#save me fisherman ed

[ofmd-ann]

Rest here for a moment with Fisherman Ed to be truly and fully present 🎣🧘🏽‍♀️

[iamadequate1717]

Stede's Strange Day

I want to talk about Stede Bonnet's very strange day. Let's look at the progression of just what Stede sees.

He spends the night with his boyfriend for the first time, and his boyfriend brings him breakfast in bed like Doug did for Mary. They talk about their reunion. Stede is very happy right now!

His boyfriend tells him that he envisioned him as a beautiful merperson and that he thinks he saved his life.

They get dressed, and they go out on a breakfast date on the town. Stede tells Ed about the letters he wrote, and Ed loved that!

Stede then discovers he has a fanclub! Ed laughs and is happy for him! They're going to go down to Jackie's so Stede can enjoy this some more!

Ed throws in some light banter/teasing about this turn of events, and Stede literally squeals before they run off giggling together.

They get to Jackie's, and Ed continues to encourage Stede!

Ed leaves him to it! "Enjoy the night" are his parting words.

So Stede enjoys the night!

He's being accepted! And he still talks about his boyfriend while being fawned over!

Everyone tells him he's awesome! He offs an assassin while saying something cool! No one is making fun of him!

After a bit, he goes to find Ed to share in his fun! He's had a great day.

Only, he's immediately met with this with no context: Ed regrets being with him! Ed is leaving immediately!

Remember: Ed's last words to him were "Enjoy the night!" This is complete emotional whiplash. Stede knows right away what the problem is, but Ed shuts it down.

Ed wants to be a fisherman! A proclamation completely out of the blue! Stede tries to talk him down. That fish wasn't so awesome that it should completely change Ed's life trajectory, casting Stede out of the way.

Ed disagrees and abandons Stede with no real explanation or listening to what Stede was trying to say, which isn't a great move for a healthy relationship.

Basically, Stede spent a few hours (only a few hours!) enjoying himself (in a manner that Ed encouraged him to!). He did nothing awful (because murder is cool in this show), and was a lot tamer than what Ed and company were doing in 1x8 (turtle vs crab is mean!).

I'm going to go more into Stede defense in another post. "Last night was a mistake" is an egregious phrasing to use with the man you love who has self esteem and trauma issues (we know what he means but it can be interpreted much worse), but Stede took it in stride. But for some reason people act like Stede committed war crimes with the fish comment? Ed sharing his day and Ed excising himself from Stede's life are different contexts and the fish is viewed differently in each lens. It was an OK fish, and Stede did nothing wrong. Stede is right that Ed is a coward, and I don't think Stede saying a few slightly harsh things in the heat of the moment when being blindsided like this is a character flaw.

Ed behaved appallingly in shutting down the conversation and refusing to even give context to what was going on. With 1x9&10 and Stede deciding Ed was better off without him, I saw plenty of comments about how Stede couldn't make a major life decision for Ed like that. With this, Ed has made a major life decision for Stede (I'm going to dump him and remove myself before he can choose piracy over me!), but I have yet to see the same comments, and I know exactly why that is.

...

More Stede defense!:

[amuseoffyre]

Hypothesis: Ed actually already knows how to fix and clean stuff around a house (not just a ship), because he used to do that as a child (to save his mum the trouble - if anyone laughed, he could make the excuse that he was saving her time and energy that she could use for doing *paid* housework for posh gits). He might also have learned to cook on a budget from her, but maybe that's speculating too far...

I wouldn't be surprised by that tbh. In poor households, kids were expected to take up labour as soon as they were big enough to hold tool. Whether in the house or being sent out to work, there's plenty of historical aspects that would support Ed being pulled into domestic tasks early on.

That said, Ed and domesticity have a... complicated relationship. Our man desperately wants to be married and in a safe and loving relationship, but his template for what a happy/safe relationship is skewed at best.

I know I've mentioned this before, but it has me in a chokehold: Ed definitely self-soothes using simple domestic tasks in times when he's in situations where his whole world has just turned on a dime, usually as a mechanism to say "look everything's fine. We're all good".

When he's surrendered his identity, his beard has been shaved off, and he's now pretty much a slave to the empire for the next ten years, he's sitting folding laundry. Because it's fine. This is all fine. I'm fine. You're fine. We're fine.

When he's been abandoned by Stede and vaguely shared about it with the crew and decided to turn them on a new path towards a talent show, he goes back to his cabin and starts cleaning. Because it's fine. This is all fine. I'm fine. You're fine. We're fine. WE ARE ALL FINE SHUSH DON'T LOOK TO CLOSE OR SAY ANYTHING.

And, of course, most significantly, when he's shot Izzy and had his breakdown on the front of the ship, but the next morning, he's cleaned all of the cabin and scrubbed it down and freshened himself up. BECAUSE. IT'S. FINE. THIS IS ALL FINE. I'M FINE. YOU'RE FINE. WE'RE FINE.

We are definitely not going to push someone to kill us. We are definitely not going to drive the ship into a storm because no one is taking the fucking hint to do the big job for us.

WE. ARE. FINE.

Even within the context of his own subconscious in the gravy basket there are layers and layers of him folded in there: the most hated parts of himself manifested in the shape of Hornigold but Hornigold is doing all the domestic tasks.

