Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Bitin’, Spankin’ and a Load of Yankee Psychobabble
Season 2 Episode 8 of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, “Bitin’, Spankin’ and a Load of Yankee Psychobabble,” is all about the woes of parenting.
Parenting discussions are prone to getting heated, to say the least. Mandy and her mother clearly disagree on several different fronts.
This episode shows off the family’s dysfunction while poking fun at all different extremes of parenting styles. The fact that Georgie and Mandy have a child is a fundamental part of their relationship, but until now, she hasn’t played too much of a role in Season 2.
Now that she’s here, we get to see how adorably evil she can be and what exactly that means for her parents. Ceecee is biting, and it’s a problem.
Not only because it’s bad behavior, but also because Audrey does not like how Mandy is handling it. Therefore, Audrey tells Mandy that when Ceecee bites, she should bite her back. Mandy understandably thinks this is insane.
Despite Mandy’s parenting strategy being very ineffective, the episode makes it very clear that she’s doing the absolute best she can. As a result, you really sympathize with Mandy’s anger at the moment when Audrey reveals she literally bit Ceecee while watching her.
Audrey clearly disapproves of the way Mandy wants to parent her child and want to prove that she knows best. It’s not about Ceecee, it’s about being right.
Rachel Bay Jones gives a standout performance on this episode. She captures the smug stubbornness incredibly well while also playing it over the top enough that it’s still funny.
Mary’s determination to be a contrarian to Audrey is consistently funny, especially when it doesn’t line up with what she actually believes. The dedication is truly admirable.
To Mary’s credit, she never disrespects Mandy’s wishes as Audrey did. However, she instead pushes Georgie to convince Mandy that Ceecee needs “firmer boundaries.”
Mandy, feeling judged and ganged up on from all sides, calls a family therapist radio show. This whole sequence is unbelievably messy in the best possible way. It is easily the best part of the episode.
First, Mandy calls, and when Audrey catches wind, she also calls. Things get heated very quickly, and eventually, Mandy, Audrey, Jim, and even Mary are all on the line.
In a fit of anger, Audrey exposes, on the radio show, that Georgie got Mandy pregnant when he was only seventeen. They don’t dwell on it for very long, but it is so shocking that you can’t help but laugh.
The episode closes with Georgie joining the call from work, and this is an instance of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage resolving its conflict in a way that actually works. It was so dramatic that it felt more like a cliffhanger than an unsatisfying closer.
Whether or not the next episode picks up where this one left off, the tension is still gonna be felt, and for this show, that’s a good thing.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage thrives when its characters and their interpersonal conflicts are put in the forefront. These last few episodes exemplify that.
What did you think of this episode of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage airs Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS.
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Olivia Thomas
Olivia Thomas is a passionate creative writer with a love of TV and movies, spanning from animation, comedy, and even horror. She is a graduate of Sacramento State University with a degree in English and a certificate in screenwriting. She has a year of prior experience writing for CBR.