Arguably, I am the most important character in Fleabag
The fourth wall was decimated.
Finally! The hot priest showed up. About time!
Fleabag eventually tickled. It tickled!! I watched all 12 episodes over two rainy days. The last episode left me itching for more, but I have no way to contact Phoebe Waller-Bridge, so I’ll just have to live with this ending.
Fleabag is about a 33-year-old woman who is, honestly, just trying her best. She is incredibly witty, fluent in her sexuality, and a bit of a loner. Her best friend seems to be her sister, which is strange because they have such a tense relationship. The element that elevates this show to Emmy-level is the consistent fourth wall breaks. Fleabag is telling the audience a story. She is taking us through this year (or so) of her life.
I believe this is a coping mechanism for her. The entire first season, Fleabag is riddled with guilt from the death of her best friend. She is additionally grieving the loss of her mother. This is where the show begins, possibly where Fleabag begins to imagine this camera watching her life.
Fleabag tells the camera everything, as though the camera serves as a live-action diary. It’s her internal dialogue, but physicalized so we can know exactly what she is thinking, even in fleeting moments. The quickest flash of a facial expression allows for insight into Fleabag’s thoughts and feelings on events. Fleabag (I guess more Waller-Bridge) has this awesome skill where she can turn her head behind her shoulder. Maybe everyone else can do that. I don’t know. I just know I can’t.
Then, the priest arrives in season two. The tone of the show changes. The humor is the same, don’t worry, but the overall theme has a different arch. The show is no longer about guilt, really. It’s about love.
Fleabag seems stronger than she was in season one, this is where the hot priest comes in. He is the only person who can see her break the fourth wall. The hot priest also breaks, nay shatters, the fourth wall. It’s honestly so alarming the first time he does it. We (the audience) are Fleabag’s secret oasis. The priest’s wall-break exposes us – and Fleabag. Now the audience is not only Fleabag’s, but also the priest’s. The priest hacked into Fleabag’s mind and stole the audience.
It’s anti-climatic here, but this was the jump scare of a century for me:
This is why I believe the camera/audience (me) is the most important character for Fleabag. It’s the entire reason why the show begins (and ultimately ends) in the first place. Fleabag needs a way to grieve her best friend while juggling the emotions that come from interacting with her mildly estranged family. How better to cope than to crack jokes and spew information to an invisible audience? However, the priest changes, possibly even heals, her. He sees her for who she is, even under all the layers of protection she’s put up.
In the final scene of the series, Fleabag motions to the camera to stop following her, and she walks away, effectively reclaiming her autonomy and ending the show. I believe she does this because of the hot priest. I mean, he broke the fourth wall!! That is crazy. The two share a soulmate connection and without him, can she still be the character of Fleabag? I don’t think so. We will not get another season because Fleabag will not get a life with the hot priest. I guess I can live with that, for now.