Summary
Episode 1 seems proud at being a fresh Gilmore Girls, and so it should be — it delivers the story well for the pilot chapter.
“We are like the Gilmore Girls, but with bigger boobs” is one of the well-served lines in Episode 1, and it made me smile a little because I didn’t see it at first — this Netflix series in its opening impressions is essentially a wilder, less-privileged version of the famous series. Ginny and & Georgia Season 1 is Gilmore Girls but if the mother was more f*cked up, and the daughter was increasingly rebellious from the first episode. Whether it lives up to that revised brand remains to be seen in the premiere.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 1 Recap
The opening scene shows Ginny at school. She narrates about how she got the “sex talk” at seven; her mother told her that “all men want is sex” and that she should always get something in return. She calls it a really effective sex talk as she’s still a virgin.
Ginny then receives bad news that her stepfather has been in an accident, and he didn’t make it. At the funeral, Ginny’s mother Georgia has the tears flowing (it does not seem genuine), while guests whisper that she was in the marriage for the money. We get a grasp of both lead characters very early on.
A new home
In the next scene, the mother Georgina, her daughter Ginny, and her son Austin head to Wellsbury, Massachusetts for a fresh start, leaving Texas behind. When they arrive at the town, Ginny clearly likes it, and Georgia checks out the men.
At their new home, neighbor Ellen introduces herself after having a meltdown with her son Marcus after seeing him smoking pot. Georgia reveals she gave birth to her first child at 15 years old. Later in the night, Ginny notices a Marcus across the road, and she’s instantly interested.
Georgia gets to know the other mothers on the first day at school
Episode 1 quickly presents how easily Georgia socially implements herself in new environments — she is clearly used to it. The next day, it’s the first day at school in a new town. Austin is nervous about it. Other parents introduce themselves to Georgia. They are worried about the fast-food options for the kids and Georgia pretends that she cares — they invite her to the school’s parent’s group.
Ginny attends her first class, and the teacher keeps calling her Virginia, and she keeps reminding him that it’s “Ginny”. She tells the teacher that the syllabus is white male-dominated, and she wants it to be a more stimulating education. The teacher doesn’t like political grandstanding and outbursts. A student named Maxine puts her hand up and defends Ginny.
Ginny’s first friend
And so, Ginny is established in school already with a new friend. After a class, Marcus introduces himself to Ginny. He tells her that her mother asked for weed off him. Maxine tells Marcus to leave her alone and then reveals he is her twin brother. She introduces Ginny to her friends and asks them to be nice. Maxine is a hyper character, and Ginny has to keep up with her.
Oh, and Georgia makes a new friend as well
Like mother, like daughter… Georgia is also making friends in the town, and she happens to bump into the mayor Paul Randolph while at a cafe. She accidentally knocks over his drink, and she offers to pay for his lunch and eat with him.
Paul talks about the cafe owner Joe, who also runs a farm; he helps kids intern (unpaid) in agriculture and “apparently makes great hummus”. Georgia and Paul enjoy their lunch; Georgia asks if she can help him in politics — she calls herself a fast learner. While paying for the meal, her card is declined, so Paul pays, and tells her that he isn’t hiring right now.
Chilling with a new friend
Maxine takes Ginny out for tacos, and she sees her mother with the mayor and looks annoyed by it. Ginny then heads to Maxine’s house, and they chill. Maxine asks Ginny if she’s ever had a boyfriend because her friend Hunter is interested.
Ginny reveals she’s never had a boyfriend; she then talks about her mother, and how she always wants to find a guy, and then they move. Maxine tells her not to move again because she likes her.
At the house, and while Maxine leaves the room momentarily, Marcus asks Ginny if she’s stalking him and he walks up to her. She’s extremely nervous being close to him, but he was grabbing some weed that was stashed in her sister’s room.
A thrill ride and a quick kiss
While the story suggests that Ginny and Georgia are worlds apart in personality, it appears not to be true; Ginny is impulsive, but more innocently; she’s trying to discover the world for herself.
When Ginny leaves Maxine’s house, she cheekily gets on Marcus’s motorbike and rides it around the block. Marcus is angry, but Ginny kisses him to calm him down. After the kiss, another girl (Padam) drives back to pick Marcus up.
When Ginny returns home, Georgia is furious at her and tells her to stay away from Marcus and that she taught her to have a better life. Ginny raises that she saw her with a new man today and slams the door on her. This felt like a Rory and Lorelai moment.
Georgia wants her money
Georgia’s card keeps getting declined, so she rings her lawyer Marty about her deceased husband Kenny’s money. She says it is hers and wants him to sort it out. Marty raises how Kenny’s ex-wife believes that she used him for the money.
