#unreasonable and unfair

[something-about-sunflowers]

Oh, hey, @Arty_Sunflowers on twitter is me lol.

I gotta say, this theory (and variations of it, like my own) is fairly healing with regard to my ability to reconcile with canon and canon-compliant fic (speculative future fic as well). I can't say I think it IS what's going on, just that it'd be nice if it was (nicer than the alternative at least, the 'it was all a dream' trope IS a little tired at this point, though this is a slightly different take on it I think? I digress) and/or it's a good jumping off point for post season 2 fic. (And an easy out that David can take if he needs help with season 3, we promise we won't tell if you take the idea Davey.)

That said I think some people replying to this (or making their own posts talking about this theory and similar) need to kind of. Chill out?

I'm seeing a lot of people be kinda. Mean? About it? 'This sounds like johnlock conspiracy theories lol' like? Don't be the bullies. We've had enough of the bullies. You have an issue? Take it up with David for giving us such an unsatisfying finale that we have to come up with theories like this to make it better or even just to COPE with what we WERE given. Don't be a dick to or about someone who's just trying to find a way to continue enjoying the story they thought they were being told. I KNOW we're feeling bitter. Don't let that bitterness turn you into a dick to people who don't deserve it.

Stede is in the Gravy Basket, Izzy is Alive

The season 2 finale of Our Flag Means Death is odd.  It hits weird. I think I know why. And this is going to sound bananas, but give me a chance to explain.  Maybe you’ll agree.

It has a huge tonal shift. It seems to speedrun Stede and Ed’s romance. It feels like we’ve missed out on something from the end of episode 7.  The fight scenes and pirate plans are nonsensical, even for OFMD. And most egregiously, a prominent character is killed off in a way that feels disingenuous to his story arc, just for starters.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  We need to go back to the beginning of season 2.  The season opens with Stede looking more piratey than ever. Beard, sash, earring… oh he’s his own fantasy of a real proper pirate.  He’s clashing swords with Izzy Hands and demanding to know where Ed is. He’s dreaming. In the dream he kills Izzy. He and Ed run into each other’s arms while screaming each other’s names. They crash into the surf. Ed says “I knew you’d find me, Babe.  I knew you’d find me, Love.” Stede keeps asking if they’re good. Ed dodges the question. Then Ed asked about the smell. Stede wakes up in a crowded room with farting and shushing roommates.

At first I thought the finale was supposed to be just a “satisfying” mirror to Stede’s dream. Stede and Ed call each other’s names and run into each other’s arms in a display that resembles a more grown up version of Stede’s dream fantasy. There’s some wild sword fighting not unlike Stede’s dream duel with Izzy. And Izzy dies.

It does mirror, but I didn’t find it satisfying. All of the characters except Stede feel flattened. Stede gets to make the heroic plan (that we never even hear) while there’s at least five pirates with better skill sets for it in the room. Ed, as Blackbeard, was described last season as “History’s greatest tactician”; Zheng Yi Sao conquered China; Jackie just took out a room full of British soldiers. Izzy and Auntie are right there. You could make arguments that Jim or Frenchie, or pretty much anyone could make a better plan. Then Stede says “It’s only suicide if we die,” which is horrible considering the plan gets Izzy killed.

Stede’s really the only person in that room who thinks Stede should be making the plans.  So I got to thinking, what if it's not just mirroring the dream? What if it is a dream? Last shot of episode 7 is an incoming cannonball. Maybe he’s unconscious.

Huge shout out to @Arty_Sunflowers on twitter (I’m not calling it X, fuck Musk) for pointing out that that isn’t the only episode that ends with a cannonball. Episode 2 ends with Jim swinging a cannonball down at Ed’s head.  Stede’s not just dreaming, he’s in the Gravy Basket!!!! (Stede even screams “Oh my God!” at the end of episode 7 in the same tone he screams “Oh my God, I don’t want to die.” in s1e9.

