#like as characters i think stede and especially ed are awful and izzy deserves so much better than them

[laceratedlamiaceae]

Stede and Izzy watching the sun rise, drinking tea and discussing the plans for the day while Ed sleeps in.

Izzy and Ed watching the sun set, leaning back and reminiscing over old times while Stede tells the crew their bedtime story.

Ed and Stede stargazing, laying on the foretop and making up stories about the constellations while Izzy gets some well-deserved rest in their bed.

[gabichanwrites]

As someone who has no strong feelings toward Izzy, I still didn't want him to die and was certain Izzy wasn't going to die because despite all the things I disliked about what they did to certain characters and plots in the second season, I thought it didn't fit the show to have a central character (or basically anyone who isn't a minor character) die. It didn't fit anything it had set for itself in the previous season to kill off one of their main characters even if it WAS for a meaningful reason (which it wasn't). And yet they did it anyway, and like I thought, it was an awful decision.

Yeah, man, exactly that!

I may be quite biased because I literally loved Izzy since I first saw and heard him, all the quips, all the potential of redemption... And, you know, I've got a spot for "pathetic, wet cat" characters. As in I want to give him a towel, feed him something nice and treasure each moment he stops hissing at me.

And even with all the love I hold for Izzy, I don't think I'm not objective when I say it's a shit narrative choice and it's a death that doesn't do anything. It wouldn't serve well any of the characters in the show in fact.

Especially with the way the show handled 1 season, with the softness and historical inaccuracies in how open everyone is to the new stuff - man, people loved it. I loved it. I trusted the writers so fully that not for a moment did I think they would actually kill off anyone, not even for a moment did I believe that Lucius would die. And this was this kind of show about pirates, this was why people liked it so much, at least partially.

And now this finale... Even if we ignore how much Izzy doesn't deserve it, it's just a bad way to go. It's a generic shot in a generic setting, with the character doing absolutely nothing special, not protecting anyone, not running away, just standing there. It's like killing Pete so Lucius will realize that pirating is dangerous and bad and he should stay on land. It's like killing Jim to make Oluwande realize that this isn't safe and... I don't know, go to Zheng. Honestly, I have a hard time coming up with similar nonsense because it just... Doesn't make sense. The writer in me recoils at the sound of so much unnecessary death and cut potential for the sake of... What exactly?

. This kind of death breaks the theme we got used to seeing and it takes away our belief that we can freely enjoy the shenanigans without worrying. A feeling I just got familiar with when the curse and Calypso's birthday happened. This kind of death takes away character in a cruel, pointless way and reduces them back to side characters, there to make way for the main couple. And I like Ed and Stede well enough but COME ON.

So yeah, in short, I fully agree anon. But you probably knew that if you took a look at my Tumblr in the last few hours. I'm gonna stop here though because it's very late for me and I am several hours behind on getting some sleep. Thank you for the ask though, I feel like this finale deeply affected even those who aren't that obssesed with Izzy and, to be honest, it's our first warning sign - writers don't mind pointless killing anymore.

Or maybe it's the saving grace - the bad reception will make them unlikely to do anything equally rush and stupid in the future.

[prettybluelites]

Thoughts: Impossible Birds

Okay, to hold me over until Thursday, I'm going to rewatch and blather about each of the existing three episodes, one each, today tomorrow and Wednesday. It won't be true "reaction" because I'm on...oh, the 6th rewatch? But I'll try to cover the stuff I know I was thinking when I watched the first time.

Action right out of the gate. Love a good dream sequence. Rhys looking alarmingly Branagh-esque.

First lols of the new season: "You absolute twaaaaaaaaa..." and the tackle hug. That just looked like it hurt.

More on this bit in the previous post, where I wrote about "I Love My Baby."

This scenery was well worth the wait, goddamn

Not gonna lie, I'm not a fan of fart jokes, but it got them back to reality pretty quick. So I guess I have Wee John's farts to thank for the outstanding pacing so far.

THEY PIMPED THE SWEDE OUT TO JACKIE, omg, I fucking DIED at Roach practically pushing him into her lap. "He's single!"

Also lmao at Buttons' plaintive "May we go back to the sea now?" The flip side of "Are we there yet?" They really are just little children.

I know I'm supposed to be caught up in the "Trust No One" tattoo but I'm distracted by Taika's waist

Jesus Christ there's a lot to unpack in that wedding officiant's speech. "Elevate the common human rabble," yeeesh. I mean, I know that was a thing, like, "people of our standing" or whatever. But yeesh.

That close shot of Ed's eyes when he says "I'm the fuckin' devil"--that's something that grabbed me when I first watched the trailer. Or teaser, whichever it was. There's not a single glimmer of light there. He's so tired and broken and it's all there in his eyes.

The wedding raid is probably a vaguely inappropriate time to mention that Vico is still, as I believe Nathan Foad put it, the hottest human being on the planet

Obsessed with Archie

Obsessed with Susan/Zheng Yi Sao

Obsessed with Auntie

I'm not going to analyze the Izzy stuff much at this point because there's already been a lot of that and I haven't fully processed my feelings so right now I'm just going to leave it at, Con O'Neill is fuckin incredible

Swede has assimilated well, I see

Firm believer that everybody looks cuter when they're wet. Stede looks cuter but mostly sadder

"Could be, could be, mate" - I screamed

Ricky is obviously ew and I hated sitting there helpless while he played Stede like the proverbial fiddle

Stede's look when Swede says "husbandly duties," equal parts Oh no, TMI and Aw, that's our lil boy

Feels wrong not to say anything about Izzy's sort-of confession to Ed, but like I said, I'm still processing. Did I mention Con is incredible?

Taika is scary in the scene that follows, it's actually kinda hard for me to watch, but goddamn he nails it. When can this show win all the Emmys it deserves?

Fun fact, the lime rickey was invented in 1883 :D

Leslie Jones is awesome and gorgeous, and I love Jackie and Susan squaring off in this scene

I absolutely love that Jim, the orphan raised by a nun to be a killing machine, is the character that has made me laugh the hardest, like until I literally cried, on every single viewing of this season so far. And Fang and Archie laughing at Jim's telling of the story just adds to the moment, there's so much joy in the middle of that awful, awful situation they're all in.

And on the other hand is Ed's speech about the bird, just heartbreaking, especially the way he's gasping his way through it. Treading water, waiting to drown.

The song here is fucking gorgeous too, they just keep hitting the soundtrack out of the park

I love soup too, friends.

And here endeth the episode, not including the extended bit of Jim's Pinocchio story, but I've said all that needs saying about that.

Stay tuned for Episode 2 tomorrow!