Ginny and Georgia Sucks

Trigger Warning: Mentions of Self Harm, Mental Illness, and Spoilers

Ginny & Georgia sucks. There has been a recent wave in television, including this show, that marks an end and a beginning: the end of thoughtful writing in teen television, and the beginning of plastic media. Ginny & Georgia shows a single mother, Georgia with her teenage daughter, Ginny and young son, Austen and their experience in this new town of Wellsbury. The show plays into many of the recent trends of the past couple of years in media, such as diluting its content with what the writers think would hook the viewers; it also attempts to show the complexity of the relationship between a single parent and their teenage daughter that gets dulled with the excessive use of shock value and drama. Drama ensues as writers want you to dislike the main character, Ginny. That becomes abundantly clear as she shows her utter lack of appreciation for her mother, Georgia. It becomes rather unpleasant to watch. 

Another trend that Ginny and Georgia seem to fatefully follow is the desensitization of self-harm. The writers’ goal is to allow viewers that also struggle with self harm and impulses to feel seen and represented on television. While this is a good goal and could help some people who struggle, it is incredibly dangerous, because it is an unhealthy form of representation. If one has or is currently struggling with self harm, they are not going to gain anything by seeing a pretty girl on TV do the same. True help comes from proper mental healthcare, like access to proper therapy and educating teens about healthy ways to communicate their feelings. The general demographics of this show are young teenage girls. The mental health of teenagers of this generation can be summarized as deteriorating, as the CDC shows. This could be because of a number of reasons, particularly the exposure the youth now has to social media and the internet. The access to a large array of ideas can be a fantastic thing for those trying to find themselves; however, the negative effects of social media outweigh the positive by tenfold. It is impossible to escape the influence of social media. Ginny & Georgia’s approach to relatability can give these susceptible teenagers some creative ideas as to where to direct these feelings, similar to the actions of Ginny, and can be triggering for many. Being that the writers of this show are aware of their demographics and have a clear target audience, it is irresponsible to show this type of imagery. 

Of course, when crafting a proper opinion on a piece of media such as Ginny & Georgia, one must consider all aspects of that piece of media.The soundtrack has the remarkable ability to disturb the tonal structure of each scene, while the score, music written for the show, is simply forgettable and bleak. The show tends to make big reveals to the audience in almost each episode. This tactic is often overdone and quickly loses its charm and effect. The constant need for the show to shock viewers makes the pacing quite peculiar, picking up speed at moments that do not need it. 

I do appreciate the approach to expatiating the dynamics between the characters. Throughout the season, the show highlights the complicated relationships between Ginny and the people in her life. In season one, Ginny finds out more about her mother’s troubling past and her involvement in her ex-husband’s death. This scares Ginny and leads to her running away from home with her little brother, which angers Georgia. This is the main conflict in the beginning of season two of the show. Another main conflict is Georgia’s hostile relationship with Cynthia. Cynthia is a mom that lives in the town who gets very suspicious of Georgia and her intentions. The relationship gets more attention than it previously did, allowing Cynthia some humanity and nuance. At the end of season one, Ginny also lost the friends that she had made at the beginning of the season. Her struggle with this is also highlighted in season two, changing the trajectory of her character and the decisions she makes. Ginny reconnects with one of her friends, Abby, who was also shunned by the rest of them, because she knew about the relationship between Ginny and Marcus, the brother of their mutual friend, and hid it from their friend. Their relationship was one of great interest to me, because they are an unexpected pair, being that they were not so close in the first season. They find comfort in each other’s presence because otherwise, they are alone. 

Each character was granted development of some sort in this season, notably, Ginny’s romantic interest, Marcus. Marcus was previously reluctant to be a source of comfort to Ginny, not wanting to commit to her and a relationship with her. The new Marcus we see has an eager willingness to be there for Ginny. It is a nice change for everyone to see. Ginny & Georgia does itself favors by showing evolving relationships and people. That is the show’s biggest accomplishment. 

Overall, I rate Ginny and Georgia season two a 4/10.

By Chloé Ghazal