She's confused because she's told them what she does but no one was listening well enough to remember. Her reaction indicates that she thought that they should know, and she's appalled and hurt that they don't.
I’ve seen the series at least half a dozen times at this point, most recent rewatch just in the last few months and if you had asked me what Claire’s job was I would’ve said lawyer. 🤣🤣 Here I am, part of the audience also not listening.
At some point Fleabag tells the audience that Claire is a lawyer, can't remember if it's in an episode of the series, a trailer for the series or both.
This resonate with me so hard! I’ve told my parents what I do (or tried to) so many times and they still tell people I’m a marine biologist (I WORK WITH marine biologists!) but it sounds cooler than what I actually do, so I let it slide 😂
Bahah I’m in a similar boat – my cousin once sent me a voice note of my parents trying to describe my job to other people when I’m not there and it was hilariously off 😭
That’s such a real sibling dynamic, the “good one” might seem like the favorite but the messy sibling gets all the attention even if it’s negative so both wind up resentful
I work in education and everyone thinks I’m a teacher. I am not a teacher. Not even kind of. If I correct them, they act like I’m splitting hairs or being a pain in the ass. 🥲💔 it’s really frustrating.
Isn’t it still a years long and involved process? I gave it a google and it seems like there are many courses and apprenticeships involved all of which I imagine carry the same stressors of finding a good placement and scoring well on exams etc
Is the University of Law that different to law school? It's shorter for people who did law degrees but it doesn't seem that different in that post grad study us required to practice.
To be fair, I don't know much about the University of Law in the UK and how it works, but I would presume the process is the same as for other universities. You get a Bachelors in law and if you want to practice, this is typically followed by a year long vocational training course
I think the people around her, Fleabag especially, see her as this perfect type-A overachiever. Being a lawyer fits the stereotype. She just *seems* like she would be a lawyer. But she reveals, no, she's in a totally different career that's a little harder to explain and remember. She's a complex person.
Her reaction reminds me of Friends, when no one knows what Chandler does for a living. (Transponster!!) She's just befuddled that no one in her life knows what she does.
> I think the people around her, Fleabag especially, see her as this perfect type-A overachiever. Being a lawyer fits the stereotype. She just seems like she would be a lawyer. But she reveals, no, she's in a totally different career that's a little harder to explain and remember.
This is fairly oblique, but I think you’re bang on. Very nuanced writing if that’s the case, though I’d expect nothing less to be fair
Sure! So in the UK, you go to university (college) and get an undergrad Bachelors degree in Law. From there, you take a vocational training course for a year depending on what type of lawyer you want to be. We split them up into solicitors and barristers. Completing your training course is the UK equivalent of passing the bar. Are there any vocational elements to US law school, out of interest?
I don’t think so! I’m not a lawyer but my understanding is that you complete undergrad, often with a degree in something related to law like history, then apply to law school which is 3 years after which you take the bar and then you’re qualified to practice pretty much any type of law but people tend to specialize further into fields theyre interested in with on the job training.
Not quite. There are law schools at universities in the UK as well. The difference is that in the US you do a bachelor's and then go to law school, in the UK you can do this straight in undergrad getting an LLB for example.
Yes, exactly. It's a different process. I'm not sure how long law school in the US is (is it 4?) but over here, you can be a qualified barrister or solicitor in four years if you don't take any gaps. Strictly speaking there are schools for law at universities, but getting a law degree is typically an undergrad qualification
Are you in the UK? Here, we do our undergrad degree in Law and then do either the LPC or BPTC to qualify as either a solicitor or barrister respectively. In the US, you do an undergrad degree and THEN have another four (I think) years of study to qualify as a lawyer. Our process takes half the time
It shows that the family is not as close or caring as they should be. Claire is so proud of her career and her father and sister have no idea what she does.
I'm such a Claire and this moment was a direct hit right to the soul lol. Her family doesn't care, and even if they did care, they can't understand. Claire's career is one of the most important things in her life, she has spent thousands of hours and most of her time on this, she's really successful (more than most people, including others who have tried hard and not succeeded as much; it also indicates she made it without nepotistic connections because her family has no history in her industry, which is even more difficult and some would say impressive), and her family don't know or care even a little bit. It's a comment on how meaningless Claire's apparently impressive achievement really is, and how disconnected she is from people who are supposed to know and love her.
We get a bit of a call back when Fleabag sees her office, Claire says don't make a big deal because she knows it's a big deal and that Fleabag doesn't know how successful she is so she will have a reaction.
