The Agony and the Ecstasy of <em>Fleabag</em>
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s magisterial Amazon series about a conflicted café owner returns for a striking final season.
In the opening scene of Fleabag’s second season, the protagonist (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), elegant in a backless black jumpsuit, is washing her hands with delicate care in a chic, Art Deco restaurant bathroom. Jazzy Muzak plays. So far, so seemly. But then the camera cuts to Fleabag’s face, which is covered in blood, in the mirror, the shot a Kubrick-esque contrast of gore and geometric wallpaper. Unperturbed, she blots her nose with a napkin and hands another to a grateful woman who’s sprawled on the floor next to her.
“This,” Fleabag tells the