We see him making soup and trying to feed Ed as a parent would try and feed a stubborn child, foraging for ingredients for boil-up and weaving sandals. Also worth mentioning the stuff Hornigold has around him are all Maori elements - the type of woven sandals, the ingredients for the food, the basket. The two parts of Ed's traumatic history incarnate - one of his white abusive father figures carrying out the domestic routines of his Maori mother.

Because it's fine there too. Totally fine. Not at all avoiding anything. STOP LOOKING. NOTHING TO SEE.

And later, much later, he decides to become a fisherman and take on the domestic chores of sorting out the meals for his employer, because... well, you know the drill. He's fine. He's totally fine. He's not at all stuck in a repeating cycle of taking refuge in domesticity and pretending everything is totally fine and normal and not at all anything to do with the memory of the domestic situation in his childhood growling down his neck.

[forest-mouse]

1. Stede killed for the first time. Everything inside me tightened when I saw that scene. I probably felt what Ed felt. His emotions in that moment were hard to watch. As someone who has experienced all the shit of pirate life, he didn't want Stede to go down that path. He didn't want Stede to become the person Ed despises in himself. I prayed to all the gods that Stede wouldn't do it, that someone would stop him. But it happened. He believed he had to do it for the sake of the crew, for himself, and for his development as a pirate. But it's complete self-deception because it goes completely against his nature. That's what his childhood flashbacks showed. It hurt him back then, and it hurts him now.

2. The sex, I think, was a mistake as it happened. Both of them. Ed asked not to rush, and Stede accepted that, but they both just gave in to it on emotions to release the emotional tension. The sex wasn't about feelings, emotions, or each other; it was about saving themselves and escaping from their traumatic experiences. And it's understandable why Ed regretted it afterwards. I think it would have been better if Ed had stopped Stede from acting impulsively and talked to him. But blaming only Ed for the missed opportunity is wrong because they were both not in a good place.

3. Stede and Ed currently have different ideas about their future together, and I dare say that there isn't one yet. They still have a lot to discuss and find compromises on. When Ed was talking to the kids, he told them that he and Stede are hotel owners, not pirates – it was said as a joke, but it's not a joke for Ed. It's the future he wants with Stede. But he didn't say it to Stede's face because he's afraid (remember 1x9) that Stid will run away again and won't agree to retire with him. That's why he keeps silent.

And it's precisely for this reason that he decided to leave and become a fisherman on his own, without telling Stede. He's afraid of being rejected again. So, it's better if I do it myself. He's incredibly tired of pirate life and wants to escape, while Stede is still at his peak.

They are at different stages of the same journey. I don't think we will see Ed Blackbeard's growth and development because they show that through Stede. The whole journey from beginning to end. And I think at the end of the road (at the end of Season 3), Stede will realize that this isn't for him, that he played pirates enough, and he'll get tired, and only then will he be fully ready to settle down with Ed in a quiet place and manage the hotel. This will happen only when it becomes the limit of Stede's dreams.

Do you know why this will definitely happen? Murders, cruelty - they completely contradict Stede's essence. They didn't show us flashbacks from his childhood for no reason. He has always been and will remain inclined towards beauty and tenderness. Let's also remember that Jenkins constantly talks about toxic masculinity in society and what it means to be a man.

For Stede, piracy was a way to escape from the boring routine, an idealized fairy tale, an adventure, but not killings and cruelty. That's why he called himself the Gentleman of Pirates.

And when he realizes that his true nature contradicts the real pirate life, when he gets tired of the cruelty, only then will he truly understand Ed and see his dream as his own dream, and only then will they truly be happy together.

Ed has already gone through this path. Ed has already realized the horrors of such a life. Stede still has it ahead of him.

[everyscreentoobeseen]

Hold on, why do yall think Stede's choice to kill Ned was a WHIM?????

First of all, this isnt the first time Stede got someone killed. Chuancy was an accident, but he did use the stun move. All of ep 2 s1 was about Stede learning how to deal with it. He still feels bad but as he told the natives. He dosen't feel bad that Chauncey is dead. His crew was under threat. So he stopped Badminton from hurting them. His bad feelings came from somewhere else.

Nighel Badminton got himself killed but it did make Stede run back home and face his problems. When he does go back home he tells the other rich guys.

"I've seen death. Been the cause of it. It changes you."

He already knows what it's like be a killer!

But everytime it wasn't his choice. The Badmintons were accidents. He never got to actually choose to be a killer.

That's why when Ned Low invaded his "safe space ship", captured his crew (family) and tortured not only them but also The Love of his Life, Making it into a fucked up PERFORMANCE! All his life bullies found fun in torturing him. Why would this guy be any different.

Hell yeah he was ready to kill him.

Of course, this time he gets to choose. This is not him using a stun move. He is now the conducter of Ned's death and he'll be damned if it's not done His Way.

He's not gonna stab him. It's not gonna be messy. It's not gonna be fast like a gunshot or a stab through the head.

He is going to make Ned SUFFER. Force him to walk the plank. Throw his precious violin in his face and let him drown. It's clean. It's poetic. It's outsourcing the big job to nature. Just like killing spiders.

