#uh oh boys he's started writing paragraphs-long prediction posts time to put her down

[catgirledteach]

okay ive reached the point where i need to get my season 2 theories out. i am going full red string cork board please feel free to lobotomize me at any time

i'm breaking these down by the batches of episodes as they will be released, as last season they said episodes were broken up very intentionally to convey certain story beats, and i think that's what they're doing this season as well

First three episodes:

we catch up with what each separate crew has been up to since season one left off i.e. a recap of how stede and the folks abandoned on the island managed to make their way back to society, how the now unhinged crew under ed has been running wild, how i suspect a lot of them are enjoying serving under a successful pirate captain but are confused and unsettled by how and why blackbeard has become so aggressive and unstable

i think the above will be the first episode for the most part. i think this will establish their goals/conflict - i predict some of stede's crew will be supportive of trying to go after ed and some won't. particularly i expect pete will get a storyline of him turning on the blackbeard persona he once idolized now that ed potentially did god-knows-what to lucius, and the only way he'll agree to go after blackbeard is if stede agrees to try and find lucius as his first priority and the rest of the crew backs him up

episode two follows stede's crew as they search for lucius and make new allies (lesbian pirates fuck yeah), meanwhile ed becomes more and more unstable and the crew starts to turn. ESPECIALLY izzy, but we'll come back to that. end of episode two they finally find lucius and they're ready to pursue the revenge

episode three ends with stede's crew finally catching up with the revenge, in no small part helped by frenchie, jim, and maybe even izzy quietly trying to sabotage ed so that stede can catch up and hopefully make things right again. izzy at this point is starting to realize that ed has gone off the deep end and not in a good way. he is seeing that underneath the violence and rage that ed is unhappy and he maybe even feels responsible - things have gone too far for even him and it's not what he wanted either. he maybe even confronts ed in a final attempt to set him right and after being unable to get through to ed, knows that stede is the only one who can fix this, much to his disappointment that he can't be that for ed

the reunion goes BAD, a standoff of sorts happens but ed refuses to forgive or listen to stede despite being heartbroken. however at this point his crew has turned on him so much that there's a blowout that separates them again, and stede maybe manages to take back the revenge or at least they manage to get jim and/or frenchie out of there. and MOST importantly i think this is where izzy defects, approaching stede with the deal that he will help him bring ed back, training him to fight and track down ed together

Episodes 4 and 5:

Episode 4 covers izzy and stede having a tenuous relationship, so starkly at odds yet understanding that they need each other to help ed. stede gets better at fighting/strategy, and despite some initial conflict they come to a place of peace and maybe even friendship?? this is also likely helped by lucius once again being the resident therapist onboard and talking izzy through his shit. izzy begins the tentative journey of realizing he was toxic, wanting to make up for that, and also finally acknowledging that his feelings for ed were more than what he originally thought they were.

also side note i think this may be the episode where one of the B plots are lucius and black pete getting married. sort of a "lucius almost died and there's nothing like being separated and potentially losing the love of your life to make you want to commit to each other for the rest of your life" and so they decide to throw the party we saw in the trailer. and also maybe this starts getting stede's mind going in the direction of marital thoughts

meanwhile the remains of ed's crew have had fucking enough, especially after the blowout that just happened, and throw him overboard. and with ed also being thrown into an emotional spiral after seeing stede again and not knowing how to deal with it, he kind of just lets it happen as he feels like giving up

This brings us to episode 5 which i think will be the "ed stranded on an island and slowly losing his mind" episode, which i think will be the main plot after a stede/izzy-centric episode prior. however, the B plot i do think is izzy and stede getting wind of ed being deposed, and going off just the two of them to find him, and again having some more honest conversations between the two of them about their histories and relationships to ed. (izzy maybe starts developing a crush on stede idk????????)

ed is going THROUGH it on the island, reckoning with his past and his shame, very similar to stede's fever dreams in season one. ed's imagining hornigold and maybe other memories that formed this discomfort with being seen as weak, vulnerable, not masculine enough, etc. and i think after going through some rough fucking soul searching and lowkey starving and dehydrating, he realizes he was just scared of stede bringing out this more vulnerable side of him, and that stede leaving was one of his worst fears coming true and that's why he lashed out. he knows he loves stede and deep down he knows stede loves him too but was just as scared as ed was, and that's why he left. episode ends with ed nearly fucking dying and stede and izzy finding and rescuing him

