"Derry Girls" Season 2 Relieves The Tension Of The Troubles
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Netflix's "Derry Girls" Brings A Playful Tone To A Troubling Time

Although it seems to be another coming-of-age series, the Netflix series contextualizes one of the most polarizing conflicts in recent history.

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There's both shows like and unlike that of Netflix's "Derry Girls." Set in the early 1990s in the town of Derry, Northern Ireland in the peak of the Troubles, the series follows the misadventures of 5 teenagers navigating through their teenage years in the middle of the 80-year-long ethnic conflict between the Irish and British.

"Derry Girls" is like other shows in the sense that it's another coming-of-age-style series: a group of kids are up to some antics based on their piqued curiosity. Erin (Saorise-Monica Jackson), Orla (Louisa Harland), Clare (Nicola Caughlan), and Michelle (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell) are all students at an all-girls Catholic school; along the way they meet James (Dylan Llewellyn), a northerner who becomes the first male student in their school.

Throughout the series, the five embark on a series of misadventures that stems from their religious upbringing. In one episode, the group tries to scam their school's new priest into thinking that a miracle happened in their church, when in reality a dog they were trying to catch urinated onto the face of a statue of the Virgin Mary. In the new season 2 premiere, the group tries to hookup with English students when they attend a retreat where Irish and British students meet (the "Proddies" end up being prudes).

Yet at the same time, "Derry Girls" is unlike other shows because it deconstructs the polarizing and often-misunderstood social conflict known as the Troubles. The show pokes fun at both the Catholics and Protestants involved in the Troubles, despite the girls actually being Irish Catholics. In season two, the show really takes an egalitarian side to the dispute; in the episode with the interfaith retreat, the episode wholesomely ends with Erin writing on a chalkboard that both Irish and English kids both have to deal with their parents (versus the other chalkboard endlessly listing the differences between the two groups).

The final word is that in the age of binging and with the complicated political landscape of British politics brought about by Brexit, "Derry Girls" can at the very least bring a general understanding of the Irish Troubles, which Brexit debates continuing to reconcile its legacy in Northern Ireland.

"Derry Girls" is a show filled with Irish humor and sometimes dialogue that may not be understandable to Americans without subtitles. But the fact still remains that this show brings a sense of fun and comedy to a highly misunderstood era in recent world history.

All episodes of season 2 of "Derry Girls" are streaming on Netflix.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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