But Ned continues to demean him. "You know once you kill me your a real pirate. Your not an amateur anymore." Even after everything Stede has been through. Not matter how much he's grown, the world still thinks he's playing at pirating.

The Badmintons dont count.

EVEN ED THINKS SO!

"Once you've killed in cold blood. You cant come back."

Well Chuancy's death was cold blooded wasn't it? Stede snuck him from behind. The boat fire that he caused isn't enough either. When Ed burns a boat, it's murder. But when Stede does it it's "quirky". Stede ALREADY considered himself a killer but NO ONE ELSE DOES. (not even the fandom apparently.)

Yes, he wanted to prove himself. But I don't think that was the thought process until Ned brought it up.

Stede did not hesitate on Ned's death until the others made him question himself. He was completely set on making sure Ned wasn't a threat to his ship. He was so sure of making him walk the plank. It was PLANNED from the moment he put the plank down and the other boat left. What's one more death? But then everyone was treating him like a innocent child?? Like he's doing something unlike him?

He HAD TO PROVE to everyone in that moment that he could kill Ned because no one RECOGNIZED that he was ALREADY a killer.

Him killing Ned became a point to make once he realized there was even a point to be made.

The only reason that he felt even a little bad about it was because Ed asked him not to. He felt like he let Ed down. That maybe Edward like Stede Bonnet, Landed Gentry Pretending to Be A Pirate more than Stede Bonnet, Real Pirate. Because he realized how much he's changed. No more Gentleman, now he's just a Pirate.

That's why he Sped Things Up with Ed. He wanted Ed to prove that he could handle not so innocent Stede FUCKING Bonnet. That he wouldn't leave Stede after seeing this new side of him. He gets consent and then goes on to have the man of his dreams after saving him. How romantic male lead of him.

Of course the NEXT FUCKING DAY HE GETS TOLD IT WAS A MISTAKE!!!! THAT HE'S NOT READY FOR "WHATEVER THIS IS".

How on earth was Stede not supposed to take this as "I dont like the you that isn't soft, isn't insecure, isnt in need of protection." That Ed is leaving to become a fisherman because he cant stand Stede being the messy one for once in his life.

Maybe it was trauma. Maybe it was a show of toxic masculinity. But dont pretend like Stede did it on a WHIM.

[bragginball-z]

I was too upset by Ed saying he was leaving to really think about what he said but like-

He wants to go be a fisherman on a boat with OTHER FISHERMEN

He also cannot shut up to save his life (me too king)

Even if he actually goes through with it and DOES leave he is 100% getting kicked off the boat cause he can’t be quiet

[earring-stede]

Updated predictions for OFMD season 2 episode 8: Finale

These are my updated predictions based on episodes 6 & 7, the trailer for episode 8, and all the BTS from the previous weeks

I knew that Izzy was gonna be caught, but now I know the whole crew of the Revenge will also be captured, along with Spanish Jackie and most of the Republic of Pirates. In fact the only people not caught during the raid, are Zheng and Stede who escaped to the forest, and Ed who completely missed the Raid after he left Stede.

As I previously predicted, Stede and Zheng will be hiding out together under the bridge from episode 1. Stede will comfort Zheng since Ricky wiped out most of her fleet. The English, however are hot on their heels, and their chase leads them to the beach.

Meanwhile… Ed has been living his regular life as a fisherman. I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes across one of Stede’s letters in a bottle while fishing. This prompts him to find Stede and return to the Republic of Pirates, which he finds in ashes. He will then fish out his leathers and reunite with Stede on the beach, which will mirror Stede’s dream sequence from episode 1.

Zheng, Ed and Stede will then liberate the crew from the English, and then use the uniforms of the slain soldiers to infiltrate the Navy. I don’t know what their goal is, perhaps revenge, perhaps to take back the republic, or stop Ricky once and for all. Let me know your theories.

The mission is a success, and they escape on the Revenge, however Izzy is badly hurt, and Wee John is missing from the rest of the promotional material. I now think the funeral scene I discussed in a previous post could come after their escape. Which raises the possibility that Izzy could die. I don’t know for sure - it could go either way. On one hand, I think it makes more sense for Wee John to die and Izzy to live, as discussed in my previous prediction posts. However, most non-spoiler reviews of episode 8 emphasise Con’s performance, and Wee John isn’t mentioned. This could indicate a dramatic death scene for Izzy, and that Wee John just might be absent from the second half of this episode like he was in episode 5. I am on the fence over who will die. Let me know your theories and I will place my bets with my episode 8 bingo sheet next week.

As for how the episode ends, we can see in the trailer that most of the crew will continue to sail on the Revenge, with Zheng as its new crew member. Although we don’t see Ed or Stede. This could mean that they have chosen to retire together, but my prediction is that they choose to continue to live at sea as pirates, BUT, under their own terms. The antagonist of this series is normality, and Stede from the beginning has asked what if we did things differently? I think the show is setting up this new form of piracy that would work for both Stede and Ed. What if instead of raiding and pillaging, they act as a beacon of light and a safe space for other pirates wishing to change. By saving these lost souls at sea, the crew sound less like pirates, and more like… mermen?

