I appreciate your intention behind saying things like "*or people who identify as women", but people who identify as women are just women. So saying "women or people who identify as women" is actually redundant. You can just say women in that case :) Also, uterine/period pain, breast tenderness, and other hormonal or reproductive functions/symptoms can happen in certain people of all/any genders, so it's not at all exclusive to womanhood. The only group of people who do not tend to experience these things are cisgender men or some transgender folks who were assigned male at birth. I know I'm likely going to get transphobic harassment from some people who see this, and that sucks a lot, but I want to write this comment in hopes that those who are compassionate can learn something they may not have known and perhaps if any other transgender people see this they can feel less misunderstood too. I hope that makes sense. Thanks for the video essay! I wish you happiness in your life as we all fuck things up beautifully
Thank you for your comment, it has been pointed out to me that while I was attempting to be inclusive, the language was in fact othering and as you say, redundant. It wasn't my intention but unfortunately I can't change it now and just including that asterisk seems to be pissing off a few terfs anyway so if that is any kind of bonus, there you go. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it all to me, and you take care as well.
@@Ladyknightthebrave Ah thank you so much for such a thoughtful and kind reply!! Thank you for being so understanding and for letting me know that others have already made you aware of that small fact. It is also relieving to hear that you are in favour of going against terf ideology in general, and I'm really grateful for that too :') Good luck on any videos you create in future and wishing you all the best!
@@redrooster3420 just pinning this comment because people still want to address this point in the comment section (understandably so) and trans women are women. I hope you are well.
My favorite part of this whole show is when clare tells her “the only person I would run through the airport is you” Amazing. Complicated love between sisters.
first of all, you made me cry with the last few sentences. Also, the fox being a physical representation of the Priest's emotional baggage and that he can see Fleabag looking at us and she can see his fox, man that was such an amazing analysis. I would never have thought of it as that but it makes so much sense and it makes me even sadder that the two of them met at the wrong time. Imagine if they'd met before he became a priest, they'd be so happy now :')
I really can't take credit for the fox thing, that's straight from a screenrant article by Valerie Clarke which I linked in the sources for this video but I'm glad you liked the video!
my theory about the names is about emotional distance. claire has a name because throughout, she's closest with fleabag despite their troubles. martin gets one because he's in between them, he's fleabag's antagonist who tries to keep them apart, keep her from the person she's closest with. dad doesn't have a name because to fleabag, that's exactly who he is. no more, no less. he's dad. godmother? it's a title to keep her in the place fleabag wants her. she doesn't get to be called 'stepmother' or similar. she is godmother because fleabag doesn't want her around, doesn't want her to solidify her place in their lives by moving into a role with a name or a title that's closer to family. moving into her mothers spot. boo gets a name because she's why fleabag hurts so dearly, why she struggles so hard. she gets a name so fleabag has a conscience. the priest doesn't get a name because she doesn't let him in all the way. they fall in love, sure, but it's never it for either of them. he loves god, she can't tell him everything. she keeps him at a distance to keep herself safe, scared that if she tells him, she'll lose him, only to lose him all the same. he’s another version of the fleabag character, someone we again can relate to, who we can see struggle and make it through but understand that it is hard and you have to work through it and stumbling doesn’t mean you’ve failed at being who you are. it means you’re finding yourself, and the priest did just that. he fell, he fumbled, he struggled and in the end, he found himself again. and that’s what fleabag did. she went the whole show struggling and not knowing who she was or what she wanted until she got back up. fleabag herself? she doesn't need a name. she doesn't need one because we're seeing it from her perspective. we see what she wants us to see, never all of it but never too little. fleabag exposed us to her life, counted the audience as her friend, but the priest saw her go somewhere, leave that present moment. because fleabag never looked at a friend, an audience, she looked at herself. fleabag never needed a name because we were her, we knew her name because her name is ours. fleabag didn't name herself because she looked at herself when she talked to the audience and who needs to name themselves in their own mind? but interestingly enough she DOES wear a necklace with the letter 'A' on it... also fun fact: i'm also named phoebe and phoebe w-b said fleabag is named after a family nickname for her and i used to get called fleabag growing up. i told my sister the other day that i watched fleabag and she went 'that's your name!' and made a terrible name joke about it... phoebe and fleabag apparently go hand in hand and i hate the nickname a sliver less than before this show. gave the show a little more of a relatable feeling for me, too...
A great analogy and I couldn’t have put it better if I tried! I never really bothered to look more into the show than just watching it but now I’ve found out there are theories, it makes it ever the more interesting. Having said that, i think yours is my favourite, it makes sense and in a sense, we are all fleabag (even just a little bit) and it’s so clever making it to be like that 🤔
Fun fact: The graffiti at 'their' bus stop says 'Life' in Bulgarian (Животе) but in the vocative case, as in addressing life itself or "O, Life!", which I think ties the whole thing together rather beautifully.
that's something i noticed as well! at first i thought it was russian though, but realized its more probable that its a different Slavic language (in modern Russian its along the lines of "(to the) stomach!"". I remembered that the russian "stomach" used to mean life and pieced the rest together. i don't know it it was done on purpose or not, but it does feel like a beautiful note relating to the story
The first time I decided to watch Fleabag, I turned it off after the first few minutes. I thought, "Not another sex-filled story." Not that I am a prude, but it is tiring and annoying to see so much of it in shows and movies because it is far too often exploitative. I cannot remember what made me give it a second chance, but I am so glad that I did. The sex scenes are less "dirty" and more extremely, uncomfortably intimate. The intimacy is not between Fleabag and her partner but rather Fleabag and the viewer. Fleabag is near perfection.
I was surprised how long it took for a thoughtful video essay about fleabag to appear, but this is what i was hoping for. I especially loved what you had to say about the depiction of sisters. Thanks for the work you put into this!
I think the cafe represents Fleabag’s guilt about Bo! After opening up to the guy from the bank about what really happened to Boo, the cafe was able to thrive- as in Fleabag was able to accept it and let go. Before she had opened up, the cafe couldn’t be successful.
I love what you say about the way this show deals with sisterhood. I think intense, positive relationships between women are intimidating to a many male writers. Not only do they not know how to write them, but they don't really GET them, and don't want to mess with the simplistic trope of women always being ready to stab one another in the back. That's an easy trope to go back to - an old reliable.
There's actually a new adaptation of Little Women coming out this year. Its directed by Greta Gerwig (She did Lady Bird) and it stars Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, and Timothee Chalamet.
I literally cried at the ending of the video with the comparison with the book. I hadn't realise it. I mean, I knew she was like, sort of "breaking up" with us because she knew our journey was finished and that she will be all right, but I didn't picture us, the audience, as a coping mechanism that eventually helped her through and made her feel not all alone. I can't keep my mind off this show. I hate its ending, but because I'm a selfish hopeless romantic that believes that every love story deserves a chance. I really hope she finds somebody again. and I hate that there's not gonna be a series 3 anytime soon. but I'm also glad because that means that she doesn't need the coping mechanism. imma keep crying
Aww, I think this is just how I interpreted the ending(somebody else could read it differently it's that kind of an ending) but I'm a sucker for a bittersweet ending honestly so I like the idea that even if this didn't work out, her next relationship might.
