Does Ginny and Georgia Encapsulate the Teen Experience?

“You win more flies with honey, but if you get yourself a bee, sting first.”-Georgia

netflix.com

“You win more flies with honey, but if you get yourself a bee, sting first.”-Georgia

Payton Tanner, Editor

Recently, Netflix released the second season of Ginny and Georgia. This Netflix original series was first released February 24, 2021 and gained the attention of many people around the world. Propelling up the Netflix top 10 list within the first few weeks of its release, Netflix announced that approximately 52 million people watched the show within the first month. There are many aspects that make this show appealing.  From friendships to heartbreak, and surviving through unimaginable things, this show is one to watch.

Ginny and Georgia stars a mother and daughter duo as they adjust to their new life in a town called Wellsbury. Georgia, Ginny’s mom, has been through a lot in her life, as she got pregnant at 15 with now 16 year old Ginny. Life has never been easy for Georgia, and she has done many things that she is not proud of, but she did it all to protect Ginny and her younger brother Austin. 

In the first season, viewers are able to get to know Ginny and Georgia and see them work through some of their trauma, as Ginny finds out more and more about what Georgia has done to protect her. The second season dives into many of the serious topics that barely surfaced in the first season, including self harm, abuse, depression, drug use, etc. Ginny and Georgia explore their complicated relationship while dealing with some unthinkable issues. 

This show is one of the few that I feel like the second season was better than the first. I would rate the first season a 3/5 , but I would give the second season a 4.5/5. There were so many questions left unanswered after the first season, like what is happening to Ginny and Austin, and will they forgive Georgia for some of the things she has done? We get a lot of those answers in the second season, but once again it leaves us questioning even more. Ginny and Georgia also offers some of the best cliffhangers out of any show I have ever watched. They answer so many questions throughout the season but leave the viewer always wondering something about the characters, and throughout the season they build up the cliffhanger for the end. Although the second season has just come out, I am already looking forward to the third.

While this show is very good, it does have some aspects to it that I do not love. Since it is based in 2020 and 2021, some of the writing can best be described as cringy. It seems as though a goal for the show is to kind of relate to teenagers, but many aspects of this show are unrelatable, as it seems like they almost try too hard. For example, when they had Ginny dating Hunter in season one, and wanted to make it seem like a typical high school relationship, they definitely went overboard in some of the things they made Hunter do. 

Actress Brianne Howey does an amazing job playing Georgia, and the raw emotions she displays feel so authentic you cannot help but feel them through the screen. Some people, including myself, have expressed some of their contempt towards Ginny, as it seems like she does not notice the true sacrifices Georgia has made for Ginny, or at least she does not appreciate them. 

“Trust is a funny thing. It’s so easily abused. And betrayal leaves a metallic taste.”-Ginny (netflix.com)

Available to stream only on Netflix, Ginny and Georgia has received a 71% Rotten Tomatoes rating. As of now, Ginny and Georgia is number 1 in most viewed in the U.S. today, and the show has received approximately 180.47M hours viewed in the first few days of its release. This series has been very successful, and it has generated many conversations across the country. 

I would recommend this show to people who are around 15 years or older, as it deals with some pretty intense topics, but it is also supposed to relate to teens. There are definitely parts of the show that become hard to watch as these characters become very vulnerable when displaying their battles with things like depression and abuse, but many do not realize that these are issues that so many people deal with today. Ginny and Georgia has gained a lot of popularity following its release, and while there are some parts that are not my favorite, I would say it is one to watch, specifically season 2, which was just released this month. While many aspects of the show are appealing, the complex mother-daughter relationship between Georgia and Ginny truly drives the show and will keep many coming back for more seasons.