[goayda]

Happy Birthday, Izzy

Shameless fluffy fic, because the idea of the crew having a party for Izzy's bday wouldn't leave me alone.

(As usual, set some time after 2x07, Ed is happy being a fisherman somewhere and there was no Zheng fight and no Prince Ricky attack. As usual too, no warnings needed, just a happy time for everybody.)

----

Izzy had been trying to teach Stede again how to correctly read a nautical chart for the last hour (No, Bonnet, it’s not more exciting to simply follow the wind, that gets you wrecked!) when Lucius came in to tell him they needed his help on deck.

“Olu and Pete were trying to fix...  that thing you said, something about the rigging, right? But they’re stuck, I think,” he explained vaguely.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”

Izzy stormed out of the captain’s cabin, muttering curses to himself. It wasn’t such a difficult task, he had thought the crew was finally getting the grasp on their jobs, especially Oluwande, but apparently he had been wrong.

When he reached the deck, though, instead of the mess he had been expecting he found himself in front of a very smug and very happy bunch of pirates that cheered loudly at him.

“Surpriiiise!” the whole crew shouted as one.

“Wha-what?”

“Happy birthday, Izzy!” Bonnet yelled behind him and then Izzy finally noticed the decorations.

There were fewer flowers than in the last big event on the Revenge, but there were many colorful decorations everywhere, beautiful paper lanterns ready to be lit when the sun would go down and were those parcels with ribbons on a table actually presents?

“How did you know?” Izzy asked, confused.

He hadn’t said anything about his birthday, in fact he hadn’t even remembered it was that day, except for a vague thought in the morning when he had checked the logs. Birthdays weren’t important for pirates or had never been before he had set foot on that crazy ship full of madmen.

“You told me once, but you were so drunk you probably don’t remember,” Frenchie said with a wink.

“We all agreed we should do something special for our first mate’s birthday this year,” Stede said, looking as excited as a child on Christmas morning. “We have a great party ready for you, Izzy! Ready, people?”

Izzy stood awkwardly while Stede and the crew sang Happy Birthday to him, willing his body not to blush, but probably failing. A birthday party. It was ridiculous, it was a waste and it was the most heartwarming thing that had happened to him in a long time.

The crew started giving him the presents right away and soon his hands were full and he was fighting to the keep himself from tearing up.

First Roach and Fang came up from the galley with snacks and pastries and a big lemon cake.

(I know these are your favorites, little man, I’ve seen you have seconds when you thought nobody was looking.

Yes, boss, and I know you like the little lemon cakes, we used to buy them on shore leave, remember?)

Then Pete and Lucius offered him a big package and Izzy unwrapped it to find a few bottles of good rum.

(I found them in the last raid and we saved them for your birthday, Izzy.

Yes, and I helped wrapping them, you know. It was quite difficult with my wooden finger and all…

You made a lovely bow with that ribbon, babe. It looked great.

Aaaww, thank you, babe.)

Wee John and Frenchie’s present was next, a beautiful dark-blue cloak with embroidered sparrows.

(For night watches, when it gets cold. I hope I got the measures right, Izzy, if not, you let me know and I’ll fix it.

Yeah, and I sewed the sparrows, Izzy. They’re good luck birds, you know? They’ll protect you from evil witches.)

Oluwande, Archie and Jim offered him a smaller package and Izzy found a set of very good quality daggers inside.

(I chose those myself, hombrecito, that’s very good steel. You could stab a thousand men with those!

Or not! Not right now I mean. But we thought you’d like them, Izzy. Happy birthday!

Yeah, I bet you could hide the smallest one somewhere in your unicorn leg and nobody would see it coming, man!)

The presents were very thoughtful and Izzy realized he had only managed to grumble a thank-you every time, but nobody seemed to care. The crew was having fun, laughing and eating while cheering at him to open the next present and when he thought that was the last one, Stede got closer slowly with his hands behind his back.

“Here, this is my present for you, Israel. I hope you like it,” Stede said almost casually, but his face showed how nervous he really was.

Stede offered him a big sword, wrapped with a green silk ribbon and Izzy stared at it open-mouthed. It was… pretty, but it was clearly an ornamental sword, made for show and not for fighting. The blade was too thin and too long and the guard was beautifully crafted, yes, with intertwined steel vines with thorns and leaves that created a sort of cage where your hand was supposed to go. It looked like wielding that sword in a real fight would cause more damage to your hand than any attack from your opponent.

Izzy looked at Stede’s expectant face and then took a deep breath.

“It’s beautiful, Captain, thank you very much. I’ll treasure it.”

There, he thought proudly, he didn’t say he would use it so he wasn’t technically lying.

Stede beamed at him, looking incredibly proud.

“Oh, I also bought you this,” he added then as he offered him a very small package. “Yours seems to be a bit worn-out and they’re always useful.”

A pair of leather gloves, just his size.

“I know you only use one, but well, better have the pair, I thought, just in case.”

“Thank you, Stede,” Izzy said softly.

There was a silence then, but it wasn’t awkward at all. It didn’t last long, though, because soon the crew was loudly demanding cake and the party continued, with cake, drinks and songs long until the moon was up in the sky. And Izzy enjoyed every single moment of it, even if he wasn’t going to admit it out loud. Not yet, at least.

