#WHY DID IZZY HAVE TO DIE???!?!!

[taygetuspositive]

hi hello

[izzysillyhandsy]

Death and Change in OFMD

"What if it's not a death? What if life just begins again?"

For a show that's obsessed with change as a result of talking things through, sitting with yourself and healing through community, a lot of change is attempted by death - death of the old self, a stand-in for the old self or a symbolic death.

We see this shortcut to "a better (or more endurable) self" over and over, and depending on the additional work put in, it works - or it really doesn't.

Putting this post together, I was surprised by how often death is used in this show as a catalyst for letting go of the past, for splitting off parts of their own selves that certain characters have outgrown and/or want to escape from.

And how rarely actual people die in these transformative deaths.

Killing Blackbeard - 1 - Ed wants to retire

Although it is unclear if this was actually Ed's plan all along or if he just made it up for Izzy on the spot (S2E4 seems to point to the former, interestingly), here we have the first instance in the show of Ed trying to kill Blackbeard.

Ed wants to leave his old life behind (mainly out of boredom, it seems), and at this point he thinks that all he has to do is convince everyone else he's gone.

This is a very superficial first try - basically stabbing a Blackbeard puppet with all the outer signifiers (clothes, ship) but completely ignoring Ed's inner Blackbeard.

This could never have worked, of course, even if Stede wasn't such a charming guy. But the fuckery set events into motion that would, possibly towards the end of the show, lead to Ed leaving Blackbeard behind for good.

Corpses: 0 Success: not directly - Blackbeard is still very much present in Ed. But the foundations are shaken and Ed&Izzy (a.k.a. Blackbeard) will never go back to who they were before.

Killing vulnerability - 1 - Izzy wants Ed safe (and all to himself)

Izzy goes for a 2-step approach here - the duel and the British Navy (talk about escalating!). All of this is a very complicated and mixed bag of emotions - Izzy's love and jealousy, his fear of change and his extreme confusion about what's actually happening.

But I think the primary reason Izzy tries so hard to go through with killing Stede is fear of (Ed's) vulnerability and the danger that the "new Ed" might bring to both of them, and specifically their relationship. They've worked their way up for years and Izzy is more than aware of the dangers of piracy (and possibly the danger Ed is/was to himself).

Izzy gets it all wrong of course - the change in Ed has already happened and his attempts to kill Stede (and everything that happens after the Navy plot) make Ed the most vulnerable (and unstable) he's ever been.

Corpses: 0 Success: none - Izzy thought that killing Stede would undo what he "did to Ed's brain", but there was so much more at play here. Izzy's misguided attempts actually helped emotionally opening Ed up for Stede, and put Edward further out of Izzy's reach.

Killing the married state - 1 - Mary wants to be free

When Stede comes back and threatens the new and better life Mary has built for herself, she is very quick to turn to murder to keep on growing. Stede as a symbol of her old and unfulfilled life must go.

As soon as they actually talk about it though - and in an honest and open way (which is very unusual for Stede), another option presents itself.

Stede must die for the widow Bonnet to exist. But maybe it doesn't have to be a death?

Corpses: 0 Success: almost there - because they talked it through and discovered they actually wanted the same thing!

Killing the married state - 2 - Mary and Stede want to be free

Both Mary's and Stede's life changes for the better - they've both made peace with each other, recognized the needs of the other and acknowlegded how they were stifling each other's progress.

(the whole thing is made easier by the lack of (obsessive) love on both sides though)

Corpses: 1, but he doesn't mind Success: 100%, both are now free - long may they roam

Killing vulnerability - 2 - Ed wants to be the unfeeling Kraken

Ed is finally convinced that he is fundamentally unloveable by the combined efforts of Stede and Izzy. It's very unlucky for Lucius that he is the perfect stand-in for Ed's vulnerability. Overboard he goes.

Lucius death marks the turning point for Blackbeard - he is now 100% Kraken to everyone around him as the crew (and especially poor Izzy) quickly have to find out.

Alone, Ed is still vulnerable and in pain - but no one else can hurt him anymore. The way he treats Izzy in particular- I don't see a lot of hesitation and regret. Ed himself calls it "the nasty dark stuff" later.

So, for what Ed actually wanted, I'd say he was partly successful. He is firmly on the path to appearing to be an uncaring monster, and he is doing his best to stop everyone from loving/caring for him.

Corpses: 1 (for now) Success: 50% - Ed did change radically in his attitude to the outside world, and only his next death and resurrection-by-Stede snapped him out of it.

Killing Blackbeard - 2 - Ed wants to see the world (and himself) burn

This time, Ed is all in. Literally. He's not only attempting to kill Blackbeard, he feels there isn't anything else left which is worth saving.

As per usual, Ed is outsourcing the job to Izzy, this time clearly telling him what to do. Unfortunately, Izzy is the absolute worst choice - he is the one person who, in a way, loves all aspects of Ed and could never kill him.

