#and ed became blackbeard like PROPER blackbeard
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plantsjustwannahavefun · 1 year ago
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I used to think that the reason I wasn't satisfied with Izzy's death was because I was too attached to his perspective as a character and couldn't focus on the big picture of the season and the main Gentlebeard relationship enough. I mean, I was still convinced that his death and the way it was carried out was a shit writing decision, but everyone else outside the Izzy Canyon circles seemed fine with it, so I was starting to think that maybe they were right.
So I looked back on the rest of the season and rewatched the finale... And realised something that I'd been trying to ignore because it was too painful to admit. A huge part of why Izzy's death hit so hard (in a bad way, not that delicious masochistic pain of having a beloved character die a good, narratively satisfying death) was because throughout this season he was the only character who actually had a satisfying arc and development. Practically no one else did. I didn't actually care for Gentlebeard this season, not the way I cared in S1. From episode 1 to 8 and a half, Izzy's arc was crafted with more care, kindness, subtlety and narrative weight than the main Gentlebeard arc which, in comparison, felt like a string of choppy beads badly tied together in an approximate shape of an arc, but collapsed as soon as you looked at it too closely.
Yes, we all know this season suffered for being 2 episodes too short, but I don't think that's all there is to it. This is starting to feel like GoT season 8 all over again. Would it have been better if it wasn't so rushed? Maybe. Or maybe it would have been even worse because this season just didn't seem to know what to do with itself or the characters. The themes and symbolism are all over the place and completely inconsistent. Ed and Stede's characters are practically back at the same place they left in S1. All they did was bounce off the walls back and forth with no real growth. As soon as they took a step towards fixing their relationship or growing as people, they either tool three steps back or it just got dropped. Stede letting fame get to his head? Interesting and realistic development. And how was it resolved? It wasn't. Stede and Ed being whim prone? I'm glad they brought it up. And then they just fell for another whim and it was presented as a satisfying ending.
Ed went from the Kraken, to taking the first steps towards being Ed, then suddenly all the way to being Ed by way of a Night of Magical Healing Sex that he he didn't actually want to happen because he wasn't ready. And then all of a sudden he pivoted to abandoning Stede and piracy and becoming a fisherman... for 5 min. And then back to Blackbeard again because two fishermen were mean to him for 5 minutes. And then abandoning it again to open an inn. How was any of this even remotely coherent or satisfying? They didn't even have a single conversation about any of it. Ed had more proper closure and communication with Izzy during his dying scene than with Stede and the rest of the crew put together. Izzy's arc got sacrificed to do the heavy lifting for Ed's arc and became nothing more than a shortcut to speed run his character growth. Except it didn't even lead anywhere. "Ed, they're your family, they love you" no they don't, he didn't even have a single positive conversation with any of them except Fang. Of course this could have been the point, and Ed could have seen Izzy's death, his own discovery of found family and his dying words as a pretext to repair his relationship with the crew. But he just left them and stayed with Stede instead.
Sure, you could say this was only the second act of the story, and S3 will resolve everything. But the second act is still meant to move the story and the characters forward in some way. Yes, of course if we get S3, I imagine Stede and Ed's life as innkeepers won't exactly be idyllic. But the problem is that the conflicts they'd have will only be a rehash and repeat of the same conflicts they've already have, or were supposed to have, this season. Multiple times, even. We already know that Ed is simply unable to live with himself no matter what life he chooses. The title of S1 was literally "wherever you go, there you are". We already know Stede's love isn't enough to fix him. We already know their goals in life are completely opposite. Maybe they could have shown Stede realising, after his humiliating in S7, that piracy wasn't all it was cracked up to be or he isn't suited for it, and that's why he chose to leave it behind and open an inn, but that's not the explanation we were given. It was just another whim. They literally didn't learn anything this season. They had two baby conversations in E4 and E5 and didn't take anything from it, just kept doing the complete opposite of anything. "We're both prone to whims, let's take things slow" became "let's take things extremely fast by moving in together permanently and becoming entrepreneurs". They never talked about the actual, deepseated, longstanding trauma issues they needed to resolve before they could even begin to have a proper relationship. They literally got a heavy-handed glimpse in what their life would become if they just stuck together without addressing their own personal issues, and chose to do that very thing. It that's what S3 is going to address, then why were Anne and Mary part of this season instead of the next one?
I remember everyone saying they wanted Ed and Stede to reunite as quickly as possible in S2, and I get why. They have great chemistry together. The season is about them. But for it to work, spending more time apart is exactly what they needed. They needed to learn how to live with themselves and others, first. Romantic love alone can't fix you as a person. You have to fix yourself first. Community can help (as with Izzy's case), but you still have to put in the work. In retrospect, I'm glad that Izzy didn't get a love interest this season - because he wasn't ready yet, and had to learn how to have normal relationships and friendships with other people before attempting an intimate romantic relationship, lest he ended up falling head first unit another toxic mutually dependent relationship. That's what Stede and Ed should have tried too. Instead the show just ended up using Izzy's death as a quick surgical fix, robbing Ed of his agency and having to do the hard work repairing himself and his relationships with other people. There's a sad irony in getting exactly one character's arc just this, and then using it as a sacrificial lamb to patch over the main character's arc.