XOX

[thewinter-smolder]

i was stuck in traffic for a long time and it gave me the time to let my "once upon a time i used to write fanfiction before capitalism killed my soul" self loose for a while so i'm just gonna pretend i've been granted the gift of vision

because it was weird they took the time to show us how the blackbeard outfit sank to the bottom of the sea (mind you, for the amount of light in that shot, i'm gonna assume it wasn't that deep, also it was like 5 minutes before Izzy said they docked so they were near land after all)

it was also weird to see how ed gets rid of the outfit because we see him on the preview for the season finale wearing it -i mean, actually emerging from the sea with it.

so what a coincidence it is for ed to be a fisherman now (don't get me started on "the fish is whatever" discourse because i'm 100% siding with stede on this one), because they will either show us another fisherman pulling out blackbeard's clothes from the water just as Ed decides to go back to land and check on Stede or

he's about to jump again into the water (just as we've seen him do before to rescue stede) and, with the power of gay, he will cross upon his clothes that are not just drifting through the sea: they are tied in a net and under a cannon ball to keep them down below.

so you might ask: mmmmm have we seen that image before? and i'm gonna say HELL YES.

because hornigold tied ed to a rock and then threw said rock off the cliff to make ed sink, and die, and be forgotten.

but then merman stede came to the rescue.

and now it's time for merman ed to show up (was i dreaming or did max australia confirmed that the title of the season finale was "mer-men" or something like that?). not necessarily to rescue stede (he probably will, afterwards) but to rescue blackbeard who is now drowning.

because if stede appeared to ed as a sign of hope, a sign of light, this new ed is also that for the blackbeard who shelters under the kraken persona.

for years, ed has believed that he was a monster for killing his father. but he forgets that killing his father meant his mom would be safe (and if that makes you think of black pete turning around lucius' situation to let him see that, yes, he almost got killed, but he also LIVED, well congrats because i did too)

the kraken was born the day ed killed his father saved his mother and will be born again (the symbolism of him emerging from the sea, man, what a time to be alive) now that the love of his life stede and izzy and fang and frenchie and lucius and jim and pretty much the entire community that made him feel be part of something over the years need to be saved.

we're about to come full circle and see blackbeard's swan song, when he makes peace with the kraken and sees him not as a monster, but as a guardian. and can be at peace with the idea that he is both and he doesn't have to kill a part of him, but to embrace it and

TURN POISON INTO POSITIVITY

[sixstepsaway]

right, so, here are my Thoughts about that whole thing now i've slept on it. probably won't be super coherent but here we go

i feel bad for stede. he got shoved, somehow, into the weird love interest role so many female characters find themselves in, where they are truly completed by a man and a romance not the things they've been striving for throughout the series so far. he's shown no sign of wanting to give up the pirate lifestyle he's just finally got back, and to accompany him giving that up with izzy's gorgeous "piracy is about family and somewhere to belong" speech from earlier just feels cruel. we joke about how episode 2 stede wouldn't care if lucius died but that changed, he got attached, his crew became his family. they were loyal to him and followed him even when they were just working at spanish jackie's for pennies. they respected him and loved him enough to let him talk them into letting ed back on board. this was, at least at this point in stede's arc, his happy ending. in fact, you can even argue he was happy without ed for a while at the start of this episode. his relationship with ed is important and it's icing on the cake, but it isn't something to complete him, or his only source of happiness -- nor should it be!!! and then for some reason ed shows back up, fishes up his leathers, kicks ass to save him, loses izzy and now they're leaving stede's ship and crew and found family to... run an inn made out of the world's shittiest fixer-upper? stede? stede twirly fancypants bonnett??? in that place? maybe at the end of a full run this might have felt like a good conclusion to his story, him realizing he wanted belonging, not necessarily to be a pirate, and maybe them bringing some of crew along to have their home somewhere safer and happier than the piracy they don't really enjoy but turn to because they have no other choice, but right now it just feels like... honestly like either he agreed to it to keep ed with him ("AITA for convincing my boyfriend to run an inn with me after leaving him two days ago because we were moving too fast? little backstory: this involved my boyfriend leaving everything in his life for me and no i did not apologize for running off to become a fisherman") or like, as i said up there, a matter of "actually all he needed was a BOYFRIEND all along" which... ngh. stede is more than his relationship.

idk why we bothered establishing that frenchie, jim and even archie were willing to put their lives on the line and lie to ed's murderous face to save izzy's life just for them to be stone-faced and have no feelings about his loss. like, okay, ed and he's stories are tied together and him dying in ed's arms makes more sense narratively than him dying in anyone else's, but also ed hadn't earned that and izzy deserved to die in the arms of someone who hadn't tried to kill him and shot him in the leg not to mention we went from fang's squishy hug and frenchie holding his hand to just... nothing? not a thing? roach, the ship's surgeon, did nothing to try and save him? it's just ed slapping his gunshot wound pathetically?

