It turns out it’s quite hard to find something original to say about love. But I’ve had a go.
Well, here we are, at the end of season two and so far the end of the series as a whole. Waller-Bridge has said Fleabag won’t be back for a third season and I’m glad; I think the ending here is absolutely perfect and I’d hate to see it ruined or even cheapened slightly by a lackluster follow-up. Of course, that’s also what I said about the end of season one, so don’t listen to me. I kind of just don’t even know how to talk about this episode, it was so deeply moving to me. I guess I’ll start with the performances; Scott & Waller-Bridge are both absolutely brilliant here. I think Scott really just nails his long monologue at the midpoint of the episode; it’s a difficult speech, but you see him processing everything that’s been happening as he goes through it and I was profoundly moved by the scripture quotation at the end and the almost beatific look of peace that crosses his face at that moment. It’s a moment when you see him figure it all out; he gets it and the clarity he’s lost over the course of this season returns. The episode’s final scene is also Waller-Bridge working at like the top of her game; she just invests that scene with a real pain that’s sharp and bracing and the perfect thing about that scene is how little either of them actually say. And just a word for Brett Gelman who has been an absolute scene stealer throughout this series; he has a rant in this episode that is hilariously funny, really painful, kind of scary . . . it’s a magnificent speech as written and he delivers it like he’s Lear raging at the heavens. It’s just marvelous.
But, with no spoilers, I do just want to say a couple of things. I’m a guy given to loving the things I love with real passion and I often fear hyperbolizing to a degree that people will be disappointed when they actually investigate the things I love because I’ve oversold them. That said, this is one of the greatest seasons of television ever. I was a huge fan of the first season, which I thought started strong and then was a little better with every episode. It was a genuinely funny and uniquely flavored raunchy comedy that was also an exploration of disfunction, grief and, ultimately, guilt. I thought it was deeper than it had any right to be then. And then comes this season and it just goes even deeper into the spiritual and philosophical angst of these characters. As smart as the first season was, it feels like this season basically took an excellent sitcom and morphed it into an existential meditation on faith and spirituality and, yeah, let’s go there, love. It was already a great show; it’s turned into a genuinely beautiful one. That final shot is . . . magnificent. 4 stars.
tl;dr – the perfect season/series finale, this episode caps one of the greatest seasons of television ever; writing & performances combine to create an emotionally powerful episode. 4 stars.