#fleabag narration is cool but only works in certain contexts and for certain narrative purposes

[irrelevant-pseudonym]

Okay so this post got a lot of traction, especially the bit about El using voiceover narration (which I think would be ESSENTIAL from a voice/practical standpoint. So much of the magic system and lore is explicitly explained by El, and that would be hard to ‘show’ via regular screencraft. Imagine trying to visually ‘show’ the influence of intention on the Scholomance magic system with only the events of a scene, leaving the viewers to draw their own conclusions, vs. El narrating why she is intentionally staring past the shelves in the library so they don’t change on her.)

What I want to know is, would Fleabag style narration work? What do you all think?

My thoughts: Fleabag narration is very different from normal voiceover, because it acknowledges that there is an audience. Nowhere in the books does El realize that she is in a story. 

HOWEVER.

Storybook roles do play a big part. El is convinced she’s the villain and tries so, so hard not to deserve the title, while also resigning herself to it. Meanwhile, Orion is given the title of Hero based only on his violent appetite that happens to be heroic in this limited context. The roles get a lot messier as the trilogy progresses. If done right, having El react to the story AS A STORY could bring that thematic layer to the forefront. 

Thoughts, considerations?