it strongly feels like they swapped izzy and ed's roles in his death scene sounds stupid but hear me out "you're my only family" would make so much more sense coming from izzy with ed dying in his arms. izzy's desperation to keep hold of ed, right down to accidentally pushing him down the kraken path at the end of season 1, being rooted in the feeling that ed is all he has in the world? ed responding that no, the crew love izzy. he's earned their love. he has a family outside of ed now, can't he see that? that makes so much more sense, considering izzy nearly died for them multiple times and spent the first few episodes trying to protect them and then being protected by them in kind he was their new unicorn!!! meanwhile ed said sorry to fang, izzy and lucius, and no one else has been shown to give any fucks about him since that whole thing, and like... rightly so? because he hadn't earned them back at all? and he fucked off on them too last episode lol dont forget he didnt JUST leave stede

we should have known better than to trust djenks when he broke jim and olu up for no reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ idk

nothing worth a damn happened this episode it was all running around and waving swords. idk how anyone got to where they were at the end. it was just poor writing.

the pacing has been off all season but they really shoved three episodes into one and hoped it'd work

i'm getting flashbacks to the timeless ~finale~ ugh

they spent so much time one ed's stupid fishing boat monologue instead of on ANYTHING ELSE

i ran out of thoughts

oh, here's another: the show walked a line between muppetry and things that were taken seriously lucius' finger, izzy's toes: serious ed getting bonked by a cannonball: emotionally serious, but not physically serious ed and stede both getting stabbed: not serious and what was treated as serious and what was treated as handwavy was dictated by what the storyline and the emotional needs were izzy getting shot to make it so they all had to run away yapping would have been hilarious, especially if he got back to the ship and went "nah eddie it's my left side, remember what i told you about the left? nothing important on the left" "your liver" <- roach, horrified but instead weird death scene because this was treated as physically serious, even though it...should not have been, really? and that is bothering me a lot too, because when lucius was thrown to his death, we looked at stede finding the crew on the island and went, "aha! lucius will be fine, because that's what the show logic is" and we were right, because the show had taught us that but that didn't extend to izzy for this and that's just weird

[cottagecore-raccoon]

"We're both whim prone" - Stede Bonnet to Ed Teach, OFMD S2

Stede's "Whims"

Left his wife and family to become a pirate (commissioned a ship and hired a crew, so likely had to work toward his plan for at least a year)

Left Ed/the naval academy to return to his family (after having been abducted at gunpoint, told he destroys beautiful things (including blackbeard), and then watches a man die)

Had sex with Ed when they were meant to be taking it slow (had just been tortured along with the whole crew and reminded by Ned of his feeling that Ed has ruined by him)

Ed's Whims

To murder or not murder the crew of the revenge (he appears to go back and forth on this repeatedly in season one)

Send Stede to "doggy heaven"

"Wait actually I really like Stede, so maybe no murder"

Leave Stede/the crew of the Revenge to be with Calico Jack

No wait actually CJ is an asshole and I need to save my "friend" ("never left")

Goes to Naval Academy to save Stede's life (very sweet gesture, still feels like a split second decision)

Let's go to China! ("Start over, reset")

Depending on how you count, most of the whole "kraken" era could probably be counted as having multiple whims, but also that seems more akin to a complete mental breakdown to me (hence it not being on here)

Ed has finally given up on piracy? (Aka how many times can one man symbolically shed his uniform of a previous era that he wants to move on from? I count three?)

I'm gonna be a fisherman!

Okay actually that sucks, I am no longer a fisherman

Let's join Zheng Yi Sao's crew!

Time to run an Inn? (I realize this feels more like a whim due to the rushed nature of episode 8, but Ed and Stede literally never - to my knowledge - discuss this one screen)

Now @wanderingwoodpecker made a good point and said that Stede may have said that they both were whim prone to lighten the accusation/get Ed to admit it. But regardless, I felt the need to prove a point.

[amuseoffyre]

Mulling once again on Ed and presentation and how he tends to keep certain emotions and things under wraps when he's presenting a specific way.

Most specifically I want to mention his leather as his armour and when he's in armour, he'll play Blackbeard, he'll joke around with the crew, he'll banter, he'll be chaotic, he'll be scary. He'll be loud and cheerful and chaotic and terrifying, depending on the situation.

But the instant he is upset or emotional about anything, his instinct is to hide himself, close himself away or cover himself so no one can see him. That aesthetic, that whole performative presentation can not be seen to be emotionally vulnerable.

30 years of living in the world of piracy and he knows he can't show his emotions because they'll be used against him. We see it when Jack shames him into leaving ("I saved your life man"), we see it when Izzy confronts him in 1x01 ("some namby pamby in a silk robe, pining for his boyfriend"), we see it again when Izzy tries to break through his kraken spiral ("your feelings for Stede fucking Bonnet"), we see it with Mary and Anne roasting him and Stede ("that was so fucking earnest").

Even when he's back with the crew and the ship in S2, he keeps his heart-eyes and his softer emotions for Stede for when they're alone together, keeping a careful distance so no one can read too much into it. Not when he's dressed like this. Not when he's looking like this. The wall very nearly came down on Calypso's birthday, when they were going to dance, but then Low happened and everything went to hell in a handbasket.

Ned came after them because of him, because Ed provoked him. No. Blackbeard provoked him. "It's me you want" he says. It is also such a big part of why he abandons the leathers the next day: he brought this down on them as Blackbeard. He doesn't want to see Stede hurt again, even says they should stay away from life-or-death situations.