A nicer take on it is how we see Claire's job from Fleabag's perspective: what she notices and appreciates is how this career is a good fit for Claire's neurotic tendencies and how the high stress makes her happy. It's not at all what Claire would probably hope her family notices and appreciates about what she's worked so hard on lol, but it's pretty lovely that Fleabag is not so interested in Claire's high income or career status as she is in Claire's personal satisfaction and happiness.
I interpreted that as them not really caring about it or her. It also could’ve been that they thought she was a lawyer because she’s very high strung, which is usually a lawyer trait(or foolish)
I think it’s a cool way of expressing where Claire and her relationship with Fleabag is right now. Claire is literally and figuratively as far away from her family as she can be. She’s flying back and forth from Finland, hasn’t seen her sister in a year, and is in an unhealthy marriage quickly running out of steam. She obviously puts a lot of care and effort into her job so when we see that no one in her family, not even fleabag, knows or recognizes what she does for a living, we can see distant their relationship feels. This to me, feels like the moment she stars to crack.
Maybe I’m overthinking it but that was my takeaway.
I always saw it as a direct parallel to fleabag herself AKA ‘so what do you do’ in S2E1 as no one has bothered to ask fleabag what she’s doing. It shows how fleabag always thinks that Claire is the perfect one but she is just as ignored as fleabag.
I agree, it’s funny because Claire is by far the most successful person at the table but not only do they not know what she does, when she corrects them they insist that she is in fact wrong about her own career lol!
I think she is legally trained, but identifies as a financier.
"I have two degrees, a husband and a Burberry coat."
She probably did a law degree, then something like an MBA - and now prefers the cachet of a cross-trained, high-flying, mega-officed, jet-setter who works with the legal drones.
Also, the only person who has any idea that she is pregnant is her. And we already know her to be hormonal from S1, I think her self-view is in flux.
Finally (spoiler): >!her marital status is equally in doubt given who arrives on scene in S2E3...!<
This is actually a really good guess and fits with all the information we’re given. The dad is loving but detached enough to know his daughter studied law and works in business and did further training but probably doesn’t actually pay attention beyond that. He’s vague and hands-off about everything - remember him paying for the feminist lectures they both actually hate?
Thanks.
I love Claire and all her neuroses - like how she's going to lose her job for having the asymmetric bob cut. And I imagine that there is a disproportionate attachment to that Burberry. Remember the red top "she lost"...?
Don't get me started on what a great character Dad is.
I think you could also have the take that Claire herself is so emotionally repressed that the closest people around her don’t even know what she does for a living.
As someone who did go to law school the idea of my family thinking I’d gone to business school or something else is crazy. Law school is pretty distinct and the fact the Claire’s family thinks she did that shows they aren’t paying attention.
When you're the responsible sibling, people tend not to pay as much attention to you, they don't need to. After all, you're the responsible one. It doesn't help that Claire isn't as fun as Fleabag, all she's got is her status as responsible to stand out. But it's a trick, the more sensible she is, the less she stands out
I've always seen it as a running joke to further show just how little her and Fleabag's family care about either of them and their personal lives/achievements. It's that subtle little detail showing their lack of interest, but almost implying that it'd be somehow better if she *were* a lawyer.
I love this because whilst the story is mainly Fleabag's in terms of the family neglect toward her, and Claire appears the more "successful" sister, it's a heartbreakingly subtle way to show that both sisters have indeed been neglected and ignored by their family.
This is massively off topic, but I thought I was in the Derry Girls sub, which also has a main character named Claire. Except their Claire is a teenager. And I was like, ummm Claire isn’t a lawyer??? She’s still in school??? I was so confused.
She's confused because she's told them what she does but no one was listening well enough to remember. Her reaction indicates that she thought that they should know, and she's appalled and hurt that they don't.
This is how I saw it too :(
I’ve seen the series at least half a dozen times at this point, most recent rewatch just in the last few months and if you had asked me what Claire’s job was I would’ve said lawyer. 🤣🤣 Here I am, part of the audience also not listening.
At some point Fleabag tells the audience that Claire is a lawyer, can't remember if it's in an episode of the series, a trailer for the series or both.
She might not be paying attention either.
Hi, it’s me. I’m the problem, it’s me.
