When it comes to teen dramas, there are so many that tend to either grow in quality, or have a great first season and fall apart near the end. For example, Riverdale is a show that had an excellent first season and then just fell apart, with all its crazy plot twists. On the other hand, Never Have I Ever has only grown in quality as the teen dramedy has gone on. And, I’m starting to think that Ginny & Georgia might be on the up and up.
While it’s not the best teen drama I have ever seen in my life, it’s still certainly grown on me with Season 2 and I noticed several improvements in comparison to its first season. Today, I’m going to go over the things I think improved with Ginny & Georgia Season 2 – and some of the aspects that stayed the same.
Warning: there are spoilers for Season 2 of Ginny & Georgia down below!!!
Improved: Its Portrayal Of Mental Health
As we saw in the first season of Ginny & Georgia, Ginny was dealing with some serious self-harm issues where she would burn her legs when she felt anxiety, but most of the time, a lot of it started to feel overly-dramatic. As someone who has gone through depression and has experienced self-harm, I was disappointed in the portrayal during the first season.
Granted, everyone’s experience with depression and self-harm is different, but something just felt off to me. Thankfully, in Season 2, I really think that the creators improved in showing Ginny’s real mentality behind why she burns herself. But, what really did it for me was the inclusion of her therapist, of using actual real-life coping techniques that I myself have used. It felt like Season 2 was researched to authentically portray mental health issues, and that is so important nowadays.
Something else I really liked was the expansion of Marcus’ character and showing that there’s far more to his mind than we knew before – specifically that he suffers from severe depression. It was told in such a way that felt so real, and it’s something I can seriously appreciate.
Didn’t Improve: Using Modern-Day Slang In Scriptwriting
This show is going to age itself so badly, oh my God.
You want to know why so many people tend to watch the same shows over again? Like The Office or even It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, or perhaps one of the most popular shows ever, Friends? It’s because they didn’t age themselves too badly.
Sure, they have older gadgets, older clothes, but most of the time, the comedy still holds up. However, when watching this, most of the jokes happen to revolve around modern-day teen slang that is already dying, like “it’s the anger for me” or something like that. It’s already cringey – and that’s coming from someone who is a part of Generation Z. Stop it. Get some help.
Improved: Giving Us More About Zion’s Life
Zion was honestly one of the better characters in Season 1 of Ginny & Georgia, and I am so happy that his character was expanded upon in Season 2.
I was so afraid that he was going to fall victim to the one and done dramedy curse – where a love interest will only show up for one season and then be completely eradicated, barely brought up again. Even though Zion was technically a love interest in the first season, they really expanded on his character here.
He acted as a safety net for Ginny and Austin during the beginning of the season, provided genuine advice for Ginny, helped her get into therapy – hell, he even became friends with Paul, Georgia’s fiancé. That was one of the best parts. Love it.
Didn’t Improve: Making Max Unnecessarily Mean
I, to this day, don’t understand why the hell Max was so upset about Ginny sleeping with Marcus. It makes me wonder if she has some strange, secret crush on her brother like the Targaryens from House of the Dragon. It’s weird.
I understand her reasoning as to why she’s upset in the first place, as she’s a teenager and she and Marcus don’t get along right now, and it’s, like, the “ultimate act of betrayal” to her. But, there was no right for her to be as mean as she was, to basically ostracize both Ginny and Abby (for keeping Ginny’s secret) from the group and treating them as if they don’t exist.
Thank god Ginny stood up to her at one point because if she didn’t, I was going to burst through the screen and punch Max myself. Good lord.
Improved: The Relationship Between Ginny & Georgia
I am so freaking happy they did not drag this out for super long. So happy. The whole point of Ginny & Georgia is the relationship that this mother-daughter duo has, one that reminds me of so many coming of age movies. When Ginny was extremely upset at her mother for what she did, I was nervous this was going to be a whole season thing – as many shows tend to do, like love triangles in Emily in Paris or something like that.
Thankfully, they resolved their issues around the middle of the season and instead, it focused on them trying to rebuild their relationship after Georgia discovers the truth behind Ginny’s fears and her self-harm scars. The second half of the season is where they truly shine as mother and daughter, and I’m so happy for that.
Didn’t Improve: Its Adult Relationships
Okay, so here’s the thing. I actually do like Paul and Georgia, but I don’t really…believe them. I think that’s the best word.
Their relationship honestly felt very fake for a good amount of it, because it seemed as if Georgia was just with him in order to get money for her children. It only really started to feel real near the end of Season 2, when Paul stood up for Georgia against Gil – right before their wedding.
I also don’t get the whole Cynthia and Joe thing. It felt very surprising that it happened and the two didn’t really have romantic chemistry – I guess that’s why they ended up being just friends, but at the same time, it didn’t feel right. The teenage relationships I believe a whole lot more than the adults. Maybe I need to stop watching so many teen romance shows.
Improved: The Stakes
The stakes in Season 2 of Ginny & Georgia were so much better. The first season felt like it was sort of like a powder keg about to explode as we waited for Ginny to find out what her mother did, but this season felt like it was the Millers against the world – or rather, the Millers against Gil.
There was a legit threat against that family and their lives, and it only continued to grow as the finale went on. Now, we have Georgia literally getting arrested at the end for murder – and not only that, but Gil is still out there. This sets up an epic Season 3 if we get one.
Ginny & Georgia was certainly better than the last season, and I seriously do believe that it’s on the cusp of being an awesome teen show. It's improved a lot of the story and characters, and I can’t wait to see what happens next if it gets renewed.