He sees the Blackbeard vibe and look and persona as something that can only be destructive and awful, because - in his mind - it just keeps making things worse for him.

It's one of the reasons I love the leather reclamation so much.

For so many years, he's been forced to hide his emotions while wearing it, but it's was never about the clothes. The clothes were just a symbol. As I said earlier, it's his emotional armour and he never believed he could just... be himself without it.

In the fight with Stede in the republic, he says himself "I don't even know who I am". He's spent so long dividing up the way he presents himself that he's fragmented and disorientated. He threw his leathers overboard because he wants to be able to be loved, but doesn't feel he can be while that whole presentation and reputation is hanging over him.

But then we get to a point where he needs said armour - he's going into battle to fight for the man he loves and going dressed as a fisherman just ain't gonna cut it. He pulls it back on, he rises from the waves, but - and this is a sign of things changing - the second he arrives on the beach and finds that letter, the tangible reminder that he loved, his emotions are fully on display.

For the first time he is expressing himself without hiding away or covering himself up. He's finally understanding that he can be Edward no matter what he looks like on the surface. He can be himself without keeping the mask up, even when he has his armour on.

Admittedly, he is still hesitant about expressing himself fully. At the wedding, he only glances sidelong at Stede and even when they're standing on the porch of the inn, some part of him still expects Stede to leave. He even gives him a chance and excuse - "having second thoughts?" and uses metaphors about the inn to explain his uncertainties. But he's getting there. He's figuring out how to deal with his stuff and become more and more himself.

[chrryblssmprincess]

You know, I wasn’t planning on weighing in here about my thoughts, but after watching episode 7, I think I have some things to share.

On my first watch of episode 7, I was CRINGING when Stede fought Zheng. I was whispering at the screen and begging him to stop. But now that I’ve had a few hours to reflect, I actually have a lot of empathy for Stede.

When I first went away to college, I was really scared because it was a new thing and I had never left my family and been away from them before. It was really hard, and it took me a long time to build a community. By my senior year of college, I had built a very strong found-family, and I was dreading graduation because that meant an end to the community I had been pouring myself into for so long. Or at least a large change. And then c*vid happened, and the thing I was already dreading came several months early. I would have done almost anything to keep my found-family together, and that’s not what could happen.

Not everything in episode 6 was super happy, but a lot went right for Stede. He saved the day, he spent his night with Ed, and he got to celebrate with his family. The next morning, he discovers he’s become famous (or infamous), and he has fans. He’s at a high, literally celebrating the things he’s accomplished and the community he’s built since leaving behind his wife and kids and starting over. And in the meantime… Ed decides he doesn’t want to be a pirate anymore, and he wants to go try being a fisherman. Olu decides he wants to be with Zheng, so he decides to leave too, and Jim and Archie are considering going with him. Suddenly Stede is faced with losing his family at a moment he doesn’t expect it. Sure, he’s already been losing some people along the way, but now… This is more significant. And unlike me, he’s able to attach a person to his grief. He might be completely misguided, but if I could have deluded myself into thinking someone was taking my family from me, I would probably have fought them too. Stede is scared and panicking and lashing out because he’s not ready for his new family to go their separate ways, and I have so much empathy for him because it could’ve been me too.

I’m curious to see where episode 8 leaves us. I feel like I’ll have a lot to process about myself either way. That’s all! Carry on, friends.

[danepopfrippery]

Soooooooooo

Costume thoughts up to ep 7:

Ed starts as his fucking vampire viking clown, but once reborn and made up hes literally a blank slate (his cat boy look).

The little romper looks like something children used to wear and Ed spends that ep trying to make good like a little kid, and then playing like a little kid (fishies!) hes also restless like a kid.

Ep 6 hes back to standard blackbeard look. After he and Stede make love and he symbolically trashes his leathers, hes wearing an unexplained turquoise style robe (some say blue, my point stands either way). Stede’s whole look since Zheng’s is dark blue/turquoise. First season he was also blue/light turquoise. Ed’s taking on his look.

Then even more so he liberates Button’s human clothes. Very light faded blue jacket and shirt. Shirt mimics stede’s start of the season, jacket if were saying colors mean something tells us whats about to happen. I posited last season the brighter the clothes, esp lighter colors, showed him blossoming. This season for Ed its a reverse. Hes confident in dark turquoise when breakfasting with his bf, but the light clothes are after stede makes the comment about save me from death next time. Now hes less sure than ever.

Meanwhile Stede starts as i said turquoise and white , but in ep 5 got the cursed red suit. Ed recalled fine things well which was about Ed’s symbolic heart (cloth). Now Stede is the literal symbolic heart. Is it cursed? Not really, much like the suit. But circumstance acts like it, with Ned Lowe and shit.

Stede wore the dark turquoise shirt while killing ned/wooing Ed (ha!) and hes wearing it the next day as well. To me says Stede THINKS they are in sync, and hes more sure than ever. Even after Ed says im a fisherman now Stede is still confident, so much so hes drinking and picks a fight w a woman who wouldve rightly killed him.

