Ginny & Georgia Season 2 reminds us of a very important lesson. ’Everyone Is Fighting a Battle You Can’t See’.
In Season 2, things take a turn from the show’s somewhat light hearted and comedic nature. Simply put, shit gets real in Ginny & Georgia Season 2. This season focused heavily on mental health, self harm, domestic abuse, racial profiling and if you pay close attention you’ll see there are characters who suffered with body image issues as well.
The show’s Executive Producer Debra J. Fisher spoke to Variety about how they were “Trying to bring a different lens to mental health and for people not to be afraid to talk about it,” she goes on to say “These are really hard times that we’re all experiencing and going through. I just think around the world, these themes and struggles are universal, and these are the things that bring us together.” So this season dealt with a lot of mature topics, whereas season one we spend untangling Georgia’s past. Don’t worry though, there’s a lot of that in season 2 as well.
In season 1 we learn Ginny (Antonia Gentry) self harms using a lighter to burn her legs because of her anxiety. In Season 2 after leaving her mom Georgia’s (Brianne Howey) house, she finally tells her dad Zion (Nathan Mitchell)
Courtesy of Netflix
about this and he helps her enter therapy, we dive deeper into Ginny’s self harm this season. Ginny comes to the realization that she inflicts self harm after stressful situations, the first time was when she was 12 after her mom picked her up and moved, and now more than ever her mother Georgia has been a source of stress for her. So her therapist gives her a notebook to write down her emotions and a rubber band to distract her whenever she felt the need to self harm. We see her use that rubber band a lot throughout the season. “We always wanted to have Zion be much more a part of the conversation. We didn’t want to fall into a trope of him being a bad dad. We also wanted Ginny to get into therapy,” Says Fisher “And those were really important to Dr. Taji, as well as us just to show that other parts of mental health with you know, her being supported in that way.” The writers work closely with Dr. Taji Huang and Mental Health America to ensure responsible storytelling.
It was no secret that Marcus played by Felix Mallard suffered from depression, it was something that was briefly mentioned in season one but was then forgotten. In Season 2 his depression resurfaces, we even get an entire episode dedicated entirely to Marcus’s mental health. As the season starts, we see him finally, happily in a
Courtesy of Netflix
relationship with Ginny, which is what he’s always wanted, but as the Season progressed, we see Marcus withdraw from his friends and family, shutting them out and shutting the world out by getting drunk. “For Season 2, with the two of them being together, we always had discussed where Marcus was, in terms of his anxiety and depression, that that would be the reason that he and Ginny broke up. That was always something that we were working toward, and we don’t often see anxiety, depression and mental health in a young man, a 16-year-old boy, and we really wanted to highlight that,” Fisher says. “Felix Mallard was just so willing to dive deep into that. I think he just gave such a beautiful, nuanced performance, and was just so relatable.” Things eventually came to a point where Marcus breaks up with Ginny, despite still loving her. Eventually he accepts help and goes back to taking his medication.
The Domestic violence arc is a very intense one in season 2, at the start of the season in a flashback we see a young Georgia make Ginny and Austin dance around their apartment banging pots and pans to make noise, while a man angrily pounds on the door.
Courtesy of Netflix
His face is shown until later on in the season. When Georgia’s ex, Austin’s dad Gil Timmins (Aaron Ashmore) comes back into town, things get very complicated. As we are shown in a series of very emotional flashbacks, Gil had been emotionally and physically abusing Georgia when she was younger. She had to cover up bruises, she was constantly terrified and she even had to get a gun for protection. This was a vital and interesting part of the season and was acted out incredibly well by Brianne Howey and Aaron Ashmore. In one episode we see things come to a boiling point when Gil attacks Georgia at home with Ginny and Austin at home, a fightened Austin then shoots his dad in his arm to protect his mom. What follows is an incredibly emotional moment between Georgia and her kids when she tells them the truth about what Gil did to her.
Courtesy of Netflix
Racism is a topic that is rarely covered, especially considering Ginny is biracial, but there is one main plot of season 2 in which Ginny’s AP English teacher, the same one she had a conversation with regarding his racist behavior, in a misguided attempt to make things better, asks Ginny to pick a book that represents African American heritage. At first Ginny is offended by the task, because he is basically asking her to make it seem like he is less of a racist, asking a student to provide a talk on heritage will not tackle racism, it should be the teacher’s responsibility, but she also considers choosing a book. So she asks her dad for advice. But when she presents her books to the class, the teacher asks her to make a lesson plan. After that she had enough, and walked out of his classroom. Another incident race was brought up, was when Ginny’s therapist spoke to Georgia about how she must not understand Ginny properly because she’s black. Ginny then opens up and talks to her mother about everything.
Courtesy of Netflix
There are two instances of body image disorders in season 2, You wouldn’t have been able to notice one of these unless you were playing close attention or unless you knew what it was but one example is when we see Abby making out with Press and he notices that her legs are taped. Throughout the season her friends had been commenting on how small her feet were and how small she was and now we find out she has been taping, which means she has been taping her kegs tightly underneath her clothes to make it seem like she was thinner. Abby is extremely worried about her appearance and weight. This means she is unhappy with her body image. Abby has mentioned that she engages in dieting and excessive exercise which is a symptom of body dysmorphia. According to Fisher their creative team had several people who had that lived experience of taping. “In Season 1, we did have several people that struggled with eating disorders; we wanted to highlight like this is something that you know your best friend is going through and you literally have no idea. Everyone is fighting a battle you can’t see, even your best friends.”In the season finale Abby hears Samantha vomiting in the bathroom, suggesting that she is bulimic. These two girls usually dislike each other but could maybe come to bond over their similar situations. “This was something that came up at the end of the season. We were having this conversation in the writers room about who the last person on the planet was that Abby could think that she would relate to,” says Fisher. “They’re always making fun of Samantha. Samantha is always saying the wrong thing. We really we wanted to really humanize her and that was our way of doing that.”
There is a lot to learn from Ginny & Georgia Season 2, when it comes to the mental health and body image aspects, teens watching the show can definitely relate which is what Fisher hopes “We’re not a teen issue of the week show. We don’t move on to the next problem. We really wanted to tell these stories over the course of several seasons… It was always about the long game, and just being able to approach mental health, self-harm and depression in a really realistic, grounded way that we hope really resonates with the kids.” However that doesn’t mean it’s not one incredibly entertaining season, with brilliant performances all around. The writers have done an amazing job of tackling these heavy subjects.
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at
1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website
If you are struggling with an eating disorder or body image, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA’s Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
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