Erie, Pa, 27 January 27, 2023— “Ginny and Georgia:” the mother-daughter duo we didn’t know we needed in 2021.

Fast forward to season two, released to Netflix just in time to kick off the new year, the bitter-sweet pairing dig even deeper graves than before. And season one set a high bar.

Two weeks after its release, the show remained number one in the U.S. for TV shows on Netflix, and it doesn’t seem to be wavering from the top three.

The series is not only an action-packed mystery twisted with a teen-drama but is also a refreshing breath of air in terms of representation.

Carrying over themes from season one, the second installment furthered agendas of representing diversity. This is demonstrated on fronts of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and in terms of mental health.

Mental health is one of the most prominent elements for plot and character development in this season, as Ginny confronts her self-harm habits and others reveal struggles that had yet to surface in season one.

This dark struggle is one of the most intensifying factors of season two, and helps bring awareness to the variety of mental illnesses experienced by high school students.

Max and Marcus’ father, who is deaf, continues to get more screen time, and American Sign Language continues to become a greater part of the show’s character communication. At the musical in this season, there was an ASL translator, which is not a commonplace for public high school productions. Max even signed “thank you” to end the show and Marcus clapped along with the audience using ASL.

The most compelling aspect of the show is the power of the strong female leads.

I was reading a book recently called “More Than a Body,” and the authors suggested that if a show doesn’t present men’s bodies in the same way they do women’s bodies (sexually), and women don’t serve a purpose in the production besides complimenting or talking about a male, the show is objectifying women for views.

I hadn’t thought about this before, and as a feminist, I would like to think I only subscribe to entertainment that shows women in an equal, positive light, but you’d be surprised how many shows fall into the category of objectification.

After viewing this season of “Ginny and Georgia” under this lens, I came to realize just how strongly the show shouts women empowerment.

Not only is Georgia a strong female lead, who overcame abuse and insurmountable obstacles for her children with grace, but she raised Ginny, who emulates her strength on a more relatable level for younger viewers.

As a matter of fact, there are far more female characters in the cast than there is male, and for me, that’s a win.

Season two is a heavy one, but all of the lessons told are necessary, and if Georgia Miller has taught us anything over the past two seasons, it’s that love can permeate any cloud of evil.