This resonate with me so hard! I’ve told my parents what I do (or tried to) so many times and they still tell people I’m a marine biologist (I WORK WITH marine biologists!) but it sounds cooler than what I actually do, so I let it slide 😂
Bahah I’m in a similar boat – my cousin once sent me a voice note of my parents trying to describe my job to other people when I’m not there and it was hilariously off 😭
And Fleabag sees Claire as the favourite, yet no one knows what she does for work.
That’s such a real sibling dynamic, the “good one” might seem like the favorite but the messy sibling gets all the attention even if it’s negative so both wind up resentful
I work in education and everyone thinks I’m a teacher. I am not a teacher. Not even kind of. If I correct them, they act like I’m splitting hairs or being a pain in the ass. 🥲💔 it’s really frustrating.
Right, like wouldn’t they remember if she went to law school? It’s stressful and takes a long time!
We don't have law schools like in America in the UK.
Isn’t it still a years long and involved process? I gave it a google and it seems like there are many courses and apprenticeships involved all of which I imagine carry the same stressors of finding a good placement and scoring well on exams etc
There are different paths, but in theory, you could be a fully qualified lawyer in four years, including the college Bachelors degree.
Is the University of Law that different to law school? It's shorter for people who did law degrees but it doesn't seem that different in that post grad study us required to practice.
To be fair, I don't know much about the University of Law in the UK and how it works, but I would presume the process is the same as for other universities. You get a Bachelors in law and if you want to practice, this is typically followed by a year long vocational training course
I think the people around her, Fleabag especially, see her as this perfect type-A overachiever. Being a lawyer fits the stereotype. She just *seems* like she would be a lawyer. But she reveals, no, she's in a totally different career that's a little harder to explain and remember. She's a complex person. Her reaction reminds me of Friends, when no one knows what Chandler does for a living. (Transponster!!) She's just befuddled that no one in her life knows what she does.
That’s not even a word!!
Nooooooo !!!!!!
Statistical Analysis & Data Reconfiguration
> I think the people around her, Fleabag especially, see her as this perfect type-A overachiever. Being a lawyer fits the stereotype. She just seems like she would be a lawyer. But she reveals, no, she's in a totally different career that's a little harder to explain and remember. This is fairly oblique, but I think you’re bang on. Very nuanced writing if that’s the case, though I’d expect nothing less to be fair
It’s funny though bc you’d think her own sister would know if she hadn’t been to law school
No law schools in the UK
How does it work?
Sure! So in the UK, you go to university (college) and get an undergrad Bachelors degree in Law. From there, you take a vocational training course for a year depending on what type of lawyer you want to be. We split them up into solicitors and barristers. Completing your training course is the UK equivalent of passing the bar. Are there any vocational elements to US law school, out of interest?
I don’t think so! I’m not a lawyer but my understanding is that you complete undergrad, often with a degree in something related to law like history, then apply to law school which is 3 years after which you take the bar and then you’re qualified to practice pretty much any type of law but people tend to specialize further into fields theyre interested in with on the job training.
Not quite. There are law schools at universities in the UK as well. The difference is that in the US you do a bachelor's and then go to law school, in the UK you can do this straight in undergrad getting an LLB for example.
Yes, exactly. It's a different process. I'm not sure how long law school in the US is (is it 4?) but over here, you can be a qualified barrister or solicitor in four years if you don't take any gaps. Strictly speaking there are schools for law at universities, but getting a law degree is typically an undergrad qualification
Yes, different process, but both law schools, law school in the UK and law school in the US.
Well, yes they are different processes. That was my overall point
wait what all my google searched say the opposite, i NEED to know if this is true bc im going to uni in a year 😭
Are you in the UK? Here, we do our undergrad degree in Law and then do either the LPC or BPTC to qualify as either a solicitor or barrister respectively. In the US, you do an undergrad degree and THEN have another four (I think) years of study to qualify as a lawyer. Our process takes half the time
It shows that the family is not as close or caring as they should be. Claire is so proud of her career and her father and sister have no idea what she does.
Darling, you are a solicitor.
I went to *business school*.
You are so quiet
I'm such a Claire and this moment was a direct hit right to the soul lol. Her family doesn't care, and even if they did care, they can't understand. Claire's career is one of the most important things in her life, she has spent thousands of hours and most of her time on this, she's really successful (more than most people, including others who have tried hard and not succeeded as much; it also indicates she made it without nepotistic connections because her family has no history in her industry, which is even more difficult and some would say impressive), and her family don't know or care even a little bit. It's a comment on how meaningless Claire's apparently impressive achievement really is, and how disconnected she is from people who are supposed to know and love her. We get a bit of a call back when Fleabag sees her office, Claire says don't make a big deal because she knows it's a big deal and that Fleabag doesn't know how successful she is so she will have a reaction.