So I didn't like fleabag when I first watched it because it made me feel too many emotions that I've been trying to escape from for my entire. fucking. life. I hated it for the same reason I hate The Lion King or Up. It just hurt too much to look in a mirror and see my deepest fears and everything I hate about myself reflected back. And yet I watched both seasons, and it stuck with me. It didn't stick with me in a good or bad way really. It was more just something I carried around in my pocket. It was a weekend of sobbing my eyes out and mourning the time I've lost to all the pain I've carried with me throughout my life. Your essay was like the last puzzle piece. Everything about this show clicked together and made so much more sense that it had when I was processing it alone. I feel some kind of warm catharsis that I don't think I would have reached on my own. Which plays into one of the messages of fleabag, that the relationships we build with those around us make life more meaningful and tolerable, and that makes me giggle to think about. So thank you =) Also, that thing about the fox being the hot priest's baggage made me cry laugh. AT WORK. So thank you for that too.
ok I'll be honest, when I saw it was 48 minutes, I didn't wanna watch it. But because I was bored, I did. And mannnnn... you just articulated all my f*cking feelings about fleabag and a whole lot more and i guess that needed 48 minutes! You nailed it. And made me cry. Thanks.
Me too. Show is about a shallow, selfish, stupid and horribly dishonest (lie, cheat steal, manipulate) and scarily promiscuous (never heard of aids I guess) woman. Boring and depressing. UG.
This video has been in my watch later list for a few weeks now, and I am really glad to have finally gotten to it. I've been trying to put my thoughts together about series 2 of Fleabag for awhile now, and this definitely helped put a lot of ideas into focus. Thank you. This is a fantastic breakdown of the show, and I am super excited to see more stuff from you.
BEST FUCKING SHOW EVER Also I love the idea that only Fleabag can see the fox the same way only the Priest can see her coping mechanism of breaking the 4th wall. Great video as always!
God. I remember I read Perks of being a Wallflower my freshman year of high school which was a really stressful and damaging time in my life but it gave me so much comfort to know that the book I was reading wasn't going to end up being a "sad story" although it did make me sad, and that I wouldn't end up that way either. And I got that same feeling now in my twenties (which have been another crazy change filled point in my life) watching Fleabag, knowing that this will end up okay too. This video was really great!
The Stepmother and Martin were on par with Umbridge. I wanted Fleabag to let me through the screen to throw hands. They were horrible and reminded me of people that have been in my own life. That was the real beauty of the show. Fleabag invited us in by reflecting our own lives back at us.
I mean it's probably both? Like he literally says it to her in response to her saying she loves him, but also yeah he probably means it for himself too
Oh Ladyknightthebrave, where have you been all my CZcams-watching life? This. Essay. Was. Astute, erudite, divine. Thank you for sharing your talented insight and skillful presentation.
Fleabag is my favourite TV prog of all time, and i've watched loads. Series 2 is the crowning glory. The ending slays me to the point of sobbing every time I watch. What you cover about it caused the same response, bravo. - Simply never seen a better told love story than series 2 of Fleabag, PWB rocks.
For me, the priest being the only one who can discern when Fleabag slips away to break the 4th wall was absolutely an indicator that he saw her for who she truly is in all ways. And his ability to see her fully is what allows him to love her truly and her to love him back. And the fox is indeed the manifestation of his version of 4th wall breaking, to me. So, after they tell each other they love one another (and he departs) when she sees the fox after he has gone, this is them telling us that she tuly sees him as well. It's the narrative saying, at least in my eyes, these two people belong together - they love one another for who each of them really are - and that's why it's a tragedy. Fleabag and the priest belong together in the way that those very rare true matches do, yet the difficult path they have each lived to get to this moment have made them incapable of embracing that together. When he says "it'll pass," he's wrong. The fox showing up shows he's wrong. She has seen him for all he is and loves for him that as he does her... and that will never pass. They will never unsee each other and never unlove one another. They will have other experiences in life, but this will never pass away... Fleabag has gone unseen - and therefore unloved in a very real way - by absolutely everyone in her life up until she meets the priest. And I think we are meant to understand the truth is the same for his life. And then they see one another truly and love the other person they see truly. But a life spent being unseen has rendered at least the priest from being unable to risk embracing being seen by a physical other human being and he leans into the safety of feeling seen by an invisible entity instead. And this is the tragedy... you can live a life waiting to be seen and loved for who you are and, when it happens, one or both of you can still be unready to embrace that love and walk away from it, abandoning the thing you were hungering for all your life once it finally shows up. This is my read on the story and it's why I love the show, the pain of the show, because it rings true. Fiction tells us that when true love shows up, mountains will be moved and that love will stay once it has arrived. But reality is that as rare as true love is, it is even rarer that all parties embrace it when it arrives. And this show, to me, owns that truth and the pain of that is so real and so true to life that it makes me feel seen by the show and show makers when it happens. Its profound. It is, to me, the show makers telling us they see us in return. We have seen Fleabag, the priest has seen her and she has seen him in return, and the creators of the show have seen us and our pain. It is an act of loving us in how the show breaks our 4th wall by its completion. It's devastating and sublime and totally unique.
I legitimately saw this review in my feed and immediately went to watch the entire series of Fleabag just to watch the review. 100% worth it! Thank you for the recommendation and the amazing content, seriously, it’s an event for me to watch your videos
God damn, you have earned a subscription from me. If I could somehow do that a million times, I would. I've never seen Fleabag, and considered it a couple times, but never took that jump. I'm just a random, 24 year old guy, but bloody hell you made me ball my eyes out with your interpretations and descriptions of the story, and meanings of things said and shown, and whatever other buzzword I could spurt out. This review genuinely made me try to think harder about what it's like to be a woman in this day and age, especially even throughout history in the past, and for the consideration of my girlfriend too. I just made up a big letter of a bunch of stuff I should have already said to my girlfriend, and double noted it because I'm gonna repeat bits and pieces to her on our wedding day. Can I just say really, thank you. I'm about to press that subscribe button, wipe my eyes off with some tissue, and repeat to my girlfriend that I promise I am not a big baby, it was all this cool reviewer on CZcamss fault, haha. Absolutely fucking brilliant review, you smashed it.
I've never really watched video essays but I adore Fleabag so much I couldn't pass this up. Your reading of the show is so insightful and deep. You picked concepts and read into moments I never would have thought of. This is an excellent summary of what Fleabag is and what it stands for. Thank you
I love that you loved it enough to research every character thoroughly and speak about for 48 freaking minutes not worried about being perfect. (heart emoji)
And you love The Perks of Being a Wallflower...This video is poetry "..and now we, all we Fleabags in the world have been given a little encouragement to go out into the world and fuck it up beautifully, just like she does"
I really recommend you to watch it (though i really often do the same and watch anlysis of stuff i never watched and then i can comment but i always have to specifiy that i actually didnt see it)
Your video is absolutely astounding. Well edited, performed, and argued. A hell of a thing. Thank you for putting it out. Totally made me want to fall in love with this work.
This was a brilliant summery and interpretation of a show I have had such trouble talking about. Not for lack of material, but because you have to have seen it to really understand and appreciate all the weird, absurd, vulgar, hilarious, heartbreaking nuances. Thanks for this video - you did a fantastic job!
I thought when I was finally able to watch this series and thinking about then being able to watch your video that finally there’s a video of yours that wouldn’t make me cry. And then I finished series two.
It's not a gerbil themed cafe! That title killed me, it's a Guinea Pig themed cafe. Fantastic essay though, it explores the show's themes well. Such a masterpiece of television. Season one is great but season two is phenomenal. Glad to find someone else who appreciates the acting talents of Andrew Scott.