As soon as Izzy's gone though, all bets are off. Ed's backup plan works out as planned (finally).

Corpses: 0,9 (an almost corpse) Success: it's a very good start. Ed dying and coming back was the first step to permanent change. He made some progress in the gravy basket - but he also realized that he still has a long way to go.

Killing Blackbeard - 3 - Izzy wants to sever the bond with Ed

Again, Izzy goes for a 2-step approach. First, he tries to kill himself after, for the first time, refusing to "clean up Ed's mess". Again, as always with Izzy, there is a lot at play here - his whole life just fell apart, and he's not thinking clearly - he just wants everything to be over.

But by killing himself, he kills the Izzy half of Blackbeard. And in the end, he doesn't even have to die - when his suicide attempt fails, he drags himself up on deck to save the crew and to break up with Ed. And this time, it's final.

Izzy shows Ed in an absolutely unmistakable way that they (and with them, Blackbeard) are over.

Corpses: 0,5 (a part of Izzy dies here) Success: 50% - Izzy's half of Blackbeard is dead. Izzy has finally acknowledged that this close, obsessive bond and all that it entails has to be cut. Until his own death, he will not be alright again though, and he still loves Ed and suffers for it. The severance isn't complete. But Blackbeard (as in Ed and Izzy) is finally over.

Killing vulnerability - 3 - Stede wants to be a real boy

When Stede kills Ned Low, his first intentional murder, he leaves the part of himself that he (and his father, the Badmintons, etc) perceived as weak behind. This sets him firmly on the way to become a "real pirate", his driving ambition since episode 1.

This season, we didn't have enough time for the full ramifications of this event. My feeling is that his first kill irrevocably changed Stede. He is a pirate now (although not a good one, yet). Is this really what he wanted? In what ways did it change him (apart from being more assertive with Ed and a show-off at Jackie's)?

Corpses: 1 (probably, not 100% sure; also, an evil walk-on character) Success: I truly cannot tell - I'm hoping for S3 to pick it up again. It should have been a "success" and a life-changing moment though.

Killing Blackbeard - 4 - Izzy wants to set Ed free

"I wanna go."

Even though Izzy doesn't get mortally wounded deliberately to set Ed free, he is very quick to accept his death and to use the opportunity to do what he thinks is necessary - free Ed from his oppressive past.

I think that Izzy's half of Blackbeard was already killed in the third attempt. He wasn't egging Ed on anymore - and he wouldn't have done it again in the future, ever. The only thing that remains is Izzy's love for Ed - and that is impossible to kill.

But Izzy lets himself die anyway, so Ed's part of Blackbeard can die with him. Maybe he thinks that Edward needs a clearer cut, a proper, unmistakable death (or sacrifice) to finally be able to let go. To free himself of this thing they've built together and that has taken over Ed's whole self at some points in their lives.

He attributes 100% of Blackbeard to himself here - maybe because he's seen change in Edward, but not enough. It is an incredibly selfless thing to do.

Corpses: 1 (a main character) Success: maybe, it all depends on Ed now - but also (objectively) overkill. Izzy's half of Blackbeard was well and truly dead since their breakup. Was Izzy's real death necessary for Ed to move on? Maybe. But maybe there could have been another way.

So, what worked and what didn't?

Killing the married state: perfect execution, perfect background work, actual talking and mutual understanding. Both got the change they wanted, and it didn't even have to be a real death.

Killing vulnerability: with Izzy and Ed, all attempted murders were committed out of desperation and without looking at the deeper issues. This resulted in making the situation way, way worse.

With Stede and Ned Low, it was a total mess - Stede wasn't prepared for that kind of life-changing event, and Ed and Stede had a breakdown in communication for most of the season. So I expect conflict arising out of this in the future - generally, killing vulnerability seems like a terrible idea in any case.

Killing Blackbeard: I've seen people argue that Izzy's death was necessary from a narrative standpoint because he represents Ed's dark side, and without Izzy dying Ed would never be able to let go of his Blackbeard/Kraken persona. I couldn't disagree more.

The first attempt was of course much too superficial. We've realized, episode by episode, how deep-seated Blackbeard is in Ed's mind. It (combined with the fuckery) set things in motion though.

Ed's and Izzy's death and rebirth were definitely transformative - they set both of them on the right path - so in this instance, both their deaths were necessary (and beautifully written). Again, neither of them really had to die for it. But without the two of them actually coming together and working things through, it wasn't a full success - both would (and did) continue to suffer.

Unfortunately, there wasn't time for a proper reconciliation and for working things through.

So the show and the writers themselves used "death for self-realization" right at the end of S2. And although Izzy's half of Blackbeard died with Izzy shooting Ed, they wanted to give Ed a dramatic and emotionally significant moment to, for once and for all, draw a line under Blackbeard and move on.

