#SEEING THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF STEDE IN SEASON 2

[saltpepperbeard]

me realizing i’m going to have to endure the “i’m seeing how this character is going to look and it’s almost sending me into cardiac arrest” thing for almost everyone in s2

[clairegregoryau]

Through the Looking Glass

From fairytale in Season 1 to stark reality in Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death- meta ported across from this Twitter thread by popular demand!

This thread contains spoilers for the entirety of OFMD Season 2

First OFMD S1 rewatch since S2, and holy shit, if you haven't done that yet... do that. A thing that it made instantly clear: they told us *all along* where this was going, but there was a reason we didn't see it. Because we were living in Stede's world then. Now it's Ed's.

I know that a lot of us have felt that the tone shift at the end of S2 was... jarring, compared to what's come before. This felt like a show that wouldn't go there. One where being run through was a temporary hiccup. We've travelled all the way from this to this.

But we haven't jumped there without a journey in between. And from the minute we started hearing about Blackbeard, the show never tried to hide what Ed's world and his specific life was like. Not once. In fact they told us over and over and over.

But Season 1 told us a lot of those things through song and story and fuckery. It blended reality with fiction.

Stede met the Blackbeard he knew through books and tall tales, and the real man was even more wonderful than he'd imagined.

We, along with Stede, were comfortable thinking that all those other tales were exaggerations and misrepresentations, and a lot of them very likely were.

The Ed Stede got to know was a person who was capable of whimsy and silliness and loved soft things and doing something weird. Yep, he was also capable of violence and rage, but when he was with Stede, he didn't feel it so much.

This was a vacation from that life.

To Stede he was absolutely lovely... oh, and also a bloodthirsty killer. And Stede loved (and loves) everything about him, and both of those things can be true. This is a perfect example of a spot where (in watching Season 1 without the benefit of hindsight) I assumed that everyone else in that pub was wrong, and Stede was simply trying to protect Ed's fearsome reputation by agreeing on the bloodthirsty bits. And I think from Stede's perspective that was largely true. I think that's how they wanted us to see Ed, through his eyes. Now, after watching both seasons, I think it wasn't the whole picture.

They told us, we heard it, we saw glimpses of it. But we (and Ed) were in Stede's run-away-to-sea fairytale the whole time. It wasn't until Stede left that we saw the reality- the Ed we knew had been, to a degree, a fictional character all along. I always saw this scene as Ed putting a bit of distance between himself and reality; it always felt like the Blackbeard of Stede's storybooks was the fictional one. But now it feels like the softer Ed that Stede knew was much the same- neither of them the whole story of who Ed was and is.

The one person who refused to live in Stede's fairytale was Izzy. I've seen people say it before, but he always gave off that vibe of the only human in the Muppets movie, or the guy who was in Black Sails while everyone else was in Pirates of the Caribbean. He saw the real risks clearly.

And in that light, the end of S1 has shifted an inch to the left for me, and I'm seeing it at a slightly different angle.

Izzy ripped away the healing Ed was doing, but in some respects he did it by tearing away the fairytale we'd all been living in, shoving Ed back into the Blackbeard story.

And that's where we pick up again in Season 2.

The fairytale reference came back in S2 in two notable places, those being Jim carrying that legacy forward in the darkest times, and in Izzy invoking the wooden boy against Ricky's efforts. Stede's made himself into a real boy. Ricky, nope.

Now that I've watched both seasons together, the tone shift doesn't feel so jarring at all, actually.

It feels like sliding through the looking glass, out of Stede's world, and into Ed's- a world that existed all along; we were just seeing it, la vie en rose, through Stede's eyes.

At the beginning of S2, Stede's gone, and we're seeing it unfiltered through Ed's reality.

But Stede wasn't lying when he said he loved everything about Ed. He made a promise to come back and find him- he went down into Ed's darkest place and reminded him that no matter how bad things got, there WAS someone waiting for him, ready to love him.

The contrast between S1's fantasy and S2's reality (excluding mermaids and actual bird guys and cursed coats) is stark, but it really is that.

We have the same settings, the same people, and very different ideas and outcomes at different times.

But it was always there.

Things do come back to a state of (precarious) balance once they're all together. Apologies are made, whether they're spoken out loud or through actions. Things go right, things go wrong. Healing happens. Izzy continues to have the steadiest, most real through-line in the story as he tracks toward redemption, finds acceptance, and to an extent finds himself.

Once again, I hate that they went here with the ending and I wish they hadn't. But it got a fraction easier for me looking at it not as a continuation of Stede's fairytale, but of the grounded-in-pirate-reality arc Izzy was always on, even while we lived in Stede's world.

Where does that leave us? We're not going back to the fairytale, but we're not going to be living in Black Sails for S3, either. We've hit a fusion point where S1 ended with each of them going to separate, miserable homes, but S2 ended with them in the same place, ready and willing to make a go of it.

Season 3 is going to give us their world, together.

I LOVED the moments in this season where the deep emotions were in balance with the silliness I've always adored about this show. Eps4-6 were wonderful like that. Clearly we're not done with drama, either, but like Ed and Stede, I think we'll find a middle ground.

Anyway in conclusion, a rewatch of S1 after S2 somehow made me love the first season even more, which felt impossible? It's now gained /even more/ layers of depth than it had before. No matter how you feel about S2 I think it's worth that rewatch.

Adding one more bit of clarity for myself: I think we got a bit (intentionally) seduced in S1 by the idea that the Ed of the storybooks, the Vampire Viking Clown with the nine guns, was a version of him that others saw, when Stede saw the REAL person who 'worked' for Blackbeard.

In hindsight I think it's clear the Ed Stede go to know was also not the complete version of himself- the reality is, there's a whole spectrum between the two, and they've landed in the middle of it now. Ed intentionally leaned into the unlovable Kraken image to protect himself.

It very much didn't work, just like being just... Edward hadn't worked to protect himself, either. This season has been very much about pulling those two extremes together and finding all the parts that make up Ed overall (another thread on that here on Twitter, which I'll also shift across to Tumblr soon!)

And I think one of my favourite things in S2 has been seeing the way Stede SEES that- he knows what Ed's done, everyone's told him, but he still loves Ed. sees his trauma and how it affects him, and believes he's a good man regardless. He IS lovable; he's not forever broken.

And together, they can heal.

[zombee]

I feel like the luckiest Our Flag Means Death fan in the world after the season 2 finale. By a series of incredible circumstances - including a significant metatextual realization that came in at the 11th hour - it was close to perfect for me.

This essay has everything. Completely normal behavior over a television series. Steven Universe references. The David Jenkins School of Whatever is Best for the Bit. Humbling catharsis.

First: this piece does not exist with the central thesis of “it’s okay to not like something but that’s not the same thing as it being bad.” I feel like thousands of words have already been written on this since Thursday, so I’m going to try to not get too in depth on that.