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youmagnificentbeast · 1 year ago
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about the last episode's title...
i'm mulling over my theory again with the new episodes in mind... i recommend you read that one first but i'm not your parent sdkfjdsjf
i'll discuss the last episode's title so i'll spoiler cut here! (also this has become pretty long-winded excuse me sdfjkdsfds)
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we know the next episode is called "mermen", and a few days ago i threw out a post about how i think we're gonna see ed and stede as mermen at the end of s2, swimming off together.
i got to rewatch a few ep of s1 and i completely forgot that whenever one of blackbeard's tales is discussed he appears with a fucking spear!! that throws out my theory that the mermaid might be izzy (also that fact that he's the unicorn but that's besides the point). it's ed! ed with a weapon.
what i also forgot was that stede himself says "kill them with kindness!" in s1, so of course he's gonna get a heart in his hand. his weapon is kindness.
the fact that they're swimming in circles, maybe trading places... we got that in these new episodes. stede became the infamous pirate and ed is just there wanting to be ed, to escape the very pirate life stede strides for. they are going in circles separating and getting back together, because they're dancing around the underlying issue.
they don't talk. stede wants to be a pirate so bad, enjoys the thrill-seeking in some capacity (until he gets cocky and it bites him in the ass), and ed wants to settle down. stede only enjoys the pirate life because ed is with him, ed only tolerates the pirate life with stede.
i also think ed believes that stede's love is conditional, that he'd take away from stede's happiness if he took away the piracy, which is why he runs away instead of talking to him and trying to work things out.
anyways, why the fuck do i think we're gonna see ed and stede as merman at the end of ep8? because somewhere they will have to talk. we all know they're gonna get back together in ep, that this wasn't a proper separation like in s1 (judging by trailers, teasers etc.).
now this will drift off into speculation city, and for people who have seen the episode please don't confirm or deny anything! <3
i think we're gonna see them coming together and deciding they need to thwart ricky and the english. i hope they agree that this will be the thing they'll be in the history books for, one last hurrah, and then they decide to make a cut. no more piracy.
i want to see this conversation happen. for them to align goals not only in saving their friends but also in saving each other.
i want their last fuckery to work out so marvelously that they can't to anything else but leave the stage and move on.
and once their goals align, once they have the eyes on the prize, their future together, they can swim off into retirement together.
and fuck would i love for that to be the fucking mermaid scene mirrored, but both of them swimming off together.
i also think there's something about ed saying "i used to view the sea as a battlefield but for the first time i'm in the present" in the episode 8 preview, but i have to mull over that some more...
(or maybe they just chose the episode title because "seamen" is a funny word and stede and ed decide to stay on the sea forever who knows)
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ramsaybaggins · 1 year ago
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Hornberry pick up!
Okay so this one never got much past brainstorming but here was the stream of consciousness I dumped into my discord server when I was thinking about it:
Gets his captaincy for the act of grace, but clearly had a crush on Stede And he's out there doing captainy things and finds a dingy full of people And stede and his crew are like FUUUUCK But then hornberry leans over like "Stede? Stede Bonnet?!" in a parallel to Nigel in episode 1 but instead he helps them all on board and Stede explains everything that happens and Hornberry is just like "LETS GO GET YOU YOUR MAN!" lmao Also interesting reunion drama because it would be an english ship chasing the Revenge And then Ed would realise that Stede is on an english ship and maybe he never left the academy! But then there would be explanations and comedy and Hornberry being like "No old chap you've got it all wrong" at Ed It would be SO FUNNY Especially if Hornberry is basically like "Ed he's fucking gorgeous LOOK AT HIM" and Stede looks at Hornberry like "Wat" omg and then Hornberry could be like "Oh, Blackbeard? Oh yes, we caught him and killed him. All gone, no need to pursue him anymore wink wink" when he leaves Maybe Ed gives him his leather jacket or something as proof that Blackbeard is 'dead' I think they'd offer to let him come with them but he'd probably decline cos he seems happy in the navy and also he has a big ol crush on stede and wouldn't want to have to see him and ed, but he would tell them they're always welcome on his ship 🥺 Omg, ed pouting as Stede is surrounded by guys CLEARLY flirting but Stede is being a proper gentleman through and through Stede doesn't even realise they're all into him "Gosh these navy chaps are very nice, aren't they ed? I don't know why we were worried!" Ed gripping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles are white "yep" -_- After dinner ed stands up, grabs Stede's hand, stares pointedly at all the navy round the table, and drags Stede back to the cabin and shags him extremely loudly
Anyway, I struggled to fit it all together, so it eventually became this kinktober 2022 fic except I just made it an anonymous captain instead of Hornberry (but in my head it's still Hornberry)
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cup-of-hot-worm-milk · 1 year ago
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I think Izzy wanted to break the cycle.
(SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2 AHEAD) Also forgive me if this jumps around the place a little bit because I am not good at keeping my thoughts cohesive.
I think in Izzy's mind (based on him bringing up Stede to Ed and how he encouraged Stede to yell at him on when captured and jailed on Zheng's ship) his jealousy and hatred towards Stede was the domino effect that inadvertently led Edward to becoming the monster that he was.
Izzy thought he wanted the old Blackbeard back but really he just wanted co-dependency. He wanted to love Ed and have Ed without anyone else to properly talk or rely on. He wanted to know Ed better than anyone because he wanted Ed to belong to him.
(Remember in season one ep 5 where the idea of free and shared loved was foreign to him?
Izzy: "I could spill all your beans. You've been a proper little seductress, haven't you? Black Pete, Fang... Who else is there?"
[Lucius informs Black Pete that he drew Fang naked. Black Pete doesn't care; compliments his drawing].
Lucius: "See? We don't own each other.")
But Ed feels broken because Stede's love came without strings attached. He did things for Ed because he wanted too, he offered his friendship to the man even after learning that Ed was going to kill him. There was no dependency on each other, just trust and sharing.
Ed's breakdown over losing Stede is layered - it's not just losing someone he liked, it's losing someone who genuinely wanted to indulge and enrich Ed in his dreams and desires. It's losing someone who didn't scoff or question why Ed wanted to try on pretty clothes or learn dining etiquette but instead actively supported him in doing those things. It's losing someone who, perhaps for the first time since his mother, Ed could count on not needing to be someone else just to please. He didn't have to be the fearsome Blackbeard or the asshole from Hornigolds crew. He could just be Edward Teach.
But things happened - Stede was hesitant and then almost got shot. Ed became depressed and scared that no one could ever love him. The Revenge crew minus Lucius, Jim and Frenchie were abandoned and Izzy was permanently injured.