Episode 6:

An interesting choice to have one week with only one episode and im very intrigued. it's either meant to just be kind of a bridge episode that's a lot calmer after the previous intense episode with ed and a calm before the storm of the last two episodes, or it's maybe the most climactic episode yet.

i lean more the former, potentially a very quiet episode that is focusing less on the action and more on the emotional states of characters as ed is reintegrated into the crew, met with mixed reactions from different people. this could be the time for lucius to have his reckoning with ed about, y'know, lowkey trying to kill him after being nothing but supportive.

izzy is also very uncomfortable with his emerging new identity and having defied blackbeard once again being afraid of what ed might do to him now that they're back on the same ship. stede is likely the only one who has faith that ed will be okay and is the only person really defending him and protecting him. this is maybe the episode where stede and ed actually have a conversation about everything that's happened, how they feel about each other, and what this means going forward. things are still uncertain but they're recovering slowly

i also think a side plot that's been going on throughout the season is something related to jim's revenge quest, them maybe running into another one of the bandits who killed their family or maybe even their sibling we saw in the flashback (dear god i hope it's that one). so maybe that becomes the more action-heavy plot for this episode while every other plot is more subdued and emotional.

i think the end of this episode is a catalyst of conflict that will kick off the action for the last two episodes. this is so far out that i can't even begin to predict what that could be, but maybe something about being pursued by another country's navy again (i don't think so though, it would be a bit repetitive from last season's ending) or more likely being pursued by other pirates as word of blackbeard's wild behaviour and then subsequent disappearance after being mutinied got around. also he has a fucking price on his head

Episodes 7 and 8:

Just as the crew is starting to get on the same page again, they're thrown into a conflict of some kind. feelings have to take a backseat for a while, although they're still very much at the forefront of people's minds. more pirate conflict, more of jim's sidequest maybe, more seeking/returning of allies (returning lesbian pirates fuck yeah), very hero's journey-esque. i think this is where the clips with jackie maybe fit in, as the crew reaches out to other pirates and strike deals to get assistance with the brewing conflict? this is also what makes me think that the conflict is likely with other pirates, enemy of my enemy and all that.

episode 7 ends with the crew having put all their ducks in a row and prepare to enter the fray.

episode 8 is the climactic conflict, both in the battle-sense and also the emotional sense. stede and ed (and also maybe izzy?) can't hold back their feelings anymore, even in the midst of the current insanity, and maybe even BECAUSE of the insanity because they're worried what might happen to them going into danger. some sort of emotional confessions or proposals (?!!?!?!) occurs, everything coming to blows at once very dramatic and all that. this is perhaps the dramatic cliff scene that the vogue article mentioned??

and heartbreakingly, because there's still supposed to be one more season, i think it will end on another cliffhanger. my theory is that the revenge crew wins the day, but either stede or ed are captured in the process. the beaten pirates or officers or whatever know one of them is valuable to the other and takes them in hopes of maybe manipulating the other towards some goal or even just ransoming them off as they are both wanted fugitives. and by now stede and ed have had their emotional confession and know how the other feels, so we know that the final season will kick off with one of them forging an intense rescue mission to take them back and rain hell on whoever took the other.

BONUS PREDICTION: season three ends with ed and stede faking both their deaths in order to 'retire' peacefully, no longer wanting to live a life that puts either of them in danger of losing the other. maybe im reaching across the atlantic for this take, but i think the High on a Rocky Ledge song from episode one foreshadows all of this, implying they fake falling to their death together so that they can live out the rest of their lives in peace.

Full disclosure i wrote this all this morning before i even knew the trailer was releasing tomorrow so all of this will likely be completely irrelevant in like 12 hours. i have also intentionally avoided looking at any of the leaks (i liked some posts though to look at after i see its release) so if any of this is already contradicted ssshhhh you saw nothing

we still have three weeks to go gang and i'm literally on the verge of writing the whole fucking thing myself i am unwell please help me