This makes Izzy the only character that actually dies as a result of a character needing change, out of the 9 events described here (Ned Low might still be alive, and even if he isn't - he wasn't personally significant to Stede or anyone else).

I've kind of made peace with it though - it fits Izzy's character that he'd use his death to give Ed the clear cut he thought Ed needed. And with Ed, who is a highly imaginative kind of person who loves his rituals and metaphors (the Kraken with the makeup and the goth room, the pink dressing gown, the piece of red silk, "I dreamt that you killed me" etc) this might actually have worked?

Still, I wish they had gone the way of Stede and Mary, talked it through and listened to Lucius: "What if it's not a death? What if life just begins again?"

(and maybe it will - Izzy definitely deserves his own Gravy Basket)

[fawnfrolics]

OKAY and while I'm upset about Izzy dying especially after all he's been through and grown this season, the scene where Ed is listening to him while he holds Izzy is so beautiful

The fact that we got a scene talking about how Ed can't be quiet, but he stays quiet for the most part when Izzy is talking to him, Izzy taking acountability for "egging blackbead on", which I think when he said "I needed him--Blackbeard, it was us" he means HE needed blackbeard to feel value in himself, because soft equaled weak to him. ALSO "Ed, you're surrounded by family. They love you, Ed.... just be Ed" AND WHEN ED STARTED SOBBING "There he is.." IT FUCKING KILLED ME, I WAS CRYING BEFORE BUT I STARTED SOBBING. I want to kiss Con o Neill for that delivery. I just wish Izzy got to tell the crew that they were also HIS family, and that he really, truly loved them--we only got a scene where he admited to it when not talking to them and I think that's sick, actually.

also I really think there should have been a scene with Lucius and the wooden shark Izzy whittled for him, but okay :( and on the topic of Lucius, him and Pete deserved a longer scene.. This whole episode should have been longer

I do think after all Izzy went through, all his years of chasing someone who would never love him back, he deserved to thrive amongst comfort, family and love with his crew. I know not everyone gets a happy ending but.. Idk, he needed more than that.

And, well... Izzy staying with them for forever THAT way was not what I wanted when I said I wanted Steddyhands in the finale but.. I'll take it, I guess.

[willosword]

the thing that wigs me out the most is like... "blackbeard, it was us. you, me... but you're good now. you're ready. i wanna go."

so you're telling me that when ed wants to die to kill "blackbeard" he gets to be magically resurrected by the power of love even though he took a cannonball to the face but izzy's just... let go? that's cool i guess

[laniidae-passerine]

also Izzy dying kinda sucked for me as an Ed fan because his whole thing, as he lay dying, was telling Ed he only needs to be himself and that he doesn’t need to just rely on Izzy anymore, that he has a whole family who loves him. And that’s a beautiful speech and true at heart which would have made Izzy’s death narratively warranted had Ed not immediately abandoned that family to start an inn with Stede, who he needs to work on his relationship with. like girl what the hell

[thorasreblogpile]

s3 better open with that fucking gravedirt being burst through

[pyr0cue]

uhmmm me when one of my favorite shows kills my favorite character for seemingly no reason at all?

[saesins]

dude I am invincible I am immortal atp

[dermestes-maculatus]

I HATE HOW IZZY JUST NANNY MCPHEE'D THIS SHIT

like im sorry WHATTT

[creature-once-removed]

.

[fuckyeahizzyhands]

Con and Izzy tidbits from The Republic of Pirates convention 22–24 November 2024 :) ❤

(reconding of any kind was prohibited, this is compiled from I and other people managed to note down :) <3, photos were allowed at panels)

What Con shared Izzy at MeetAndGreet and Fanmeet:

Izzy's hidden wrist tattoo: the name of Izzy’s lover who’s connected to the emerald ring has been on Con’s wrist in S2, under the glove; there is also a scar through the name; Con has a photograph on his phoen and talked about doing doing a raffle with David’s permission where the winner would get the name; they thought they were going to show it while shooting the death scene but then they put Taika on the other side so he had to use his left hand

The flavour of the toe: the toe was made from carrot cake with raspberry sauce

About his input for Izzy’s costume: he didn’t want him to have spurs because Izzy is a climber and rigger and they would not be practival for that; he loved the whip but they had to go through a lot of versions how to carry it; they want to make him another leather pants for the topless scenes that would be more „hugging of his bits“ but he nixed that idea

About scars on Izzy’s back: orginally there was supposed to be a back tattoo that would be lacerated by the scars but they didn’t have the time and butdget to do it („the scars didn’t také that long, but shaving my back…“ and proceeded to tell a story about how some years ago a production waxed his back ending in a straight line in the middle of the buttock only 4-5 days before the shooting, it resulted in a rash and Con had to do the scene laying on his back anyway)

Con & Nathan’s panel:

(they were so brilliant and funny and cute together, I wish recording had been allowed)

At the start: Con: Everybody say Fuck. Audience: FUCK! Con: Thank you.