And here I think is where Izzy became hopeful that he had a chance with Ed again because, hey, that man is going to need someone to help fill the hole in his heart and look, his most loyal follower is standing right here [missing a toe but whatever] ready to support whatever orders his captain may have.
But instead of moving on from Stede, Ed just began to write the most violent, hateful, and tragic suicide letter. He took the loyalty and love of his crew and twisted it into fear. His first mate who supported him was now his outlet for his fury and despair - a person that Ed wanted to push away and terrify but didn't have the guts to permanently remove because he didn't want to be alone.
Ed tried to make Izzy hateful. He punished and hurt him. He belittled him.
But all he's done, I think, is make Izzy realise that hate does not resolve problems. Izzy tried to bring Ed back with reminders of Stede and his gentleness. There's a certain parallel that could be made between Ed talking about Stede's tactics to Izzy in season one compared to Izzy discussing them with Ed in season two.
Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is: Ed wanted hatred. He wanted fear. He wanted others to loathe and leave him but was too fearful to do it the straightforward way so instead he chose violence.
And Izzy doesn't want anymore violence. They dealt with Ed and now he just wants to move on. No more rage or hate. Let the man who truly wanted to best for Ed to remember him in the better light. Let the memory of a Ed who wasn't Blackbeard live on in the man who loved him. Let Ed have one person who will always want him, even after he is dead.
I suppose it's a gift to Stede and Ed in a way. Izzy's last act of devotion. He loved Blackbeard and so, here. To the man who Ed loved so much, I won't let you become miserable like him. I'll lie to you so you can have your fantasy.
Izzy lying to Stede saying he stabbed his painting to spare his feelings and make him think Ed was still a good person and didn't want to cause him any harm while being in unimaginable pain and barely conscious from having a limb amputated without any anesthesia all after being the reason they basically broke up in the first place. little man, you are so weird I want to study you under a microscope
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batsarebetterthanpeople · 2 years ago
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So I know this is a result of Taika having tattoos in real life but Maori Blackbeard is canon so I’m gonna run with it. Ed is named Edward Teach (an English name) and from what little we see of his childhood he seems to have been raised in a western European port town. His father is a white Brit and his mother is a Maori woman (Simone Kessell is mixed white and Maori but that doesn’t necessarily mean the character she plays is mixed, we’d have to know more about the character’s background I think). All this to say that Ed was raised surrounded by his father’s culture and not his mother’s. Despite this fact Ed has Ta Moko (traditional cultural Maori tattoos for those unfamiliar). We only see one as far as I’m aware in the show (the little house shaped one on his wrist) but Taika Waititi has one on his back and one on his shin and the show isn’t over yet so it’s possible we could see more (especially if we get a sex scene, fingers crossed). What I’m interested in is how he got those. My working head cannon (subject to change) is that his mother was probably born in Aotearoa (New Zealand for those unfamiliar with her proper name). Maybe she told Ed stories about her childhood at some point, probably referred to the island by name. At some point, probably after he became Blackbeard and had his own ship that he could sail wherever he wanted to go, he got curious about his mother’s heritage, and sailed to Aotearoa. It probably took some effort. He either had to find a newer dutch map that had the Aotearoa on it (made after 1642) or run into some helpful pacific islanders that he shared a common language with and didn’t run away from the pirate ship on sight to point him in the right direction (probably both maps of the time weren’t always spot on). He also would have potentially had to put the piracy on hold for a bit in order to pull it off. But anyway I’m thinkin he rolls up in this little island in the pacific to which people see his European style vesicle and go “aw shit, not these guys again”, then they see the flag and they’re like “different set of guys”, then they see Blackbeard, a long haired, brown skinned, heavily tattooed sailor and go “hey wait, is he one of us?”
I just think it’s the most likely scenario for how he got those tattoos
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drunkonsmut · 3 years ago
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I’m beginning to suspect that Izzy Hands is overall a pretty chill person when not ignored and when his authority is not constantly undermined. His own dynamic with Fang and Ivan is relaxed. They are obviously his right-hand men, they tend to follow his orders but they don’t fear him at all.  During the story time scene, Izzy, Fang, and Ivan are hanging out together in the shadows and the boys don’t hesitate to speak freely about Ed’s change in attitude. Even questioning if the plan to kill Stede was still up.  Izzy just softly assures them that it is. They don’t fear violence from him and he rarely exerts any, beyond stabbing Stede in the duel and verbally insulting the Revenge crew trying to establish some authority.
Because Izzy never had any authority in the Revenge, and I do think it’s because of Ed’s strange attitude about the situation. First, it’s an invasion, but it quickly derails into a sort of pleasure cruise where the captains are just having fun. Izzy, Fang, and Ivan are left in a sort of liminal space in the Revenge, not quite part of but still having to be there because they are Blackbeard’s employees. Like Wee John is in no way impressed, not does he care for Izzy (and Ed too, I think. John does not give a shit.). The boys just integrate better with the Revenge crew because they don’t have a hierarchy of power to uphold.
Izzy is just walking around the ship drinking tea/coffee and trying to keep things running (I also don’t think he drinks alcohol, and if he does it’s not often and not much). Sure, he pulls on Fang’s beard like an ass but Fang does not care if Izzy sees him pissing around, nor does he hesitate to spill embarrassing stories about him. Ivan and Fang do seem to fear disrespecting Blackbeard but don’t hesitate in speaking clearly to him with Izzy’s backing, like in the no pets allowed scene in S01X06. So, it does feel like they know that Izzy has their back.
I saw a post going around and that now I can’t find, about how the crew didn’t really intent on killing Izzy after he became captain because of how shitty the knots were. And the more I think about it the more it makes sense and the funnier it is, because that is the exactly the kind of naughty they are. Fang and Ivan were all in and ecstatic at putting the fear into Izzy, ‘Boss, you’re a fine administrator but a shit captain. So take it down a notch 🥰✌🏽love you 🥰✌🏽 no hard feelings’. Izzy did go full silly as captain (we really underestimate how much of a muppet he is too).  Afterward he is once again, going around drinking tea/coffee and trying to keep things under control while Ed is in his pillow fort. Fang and Ivan just fall back into the rhythm like 🤷🏽🤷🏽here we go again, I guess🤷🏽🤷🏽 .