So, I saw the first season of Fleabag forever ago, many years ago at this point. I remember bingeing the entire first season (series?) in one night and absolutely sobbing when it ended. It was an emotionally harrowing show for me. And I remember trying to watch the second season and going "I can't do this." I've never watched it to this day. I used to watch and re-watch your video essays regularly, they're the reason I watched Hill House and Bly Manor, but I've been holding out on a few of them lately because I know I would really enjoy the piece of media that they're about, and I've been trying to actually watch/read/etc the thing before engaging in analysis of it. But I'm really glad this video exists, because I'm not sure I am ever going to go back to watch s2 of Fleabag.
My mom said to me that every woman in the world wanted to kill herself at least once in her lifetime. She said so when I was 16 and had suicidal thoughts. I believed her for a long time and it was an unhealthy thought. It is wrong, it gives you the idea that that's life how it should be, that you can't change that. I didn't seek help I needed. I hear the echo of this words in the bit about women's pain. It might be comforting for a while but it's dangerous to think that way. I find it wrong to connect femininity and pain and menthal illnesses. It's the base for arguiments like "every women is insane/ill"
And... Not seeking help? Why not? To say it's "wrong" is to deny the psychological reality. It's mysogynistic men, or self-hating women, who say women are insane or mentally ill, and they pull that one out of the hat when they fail to control you. But, it is true and PWB nails it that women's experience is framed by the presence or absence of pain. Physical, and even psychological. We live in a still largely-male driven society that is ashamed of women's periods. Its not normal to talk about something every 100% biological female lives with from her teens to her late middle age, during the period where she is judged for her procreative qualities, and ignored and desexualised when they stop. If you're lucky, it's an inconvenience; if not, every month is physical and psychological roller-coaster. 20% of women experience post-natal depression. We live in a male-defining world, and that hurts us, because they are truly ignorant of the enormity of a burden no woman asks for. In discounting that, this normal experience of being female is also being discounted. It comes with the territory, and if given support, validation, and simple love, any woman can come out of that dark side and survive and thrive. Life is a crap shoot, and you've just got to play. So celebrate your wins but, don't discount your losses either. Especially, when those come from things such as fear, ignorance, and desire. I have no desire to be "normal" whatever that is. I just want to be accepted for what I am as nature intended.
@@BigHenFor I meant if my struggles come from simply being a woman (something that comes from nature) and an average woman is not expected to visit a therapist to overcome this pain (that drives me to the edge), than my experience isn't out of ordinary. And no, it's not true that depression is just living a normal life. My trouble with this sentence about pain is that it suggests that femininity makes a person full of pain because of nature. My own mom meant that I should just learn to live without help. I talked about my experience, but I think in general that it's unhealthy to link pain to being a woman. It gives all sorts of wrong ideas
Terrific analysis! After a year of digesting the show, this was a great way to relive and appreciate it even more. This helped solidify it into my top 10 personal favorite shows.
Another you tube channel recommended this show and im so glad they did because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also loved how it got its story across in such short episodes!
Wow! That must have been an interesting 45 minutes for you, I do hope you check out the actual show one of these days but thank you for watching the video :D
Thanks for making SUCH an incredible video analysis of Fleabag- I keep being obsessed with the different interpretations of themes and characters so I’m always searching for more videos and articles, but this is the first that made me cry so I guess thanks for that as well? Seriously though, this is an amazing video and I had no idea I had been watching it for over 40 minutes until it ended... keep up your amazing videos :)
The best analysis and just all around comments on the show. Great selection of scenes and also love the warm way you talk about it, too. Thanks so much!
I only discovered your channel a few days ago and.....wow. You are definitely one of my favourite CZcamsrs already. Your video essays beautifully balance fact, background, in-depth and interesting analysis and your personal views, observations and feelings. I dont think I've ever seen a video essay creator do that as skilfully as you do. This video is so profound, so fascinating and absorbing and personal and yet objective enough to give it real intellectual VALUE. I love it. I love it and I love the way you do these so damn much, I think you're brilliant.
This has been coming up in my recommended for over a month and I've kept putting off watching it. Mostly because it was long and I'd never heard of Fleabag before. But I'm so glad I finally clicked and I'm rushing to watch the show for myself now. You articulated very well so don't beat yourself up for lil' editing issues (trust me, I do the same thing), what's more important is the message you so thoroughly got across.
I decided to start watching this show after seeing you had an essay video on it and so far I've found your observations so wonderful . I fell in love with the story and your analysis just made me love the series even more. Thank you for your wonderful videos, I feel lucky to have found your channel!
Such a beautifully put together essay!! Really made me feel all the things this series so deftly handles all over again. So many incredibly poignant insights. Very excited to check out more of your work!
I'm stuck at the end of season 1, I really want to watch the whole series but the step mother gives me serious anxiety, growing with a less than welcoming step mother it only reminds me of all the small petty things she used to do just to show she was more "important" to my father than me (an actual child at the time)
Your video is a BRILLIANT analysis of an astoundingly written program. You absolutely nailed the many layers of the show and peeled the onion wide open for all of us to breathe in. The way I see it.....when onions are sitting on the shelf, all wrapped in on themselves, they are drab and without flavour. Opened up they bring color, texture, taste, tears and a completion to all they are added to. My deepest compliments to your insightful addition to the Fleabag journey.
This was great. I'd love to venture into video essays but I'm afraid of shitty comments ...but this inspires me! Your narration is thoughtful and you've got a nice voice ha. Would love to see you discuss other British shows!
Thanks so much! So far I haven't received much in the way of terrible comments anyway but there is a block function ive used once or twice. But I do understand the concern. As for talking about other British shows, I probably will at some point. I watch a lot of BBC stuff and I did recently do a video on Doctor Who. Anyways thanks for watching and good luck on your video essays :)
Season 2 *broke* me, dude. I showed my best friend the first episode of series 1 when she came to visit because I love the show so much and she demanded that we watch the entire show. Phoebe-Waller Bridge is now an all-time favorite and I'll adore this perfect, messy, broken, wonderful show forever.
One of the most comprehensive video essay I've come across recently and especially on Fleabag. very well done. Thank you. I specifically loved how you elaborated on breaking the fourth wall and its use here.