Nathan: ...ask me about my flourishing career. Fan: Oh, did you like read my mind or something… that was on the tip of my… Con: The tip of your… Nathan: Conathan oh nonathan, we’re in public.

Fan: Is it true that when David Jenkins said he was gonna make Izzy convincingly pretend to die that you demanded in compensation a scene where you got to prance around with your tits out? Con: No. Trust me, he wrote the topless scene before he wrote the death scene. Cos he's met you fuckers.

Nathan: Lucius is a true alpha. Con: That’s a t-shirt you’re never gonna see. Nathan: Lucius is the true alpha, I'm not joking, make merch. Con: But alpha would be spelled: A, double B, A.

Fan: What was the weirdest question you got asked at convention? Con: Oh, we don't have time. Nathan: ...I've been asked whether Lucius is the top or bottom. Con: What's the answer? Nathan: The answer is, you'll never know, honey. Con: Oh, I think we know.

Fan: If your characters were forced at knife point to bake and decorate a cake, what kind of cake do you think Con: If I was forced at knife point to decorate a cake? THIS is the weirdest fucking question I've ever been asked. If it was for you lot, there would have to be cocks and jizz in it somewhere. Nathan: Jizz in it? Con: And that's quite easy to do with icing. Yeah, so probably that. (Con and Nathan start to wonder why is sb holding them at a knifepoint, Nathan says that Lucius’ would be bad bc he would be terrified, Con pretends to hold a knife to reenact the scene with shouting: DECORATE THE CAKE! :D)

Fan: What are you a fan of? Con: Cheese. I just wanna make cheese.

(a callback to Con's Jim from Midsomer Murders and a big thank you to the person who gave me this! :) <3)

Who would they want to work with (that they haven’t before)? Con - Tina Fey, Al Pacino, Keri Russell and would love to work with Russell T. Davies again. Nathan - Kathryn Hahn, Maya Rudolph.

Fan: What's the perfect cheese plate? Con: Oh, how long have we got? It's got to have chutney. It's got to have chutney, but it's got to have a homemade... ff they put Branston on the plate, I'm like, what the fuck? Anyone can do this. A cheese plate is a work of art. It's got to have hard and soft cheese. It's got to have soft cheese that's been at room temperature for some time. It's got to have innovative crackers. If you give me Branston and the Jacob’s, you can fuck off. It's got to have some onion though as well, whether it's a pickled onion or just sliced. And it's got to be a good mixture. So minimum four, preferably five different cheeses. There's got to be blue. I prefer a soft blue, but it's not contractual. There's got to be a very strong cheese. There's got to be some kind of cheddar. And there's gotta be... I like a goat's cheese, which isn’t for everyone. And THEN... yeah, I could be here all day answering that question. (until the end of the convention Con sometimes stands up with „So, cheese…“ :D) Also later they are asked about their favourite cheese and it’s Brie for Nathan and Blue Brie for Con.

Fan: If Izzy and Lucius lived in modern times and couldn’t be pirated anymore what kind of job would they have? Lucius would be a gossip columnist, researching assistant for an old professor that he thinks is an idiot or for a Tory MP, Con first starts talking about the movie Day of the Jackal and that Izzy would be like a character there „give us a quid or I stab you“ but then says: Another thing Izzy would be is really angry chef – and if anyone would compain and sent the meat back… it would be returned with something else in it.

(let me point you to this wonderful comic that Cliopadra made after this panel :D <3)

Fan: Did you také anything from the OFMD set or would you have liked to? Con: Well, only found out recently that some of us did. I’m fucking furious that I didn't. I would have taken the waistcoat and I would have taken the glove, but I didn't. Because nobody told me we were cancelled. Nathan would have taken the finger if he could, but the costume team made him another military jacket from the last episode.

What country that they haven’t been to would they like to visit? Con – Iceland. Nathan – Canada.

Fan: We heard from Samba that he would have liked for Roach to have gone out in a really chaotic way, taking as many enemies with him as possible. And I wondered if either of you had anything that would have liked your character to go or an alternative... Con: Live. Nathan: My ideal ending for the show is that there's this big, epic battle, a huge bloody 20 minutes battle. Everyone dies. Somehow Lucius survives the very end, stows away, and then Lucius is the final victor, and he's walking away, and just trips, hits his head and dies.

Con said he would like to do more comedy.

If they did a similar show like OFMD but in another era, what it would be? Con: Cowboys. Cowboys and vampires.

Con & Rhys’ panel:

(also amazing together! But this one was more difficult for my brain because I was tired and the sound in the room was more difficult for me to understand, so less stuff here :| <3)

There was originally an Izzy teaching Stede about slaps and punches that didn’t get into the final cut.