Anyways, love Izzy and the boys. Iz just needs a proper vacation.
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teeny-tiny-revenge · 2 years ago
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So I was thinking about Ed and Blackbeard and the Kraken, as you do, and I thought "Blackbeard is a mask, and the Kraken is a shield for Ed to hide behind", but that's not it, either. Blackbeard is the shield. The Kraken is a sword.
Blackbeard is, and I'm dying on that hill, Ed's biggest and best fuckery. Blackbeard is a carefully curated performance of everything Ed has to be to be successful and secure as a pirate. Blackbeard is cool and edgy, he's scary and fearsome, he's the best sailor and pirate out there. And everything Ed is and wants that doesn't fit that image gets carefully hidden away behind it.
But Blackbeard's origin is closely tied to the Kraken IMO. The Kraken is Ed's fear response. Ed goes Kraken when he's hurting and feeling threatened. The Kraken is the part of Ed that lashes out to protect him.
Ed's initial reactions to being scared or hurt or out of his depth aren't Kraken-y. He cowers and hides from his abusive father, makes himself small and silent. He fawns. Until it gets too much to bear and he snaps, and then he uses the violence he grew up around to protect himself and his mother.
Ironically, that's the only thing Ed's actually afraid of. The Kraken. The thing he turns into when he's at his worst. Ed's afraid of very few things (Stede dying, and I think that took him by surprise), but his worst fear is becoming the Kraken. It's something I think he feels he has no control over, and Ed's all about plans and strategies and knowing all the next steps and having a tight control of what's going to happen, and I don't think there's much of that left in Kraken Ed.
And I think when Ed grew up and became Blackbeard, he ended up in a world that worked like his family home: the most scary and violent person is on top of the pecking order, and Ed became that, and that's what kept him safe. What keeps him safe. People are terrified of Blackbeard the Fearsome Legend, and we are shown glimpses of Ed's fuckeries engineered to create, support and maintain this legend. Blackbeard's head is made of smoke, he's got eyes of flame, sailors flee at the sight of him stumbling to his knees halfway into a panic attack and arguably at his least fearsome, he doesn't even have to be on the boat. The fuckery of Blackbeard, the mask, the shield Ed built to hide behind and keep himself safe is working so well it ends up stifling him, but it means he hardly has need for the sword of the Kraken anymore. I don't think he's needed to raise it in years, perhaps decades. Nobody dares to threaten Blackbeard.
And then Stede comes along, and Ed allows himself to look out from behind his shield, to lower it, first gradually and then he just chucks it overboard altogether. He's ready to give it up, to be Ed, to stop hiding. He makes himself super vulnerable, and then that comes around to bite him. Stede abandons and ghosts him, breaks his heart, and Izzy tells him to his face he's loyal only to Blackbeard and that Ed would be better off dead and will have to watch his fucking step or else Izzy might see fit to finish the job the English didn't.
And the problem is, Ed isn't really Blackbeard anymore, is he? Not to Izzy in any case, not fully and without question, and that would be important here. Blackbeard worked as a shield built of respect and fear, and none of that is left. Not much, at least.
So in a tragic repeat of his youth, Ed, lacking a proper shield, picks up his kraken sword and lashes out, and then he reconstructs the Blackbeard shield from the scraps he has left. He paints on a fake beard, he puts the leather uniform back on, and he performs the acts of violence he rarely needed to perform anymore as Blackbeard before. He maroons, he throws people overboard, he gets rid of anything to make him vulnerable, hastily putting the wall back up. But he isn't safe behind Blackbeard anymore, he can't ever slip up again, he has to hold tight to the shield and the sword both now.
There's meta and fic floating around where Blackbeard and the Kraken are considered, like, two different things, two different elements of Ed's personality, but I think they really aren't? I think the Kraken is Blackbeard's origin, his source, and Blackbeard is mostly just toned down elements of the same things that bring out and characterise the Kraken, just not so out of control. The Kraken is a trauma and fear response of Ed protecting himself by hurting what hurts him. Blackbeard is an Ed who isn't in total crisis mode who has internalised the ways of his world and knows exactly how fearsome he has to be for nobody to dare fuck with him. There are a lot of Kraken elements in Blackbeard once you look for them. Blackbeard is the performance of "you can't hurt me if I hurt you first" and "you know I could do terrifying things and that's enough, I won't actually have to do them". And Ed has perfected that! But I think he hasn't genuinely been scared or threatened in forever.
You know, I think the person who is the most scared of the Kraken is still Ed. Izzy is happy, he got what he wanted, that's the Blackbeard he wants to see. Fang looks so sad to me on that final shot of him at the wheel? He knows Ed is hurting. Jim clearly isn't scared at all. Frenchie is, but Frenchie was scared or at least wary of Blackbeard in the beginning, too. Like all of the crew, this behaviour Ed, full of dread of himself, calls the Kraken must be much closer to what all of them expect Blackbeard to be like than what Ed's been doing the couple of weeks he's been on the Revenge.
I think nobody but Ed will see the Kraken as a separate entity to Blackbeard at all. That's all in his head, and that's something he'll have to work through eventually, but what in Ed's head is "I am a monster, I am the scariest most horrible thing there is" is more likely to be "so yeah Blackbeard had a breakdown and a rampage" to everyone else. The Kraken as a concept is Ed's own way to frame his trauma, and nobody currently on the Revenge is privy to any of that.
Stede is privy to the Kraken imagery Ed uses there, so I think there needs to be a moment in season two similar to the bathtub confession scene where Ed can give voice to the fact that the thing that scares him most in the world is that part of him that exists to keep him safe the only way he ever learned how and where Stede can reassure him again that yeah, that was bad things he did, but we can move past that if you want to try.
