It’s officially done – Fleabag has come to an end.
If, like us, you’ve spent the last six weeks counting down for Mondays and then devouring each episode then the devastation is probably very real.
Thankfully, Phoebe Waller-Bridge packed plenty of punchlines and dramatic twists into the six episodes of the second series, so there’s lots to continue talking about (and rewatching, again).
Following the grand finale, members of the Fleabag cast, famous fans of the show, HuffPost UK readers and writers have picked their favourite moments. Oh and yes, some people couldn’t decide and have gone for two. Who are we to judge?
“I look like a pencil”
“Without a question, I think it’s one of the funniest things that has ever been written. When Phoebe came up with that, she was running across Lincoln’s Inn Fields. I was in a tent where they were trying to work out how to do this stupid tie on my trousers and she was going over to film something. She was running and she swung her head round and said, “What about ‘I look like a pencil’?”. And I just pissed myself. I thought it was so funny.”
Sian Clifford, who plays Fleabag’s sister, Claire
“Get your hands off my miscarriage!”
“Claire’s cry from the toilet cubicle of a busy restaurant is something I won’t forget in a hurry. The scene was real, raw and unlike any other depiction of miscarriage we’ve seen on screen before.
“Her later admission that she felt almost “relieved” proves once and for all that there’s no “correct” way to react to a miscarriage. For me, the entire storyline was handled perfectly and cements Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the sensitive, razor-sharp, stigma-busting writer women need.”
Rachel Moss, HuffPost UK reporter
The entirety of episode one
“The dinner party scene. It was so fast-paced and it had to be, it was difficult to do around the table. The whole of that episode is my favourite moment. It has everything from absurdity to utter violence in a 28-minute piece.”
Bill Patterson, who plays Dad
Fleabag’s first Church visit
“In comparison to other Fleabag moments, mine is quite tame. Fleabag enters the Church and sees portraits of Christ’s toned torso depicted in portraits all over the walls. She looks around, then turns to the camera and says: “Jesus...”. She takes down such an intimidating concept by reducing it with humour and horniness with a single word and a glance. Genius.”
Kate Crudgington, writer and HuffPost UK blogger
*That* monologue on women and pain…
“Two moments for me, away from the seriously dangerous chemistry experiment at the heart of the series. Firstly, Kristin Scott Thomas schooling Fleabag over martinis about being a woman – we’re ‘born with pain built in’ just one of her nuggets.”
Nancy Groves, HuffPost UK Lifestyle editor
And HAIR.
“Then the sisters’ hilarious stand-off with their hairdresser, in which Phoebe Waller Bridge uttered those immortal three words: ’Hair is everything.′ From the sublime to the ridiculous, but both completely and utterly true.”
Nancy Groves, HuffPost UK Lifestyle editor
‘Kneel’...
“I have two favourite moments that will live long in the memory from the dark joy that is Fleabag: It had to be: “Kneel.” KNEEL. If you know, you know. So hot. And so wrong. But so very, very hot.”
Emma Barnett, journalist and broadcaster
“Phoebe Waller-Bridge has created the most unexpected and yet disarmingly (maybe disturbingly) erotic heart throb in Fleabag’s “sexy vicar”. The tension builds from episode one where he makes searingly direct, unflinching eye contact with her at the family dinner table, and climaxes when following Fleabag’s tearful confessional he instructs her to kneel down as if to pray and then appears in front of her like the sexy Jesus we never had. Total panty ripper.”
Ella Pollock, HuffPost UK reader
… And the date with the lawyer
“When she’s on a date with her lawyer and he declares he has to take a shit, Fleabag looks at us and swiftly says she’s going to ignore that. And then instead he immediately offers the option of a shag without missing a beat. Like it’s the natural alternative.
“It’s just perfect... because you can’t stop thinking about how backed up he will be while shagging her. And instead of it being hot, it’s just grim, wrong and hilarious… Praise be, Fleabag. Monday’s just got a whole lot duller without you.”
Emma Barnett, journalist and broadcaster
The unexpected gift
“My favourite scene was when she got gifted a ‘guinea pig’ that turned out to be a hamster. Okay, I know it doesn’t sound side-splittingly funny but the quick wit, sarcasm and slight madness of the whole thing just summed up the genius of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s writing.”
Sophie Gallagher, HuffPost UK reporter
Everything Olivia Colman
“Can I say the evil stepmother as played by Olivia Colman, a Hans Christian Anderson trope if ever there was one. I tried to chew the fat with the PM about it. She’s not a fan (had never heard of it).”
Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton
Fleabag and her dad’s bonding
“The scene with Fleabag and her Father in episode 4, after the funeral of their mother, his wife, was one of the most touching pieces of TV I have ever seen. The way Bill Patterson is able to say so much by saying so little is a true superpower.”
Kadiff Kirwan, who plays the hairdresser, Antony
“We’re going to have sex, aren’t we?”
“The highly controversial ‘kneel’ bit was right up there, but after a fortnight debating with friends, colleagues and strangers on Twitter about whether it is inappropriate or extremely hot (I found it extremely hot, FYI), I’m not sure I can wade into the complexity of sexual power dynamics and the vulnerability of desire in one paragraph.
“So, I’ve chosen the spine-tingling moment when the priest looks at her and finally, after a whole series of just-off-the-boil sexual tension, says: ′We’re going to have sex, aren’t we?′
“What a beautifully understated way to deliver a line that acknowledges his entire world is about to implode. When I watched the scene back (don’t judge me), I realised that it is one continuous shot from him shouting at her for her quip about how women can’t be catholic priests, to finally giving in to how he feels. One single shot for Andrew Scott’s face to convey the move from frustration to acquiescence, and everything that that means. I defy anyone not to hold their breath through that scene.”
Jess Brammar, HuffPost UK executive editor
Bye Claire. Bye Klare. Bye Claire.
“Obviously I love every time Fleabag breaks the fourth wall to give a knowing smirk or comment to the camera, but no moment tickled me more than when she delivers a third “Bye Claire” to viewers in the penultimate episode. I shrieked so hard that my boyfriend asked if I was OK from the other room.
“A glorious crescendo to what was a general series of events – where her sister Claire agonises over her new asymmetric haircut, they confront Anthony the hairdresser, and Claire’s enthusiastic colleague Klare makes another awkwardly sexually charged appearance. Genius.”
Brogan Driscoll, HuffPost UK Finds editor
The final seconds of the finale
“I loved the whole concept of ‘we the viewer’ being her confidante and then, in the final scene, when she’s worked it all out and doesn’t need to confide in us anymore, she waves us goodbye. I found that more heartbreaking than her telling the priest she loves him. You might not need us Fleabag but we need you. Don’t go.”
Clare McDonnell, BBC 5Live presenter