Seems that shirt and Ed’s leathers reappear in the finale (nvm how the leathers return we can assume ed is cosplaying blackbeard cuz pirate war). Not sure what that means yet.

Theres also a reoccurring theme of gold when xyz is reborn thru the season. The new flag is Frenchie’s new cat flag, white surrounded by gold. Izzy’s leg is painted gold which Lucius muses he thought was too much but seemed right. Izzy is reborn one more time in drag, with sparkly gold eyeshadow. Lowe’s fiddle seemed a bit gold (was hard to tell) if correct thats also another reborn symbol.

Nvm stede’s bathtub is gold (reborn as a drink tub). Stede also gets a gold earring in 7.

[kraekns]

OKAY THESE WILL BE SCATTERED LIKE MOST OF MY THOUGHTS BUT : here's my two cents on that garbage fire of a finale.

honestly. i thought it started off pretty strong. edward has always been rather strongly motivated by negative feedback, this innate need to prove others wrong enough a really big motivator for most of their largest accomplishments. i think that this was a good way to side-step out of the bullshit fisherman thing they'd put them in. on the fisherman thing, i have my own host of opinions on ed just up and leaving stede the second they have sex but i'll save that for another time.

from there on it was just fuckin' downhill. it was rushed, they were clearly trying to fit more storyline into this shorter episode run and wrap it up in a neat bow in 30 minutes. ed just ??? brushing aside the fact that someone he's known and loved for DECADES dying in his arms over an idea from the person he loves ? unlikely and downright laughable. to then just brush over any feelings they may have over it to hastily get rid of izzy and ed saying no to revenge ? yeah fuckin' right. ed would be burning the world to the ground in izzy's name over his death. razing ships and killing anyone they perceived to have part in this.

the inn thing is a cute thing to joke about but it is not something ed would ever actually do. i thought we'd gotten rid of that idea when we saw the exact thing that could happen to ed and stede in the mary and anne episode but i guess not? ed and stede are both too whim prone and horrible at sitting still for longer than a moment for this to lead to anything but fighting.

also !!! stede and ed just magically being all perfect again ? no. they've both hurt the other too much and we need to see them talk about this. give me fights, give me screaming matches over the things they've put the other through! give me something other than this picture perfect 50s household love story they're wrapped up in rn.

the sorta subtle bitchiness throughout the episode towards stede cause they just? ignored his character growth and had him acting like season 1 stede again??? i approve tbh

TLDR: i thought the finale was some fresh bullshit and i will be ignoring . . . all of it tbh. honestly tempted to ignore most of the season after ed's near - death experience. i'll vaguely follow canon but will be writing up where my ed diverges soon. they wouldn't have accepted stede back so easily, wouldn't have turned their back on izzy ever despite whatever either has done to the other, and we all know the crew wouldn't have just magically forgiven them for all the shit they've done in the name of loving stede.

[actofgrxce]

I know it was played off for laughs, and funny, but Ed really did want that cranky fisherman to be some kind of father figure and projected a lot of childhood needs onto him.

Like, can we discuss the significance of Ed saying "okay Pop-Pop, have it your way," and the only thing he believes he could ever be good at is pirating?

I understand why, but I'm not hugely thrilled that he had to dive to the bottom of the ocean and put his black leathers back on and become a cold and capable murderer just to save Stede--again--from his melodramatic and self absorbed fantasy version of that lifestyle.

I know a lot of viewers will argue that the pirate crew/piracy as an institution is a metaphor for the queer community, in which case Ed marching out of the sea in all black is a metaphor for Ed no longer being fearful of the vulnerability of belonging, and that he's integrating his softer self with the Blackbeard persona in order to grow as a more seamless part of the crew. I'm trying to see it that way and not in the more literal sense that he felt rejected (again) by Stede, whom he graciously allowed to replace him as captain, whom he coached and cheered on until he realized he didn't like this life anymore, and tried to follow Izzy's advice.

But I feel like we're gonna get another abrupt season finale in which the sunshine and rainbows idiot is going to be pardoned for his fuck ups; the person whose equally authentic trauma response is ugly and not cute or endearing is going to be told he should be grateful for any scrap of mercy; and that person is going to give up his capacity to become gentle and good in order to humor his friendly idiot LOML partner.

I'm being salty because I'm tired. I've just been through this basic premise as Crowley in Good Omens and as the Master in the Thirteen Era of Doctor Who. It is so painful writing the dark horse part of a pairing, and I keep doing it to myself, lol. This always happens and I always write the "bad guy" character that goes from popular to controversial at best. For once I want to write the character everyone agrees is just innately and obviously good. I see so much goodness in Ed and every other character I write but hey... "I walk a lonely roaaad," lol.

Such jumbled thoughts, sorry. This is just me pausing at the halfway point to go to bed and being grumpy because of course Ed can't get to be soft and peaceful, he has to be doomed by the narrative to be the infamous asshole who slaughters (even though the British Navy is horrible and the victims arent innocent) to protect and dote on the character he can't believe would ever deign to speak to him.

Just let Ed open his inn and wear his hair down and wear a silk kimono and cry. Jesus, just let something unironically sweet and gentle happen to someone who loathes himself enough as it is.