The recent show She-Hulk: Lawyer has been noticeable for bringing epic fourth wall breaks in the Marvel universe. This meta-device has been used for over a century, from when playwright Bertolt Brecht innovated theater and perhaps before, but has rarely been perfected. Ironically, perhaps the most recent example of a perfect use of fourth wall breaks is a somewhat similar show as She-Hulkfollowing a woman who tries to discover herself as she navigates her career, desires, relationships and family.
The Incredible British Comedy Series flea bag came to an end in early 2019, and years after its closure, fans continue to rave about the show, which is based on Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman play for the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe of the same name. flea bag is one of the best-written television series of all time, with fantastic performances and an irresistibly charming personality in its titular character.
Fleabag, an energetic, snoring woman in her thirties living in London, struggles to keep her life together. To be honest, she’s a bit of a mess. She struggles to maintain her relationships with her peers. Although she is a free spirit, Fleabag suffers from an inability to move herself (and her life) to a position she is proud of. She constantly runs away from her problems by relying on alcohol and sexual encounters.
Updated October 22, 2022: If you’re a new viewer or an outspoken fan, you’ll be happy to hear that we’ve updated this article about the great show flea bag with extra content and even better quality.
in 2020, flea bag was the winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series and Best Actress for Phoebe Waller Bridge. Waller-Bridge also received the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in the first season, and Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress for the second season. Here are six reasons why: flea bag is one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
6/6 Fleabag is comedy at its best
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They say humor is still used to face your misery and laugh. We will, flea bag is not just a comedy, it is a tragicomedy full of dark humor. flea bag deals with real human problems, such as infidelity and human insecurities, but presents them in a way for laughter in a fictional setting.
flea bag has no filter. It’s sarcastic, it’s awkward, it’s dark. It offers a unique kind of humor not often found in other shows. Once you meet Fleabag’s character, you immediately know what kind of show this is going to be. The series has an impressive rating from 100% from critics and an average audience of 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
5/6 Fleabag’s Secret and Fourth Wall Breaks
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character Fleabag communicates directly with whoever is watching the show. This technique is part of what Brecht called Paint effect, a distance effect used to engage the audience while alienating it from complacency. Rather than just being a fun trick (as it has so often been reduced to), flea bag uses the technique brilliantly to portray the protagonist’s secrets (including a death she feels responsible for and a trauma she still has) and the way she feels unable to talk to anyone about them to communicate.
The technique actually evolves throughout the series as well. Once the public knows Fleabag’s secret, her relationship with them turns into the fourth wall. She is more subtle and guarded, and the public suffers from the fate of everyone she is close to – pushed away by her fear of vulnerability. Part of what’s great about her relationship with the priest in the second season is that he really notices when she speaks to the audience; he sees her retreat and cares. It’s a really clever way to use distance techniques that have become so dull and boring in so many other shows.
4/6 Fleabag offers an honest love story
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Season two opens with the line, “This is a love story.” Yes, flea bag is a love story. But it’s not a fairytale love story. flea bag is rough, messy, chaotic and hectic. It understands the complexity of people and the relationships they have with each other. flea bag does have its main character falling for another person, but ultimately focuses on Fleabag’s relationship with her own self. The concept of a cheap message about loving yourself may inspire some to roll their eyes, but flea bag is a series that delivers and tells a story with that theme incredibly effectively. Thanks to Waller-Bridge’s outstanding writing and acting, the relationships in flea bag feel authentic.
An individual’s relationship with themselves has a significant impact on their behavior toward others and their relationships with others. While it may seem logical, it is something that many have yet to think about. flea bag tells the story of a journey of personal growth, one that the titular character goes through during the show’s two hilarious seasons. As Waller-Bridge tells The Hollywood Reporter:
I so wanted to see a story about love and connection and not just about romantic love, but about people really reaching out and catching each other. I feel like there’s not a lot of evidence right now that that’s happening in the real world.
3/6 Fleabag is one of the most unique main characters on TV
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Her real name is never revealed and she is just known and called ‘Fleabag’. The series is about her, and at its core it is a simple story of a lost soul who finds herself. Waller-Bridge describes Fleabag’s arc as a transition from a person lacking self-esteem to a more mature woman who allows herself to love herself—and, by extension, love others. That’s what she tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“She made the biggest journey of the past two seasons, and she started out as someone who kind of hated herself and ended up as someone who believed she could love again and forgive herself. I have to respect that bow and let her go and live for a little bit.”
2/6 Fleabag explores grief in a refreshingly honest way
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Fleabag experiences a great loss in her life. She loses some of the people closest to her and feels responsible for that loss, resulting in her aforementioned secrets. The guilt she feels, combined with her inability to process her guilt and cope with her problems, creates a lot of trouble for Fleabag. She clings to anything and everyone she can use to distract herself from the problems ahead. She may be funny, but Fleabag hides from the emptiness she claims to feel herself. The portrayal of mental health problems in flea bag is refreshingly honest, but also comments on the importance of therapy.
1/6 Phoebe Waller-Bridge stays with her welcome
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Unlike other television programs that are past their prime, flea bag is a series that is always great from start to finish. When a show becomes popular, it is not uncommon for it to be renewed for as many seasons as possible. For example, The living Dead has lasted eleven seasons despite declining viewership and ratings, and losing most of its core cast, including Rick Grimes. Another example is the strangely endless Grey’s Anatomy, now in season 19. flea bag on the other hand, is only two seasons long, bringing the number of episodes to just twelve episodes.
Viewers can be overwhelmed by all their options on a myriad of streaming services. They may be hesitant to invest their time in another series. But with flea bag, viewers can rest assured that they will be able to finish the entire series after watching 12 episodes and then continue their lives, a life that will be even more enriched (even if only briefly) by this show. Some viewers will even end flea bag in a single session. Becausethe show is already over, you don’t have to worry about a series finale affecting the enjoyable viewing experience for it – the ending is perfect.