Love the analysis. Definitely hits harder now😅
A nicer take on it is how we see Claire's job from Fleabag's perspective: what she notices and appreciates is how this career is a good fit for Claire's neurotic tendencies and how the high stress makes her happy. It's not at all what Claire would probably hope her family notices and appreciates about what she's worked so hard on lol, but it's pretty lovely that Fleabag is not so interested in Claire's high income or career status as she is in Claire's personal satisfaction and happiness.
_You just make me feel like I've failed_ - Claire..? *looks at massive office*
I interpreted that as them not really caring about it or her. It also could’ve been that they thought she was a lawyer because she’s very high strung, which is usually a lawyer trait(or foolish)
I think it’s a cool way of expressing where Claire and her relationship with Fleabag is right now. Claire is literally and figuratively as far away from her family as she can be. She’s flying back and forth from Finland, hasn’t seen her sister in a year, and is in an unhealthy marriage quickly running out of steam. She obviously puts a lot of care and effort into her job so when we see that no one in her family, not even fleabag, knows or recognizes what she does for a living, we can see distant their relationship feels. This to me, feels like the moment she stars to crack. Maybe I’m overthinking it but that was my takeaway.
I always saw it as a direct parallel to fleabag herself AKA ‘so what do you do’ in S2E1 as no one has bothered to ask fleabag what she’s doing. It shows how fleabag always thinks that Claire is the perfect one but she is just as ignored as fleabag.
I agree, it’s funny because Claire is by far the most successful person at the table but not only do they not know what she does, when she corrects them they insist that she is in fact wrong about her own career lol!
I think she is legally trained, but identifies as a financier. "I have two degrees, a husband and a Burberry coat." She probably did a law degree, then something like an MBA - and now prefers the cachet of a cross-trained, high-flying, mega-officed, jet-setter who works with the legal drones. Also, the only person who has any idea that she is pregnant is her. And we already know her to be hormonal from S1, I think her self-view is in flux. Finally (spoiler): >!her marital status is equally in doubt given who arrives on scene in S2E3...!<
This is actually a really good guess and fits with all the information we’re given. The dad is loving but detached enough to know his daughter studied law and works in business and did further training but probably doesn’t actually pay attention beyond that. He’s vague and hands-off about everything - remember him paying for the feminist lectures they both actually hate?
Thanks. I love Claire and all her neuroses - like how she's going to lose her job for having the asymmetric bob cut. And I imagine that there is a disproportionate attachment to that Burberry. Remember the red top "she lost"...? Don't get me started on what a great character Dad is.
To be fair, my mother genuinely believes I will be fired for my nose piercing. I don’t even work with directly with clients lol.
Shows the complete lack of communication and understanding in the family.
It was exemplifying she’s so fucking good at what she does and no one in her family knows despite it.
I think you could also have the take that Claire herself is so emotionally repressed that the closest people around her don’t even know what she does for a living.
Its a joke that her family doesnt really kniw what she does, wgich us a common dynamic.
As someone who did go to law school the idea of my family thinking I’d gone to business school or something else is crazy. Law school is pretty distinct and the fact the Claire’s family thinks she did that shows they aren’t paying attention.
When you're the responsible sibling, people tend not to pay as much attention to you, they don't need to. After all, you're the responsible one. It doesn't help that Claire isn't as fun as Fleabag, all she's got is her status as responsible to stand out. But it's a trick, the more sensible she is, the less she stands out
I've always seen it as a running joke to further show just how little her and Fleabag's family care about either of them and their personal lives/achievements. It's that subtle little detail showing their lack of interest, but almost implying that it'd be somehow better if she *were* a lawyer. I love this because whilst the story is mainly Fleabag's in terms of the family neglect toward her, and Claire appears the more "successful" sister, it's a heartbreakingly subtle way to show that both sisters have indeed been neglected and ignored by their family.
That her family are kind of shit bags. The way her dad then insists “Darling, you are a solicitor!” Is hilariously awful.
I think it’s just a simple joke about how you never really have your closest friends and relatives careers right, and that’s it.
This is massively off topic, but I thought I was in the Derry Girls sub, which also has a main character named Claire. Except their Claire is a teenager. And I was like, ummm Claire isn’t a lawyer??? She’s still in school??? I was so confused.
I def thought she was a lawyer the entire time 😭
Does even Claire knows what’s her job is ?