Second, cards on the table, because it’s relevant and I don’t want to waste your time if this is going to sour your ability to hear me out: I’m an Izzy Canyon hater. For MANY reasons, but from way before the concept of the Canyon existed, (some) Izzy fans pinged me in the same way as Snape/Kylo Ren fans did, and before May 2022 was over I went from genuinely enjoying Izzy’s character and place in the narrative to hating him because his fans made it impossible for me to enjoy him anymore.

(SOME! of his fans. Please don’t keep making me say this, although I’m not going to talk about the Canyon directly anymore after this. I know there are a ton of normal Izzy Enjoyers and even Canyonites, I am literally friends with many of them, please take this all in the good faith it’s intended and if you’re not One Of The Bad Ones then you’re fine! I very carefully don’t go anti-Izzy on main, and when I stopped enjoying his character, I stopped writing him into fics. I’m not trying to be a dick, I just want to be honest. Anyway.)

The season 2 finale made me weep over Izzy Goddamn hands.

ALL season long, I was disgruntled. All season long. I really, truly, DEEPLY appreciated what they were doing with his character and arc, I thought it was wildly on brand for the themes of community/queerness in the show, I saw the vision, I liked it!!! But. I wanted a fucking apology, yall. I needed three seconds of “sorry I called you a slur, Ed :/” and that would have been enough. But I had to let it go. It was poisoning my enjoyment of the whole season, which I loved with very little exception (not none!) and I just had to let it go. I wasn’t getting an apology. That didn’t negate what they were doing with his character.

Yall. They withheld the apology on purpose.

THIS FUCKING SHOW!!!

Let’s go back a bit. I was at the episode 6 + 7 screening, and the breakup shook me. Probably a LOT more than if I had watched it alone in bed at 3am on my laptop - five days of no sleep after NYCC, lots of emotions, seeing it on a big screen with a hundred other intense fans, etc etc - but I did see other folks reacting in parallel ways to me when the episodes aired to the regular public, so maybe I would have felt the same way. Regardless, I was mad at Stede and to a lesser extent Ed. I NEEDED AN APOLOGY FOR THAT FISH LINE. I needed it! “Whativah” autocorrects to “WHATIVAH” in my phone. I was going through it.

(When I rewatched the episode when it aired it was not nearly as bad as I remember, lol)

So now the episode 8 screeners go out and the reviews drop and I think I catch one half-glimpse of a “What a heartbreaking ending!” kind of snippet, and some of my friends who are spoiler fiends unintentionally drop little hints about similar ideas (devastating/heartbreaking/split the fandom) type shit.

And I was a fucking WRECK! about it.

I do love this whole show with my whole chest. I do!!! But I’m not rotted because this is an excellent television show, I’m rotted because two old men kiss each other! On the MOUTH!!! in an excellent television show. You get it, right? I’ve written 700,000 words across almost 100 fics and 98% of them are dedicated to those two men falling in love in different universes. 

So it just did not even occur to me the “heartbreak/devastation/fandom split” would be about anything but Gentlebeard.

Another piece of this that was fucking me up - David Jenkins and his “satisfactory” ending biz. My brain was reacting like this show was ENDING ending, even if I knew logically! that this is just season 2!!! And I wasn’t ready for that, because what if it wasn’t personally satisfying, and I’m a mess about it? Why was I so worried about not liking it? I’d liked the whole season! Even if they didn’t nail the landing I wasn’t going to stop writing fic or hanging out with my pirate community & friends. 

…is what I kept trying to tell myself, but the way anxiety disorders work is funny like that lol. What if I did stop writing fic and hanging out in pirate spaces? That would hurt much more than a show I like disappointing me. And for anyone who’s having that experience with ofmd s2, I’m so very, very sorry. It sucks and that’s where my epiphany came from on Wednesday before the finale.

Because it has happened to me before.

I flit from hyperfocus to hyperfocus, as ya do when you’re spicy, but the last thing to get its hooks in me PROPERLY like pirates was Steven Universe. And I did NOT like the way the regular season ended!!! (I actually really did like most of Future; that’s not what I mean. I mean season 5). I don’t like how they handled the Diamonds, tldr; I think the scope of their villainy got too out of hand, and I was left grieving the thing that had meant enough to me I ran a fan convention for four years based around it. 

Side note: imagine if I had channeled the hyperfocus of almost a million words of fanfiction into an American OFMD con instead. We could have made magic :( I did consult with Our Con Means Death though so I am at least a teeny tiny bit of that one!

I did not like the way Steven ended… but I do respect the story they were telling and think they told it well.

I’m still sad about it. Steven is still one of my most beloved, it will always be beautiful and great to me, but that experience did and does sully my memories. There is so, so, so, SO much more good than bad from being in that fandom, and I cherish it. And I hope, if you’re having this experience with OFMD right now, that you’ll find similar comfort.

But, like I said at the top, “it’s okay to not like something but that’s not the same thing as it being bad” has been belabored already by people better at writing about it than me. I just had the incredible privilege to remember my brush with lower case T trauma and having that experience in my last REALLY big deal fandom. That’s why I had been so extra anxious about being disappointed. Because it happened to me before. It helped so much to connect those two.

So the finale happens, and it’s actually about twelve hours of me going from “eh, rushed but fun, whole season was great” to “THIS MAYBE IS THE BEST SHOW OF ALL TIME, ACTUALLY!”

BECAUSE THIS SHOW MADE ME CRY OVER IZZY FUCKING HANDS!!!!

They literally told me this was the story they were telling this season. “Men can change” “The end  of piracy” “Ed leaving Blackbeard behind (ish).”

As for me? I didn’t get an apology for the fish. Instead, I got “Sorry I was a dick.” “You weren’t a dick. Life’s a dick.”

Just… fuckity BAM. THREE FUCKING SENTENCES resolving that fight. Saying so much in so little.

In real life, should these two men have an actual conversation about this shit? Sure!!! But that’s not how OFMD tells its stories!

It works in symbolism. It works in vibes. It works in an hour’s worth of content into each half-hour episode, and for how much lamenting I have done about the pacing, I would prefer that 100x to having to stretch it out too much.

I have said since March 24, 2022 that OFMD wields anachronism as a weapon. First and foremost, it’s fucking funny, but in addition to that, it’s stating clearly: “This is a fantasy world. This is not real history. This show is about romance (and so much more than that), and the rest is just VIBES!!!”

Sometimes vibes can be historical accuracy. Sometimes vibes can be true emotional poignancy. Sometimes vibes can be Ed finding his sunken leathers in the sea, changing underwater somehow, and coming out of the ocean like the Birth of Fucking Venus, because water and rebirth and mermaids and shit is all very prominent this season. And ALSO, and this is very important! BECAUSE IT LOOKS FUCKING COOL!