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izzysillyhandsy · 1 year ago
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Oh yes, absolutely. I am quite sure both scenes are deliberate parallels, the bucket/basket for collecting bottles, Ed's round-eyed expression, his unthreatening, extra friendly vibe which feels a bit fake (no wonder Izzy, who's freaked out by this, reacts in the exact opposite way by gritting his teeth and being harsh and cruel. This is not me excusing him, it's just in character for him.).
Was it Izzy's fault? Yes, partly. But this goes way back in my opinion. It wasn't just this one moment that completely broke Ed, especially not coming from Izzy who often critzises Ed harshly (maybe not as cruelly, but I imagine this has happened before, and Ed knows not to take it completely literally).
When Izzy says to Stede "You and me did this to him and we cannot let the crew suffer any more for our mistakes", does he think of two single events - Stede leaving and Izzy being cruel this one specific time - or is it Stede leaving on top of Izzy's and Ed's long relationship where Izzy may have pushed Ed towards Blackbeard over and over (without realizing the harm it did back then; but realizing it now).
I guess I see the Ep10 breakdown as inevitable, it may have even happened if Stede hadn't left, because Ed hadn't been in a good place for a long time - his unresolved issues and self-hatred were always going to resurface.
S1 was easy, fun, black-and-white season in some ways. Two unhappy people fall in love, it changes them instantly (especially Ed, who does a 180 so quickly poor Izzy is totally blindsided), they're happy now. Bad Izzy tries to come between them, but true love conquers all, bad Izzy is thwarted over and over (Dream!Stede agrees). Then a misunderstanding - Stede leaves and Ed thinks he never loved him. He cries, opens up emotionally and works through it in a newfound healthy way. But now, finally, it's bad Izzy's turn to shine. He walks in like a proper villain and singlehandedly destroys Ed and all his efforts to be a better, happier person.
That's obviously not how life (and love) works.
S2, I think, will be much more 3-dimensional. Everybody will have to deal with themselves and their unresolved issues and how they affect(ed) the people they care about. There will be no white knight saving Ed from his evil first mate, no sneering villain out to destroy him. We might learn how Ed became Blackbeard and about his past with Hornigold and Izzy and how it shaped the man he became. The central 3, Ed, Izzy and, to a lesser degree, Stede, have a lot of trauma to unravel to get to a deserved happy ending, and I think it will be made clear that the reason of Ed's breakdown wasn't as clear cut as it seemed in S1.
This process has already begun in Ep1-3 of course. So this parallel we see in S1 Ep10 and S2 Ep2 seems to show that no, it's not that easy. A few weeks with Stede can't change a lifetime of learned behaviour and completely erase all the trauma, self doubt and aggression Ed is carrying around. It wasn't Izzy who destroyed everything in that single moment. Calm, friendly, together cleaning-up Ed isn't Ed getting better - it's the calm before the storm. Ed has the whole season to work through this - with the help of his friends, of course - and then Stede and Ed will be ready to fall in love for real.
(sorry for the epic, this wasn't meant to be this long)
one thing i’ll say re readings of last season is that imo these three eps have really proven to me that ed’s “ok time to clean up and do improv” moment in ep10 rly wasn’t like a definitive sign of him getting better bc he exhibits the exact same behavior in ep2 where he has a breakdown, next morning he’s all peppy ready to do whatever, TELLS IZZY TO KILL HIM BC HE HAD A DREAM WHERE HE DID????, goes up to the crew acting like he’s fine and doing better so convincingly that they believe him, and then goes to kill them all. like i fear this is just an amped up version of what he’d already started doing in ep10
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stufftippywrote · 3 years ago
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not so much a fic as a collection of thoughts
on ed's state of mind post-canon. SPOILERS for the ending of our flag means death.
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These days, it’s so much easier to be Blackbeard than to be Ed.
To tell the truth, it’s always been easy. It was easy from the very first act of violence. He had been beaten down and kicked about by rage and hate, and his father was dumb and easily fooled, and to watch the light go out of his eyes had been the greatest thrill of young Edward Teach’s life. The Kraken had been born then, and ever since it has been so easy to close his eyes and give in to the creature inside. 
He’d convinced himself for so long that the creature was all there was to him.
But the days and months piled up. Boredom crept in, the desire for something different. The Ed inside him, long dormant, was waking up. 
No - Ed had always been there. Ed was the one stopping his blade every time he made ready to gut a man. Ed was the one that whispered inside him of a loneliness that couldn’t be cured by dalliances with Calico Jack or raucous celebrations with his crew. Those things helped on the surface. Most of the time, Blackbeard convinced himself that Ed was asleep, or maybe even finally dead. But Ed always came back, wanting something else. Wanting nourishment that Blackbeard couldn’t figure out how to feed him. 
And then he happened, and Ed finally was able to crawl out of his dormancy and see the sun for the first time. There had been so much hope then, a sense of overwhelmed giddiness - things were finally changing. He was changing, and it felt so much like a change for the better. 
And then …
Anyway. It’s all in the past. He’s Blackbeard now, and for the foreseeable future. Whenever there are people around him, he’s on, so he tries to eschew time alone and stay on deck with his crew as much as possible. He’s picked up a half a dozen decent seamen to replace the motley group of fools that had been jettisoned when his transformation began, and though they’re not as much fun, that was okay, because Blackbeard’s not fun any longer. 
He’s a killer again. A killer, even, like he never was before. Every man he runs through, he imagines he is killing Ed, little by little. He must kill and kill until that presence inside him is gone, gone, gone. 
But Ed is still there.
On bright days with no wind, when the seas are too calm, he thinks he'll itch right out of his skin The sun burns right through him.
Nights, when the cool wind touches his cheek, he's reminded that he lost his beard, once, when he was soft enough to shave it off. It's been growing since, but slowly, and the protection to his face isn't as absolute as it once was.
