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Original poster

Does Fleabag get better?

130 replies

Keener · 25/03/2019 14:45

I'd seen so many glowing reviews of Fleabag that when season 2 started with a great cast I thought I should go back and give season 1 a go first, so I knew the backstory. I just watched the first episode of season 1 at the weekend with DH, and we both thought it was very one-note. It just seemed like bleak, navel-gazing Bridget Jones without the weightloss gags, and while I generally like bleak, I found it unengaging and one-dimensional. (My strongest impression was what a wonderfully clothes-horsey body P W-B has, and how nicely a trenchcoat sits on her. Which was probably not the intended impression.)

Does it develop, and should we persevere, or is this one of those shows where, like Game of Thrones, you should recognise that if you don't like it after half an hour, or while Sean Bean is still alive, it's not going to grow on you?

OP posts:
BertrandRussell · 25/03/2019 20:15

Not sure you have to be a psychologist........
And I’m not sure that’s the point of the show-but what do I know?

BertrandRussell · 25/03/2019 20:17

And I’m the mother of a Milennial!

BabloHoney · 25/03/2019 20:17

Absolutely love Fleabag. It’s dark and hilarious but also so raw and emotive. I cried my eyes out at the last episode of series 1, and I never cry at tv.

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LucilleBluth · 25/03/2019 20:18

Fleabag is genius, as is PWB. This of course is just my opinion.

I certainly don't get the Bridget Jones comparison and I don't think PWB is conventionally beautiful, she is lovely in a quirky way imo.

Fleabag is dark comedy, its female driven, its beautifully written and shot. I think it will be a defining comedy of our era.

hopeishere · 25/03/2019 20:20

I watched the first Ep of series one and was "meh". But I'm loving this series!

LucilleBluth · 25/03/2019 20:22

Good god I pad...It's.

FloatingthroughSpace · 25/03/2019 20:22

Bertrand fair enough. Tbh I am probably a psychologist because I am good at analysing people's motivations and actions rather than the other way around.

It's just twists and reveals rarely work on me. I can't help seeing them coming. Oh, except when Rachel died on Cold Feet. That was bloody brilliant.

BlackPrism · 25/03/2019 20:39

I wasn't huge on the first half of S1 and only warm on the second half. AS2 is much better thus far. Did cry at S1 though

Milicentbystander72 · 25/03/2019 20:42

I'm loving Fleabag. I literally can't wait until they put each episode on Iplayer.

I cannot for the life of me fathom out where the series 2 storyline is going. But it's bloody excellent. All of it.

Whoever said it was like Bridget Jones couldn't have been further off.

howmanybiscuits · 25/03/2019 20:47

Barbarafromblackpool I love The End of the Fucking World too. Never heard of Flowers, what's it on?

Sitdownstandup · 25/03/2019 20:50

The Hugh Dennis character recurs, has some of the best interactions with Fleabag and plays a really significant part in the final episode of series 1.

I liked it from the start, but it does develop a lot over the series and you cannot assess it based on the first episode, at all. Series 2 is also very good so far, particularly the first episode. That said, in the past I have totally stopped watching things that didn't grip me immediately, because I couldn't be arsed.

You've also not had the full horror of the Olivia Colman character yet. That is quite something.

HerSymphonyAndSong · 25/03/2019 20:57

“Tbh I am probably a psychologist because I am good at analysing people's motivations and actions rather than the other way around. It's just twists and reveals rarely work on me.”

If that’s the case in Fleabag then perhaps it indicates that what happened was logical and faithful to her character. So it is praiseworthy even if it makes TV shows rather tedious for you

HerSymphonyAndSong · 25/03/2019 20:59

After all, no one is satisfied with a “twist” (not that I think that is necessarily the point of Fleabag) that is incongruous with the characters they have got to know

Original poster
Keener · 25/03/2019 21:47

I’ve just realised that Harry the boyfriend is the dopey intern from W1A. DH complained that Episode 2 has not delivered any more Olivia Coleman.

OP posts:
HotSauceCommittee · 25/03/2019 21:54

I love Fleabag. It’s just it will either speak to you or it won’t.
For the fellow “Fleabag” lovers, I can recommend the “Sally4Ever” series or anything else written by Julia Davis.

ScrambledSmegs · 25/03/2019 22:04

Julia Davis is brilliant but Nighty Night is so dark. I had to give up on it because her character was so horrifying.

Hunderby was easier for me to watch, it was just so silly.

Lovestonap · 25/03/2019 22:14

I think Fleabag is some of the most honest writing around.
I also recommend watching the whole series. That's only about 150 minutes of your life, less than some feature films. You can't really judge if it's good or not if you don't watch it.
I want to reply that 'yes it gets better', but I thought it was brilliant from the get go so...

FloatingthroughSpace · 25/03/2019 22:20

Harry is also Prince William in the Windsors.

BertrandRussell · 25/03/2019 22:20

I do suspect that some of the opposition is because it is a programme with women to the fore. And whole scenes with only women talking and not about men.

SkaterGrrrrl · 25/03/2019 22:25

It's the best tv I've seen in years. Honest, brutal, funny, shocking.

Original poster
Keener · 25/03/2019 22:36

Opposition from whom, Bertrand? As I said up the thread, I’ve yet to come across a negative online review of it.

OP posts:
thelikelylass · 25/03/2019 22:48

She's a good writer and I love 'Fleabag' - I really love the evil God/Stepmother. I think of P W-B as a like a filthy Joyce Grenfell.

howmanybiscuits · 25/03/2019 23:35

OMG this evening's episode was devastating. And the monologue was perfect. PW-B's great at rants monologues.

Currently debating with DP what we think will happen next. I genuinely don't know where it's going to take us (I've got a couple of theories though...)

No spoilers!

My advice? Don't start watching series 2 till it's all on iPlayer, it's tortuous to have to wait a week between episodes!

fancynancyclancy · 26/03/2019 00:12

Fleabag is genius, as is PWB. This of course is just my opinion.

I certainly don't get the Bridget Jones comparison and I don't think PWB is conventionally beautiful, she is lovely in a quirky way imo.

Fleabag is dark comedy, its female driven, its beautifully written and shot. I think it will be a defining comedy of our era.

Agree with all of this. Loved it from the 1st episode but maybe it’s cause I’m a millennial 😜

Repetitivestraininjury · 26/03/2019 08:56

Loved it from the 1st episode, series 1, I thought it was so well written and performed, the interaction between the Sisters especially and the Step-mum really crackles.

I thought it was my little secret as most people I mentioned it to either hadn't caught it or had given up, glad to see it was loved by so many, although my Wife just couldn't be bothered and left me to it.

One thought, is it particularly appreciated by females as I haven't met a guy who has seen it.