At school, she gets her son Austin to punch Zach in the nose because he broke his glasses. Georgia then pretends that Zach has a nose bleed and brings him to her mother. I think the series makes it abundantly clear; do not f*ck with Georgia’s kids.
Ginny needs to prepare for her first date
There’s a couple of “firsts” for Ginny in Ginny & Georgia season 1, episode 1 and they were both unexpected.
Maxine arranges a date between Hunter and Ginny; she’s nervous because she’s never been on a date before. But then Ginny is embarrassed as her mother shows up to school so they can make up after their recent argument.
They enjoy a car picnic. She asks Ginny for forgiveness; she saw her making the same mistakes she did — seeing Ginny on Marcus’s bike brought back memories with a boy she got involved with. Ginny tells her mother that Marcus is a jerk and has her first-ever date with someone else. Georgia hopes the boy is a “Zuckerberg”
Hunter wants to get straight to talk about their lives on the date. Ginny is surprisingly enjoying herself. Hunter drops her off, and Ginny is super nervous; he hugs her. Georgia hoots at them, and Ginny is furious at the lack of boundaries.
The parents’ group
The series demonstrates how Georgia is a survivor; she adapts very quickly to her environment — she’s a product of her own past.
Ellen heads over to hang out with Georgia; she brings her son’s weed over. Ellen reveals that Maxine is gay. Georgia states that Austin’s father is in prison after framing him — Ellen can’t tell if she’s joking and they both laugh.
The mothers then head to the parents’ group that the mayor chairs — Georgia introduces Joe (the cafe owner) to the room and tells the parents that he owns a farm and will provide a healthy, locally grown, organic lunch option to the school district. Georgia blackmailed Joe into reporting him for unpaid interns.
The mayor is impressed with Georgia after helping him out of a tight spot and asks her if she can start working for him.
Ginny loses her virginity
And then Ginny’s second unexpected moment with a “first”.
Marcus sneaks into Ginny’s bedroom and asks if she likes Hunter. She tells him she does, but then he kisses her — he tells her he can’t stop thinking about her, so Ginny returns the kiss, and they hook up.
The teens get into bed together and have sex. Afterwards, as Ginny is about to tell him that she has just lost her virginity, Marcus tells her that he’s got to get going — he also wants her to keep it secret because of Padme, plus he doesn’t want Ginny to ruin her chances with Hunter.
What was so honest about this scene is how it demonstrates that losing your virginity can be a common, normal event — there was no built-up anticipation in this scene that we usually see in YA series.
Georgia’s flashbacks
During a flashback, the younger version of Georgia is attacked by her father. She escapes the house. A woman notices her black eye and tells her that she should sting first if she sees a bee. Teenage Georgia ends up at a bar and talks to teenager Zion who has a fake ID. He buys her a beer and the pair hit it off very quickly.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 1 Ending Explained
A flashback shows Ginny telling Georgia that Kenny is not her father. Georgia points out that her birth father isn’t around. Afterward, Kenny was touchy with Georgia, and her mother didn’t seem to clock on. At school, Ginny sees Hunter hooking up with his girlfriend against the locker. Ginny narrates about power and control — she realizes that she only wants passion now after being burned, and then power starts to look good. She approaches Padma (Hunter’s girlfriend) and tells her she has something on her shirt. Hunter was nervous, believing Ginny was going to reveal that she and Hunter had sex. Ginny narrates that for the first time in her life, she’s starting to understand her mother. This feels like an early turning point already — Ginny will want power and control from this moment on.
Also, as part of the flashback with Kenny being appropriate with Ginny, Georgia gave Kenny a protein shake before he left the house, and as he was driving, he had a heart attack. It’s too early to say at this stage of the series, but the story clearly points out that Georgia gave him a drink. Take that as you will.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 1 seems proud of being a fresh Gilmore Girls, and so it should be — it delivers the story well for the pilot chapter.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 2 Recap
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 2 (Credit – Netflix)
At the start of “It’s A Face Not A Mask”, in the middle of the night, Georgia freaks out, believing she has a long hair on her chin; she asks Ginny to pluck it — it’s her first day working with Mayor Paul. Georgia is a character that likes to keep up with appearances.
As for Ginny, keeping up with appearances and blending in socially has never been her specialty. Despite making friends with Maxine at school, she’s struggling to adjust to the social dynamics that it brings, and she isn’t entirely sure of Maxine’s friends, as we learn later in the chapter.
Georgia’s first day at work: assistant Paul doesn’t trust her
At work, mayor Paul talks about bringing a marijuana dispenser to town to make profits; the idea is to bring in funding to build a new library — a new problem on Georgia’s first day. She offers to help the assistant Nick, to see if they can get planning permission, but he suspects that she is trying to seduce Paul and dismissed her.