Thank you for making this wonderful video,the poignancy of the message of this show has touched everyone who has watched it but no one has made anything so profound as this,I was having a bad day,I watched this video and it made me rethink a lot of things,thank you so so so much and I look forward to looking at more of your content ❤️
I was mid-way through watching Fleabag when I decided to watch this video anyway and I'm really glad I did. I feel like Fleabag is a show that isn't really affected by spoilers and this essay just made me want to watch it more. I binged all of season 2 yesterday and now I feel like I may just spend the rest of my life crying over it. So thank you for that and just expressing so many great ideas. I'm so glad I discovered this channel and can't wait to see what you do next
In the 'breaking the 4th wall' part you missed a show that's a very clear comedic and stylistic influence of Waller-Bridge's... Miranda. It's a BBC Two show that aired in the early 2000s and it's also about an awkward woman in her 30s who's trying to get her life together, co-owns a shop w her best friend, has a horrible posh mother and has no luck dating. Miranda's signature thing was looking to camera whenever she found herself in a cringey situation. Miranda is meant to be a light-hearted comedy though, in addition to the 4th wall breaks Hart is also a fan of slapstick humour. Fleabag is grittier, cynical and R-rated, but take those elements away and they're basically the same show. They're so similar in fact, I'm surprised Waller-Bridge hasn't given credit to Miranda Hart for influencing her. Here's a full breakdown of the similarities between the two: www.digitalspy.com/tv/a806413/10-ways-that-bbc-threes-excellent-fleabag-is-mirandas-evil-twin/ Fleabag also reminds me a bit of Peep Show, another Brithish comedy from the early 2000s, which was funny, cynical and made the viewers feel the horrible cringey situations the characters got themselves into. The camera takes on the character's POV, and the perspective is voiced over so we can also hear what the characters are thinking. Often, whatever they're thinking is in stark contrast to what they do after, and the humour very much comes from this opposition. Like that scene in the theatre where Fleabag assures us she'll ask her sister for money and then tells her everything's fine. Peep Show also pushed boundaries and made the viewers complicit in the character's sex lives, even more so than Fleabag since the camera takes on a POV perspective and uses a lot of closeups. Olivia Colman was also in Peep Show, she plays evil characters v well: czcams.com/video/J_GA7W128AU/video.html
This video had 69 comments before i wrote this one, but as someone who just binged both seasons, i messed that up to show appreciation at how much more you've contextualised and made me love the series even more.Thank you
Great video, I watched the series a few days ago for the first time and dont know how i never heard of it the past years. Its incredible and I cant focus on other things right now. The quote about the need to be seen and the horror of being seen broke me. Like so many others I can identify with Fleabag many times and for me the show is as hilarious as painful and beautiful. I'd even watch an longer essey and (i dont know how the correct word english, maybe you get what i want to say, in german it's "interpretieren":) interpret it minute for minute because it is so rich of details. I like the idea the foxes are bis Bagage, I thought of it as the representation of lust hunting him. In the garden he says to her they look at him like she does. I love how the series breaks with the expectations we as the audience have, its so refreshing and often more realistic. Like the hot misogynist needing reassurance before being able to leave her alone. Hes hot, powerful, excellent in his work, good in bet, a controlling Womanizer and yet when hes rejected he immediately doubts himself 😂 #lowselfesteem. I could talk on for hours and I'm glad I've found your video
I can't wait for Fleabag to get released on dvd for region one. I don't care if it takes a while. Eventually I will get to see the entire two series and knowing me it I will probably cry. From the clips and video highlights that I have been lucky enough to see I know that eventually it will be very special to me when I do get to immerse myself in it. Such a talented cast as even this video made my cry in parts. Thank you for posting this for all of us. Bless you.
This is the first video essay I stumble upon speaking of this brilliant show that is Fleabag. I discovered it a while ago, when series One came out, and I just found it different, gritty but fun, and most of all sincere. I rewatched it along with series Two, and even though I absolutely loved the priest and his interactions with Fleabag, I couldn't pin why I liked this show so much. And well, you helped me figure it out, so thank you. Even though I am a man, I think that this women created series is one of the series that could speak to me the best. And I think I'm not the only one that would want more shows or movies created by women. Hell, if I can, one day I will assist a woman creating her own story. All that to say that I enjoyed your video very much, and I will now go to see other of yours !
I just recently found the show and I fell absolutely in love with it. And another large reason why season 2 hit so hard "for me" had to be that we got to see the internal/external struggle for The Hot Priest. He WANTED her and most importantly wanted to know her; you could see it and feel it in every interaction with her. It just got deeper and deeper and I believe it terrified him as well as made him question himself but never question his faith.
I LOVE THAT SHOW SOOOO MUCH IT'S CRAZY! This girl is whip-smart and wishes more people would see it. Both her shows actually. You laugh to the point of hysteria and the next second, you feel this profound sadness. I have to rewatch it!
Finally got around to watching this. OMG amazing work on this! I'm so blown away by the quality of your work! This show has been on my watch list and I now must watch!
Thank you for doing this. Very well thought out and enjoyed the review of the 4th wall and how it's used in Fleabag. I appreciate the series even more.
oof why am I crying at the end of a video essay. Excellent work, especially your interpretation of the characters' coping mechanisms and the comparison to the perks of being a wallflower!
I cried 3-4 times throughout this video you’ve made. But I lost it when you compared fleabag to perks of being a wallflower. It’s my favorite book/movie and it caught me incredibly off guard that you brought it up. This video was emotional and amazing.
I'm so glad I stumbled across such an eloquent and thoughtful video essay about one of my all time favourite tv shows, I just subscribed and just saw the Russian Doll video and can't wait to watch that next!
I appreciate your intention behind saying things like "*or people who identify as women", but people who identify as women are just women. So saying "women or people who identify as women" is actually redundant. You can just say women in that case :)
Also, uterine/period pain, breast tenderness, and other hormonal or reproductive functions/symptoms can happen in certain people of all/any genders, so it's not at all exclusive to womanhood. The only group of people who do not tend to experience these things are cisgender men or some transgender folks who were assigned male at birth.
I know I'm likely going to get transphobic harassment from some people who see this, and that sucks a lot, but I want to write this comment in hopes that those who are compassionate can learn something they may not have known and perhaps if any other transgender people see this they can feel less misunderstood too. I hope that makes sense.
Thanks for the video essay! I wish you happiness in your life as we all fuck things up beautifully
Thank you for your comment, it has been pointed out to me that while I was attempting to be inclusive, the language was in fact othering and as you say, redundant. It wasn't my intention but unfortunately I can't change it now and just including that asterisk seems to be pissing off a few terfs anyway so if that is any kind of bonus, there you go. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it all to me, and you take care as well.
@@Ladyknightthebrave Ah thank you so much for such a thoughtful and kind reply!! Thank you for being so understanding and for letting me know that others have already made you aware of that small fact. It is also relieving to hear that you are in favour of going against terf ideology in general, and I'm really grateful for that too :') Good luck on any videos you create in future and wishing you all the best!
@@redrooster3420 just pinning this comment because people still want to address this point in the comment section (understandably so) and trans women are women. I hope you are well.
Thanks so much for explaining this! I have learned something!!
I always thought that sounded a bit redundant. "identifying as woman" just sounds like being a woman with extra steps.
My favorite part of this whole show is when clare tells her “the only person I would run through the airport is you”
Amazing. Complicated love between sisters.
I cried
“The we’re not friends, we’re sisters” is the most real shit as someone with a semi awkward relationship with my sister.
Me 2️⃣
Ditto this
"if series 1 was conspiratorial, series 2 was confessional" - beautifully put!
“Where’d you go?” Is one of the best scenes I have ever seen.
STRONGLY AGREE
Close second is when he looks at US and screams "AH!" I actually jumped back when it happened. It was so surprising!
I FELT SO EXPOSED so suddenly! Made the end even more heartbreaking, I felt left behind :(
I also like that scene where she calls Martin a weakly !
bernadette?
I can't believe this show is just about The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known
It is not all, when that's the most important thing in life and for anyone who for years doesn't feel seen, there is nothing more important.
first of all, you made me cry with the last few sentences. Also, the fox being a physical representation of the Priest's emotional baggage and that he can see Fleabag looking at us and she can see his fox, man that was such an amazing analysis. I would never have thought of it as that but it makes so much sense and it makes me even sadder that the two of them met at the wrong time. Imagine if they'd met before he became a priest, they'd be so happy now :')
I really can't take credit for the fox thing, that's straight from a screenrant article by Valerie Clarke which I linked in the sources for this video but I'm glad you liked the video!