Stede’s hopes, dreams, and insecurities shape everything in the finale. And it helps explain the absurdities in the episode when you remember that Stede is living out pulp adventure and romance novels in his head. (He even looks like someone on the cover of one in his episode 1 dream.) But Stede can’t be dead, you say. He’s literally the main character. Well, Ed was dead for a whole episode. Let’s take a closer look.

I could and probably will do another essay on Lucius as a POV character and Ed’s mental health and how the threads they seemed to have dropped aren’t as dropped as they appear. But all of that hinges on me proving the Stede is in the Gravy Basket theory. So for this essay I’m focusing on that.

So for starters we’ve got the cannonball scenes. They’re eerily similar even if the method of cannonball propulsion is different. We don’t know Ed is dead and in the Gravy Basket for about half of episode 3. Neither does he. It makes logical sense you can be there without realizing it for a while. Buttons even said Ed didn’t know whether he was in the Gravy Basket or not in episode 4. It definitely messes with your reality.

One of Ed’s issues is self hate. He manifests Hornigold as his companion. Stede is desperate to be a good pirate and have people be proud of him. And he lives in his fantasies a lot.  So his dream shapes his experience. There’s a whole bit about Zheng needing “soft” and Auntie saying she’s proud of her. That isn’t their issue. It’s discordant with the show previously. But it is Stede’s issue. He’s manifesting.

When we first see Stede and Zheng in episode 8, they’re in a familiar spot for Stede, the bridge from episode 1. But why are they alone? When we last see Stede and Zheng in episode 7, several characters are within 5 to 10 feet of them. Did none of them decide to escape with Stede? Izzy, Lucius,  and Jim are closest. But we know Pete was there begging Stede to stay down during his fight with Zheng. Archie was definitely in the bar. That's why Jim entered the fight. So why is it only Stede and Zheng at the bridge? Because, going back to rescue others fits into Stede's hero fantasies. 

Zheng and Stede also argue about who pulled who to safety and how they got there. Stede waxes poetic about being a failure his whole life, but things always seem to work out for him. He’s such a main character mediocre white guy in this scene. He saves Zheng from two random soldiers, then she has to save him from them. Then they fight a bunch more soldiers on the beach until Blackbeard manifests in full leather from the ocean.  It looks cool. But it's absurd, even for OFMD.

Speaking of Ed, he begins the episode waxing poetic about nature and calling fishermen simple.  Those things are more Stede than Ed. Pop pop tells Ed, “You have no skills” which is something Izzy said to Stede in episode 5.  He also tells Ed, “If you were ever good at something, go do that, you bum.” If Stede’s insecurities could be distilled into one sentence, it would probably be that. (He also talks about being like a wave. I’m not 100% sure it's a The Good Place joke, but it would be thematically appropriate.)

Pop pop also tells Ed he “ruined dinner.”  Back in season 1, in Stede’s flashbacks to life with Mary and the kids, Stede thinks he’s ruined dinner. But remember, we also see another version of the scene where Stede is laughing with Mary and the kids.  Stede isn’t exactly a reliable narrator. Even in his own head.

Despite it being beyond unlikely, Ed finds soldiers reading one of Stede’s letters. I know physics in this show is sketchy, but this seems like a good time to point out no one found the red silk. Stede wants Ed to read a letter and for it to fix everything between them. The letter, plus Stede being in danger, make Ed swim out, find his leathers, and emerge from the sea with them on, while the music is the Swede’s solo from Stede’s fuckery in s1e6. Stede wants to be rescued by his handsome pirate in leather, again, just like a pulp adventure romance novel. Little chance of Ed swimming out and finding his kit.  Even less of him getting leather pants on under the water.

Back to the beach… for some reason two squads of soldiers are wandering around out on an empty beach. A visually incredible fight scene occurs. It honestly reminds me of Pete’s story in s1e2, including flips. Ed and Stede yell each other’s names exactly as in the dream. Like I’m pretty sure they used the same audio track. The same song (I Love My Baby, Nina Simone) starts playing. Ed says “I love you.” Stede says “I know.” (We’ll come back to the Han Solo joke in a minute.) They have a bit more absurd fighting then Ed, Stede, and Zheng sit on the beach complimenting each other. And Ed calls Stede “babe”.  He’s never done that outside of Stede’s dream and this moment. He’s called him mate a couple of times.  Babe is exclusively in Stede’s head.