I don’t want to do much real Izzy meta here. It’s been said by others, and better than me. But it was telegraphed and it was symbolic – he was the paragon of Traditional Piracy in season 1, for goodness’ sake, and Traditional Piracy is Toxic Masculinity, and he was a part of Blackbeard and Ed had to leave Blackbeard behind (yknow, ish), and he got this ABSOLUTLEY FUCKING LOVELY! storyline about appreciating what a (queer) community can do, and god fucking shit fucking dammit… most of all, best of all (for me), was Buttons landing on Izzy’s grave at the end. Men can change. And Izzy DID!!! He did it for Ed. For love. For community. I am puzzled by “it’s fucked up to use Izzy to further Ed’s storyline” because… this was Ed’s season, in the way that season 1 was Stede’s. And Ed cannot be removed from piracy as a whole (neither can Stede!) so to have this old, set in his ways, coded-queerphobic character blossom to the point he can give this gift to Ed and to piracy… idk man. I just find it so fucking beautiful.

It is okay not to like what they did. It’s okay!!! It’s okay, and it’s okay to mourn, and while it’s not okay to do [insert vile behavior here], it’s okay to carefully examine what you think is “bad writing” vs “what you would have preferred to happen” and give good-faith, textually-based criticism on that.

But I want to remind you over and over and over again, this show works on vibes. It tells its stories leaving many, many, many gaps. There are many things I would have liked to see, and y’know what? I would have told the Izzy story differently. I would have personally done it differently. But it’s not my show! It’s not my show, and I am humbled and delighted to remember that, and to appreciate Our Flag Means Death for what it is and not what it isn’t.

Other words have been written better than I could about the 18 months between seasons 1 and 2 and what that does to us as rabid fans with expectations of how things will go. Millions and millions and millions of words have been written about OFMD, fictional and non, and that is going to color our expectations and experience. We had built it up SO MUCH in our minds and along the way I think some of us forgot (INCLUDING ME!!!) that it is first and foremost about Vibes.

The vibes of Izzy’s death are about rebirth and forgiveness and leaving traditional piracy behind. And he got to die in Ed’s arms, knowing (HAPPILY!) that he had been wrong, and giving Ed the gift of letting him know he is loved, and being a part of something. We had a funeral but we also had a wedding. The only constant is change. Men, piracy, Blackbeard; it all changes. And Izzy found peace in that.

Before my last point, I want to @ myself on things I felt versus realizing in the end it is (I will say it until I’m blue in the face) about vibes.

· I was convinced they left Buttons’ transformation ambiguous because they wanted to leave room for it not having been real. NO!!! It is real, until they decided it isn’t. Magic in the OFMD universe? Fucking why not!!! IT’S SYMBOLIC!!! IT’S IMPORTANT TO ED’S STORYLINE AND THE CENTRAL THESES OF THE SHOW!

· I was unhappy, and still am a little, about the Polycule Situation, but now that I realize Oluwande is Zheng’s Stede… I am less so. The Zheng : Auntie :: Ed : Izzy vibes, btw? Fuckin immaculate.

·        Obviously they touched on Stede/Ed’s “killing people trauma” but I’d reallyyyy like Stede to address it, and even though I think Ed’s is left on a very satisfying note, I’d like him to dip a bit more into it as well. But if they don’t, oh well! It’s not like they ignored it, they just didn’t have a Deep Dive like I Wanted Them To!

· They didn’t deal with Ed throwing Stede’s shit away. They just ignored it! Stede started to collect new trinkets, and I believe that was as much about giving the audience back the old feeling of the Revenge as it was anything important (not to say it wasn’t also important thematically!!!). Just like Ed going back to his leathers is both Extremely Important thematically and about putting Taika back in the leathers because that’s what Blackbeard should be wearing for the epic final scenes for the sake of visually keeping the show consistent. That’s Blackbeard’s uniform.

· Stede’s frilly little outfits my beloved. God I hope they give him back some of his frippery in season 3. I think they will re: cursed suit BUT his journey this season was about something else, so!

· Ed’s stupid little non-profit non-apology, oh my god. It was so funny. And there is a transition from eps 5 to 6 where Ed is back in his leathers and the crew is more comfortable around him. They didn’t have to have him do a Real Apology, it’s implied it was all settled. What was the timeline? A day? DOESN’T MATTER, BABY, VIBES!!!

· Lots more, I’m sure, but now that I’ve tried to let it all go, I’m remembering less of what I wanted and appreciating what I got!

And, last point here, I think it is also very very very important to remember that a lot of people are normal about this show. In fact, WAY more people are normal about this show than aren’t. And that is EXTREMELY! IMPORTANT!!! because otherwise it wouldn’t be profitable and we all know what would happen then. We are the core of it, to be sure. Without word of mouth that stems from our intensity, this show would not be NEARLY as successful as it is. I truly, truly believe that.

But.

Do normies need deeply emotional discussions dissecting the central relationships? No. What normies need is Ed and Stede running dramatically toward each other on the beach and kissing. And I am happy, so fucking happy, to realize that’s what I need too. I’ve got fanworks for the rest.

I love this fucking show and this fucking fandom and its fucking creators so much. Fuck.

[knifeturtlelives]

My Writing - Masterlist

making myself a new pinned post so you can find all my OFMD writing in one place 💜

Canon Era:

gotta see a man about a dinghy (G, 2k) - s1e09 missing scene. Ed mugs a guy for his dinghy and gets to enjoy 10 seconds of happiness before everything falls apart.

Ed. Oh, Ed. (T, 4k) - Takes place between s1e10 and s2e02. A few different glimpses of Stede's "Ed. Oh, Ed" dreams. Technically a WIP, but each chapter can be read as a standalone.

Of All the Gin Joints (T, 10K) - Diverges from canon sometime during Impossible Birds. Basically, what if Ed went for a drink at Jackie'z while Stede was still working there?

Picture Taken Moments Before Disaster (M, 4k) - s2e07 missing scene. Still living in the afterglow, Ed and Stede walk over to Jackie'z for that drink, and Stede is very smitten.

Post-Canon/Post Season 2:

can't keep my hands to myself (I mean I could, but why would I want to?) (E, 5k) - Ed and Stede retire from piracy and attempt to open an inn. Or they would, if they could stop fucking for long enough to get the place into shape.

Oh, be my once in a lifetime (E, 7k) - An extremely soft + emotional look at their first night in the inn together, with rimming.

The way I feel under your command ( E, 13k) - Ed develops something of a Blackbeard kink, but he's not sure how to broach the subject with Stede (or, an exploration of the Ed/Blackbeard duality, by way of porn)

Modern AUs

Come What May (T, 9k) - After a break up, Stede goes over to his best buddy Ed's house for a movie night. Is tonight the night that Ed finally tells him how he feels? Maybe, but expect 9,000 words of panic attack first. Modern AU, mutual pining/oblivious friends-to-lovers

I've got a blank space baby (and I'll write your name) (E, 7k) - Edward Teach is an expert at breakups—he should be, he's gone through enough of them over the years. He has a whole ritual for getting over someone. But when he goes out looking for a bit of meaningless rebound sex, he finds something else—something he never could have prepared for: Stede Bonnet.

[ladyluscinia]

Idk if it's just a coincidence, but all of the sudden I keep seeing those "Izzy stans are so obsessed with this random white guy that they ignore or flatten every other character (especially poc)" takes all over and it's annoying me so much. So:

First, I'm going to link bromelads most recent attempt to get some actually constructive dialogue going about fandom racism because it has a whole section on this point. Technically two sections if you count the linked drive file as separate.

