The success of the Ginny and Georgia series is partly due to the feuilleton formula that is more common in telenovelas, a format well explored in Turkey and Latin America. Condensed into 10 episodes, it can get overly dramatic. But it’s just as addictive.

Critics had already pointed out the overt reference to Gilmore Girls, but it definitely added Big Little Lies as well. The “criminal” element that was the surprise of the first season governs the crises and choices in the second, but it doesn’t always make us connect with Georgia (Brianne Howey). If the previous crimes were motivated by his love for his children, now the reason for his new decisions is up in the air. And rightly so, when the season comes to an end we are looking for the next episode. What gets worse when Netflix still hasn’t confirmed the continuation.

The season’s themes are heavy: non-suicidal self-injury (ALNS), depression, alcoholism, sexual abuse, racism, homophobia, euthanasia, and even murder. I swear, it’s disturbing to watch alongside teenagers because it scares them. The context is hard and realistic and although the series is concerned with explaining and is transparent, this alert is needed. Antonia Gentry‘s performance is moving and convincing as a teenager who suffers stress and soul pains that are beyond her immediate reach to resolve, especially given the way she was raised with a mother only 15 years older than her. She alternates youthful narcissism with child-not-yet-adult fragility perfectly, leaving us both angry and sorry for Ginny.

More than Antonia, however, it’s Brianne Howey who has a tougher job. Georgia is a friendly sociopath, a complicated woman who, behind her “crazy” appearance, has plans and strategies that surprise us in every episode. Her monologue in which she “justifies” killing the ex-husband who was abusing her daughter is haunting and moving, a performance that deserves all the praise.

However, the novel pace of Ginny & Georgia, now that it is centered on crimes, very often demands that we not get attached to details or even logic. In the background, we see a mother (Georgia) who literally does anything – claiming it is for her children – but really wants to escape the trauma of an abusive childhood and adolescence. Meanwhile, the children deal with the twisted repercussions of their actions. The second season is superior to the first for daring more, but it is not perfect. And worse… will we know what else can happen?