I cried as well, great analysis!!!
... I watched this whole show and didn’t realize Fleabag doesn’t have a name...
I didn't realize until I started reading reviews lol
Same here
The thing is no one calls her Fleabag, no one says her name ever
I know I got a few episodes in before I thought about it
I only knew that she didn't have a name because my relative told me about it before even I started watching it
my theory about the names is about emotional distance. claire has a name because throughout, she's closest with fleabag despite their troubles. martin gets one because he's in between them, he's fleabag's antagonist who tries to keep them apart, keep her from the person she's closest with. dad doesn't have a name because to fleabag, that's exactly who he is. no more, no less. he's dad. godmother? it's a title to keep her in the place fleabag wants her. she doesn't get to be called 'stepmother' or similar. she is godmother because fleabag doesn't want her around, doesn't want her to solidify her place in their lives by moving into a role with a name or a title that's closer to family. moving into her mothers spot. boo gets a name because she's why fleabag hurts so dearly, why she struggles so hard. she gets a name so fleabag has a conscience. the priest doesn't get a name because she doesn't let him in all the way. they fall in love, sure, but it's never it for either of them. he loves god, she can't tell him everything. she keeps him at a distance to keep herself safe, scared that if she tells him, she'll lose him, only to lose him all the same. he’s another version of the fleabag character, someone we again can relate to, who we can see struggle and make it through but understand that it is hard and you have to work through it and stumbling doesn’t mean you’ve failed at being who you are. it means you’re finding yourself, and the priest did just that. he fell, he fumbled, he struggled and in the end, he found himself again. and that’s what fleabag did. she went the whole show struggling and not knowing who she was or what she wanted until she got back up.
fleabag herself? she doesn't need a name. she doesn't need one because we're seeing it from her perspective. we see what she wants us to see, never all of it but never too little. fleabag exposed us to her life, counted the audience as her friend, but the priest saw her go somewhere, leave that present moment. because fleabag never looked at a friend, an audience, she looked at herself. fleabag never needed a name because we were her, we knew her name because her name is ours. fleabag didn't name herself because she looked at herself when she talked to the audience and who needs to name themselves in their own mind? but interestingly enough she DOES wear a necklace with the letter 'A' on it...
also fun fact: i'm also named phoebe and phoebe w-b said fleabag is named after a family nickname for her and i used to get called fleabag growing up. i told my sister the other day that i watched fleabag and she went 'that's your name!' and made a terrible name joke about it... phoebe and fleabag apparently go hand in hand and i hate the nickname a sliver less than before this show. gave the show a little more of a relatable feeling for me, too...
your comment is so wonderful, i am speechless
wait but jake and klare ??
A great analogy and I couldn’t have put it better if I tried! I never really bothered to look more into the show than just watching it but now I’ve found out there are theories, it makes it ever the more interesting. Having said that, i think yours is my favourite, it makes sense and in a sense, we are all fleabag (even just a little bit) and it’s so clever making it to be like that 🤔
TheCloisFan this is so brilliantly put! 💗
@@klaudia6057 we are all fleabag in a sense. PREACH
Fun fact: The graffiti at 'their' bus stop says 'Life' in Bulgarian (Животе) but in the vocative case, as in addressing life itself or "O, Life!", which I think ties the whole thing together rather beautifully.
that's something i noticed as well! at first i thought it was russian though, but realized its more probable that its a different Slavic language (in modern Russian its along the lines of "(to the) stomach!"". I remembered that the russian "stomach" used to mean life and pieced the rest together. i don't know it it was done on purpose or not, but it does feel like a beautiful note relating to the story
Same in Serbian as well - and it fits both scenes perfectly!
Thank you so much for sharing this information and insight.
Thanks! so great to be able to know this
O, thank you! I was so puzzled. Like "живо...те?" (mine is russian)
The first time I decided to watch Fleabag, I turned it off after the first few minutes. I thought, "Not another sex-filled story." Not that I am a prude, but it is tiring and annoying to see so much of it in shows and movies because it is far too often exploitative. I cannot remember what made me give it a second chance, but I am so glad that I did. The sex scenes are less "dirty" and more extremely, uncomfortably intimate. The intimacy is not between Fleabag and her partner but rather Fleabag and the viewer. Fleabag is near perfection.
I was surprised how long it took for a thoughtful video essay about fleabag to appear, but this is what i was hoping for. I especially loved what you had to say about the depiction of sisters. Thanks for the work you put into this!
I think the cafe represents Fleabag’s guilt about Bo! After opening up to the guy from the bank about what really happened to Boo, the cafe was able to thrive- as in Fleabag was able to accept it and let go. Before she had opened up, the cafe couldn’t be successful.
I love what you say about the way this show deals with sisterhood. I think intense, positive relationships between women are intimidating to a many male writers. Not only do they not know how to write them, but they don't really GET them, and don't want to mess with the simplistic trope of women always being ready to stab one another in the back. That's an easy trope to go back to - an old reliable.
Might be time to remake Little Women...
There's actually a new adaptation of Little Women coming out this year. Its directed by Greta Gerwig (She did Lady Bird) and it stars Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, and Timothee Chalamet.
I literally cried at the ending of the video with the comparison with the book. I hadn't realise it. I mean, I knew she was like, sort of "breaking up" with us because she knew our journey was finished and that she will be all right, but I didn't picture us, the audience, as a coping mechanism that eventually helped her through and made her feel not all alone. I can't keep my mind off this show. I hate its ending, but because I'm a selfish hopeless romantic that believes that every love story deserves a chance. I really hope she finds somebody again. and I hate that there's not gonna be a series 3 anytime soon. but I'm also glad because that means that she doesn't need the coping mechanism. imma keep crying
Aww, I think this is just how I interpreted the ending(somebody else could read it differently it's that kind of an ending) but I'm a sucker for a bittersweet ending honestly so I like the idea that even if this didn't work out, her next relationship might.
I hope you did actually cry because I need the comfort of knowing I'm not the only one
i want her to have a girlfriend who sees her for herself and soothes her and feels right. for gay reasons
Don’t worry dear I’m fucking sobbing
So I didn't like fleabag when I first watched it because it made me feel too many emotions that I've been trying to escape from for my entire. fucking. life. I hated it for the same reason I hate The Lion King or Up. It just hurt too much to look in a mirror and see my deepest fears and everything I hate about myself reflected back. And yet I watched both seasons, and it stuck with me. It didn't stick with me in a good or bad way really. It was more just something I carried around in my pocket. It was a weekend of sobbing my eyes out and mourning the time I've lost to all the pain I've carried with me throughout my life.
Your essay was like the last puzzle piece. Everything about this show clicked together and made so much more sense that it had when I was processing it alone. I feel some kind of warm catharsis that I don't think I would have reached on my own. Which plays into one of the messages of fleabag, that the relationships we build with those around us make life more meaningful and tolerable, and that makes me giggle to think about. So thank you =)
Also, that thing about the fox being the hot priest's baggage made me cry laugh. AT WORK. So thank you for that too.
Fox represents the trickster. 🦊 I love the idea that anytime the fox shows up, he's testing the priest's piety with earthly delights.
Like the fox is temptation, I like that!
He can only do that because the priest hasn't confronted his own shadow self. You can't exploit what isn't already there.
