsely claiming to send Austin's letter to his father in prison, to withdrawing credit cards in her children's name, Georgia has been doing everything she needs to survive -- to her children's detriment. By the end of season 1, Ginny and Austin have had enough of Georgia, and we learn through a series of grim flashbacks that she has been a Bonnie-esque criminal since her teens as a means of survival.
Season 2 begins shortly after the events of the season 1 finale. Our titular mother-daughter duo isn't exactly thriving. Ginny is still devastated by the discovery that her mom is a murderer, of course, but she's also struggling to cope On top of that is her normal teen drama. "MANG," her first real friend, cuts her off completely after discovering her secret affair with Marcus (Felix Mallard). Meanwhile, Georgia, who is newly engaged and soon to be First Lady of Wellsbury, is not feeling too celebratory with no kids at home. There's always been tension between Ginny and Georgia—their complicated dynamic is arguably the most compelling aspect of the series—but season 2 finds the mother-daughter duo more estranged than ever.
As in season 1, there's a lot going on in season 2 of Ginny & Georgia, from more flashbacks that reveal another set of sinister secrets from Georgia's past to more shocking plans for Georgia in the present. Unfortunately, following in the frantic footsteps of season 1, this is going too far. Part of the charm of Ginny & Georgia is that it's not Gilmore Girls - you don't see Lauren Graham's Lorelai smoking weed from a teenage boy across the street (who also happens to sneak in through your window) 15 20-year-old daughter's room stole her virginity). Ginny and Georgia aren't shy Stay away from realizing that having a mom who behaves more like a teenager isn't actually weird and funny. Building on Georgia's more tragic backstory as a young mom with a criminal background does work as a concept, but, as has happened before, season 2 of Ginny and Georgia leans so heavily on it that it neglects the show's The real heart: Ginny and Georgia's relationship.
However, the first half of season 2 was strong on this front, and really took the time to delve into Ginny and Georgia's volatile dynamic, from Georgia's desperate need to act as if it was all sunshine and roses, to Ginny's painful The craving for a little food comes from her mother's honesty. Both Gentry and Howey gave heart-pounding performances, and this season saw Ginny and Georgia slowly strip away their armor, exposing their vulnerabilities not only to each other but to themselves. That's where Ginny & Georgia shines -- when it focuses on its core relationship, rather than trying to convince us that Georgia is a criminal mastermind masquerading as Georgia Peaches.
The tempo picks up rapidly in the second half of the season, But against it. It's clear that Ginny and Georgia want to add suspense, but instead we find characters making some outlandish decisions that don't make sense purely for shock value or to speed up the storyline. Again, part of what makes Ginny and Georgia interesting is that it has a little Bonnie and Clyde flavor, but time is taken away from an already overstuffed cast in order to spend more time on twists and turns that sometimes It's so unbelievable that the show overlooks how special it is.
Still, Ginny and Georgia season 2 does have a lot to offer, as it hones in on the characters and all their idiosyncrasies (some more charming than others, of course). It's no surprise that Sara Waisglass steals the spotlight just like Max, no matter how obnoxious she is, but we're also pleasantly surprised to see the unexpected bloom of friendship between Ginny and Abby (Katie Douglas), the latter of whom is unnoticed. Kindly kicked out MANG at the end of season 1 after the Marcus/Hunter/Ginny debacle. Abby wasn't always Ginny's biggest supporter so seeing them united by the removal Nice change of pace from the constant Max-centric MANG gatherings.
Season 2 also featured more of Cynthia (Sabrina Gedwich), whose Karenian declaration about organic school lunches in the pilot seemed to establish her status as the Wellsbury villain . Ginny & Georgia doesn't always take the time to flesh out its supporting cast — Raymond Ablack's Joe, in particular, was seriously underdeveloped in season 2 — but when it does, it delivers. Grdevich has taken on the challenging task of showing that Cynthia does have warmth, and when you peel back those (albeit excruciating) layers, there's a soft, heartbreaking vulnerability that's hard not to empathize with . The same goes for Marcus, whose storylines this season will resonate with anyone who silently struggles to get through each day.
There's a lot to love about Ginny & Georgia season 2 - including Gentry and Howey's multi-layered performances, a deeper, more nuanced look at Ginny and Austin's mental health after escaping Georgia, and a more intimate look at some of the key supports character and dynamics. Unfortunately, it falters when it abandons those meaningful relationships In favor of cheap thrills.
Rating: B-
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 is now available on Netflix.