And then I'm going to ask all my fellow Izzy Hands lovers to add on to this post their favorite deep thoughts / burning questions / fun headcanons / etc. about your favorite non-Izzy characters. I know you all have a bunch of them. Bonus points for other side characters instead of Edward or Stede.

I'll start.

---

So I'm fascinated by the glimpses we get of pirate culture / the Queen Anne / the general environment that Edward is coming from and still half enmeshed in because I personally find the narrative push and pull there a lot more interesting than the whole running from one world to another that Stede (and to a lesser extent his crew) has going on. Which naturally leads to me finding Fang and Ivan so fucking interesting.

(Mandatory moment of sadness that Ivan won't be in season 2, because I was really hoping to see where his story was going 😭)

Not sure if I can really hypothesize many "hidden" depths to Fang because the show openly hit a pretty wide range. He cries over his dog and nude models for Lucius, but also skins a man with a snail fork and seems shockingly chill about Edward making an abrupt 180 to "maroon all your new friends to die". He's an obedient henchman in 1x02 and 1x04, but he also takes basically no prompting to go for the jugular on humiliating gossip the moment Edward seems disinclined to enforce Izzy's authority. The man contains multitudes already, minimal sleuthing required.

I am really looking forward to how S2 addresses his loyalty to Edward over the crew. Like at the end of 1x10 Fang and Ivan don't even really look that conflicted??? They were buddy buddy with these guys yesterday - moreso Fang than Ivan - but also seemed fully aware that Blackbeard could decide he was done playing around at any moment and then he did. Whoo boy. I mean, one genre of fic I'm usually not interested in is "Lucius in the walls" fic (I know he's alive, I just don't really care for that approach), but I will make an exception if it really explores Fang specifically hiding him because that's a big thing given he is openly afraid of defying Edward.

Like... Fang is a pretty friendly dude, and I can't imagine someone to fool around with was that impossible to find on Blackbeard's leatherman express. So it's really cool that despite very much not being, like, his true love or whatever, Lucius is apparently offering Fang something novel on the acceptance and connection front but maybe not something that wildly diverges from what he's had before. And I do think it's interesting to rotate how that tension could be playing out in his mind. He's got to be used to the whole flow of making and losing connections - that's just pirate life, nbd - except this time it's supposed to just be whatever, only... it's not? He actually misses Lucius and those other fun guys??? Maybe even enough to stand up to Edward over it?!

And Ivan! Man, Ivan has all kinds of potential stuff going on that I feel like people could talk about. I would probably talk about it more, only with the news he won't be in S2 it always makes me wonder how they are going to get rid of him and what that's going to imply about him (which might be contradictory to what they were intending). Which makes me sad.

Probably the biggest thing is like... I don't think Ivan actually likes Stede or the Revenge crew much? I mean on a personal level. Like, his only real friendship bond appears to be Fang, he's not noticeably trying to make new ones, and he's kinda fed up with Stede's people a few times? I'm thinking of rooting to kill them after 1x02, and scoffing at them during the raid in 1x05. And to me this is a really cool trait. I love it when "good" side characters have independent personalities enough to find the protagonist mildly annoying or something, instead of every single one of them perfectly correlating "good person" and "protagonist's friend". It prevents protagonist POV from becoming tunnel vision and accidentally making them seem like the center of the universe. (This is part of why the spn fandom loves Kevin.)

Not liking Stede isn't a character flaw, you know? And if you analyze Ivan's POV with just kinda not being impressed with these guys as an option, that leads to some really interesting places. Because in 1x06 he's actively encouraging Edward to just kill Stede like he said he would, not just following Izzy's lead, and then in 1x07 and 1x08 Ivan and Fang disappear. They don't show up again until Izzy does, but they also aren't seen leaving with Izzy or showing up in scenes like Jackie's bar like you would expect if they were just his loyal henchmen or whatever. So what are they doing in that gap???

I've said before that the adventures of Fang and Ivan is a completely wild story squeezed into the background and gaps of this show with two fascinatingly insane guys at the center of it, and I still think that's true. Fang goes right into becoming besties with the crew while still definitely thinking Edward is going to have him murder all of them in a few weeks. Ivan watches Izzy get banished, sleeps on it, and then fucking bounces with his buddy to go meet up with him... And then they praise Edward's punch and mutiny Izzy later! It's fun to think about!

...but I suppose my interest in Fang and Ivan does connect back up with my Izzyposting fairly often (since I like analyzing how characters interact and relate, and these two interact with Izzy), so how about another character?

Oluwande.

Now obviously the well trodden path here is TealOranges thoughts and feels. Plenty of drama, development, struggles, etc. But actually what I most want to know about Oluwande is how he and Spanish Jackie know each other???

Like what was up with that??? 👀👀👀

Their interaction gives off sorta inner circle vibes to me. Jackie clearly suspects / knows he betrayed her, but she calls him over to chat like old friends and Oluwande is expected to play along to act normal. So like... Was that normal? Did he regularly sit at Jackie's table and chat about life with her? Jackie does not have the time of day for her own husbands' problems most of the time - she seems to reprimand Geraldo for expecting more attention than the others - but immediately asking after Oluwande's life doesn't ping "oh she's definitely onto us" for him???

I don't think he's a husband (feels like it would have been addressed) and them being related seems unlikely. He's got a good head on his shoulders but he's clearly not some notorious pirate or outlaw of great skill. Like Oluwande is just some guy! But also some guy that Jackie was personally invested in!

And then bringing Jim into this... So Oluwande is just some guy in Jackie's inner circle, finds out the new barmaid is out to kill Jackie's favorite husband, and just helps them out??? My dude??? He doesn't even get whirlwind romance privileges. He did all that for a mysterious yet compelling stranger and no shit is this man crazy enough for the Revenge.

My headcanon re: the murder is that Alfeo was universally loathed and literally only Jackie and his gang liked him. So when people (and let's be honest Jim is not the most subtle of assassins so probably more than just Oluwande) realized someone was legit after him, they pretty much shrugged and sent them good thoughts. Also I think Oluwande and Jim had a solid plan to get away with killing Alfeo that went completely sideways, which is how they ended up hiding on a pirate ship pretending they knew how to sail. Oluwande didn't actually intend to completely ruin his status with Jackie and he does lowkey regret it in some ways, so he's gonna be thrilled when Jim tells him all about how they are cool with Jackie now and he can go back to the bar to hang next time they are in Nassau.

Anyway that's another big thing I want from S2 Jackie is Oluwande backstory, because that would be such a treat.

[sidewalk-scrawls]

I do actually think Ed was feeling fear in the last episode prior to going into Kraken mode, but I feel like people often misunderstand what he was afraid of. He wasn’t afraid of violence from Izzy, and Izzy wasn’t threatening it. What Ed *was* afraid of, I think, was a mixture of two things -- The loss of the respect of the crew, and the idea of Izzy leaving.  His fear was primarily related to the emotional context he found himself in, rather than a fear of physical harm (although I think the fear of Izzy leaving could fall a bit into both categories, considering Ed would be left with an incompetent crew and no right hand guy).