The empty library shelves torture him. He puts driftwood on them, raided treasures, severed hands until they start to smell. He never has enough to fill all of the shelves. They demand books. They demand paper, and leather covers, and him. Ed thinks of that underwater library sometimes and gets queasy. He clutches his head and tries not to think of all the vanished words, never to return.
He replays that night in his head far too often. Tries to figure out what became of Stede. Maybe there's some other explanation. Maybe something happened to him. But what could have kept him away not just that night but for the full week Ed waited, sitting on the ship's railing and scanning the horizon for a rowboat?
The optimism that had buoyed his head for those days soon hardened over and fell, leaden, to the bottom of his stomach. Ed would have known if something had happened. He was sure of that. Stede was out there, somewhere in the world, okay. He just ... wasn't coming.
There's the hope that sits in his heart. Someday they would be hailed by a fearless ship with none of the proper dread at seeing Blackbeard's flag. When they get close enough, Ed will know it's him. That hope persists, but with each day that goes by, it keeps not happening. It would be so much easier if he didn't have any hope left. But he does, and that's what keeps him hurting.
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wyrpgrr · 3 years ago
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I can’t wait for the second season i’ve been thinking about it a lot and i have some ideas of what happens next. Like, as much as we see how Ed acts ans feels i find it very hard to predict what exactly he will do or think once he reconnects with Stede. It’s possible that he finds out Stede is dead and all weirdness about it but i don’t think he would go to Barbados for he has not much to do there and “Blackbeard” wouldn’t care about it, would he? But i feel like he’s just hopeless and i can’t really figure out what would be going on. 
As for Stede.. he left his old life for real now, and oh he's ready to let go of everything becaue now he has the direction he didn't had before, wich is he's familly (the crew and Ed). So i thing the very determined, and now poor, Stede is gonna have to become a proper pirate. No fancy clothes or comfortable life until he regains his things (and familly) back. His looks will be work clothes and the beard we're looking for, and since he left without a cent of his money he has to steal a boat (or join someone's crew with the guys), now we an have more known pirates right? if he joins a crew it could be even Calico Jack's lol, and maybe a friendship between Jack and Stede? I think Jack was being purposely irritating to Stede because he had to betray him for Ed's sake and t would be awesome to see him in a dfferent scenario. So imo Stede either steals a boat or joins a crew and in any case i think he'll really become a pirate. Also thinking that beause IRL Stede really became a kinda skilled pirate seeking for revenge (but did not achieve it lol)
Lucius must be alive, maybe on a secret passage, maybe on Swede's barrel who knows. He could be alive in lots of ways and even be saved by someone of the group like Fang or Ivan.
I'm also really curious to know about Ivan and what will happen since Guz Khan won't be there for season 2.
that's it i just wanted to tlk about new Stede.
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edactually · 2 years ago
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Stede POV - 7.5
Neither of them mentioned the whipped cream moment again, although they did exchange a brief look as they sat down to dinner and Ed squirted whipped cream onto his pancake stack.
Fortunately, Ed put on his classical music playlist, and it helped to distract Stede as he was able to make comments about the composers, the pieces in general, just random tidbits of information he’d acquired over the years that Ed seemed genuinely interested in. He discovered that Ed was also a Tchaikovsky fan, although he had yet to see any of his ballets performed. Stede didn’t ask why, just put that down to yet another instance where Ed doing something he enjoyed would be seen as bad for Blackbeard’s image. He made a mental note to get tickets for the Nutcracker for when Ed was home from his tour for the holidays.
They discussed what else Ed needed to take with him as they ate and agreed that it was pointless to pack for the entirety of the tour when there were scheduled periods of time off where Ed could return home to swap out his clothes for warm or cold weather options. It gave Stede hope that at least the wait wouldn’t be too long before Ed came back, even if he could only stay for a couple of nights at most. 
Stede offered to wash the dishes while Ed took a stab at packing on his own, and when Stede’s chore was done and he came to check on how Ed was doing, he was pleased to find another suitcase was halfway finished. Ed had done a pretty good job of narrowing things down for this one, although he did have to be talked out of the skis.
They spent the next couple of hours finishing off the packing and got a routine going - once an item got Stede’s approval as being necessary, it was added to the ‘pack’ pile. Anything deemed unnecessary was added to the ‘put away’ pile, and once they had a decent enough pile for both categories, Stede would pack things neatly into the case while Ed put the other items away.
Ed’s living room gradually became tidier and tidier as they worked, and Stede had just zipped the last case when he realised that Ed hadn’t returned from his final tidying up trip. He went in search of his friend, who wasn’t hard to find, as there was only one open door. Stede pushed it open further and found Ed sprawled across his frankly gargantuan bed.
The poor guy must have been exhausted down to his bones. Stede felt guilty for nudging him awake, but he at least wanted to say a proper goodbye.
Ed’s eyes blinked open and stared at him unfocused until Ed groaned. “I was just resting my eyes.”
“You really need some sleep.” Stede patted the mattress. “You get to bed, I can see myself out.”
“Do youhave to go?”
The question took him by surprise and Stede paused before giving his answer. It wasn’t like he had anyone to rush home to, and this was his last chance to spend time with Ed. “I can stay if you want me to. Where can I sleep?”
“Here, if you want.” Ed looked pointedly at the bed he was lying on and Stede’s fingers gripped tightly at the sheets. “I have guest rooms if you want your own bed, but I sleep–” Ed paused, as if he was worried, but then finished his sentence anyway. “I sleep better with you next to me.”
They had slept together before, this was no different. Except the previous times had been accidental and under the influence of alcohol. This was sober and intentional, and Stede took a deep breath. “Ok. Do you have pyjamas I can borrow?”
“Not really a pyjama guy.” Ed nodded at the dresser over in the corner. “There are some old t-shirts and sweatpants in the bottom drawer, if that’s ok?”
Warm, comfortable clothes that smelled like Ed. It sounded heavenly.