Perhaps she chose a fox because they are as common in London as red buses.
ok I'll be honest, when I saw it was 48 minutes, I didn't wanna watch it. But because I was bored, I did. And mannnnn... you just articulated all my f*cking feelings about fleabag and a whole lot more and i guess that needed 48 minutes! You nailed it. And made me cry. Thanks.
Me too. Show is about a shallow, selfish, stupid and horribly dishonest (lie, cheat steal, manipulate) and scarily promiscuous (never heard of aids I guess) woman. Boring and depressing. UG.
@@ianwoodall4523 Ian, fuck off
@@kwillow12 Kathy, you too
@@oof-wi7hp lmao
Exactly!
This video has been in my watch later list for a few weeks now, and I am really glad to have finally gotten to it. I've been trying to put my thoughts together about series 2 of Fleabag for awhile now, and this definitely helped put a lot of ideas into focus. Thank you. This is a fantastic breakdown of the show, and I am super excited to see more stuff from you.
Fleabag referencing Boo's rubber quote made me so, so sentimental and I haven't even watched the show.
BEST FUCKING SHOW EVER
Also I love the idea that only Fleabag can see the fox the same way only the Priest can see her coping mechanism of breaking the 4th wall. Great video as always!
God. I remember I read Perks of being a Wallflower my freshman year of high school which was a really stressful and damaging time in my life but it gave me so much comfort to know that the book I was reading wasn't going to end up being a "sad story" although it did make me sad, and that I wouldn't end up that way either. And I got that same feeling now in my twenties (which have been another crazy change filled point in my life) watching Fleabag, knowing that this will end up okay too.
This video was really great!
It'll pass
The Stepmother and Martin were on par with Umbridge. I wanted Fleabag to let me through the screen to throw hands. They were horrible and reminded me of people that have been in my own life. That was the real beauty of the show. Fleabag invited us in by reflecting our own lives back at us.
Kudos for making a nearly hour-long video that doesn't feel its length at all. Subbed.
I love the video. However, I think that when Priest says "It will pass", he was speaking more to himself than her.
I mean it's probably both? Like he literally says it to her in response to her saying she loves him, but also yeah he probably means it for himself too
@@Ladyknightthebrave good point
That moment hurt
I walked into this video saying to myself I wouldn’t watch all 50 minutes.
And yet here we are.
This is an absolutely incredible essay and it beautitifully sums up all the themes that Fleabag touches upon, so thank you very much!
Oh Ladyknightthebrave, where have you been all my CZcams-watching life? This. Essay. Was. Astute, erudite, divine. Thank you for sharing your talented insight and skillful presentation.
Brilliant essay. In the words of Scott Pilgrim, "I feel like I learned something."
The ending made me cry - what a brilliant video essay!
Fleabag is my favourite TV prog of all time, and i've watched loads. Series 2 is the crowning glory. The ending slays me to the point of sobbing every time I watch. What you cover about it caused the same response, bravo. - Simply never seen a better told love story than series 2 of Fleabag, PWB rocks.
So true... Never seen a better love story....
For me, the priest being the only one who can discern when Fleabag slips away to break the 4th wall was absolutely an indicator that he saw her for who she truly is in all ways. And his ability to see her fully is what allows him to love her truly and her to love him back. And the fox is indeed the manifestation of his version of 4th wall breaking, to me. So, after they tell each other they love one another (and he departs) when she sees the fox after he has gone, this is them telling us that she tuly sees him as well. It's the narrative saying, at least in my eyes, these two people belong together - they love one another for who each of them really are - and that's why it's a tragedy.
Fleabag and the priest belong together in the way that those very rare true matches do, yet the difficult path they have each lived to get to this moment have made them incapable of embracing that together. When he says "it'll pass," he's wrong. The fox showing up shows he's wrong. She has seen him for all he is and loves for him that as he does her... and that will never pass. They will never unsee each other and never unlove one another. They will have other experiences in life, but this will never pass away... Fleabag has gone unseen - and therefore unloved in a very real way - by absolutely everyone in her life up until she meets the priest. And I think we are meant to understand the truth is the same for his life. And then they see one another truly and love the other person they see truly. But a life spent being unseen has rendered at least the priest from being unable to risk embracing being seen by a physical other human being and he leans into the safety of feeling seen by an invisible entity instead. And this is the tragedy... you can live a life waiting to be seen and loved for who you are and, when it happens, one or both of you can still be unready to embrace that love and walk away from it, abandoning the thing you were hungering for all your life once it finally shows up.
This is my read on the story and it's why I love the show, the pain of the show, because it rings true. Fiction tells us that when true love shows up, mountains will be moved and that love will stay once it has arrived. But reality is that as rare as true love is, it is even rarer that all parties embrace it when it arrives. And this show, to me, owns that truth and the pain of that is so real and so true to life that it makes me feel seen by the show and show makers when it happens. Its profound. It is, to me, the show makers telling us they see us in return. We have seen Fleabag, the priest has seen her and she has seen him in return, and the creators of the show have seen us and our pain. It is an act of loving us in how the show breaks our 4th wall by its completion.
It's devastating and sublime and totally unique.
I legitimately saw this review in my feed and immediately went to watch the entire series of Fleabag just to watch the review. 100% worth it! Thank you for the recommendation and the amazing content, seriously, it’s an event for me to watch your videos
God damn, you have earned a subscription from me. If I could somehow do that a million times, I would. I've never seen Fleabag, and considered it a couple times, but never took that jump. I'm just a random, 24 year old guy, but bloody hell you made me ball my eyes out with your interpretations and descriptions of the story, and meanings of things said and shown, and whatever other buzzword I could spurt out. This review genuinely made me try to think harder about what it's like to be a woman in this day and age, especially even throughout history in the past, and for the consideration of my girlfriend too. I just made up a big letter of a bunch of stuff I should have already said to my girlfriend, and double noted it because I'm gonna repeat bits and pieces to her on our wedding day. Can I just say really, thank you. I'm about to press that subscribe button, wipe my eyes off with some tissue, and repeat to my girlfriend that I promise I am not a big baby, it was all this cool reviewer on CZcamss fault, haha. Absolutely fucking brilliant review, you smashed it.
I've never really watched video essays but I adore Fleabag so much I couldn't pass this up. Your reading of the show is so insightful and deep. You picked concepts and read into moments I never would have thought of. This is an excellent summary of what Fleabag is and what it stands for. Thank you
I love that you loved it enough to research every character thoroughly and speak about for 48 freaking minutes not worried about being perfect. (heart emoji)
And you love The Perks of Being a Wallflower...This video is poetry
"..and now we, all we Fleabags in the world have been given a little encouragement to go out into the world and fuck it up beautifully, just like she does"
ah dammit just watching this made me cry over Fleabag again
Soooo, I just watched a 48 minute video on a show I've never even heard of, let alone watched. It was glorious!
I really recommend you to watch it (though i really often do the same and watch anlysis of stuff i never watched and then i can comment but i always have to specifiy that i actually didnt see it)
Fleabag is the best use of the fourth wall I have seen since the 1990's BBC House of Cards, which is impeccable.
Your video is absolutely astounding. Well edited, performed, and argued. A hell of a thing. Thank you for putting it out. Totally made me want to fall in love with this work.
This was a brilliant summery and interpretation of a show I have had such trouble talking about. Not for lack of material, but because you have to have seen it to really understand and appreciate all the weird, absurd, vulgar, hilarious, heartbreaking nuances. Thanks for this video - you did a fantastic job!
