Fleabag...is it worth a watch?

[CornishTeaTime]

Heard of it but dont know anything about it. Is it worth watching

BBC iplayer

It’s full of anal sex and swearing. You make your own mind up if it’s for you.

I heard everyone rave about it at the time and thought I’d give it a go.

I finished the last episode and expected another to start but it didn’t and I just thought “oh is that it?”

don’t get me wrong it wasn’t bad I just didn’t get the hype and couldn’t even tell you one of the main story lines now. Quite forgettable.

It's one joke about anal sex and the swearing is in context, much of the time.
The play (which the series is based on) is available from the National Theatre OP. It's well worth a one-off rental or one month's subscription.
It's a monologue but beautifully written and performed.
I'd watch that then see how they adapted it for TV (yes, you'll be spoilered but the play is fantastic) then go to series 2 which was obviously new material.

I hated it because it's so obviously written to try to sexually shock, and that became tedious. Also she is a horrible person, yet somehow the viewer is supposed to like and identify with her. She's like a male idea of what a "liberated" woman is, yet it's written by a woman.

One of my favourite ever series, one of the few I've watched multiple times

I agree. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is so overrated.

I managed 3 episodes but otherwise think similarly to you. I found it course and crass, as I also did another series I saw that was written by PWB.

I think I'm swimming against the tide here, but I didn't like it. I found it all a bit meh, sorry.

No, it’s not full of anal sex. If you only watched the first episode you might think this but it’s really not.

It isn't full of anal sex at all. There's an instance in the first episode which is referenced again later. She also talks about pine nuts at one point. I don't hear you saying it was all about pine nuts.

I don't think it's a male view of female liberation at all. The first series is quite a raw look at grief, self destruction, loneliness and guilt and the second does feature liberation in two very specific ways - which I won't spoil - but both are very female led and internal and redemptive.

I thought it was brilliant.

The family father-daughter dynamic, in grief, was very good.

The vile brother-in-law steals every scene he’s in. I think the father also does a brilliant job of conveying that understated ‘cannot express himself at all but deep emotions are just there under the surface’ that is so common in a particular generation of men.

It’s much more about emotions than it is about sex.

I thought the first series was one of the best depictions of grief and guilt I’ve ever seen. And the second series is about love and redemption. I adored it all. And laughed throughout as well as cried.

I couldn't get past the first ten minutes. Hugely self-conscious and self-congratulatory, I thought. But appreciate others love it.

Reminds me of Miranda.

In what way is it like Miranda? Do you mean the asides to the camera?

Worth watching for Andrew Scott alone.

Oh I loved it soooo much!

It's brilliant. Obscene in places, incredibly sad in places and very, very real. I saw the live show too, she is absolutely brilliant but maybe not everyone's cup of tea. Enjoy

I detest British TV shows and even I liked it so based on that, yes you should watch it 😂

I'd watch that man read a phone book.

I turned the first episode off twice.

when I went back the third time I binged it all. I think PWB is fabulous

Me too.

I don’t think it was supposed to shock, I think it was meant to be relatable.

“She’s like a male idea of what a liberated woman is”- yes, I think this is the point the show is making though (did you watch past ep 1?). She’s not ‘liberated’, she’s traumatised.

I really enjoyed it, anyway.

It was ok, in parts, but a bit predictable. And I didn’t find the lead part very likeable.🤷‍♀️

I wasn’t a fan at all (and while Andrew Scott is an excellent actor, I was a bit taken aback by him being cast as a Hot Priest), but the relationship between Fleabag and her sister was by far my favourite part. Even then, I thought the sister was a more interesting character and would happily have abandoned Fleabag’s POV for a series written from her DS’s POV. I’ve never seen Siân Clifford in anything else, but she was extraordinary in that.