Later on, Georgia accuses Nick of also fancying Paul, and she bites back — she has a way of making herself malleable to make friends.
Maxine and Ginny pretend to go to the movies
Episode 1 saw Ginny randomly lose her virginity with Marcus in the most unexpected way. After sleeping with Marcus, Ginny heads to the pharmacy and asks for the plan B pill.
She reads the leaflet inside the box to see the side effects (always a bad mistake) — during her anxiety of swallowing the pill, Maxine picks her up to go to a social gathering. Meanwhile, Georgia tells Ellen that Maxine isn’t going to the cinemas with Ginny and gives her the low down of figuring out their daughter’s lies that they tell them.
Georgia’s casualness over her daughter’s social life feels like a way of establishing trust between them.
Smoking weed and talking boys
At the gathering, the teens are smoking weed through a bong. Ginny tries it for the first time. Meanwhile, Georgia finds Maxine’s secret Instagram profile and shows her mother, Ellen. She wants to ground her instantly. Samantha tells Ginny that she once dated Hunter and all the girls talk about him.
She then tells Ginny that she’s going to have a baby with a black man so she can have cute mixed babies — Ginny blatantly doesn’t like her, and references to skin color are p*ssing her off. The topic of A Star Is Born is brought up, and Ginny discusses all the versions; it’s blatantly her first high as she goes into way too much detail for the environment that she’s in. This was a cute moment though.
Reporting to her mother
When Ginny gets home, her mother wants all the gossip from the social gathering. She talks about her “first high experience”. Georgia asks Ginny to promise to talk to her before she loses her virginity. The mother and daughter swear to have no secrets between each other. This will cause an argument later in the story; as we know, Ginny has already lost it.
Needing a tampon and shoplifting
At school the next day, Ginny tells Marcus that it’s been weird since they had sex; when he brushes it off, she tells Marcus that she took a pill to be safe before walking off, looking annoyed. She drops a tampon in class, and it hits Hunter in the face, and she’s embarrassed.
Afterward, Hunter is understanding and offers Ginny some salty crisp as apparently, that will help. Ginny goes shopping with friends, and they start stealing clothes in a shop, however, they are caught. Noticeably, Maxine was not with the group, so it goes to show how she’s an outlier in this friendship group, and Ginny has been thrown into the wrong crowd.
In with the wrong crew
This series has discussed racial profiling plenty of times, and Ginny and Georgia are passionate about fighting it. Georgia comes to the rescue in the shoplifting debacle.
Georgia is called about the shoplifting; she reckons her daughter is being singled out for being black despite her other friends stealing as well. She accuses the store owner of racial profiling and then pays for clothes. Georgia and Ginny go to a cafe afterward; Ginny tells her mother that she wanted them to like her. Georgia wants her daughter to learn the value of money and asks Joe to give her a job.
In school the next day, Maxine tells Ginny that she got a lead in a show; she tells Ginny to ignore Abby and the others, and she’s dismayed that they involved her in the shoplifting. Did a part of you think in this scene, “Well, they are your friends as well, Maxine?”
Another solution by Georgia
At the weekend, Georgia takes her kids to the bowling club, and Paul “happens to be there”. She talks to him about planning permission for the dispenser. She makes it known that there’s no electricity and AC problem as Cynthia owns the building next door to the required location, so it cannot be much of a coincidence that Cynthia has pushed against it.
Georgia is 100% a problem-solver, making her character problematic the more we unearth her past.
Ginny’s emotional rant
“It’s A Face Not A Mask” sees Ginny’s problem mount up; the character has looked misplaced ever since she lost her virginity, and she’s a volcano ready to erupt.
In the evening, Marcus visits Ginny in her bedroom (through the window) and asks her if they are cool. Ginny goes on a rant about how she feels left out in this town; she’s just lost her virginity, she’s one of seven black kids in the school, and she’s been caught shoplifting. She then cries, and Marcus hugs her. It suddenly dawns on Marcus that he was her first time, and he kisses her — she kicks him out after he suggests they have sex again.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 2 Ending Explained
Georgia wants to cheer her daughter up, and she creates a living room dance party. The family dance together and spirits rise quickly. Ginny narrates that her mother has always been blending and hiding.
A flashback shows Georgia with Zion in a shop; she points a gun at the cashier and asks for all the cash — she has an extremely violent past. The next day, Norah and Abby visit Ginny. They bring her makeup and hang out with her. Ginny narrates that makeup works best if no one knows you are wearing it — “It’s a face, not a mask”. She believes she hides like her mother too.