Back in the Republic of Pirates, the crew are locked in a cell that is actually the “vista suite” at Spanish Jackie’s.  Izzy gets a heroic entrance. It’s as cool as Stede thinks Izzy is. And he gives a speech that sounds like what he probably told Stede to get him to relinquish the suit in episode 5. Piracy is about belonging to something. You can’t ignore the wishes of the crew.  Izzy also knows details about Captain Kidd and Pinocchio. Not impossible, but not exactly Izzy’s wheelhouse. It is Stede’s though. He’s obsessed with pirate tales and he read Pinocchio to the crew.

Stede, Ed, and Zheng show up just as Jackie has poisoned a bunch of soldiers. Stede makes a plan, despite everyone else being more qualified. Everyone disguises themselves as soldiers. Now we’ve seen the crew of the Revenge wear disguises. They never do the weird free styling they do here. Only Stede actually looks like a British officer. Zheng at least wears the disguise properly. Suddenly Ed has a multi gun bandolier like Blackbeard in the books. Pete ripped the arms off. Izzy is still wearing his vest. Doesn’t make sense if we’re going for stealth. Neither does not checking hostage Ricky for weapons or putting Izzy and his wooden leg at the front of the group.

If I'm right, Stede wouldn't know Ricky was behind the explosions. However,  Ricky is basically evil Stede. He's Stede's perfect foil. All of this is reflecting Stede's psyche. So, of course, it's Ricky.

Izzy gets shot and says quite a lot of nonsense in his death scene. “They love you, Ed.” Um, 3 of them were going to leave like five minutes ago. Ed has made some progress with the crew, but we’re not at “they love you Ed”.  The only person who thinks the crew loves Ed is Stede. Stede who weeps for Izzy while most of the crew aren’t showing much emotion. Stede can barely deal with his own big feelings. His fantasy doesn’t give the crew room to have them. Also, given the rest of the season, having Jim just let Ed be the person cradling Izzy doesn’t fit. The crew is also pretty stony at Izzy’s funeral.

I feel like it should be noted the last shot of Izzy in episode 7, he’s got one are around Jim and a hand on Lucius’s shoulder. He sat in Wee John’s lap in episode 6. Reactions to his death don’t make sense.

Also, Izzy’s terrible grave marker is very … Stede. He’d think it was a brilliant idea.

I didn't understand at first why Izzy had to die, even in Stede's dream world. Stede clearly likes him a lot better now. Why kill him? Well, it's because we're supposed to think Buttons is there to go to the Gravy Basket for Izzy. When actually he's already arrived in the Gravy Basket and he's there for Stede. Also, mentors die in pulp adventure novels. Stede sees Izzy as a mentor.

They go aboard the Revenge for Lucius and Pete’s wedding. It’s cute that the crew performs the ceremony, but I’d venture a guess that’s because Stede doesn’t know a captain should do it if it's legally binding. Stede does love the romance of it all.  The sudden uptick in monogamy is also very Stede. He barely understands monogamous relationships. Polyamory is beyond him.

Then Stede and Ed, who earlier told Zheng they’d help hunt Ricky, go back to the island where Izzy is buried to start an inn in a run down shack.  Stede knows Ed wants to do this because Ed told the (Taika’s) kids that they ran an inn.  We hear Ed ask “Jesus, what is that smell?” Now, at first, I thought Izzy, because Ed “knows the smell of my rotting first mate”. But what was the last thing to happen in Stede’s dream? A fart joke.

Last scene is Buttons landing on Izzy’s grave. To retrieve Izzy from the Gravy Basket? No, Izzy’s not dead. He’s with Jim and Lucius, probably watching over Stede’s corpse. Buttons is there to retrieve Stede.

