“The perfect show doesn’t exis—” Wrong:Fleabagis currently available for streaming onPrime Video, and it features some of the best dialogue ever seen on a TV show. Perpetually praised and critically acclaimed (with a wide list of award wins and nominations, from the Emmys to the Golden Globes),Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s top-notch comedy-drama series also delivers distinguishing cinematography and remarkable editing.
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All in all, the one thing not to love aboutFleabagispossibly its short runtime— even so, there is no doubt that the hilarious show has captured (and carries on capturing) a lot of people’s attention with its flawless storytelling and oddly relatable characters. To celebrate Waller-Bridge’s masterpiece, we have decided to look back on some of the most iconic scenes in the show that brings many a good deal of comfort.
The Perfect Body
Season one’s pilot was highly entertaining: It gave the viewer a clear idea of what to expect from the series through a sneak-peak into the narrator’s life. Of course, this includes other characters such as Fleabag’s sister Claire played bySian Clifford. One of the funniest scenes features both sisters and sums them up in a nutshell.
“Please raise your hands,” the speaker says, “if you would trade five years of your life for the so-called perfect body.” It’s not hard to guess who are the only two people in the room to do so.
An Odd Coincidence
During a casual conversation between the two characters at the Priest’s office, Fleabag reveals that she is a normal person because she doesn’t believe in God, which kind of implies that only wacky people do. While in other circumstances this wouldn’t be a big deal, a Jesus painting falls behind the protagonist right after she says the words.
Coincidence or not, the confusion written in Waller-Bridge’s character’s face, and the Priest’s little witty remark ultimately make the scene hilarious.
His Beautiful Neck
One ofFleabag’s most wholesome moments happened during the second season and it was pretty darn cute. In the fourth episode of Season 2, Fleabagcouldn’t help but break the fourth wall multiple times only to gush about the Priest’s neck with the audience, which is quite understandable if you ask us.
Apart from it being areally funny scene from the show, essentially given the fact thatAndrew Scott’s beloved characteractuallyheardwhat Fleabag said (which caught everyone by surprise), it’s arguably one of the best moments in the series simply because viewers actually get to watch the character genuinely fall in love with someone.
The Retreat Scene
In a heartwarming scene during the fourth episode of the first season,Hugh Dennis' character opens up with Fleabag about his struggles and tells her all the ways he would like to become a better person. Although total strangers, the two find solace and understanding in an honest shared conversation.
If there hadn’t been a moment before whereFleabagdepicted another level of character writing, this was definitely it. Featuring amazing line delivery from both actors, this emotional scene — in which the protagonist does not break the fourth wall once—undoubtedly takes a special place in a lot of fans' hearts.
The Confessionary Scene
Between Fleabag confessing that she wants someone to tell her what to wear every morning and both characters sharing a loving kiss, a lot went on during the confessionary scene; although hearing Scott’s “Hot Priest” tell Waller-Bridge’s character to kneel made us all feel a lot of things, it was Fleabag’s speech that fundamentally made the scene such an engaging one.
Apart from awakening something in viewers they didn’t know existed with an unexpected twist, during the few minutes that Fleabag spent in the confessionary,Waller-Bridge (who is both the writer and the actor)also managed to perfectly capture the anxieties one feels while trying to navigate life, as well as the very real and human struggle with loneliness.
When He Broke the Fourth Wall
A scene thatreallycaught everyone off guard? When Scott’s character finally breaks the fourth wall after seeing Fleabag do the same and makes instant eye contact with the audience. If any more proof that the show isreallygood is needed, take the way it makes viewers feelasor more exposed as the protagonist when the Priest does it.
What makes it such a remarkable scene is the obvious meaning behind the oddly intimate moment: the Priest has always been the one to trulyseeFleabag, and his superpower to break into her private conversations with the audience just confirms that the two characters have an unspoken understanding of each other.
No Longer Invisible
It’s hard not to love a chaotic scene where things are blown out of proportion. Season two’s pilot is the perfect first episode, and the entire awkward dinner scene is pretty much unmatched when it comes to dialogue (one of the best in TV history).
Nevertheless, the most amazing bit is when the protagonist reveals that no one’s asked her a question in forty-five minutes only for the Priest to interrupt her train of thought and ask her one. Needless to say, Fleabag is completely stunned after — for once, she is not invisible.
It’s French
It’s hard to findaccurate sibling relationship representationbetween two polar-opposite sisters on-screen, butFleabagdoes not shy away from doing it. In fact, Claire and Fleabag’s bond is so genuine that viewers may almost feel as if they too are a part of it at times.
One of the most iconic moments on the show has to be Fleabag’s delivery of her famous line, “it’s French,” when her older sister is on the verge of a breakdown post getting a new haircut. Aside from it making for a really funny scene, it also lets the audience know that these two will always have each other’s back at the end of the day.
It’ll Pass
The heartbreaking scene from the series' final episode truly makes viewers wonder how invested in a fictional pair they must have been through the course of six episodes for its ending to hurt that much.
While Priest and Fleabag were seemingly perfect for each other, that was ultimately far from enough — and they both just had to accept it. After everything, Fleabag just wanted to be loved, which is something that she got in the end. She also started processing the grief from the death of her mother at last.
Built-in Pain
Besides eye-opening and life-changing,Kristin Scott Thomas' epic speech on womanhood is yet another proof of PWB’s masterful writing. While the idea of men “creating their own pain” whilst women have got it all going on inside them may sound exaggerated at first, in reality, it could not be closer to the truth.
Aside from its timeless relevance, part of what makesthis monologue fromFleabagsuch an exceptional addition to the show is the fact that the viewer actually realizes how invested Fleabag is in the conversation and how important those words feel to her — the character not once breaking the fourth-wall highlights that.
