Welcome back to Fleabag where our eponymous lead has us all fancying the clergy; how will she sort this out? I wonder if this is about a sexually-based atonement, which would be…on brand for Flea, but let’s keep watching and find out. Rolling S2:E03 after the break!
Fleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) has been contracted by her sister Claire (Sian Clifford) to provide canapes for a business meeting; it comes with all sorts of pre-admonishments, of the type I used to give myself! “Don’t be awkward, DON’T BE FUNNY, let other people talk!!” Most importantly
Fleabag makes it clear she understands by farting in the elevator.
Claire is in her element, she thrives on crisis and has the biggest office I’ve ever seen. Flea trashes it immediately.
She rushes off to find what must be a very small replacement, returning sweating (but just on one side) to meet Sylvia (Nicola Alexis) but is directed to never say hi to Belinda (KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS!! What is she doing on TV?? She was magnificent in The Party and of course every other English thing), immediately before Claire smilingly greets her.
Ooh then onto kiss-on-the-mouth Klare (Christian Hillborg) who is probably hard to look at directly in person. 15 years of vegetarianism blown by Flea’s sausages that look like prunes.
(I don’t think sausages look all that much like prunes? Were they piped?)
They’re so banging.
Flea when she hears his name
This is an awards ceremony (that was the award that Flea broke above), unfortunately Flea also neglected to mention the crab in her canapes to award presenter Sylvia with the shellfish allergy.
Claire stumbles through the introduction, Belinda wins! To the chagrin of the woman who shouts “FUCK SAKES” right behind her.
The award is not the glass whatsit, but rather the bronze statue Flea and her sister stole from Godmother (Olivia Colman. I mean. OLIVIA COLMAN). It’s really just a pair of breasts.
Flea is dispatched by Claire to retrieve the stolen art, ending up in the pub drinking martinis with Belinda.
Belinda’s not impressed with her “ghettoizing” award, calling it the Children’s Table of awards, which is an interesting viewpoint. She’s a lesbian, possibly interested in our Flea and a breath of fresh air after the oppressive nervy perfection of Claire.
She’s not done expressing herself, besides strong opinions about gendered awards, she has a whole philosophy about women. We are born in pain but men aren’t so they seek it out and – you should really watch that part if you’re into feminist theory (and I know you are!) but essentially: menopause is freedom.
**I love Kristin Scott Thomas
She doesn’t want to go back to the party, it’s boring and there’s no flirting there! There’s nothing more exciting than a room full of people, anything could happen!
I agree! There’s something so lovely about a caught eye and an involuntary smile that makes the whole world seem a little brighter and warmer.
All things being Flea, she kisses Belinda, then again and is gently rebuffed by the Best Woman in Business who can’t be arsed. She commands Flea to go back to the party and flirt, which contradicts literally everything else she has said.
Claire is suspiciously smiley and friendly, right until she blows up over stealing Flea’s joke. She resents Flea so much, if it wasn’t done so well you’d never understand the bile between sisters.
Flea heads over to see my other favourite new cast addition, Sweary Priest (Andrew Scott) who’s asleep but game for some canned G&Ts and a desperate parishioner.
Some rousing Bible talk and a couple of G&Ts later, they head outside to continue their theological discussion in the night air. Should she convert to Catholicism?
An absolutely hilariously distracting manic episode about foxes has us looking at Sweary a little differently; but we’re still in this to win it.
They’re on to celibacy, which Sweary calls “a lot less complicated than romantic relationships.” and Yeah. Suddenly we’re real.
He would really like to be her friend, though.
HE NOTICES THE FOURTH WALL
What???? Nobody’s supposed to do that, it’s how Flea maintains her distance from what’s happening, her snarky asides to keep her aloof and separate from the machinations and humanity of the people around her. This is a very dangerous person, Sweary actually SEES her. This mad sexual energy plus the awareness of her whole being?
And we’re out.