This is a sad story. I ended up crying each episode. It was too raw.
I thought when I was finally able to watch this series and thinking about then being able to watch your video that finally there’s a video of yours that wouldn’t make me cry. And then I finished series two.
It's not a gerbil themed cafe! That title killed me, it's a Guinea Pig themed cafe. Fantastic essay though, it explores the show's themes well. Such a masterpiece of television. Season one is great but season two is phenomenal. Glad to find someone else who appreciates the acting talents of Andrew Scott.
Whoops that's a major typo. I made a few of them
I thought she ran a café for guinea pigs..
So, I saw the first season of Fleabag forever ago, many years ago at this point. I remember bingeing the entire first season (series?) in one night and absolutely sobbing when it ended. It was an emotionally harrowing show for me. And I remember trying to watch the second season and going "I can't do this." I've never watched it to this day. I used to watch and re-watch your video essays regularly, they're the reason I watched Hill House and Bly Manor, but I've been holding out on a few of them lately because I know I would really enjoy the piece of media that they're about, and I've been trying to actually watch/read/etc the thing before engaging in analysis of it. But I'm really glad this video exists, because I'm not sure I am ever going to go back to watch s2 of Fleabag.
I love that you talked about the music on the show it was so on point in terms of what was happening in her life and in her head... Great review
The intelligence, love and care in this video is incredible. Lots of love :)
My mom said to me that every woman in the world wanted to kill herself at least once in her lifetime. She said so when I was 16 and had suicidal thoughts. I believed her for a long time and it was an unhealthy thought. It is wrong, it gives you the idea that that's life how it should be, that you can't change that. I didn't seek help I needed.
I hear the echo of this words in the bit about women's pain. It might be comforting for a while but it's dangerous to think that way.
I find it wrong to connect femininity and pain and menthal illnesses. It's the base for arguiments like "every women is insane/ill"
And... Not seeking help? Why not? To say it's "wrong" is to deny the psychological reality. It's mysogynistic men, or self-hating women, who say women are insane or mentally ill, and they pull that one out of the hat when they fail to control you. But, it is true and PWB nails it that women's experience is framed by the presence or absence of pain. Physical, and even psychological. We live in a still largely-male driven society that is ashamed of women's periods. Its not normal to talk about something every 100% biological female lives with from her teens to her late middle age, during the period where she is judged for her procreative qualities, and ignored and desexualised when they stop. If you're lucky, it's an inconvenience; if not, every month is physical and psychological roller-coaster. 20% of women experience post-natal depression. We live in a male-defining world, and that hurts us, because they are truly ignorant of the enormity of a burden no woman asks for. In discounting that, this normal experience of being female is also being discounted. It comes with the territory, and if given support, validation, and simple love, any woman can come out of that dark side and survive and thrive. Life is a crap shoot, and you've just got to play. So celebrate your wins but, don't discount your losses either. Especially, when those come from things such as fear, ignorance, and desire. I have no desire to be "normal" whatever that is. I just want to be accepted for what I am as nature intended.
@@BigHenFor I meant if my struggles come from simply being a woman (something that comes from nature) and an average woman is not expected to visit a therapist to overcome this pain (that drives me to the edge), than my experience isn't out of ordinary. And no, it's not true that depression is just living a normal life. My trouble with this sentence about pain is that it suggests that femininity makes a person full of pain because of nature. My own mom meant that I should just learn to live without help.
I talked about my experience, but I think in general that it's unhealthy to link pain to being a woman. It gives all sorts of wrong ideas
Terrific analysis! After a year of digesting the show, this was a great way to relive and appreciate it even more. This helped solidify it into my top 10 personal favorite shows.
I would love a series 3 in like 20 years. An older Fleabag dealing with a family catastrophe, maybe her father dying.
Another you tube channel recommended this show and im so glad they did because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also loved how it got its story across in such short episodes!
why am i sobbing over a show ive never seen
Same.
I’ve never seen this show but I watched this lol and I’m crying
Wow! That must have been an interesting 45 minutes for you, I do hope you check out the actual show one of these days but thank you for watching the video :D
Ladyknightthebrave I’m planning on watching it soon!
Same :)
This show is tremendous, and I loved the entire video. Your POV is inquisitive and simultaneously so clear. Thanks for the great video!
Thanks for making SUCH an incredible video analysis of Fleabag- I keep being obsessed with the different interpretations of themes and characters so I’m always searching for more videos and articles, but this is the first that made me cry so I guess thanks for that as well?
Seriously though, this is an amazing video and I had no idea I had been watching it for over 40 minutes until it ended... keep up your amazing videos :)
can you stop making me cry with your essays?? But seriously, thank you for your incredibly well-crafted, emotionally enriching work
The best analysis and just all around comments on the show. Great selection of scenes and also love the warm way you talk about it, too. Thanks so much!
I only discovered your channel a few days ago and.....wow. You are definitely one of my favourite CZcamsrs already. Your video essays beautifully balance fact, background, in-depth and interesting analysis and your personal views, observations and feelings. I dont think I've ever seen a video essay creator do that as skilfully as you do. This video is so profound, so fascinating and absorbing and personal and yet objective enough to give it real intellectual VALUE. I love it. I love it and I love the way you do these so damn much, I think you're brilliant.
Your essays have such an ability to make me bawl in tears over series I havent watched, they are so catarthic and sensible thank you
This has been coming up in my recommended for over a month and I've kept putting off watching it. Mostly because it was long and I'd never heard of Fleabag before. But I'm so glad I finally clicked and I'm rushing to watch the show for myself now. You articulated very well so don't beat yourself up for lil' editing issues (trust me, I do the same thing), what's more important is the message you so thoroughly got across.
I decided to start watching this show after seeing you had an essay video on it and so far I've found your observations so wonderful . I fell in love with the story and your analysis just made me love the series even more. Thank you for your wonderful videos, I feel lucky to have found your channel!
Such a beautifully put together essay!! Really made me feel all the things this series so deftly handles all over again. So many incredibly poignant insights. Very excited to check out more of your work!
by far one of the best video essays on fleabag on youtube, definitely deserves more love and appreciation!
I'm stuck at the end of season 1, I really want to watch the whole series but the step mother gives me serious anxiety, growing with a less than welcoming step mother it only reminds me of all the small petty things she used to do just to show she was more "important" to my father than me (an actual child at the time)
Your video is a BRILLIANT analysis of an astoundingly written program. You absolutely nailed the many layers of the show and peeled the onion wide open for all of us to breathe in.
The way I see it.....when onions are sitting on the shelf, all wrapped in on themselves, they are drab and without flavour. Opened up they bring color, texture, taste, tears and a completion to all they are added to.
My deepest compliments to your insightful addition to the Fleabag journey.
This was great. I'd love to venture into video essays but I'm afraid of shitty comments ...but this inspires me!
Your narration is thoughtful and you've got a nice voice ha.
Would love to see you discuss other British shows!
Thanks so much! So far I haven't received much in the way of terrible comments anyway but there is a block function ive used once or twice. But I do understand the concern. As for talking about other British shows, I probably will at some point. I watch a lot of BBC stuff and I did recently do a video on Doctor Who. Anyways thanks for watching and good luck on your video essays :)
Season 2 *broke* me, dude. I showed my best friend the first episode of series 1 when she came to visit because I love the show so much and she demanded that we watch the entire show. Phoebe-Waller Bridge is now an all-time favorite and I'll adore this perfect, messy, broken, wonderful show forever.