Rhys: I think they started, actually, really care for each other. Because they had a similar goal in the day, and it was to not only love, but look after Ed, this human that is so damaged, and so intricate and so interesting… so I think we united on that front. Con: Yeah. Rhys: And if we’d carried I think we would have been quite close actually. I think we nearly got there. Con: And then they killed me. Rhys: And then they killed the show.

While answering a question about whether they ever got slip any secrets a new meme / joke emerged end evolving, originating in an idea that Rhys has a sex tape with Kevin resulting in „KEVIN, GIVE ME THE TAPE!“ and Rhys shouting ‚Give me the tape’ several more times during the panel. Con: That’s gonna go on T-shirts. - Rhys didn’t think so saying that it is only going to last for a week, Con disagreed :) - I already saw stickers being made so I think Con was right :D.

There was a question if there was a scene that wasn’t there but they would like to have filmed and Rhys started saying that for some reason he started thinking of things of sexual nature. Then he starts describing a scene to Con: During the... whacking off. The candles. You’ve got no shirt on, I think Stede did see... Con: Whack off? Rhys continued speaking about sexual element there and something about a flirtattious moment and a bubble bath (?!). Con: Also that scene was slightly longer and there was a like face to face moment where we were, I would say nipple to nipple, but it was actually nipple to Rhys’ bellybutton. Because allegedly I’m short.

Rhys (speaking of Richard Curtis): He’s an icon. Con: Speaking of icons, hi, I Con.

Fan: Do you think that Izzy would officiate Ed and Stede’s matelotage? Con: Maybe in fanfiction. A) I don’t think they’d want him to. And B) Izzy’s not a romantic man so that wouldn’t work for him, he’d rather watch them fuck

Me meeting Con:

Absolutely amaziiiiiing! NGK🥺❤. He's such a lovely, funny and kind human being! During the MeetAndGreet the first night he found out that I never met him and he stood and came to give me a hug (yeah, my brain absolutely shortcircuited!!! :)))) (and I got one more hug the last dayyyyy, wahoooo).

I made a design what I think Izzy's pirate flag would look like - Con liked it and agreed :), unfortunately this convention didn't allow giving gifts right to actors, only through gift table so I gave him T-shirt with that design through it (I was wearing the same T-shirt and giving out these stickers to fellow con attendees :D).

When he was signing this brilliant Izzy topless show promo photo (O:)) he said: "Look at those shoulders, I mean, come on, I didn’t eat cake for so long." :D <3

I shall treasure this experience and I very much hope to meet him again in the future! ❤❤❤

(by the way, I redid my pc corner - my interests are complete mystery :D)

THE MUPPETS!

The amazing Fyre created several muppets and Con was very happy that he could get the Izzy one :) ❤! (as were Vico and Kristian, unfortunately Rhys didn't have suitcase space and Nathan is a bit weirded out by muppets in general :) <3)

(Nathan muppet tried to touch Izzy muppet's hair :D)

(as I said no direct gift giving, but thievery happened :D <3)

Other tidbits:

(if/when I remember or find more, I will add them here :))

There was a four year old cosplaying as princess Izzy and at the photo Con asked how old she was - she said 4, and he went “oh I’m a but older than that”, stood up “but not much taller” :D <3.

Con at the end of the one of the panels: Scary times, guys. We are at our best when we’re fighting back. Fight back. And look to your community and support your community. We’ve been here before, we’ll be here again. Fight back. ❤

[chuplayswithfire]

The general concept that OFMD s2 has less queer joy is to me such an interesting perspective, because the first season really did end in a much more tragic and less joyous place, between Lucius's murder (unsuccessful, though we didn't know at the time), Izzy's homophobia winning out, Ed kidnapping Frenchie and Jim, Ed sobbing in the bed nook, and all of us wondering how Stede was going to rescue everyone with a single dinghy and no money.

This season's end, everyone we feared for last season is accounted for and well, Ed and Stede are reunited and building a loveshack, and Izzy finally accepted community before getting to die doing what he loved: spiting some rich bastard.

Season 2 sees the start of new relationships between Jim and Archie and Olu and Zheng - possibly as a future messy polycule, introduces us to the struggling but ultimately loving relationship between Anne Bonny and Mary Read, shows us Ed and Stede in love and navigating the start of openly admitting you have feelings for someone and giving it a go, gives us three characters exploring themselves through drag, gives us Lucius and Pete's engagement and wedding -

But because we also have a death, somehow the queer joy is gone from the show.

The queer joy wasn't gone when Izzy stomped on Ed's hopes and Ed subsequently decided to embody his worst self. It wasn't gone when we had to wonder if we were lying to ourselves about Lucius dying.

But Izzy dies, living the life of a pirate and surrounded by people who care, finally able to be vulnerable in the sense of admitting wrong and fault, and give closure and that's what kills joy?

