Fleabag Season 1 Plot Summary
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag is regarded by many as an excellent comedy on par with Ricky Gervais’ “The Office”. The British series is set in contemporary London and tells the tale of a bold woman who is in her early 30’s. The protagonist is very assertive when it comes to her opinions of herself and those of other people. She doesn’t hold back when speaking her mind, to the point where she shatters the fourth wall and communicates with the audience.
Over the course of six episodes, Fleabag, the owner of a struggling café, applies for a business loan, has arguments with her courteously repulsive stepmother, engages in a love-hate relationship with her more seasoned sister, and juggles a dimwitted boyfriend and a hookup.
Throughout the course of the season, she experiences flashbacks of a tragic event that includes her late best friend who was also her business partner. Furthermore, Fleabag, who is frequently enraged and grieving rejects anyone who even hints at trying to help her.
What’s the story behind the eatery?
With her closest friend Boo, Fleabag set up an eatery in London with a guinea pig theme. It was just a regular eatery until she decided to give Boo a guinea pig that they ended up calling Hilary as an unexpected birthday present, at which point the décor spiraled out of control. Towards the conclusion of the first episode, we find out that Boo ended up killing herself outside the eatery after her partner cheated on her. She was only going to hurt herself to get back at him, and two others ended up dead in the accident.
The eatery is performing poorly, the lease extension is approaching, and Fleabag’s attempt to apply for a loan from a bank with the branch manager fails once he thinks she is attempting to sway the decision using sex in exchange.
What makes Claire hesitant to move to Finland?
Claire, Fleabag’s anxious sister, excels in a vague but lucrative position. She resides with her American antique pieces dealer partner Martin and his 15-year-old son Jake, who frequently tries to join his stepmother in the bathtub. Fleabag gives Claire a sex toy for her birthday, which a shocked and sexually unhappy Claire acknowledges is truly a very thoughtful gesture.
A prestigious job promotion for Claire would require her to move to Finland, however, she feels unable to make the move due to her stepson and sister.
What happens when Fleabag meets the bank manager at the retreat?
Instead of actually discussing their grief which resulted as a consequence of the loss of their mom with them, Fleabag and Claire’s dad makes arrangements for them to heal by attending retreats and seminars. Both the quiet mindfulness retreat they attend and the feminist seminars they attend fail to address their emotional pain and detachment.
The bank manager, who is attending the retreat to understand how to be a nicer person after a scandal involving sexual harassment at work, runs into Fleabag. They discuss their despair and unhappiness over a cigarette thereafter.
Who is Claire’s husband? What is he like?
Martin, Claire’s partner, is a jerk. At her sister’s surprise birthday celebration, which Claire had thoroughly planned, he attempts to kiss Fleabag. Thereafter, he boasts about it to Claire while lying that Fleabag made the first move. Martin is a drunken, dishonest person who withholds intimacy, makes uncomfortable inappropriate sexual comments, and persuades a very frustrated Claire to stay with him rather than pursue her dream of working in Finland.
How is Fleabag’s relationship with her stepmother?
After their mom passed away from breast cancer, Fleabag’s godmother and stepmother, decided to move in with Fleabag and Claire’s dad. Despite the fact that she is Fleabag’s godmother, she always treats her cruelly. It turns out that Fleabag’s dad and godmother have purchased a second property in France after initially telling Fleabag they were unable to assist her financially.
In front of Fleabag’s obviously unhappy (as well as emotionally detached) dad, Godmother consistently makes fun of Fleabag’s career, relationships, appearance, as well as her dead mother while always smiling.
When Fleabag’s stepmother isn’t looking, Fleabag steals a priceless sculpture and tries to sell it to Martin. In an effort to find his lady a birthday gift, he gives it to her. Following Fleabag’s confession that she had actually stolen it from their Godmother, Claire forces her to give it back. At the family’s yearly luncheon in honor of their mother, Fleabag steals the sculpture back after witnessing her Godmother’s awful behavior.
At a gathering, the godmother addresses the sculpture theft directly. Fleabag makes a bold declaration, destroys a stack of champagne glasses, and is then removed from the gathering. She notices her father sobbing outside, and the two are almost in conversation about their shared sorrow when the godmother interjects.
Are any of Fleabag’s romantic relationships successful?
Fleabag’s ex-boyfriend Harry comes back and advises her to stop masturbating and instead come up with a plan wherein they try to surprise one another every day. Her surprise involves dressing up as an intruder and scaring him while he’s in the bath, and his surprise seems to be an intimate home-cooked meal. When he discovers her porn search words on his laptop, he comes to realize that she has been lying regarding giving up masturbation. This time, he leaves permanently and gets romantically involved with a coworker.
Fleabag invites the guy to their mom’s funeral lunch so she can enjoy her godmother’s awe towards his good looks. He splits up with Fleabag around the series finale, informing her he’s actually in love with another woman and also that his attraction to her was merely a fixation on her tiny breasts.
The other sexual partners don’t have a happy ending with her either. On a bus, Fleabag ends up running into Bus Rodent, a guy with dental problems. Fleabag invites him to her sister’s party and engages in uncomfortable sex with him. He also leaves shortly after noticing that she is lying to him.
How does the season come to an end? Does it have a happy ending?
Fleabag runs into Boo’s ex-boyfriend while making purchases for her sister’s birthday present, which sends her into a bit of a meltdown. It is disclosed that Fleabag was the person he ended up cheating with, and ever since then, she has carried the guilt and shame with her.
The guy dumps her, Fleabag meets Harry’s new partner, is ridiculed by her godmother, and her father and sister disappoint her by choosing to support their spouses over her.
Fleabag sobs as she makes her way to the café and considers walking in front of moving cars. The bank manager shows up thereafter, inquires about her well-being, and when she reveals her extreme guilt and emotional anguish, he restarts the bank loan interview and gives her a second chance.
Read More: Fleabag Season 1 Review