It's very jarring and out of place. I'm not quite sure why they decided to go with this, it seems outdated, like having constant comedic narration or a laughtrack in a sitcom
shareIt does take you out of the moment, doesn't it? The frequent flashbacks are another distraction, but those seem important to telling the story.
shareI trusted the critics and this does seem to have necessary components of an offbeat comedy, but I find the talking to the camera a terrible idea. I only made it through the first 10 minutes of the first episode because of this. It makes the show uncomfortable and lame, like a cheap play or a Youtube skit.
shareCopying what I said elsewhere: The breaking of the 4th wall can feel off putting at first (so were the laugh tracks in the IT Crowd for me) but it really grows on you and it becomes essential as the show progresses.
shareTo me its the breaking of the 4th wall that gives it a lot of its charm, or more specifically that helps us be charmed by Fleabag - we are given that intimacy. It is done in a very similar style to how Francis Urquhart broke the 4th wall in the original BBC series of House of Cards.
shareAnd it's there in the American remake too. We can know the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Works better than narration.
shareShe's not talking to the camera. She's talking to you. It's that you don't understand what she's saying or you're not interested in having the dialogue with her.
Effectively this show is an illustrated monologue.
I would typically agree. However, for some reason with this show I feel like she invented it. Yes it has been done before but there is something sly and interesting in the way she does it. I think if they did the series without it - it would like it was missing a character. I find myself adding my own dialogue or thought to it, sort of like I am her silent friend going through it all with her but unable to help. I am definitely not a deep thinker or as intune to others as many of you probably are so it is really interesting to me to think about it like that.
It made me feel more invested in the scenes rather than "taking me out of" them. I can only speak for myself, but the moment Phoebe Waller-Bridge looked straight out of the screen at me, I was hooked. She's that good. It made me feel an instant intimate connection with Fleabag: she's confiding in us, a stranger, because she's desperate to explain herself but afraid she'll never be forgiven. It's like she's daring us to judge her - it's a confrontation as a pretext for confession. Anyway, it worked for me: hilarious and heart-wrenching.
shareI'm not quite sure why they decided to go with this, it seems outdated, like having constant comedic narration or a laughtrack in a sitcom
I love the talking to the camera! Gives the series an entire additional dimension.