Maybe I've just lived a life with too much death to understand why a good death would kill joy, but in my book season 2 had so much more joy than season 1, because it came through grief and back into hope and was all the stronger for it.

[avelera]

Man, I just put back on OFMD 1.05 (the fancy party episode), and I think one really worthwhile itemization of Stede and Ed interactions would be around how many times Stede appears horrified by Ed's actions, but actually, he might really be horrified for Ed.

And I only bring this up because one common, I think, misinterpretation of Stede was that he's horrified or put off by violence. Understandable, given the face he pulls when, for example, Ed tells Fang to skin the French captain with a snail fork.

But now that we've Season 2, albeit eps. 1-3, including that gorgeous moment where Stede immediately clocked that Ed's trying to burn down the world or die trying, thus signaling that he knows Ed better than anyone, especially Izzy, ever expected... I think we can firmly put the, "Stede doesn't really get Ed," interpretation firmly to rest. It's totally fair that it existed! His facial expressions of horror were often ambiguous and could be read either way.

But I think we can very firmly say: All those times Stede seems horrified at Ed? He's horrified for Ed.

Even in the moment where he sort of gulps when Ed wants the French captain skinned was sort of re-written in my mind as I watched it, in light of Stede getting Ed so well in S2. Suddenly it's not Stede taken aback by extreme violence, no.

Stede is realizing just how deeply hurtful the French captain's words were to Ed. He's not taken aback by the violence of Ed's orders, he's horrified to realize that the French captain's words hurt Ed so badly that this is a proportional response.

Stede doesn't give a fuck about the French captain, by the way. He doesn't lift a finger to prevent it, not because he's afraid, I'd argue, but because he legitimately does not care. The dude is more than a little bit of a sociopath himself, alright, he's adjusting to pirate life but he has also fully embraced pirate life.

And by the way, you don't have to take my word for it that Stede's reaction of horror is for Ed not at Ed, y'know why?

'Cuz of what Stede says in the very next scene, "Edward, are you alright? I could tell that captain got a bit under your skin."

(Haha, get it? Because you skinned that man alive. But I digress.)

No but seriously, Stede does not care about skinning that man alive, whether or not we believe Fang really did it. His priority #1 here, as it will be in Season 2, writ large, is to first make sure Ed is ok and then to help arm him against pain like that in the future.

And all I'm saying is, I bet if we went through each and every other instance of Stede "reacting badly" to Ed's "violence" in light of S2 and Stede getting Ed and only really caring about Ed unless reminded to do otherwise, that all of those reactions are actually Stede reacting with horror to learning what kind of pain Ed has been laboring under, or what kind of pain he's in that he would react with violence to verbal attacks like that.

Because that is something Stede can understand very well.

[jellybeanium124]

don't think too hard about fang. don't think too had about fang. don't think too hard about this intelligent, sweet, wise man on a boat for 20 years watching his boss get yanked around by the middle manager. and also getting yanked around by the middle manager himself. don't think about fang watching his boss, a once energetic and enthusiastic man, slowly becoming more and more a shell of himself because of said middle manager. who he refuses to fire. for some reason. maybe fang has some theories, but he doesn't know for sure. he doesn't see the boss as much anymore. any interaction with him is mediated by the middle manger, who's just gotten crueler as the years go by too. he keeps his head down and does what he's told. he's been doing this for a very, very long time, and knows what he has to do to live. and he enjoys the work, more or less, don't get me wrong. but, you know... maybe not as much as he could. and then they invade some crazy guy's boat, and then the boss is happier than fang's seen him in literal years. and this boat is cool! the people are nice! he doesn't have to be aggro all the time.

and then the middle manager blows a fuse and gets the british navy. and fang resigns himself back to business as usual. because that's how he's gonna survive. but then the boss comes back!! without the lunatic man. and for a second everything might be okay, but then something goes wrong, and again, fang doesn't know what, and then things are worse than they ever were before in the 20 years he'd been working for this man. and he keeps his head down and does what he's told because that's how he's gonna survive. and then his buddy dies. and his boss, who fang knows by this point can be very sensitive, doesn't cry a single tear. fang breaks down a little after a while. they can't keep going like this.

but it's okay!! the lunatic comes back and so does everyone else. and things are good, the middle manager mellows out, he and the boss have a talk and sort things out. life is good. he has a goat!

and then the middle manager dies. and that's weird, you know? and the boss decides he's done, so he hangs back on land while everyone else sails off into the sunset. and fang's happy, but it's irrevocably different. two men he spent at least a decade with are dead. one man, who he sometimes felt like an older brother to despite the other man being the boss, is now on land, and no longer part of his day-to-day life. he's the most experienced guy on this boat. well, it's possible a few others, like zheng, have been doing this for over 20 years, but chances are he's been in this world the longest. and a chapter just ended and a new one's beginning. and he'll keep doing his thing, following captain's orders. maybe give a gentle suggestion from time to time.

he was in this world before ivan, before izzy, before ed. and now they're retired or dead and he's still here. why is he still here? why did he outlive them? why did ivan and izzy have to die? why did... well, he understands why ed retired. but still.

now he has inside jokes and no one to share them with. memories and no one around to share in the bizarre nostalgia. but on this boat, this silly boat that breaks all the rules, he can make new memories and create a million more inside jokes, and be around people who really truly like him. love him, even.

