Fleabag Season 2 review: Phoebe Waller-Bridge embraces imperfections as she achieves comedy perfection

Sample some of these unapologetically transgressive gems from the long-overdue follow-up to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s 2016 breakout comedy series, Fleabag. Fleabag ends the suspense, summarising the season’s story with a trademark fourth-wall breaking statement: “This is a love story.” The scene quickly turns back in time to a dinner setup at a lavish restaurant. Waller-Bridge’s razor-sharp writing comes to the fore here as the old “dinner-from-hell” trope is turned into an exceptional set piece as the episode careens between slapstick comedy and pathos. She deems the eternal debate about “good feminism” vs “bad feminism” as just another self-defeating litmus test against which women gauge their imperfections — which inevitably instils fears of falling short of the “ideal feminist’s” expectations. She merely believes even the worst moments in your life “will pass.” Because she doesn’t want to “turn us into optimists and ruin our lives.” Creator: Phoebe Waller-Bridge Cast: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford, Olivia Colman, Bill Paterson, Andrew Scott, Brett Gelman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hugh Dennis Fleabag Season 2 premieres on 17 May on Amazon Prime.