This theory fixes the plot holes and dropped threads problem. We’re coming back to them next season. Ed's amends making should be far from over. And we see several moments during the season where he acknowledged that. And yet here on the island they've set up a horror movie and called it a happy ending.  Well, Stede is the type of boss who thinks things are fixed with a pizza (Calypso) party. In Stede's mind, this is a happy ending.  But really Ed is still off finding himself,  Stede is (temporarily) dead, and Izzy (who is not dead!) is probably guarding Stede's corpse.

They haven't resolved the domestic violence thread, but they haven't dropped it, either. Izzy is alive. Stede and Ed aren't together (yet). There's still time.

This also explains some of the freewheeling nonsense David Jenkins has been spouting in articles. Ed doesn’t see Izzy as a father figure and mentor, Stede does.  Stede almost turned to mush when Izzy approved of him. And David is writing a three volume adventure novel. Han Solo (Stede) is in carbonate (the Gravy Basket). The perfect end to the second act. See, I told you we’d get back to the Han Solo joke.

I still have problems with the season.  I really think they need a sensitivity reader. Even just implying a newly disabled character was fridged is certainly a choice. Especially given the amount of time devoted to how the character handled the disability. The DV scenes were brutal, as well as the suicide attempt, and the Human Puppet joke. I think they need someone trauma informed and disabled in the writer's room. (David Jenkins hit me up!)

Overall, I liked season 2. Especially once I realized Izzy wasn't dead. I'm looking forward to season 3, the conclusion of the Gentle Beard arc, and hopefully 6 seasons and a movie of Izzy (to be clear, he's not captain) and the kids sailing up and down the coast being gay and doing crimes, occasionally checking in with Stede and Ed.

Seriously, David, call me.

Historical Note: IRL Blackbeard died on November 22, 1718, killed in a naval battle off Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. IRL Stede Bonnet died December 10, 1718, hanged in Charles Town, South Carolina for piracy.  IRL Israel “Izzy” Hands survives piracy, death date unknown. I know this show doesn’t actually care about historical accuracy, but this lends a little support for my Ed died, then Stede died, and Izzy isn’t dead theory.

[mongeese]

Maybe I'm misremembering but I don't think Carol Wilson was ever mean? Like, sure she got angry at Darryl when he called her and said he lost Grant, but that is imo a pretty reasonable reaction! And it isn't mean for her to want a divorce that's just how it goes sometimes. I think yall maybe just don't like women

[simply-ivanka]

Too late kid, but don't fret, you have a Presidential Pardon coming after the election.

[lloydfrontera]

anise and damian being the only ones to consistently see through rakiel's bullshit lmao

[mekanikaltrifle]

autistic people deserve so much better than they get. we all deserve far more than this.

[toytulini]

me, stupidly and weirdly resistant to listening to audio books vs reading a physical book for no real reason: man i wish there was a way to like, read a book while i crochet like i do with tv shows and movies and podcasts

[starcatcher-psywurm]

I always find it weird that whenever there's very fair and valid criticism of Staff where no ones being overly harsh, that there's people that jump to "You're being unfair, you ask for this and now you want this how do you think staff feels". Staff are a company. Point blank, period. They are not your best friend from childhood, they are a company, it is fine to criticize a product you are playing. I promise you Staff will not spontaneously combust because of people saying "Hey this is bad", these issues people are talking about are a build up of years of this happening over and over.

There are years of incidents of genes not being properly communicated that they are bugged, ever since Aethers came out people have been saying ancients are coming out too fast, art being changed for the sake of "consistency" and not what players want, lack of communication, etc. etc. It would be different if these were issues that had been fixed, but these are still issues. They need to be discussed otherwise how would Staff even know.

Small company or not it's okay to criticize things you play as long as you're not being vitriolic about it I promise.

[hylianengineer]

I had a headache from about 3pm yesterday to noon today and I think it's FINALLY gone. After two doses of tylenol, multiple ice packs, a bunch of water, and a cup of caffeinated tea. Still afraid to move lest it come back.