As the episode ends, it shows Kenny’s ex-wife looking into his widow, Georgia, and we learn that her real name is Mary, and due to a broken home, she’s lived off the grid between age 14 to 18 years old.
The ex-wife gets a full summary and wants to make sure Georgia doesn’t get her ex-husband’s money. The plot is thickening — the new town is not safe after all.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 2 settles into the story nicely; sit back, relax and enjoy the ride as mother and daughter begin to mount up their problems.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 3 Recap
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 3 (Credit – Netflix)
Ginny is conflicted romantically, and “Next Level Rich People Shit” opens with her dreaming about hooking up with Hunter; Marcus walks in, punches the boy, and then hooks up with Ginny. The joys of being a young teenager experiencing those raging hormones.
In the morning, she tells her mother that she’s off to Sophomore Sleepover and asks for money — the only issue is that Georgia is broke. Meanwhile, Maxine is battling with her mother Ellen regarding the sleepover because she’s grounded.
First day at the café for Ginny
Ginny understandably feels hurt over Marcus — she flagrantly likes him more than Hunter; her taste in men is clearly the “bad boy” look, but Hunter is the nice guy in this story.
Ginny starts work at Joe’s cafe. Marcus walks in and asks her to do “service with a smile”. Joe oversees the transaction and tells her not to be hostile to customers. Later on, Ginny enjoys socializing with friends and Hunter on social media.
There’s plenty of group messages and direct messages to her where Abby and Maxine b*tch to her directly about each other. Basic teenager sh*t.
Let the Sleepover begin
Ginny and the group of friends head to the Sophomore Sleepover, prepped and ready. They all wear shirts with the first letter of their names — it spells MANG. At work, Georgia asks Nick to babysit Austin because she’s chaperoning the sleepover.
Nick refuses, but Paul offers to babysit. Ginny asks her to stay out of her way. The party begins — it’s a party, but everyone is in PJs. As the party starts, Hunter kisses Ginny in the photo booth.
Ginny always ends up with Marcus
But there’s something magnetic about Ginny and Marcus — they can’t help each other, and episode 3 proves so.
One of the adults ruins Ginny’s hair. She ends up in the showers to sort it out and Marcus in there as well. Ginny asks Marcus why he isn’t into the sleepover — it’s not his thing apparently, and then he reveals he doesn’t have a girlfriend — he doesn’t see Padma as someone he’s committed to. Ginny and Marcus jokingly do different accents together.
Zero reciprocal feelings
You have to feel sorry for Max.
Maxine has a love interest named Riley. And during dance practice, she has to do a routine with her. She has a massive crush. At the sleepover, she finds her crush Riley and drags her into the corridor for a conversation. She tells her feelings and kisses her.
Riley apologizes and tells Max that she’s straight. Georgia finds Maxine crying while stealing money out of the sleepover cashbox and comforts her. Georgia is going to be found out soon enough.
Marcus’s tough year
We get to the root of Marcus’s elusiveness in this chapter, and it’s a sad one.
After a deep conversation about privilege, Marcus tears up and tells Ginny that his best friend died the previous year. As they are about to kiss, Georgia and Maxine enter, and they had to hide.
When Maxine leaves, Georgia senses that someone is in the showers, but Georgia distracts her mother by leaving Marcus behind. Georgia calls the party “Next Level Rich People Shit”. They end up arguing, and Ginny calls her mother jealous because she never got to do social events like this.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 3 Ending Explained
When the Sophomore Sleepover finishes, Hunter asks Ginny if she will be his girlfriend — as he asks, Marcus walks by. She accepts his proposal, and Marcus looks annoyed.
Ginny narrates that her mother has big dreams and wants to give her this life; a life she never had. At school the next day, Riley continues acting normal around Maxine as if nothing happened. Maxine storms to the theatre hall to vent and a girl speaks to her, asking her what’s wrong. Max tells this girl about her situation with Riley.
The girl tells Maxine that she’s hot and that the next time she needs to kiss someone, it needs to be with someone who wants to kiss her back. As the girl walks off, it dawns on Maxine that she has a new love interest.
Ginny narrates that everywhere has problems and that Georgia believes in dreams, but she tries to force them into reality. As Hunter puts her arm around her, she sees Marcus — love triangle alert.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 3 delves into love triangles, rejection, and desperation as our two lead characters continuing navigating Wellsbury as best as they can.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 4 Recap
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 4 (Credit – Netflix)
Ginny opens “Lydia Bennett is Hundo A Feminist”, claiming that her mother has never struggled with men and that she’s unapologetically fearless. It isn’t easy to understand if Ginny admires it or detests it. She sarcastically wonders if she’s adopted.
