More than a month after the second season of Ginny & Georgia was launched, there is something unique about the show that has kept it fresh and at the top of Netflix’s Top 10. One of them is the excellent cast it put together and the performances it gave.
Yet occasionally, a character can be overlooked or not given enough room to advance their performance, and in the case of Ginny & Georgia, that would be Marcus (Felix Mallard). It’s quite an accomplishment in and of itself that a character who seemed so one-dimensional would be someone the audience would be clamoring for more from in the script.
When viewers first met Marcus in Season 1, he was the moody stoner heartthrob who lived across the street from Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) and Ginny Miller (Antonia Gentry). But every time Marcus appeared on screen, it became clear that he was a character with more to give than we initially assumed.
His biggest break came in Season 2, Episode 8, where he served as the narrator and the focus point. Hopefully, that season-ending scene convinces Ginny & Georgia’s creators that he deserves more attention in Season 3.
Marcus is More Than Just a Love Interest in Ginny & Georgia
Ginny & Georgia clarifies that Marcus will be Ginny’s bad boy love interest. They converse with a flirtatious vibe from the beginning before he sneaks up to her window, and they fall in love. But, these feelings are kept a secret because of his problematic connection with Padma (Rebecca Ablack).
There’s nothing wrong with a character like this, but in the early episodes, it was simple to write Marcus off because it appeared that he would fizzle out after his connection with Ginny ended. Yet, that’s when Mallard’s skills come into play.
The spectacular Season 1 conclusion, in which Ginny and Marcus’ secret connection was made public and served as one of the reasons for Ginny’s departure from the town, may have signaled Marcus’ demise as a significant character.
In Season 2, however, when his grandparents visit the house for Thanksgiving, Mallard immediately makes a strong impression. Marcus begs his mother not to bring him down while smoking and drawing on his wall. He claims he is ill and doesn’t like this “sadistic” occasion that is a “festival of colonization.”
It is immediately apparent that Marcus is having trouble accepting Ginny leaving him and the town. From then on, he appears regularly, but his plot never receives enough attention until the eighth episode. He demonstrates that this character is more than just some forlorn love interest.
Marcus Opportunity to Star Is a Highlight of Ginny & Georgia Season 2
Episode 8, “Hark! Darkness Descends!” is as well-written as any of the 20 episodes played out throughout Ginny & Georgia. It begins Marcus’ monologue that kicks off the episode. (as reported by Twitter)
“Some feelings are like old familiar friends, depression’s like that for me.”
A deep dive into internal problems and how challenging escape can be followed. We never really get to witness how Marcus’ loss of his best buddy affected him, but this specific episode reveals what he’s been holding since it happened, as viewers are aware from early on in the series.
Hearing Marcus’ initial remarks while lying beside Ginny is quite eerie. Marcus cannot truly appreciate all the good things in his life because he feels lonely in what ought to be a moment when he has everything he wants. He says (according to Collider):
“And you can be with someone you love, but you’re not really with them.”
Because every member of Ginny & Georgia’s cast has something they’re concealing from themselves, Marcus’ inner monologue in this episode deals with the idea that one never really knows what is happening with others.
Whether it be Joe’s (Raymond Ablack) hidden feelings for Georgia, Georgia’s secrets, or even Abby’s (Katie Douglas) body image issues, what Marcus achieves in this one scene is a beautiful life lesson that exposes so many facets of not only his character but the entire cast of characters in this world.
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Ginny & Georgia Season 3 Must Emphasize Mallard’s Performance More
There is reason to be hopeful that, should there be a Season 3, the writers will find a way to give Mallard more leeway, given that his breakout episode came so late in the season. Even in the final episode, he excels in another scene that was probably overlooked amid the commotion that followed the final 40 minutes.
Marcus and Joe, who are having troubles with Ginny and Georgia and aren’t excited about going to the wedding, sit on a seat. Marcus and Joe hadn’t interacted much before this, although Joe once helped Marcus sober up in a brief moment that featured two of the series’ stronger actors.
Marcus’ facial expressions that showed his feelings without explicitly expressing them were amazing to watch. It demonstrates Mallard’s talent as an actress once more and offers more evidence in support of an expanded plot if Ginny & Georgia is renewed for a second season.
The characters’ storylines were expanded upon and further explored in Ginny & Georgia Season 2. Since Austin (Diesel La Torraca) was given considerably more of a presence in Season 2, Joe was one of those characters who we learned much more about in this most recent season.
Also, Abby had a greater platform to tell her tale. This is not to suggest that Marcus hasn’t changed and grown much since we first met him, but if there’s one character that deserves greater development, it’s Marcus.
There is no reason why Marcus should be a character that is underutilized in a potential third season of Ginny & Georgia, especially given Mallard’s acting abilities, which seem to be growing stronger with experience (he is slated to star in Turtles Down). Ginny & Georgia is streaming on Netflix. See the trailer below:
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