[subway-tolkien]

Okay, this is 1600 words of (positive!) meta regarding the OFMD finale. Included is character analysis and a treatise on why a certain trope people keep throwing around does not apply here.

This is of course just my take, and I'm sure people will disagree, but I needed to get this out. Apologies if it comes off disjointed, I've had like no sleep.

Spoilers within, obviously. You have been warned. Heed the tags. I didn't tag any characters because I consider it a spoiler, but you know who this is about.

Listen. Listen.

Let me start off by saying I have been where you are. I’ve had beloved characters die, either because it was important to the narrative or for shock value. I’ve been there, so I’m not coming at this without empathy. I’m not an Izzy hater. I loved him as a character. I’m truly sad to see him go.

But from what I’m seeing around Twitter and tumblr, some of you do not understand the role of an antagonist in a story.

Izzy was always meant to die. The moment he said, in the first season, “the only retirement we get is death,” I knew he was meant to die in the end. The foreshadowing ran through both seasons. Izzy was the true antagonist of S1. He was there to keep Blackbeard tethered when he started pulling away, and yet he also set the plot in motion. He inadvertently introduced Blackbeard to the person who let him be just Ed. He put Ed on his own path to redemption without even knowing it.

S1 ended with Izzy getting what he wanted as Ed lost everything he had. S2 was about Izzy coming to terms with the fact that he’d gone too far, he’d turned Ed into a monster. It wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted Blackbeard back, just like old times. Instead, he got the Kraken, and it was more than he bargained for.

Especially after it cost him his leg and he realized how far gone Ed really was. The conversation that ended with Izzy’s half-assed suicide attempt was the final blow to Izzy—Ed really didn’t seem to care anymore. Where Izzy wanted him to stop giving a shit about his silly boyfriend, he instead got a Blackbeard who didn’t care about anything, and he was apparently now included in that category.

(I said half-assed suicide attempt because Izzy wasn’t meant to die then, THAT would have been an empty, pointless death. It wouldn’t have taught Ed anything—in fact, all it did was make him more self-destructive, which was Izzy’s purpose to the narrative, but not his endgame. That Ed thought Izzy killed himself pushed Ed to the brink. Ed wanted to die and take every scrap of Blackbeard with him. Had Izzy successfully killed himself, Ed and the Revenge would be at the bottom of the ocean.

It wasn’t until the crew left Izzy the unicorn leg that he realized the power of compassion, the incredible act of grace from a crew that suffered so much from Izzy’s own machinations and didn't need to forgive him. It moved him to tears, and it moved him to accept that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to let people in, to let himself be cared for. It was a foreign concept and something Izzy likely hadn’t experienced since losing his family (I fully expect a shit ton of fanfic of Izzy’s life before piracy).

Israel Hands found the capacity to let love all the way in and by god, did he pursue it.

But, again, Izzy was always meant to die, and I’m glad they stuck to the narrative they set out with instead of placating fandom and letting our influence dictate how they told this story That’s never good, trust me. Fandom should not influence a creator’s decisions regarding their own characters. It rarely if ever ends well.

[Stares in Voltron S8]

And I see a lot of people out here throwing the “bury your gays” phrase around—I beg you, please look up the definition of the trope. Izzy didn’t die because he was queer, he didn’t die because of his disability. He wasn’t one half of the only queer couple in the show fridged for shock value. He wasn’t killed off due to pressure from conservative viewers. He wasn’t the only queer, disabled character.

They didn’t kill off Lucius, or Jackie, or Wee John. Would you be as outraged if it was any of them?

Killing Eve is bury your gays. Supernatural is bury your gays. Pretty much any film, book, TV show, whatever, where a queer character dies because they’re queer, of AIDs, to further the narrative for a straight person, etc—that is burying your gays.

Izzy’s death was none of those things. Izzy’s death had meaning.

Izzy’s death freed Ed from the Blackbeard persona. It finally forced Izzy to say the things he couldn’t say until he realized it was his last chance. Izzy was also tired. I honestly think he stuck it out for Ed’s sake, because he was afraid to let Blackbeard go without making sure Ed would be ok.

He loved the idea of Blackbeard, but over time, he learned to love Ed. He finally understood what Ed tried to tell him the whole time.

“Fuck off, you twat. You’re surrounded by family.”

