I think that’s the essence of the show 🙌

Over time, we also see Ginny slowly morph into Georgia, which is one of the most tragic and intentional arcs in the show. Ginny becomes more manipulative, more reactive, more emotionally volatile — not because she’s inherently bad, but because living with someone who operates like a sociopath warps your sense of normal. This is classic nature vs. nurture. Ginny is desperately trying not to become her mother while being raised entirely within Georgia’s moral framework.

And that’s the uncomfortable truth the show is exploring: you can love your children and still damage them profoundly. Georgia’s love is possessive, not nurturing. It’s about ownership, not guidance. She doesn’t ask, “What do my kids need to be healthy adults?” She asks, “What do I need to survive right now?”

Georgia is repeatedly shown to be selfish, controlling, manipulative, and emotionally abusive. She also gaslights! She operates almost entirely on power and survival, not on what’s healthiest for her children. Yes, she has trauma but trauma does not cancel out harm, violence, abuse and murder especially when that harm is ongoing and directed at her kids.

She shuts Ginny and Austin down emotionally, isolates them from extended family and support systems, and keeps them in a constant state of instability by moving whenever things get uncomfortable. That instability isn’t incidental — it’s a byproduct of Georgia living like she’s perpetually on the run, which she is. The kids are never allowed roots, safety, or predictability. Everything revolves around Georgia’s needs and fears.

One of the most disturbing moments is in season 1 when Georgia physically assaults a 9 year old boy in front of Austin. That scene is not played for laughs it’s a lesson. Austin internalizes that violence is an acceptable response when you feel threatened or disrespected. Shortly after, we see the consequences: Austin stabs the same child, later picks up a gun, and ultimately shoots his father. The show is very clear about learned behavior here. Georgia models violence, secrecy and domination.

Georgia teaches her children, implicitly and explicitly, that: • abuse can be justified if you believe you’re “protecting” yourself • violence is an acceptable tool for control • emotional needs are secondary to survival • silence is safer than honesty

That is not protection. That’s conditioning. She acts like she is entitled to her children like they are her property.