Breakdowns & Breakthroughs: How Ginny & Georgia Season 3 Handled Mental Health
Dealing with depression, anxiety, and addiction is a journey and not something that’s magically cured and swept under the rug.
Many television shows prefer to do an arc on a character’s mental health journey, have them attend therapy, and assume they’re in recovery.
We appreciate the way Ginny & Georgia Season 3 continued to handle mental health storylines, mainly because Ginny and Marcus’s struggles with anxiety were ongoing. It showcased both their breakdowns and their breakthroughs.
While the series delved into their progress, their mental health struggles weren’t the only traits that defined them, and that was so important.
So much of the series has focused on Ginny and Marcus’s mental health issues that I enjoyed how this season also featured Abby’s eating disorder and Max’s issues that often get ignored in favor of Marcus’s.
Ginny & Georgia Season 3 also explored how isolated Georgia became and how being a pariah affected her mental state. It changed her.
It was all about the steps.
Georgia Had Never Felt So Alone or Isolated, and That’s a Dangerous Feeling
Georgia always preached it was her and the kids against the world, but she never thought she would be on such a lonely island, either.
The press made her sound like a vicious serial killer, not someone who performed a mercy killing to prevent Tom’s suffering.
Georgia (Brianne Howey) was very involved in the community and her children’s lives, so it was difficult for her to be on house arrest.
She couldn’t even go dress shopping with Ginny, and she feared that her children would no longer need her, a mother’s worst fear.
While Georgia broke down several times this season, she was devastated when her children were taken away and her home was vandalized.
It was the closest she’s come to giving up when she called Ginny’s therapist for help. While relieved that her therapist followed protocol, I’m glad she talked Georgia through that breakthrough.
I hope we see Georgia in therapy next season, too. She needs it. Georgia Miller is a survivor and one of the strongest, most complex females I know.
Ginny Learned How to Combine Coping Mechanisms and Control
While Georgia had never felt more isolated, Ginny (Antonia Gentry) had the entire world staring at her and felt judged and overwhelmed.
There were only a few people Ginny felt comfortable admitting that she wasn’t sure her mom was innocent.
Throwing paint with Marcus was therapeutic, but it reminded me of an old romantic comedy like 10 Things I Hate About You. Having that in there lightened up the mood.
Having her peers gossip about her mom made Ginny crave space. No wonder she changed her name in her poetry class to be anonymous, write her feelings, and have fun.
Her poetry always gets her in trouble, though. It’s a double-edged sword since writing out feelings is therapeutic. However, the press crawled everywhere, and her old poem about Georgia went viral.
That made her almost relapse and burn herself again, but luckily, Georgia put her daughter’s needs ahead of her own and took care of Ginny.
Ginny has come so far thanks to voicing her needs, regaining control, and using coping mechanisms.
While snapping a rubber band would hurt, the alternative would be worse, and it helped Ginny through a chaotic family dinner when all the adults were fighting.
While most people hide their self-harming tendencies, Ginny refused to give it that power and shared her story with Bracia. Having someone who knew and could support her could make all the difference.
I’m relieved Ginny has continued going to therapy alone and in family sessions.
Now, she needs a session with her parents to voice her concerns, since Ginny often feels like a tennis ball going back and forth between them.
Abby’s Eating Disorder and Low Self-Esteem Symbolized Many Teenage Girls
So many teenage girls have low self-esteem and look pretty like Abby (Katie Douglas), but think they need to lose weight.
I’m relieved they featured her storyline more because hers resonated since many girls take a dumb guy’s words to heart.
Since Matt Press referred to Abby as “whale legs” in Ginny & Georgia Season 1, she has taped her legs and struggled with bulimia. That idiot isn’t worth it. He only wants sex or a girl hanging on his arm at parties.
Matt Press enjoyed showing off Abby or Samantha. While they used to dislike each other, the girls both struggled with eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
I appreciated that even rivals could relate to and support each other. They were better in scenes where they built each other up than in any scenes with Matt Press.
Abby also struggled with her parents’ divorce. It seemed like her mom only paid attention when Abby got in trouble, so Abby finally erupted, saying she needed her mom.
That paid off since her mother made more effort, and Abby bonded with her tutor.
Abby never believed personality mattered until she met Tris, a transgender male, and Marcus and Silver’s friend. They were bright and fun and showed her skateboarding tricks, bringing out a different side of Abby.
She seemed more confident in what she deserved, and we hope that part sticks.
While the Baker Twins Seemed Different, They Both Felt Things Deeply
Ellen Baker was spot-on when she commented that both her children felt things deeply. However, the family often seemed preoccupied with Marcus’s depression and addiction, so Max put on a happy smile and pretended everything was fine.
Ginny & Georgia Season 3 was the first time the series explored Max’s issues. She came across as emotionally intense, and her friends found her judgmental at times, but Max was a highly sensitive person.
She noticed many people, including her friends and brother, excluding her, which hurt. Highly sensitive people get hurt easily and don’t deal well with change.
It’s not a trait that’s well understood yet, but around 15 to 20 percent of people are wired this way. One of my closest friends is, and it can be frustrating when she takes things personally, but like Max, she’s emotionally perceptive and always in your corner.
Hopefully, they’ll explore this more, especially how Max’s tendency to butt in and fix things affected her relationship with her brother.
She meant well, but Marcus was so tired of being seen as the loser and black sheep of the family that it only pushed him over the edge.
His mother tried by turning the garage into an art studio for him, but she made things worse by taking it away. Maracas constantly felt like a disappointment, so the cycle of self-hatred and getting drunk continued.
In some ways, Max was the only one who realized that Marcus needed actual help, not just punishment, and it didn’t matter if he fell behind in school. His life was more important.
While Marcus may be angry at his family for sending him to rehab, it’s better for him to be angry than dead, and he was heading down a dangerous path.
Since this should be a long arc, we can’t wait to see where his story leads in Ginny & Georgia Season 4.
Over to you, Ginny & Georgia Fanatics. Did you enjoy the mental health arcs this season, and which one was your favorite?
Stay with us for more Ginny & Georgia coverage.
Ginny & Georgia is streaming now on Netflix.
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