In the next scene, Ginny feels insecure; Padma has joined Hunter’s band, and all the boys call her hot. She’s also mad that she can’t get a moment alone with him.
Georgia manages to persuade Paul for a casino night
Paul leads a fundraiser meeting and discusses an annual bake sale. Georgia stands up and suggests they do a casino night, but Cynthia disagrees. Paul takes Cynthia’s side as it’s a highlight of the year at Wellsbury. Georgia finds herself competing with Cynthia.
At the office, Paul raises a concern in front of an HR officer; he raises a credit card under Austin’s name. Georgia puts on the waterworks and claims that Austin’s father, who is in jail, put out loads of credit services under his son.
The meeting is abruptly stopped due to “personal matters”.
Paul apologizes due to the pressure of his political career. Georgia laps it up and brings up casino night. When Cynthia walks in, Paul tells her that they will be doing the casino night instead. Georgia is wonderfully manipulative in these situations, making her character absorbing.
Sending a sexy pic
Episode 4 delves into the trials of sex for a woman in their teenage years, and the unrealistic expectations porn brings to young adults.
Ginny and her friends watch porn together and talk about sex. She becomes frustrated that Hunter hasn’t done anything to her. Marcus listens in and hears Ginny say, “men prioritize their own pleasure and do not know what they are doing”.
When Ginny gets home, she poses on her bed with her top off, and her mother, Georgia, walks in. She sends the photo to Maxine first, and she approves before sending it to Hunter — he begins to type, and then he stops.
Feeling underappreciated, she looks across the road and looks at Marcus, who immediately texts her. She sends the picture to Marcus, who calls her sexy. He asks for more pics. He then asks her if she finished herself by masturbating after they had sex — Ginny tells him she’s never had an orgasm; Marcus tells her to “touch herself” while he does the same. Ginny pretends to finish.
Ginny then becomes curious and uses her electric toothbrush to pleasure herself. The next morning, she gets a text from Hunter saying he’s sorry.
Ginny feels sexually insecure
But the main issue here is that Ginny wants to feel hot by her own boyfriend, which is completely fair.
In a class, Ginny talks about Lydia Bennet and her actions — she asks whether she was shamed and gets angry when a few male students suggest she was a sl*t and misbehaved. In the middle of class, Georgia arrives at school and takes Ginny away to the clinic to get the pill.
Ginny asks her mother how she knows what to do with men. Georgia explains how she has children with two different guys, so she isn’t perfect. She calls her daughter beautiful. That’s the kind of confidence boost she needs — to be told she is beautiful.
Casino night
Georgia’s adaptability really shines in episode 4 — her troublesome past has really defined her.
Georgia successfully organizes the casino night, and Paul is impressed. She’s worried about how much they are making and wants to ensure they make more than the bake sale to spite Cynthia. Joe shows up, and Georgia kicks into action and auctions a meal at his farm, plus horse riding lessons.
Georgia then auctions “Principal for the Day”, where one kid will lead the school temporarily for a single school day; she manages to sell it for $10,000. To end the auction, Georgia auctions Cynthia’s cheesecake and bids $100. This was a verbal slap in the face.
Paul is resoundingly impressed with Georgia and her performance. Ellen then tells her a man is here who is interested in her house, which irks her. She feels like she is being followed.
Battle of the Bands
Ginny and friends attend Battle of the Bands — Hunter will be performing. During the night, Sophie likes one of Maxine’s photos from 2016 on Instagram — she’s doing it in return for Maxine liking one of her photos.
Before Hunter goes on stage, Ginny tells Hunter that she feels he doesn’t like her. Hunter gets on stage and dedicates a song to Ginny. Marcus looks on, and he looks insanely jealous as Ginny looks happy and overwhelmed by the performance.
Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 4 Ending Explained
Afterward, Hunter tells Ginny that he didn’t respond to the photo because he respects her. Ginny tells Hunter that she wants him to think she’s hot. It’s difficult to buy Hunter’s reasons for not complimenting her.
When Georgia returns home, she introduces herself to Hunter. When Georgia goes upstairs, she lifts her dress to reveal the money she stole from the casino night. She then rings Paul and tells him that she likes him. Paul asks Georgia if she’d like to go to dinner with him. Professional has turned personal very quickly.
As Ginny lays on Hunter, she gets a text from Marcus. That love triangle is really heating up.
Personal problems mount up for mother and daughter as Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episode 4 delves into sex, unrealistic expectations, and pressure for women in a digital age.
What did you think of Ginny & Georgia Season 1 Episodes 1-4? Comment below.
