If you have never heard the name of 2013 play-turned-into-BBC-show, Fleabag then I suggest that you should sit back, read the article and then immediately download/stream the show.
The show was first launched as a stage play by the same name and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, both in the series and play form, was the lead actress as well as the writer.
In 2013, the play won Fringe First Award. The same year the first season of the show was aired, followed by the second season in 2019. All this and that is good, but why does one watch this show especially as an Indian millennial girl?
To answer this very important question, I have a few points that I would like you to go through.
Here, are my reasons why every Indian millennial girl should watch Fleabag.
THE FLAWED PROTAGONIST
Fleabag is shown as a very brazen, dark, problematic-sex addict, who is frustrated by her spiralling life. She cheats, lies, takes advantage of people and is a total drunken mess.
The main character in the show is not referred to by any name and she breaks the fourth wall, letting us know that sometimes we are her, and sometimes she is us.
Unlike shows shown on Indian television, with perfect, self-sacrificing, near godly women and girls, who try to preach the same behaviour on us, Fleabag portrays women who are very much real and flawed.
She is not innately bad, the way she treats the world is her way of coping up with the loss of her mother and best friend. The show has beautifully made it okay to talk about our regrets and grief and taking therapies.
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THE NOT-SO-PERFECT RELATIONSHIPS
We all know that sometimes families are not like those portrayed in movies like ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’ or ‘Hum Aapke Hai Kaun?’, movies which we all grew up to and were taught that these are the kind of families we are expected to build after marriage.
No, families get ugly. Fleabag struggles to keep up with her ‘uptight, highly driven, successful’ sister and her widowed father who married her dead mother’s best friend. The concept of toxic family and how it affects people is something that builds the crux of the show.
Also, we all know how hard it is to date nowadays. From seeking validations on Tinder and going on lousy dates, we all have gone through the less than appealing experience.
The protagonist, in a very realistic way too, slips through one-night-stands, impulsive dates and lingering exes.
THE NOT IN YOUR FACE FEMINITY
What I love the most about the show is not how it portrays a girl who is partying all night, being superior to boys, having awesome sex and boys all around falling for her rich, pretty face, as a sense of feminism.
It rather normalises things like periods, female orgasm and sexual needs and most importantly female friendships. Fleabag is not high driven or over-the-top ambitious.
She just wanted to open a guinea pig themed café with her best friend. Similar to how we all plan ideas for business with our besties.
Her best friend’s death had affected her immensely and the way she deals with grief is one of the major themes. Their simple, realistic, yet beautiful moments where they both become vulnerable in front of each other projects healthy female friendships, unlike bitch dramas we all see on TV otherwise.
All in all, what you would love the most about the show is how the protagonist grows, sharing her regrets, grief and fears.
In a society where girls are expected to be perfect family raiser and someone who shouldn’t even openly talk about the most natural things, we all need to be Fleabag.
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Find Author:- @CherryJimin17