[ssaseaprince]

It's time for my annual controversial Hunger Games post

The fact that Gale is so villianized is such a strong testament to the fact that people will only stand with the oppressed if they find them palpable enough. If you think his anger was extreme and his actions were unnecessary, then you have no real grasp on how revolutions actually work.

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

the point i’m trying to make is that lip’s relapse wasn’t ever treated as a “he’s drunk all the time again” thing. he didn’t drink that often during season 11, it’s unfair to attribute his behavior to his relapse. also if you’re going to post hate in the tags people are going to notice and they’re going to have thoughts. i don’t even hate debbie but i just think the way you’re characterizing lip is unfair. he’s not perfect but there’s not anything wrong with him wanting better for himself and his family either, especially since an overarching theme of his plot throughout the show is wanting to be better than frank.

that’s actually a fair point- but in the parts i was talking about he was drunk. a lot of my close family members and just people very close to me have struggled with issues regarding alcohol and i understand to that extent- i don’t like hate alcoholics or some weird shit like that, so it’s not fair to slander him really- but regardless, he was definitely wrong in that part. he’s an alcoholic with a serious rage problem and 0 respect towards women and he literally drunkenly took a sledgehammer to the wall of debbie and carl’s house and was screaming around children. the actual point i had intended on (but failed to make) was that i don’t think his actions should be defended by his relapse. i don’t think he should be babied for being an absolute piece of shit in season 11. yeah, he wanted a better life for his family, but he was also trying to make a stupid plan where he sold the house for half it’s worth, not even considering what position that would put his siblings (and niece) in. correct me if i’m wrong but i’m pretty sure milwaukee was still an option and he was the one who got himself and his girlfriend and child into that shitty situation anyways.

[kayayeteae]

Sometimes I think a boss fight is hard, and then I go onto reddit and people are having worse days than me with this boss fight.

[braceletofteeth]

#favorite tropes (4/∞): Unreasonable Request Gets Fulfilled (+ Requestor's Regret)

[simply-ivanka]

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began her romantic relationship with her prosecutor 'lover' Nathan Wade in late 2019, three years earlier than they claimed in a court filing, her college friend told a court in bombshell testimony Friday.

It would mean the relationship began before Wade was hired in the Georgia election interference case Willis is pursuing against Donald Trump – and could provide a reason for a judge to disqualify them from the case.

Robin Yeartie's testimony directly contradicts information provided Willis and Wade that the relationship did not begin until after Wade was hired in November 2021.

Not telling the truth while under oath in a court proceeding is a crime, called "Perjury".

[c-nan]

i love getting on my soapbox in my silly little serializd reviews

[trice-the-nobling]

hey, can someone reality check me?

is it normal for the response to "I woke up and all I could smell was cat shit from the litterbox of my brother's cat" be "well just put on a mask. it'll help and we have them."

LIKE?!?! I feel that the response is not to fix me but to fix the person who continuously ignores the litterboxes? Is that not realistic?

This isn't even touching on the other boxes upstairs that make the living room unlivable. or the fact that there are stains from cat vomit on the floor from where my brother inadequately cleans them up after being told to 14 times. or my mother telling me she's tired of hearing me "blame everything on the cats".

my brother is 18, he's old enough to know how to care for animals, especially ones he's had for years.

genuinely am I in the wrong here? Like, should I not expect to not smell dirty litterboxes all the time? If it really is a me problem I can work on changing my outlook (or move out somehow) but I just don't feel like I'm in the wrong here?

Idk. just, I'm tired of having no door, sharing my space with four animals that I'm allergic to and smelling their waste all the time.

I'm gonna finish getting dressed and go mop I guess.

[post-futurism]

i said to my partner that when/if we own our own house i need a room that has a lock on it so i can write in there and he looked at me and said "that is such an only child thing to say" and so what if it is? a writer needs their privacy and solitude in which to write.