The incredibly popular Netflix show Ginny & Georgia took a dark and emotional turn for Season 3, and the stakes have never been higher for Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) and her children Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Austin (Diesel La Torraca). Season 2 ended with Georgia being arrested at her wedding to Paul Randolph (Scott Porter), the mayor of Wellsbury, and throughout the season the big question is whether she’ll be convicted of murder.
But there’s something interesting that Brianne Howey does in her portrayal of Georgia this season that really amplifies the character’s dramatic journey. In the first episode, as Georgia is being held in a cell after her arrest, we see Georgia trying to curl her hair with her finger. Throughout the season, how Georgia styles her hair, or doesn’t, is a really effective visual representation of her mental state as her murder trial takes place.
“Georgia is code-switching physically and is constantly undergoing transformations,” Howey told Yahoo Canada. “And this is, unfortunately, one of the more raw transformations we see from Georgia, because … she can’t physically use any of the masks she’s been hiding behind. She has no more scapegoats. … No one’s in her corner.”
“So it was very intentional, trying to crimp and curl the hair back up. … The limp hair is sort of a metaphor for Georgia this season. There’s no bells and whistles. This is Georgia’s breakdown season and we see if she rises from the ashes, or not, by the end.”
Of course, her mother’s arrest significantly impacts Ginny, but she is able to channel some of her emotions into a poetry class she starts taking, also sparking a romance with a classmate named Wolfe (Ty Doran).
While Ginny goes through some incredibly heartbreaking moments in Season 3, which we won’t completely spoil, we do see her really taking a more active role in her life, taking control of her decisions.
“Finally!” Gentry said. “I think it’s so fun.”
“She’s still reckless, but she’s aware. She’s making the choices. It’s less her reacting to her situation and she’s … going to set things in motion. She’s taking more agency in the things that are going on in her life, and I think that’s really exciting. … I hope we see more of that in the future for Ginny.”
New challenge for Sara Waisglass as Max
Throughout all three seasons of Ginny & Georgia, Sara Waisglass as Maxine “Max” Baker is always a highlight. But this season the energetic teen is in a tough spot. She starts really feeling left out of her friend group, particularly when Ginny and Abby (Katie Douglas) start spending a lot more time together, without Max.
“It was a little hard for me, just because I definitely went through that in high school,” Waisglass said. “I am also a deeply sympathetic person and I overthink, and I think me and Max are kind of the same when it comes to that.”
“I was excited, because it’s always great when you can bring something to screen that you know a lot of people will resonate with. But it also sucked, because obviously I’m living in her shoes and all these scenes where people are calling her dramatic, or there’s inside jokes that she doesn’t understand. It’s hard to be in that skin and actually have that happen to you. So it was definitely a challenge, but also one that I’m really proud of, because I really do think it translates on screen quite beautifully.”
Felix Mallard felt supported to be incredibly vulnerable as Marcus
What also makes Season 3 of Ginny & Georgia stand out is that the season really amplifies Marcus’ (Felix Mallard) story. We really sit in the darkness of Marcus’ depression, leading to a finale that’s so incredibly emotional and brutal to watch.
But Felix Mallard stressed that these big emotional swings are what actors “dream” of being able to take on.
“You want your character to kind of go through big emotional journeys, big emotional arcs, and I think especially with Marcus, things get really interesting when he’s not in a very good place,” Mallard said. “And it provides such an opportunity to try and play, and push and pull, especially … to play with our dynamic of Maxine wanting to help him and not being able to, and Marcus kind of being caught in his self-destructive cycle.”
Being given the task of going to quite dark places for the character, Mallard has his own process to get out of that character when his work as Marcus is done.
“Everyone has their own techniques. Everyone has their own ways of getting in and out of it. I think for me, I think there needs to be such an understanding of, you’re at work, there’s a stunt, and then you go home,” he said. “And protecting yourself and wanting to understand that place, and come from a place of vulnerability and truth. And then also to be able to take your makeup off at the end of the day and go home and let it be, because we’re playing pretend.”
“But I think certainly for Marcus, there’s some playlists that kind of put you in a weird space, or put you in maybe a more vulnerable state. I think we’ve worked with some really wonderful directors and there was a lot of support on both sides of the camera to kind of help us understand how far we can go, and hopefully we did it justice.”
Season 3 finale cliffhanger
Once we get to the final minutes of Ginny & Georgia Season 3, it ends with another “WTF” moment that will not only shock fans, but will make the audience crave another season.
But fans aren’t the only ones left in disbelief with all these Ginny & Georgia cliffhangers.
“I think I had to read the last few pages of Episode 10 five times before I understood what was happening,” Gentry said. “And I still don’t think I get it, which is good, it keeps me on my toes.”