When Izzy confronts him, Ed was obviously already emotionally fragile. Like, that guy was balanced on a razor’s edge, trying to cope but doing it very badly through a heavy, heavy layer of denial. He was not dealing well with Stede not showing up at the dock, and it was not going to take much to push him over the edge. And then, during the confrontation, Izzy pretty clearly implies that he’d be leaving next if Ed didn’t get his shit together. I think that is actually Ed’s breaking point.

Because if Izzy *had* left, what then? Ed would’ve been stuck with a crew who didn’t actually know him, and who he clearly didn’t care about. He would’ve lost the respect and fear that he’d built up as Blackbeard, when that fear and respect provide him with a physical and emotional shield. *And* he’d have lost his first mate, who’s been with him for who knows how long. Plus, being abandoned again, right after being abandoned by Stede? That would fucking hurt.

From a practical perspective, too, there could be problems for Ed if Izzy leaves the ship. When Izzy confronts him, Ed is still firmly in denial mode, but I think that scene breaks him out of it -- Ed starts to acknowledge that, yeah, this thing that he’s doing with the crew can’t last. The idea that they can stop being pirates and become performers, and that the world will just let them... It’s just not realistic. And if Izzy leaves, well... Izzy plays the more rigid, methodical role on the ship in response to Ed’s creativity and impulsiveness. Their skills compliment each other well, which likely influences how Ed chooses to run his ship. So if Izzy leaves, not only is Ed taking an emotional punch, he’s also left with an incompetent crew and potentially the need to invent an entirely new leadership style.

Alright, so how do you protect yourself when you’re afraid you’ve lost the respect of your crew, and you’re also afraid of your first mate leaving? Well, if you’re Ed, you just make a series of incredibly destructive decisions! He pushes Lucius off the ship to prove to *himself* that he can still be scary and violent, and then he cuts off Izzy’s toe to prove to *Izzy* that he can be scary and violent. If Izzy thinks he’s scary and violent again, then he’ll stay. And then, to get rid of those last glimpses of weakness, he throws all his ex-boyfriend’s stuff off the ship and leaves his crew marooned on an island to die of dehydration.

And I mean, it does work. Technically. Ed’s regained the fear of his crew, and Izzy stays. But I think his choice of how he did that is going to have a *lot* of rippling consequences in season 2 -- I'd wager we’ll see Ed and Izzy’s relationship get worse as a direct result of this, far before anything starts to get better.

[izzyisafreak]

what do u want to happen in OFMD season 2? 👀

I have so many thoughts, thank you for asking! Here's a probably incomplete list of things I want to happen:

1) Lucius being alive, literally don't care how or why but bonus points if it's funny, and bonus bonus if he's hiding on the ship and that becomes part of a major plotline

2) Would love to see Izzy slowly come to understand that he really fucked up with Ed, and see him try to fix it

3) a scary Kraken the scariness of which mainly stems from him completely losing any remaining sense of self-preservation, thereby leading the crew into dangerous situations without plans (this is the behavior that really kicks Izzy into gear, lord knows he does not vibe with casual disregard of self-preservation)

Just to ramble about that point for a bit, I can see the Kraken being a scary presence on the ship, especially around the others, but bonus points if they make it clear that he's only putting it on in public (i.e. Ed crying alone last season). He had gotten just a glimpse of being able to have what his mother and the world told him he'd never be able to have, fancy things, Nice Things, and whether Izzy understands it or not, I think the way Ed interpreted their convo was through that lens. What was he thinking, thinking he could have that kind of life. That he could try to be a nicer person. He sees the Kraken in himself and he's terrified of it. But now he has convinced himself it's the only thing he's allowed to be. Honestly i don't think Izzy was intending to do anything more than bring Blackbeard the strategist, the brilliant sailor he admired, back. The Kraken doesn't have self preservation, because deep down, Blackbeard doesnt want to live if he's living that way. So i feel like that's going to get the remaining crew of the Revenge into trouble. and as Izzy said "I'm not dying, not for that ponce and not for you." So I see Izzy coming to realize that this is not what he wanted and coming up with some kind of plan to fix it. This might inherently involve some character redemption for Izzy but i really would love for him to stay a grumpy grumpy bastard at the same time. This brings me to

4) Izzy still an angry little man but we get to see his whole antagonistic vibe used in ways that are actually helpful for everyone else. Would be very fun to see him get along with the rest of them, but in the way where he's reluctantly grumbling the whole time and they're all like 'and this is our angry guy that we've adopted, if you look at us the wrong way, he'll probably kill you 😊'

Back to the Ed situation, to combine my earlier hopes into a hope that relies on 1 and 2

5) Izzy (and like the entire remaining Revenge crew except Ed) discovers Lucius in the walls but only AFTER he's already started to realize he needs to do something to help Ed. Then everyone gets to team up on some crazy plan to like, go get Stede or something idk

6) First Badminton brother style, Ed sees Lucius as a ghost and it's both sad and hilarious. Ghost!Lucius is basically the voice of Ed's inner conscience, letting us as the audience hear Ed's internal conflict without him having to voice it himself.

7) speaking of the Badminton brothers, i want there to be a triplet. Then after Stede somehow accidentally kills him in some ridiculous way, I want there to be another badminton, some other family member, inexplicably played by the same actor but now with no canon explanation. I want this to continue in the same inevitable pattern of them dying and another one showing up (always the same actor) until the end of the show. Endless Badmintons. I think it would be absolutely hilarious

8) Jim gets to have some murder attempts, as a treat, mainly of Blackbeard and Izzy, mostly in the early part of the season. Would love it if Izzy is very very aware of the danger they pose whereas Blackbeard comically somehow doesn't notice every single time (if he did that'd be bad for Jim probably so better for him not to notice, also funnier too)

9) would absolutely love to see Izzy duel someone but like in a context where we're rooting for him and he gets to look deadly competent and very very cool. Bonus points if it helps redeem him in the eyes of Stede and/or the crew

10) a slowburn love story for Izzy, like it would not be resolved or even Near Resolved by the end of season 2. I'm pretty biased toward an eventual Pete/Izzy/Lucius because 1) i think it'd be cute and 2) i would die for actual polyam representation, that would be so cool. But I'd take anything, I just want him to start healing

Though to be clear, I don't want it to be the romance that heals him, that's why I want it to be slowburn. I want him to be an active participant in his own healing, would love to see clear signs that he is Trying. He's still a bastard, but he's a bastard who will sit and watch the talent show without complaining. Would love to see moments where he snaps at someone, starts to walk away, stops and grimaces at himself, turns back and through gritted teeth attempts to rephrase whatever he said in a nicer way. Then the fact that he is trying, is getting better in his own way is what opens him up to have more meaningful relationships with other people in the crew.

11) Lots more backstory for the rest of the crew + Izzy. Whether that be through literal flashbacks or just mentions of what they did/where they came from before the events of the show, I would love to get more info about everyone.

