Trigger Warning: contains themes of self harm and domestic abuse.

Since last season, Ginny Miller (Antonia Gentry) is now burdened with the new understanding that Kenny – her stepdad – didn’t die of natural causes, but was killed by her mother, Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey).  Ginny must learn to live with the fact that her mother killed her stepfather to protect her, while Georgia would prefer for the past to stay in the past. Georgia must put up with a sullen teenager and must deal with her past that is coming to the surface. 

With any new season, sometimes writers like to take a gamble and shake things up. Thankfully, the writers of Ginny and Georgia did not deviate too much from the first season. One of the fundamental parts of the show is the mother-daughter bond being the central focus. That is the case for Georgia’s character but Ginny’s character is lost and all over the place. It’s almost as if the writers were struggling with balance for her character, between giving her a lot of issues ranging from identity to attempts of self-harm and nothing seems to take an overriding focus or drive. Well, the only drive Ginny seems to have consistently throughout the series is pinning for Marcus and wanting something more official from him. 

Once the season began focusing more on Georgia and her mystery, the show improves. This season repeats the idea of flashbacks through a younger Georgia Miller (Nikki Roumel) and a new character, Gil Timmins (Ben Cladwell) who is introduced as Austin’s (Diesel La Torraca) father. There is a lot of intrigue around Gil Timmin’s as the flashbacks start with showing him as this charismatic, successful young man who is instantly accepting of Georgia’s past as a teenage mother. As we come into the present day, older Gil is portrayed by Aaron Ashmore, who delivers the charm as effortlessly as his younger counterpart. Only when the layers are peeled back, and perspectives shift from Ginny to Georgia that we see the monster within Gil lurking beneath the surface. The writers handled domestic abuse brilliantly, they didn’t blame Georgia for her circumstances, nor did they try to humanize Gil or shift the blame for his abuse to Georgia. The shift of narrative style and alternating perspective works in perfect tandem with the story and helped by Howey’s performance and charm.

Brianne Howey impressed viewers during the first season of Ginny & Georgia and the writers have given her more to do. In one episode, Howey delivers a truly heart-breaking monologue of herself being the monster and devouring the darkness of the world to protect her children. It goes uninterrupted and Howey will have your eyes glued to the screen as she delivers the best performance of the series. 

There is a special mention to Zion Miller (Nathan Mitchell) who brings this natural warmth and ease to any scene he’s in. The only thing I would say could improve Mitchell’s performance is simply to give him more. Zion feels like a side character, which is odd considering he was built up to be such a big role in Ginny and Georgia’s life, but it doesn’t translate on screen. Mitchell’s performance is brilliant, there just simply isn’t enough of him this season. 

Season two of Ginny & Georgia would have been rated higher, possibly even five stars, but the main thing that drags the rating down is when the show focuses on Ginny and her relationship drama with Marcus and her group of friends. The writers seem confused about what direction they want to take Ginny as a character as in the first few episodes she is a sulking teenager who thinks she can outplay Georgia at her own game. I’m not sure whom to place the blame on, either the writers, the director, or even the performance from Gentry. There are only so many hours you can watch a teenager sulk and randomly perform and receive oral sex when there is supposed to be a dramatic scene with her on and off again boyfriend. Perhaps younger audiences would prefer Ginny and her relationship dramas but with her voiceovers, as an adult watching, the voiceovers and brooding became tireless. 

Taking a risk in changing things like a format is expected coming into a second season, but it doesn’t fit the flow of the season if it happens during episode seven, with only three episodes to go. The whole episode that starts off this shift in perspective is off as it seems to focus on side characters rather than two leads. It also doesn’t help that the characters they decide to focus on haven’t had a big impact on the past few episodes, so to give them such focus for a whole episode is still a choice I’m trying to understand. There are moments that do not fit the season such as having a Bridgerton reference through a steampunk musical called Wellington that takes up too much screentime.

Overall, Ginny & Georgia season two introduced new characters with Aaron Ashmore coming in at the perfect point in the series to shift the focus back on the mystery instead of the teenage dramas that seemed truly pointless. When the show focuses on Georgia, it’s almost flawless but some characters aren’t given enough time or substance to truly shine. Time and time again Georgia displays the fierceness of her motherly instincts to protect her children and herself but delivers it with the southern charm and humour that Brianne Howey delivers flawlessly as well as fantastic monologues, making Georgia the MVC of the season.

Ginny and Georgia season 2 premiers January 5^th.

The second season was screened for review.