Fleabag - Spoilers

Travis

Hi everybody. 
My wife and I just finished season 2 and she had a thought that didn't come to my mind but as soon as she said it I felt like she was right. As soon as the episode ended with her waving goodbye to the "4th wall" or us, she said "oh, so we're her blond friend." It completely didn't dawn on me, but it makes so much sense. Thematically she is ready to move forward with her life and to stop carrying the pain and shame of that experience with her. She is ready to stop having Boo with her as she has. What do you guys think of this theory? Whenever she was winking at us or "going somewhere," as the priest would say, it was Boo.

Michelle

I don't think I agree with the last part about it being Boo whenever Fleabag would break the 4th wall with us.  I think the priest was just so in tune with her that he was able to catch onto her 4th wall breaking where other characters could/did not.

I do think that her breakdown in the confessional allowed her to just move forward.  Once she got it all out of her system and out in the open with the one person she felt most vulnerable with, and he accepted it, it sort of freed her.

I am so disappointed that there won't be a 3rd season.  There are so many more stories that can be mined out of her relationships with everyone in her life, especially with her sister and her father.  And I've love to see how she approaches life now that she and the priest are no longer together (as brief as it was).  She really fell hard for him and I think that shook up her viewpoint on life once it ended.

blacksunrise7

I agree that we are “Boo” in a way in that weare also more Ghosts than friends and after the tragedy of Boo, we also became burden-full reminders of the “past” rather than cherished friends. 

blacksunrise7

My wife’s theory: After the episode with Kristin Scott Thomas, my wife realized that she is really bi and that one of the reasons she might have ruined Boo’s relationship was because she was truly, romantically in love with her. It worked but with tragic results. 

Travis

blacksunrise7 said:

My wife’s theory: After the episode with Kristin Scott Thomas, my wife realized that she is really bi and that one of the reasons she might have ruined Boo’s relationship was because she was truly, romantically in love with her. It worked but with tragic results. 

That's interesting. I imagine we'll re-watch it before too terribly long. I'll try to watch it with that lens. There is a certain intimacy between them, particularly in one of the flashbacks that they go to multiple times. At the time I wrote it off as being absolutely the closest of friends, but I also mentally noted the scene in that light somehow.

Noel

I have lots of thoughts about season 2. First of all, I think it’s better than the first season. The dialogue (and lack of) is SO fucking good.

I know he’s such a douchebag but all the interactions with the lawyer is absolute gold. From the sandwich to him “being a feminist” to their interaction at the doorway.

They don’t stay together but I’m glad Fleabag and the Priest at least had sex. It was satisfying (pun intended) and felt right.

Looks like we’re not getting another season (which sucks) but I’m ok with it because the ending scene was so good. Like they said on the pod, it felt like the show was breaking up with us. So fucking good. 

Shout out to Olivia Coleman. Has she been nominated for this performance? 

This is the amongst the comedies I’ve seen in the past few years. Joining Atlanta and Barry as one of my favorites.

amyja89

I'm one of the few people who liked the first season a lot more than the second. It feels inevitable with most shows that gain a big following, but it sort of felt to me that PWB felt the need to crowd please a little bit and wedged a whole bunch more fourth wall breaks etc. It felt a little forced to me compared to the first season.

I didn't like the priest relationship angle, but that's just entirely a subjective thing so fair enough. The show came to life in everything between her and her sister, so every time it went back to Fleabag and the priest I was just slightly less interested.

I don't know if the same kind of discourse has been going on with the American viewership of the show, but these are the kinds of takes that have been becoming more and more prevalent since season two has been on. A little bit of push back about the dichotomy of the show making you want to relate at every turn but ultimately, being for posh white girls. It's not a take that I fully agree with, but there are some lines of argument that I lean towards. Interesting even if you don't see it that way. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/20/fleabag-posh-girl-television

CretanBull

^ At first I liked the first season more than the second, but as it's sat with me for awhile the second season has grown on me quite a bit.  I can't say that I like it better than the first season, but at the very least I like them equally.

As for the criticism...

I really don't think Americans understand the full scope of what it means to be posh.  Obviously they know what it means, but don't have the same history of a rigid class system.  So I think that they'd get it but not get it.  For example, I doubt if many American viewers picked up on the social implications of her accent (as a Canadian with roots in Yorkshire, I'm painfully aware of the assumptions that people make based on accent!).

So I think the line of criticism outlined in the article is almost certainly going to be UK specific, that viewing it through the lens of class and the full weight of everything that it means - socially, historically, culturally etc - is going to be more or less absent outside of the UK.  People will understand it, but not really get it.

My personal reaction to the article...it's missing the point.  I understand what she's saying, but the things that we're meant to relate to aren't the 'she'll be ok, look at the size of her father's house - of course she'll be ok' - its the human element.  I started this thread 2 years ago, and one of my first comments about Fleabag was that while it was made for women, as a man I didn't feel alienated in anyway while I watched it - and that's because of the human element.  I don't need to be able to relate to her exact situation, I need to relate to her humanity, and I did. 

lengmo

amyja89 said:

I don't know if the same kind of discourse has been going on with the American viewership of the show, but these are the kinds of takes that have been becoming more and more prevalent since season two has been on. A little bit of push back about the dichotomy of the show making you want to relate at every turn but ultimately, being for posh white girls. It's not a take that I fully agree with [...]

I read the article.  Fleabag is a work of art (not referring to its quality but its nature); it's free to be just one person's opinion/experience/whatever.  Sometimes I get the impression people want every TV show/movie to tick every box on some checklist so instead of bright, bold visions from different creators we get productions with a grey sameness about them.