12) would love to see Black Pete go through some kind of development re: his what seems to be compulsive lying or strong need to boast about things and the way he idolizes Blackbeard. I think the latter part is going to fizzle out as soon as he finds out Blackbeard tried to murder Lucius. But it would be interesting if someone (I'm biased toward Izzy lol) just kinda confronted him on it and were like, dude why do you do that? You don't need to try to impress people all the time.

I'd like it to be Izzy because I love Izzy but also because I think he'd be like, if you want people to respect you, then just work on being a fucking great pirate. Learn how to sail, how to swordfight. Fuck, if you agree to take it seriously, I'll teach you. Don't make me regret this. That could be a season 3 plotline for all i care i just think it would be fun and would help them both. I want to see Black Pete become truly competent in his own right, get to the point where he can be like, i did this really cool thing and it was badass, and he really did do it, and people really do believe him.

13) during the early season aftermath when it's still just the few remaining crew on the revenge, I want Frenchie to pull off a really cool con, fuckery style, but in a similar vein to what he did on the rich people ship, and i want it to get them out of a situation where they otherwise could have died, and I want everyone to be very impressed, especially Izzy

can you tell i like Izzy, he's in like 90% of my bullet points lmao

14) i want to find out where in god's name the rest of Blackbeard's crew went and where his ship is, it's so funny that he literally just left his ship somewhere

15) more subtitled Olivia, that bit killed me I would love more of that

16) oluwande and jim. More please, i love them. That is all. But also Jim having to reveal more and more about themselves over time and they hate it but it fills oluwande with glee so they slowly start offering more and more information of their own free will

17) i think the whole point of the end of last season was that stede and Mary would never see each other again but also hear me out it would be hilarious if Mary met Ed, like, the 'the love of your life is BLACKBEARD?!" potential is fantastic also Mary is awesome and i love her and would love to see more of her

18) post reunion, we see everyone eat breakfast lunch or dinner several times and each time the meals get more and more ridiculous and elaborate with no explanation and a grinning Roach in the background. Also more doctor Roach. More Roach in general ("come back! it's just a dream!" absolute top tier comedy, i need more)

19) oh and duh i want stede and ed to reunite, however they decide to do it is fine, a little angst would be fun for sure but definitely a happy ending with a really sweet kiss would be great :)

And given that i have almost 20 points here I'm gonna stop for now lmao if i think of any more big ones maybe I'll add on more! thank you for coming to my ted talk and thank you for asking!!

[casie-mod]

OFMD Season 2 predictions & possibilities

Just a very long list of thoughts, ideas, and things I’d like to see regarding how season 2 of Our Flag Means Death could potentially go. Because it’s fun trying to predict. Spoilers of course, so avast ye and all that.

-- It takes a while for Stede to find Ed again.  They both have grown beards, or just Stede grows a beard. I'm very much for Stede getting a beard and Blackbeard not growing his back and only using the black makeup because he is wearing his mask harder than ever and his hair will never be as black as the kohl. He'd only start growing the beard back when he and Stede have reunited and resolved their issues. Stede will go through more trials in trying to find Blackbeard again. He'll build more skill and confidence, and be able to conduct his polite menace brand of pirating, but he won't be able to completely avoid treacherous developments and newer traumas, and starts to resemble Blackbeard just a bit more in response. That "unhand me or bleed" bit with Doug is just a glimpse of how unhinged he can get. Stede is entering his super HIMBO era.

-- Lucius definitely didn't drown because the wooden finger Pete made him will keep him afloat. (If any of the crew were to die, I would absolutely feel gut-stabbed.) Possibilities for how he gets rescued: 1) Lucius got help from Fang back on board,  finds one of the secret passages of the ship while trying to hide, and gets stuck hiding there, taking food when everyone is asleep or occupied because Blackbeard will kill him if he is seen. He can only come back out when Stede / Ed reunite and the dynamics change again. So in the meantime people on the ship start thinking there's a ghost on board because of Lucius moving around stuff when they aren't looking. Blackbeard's all like "Guess i'm not the only ghost on board". Bonus points if Lucius decides to really lean into the ghost bit, turn it into a fuckery, and do really bitchy trolling of Blackbeard. "You are so shit at makeup, you should really read a tutorial on that. Oh wait that's right you can't read...Hmmm well I could have helped you there. . .  IF YOU HADN'T PUSHED ME INTO THE SEA, YOU DICK!" Since Lucius is anxiety ridden and claustrophobic, I'd imagine being couped up in small spaces for so long would drive him a bit mad after a while and he'd start saying some unhinged I-don't-give-a-shit stuff after doing his best to remain silent and undetectable at first. 2) Picked up by Anne Bonny/ Mary Read (see below) 3) Stede and crew find him

-- Mermaids/sirens show up, or rather Stede and crew thinks they're mermaids/sirens but there's actually a more realistic explanation for them (see next item). It might be more likely for supposed sirens to show up, which can also be associated with mermaids. (The most fantastical this show has gotten so far is Buttons being able to talk to birds, so I get the sense that it won’t get as fantastical to have actual mermaids. It also serves the point of dispelling superstitions.)  Either way some kind of mermaid/siren action because of the crew asking Jim if they are a mermaid and the Swede singing like a siren. The 'sirens' try to lure the crew into shipwreck, but the entire crew is queer so it doesn't affect them. The Swede tries to outsing the sirens and the "sirens" are the ones that end up being confused. They invite the crew over because they want to learn more about the song the Swede is singing. The Swede is excited to talk to a group who love to sing. They exchange notes. 

--- After Stede and crew have stolen another ship, they encounter Mary Read and Anne Bonny as co-captains of their own ship, the one Calico Jack was mutinied from. They ask about him and are glad he got his. They talk about different assholey things he did on their ship that ultimately caused them to mutiny. Read and Bonny's ship has a number of lesbians who pretend to be sirens as their form of fuckery to wreck and steal from other ships without fighting. They happened on this fuckery accidentally though; they were just hanging out and singing some songs together one time, and these dudes were trying to sneak attack them, but heard them singing and "they just threw themselves in the water, screaming "I AM BEWITCHED", and fucking drowned themselves while we just here going 'what the fuck we're just here existing, bruh'. And then we just helped ourselves to the booty. Don't mess with what works, right?"

-- Frenchie gets a cat subplot: They develop a rat problem on board. They're not overrun with them, there is one (1) rat (or mouse) but nobody wants to kill it because it's cute. They  get a cat at port, and It ends up being a terrible hunter. Like the rodent will use the cat as a bed sometimes. Frenchie is afraid of the cat, has nightmares that it's going to turn into a witch and then subsequently turn him into a frog or mouse and then turn back into a cat and try to eat him or something. Everyday is a challenge of him just trying to avoid the cat. But he wakes up from one of the nightmares and finds the cat curled up at his feet, purring and cuddly. Slowly, Frenchie befriends the cat, we learn about where he got his superstitions about women and crystals and cats, and he begins to unlearn them because of the cat and because of interacting with Jim more, but then he just gets a new superstition to believe. At least this time the superstition could be a more harmless one.

