Fleabag finale episode SPOILERS thread

[HotPriest]

Crack open a can of and join your fellow iPlayer stalkers here for discussion of the final episode of Fleabag. Spoilers totally allowed so no peaking if you haven't see the episode.

Hoping it's as good as we all want it to be. Should be live on iPlayer tomorrow about 9.30am

Apparently there is another female led and written programme in the same time slot next week. Probably hoping to catch the ones with Fleabag withdrawal symptoms!

Oo thanks Ruffle, love Jessica Hynes.

@RuffleCrow thanks for the recommendation. I also have a little thing for David Tennant. I think he picks some brilliant roles. His Dr Who was the best. Also did a great Hamlet.

I have been a WRECK this week because of Fleabag. Just recovering now, the hurt is passing.... plan to watch it ALL again this weekend to catch the moments I missed. Like this beautiful capture from twitter (thank you @katrubner)

you're all very welcome. I also had a huge crush on DT as DW and have loved Jessica Hynes in pretty much everything she's ever done (especially Spaced!) I think if you could sum up my personality in two characters it would be a weird mix of Daisy Steiner & Fleabag

Binge-watched the whole of There She Goes last light. As the mother of a child with SEN it's probably one of most honest portrayals of daily life and coming to terms with a disability I've ever seen.

That's a great pic Rosemary. And actually that painting's starting to grow on me - it's not exactly flattering but it has..something

Loving the name JessMariano

Daisy Steiner and Fleabag - what a combo! I miss Spaced a lot!

Wow well I’ve just finished FB and that was amazing!!!! Someone on another thread almost ruined it for me (with a comparison to another comedy) but that last episode was comedy gold and so tragic at the same time. I’ve loved reading all the analysis on here, so many fine details. I am definitely going to watch it all again now

Oh dear, I had a dream. The fox morphed into Elsa from Frozen and shouted at FB that she couldn't love someone she had only met less than ten times. screw you elsa and your judgement!

Thanks @Northerngravy, that’s the one I planned to order. Disappointing to hear it’s not v good so far.

Looking out for Phoebe interviews. Have there been any yet? Wonder who's going to be the first to get her?! Going to be really interested to hear her take on the whole 'sexy priest/love vs abusive/dickhead priest' opinions.

I was very at the comparisons to Miranda.

There’s NO comparison to Miranda.

Fuck me no way is Fleabag anything like Miranda.

Well, no. I agree. But there is a discussion on those lines on another thread.

It's obviously parodying Miranda in many ways. Not sure what the controversy is there.

Is it though a less funny version of Miranda?

It's a comedy starring a woman who talks to the camera. Clearly they are identical .

They're not intended to be identical - it's just an element of parody that seems pretty obvious. It's not because she's a woman who talks to the camera - the whole set up is clearly intended to be Miranda-esque but also to subvert the artificial cosiness of that show. I don't see that as something to get grumpy about - i love it when comedians show up the weaknesses in cliched mainstream shows. The Day Today is a great example.

Great show, I always wondered if her inspiration was Theroux as he always looks at the camera with a "Help me" look on his many adventures.

The haircut with Clare made me snort

I’ve never really got into Miranda.

I’m still chewing over Fleabag nearly a week later, though...

Well, Miranda was my guilty pleasure for years

I'd probably still watch it occasionally if i had nothing else to do.

I could never escape my inner feminist critique though "it's the 21st century ffs why does this woman still believe she needs a man in order to be a real person? Why is she terrified of sex? Why does she hate her best friend and her mum?" etc etc

Sian Clifford said on bbc fan theories clip (re the ‘power play’ controversy caused by ‘kneel’ etc) that PWB had told her that HP is making himself vulnerable in confessional scene too because he loves her. I was relieved cos would rather believe their whole connection was real than that he had cynically duped her - tho his whole demeanour as he pulls the curtain back + the tiny hint of a not-quite smile did make me consider the possibility that it had all been a planned seduction.
Also Andrew Scott on the One Show (the depths to which I have sunk for love of FB!) said that he had spoken to PWB on phone from New York on Wed about the massive reaction since the finale + how it was a shame that she’s out of the country + missing participating in the depth of feeling surrounding it.

FurForksSake yes, screw you Elsa - far too sensible!

BPiece - thanks. Can't quite bring myself to watch the likes of the one show and Lorraine!

I think part of the problem is having to convey that love over 6 short episodes, it makes it difficult to believe they had this real depth of feeling for each other rather than just lust. Whereas if it had been longer it probably would have felt a bit more organic. I think she did just about pull it off and I agree with you that to me their connection felt real but I can understand why so many people have had issues with his behaviour.

Yes, completely agree about the challenge PWB set for herself and her cast in conveying that whole arc over just six episodes (and quite a short time frame between episodes 4-6) especially if we are to read all the characters as being completely sincere throughout. By my reckoning the time lapse between “kneel” and then consummating their mutual attraction was 48 hours, then they mutually accepted the end of their affair a mere 24 hours later.

The thing is I’m not sure how long a time frame the preceding 3 episodes are intended to cover. There’s a hint that the “fox” conversation in the garden is a week before “kneel” (when FB shoots a look to us and tells us that wanting to be HP’s friend will not last a week), but that may not need to be taken literally. I keep thinking that, if we view the engagement dinner as being quite some before the wedding (min 6 months, though it’s often longer), then the glimpses we keep getting of their developing intimacy are just a fraction of the time they’re actually spending together - which would make his abrupt volt-face on whether or not to sleep with her make quite a bit more sense, if we assume that he’s been struggling with attraction on his side for months rather than mere few weeks.

I still can’t reconcile the way his character makes a clear headed, sober decision to break his chastity, clearly owns it the following morning, and then over the course of one flipping day when he can’t actually speak to her completely reconcile himself to just going back to his life without her. I can imagine them both coming to that conclusion in the long run (him because he has so much he’d have to rebuild if he left the church, her because she doesn’t want the responsibility of what would happen to him if it didn’t work out) but TWELVE HOURS pisses me off.

Honestly, I’ve not forensically analysed the end of a relationship like this since I was at uni. PWB what have you DONE to me? 😂