“Ginny and Georgia” released its long anticipated second season on Jan. 5 and remains number one on Netflix’s Top Ten list of shows to watch. After the events of the first season the duo is back with even more secrets and drama than before.

“Ginny and Georgia” is a Netflix original series following Ginny (Antonia Gentry), an angsty teen, who now lives in the New England town of Wellsbury with her young mother Georgia (Brianne Howey) and brother Austin (Diesel La Torraca) after years of being on the run. The first season, which came out on Feb 24, 2021, opened with Ginny starting at a new school and Georgia trying to keep her secret, of killing someone, safe by providing a good life for her children.

The first season of the show was a refreshing turn on typical mother-daughter duos like Lorelai and Rory of “Gilmore Girls”. The series has a lot of different crime, teen and relationship drama, including story plots pertaining to mental health, lies and cheating. However, after an unexpected cliff hanger in the first season, the show’s second season seems to have gone slightly off the rails in trying to produce a comedic teen drama. Following the first season the story continues to portray Ginny’s life as a teenager. However, the plot line of the series is exaggerated in its attempted use of slang and unnecessary plot points.  

The second season takes a deeper dive into the lives of Ginny and Georgia and the repercussions of the mother’s actions in the first season. The development of Georgia’s tragic backstory, through flashbacks and revealed secrets, is taken to the extreme, undermining the real message of the show, which is the importance of family, found in the mother and daughter’s relationship. 

The show sped up the storyline through outlandish decisions and twists that overwhelmed the plot. The season began with Ginny and her brother staying with Ginny’s father, Zion (Nathan Mitchell), after being unable to cope with the information that her mother is a murderer. Ginny is seen as cowardly, running away from her mother, instead of being the mature girl the series set up for her to be during the first season. The second season strays away from the integral character development that it set up in the first season, through exaggerated actions by the characters.  

The show’s writing seems unrealistic due to its overdramatization of the betrayal that Ginny’s best friend Max (Sara Waisglass) experiences, following a fight between the two. Although it is normal for her to feel that way, when considering Ginny’s extra circumstances and hardships, it is frustrating that she decided to be angry instead of supporting her. Additionally, Ginny and her boyfriend Marcus’s whole love story seems a bit forced throughout the show. In trying to create loving scenes between the more dramatic topics it is hard to take the show seriously, and it becomes difficult to support the characters when they are so clearly hurting each other by being together.

The fast pacing of the second season slows down the actual development of the characters and their growth overall. The portrayed relationships between the characters seem to be the backbone for the entire story, which is hard to watch when they don’t grow as people. This almost creates an obligation in staying to see what will happen instead of just watching for fun.

The exaggeration of the characters and somewhat forced drama created an overcomplicated plot which took away from the overall message of the story. However, despite the exaggerated plotline, the actors and actresses were able to produce more chemistry with each other and express more emotion on screen. This allowed for the characters to seem more real and intimate despite the borderline embarrassing lines and actions. Regardless, the show was still extremely hectic and rushed, overall limiting the quality and enjoyability of the series.