-- Frenchie and Jim get new gothy outfits:   Blackbeard has an image to live up to so they will be made to dress in a way that’s more suitable to being a part of his crew. I’m ready for them to get all decked out in black leather, but Frenchie is going to make at least one comment as to how hot it is (not in the good way). 

-- Izzy Hands backstory and second chance for change: Maybe we'll get to learn some more about what made him develop his humiliation and punishment(choking) kink. Him pushing Ed to be Blackbeard again is his toxic way of him trying to help Ed. Because if Ed isn't feared, then he and the crew won't survive is how I imagine Izzy thinks about it. He says he ‘serves Blackbeard and not Edward’, this angry man is so stuck in upholding an oppressive system and set of rules because that’s worked in keeping them alive, and he lacks the imagination to think outside of that box. Would love to see some backstory of younger times of him and Blackbeard/Edward to give more of that context. He doesn't understand he’s unleashing the Kraken and not Blackbeard. It's possible he'll regret that because the Kraken is potentially way more unhinged and reckless, which could lead to a mutiny.

-- Izzy and Jim are going to clash. What Jim and Jackie discussed about revenge will be tested. Jim is going to want to kill Blackbeard and Izzy is going to thwart their attempts, possibly without Blackbeard even knowing the full extent of how many attempts there are as they play in a montage style. He keeps having to take away knives from Jim, but Jim manages to procure or create more. Izzy might actually get so fed up with the attempts, maybe he'll just start trying to talk to Jim. Or maybe Jim will stop the attempts after thinking more on their talk with Jackie, and Izzy, perplexed and wondering what happened, will try to suss out what Jim’s up to, requiring dialogue.  Either way, they end up talking. Maybe they’ll bond a little over not wanting to talk about their feelings.

-- Stede encounters Black Sam Bellamy and gets into rivalry for most polite pirate.

-- Hornigold shows up (maybe played by Jemaine Clement?). He fools Stede into thinking he wants to help Stede find Blackbeard, but he wants to help find him so that he can turn him over to the English since Hornigold's renounced piracy and serves the crown now.

--Stede goes to China looking for Ed since that was where Ed had suggested they run off. He doesn’t find Ed there but he learns a lot after crossing paths with the most famous female Chinese pirate Ching Shih.

--Stede finding Edward's silk and bringing it back to him certainly feels like it will happen. But I like to think it might happen in a different way, given Lucius’ words of “What if it’s not a death? What if life just begins again?” Maybe instead, Edward’s silk really truly is gone and will never be recovered. And even though Stede gave up everything he had, he actually still held onto a piece of fine purple fabric because it reminded him of Ed. It’s the color Ed starts to wear more as he falls in love with Stede. Also, combine the color of Ed’s red silk and the teal blue that is most often associated with Stede and you get purple. It’s the love they forged together. Somehow, Stede finds out Ed’s silk is gone and gives him that instead.

--When Ed and Stede finally reunite: I initially had difficulty thinking Ed will be angry with Stede. Ed wasn't upset when Stede didn't show at the docks. He looked resigned. He looked as if it was a possibility his mind had already planned for: "Stede came to his senses; he looked at me and realized he didn't want this. I'm not meant for fine things anyway'. He doesn't look for Stede or even seem to have any concern that something happened to him because those thoughts are fact for him. He gets back to the Revenge and we still never see any anger, just sadness. With support from the crew, he is processing and makes progress in trying to move on. It takes Izzy threatening him for Ed to fall back on the Blackbeard persona; it's a survival tactic. It's a mask and we can still see him hanging on by a thread even after that. I can see how that could form into anger at Stede over time. I get thinking how it's likely that will happen. It makes sense, given that Ed has shown a pattern of blaming others for his bad behavior. He doesn't blame Stede at the time it happens, but over time, it would harden into blame and anger. And yet I still feel it could happen a bit differently given the show's handling of its themes, its attitude towards revenge and toxic masculinity.  So I can't help but imagine instead that what if Ed, caught up in the Blackbeard identity, doesn't recognize Stede. It's likely Stede's appearance will change a lot, he'll grow a beard, he'll look rougher, he won't be dressed fancy, after giving all his wealth up and having to actually rely completely on piracy in forging his path back to Ed. Stede's got nothing now, he's going to have to really fight and struggle like he hasn't had to before. He's going to really understand Olu when he said ' We don't do this because we want to; we don't have a choice.' They will both look so different to each other. Maybe Ed has fallen into his mask harder after having heard of Stede's death; he might get caught up in a downward spiral that is The Kraken, recklessly attacking people. It gets to the point where he attacks Stede's (Captain Thomas) new ship and crew, not recognizing the changed appearance of Stede and hurts him in the process, not because he knew it was Stede and wanted to hurt him but he was so caught up in a cycle of violence/revenge he unintentionally attacks and hurts Stede.

--Blackbeard focus: We’ve had POV voiceovers from Stede, Jim, Izzy, and Mary in season 1 and a lot of focus was on Stede in getting him to a place where he’s resolved some major issues with which he was dealing.  I’d expect season 2 to focus more on Ed’s journey since he still has a lot to work out, and that might mean we hear his thoughts.

[smokeandrosemary]

With what we’ve seen so far as an audience, we know that Izzy Hands is far from stupid.  He’s cunning enough to play a long game to it’s conclusion, to get Ed out of trouble every single time it comes to call.  He’s wicked smart, or he wouldn’t have survived this long.

But to see this man desperately cling to the idea of his god is damn near painful.  OFMD is a clear rom-com in many places, but played from the POV of Izzy it’s a tragedy in two parts.

  The first part is what we’ve already seen in season 1.  OFMD goes dark in places, but we only see glimpses of the person Ed was before he met Stede--a man who burned entire ships with the crew still onboard, a man who loves a good maim and takes no shit from anyone.  Izzy has fought next to that Blackbeard for years, and he respects him so much that he will do anything to protect him.  He engages with Ed in the only way he knows how, in the only way that is allowed in his world--you can fight and die for each other, but vulnerability is weakness.  Kindness and stupidity are the same damn thing, and they’ll both get you killed.  Izzy has built his world around Blackbeard, and seeing Ed on the Revenge throws his entire universe off its axis.

  In a matter of days, Izzy is watching the legendary Blackbeard dress up in frilly shirts and spend all his time with a silly little dandy who doesn’t know port from starboard.  The logic of the universe has imploded, and instead of being a real pirate, Blackbeard is reduced to cartoon antics and domesticity.  To be a pirate is to go against the grain of acceptable society, but as far as Izzy can see there is a right way to go against the grain.  Stede and his crew implode that worldview. Their lack of respect for everything he holds dear is made all the worse by a few things: open queerness, for one, shown by his targeting of Lucius almost as soon as they meet.  The other is the Muppet logic we all know and love.  By nature of it’s comedy, OFMD makes fun of the gritty pirate genre that Izzy lives in, and it pisses him off. So. Bad.