You’re safe. You’re loved. You don’t need me anymore. You don’t need to be reminded of who you’re capable of being, you need the people who will guide you to who you will become, and I’m not one of them.

I know a lot of Izzy fans are stung by his death, some of you are deeply upset. I get that. Like I said, I’ve been there. Sirius’s death made me throw that fucking book across the room. That Fucking Woman™ killed off my entire OTP, purely for shock value and, imho, a direct response to shippers. Trust me, I have felt betrayed by a creator for their decisions.

But I need you to understand that no, this was not a personal attack, this was not malicious, this was not “bury your gays." A show that celebrates queerness and diversity is not suddenly homophobic and ableist because your favorite character died and happened to be both of those things. But when the majority of your cast of characters is different in some way, and they’re in a show about 18th century pirates, you have to accept that one of them could, in fact, die. “Anyone Can Die” is also a trope and the more accurate one to describe E8.

If only being queer and disabled made you invincible.

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

And no, I’m not an Izzy hater. I loved him, I loved him as an antagonist, and I loved his redemption arc. He was fascinating and Con put his whole O’Nussy into that part. I’m sorry to see him go, but as a mystery writer who often has to kill off beloved characters, I understand that he served the purpose he had from the beginning.

I swear, if some of you had your way, there’d be no conflict at all in any form of media. This what a steady diet of nothing but fanfic gets you. This is not a fluffy one-shot with magical healing dick and a happy ending where everyone sails off into the sunset. If that’s what you wanted, what you headcanoned, you did this to yourself. It’s not David et al’s fault that we took that character and babygirled him. That’s the risk we take when we decide to love a specific character, when we take a genuinely terrible person (in S1) and woobify him.

So, please stop harassing and attacking David, Alex, et al. David did not and should not change his story to placate us. The fact he went ahead with it despite the backlash I’m sure he expected makes me respect him as a creator even more.

Anyway, I’m going to revel that we have three (!) queer relationships with happy endings where one or both didn’t immediately die (again, the actual definition of “bury your gays”) and that we got at least two seasons of a little show that celebrated individualism, diversity, queerness, compassion, and love.

In the end, it all came down to love.

“There he is.”

Goodbye, Blackbeard.

Hello, Ed.

[mottlemoth]

Re: "But don't you find it beautiful and meaningful that Izzy got to experience happiness before he died? He ended his life surrounded by love and that was great for him."

You folks are sailing right past our one main issue here. Namely, why did he have to die at all?

It's a comedy show - a comedy show where not-really-deaths outnumber actual deaths by ten to one - why did Izzy have to die? Some of you are talking as if he died the way that people in real life die, like it's one of those things you just can't change. But this wasn't like that. This was a constructed narrative where a decision was made that not only should he be dead at the end of the series, but that it should be confirmed beyond all doubt with OFMD's only grave. Even the Badmintons weren't shown in their graves.

So why did Izzy have to die?

And why do so many of you find it fitting and appropriate that he died? This is a good opportunity to sit down with yourself and maybe examine your own thoughts around ageing and disability. Con O'Neill is in his 50s, not his 90s, and a missing limb is not some kind of down payment on death. The show even went out of its way to fit him with a new leg, breathe new life into him. So "he had to die because he was basically halfway out of the door" is rooted in some nasty ideas about ageing and disability, ideas which you should not allow to fester in yourself. Dig those out. If you're healthy and young, this might seem like a very remote issue to you. It won't always be.

David Jenkins has indicated in interviews that Izzy had to die because (1) he was Ed's 'mentor', a frankly baffling assertion which is contrary to nearly everything established about Ed and Izzy's relationship in the show, and (2) "it's a pirate show."

Okay! It's a pirate show. Seems fair at first.

Until you remember it's also a comedy show where guys turn into birds and people routinely survive explosions and gun shots and being stabbed through the liver on a regular basis. Throughout the narrative, OFMD has established and confirmed over and over and over again that it upholds the comedic law that death is never really death. You can relax seeing Roach fall from the rigging because it's a comedy show - they're not going to do that to you.

But then they did.

They reversed that fundamental law within the world just so that Izzy could die - and so that Izzy could just die. Nothing came of his death. It didn't open up a new section of plotline or change anything. The show could have ended with Izzy off on adventures with the crew he'd grown to love.

Instead he just died. And we're struggling to understand why.

Telling us that he got to be happy before he died doesn't make any sense. If it was all so beautiful and meaningful to see him experience temporary happiness, wouldn't it have been nice to see him happy ever after?

So why did the writers give him death instead?

We're scared that it's 2023 and some folks still think it's just fitting for visibly queer characters to be tantalised with happiness then struck down. We're scared that at the bottom of this, it makes sense to you that Izzy died because you think he was old and broken and no use to anyone now. We're scared to have discovered that even the show which said kindness, kindness, kindness right from the start had none for this character we loved, and we're scared that you find it so beautiful.