If you’re active on TikTok or Instagram, you may have heard of a show called Fleabag. Written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag is a comedy-drama about a woman called Fleabag. Throughout the show, she navigates her complicated and grief-riddled life. Fleabag is witty and funny, and her life is messy and all over the place (I get it).
If you’re like me, I sat and scrolled through TikTok for hours watching edits of this show that I had never watched, though it came out in 2016. Interested, I finally forced myself to watch the pilot episode and I ended up swiftly watching both seasons. After finishing the show recently, I could not be more obsessed. It had me laughing, smiling, crying, getting angry… honestly, feeling every emotion I could feel. So, I’ve decided to write about it because 1) There is so much I have to say and 2) I feel like Fleabag has a fall vibe, so now may be the best time to spill my guts. Anyway, here are some of my feelings and thoughts I have finally gathered after watching Fleabag for the first time.
real and raw emotions
This show is filled with comedy and dark humor and has you laughing in almost every scene. When I first went into it, I was expecting just that. However, Fleabag also really gets down to the core with real and raw emotions that come with grief. Fleabag Season 2 opens with the line “This is a love story.” I love that it does this because Fleabag truly is a love story through and through. Love is messy and chaotic and does not always work out like we think. Love is present in all relationships (with friends, siblings, and family), and this show made me appreciate those types of love more.
fleabag and claire’s relationship
Fleabag’s sister, Claire, is a character we get to meet and love. She is the opposite of Fleabag, as she is uptight, stressed, organized, and seemingly has her life together. However, we see that she struggles with her marriage, her stepson, and navigating life as someone who feels they must always appear put together. I love the way Claire and Fleabag’s relationship is shown in this show. Even when they argue, you can see how much they care for each other despite their differences.
breaking the fourth wall
One unique thing I love about this series that many other TV series do not have is the main character frequently breaking the fourth wall. There are a lot of moments when Fleabag turns to the camera and talks to the audience. It is such a clever thing that Phoebe Waller-Bridge added that makes this show that much more engaging. We get to experience Fleabag talking to us a lot, which shows us her difficulty with talking to other people in her life in that way.
Something I absolutely adore about this show with breaking the fourth wall is what they do after Fleabag meets The Priest. The Priest becomes her main love interest in Season 2 and although we never learn his name, we get to learn so much about him. Now whenever Fleabag turns to the camera to talk to us, The Priest picks up on it and asks her what she is doing and why she does “that thing.” I love this addition because now we have a character that Fleabag believes finally sees her. It’s so cute and refreshing to see.
grief
I also love the refreshing take this show has on grief. Fleabag lost her mom and her best friend in a relatively short time. Although she doesn’t talk about them much, we get to see flashbacks to a time when she was happier with them. The show makes it clear whenever we see flashbacks as the lighting is a lot brighter and Fleabag seems a lot happier and joyful in these times with her best friend by her side. Fleabag clearly struggles with the grief of these losses as she talks in therapy about being hypersexual or even relying on other coping skills.
I love that this show isn’t afraid to talk about the realities of grief and depicts how it can be ugly and messy. We get to empathize with Fleabag and feel as if we’re there with her through her growth. A quote that I still think about to this day is something Fleabag’s dad said to her as they were talking about the loss of her mom. He says, “I think you know how to love better than any of us. That’s why you find it all so painful.” Wow. I love this quote so much and I love that this show touches on love and grief and how it all intertwines in ways we don’t expect.
With that being said, I come back to my point of just why Fleabag is such an amazing show. I love the lessons I took away from it about love, loss, relationships, and friendships. Although it’s a very funny show, the tender and emotional scenes really solidified it being one of the best shows ever made in my opinion. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, if you see this, please bring back Fleabag for Season 3. We’re all begging you!
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