  The pressure of all this sends him into Dramatic Homoerotic Mode, in all it’s “and they were roommates” glory.  Look at his fighting during the duel on the Revenge: he’s absolutely ruthless, striking like a snake. He wants Stede dead, and he runs the little shit through because when you get stabbed you’re supposed to die.  That’s how the world works.

Except that it doesn’t.  Stede fucking Bonnet dodges a stab in the gut and comes out the other side unscathed.  Again.  So Izzy decides to outsource to someone he knows can’t be easily swayed by the twilight zone: the Royal Navy.  Piracy was deeply illegal in 1717, the Navy would down a ship without hesitation for flying Blackbeard’s flag.  Think how desperate he must have been to sell out to an enemy like that.  He risked his own neck betting that they would want Stede Bonnet more than they’d want Blackbeard’s right hand man.

  In his mind, getting rid of Stede will solve the problem at hand: his god is disappearing in front of his eyes, but he can’t look away.  He has to watch the man he loves turn into something unrecognizable.  And then finally, finally, it seems to be over.  Calico Jack will appeal to Blackbeard’s sense of nostalgia and get him out while Stede gets shot (can’t dodge a firing squad, eh Bonnet?) and dies like he was supposed to all along.  The world will return to it’s axis.

  Instead, the legendary Blackbeard stands in front of his boyfriend with naked fear in his eyes and screams for grace.  Like a coward.  Like a stranger.  Then the beard is shaved away (the SYMBOLISM I SWEAR), Ed becomes a weeping widow, and Izzy loses his mind. 

It’s no surprise that after all that, Izzy is in absolute religious bliss when his Ed “returns” to him with an act of violence so brutal, so familiar.  Stede is gone.  Blackbeard is Blackbeard again.  The world makes sense to this crooked little man, for now.

Season 2 Izzy may see that his Blackbeard is back, but his loyalty may have cost him everything.  Stede is gone, but the problem remains--Ed has changed, no matter what mask he throws on.  He’s experienced a world that he so desperately wanted to be a part of, a world of marmalade and fine fabrics and melon spoons and Stede.  And thanks in part to Izzy, that world is gone.  He’s been left the jilted widow.  As heartbreaking as it was, I think seeing Ed’s absolute grief at that loss gives us hope that he does want it all back--no matter how many bridges he’s trying to burn along the way. 

Izzy Hands is not a stupid man.  He will see Blackbeard engage in his expected duties of cruelty and rage, and I think that will bring him joy for a while.  Despite that, Ed will slip further away from him after everything that’s happened. 

The thing is, Ed will slip away as someone recognizable this time, as “himself”, and Izzy will be forced to realize that Stede Bonnet was not the whole problem.  Ed has changed course on a fundamental level, and Izzy will see his god choosing to abandon him after every act of devotion, after all his efforts and all their history.

I’ll just...leave that here.

[enheduana-inanna]

The show has already told us what peak meaningful commitment for them would be: co-captains. Ships CANNOT have two captains. It isn't done. Unless it's two absolutely perfect people, which is FAR more rare (and meaningful emotionally) than marriage in this context.

Captains are individual, singular, by their position - everyone needs to work together on a ship, to be sure, but a captain stands removed and alone, and even if they have assistance from a first mate there is a division there. A captain could travel with a wife/matelots/whatever, but the partner wouldn't be a CAPTAIN, they would be the captain's partner.

For Ed, who is wildly successful as a captain, and Stede, who found freedom in finally being able to be himself at see (which requires not being under another's command), deciding to co-captain, and seriously continuing to do so, sounds far more romantic than the examples of marriage either of them would be drawing on.

To deal with learning to not just prioritize your co-captains needs and wants, but also to adapt your decisions to their different views and the conflicts that inevitably arise? To function as actual partners, cooperatively managing a task that is almost exclusively done by a single individual means learning where you thrive and what your partner hates so you can break up the tasks in a way that makes it joyous and not a chore (contrasting of course with Izzy's constant bitching about the tasks he claims to take on "for" Ed, because he is very much doing a weird ownership thing there, too).

That's why the season 2 competency arc for Stede is likely so important. We've already got glimpses of his skills at fuckery and ability to do the same kind of thinking that makes Ed so great at his job with the lighthouse. Give him a (short, probably) bit of time being dealing with whatever it takes to get back to Ed, and he's going to be a proper (if still definitely bizarre) captain. One who won't have Ed's experience or the same skills, but who can reasonably enter into a partnership and not have it be completely unbalanced.

Co-captains sounds a lot more romantic than husbands in that context to me.

There's a great post abt all the wedding imagery in ep9 by @louisianna that got me thinking - if we chose to believe that, what does ofmd actually say about marriage?

(Spoiler: It's NOT "They're gay married now, happily ever after <3")

Let's review the explicit, non-metaphorical wedding scene we get in ep4 real quick.

The sense of isolation and desperation is palpable. Both of them are there against their will, and both of them are there on their own. They are surrounded by void, and even though they're supposed to be in the Caribbean, this image feels cold and lifeless. They are to be lighthouses for each other: trapped by duty in devastating loneliness.

There is a brutality in this screenshot, a forceful declaration of ownership. Not by Stede over Mary, obviously, but by these two.

To them, Stede and Mary are not their beloved son and daughter, fully actualized, independent adult people. Not, they are assets, to be deployed to their advantage as they see fit. This marriage is arranged to increase their respective family's wealth/social standing, and for no other reason. That's what children are for.

The parents are the social superiors here and they say: I own even the most private corner of your life, and you will do my bidding if you know what's good for you.

Stede and Mary know this. We are never shown an "I do" scene; there is no pretense of voluntariness in this.

Now ep9. As rightly pointed out in the linked post, there is a lot of wedding imagery here (Stede is even wearing the same colour palette as he did when he first met Mary but I'm not gonna start talking abt costumes).

And it is significant, imo, that what this scene actually is - is a mock trial and an execution. The power to pass a death sentence is the ultimate declaration of ownership by the state over its people: You live and die at MY pleasure. It owns both life and death; it has the power to kill them, yes, but it also has the power to force them into service, and calls this grace.

Let us not forget, that it is Izzy, who caused all this to happen. Izzy, who bartered away Stede's life so Edward would be released to him. This whole situation only exists because Izzy wanted Ed for himself, and Ed is forced under threat of death to submit to this.

How is that for a marriage metaphor.

When the act of grace is called upon, the exact same thing happens. With a literal gun to his head, Stede is forced to service the king - and threatening Stede's life, as it turns out, is enough to force Ed into service as well.

I own even the most private corner of your life, and you will do my bidding if you know what's good for you.

Yes, this is (or was supposed to be) the beginning of a new segment of Ed's and Stede's lives, one in which they are joined by a contract, but much like Stede's and Mary's marriage, not one they entered into voluntarily. And not something that has the power to provide a happy end for them.

[saltpepperbeard]

so it’s august.

two months out, officially.

which means there’s a very VERY real possibility of actually getting promotional material this month.

like, a teaser could legitimately drop if they follow the same two month out teaser/one month out trailer pattern.

we could legitimately see season 2 stede for the first time, more of season 2 ed, and get glimpses of what’s actually in store for us like,,,