By Amaya Wiltz
The latest Netflix hit “Ginny and Georgia” premiered its second season on January 5. The comedy-drama explores the life of a young mom of two attempting to create the life she always dreamt of for her kids. The show’s premise follows Ginny, the daughter Georgia had at the age of 15, settling into Wellsbury, the new town her mother chose for them to create a better life. In this new season, the viewers get a deeper glimpse into each character’s psyche that was not revealed in the first, lighthearted season. This has caused the views from this opinionated fan base to change, including my own.
The mother-daughter relationship is something unique on its own. From a daughter’s point of view, their mother is the first female who she idolizes and looks up to. A daughter struggles with meeting her mother’s expectations while also (at times) expecting too much from her mother. While from a mother’s point of view, their daughter becomes everything she lives for. The mother wants to do everything in her power to shield her daughter from the ugliness of the world and may also struggle with projecting onto her new mini-me. In “Ginny and Georgia,” we see this dynamic amplified. When Georgia had Ginny at 15, every move she made was for her daughter. Georgia sacrificed everything for Ginny and has even killed for her (literally). At first glance, the viewer may feel that Ginny is overdramatic and ungrateful for not appreciating her mother’s love. But how much should Ginny have to endure without taking her own feelings into consideration?
In season two, Ginny begins to set her boundaries between her and her mother. Georgia’s passionate and fire-hearted nature meant she could not wrap her head around the idea that her daughter may feel differently than she does about Georgia’s past actions and love life and about Ginny’s place in the world and feelings about herself. This feeling of betrayal feels even deeper to Georgia since she literally grew from a child to a woman and from poverty to wealth with her daughter.
This season we see the warm and loving flame and hidden fear of her inner child inside of Georgia behind her strong optimistic guise. As for Ginny, we see her water-like and sympathetic qualities. Both women are extremely passionate and love each other deeply. As Ginny is growing into her own woman, she is also balancing her own demons. Georgia must give Ginny the room to be her own person so that she can see her and her own pain for what it is.