One of the most comprehensive video essay I've come across recently and especially on Fleabag. very well done. Thank you. I specifically loved how you elaborated on breaking the fourth wall and its use here.
Damn Ladyknightthebrave this one fine video essay. Wonderful.
Thank you for making this wonderful video,the poignancy of the message of this show has touched everyone who has watched it but no one has made anything so profound as this,I was having a bad day,I watched this video and it made me rethink a lot of things,thank you so so so much and I look forward to looking at more of your content ❤️
Season 2 of fleabag is one of the most amazing things I’ve EVER seen. I’m so happy she decided to make it.
Your essay is so gentle and makes me cry. Thank you for doing this and thanks to Phoebe wrote this amazing series.
I'm a big fan of gentle so thank you , that means a lot.
I saw your video and it moved me to tears. Yesterday I finally binged both seasons of Fleabag. Lovely video, lovely series!
I watched this video 3 times now and every time I just think how Fleabag is a perfect show and so perfect for me, it's absolutely what I need
I was mid-way through watching Fleabag when I decided to watch this video anyway and I'm really glad I did. I feel like Fleabag is a show that isn't really affected by spoilers and this essay just made me want to watch it more. I binged all of season 2 yesterday and now I feel like I may just spend the rest of my life crying over it. So thank you for that and just expressing so many great ideas. I'm so glad I discovered this channel and can't wait to see what you do next
this is so beautifully and carefully analyzed, what a joy to watch!!!
In the 'breaking the 4th wall' part you missed a show that's a very clear comedic and stylistic influence of Waller-Bridge's... Miranda. It's a BBC Two show that aired in the early 2000s and it's also about an awkward woman in her 30s who's trying to get her life together, co-owns a shop w her best friend, has a horrible posh mother and has no luck dating. Miranda's signature thing was looking to camera whenever she found herself in a cringey situation. Miranda is meant to be a light-hearted comedy though, in addition to the 4th wall breaks Hart is also a fan of slapstick humour. Fleabag is grittier, cynical and R-rated, but take those elements away and they're basically the same show. They're so similar in fact, I'm surprised Waller-Bridge hasn't given credit to Miranda Hart for influencing her. Here's a full breakdown of the similarities between the two: www.digitalspy.com/tv/a806413/10-ways-that-bbc-threes-excellent-fleabag-is-mirandas-evil-twin/
Fleabag also reminds me a bit of Peep Show, another Brithish comedy from the early 2000s, which was funny, cynical and made the viewers feel the horrible cringey situations the characters got themselves into. The camera takes on the character's POV, and the perspective is voiced over so we can also hear what the characters are thinking. Often, whatever they're thinking is in stark contrast to what they do after, and the humour very much comes from this opposition. Like that scene in the theatre where Fleabag assures us she'll ask her sister for money and then tells her everything's fine. Peep Show also pushed boundaries and made the viewers complicit in the character's sex lives, even more so than Fleabag since the camera takes on a POV perspective and uses a lot of closeups. Olivia Colman was also in Peep Show, she plays evil characters v well: czcams.com/video/J_GA7W128AU/video.html
This video had 69 comments before i wrote this one, but as someone who just binged both seasons, i messed that up to show appreciation at how much more you've contextualised and made me love the series even more.Thank you
I should give this show a shot if just a summary of it makes me cry with catharsis. Great video!
“It’ll pass…” are the two most devastating words…💔😭
Great video, I watched the series a few days ago for the first time and dont know how i never heard of it the past years. Its incredible and I cant focus on other things right now. The quote about the need to be seen and the horror of being seen broke me. Like so many others I can identify with Fleabag many times and for me the show is as hilarious as painful and beautiful. I'd even watch an longer essey and (i dont know how the correct word english, maybe you get what i want to say, in german it's "interpretieren":) interpret it minute for minute because it is so rich of details. I like the idea the foxes are bis Bagage, I thought of it as the representation of lust hunting him. In the garden he says to her they look at him like she does. I love how the series breaks with the expectations we as the audience have, its so refreshing and often more realistic. Like the hot misogynist needing reassurance before being able to leave her alone. Hes hot, powerful, excellent in his work, good in bet, a controlling Womanizer and yet when hes rejected he immediately doubts himself 😂 #lowselfesteem. I could talk on for hours and I'm glad I've found your video
I can't wait for Fleabag to get released on dvd for region one. I don't care if it takes a while. Eventually I will get to see the entire two series and knowing me it I will probably cry. From the clips and video highlights that I have been lucky enough to see I know that eventually it will be very special to me when I do get to immerse myself in it.
Such a talented cast as even this video made my cry in parts. Thank you for posting this for all of us. Bless you.
This is the first video essay I stumble upon speaking of this brilliant show that is Fleabag. I discovered it a while ago, when series One came out, and I just found it different, gritty but fun, and most of all sincere. I rewatched it along with series Two, and even though I absolutely loved the priest and his interactions with Fleabag, I couldn't pin why I liked this show so much. And well, you helped me figure it out, so thank you.
Even though I am a man, I think that this women created series is one of the series that could speak to me the best. And I think I'm not the only one that would want more shows or movies created by women. Hell, if I can, one day I will assist a woman creating her own story.
All that to say that I enjoyed your video very much, and I will now go to see other of yours !
I just recently found the show and I fell absolutely in love with it. And another large reason why season 2 hit so hard "for me" had to be that we got to see the internal/external struggle for The Hot Priest. He WANTED her and most importantly wanted to know her; you could see it and feel it in every interaction with her. It just got deeper and deeper and I believe it terrified him as well as made him question himself but never question his faith.
I LOVE THAT SHOW SOOOO MUCH IT'S CRAZY! This girl is whip-smart and wishes more people would see it. Both her shows actually. You laugh to the point of hysteria and the next second, you feel this profound sadness. I have to rewatch it!
Had to pause the video midway through and wait a week until I had time to watch season 2, and I'm so happy I did! Great essay, thank you.
This was very well done. Thanks for the lovely experience!
Finally got around to watching this. OMG amazing work on this! I'm so blown away by the quality of your work! This show has been on my watch list and I now must watch!
Glad you enjoyed it! And definitely watch Fleabag :)
I loved this show, it felt like something I needed. And this was such a great essay.
Thank you for doing this. Very well thought out and enjoyed the review of the 4th wall and how it's used in Fleabag. I appreciate the series even more.
oof why am I crying at the end of a video essay. Excellent work, especially your interpretation of the characters' coping mechanisms and the comparison to the perks of being a wallflower!
This was SO good!
It’s astonishing that your videos don’t have millions of views. But, I bet they will one day.
I cried 3-4 times throughout this video you’ve made. But I lost it when you compared fleabag to perks of being a wallflower. It’s my favorite book/movie and it caught me incredibly off guard that you brought it up. This video was emotional and amazing.
I'm so glad I stumbled across such an eloquent and thoughtful video essay about one of my all time favourite tv shows, I just subscribed and just saw the Russian Doll video and can't wait to watch that next!
Now *this* is a great analysis of Fleabag. Thanks for the work you put in! I can't believe you don't have more subs!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful, insightful analysis and editing in this video
really fantastic video, came across this by chance and it put into words many things I already felt about the series
lovely work!
I needed this on so many levels. Thank you for composing this.
I love love love this video, very well narrated, loved that you explored the themes, you made me love the show even more.
Thank you