Does Fleabag get better?

[Keener]

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?

My husband watched the first couple of episodes of season 1 on the iPlayer and then told me to watch it as he thought I would love it, after i caught up we watched together

Yes, its so much nicer if you can share something like that, I've a feeling series 2 is going to build to a big ending as they say definitely no number 3.

The ninja shower scene in series 1 was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Ever. I start tittering every time I just think about it.

Funny, yes, Ragnarthe but also profoundly horrific - superbly acted, and such a brilliant illustration of just how far apart the two of them really were, as human beings, let alone lovers...

I don't think I loved it initially but I did like it. The last episode is a corker and it explains everything in the run up. Please stick to the end. Series 2 is a lot less self-deprecating and I think it is a more grown up piece of writing. I was blown away with episode 1.

@multivac
Of course it was horrific, actually that is why it's funny. Especially her glance at the audience when she is comforting him.
It's actually very bleak when you think about it, the whole thing. We the audience are her only friend.

It's not for me; that's not to say it's not good. I just see Miranda, and hear the posh voice when she talks to the camera.
I was watching Alan Partridge being Martin Brennan and laughing my head off. Straight after, the Fleabag woman came on and it was really jarring.
It seems extremely popular in the Guardian type media though.
Someone explain the conceit and I'll try and watch some more.

Boring, 'edgy' bollocks

Boring, 'edgy' hmm bollocks

How much of it have you actually watched?

I love it, the characters are hilarious, iv laughed properly out loud a few times. It's right up my street.

If something doesn't bring you joy or entertainment after the first two episodes just stop. Life's too short for shit TV

Another here who absolutely loves Fleabag! Cannot see the Bridget Jones likeness at all? It’s got so much more depth. Something about her just seems to constantly shimmer between comedy and tears, she’s so very fragile and broken. Which is exactly how I often find people who are recently bereaved or deeply depressed. Always on the verge of tears or the verge of laughter. It really moved me and it also absolutely cracked me up from the very start.

@Repetitivestraininjury
My DH loves it too - but he worked in TV production so has an appreciation for programmes that some men aren't as keen on. He appreciates good quality screenplay and this is exceptional.

@lunicorn
DH and I are the antitheses to Guardian readers (Telegraph, Leaver household) and we love it!

Just watched last night's episode and cried and laughed.

I loved the first episode of Series 2, the interactions around the table were spot on. The other episodes I found less engaging and it feels a bit samey but I'll still watch it, in fact I watch each episode twice to make sure I didn't misss anything. It's so cleverly written.
In addition to PWB's performance I love the actress who plays her sister, she's excellent. Also Olivia Coleman and the chap who plays the slimy American husband.

Just watched Monday's episode. Oh wow.

Come over here @sunonthepatio

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/telly_addicts/3517223-Fleabag-is-coming-back-series-2?msgid=85913651#85913651

You can discuss your heart away x

It’s amazing. The best thing on the BBC at the moment for me!

Bridget Jones?

Miranda?

We’re not watching the same thing at all.

Signed, parent of Millennials

It's a woman who sounds a bit posh I think starjumps. Women only come in a couple varieties I hear.

There's fish wife.

WASPY American.

and posh Londoner. .

I find the family relationships really true to life. The sister who hates her but can’t help but love her. The Dad who just can’t articulate anything meaningful. The way he spoke about their mother in the last episode and being jealous of her. It’s so real and so tragic.

And doesn’t Miranda just guffaw a lot?

Bridget Jones is entirely about relationships with men. There’s bad man trope and hero man trope, sisters are doing it for themselves trope but only to show the man she doesn’t need him when really she does blah blah blah. Fleabag is about growing as a person and addressing her deep rooted issues around sex and her family. It’s funny because it’s like watching a friend and the 4th wall stuff makes us feel like a mate egging someone on.

I watched series 1 and definitely didn't love it but it was worth watching. I agree that it isn't fundamentally funny. I can;'t get going on series 2. So many of them now seem quite monstrous, damaged, I know, weak what ever, but I think I'm done.

Bridget Jones was totally indulgent of all the patriarchal frills. Fleabag is an working through how to shake all that shit off. Both explore how the male-gaze informs female identity but Fleabag seems to really want to dismantle a lot of that stuff.

Series 2 is so amazing I might rewatch series 1 to see what I missed, watched s1 on recommendation and wasn’t too fussed but stuck with it. So glad I did. Agree the portrayal of bereavement is spot on. And Julia Davis is beyond amazing and I didn’t think I would like another writer/actor as much but Phoebe Waller bridge is also starting to be amazing. Olivia Coleman is also the most fabulous actress even in her relatively small part in Fleabag.

Is Julia Davis in it?