Ed gave him directions to the bathroom where he could get changed, and by the time he came back, Ed was in bed and trying unsuccessfully to yank the tie out of his tangled hair. “Edward!” Stede chastised as he immediately climbed onto the bed and batted Ed’s hands away from his hair. “You’ll pull half your hair out doing that! Let me.”
There was no complaint as Stede’s deft fingers set to work. He was careful not to pull at any of the knots and by the time he had worked the hair tie free, he looked down to find Ed was holding a comb that he must have plucked from the bedside table. It was held out to Stede in a silent question, and Stede took it, running the comb gently through Ed’s waves. He had such lovely hair, like moonlight on dark water, and he really ought to be taking better care of it. Ed’s head tipped back as Stede worked and he could feel Ed’s body growing heavier and heavier until the first quiet snore made him realise that Ed had fallen asleep against his chest.
Stede shifted carefully on the bed, moving out slowly from his position kneeling behind Ed and holding onto his shoulders to guide his sleeping body down onto the mattress. Stede pulled the bedsheets up over both of them, and despite there being more than enough room in the bed, he didn’t stray too far from Ed. 
This was his last few hours with Ed, and Stede was more than happy to spend them watching the man sleep. It was when he was at his most peaceful, murmuring quiet words of incoherent nonsense into the inky darkness. Stede’s ears strained to catch meaning in the words, but there were none to be found.
Stede’s eyelids grew heavy, and soon sleep came to claim him as well and he drifted off watching Ed dream.
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xoxoemynn · 2 years ago
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I was not in any fandom spaces at the time and was really only using HBO Max to watch reruns of The Nanny so it was not on my radar at all.
Then in March my friend texted me and our conversation went as follows:
Friend: Have you watched Our Flag Means Death? We just watched it and I feel it would be up your alley.
Me: I haven't heard of that one but it's an amazing name. What's it about?
Friend: It's about a fancy British (lol oops) gentleman in the 1700s who decides to become a pirate and is kind of terrible at it. It's a comedy - very silly and strangely heartwarming. Also very queer-friendly.
Then I left her on read for a week because I'm the worst and she came back and said:
Friend: Ok, we finished OFMD. Definitely still recommend with the caveat that the season doesn't end on a happy note relationship-wise, but I have hopes for a season 2. By which I mean there better be a season 2 or I'll throw a fit.
Me: Hahahah. Ok this def sounds right up my alley, will be adding to my list.
Friend: Twitter isn't good for much, but I'm glad it told me about this gay pirate show.
Usually when I start new shows I spoil myself silly but this one I went in with literally nothing but what's above. I watched the first few eps and went "huh ok kind of Galavant vibes, I should watch that again when I'm done."
Then we saw Blackbeard's flag and I went "oh shit, Blackbeard's in this?!"
Then there was that whole "killing Stede" thing, and I was like, oh, okay, this is going to be one of those shows where Ed acts like they're friends but is actually going to betray him. Darker than I thought. RIP Stede you were cute, nice knowing you.
Then Jim/Oluwande and Pete/Lucius became items, and since it didn't occur to me at ALL that the LEADS would be gay, I spent most of the series wondering what was going to happen that would cause those cute couples to break up at the end LOL.
Then Ed and Stede kissed and I fell off my couch and I didn't even finish the episode, I went RIGHT back to episode one to rewatch all the way through again with the proper lens.
And that's my pirate journey. And that's why I usually spoil myself because I clearly have trouble seeing what is right in front of my face and need to prepare.
What did you guys know about ofmd before watching it?
I knew it was about pirates and I knew the queers liked and praised it, so I assumed there would be some gay stuff happening. I did not know to what extend
Also i did not know it was a comedy and actually expected it to be a super serious show which is why i put it off for months ✌️
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coolauntlilith · 1 year ago
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I may have jumped to respond a bit to quickly in assuming that comment was a different tone than I thought. I'm sorry for that lol
I don't think he died *as* Blackbeard, I just think that the story written for Ed to be able to be just Ed (plus my personal theory), Izzy had to die. I don't think he lost unicorn status, I don't even believe the crew ever saw Izzy as Blackbeard, its just us the audience seeing that connection because it was Izzy pushing Ed to be Blackbeard and Ed being the face of Blackbeard - they just were it together. But the crew never treated him *as* Blackbeard. He was "their dick." When Stede revived Ed, Izzy was among the crew and already belonged to them even if he wasn't quite the unicorn yet. If on the whole narrative tool thing, he just was in this case. Izzy was as much of Blackbeard, at least before the events of s1, as Ed was. It'd been his whole life. Him being just Izzy the last 6 episodes wasn't a loss just bc he died? He became integral to the crew. He bonds with Stede, he validated the others belief in the curse, he joined in for Calypso's birthday!! Its not a loss just because it was short?? The crew loved him, gave him a proper burial instead of tossing him at sea. I personally feel weird about his prosthetic being used as a grave marker but others have said better than me about that.
And I still don't think it was a cruel joke, and my personal stance is because Izzy is the representative of "piracy." We were already getting a taste of it just a bit in s1, but in s2 just things like with Blackbeard and the wedding massacre, Ned Low being a terror, and with Ricky we really see a harder side to piracy outside of our crew and some small towns the crew stops at. Ricky obliterates all of Zheng's ships and effectively had Spanish Jackie's halted at least for a second. Piracy is being taken out. And Izzy's speech to Ricky should have warned us all. Honestly. And with Izzy giving it - he is the representative of "piracy." But I don't think it's new piracy. We watched Stede create a mutiny of Ned Low's crew against Low and Zheng had this way different style of pirating despite being brutal herself when need be - I think piracy, at least in OFMD isn't inherently just like Blackbeard pre-ofmd or even just like Low. I think piracy is community that finds itself in whatever way it needs to and Zheng and Auntie (abiet a hard relationship until Olu), Stede and the crew of the Revenge, and even Spanish Jackie's bar with her 20 husband's (that got soft canonized as including women husband's? So bisexual queen, that Jackie) is telling us the audience that piracy that works is a rejection of the empire heteronormativity and toxic masculinity. I think the biggest tell that the Blackbeard-esque piracy was nonsustainable in terms of true community was Fang's conversation with Ed. Ed was a terror as Blackbeard, they'd worked together for years and years and only after "Blackbeard died" kinda and Ed is in his potato sack trying to be Ed does Fang open up to him. Idk, I have my own thoughts on this theory and I haven't seen anyone else talk about Izzy being piracy except the Muppets comparison so take it or leave it lol
And despite all the Blackbeard stuff and my thoughts on Izzy being "piracy," he was more than that. That's why so many not-fans became Izzy fans. I Loved him this season, and it was bc he was very well acted and written. A flatter or more static character wouldn't have gotten this reaction out of all of us, it'd just be the canyons.
