Praise the Lord for Fleabag, her hot priest and a dark look at the human condition

Tonight, BBC One, 10.30pm

Speaking in the style of Fleabag, you know that feeling when it’s a Monday and you deliberately make no plans because you have an important appointment, watching the best show on TV?

To recap, this is a love story. Alongside that, it’s about family, loneliness and, in an original twist, priests and the sacrifices they make.

At the start of this series, Fleabag had managed to pull herself together — she was exercising, not using sex to deflect from the screaming void inside her heart, and, to the envious shock of her sister, she looked amazing. Then she met a priest and it all started to unravel again.

Her father and stepmother-to-be chose him to officiate at their marriage because, as her stepmother says: “There’s something rather chic about having a real priest at a wedding”. Their chosen priest is hot. There is high octane sexual tension between him and Fleabag but there is just one obstacle: God.

(BBC/Two Brothers/Luke Varley)
BBC

Fleabag has no one to confide in. She certainly can’t tell her sister Claire, who no longer loves her husband (about time too, he looks like a giant egg and is unbearably arrogant and obnoxious), and is attracted to a Norwegian colleague also called Claire (but he’s a man Claire). This is silly but funny, especially when the rest of the plot has such a dark edge. It’s that contrast which makes Fleabag work so well.

By now, Fleabag is in quite a predicament. She’s reverted to her old habits — there are echoes of the first series as she talks about getting rid of all her body hair in preparation for late-night sex with a “hot misogynist” she doesn’t really like. The elegant jumpsuits are gone in favour of her previous teenage uniform of short, tight denim skirts and Converse trainers. Claire needs her — something awful has happened and Fleabag’s the only person she can see.

(BBC/Two Brothers/Luke Varley)
BBC

The requiem style soundtrack adds to the tension and heady sense of raw feelings being exposed. The only thing that matches Fleabag on TV at the moment, for frank depictions of the human condition punctured by unpredictable scenarios and brilliant jokes, is After Life on Netflix.

The previous episode was intense, zoning in on Fleabag and the priest (Andrew Scott). This one is a bit lighter, and the whole gang is back — even Hillary the guinea pig. There’s a touching comeback from Hugh Dennis, the bank manager from the first series who declines Fleabag’s offer of touching her boobs in exchange for a loan.

Creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes multi-faceted roles that must be fun to play — it’s a step change to see the usually lovely Olivia Colman playing a pathologically selfish and mean spirited character — and Sian Clifford is pitch-perfect as Claire. I only have good things to say about this second series. It has been worth the three-year wait and is so universally loved that you can diffuse most situations, Brexit-related or otherwise, by quoting it. Try booming “kneel” like the priest in episode four.

It’s tightly written, pacy, relatable and you don’t want to miss a moment. My only criticism is that there’s only one episode left. I’m already praying that the third series will come soon.

TV shows to watch in 2019

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Fleabag is on tonight at 10.30pm on BBC One.

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