{"id":28172,"date":"2020-02-13T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=28172"},"modified":"2020-02-13T17:26:32","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T22:26:32","slug":"ode-to-fleabag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/entertainment\/2020\/02\/13\/ode-to-fleabag\/","title":{"rendered":"Ode to Fleabag"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sincerely, the words escaped from her lips and suspended like cigarette smoke in the chilly night air. \u201cI love you,\u201d she confessed. She had not been accustomed to such vulnerability. Amidst the gentle hum of evening London traffic, a profound silence pervaded throughout the idle bus stop, complete with graffiti and assorted litter. He directed his eyes onto her hands, which he then took into his. She observed his fingers as they entwined with his and she returned his gaze. With hushed tone, sweetly and reassuringly, he replied, \u201cIt\u2019ll pass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Her smile slowly erodes, giving way to a biting pain that she painfully constrains.  \u201cThis bus isn\u2019t magically coming.\u201d \u201cI think I\u2019ll walk,\u201d he chuckles, rising from the wooden bench. Yet, before leaving, he turns to her, inquiring, \u201cI\u2019ll see you on Sunday?\u201d She politely laughs. He continues, \u201cJust kidding you are never ever allowed in my church again.\u201d She nodded her head, non-verbally expressing, \u201cMakes sense.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Irish accent tinged his words as he spoke. \u201cI love you too.\u201d She winced. He then departed into the night; a black silhouette painted against the yellow street light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Possibly the last time we will see the titular character, Fleabag? (Source: Youtube\/Fleabag, the titular character, appearing in what is possibly her final scene. (Source: Youtube\/EDGAR RENT\u00d8N)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On May 17, 2019, the second and possibly final season of \u201cFleabag\u201d was released on Amazon Prime Video, marking the program\u2019s comeback after a three-year absence. Adapted from the original, one-woman play of the same name, \u201cFleabag\u201d has garnered much praise from critics and audiences alike, achieving a Certified Fresh<\/a> on Rotten Tomatoes and earning an array of awards<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by and starring the multi-talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge, \u201cFleabag\u201d follows a deeply conflicted woman, known only as Fleabag, as she navigates her turbulent life. Shortly following the loss of her mother to breast cancer, Fleabag\u2019s widowed father takes up with her godmother, a duplicitous woman with a flair for the eccentric as portrayed by Olivia Colman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audiences may recognize Colman as Queen Elizabeth II from the Netflix hit series, \u201cThe Crown\u201d or, for her Oscar-winning performance as Queen Anne in \u201cThe Favourite.\u201d Colman\u2019s character is noted for being passive-aggressive, a bit temperamental and often belittles Fleabag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take Season One, Episode Six where Fleabag reluctantly attends her Godmother\u2019s \u201cSex-ibition\u201d\u2014an odd assortment of sex-themed pieces\u2014to find that she was invited not as a guest but instead a server. Colman presents Fleabag with a tray of champagne, adorns a \u201cHappy to serve\u201d sticker on Fleabag\u2019s chest before obtaining a glass and stating, \u201cYou\u2019re a natural!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Described as \u201cuptight, beautiful and probably anorexic,\u201d Fleabag\u2019s sister Claire, portrayed by the wonderful Sian Clifford, is a successful woman who will grit her teeth and disregard her own happiness to maintain the peace. Alike Fleabag, Claire often rejects help, though she desperately needs it. She is married to the (questionably) American Martin, a manipulative man who may well possibly be the living denotation of \u201cabhorrent.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first season, Fleabag introduces Martin to the audience as someone that will somehow always make inappropriate and offensive jokes, regardless of the occasion, then proceed to blame you for being \u201ctoo touchy\u201d or simply tell you to \u201clighten up.\u201d Martin consumes copious quantities of alcohol and pornography, shows very little affection towards Claire and lest we forget Weird Jake, Martin\u2019s son from another marriage that has a creepy fascination with Claire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Season Two, Episode Six, Martin defends himself, stating, \u201cI am not a bad guy! I just have a bad personality. It is not my fault! Some people are born with f***** personalities! Look at Jake! He is so creepy, it\u2019s not his fault! Why the bassoon?! You want to know what the bassoon is? It\u2019s a cry for help!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she diligently tries to heal her family, Fleabag struggles to heal herself through a medley of sex and cigarettes. Following her mother\u2019s passing, Boo, Fleabag\u2019s best friend and co-founder of a guinea pig caf\u00e9, committed suicide. Fleabag is riddled with guilt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brazen jazz music to metal, Gregorian chanting, and breaking the fourth wall. (I mean, c\u2019mon, what else is there not to love!) Through Fleabag\u2019s clever usage of aside, we gain not only important insight into a situation but develop comradery with her. The relationship is comparable to a best friend elbowing you from beneath the table. These asides serve as a catharsis for Fleabag, a private sanctuary of sorts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n