About agency -- If you think it's stupid, too, that he got shot and died vs Stede surviving at least two stabbings, Ed surviving getting stabbed, Auntie surviving an explosion (I'm glad she lived but damn lol), I agree. I think its a failure somewhere I the writing and they didn't give him a more??? Better death? I like your idea that he saves someone. I personally would have liked it to be maybe Jim if not Stede bc Jim is wearing one of his gloves in the end and it makes me think they were closer than shown.
And I think I'm only confused on the part you talk about independent elements vs the whole. I just think the overall flow of the story or the overall steps in the show all work really well and flow? I feel like i just saw it all fit together really well, so trying to take out Izzy's arc(?) to examine it doesn't seem useful? I think im misunderstanding you there but idk. Rewatching, I felt like I could see Izzy's death from s1 so I'm just confused
You did not use homophobic or transphobic in your text at all. That was a reach I've made because, following the izzy tag and ofmd tag, I saw a good handful of people saying things like that. That it was homophobic that Izzy died because he had a queer arc, making this byg's. Or how bc Izzy did drag, it was transphobic to kill him off despite at least one other drag queen and the canon trans character Jim still with us?? But you didn't say those words. I kinda want to apologize for that bc I jumped, thinking I needed to. I am a little surprised you haven't seen it tho. Like not even a single post? Bc it was going real big for a second there on my timeline here on tumblr. I don't use Twitter lol. I'm insulted lmao
I hope I spelled everything right. I've tried proof reading it and I don't know where to cut bc I'm trying to be understandable.... but I'm sorry it's so long again.
I like how I'm an "Izzy Hater" just for the fact I didn't become delusional and hinge the entirety of a show on one of the antagonists living or dying. 🙄
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Like I legitimately liked Izzy. I was actually very sad he died.
But Izzy isn't the main character. Today I'm seeing posts that are of the sentiment, "we never said he was," but the hard core Izzy stans sure have been acting like this is equivalent to, idk. Killing Eve.
There's been great posts discussing Izzy being the show's antagonist within the crew and discussing the toxic dance that was Blackbeard and Izzy Hands. A very solid argument has been that Izzy couldn't be around for Ed to be Ed.
My personal argument is that Izzy was fated to die all the way back from S1. That he is the representative of "piracy." And as piracy is ending or dying out, Izzy dying represents that.
I do have problems with Izzy dying. But also I don't have enough of an issue to have deluded myself into calling this Bury Your Gays, I don't think Jenkins is a homophobe or transphobe like I've seen him be called on here, and I don't think it's transphobia just from a viewing perspective of Jim being trans and having had a beautiful arc both seasons and the Wee John being Calypso and not dying either??? Like the entire cast is queer, yall are so off your rockers with some takes that I have no sympathy for even though I was upset too.
It's genuinely concerning just how differently you all watched the show.
And as like a final take away - I guess the canyon happened bc people were horrendous to Izzy fans. That's not acceptable, I'm sorry that happened. This is an ahistorical romcom, the other extreme end of this fandom is wrong as well but in this case worse imo. That's shit behavior and true Izzy haters deserve to trip and knock out their front teeth for online harassment like that.
But having fucking critical thought (having a small opinion in my case) isn't hating on something. Damn. Throw your diploma away because it's fucking useless if this is your reaction to anything that doesn't fit into your fanon.
Jesus fucking christ. Drink some damn water and chill out.
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vampmilf · 3 years ago
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yes!!! lay all your love on me + angeleyes dhfns
What do y’all have on your unhinged Izzy playlists?
#angeleyes doesnt fit 100% bc he wouldnt warn stede he would let him crash bc if he suffered then so has everyone else who goes near ed#but i imagine izzy and ed met when they were younger and izzy was starstruck by ed before ed even became blackbeard#he thought he was the coolest person he ever met like he thought the world of him#they were very close and went through a number of different ships and crews and always stuck together before they formed their own crew#and ed became blackbeard like PROPER blackbeard#and izzy thought he was the literal sun he was already infatuated but now he was obsessed#if ed told him to jump off the ship into a swarm of sharks hed probably do it#and for izzy those emotions only grew with every day; he was eds first mate and the one he trusted the most and that made him feel#special to ed#but their relationship/interactions also grew more and more professional and while izzys feelings never wavered; eds seemingly faded over#time and he became more and more distant. not that he pushed izzy away but he became more and more emotionally distant#which presumably only lead to izzy getting desperate to prove to ed what he was still worth#and when that izzy/stede duel happened and ed didnt even try to stand up for him he just let him go with a shrug#is when izzy realized just how little he meant to ed still#he refused to see it before but now he did#ed would choose stede over him in a heartbeat#all those years together and he meant NOTHING to ed.#it felt to him like ed had found a new interesting toy to play with and izzy wasnt fun enough anymore#OKAY THIS GOT VERY LONG IM SORRY I JUST. also angeleyes is just a very good song i like to sing when i cook#so i was just singing along then going oh? oh! i could probably force that in with my newest hyperfixation i think <3#ofmd#txt#summary: ed means the world to izzy and izzy thought he meant the world to ed but then realized he was just blinded by eds charm and his#own obsession#(at least thats what he feels like ed this aint against you ily babygirl dw <3)
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