#who still knew him as The Blackbeard to just call him ed? ????????????????? GUYS. WHAT.

[leatherbookmark]

"ed shot izzy in the leg because izzy blamed the poisonous atmosphere on the ship on ed's love for stede, as if it was something bad, when it was in fact good and made ed happy"

god help me. literally what are those people watching the show with because it sure as hell can't be their eyes. ed shot izzy for talking shit about his pure and restorative love for stede. ed "fuck you, stede bonnet" teach. ed "freezes when izzy mentions a part of stede's catchphrase and goes to threaten the crew with a gun as izzy follows him stammering that he did not mean to mention The Previous Owner Of This Vessel" teach. this ed. the same guy who literally went krakenmode after stede abandoned him and had all of his things tossed off the ship -- along with the crew, "his playthings". ed "you're not a fucking mermaid >:(" teach.

THIS ED. shooting izzy to say "you're wrong and you're fired, loving stede was GOOD actually". ??????????????

[fuckyeahizzyhands]

COLLIDER: I'm so glad that we finally got the chance to touch base about the show.

CON O’NEILL: Yeah. It's been really uncomfortable not being able to talk about it.

COLLIDER: Izzy, as a character, really goes on a beautiful, poignant journey this season. In the beginning, Ed is Blackbeard and back to the old lifestyle of raiding and pillaging ships, but it feels like something's off. Izzy has what he wanted back, but at what cost? What was your take on that — reverting to the way that things used to be, but, obviously, there's been a shift, and things aren't quite the same?

O’NEILL: It goes back to how it used to be, but Ed’s broken, and that's the difference. Before Stede appeared, Izzy and Blackbeard worked as a unit really, really well because they were both on the same page. When Stede breaks Blackbeard's heart, Izzy and Blackbeard aren't on the same page. Basically, Izzy’s looking at a man that he loves falling apart, and all the joy is gone — not just from Blackbeard, but from piracy. He can see Ed's decline, he can see the decline in his crew, which is fundamentally really, really the most important thing to him. He can feel his own heart breaking, because he's seeing the devastating impact of his actions. So, it's a pretty bleak start to a season, but we do have fabulous make-up.

COLLIDER: It does feel bleak, especially for Izzy at times, who goes through the amputation and has to adjust to a new normal of not being able to get around the way that he used to. But it's also an opportunity to see the changing dynamic with the crew. I was really touched by the moment when they built [Izzy] a new leg. It's moving on an emotional level, but it's also proof of how far this group has come. Was it nicer to be able to play those moments of camaraderie instead of being at odds all the time?

O’NEILL: What's interesting, though, is the love for Izzy to his crew and the crew to Izzy, it's always been there. It's just not being presented in this way. The giving of the leg, I believe, is the first time in his life where he's actually had an emotional connection that he wasn't able to control. That act of kindness overwhelms it. But he's still a pirate, and the leg ultimately allows him to be a pirate again. He does change his attitude towards his crew after the new leg and after the unicorn statement, but it's also about how to navigate the new crew as the first mate. And that's the beauty of what David's written. It's not suddenly he's this new guy. He's still a bit of a dick, but he's their dick, as Vico says.

It's a beautiful human version of the story that could have been really sentimental, and I don't think we go there. He doesn't suddenly become everyone's mate. That was never going to happen. That would have been dishonest. But he just has a need for them more because he's not as physically able as he used to be, and with that comes an understanding of them. The way he deals with Lucius is very specific in that he can't give Lucius love and understanding without calling him a twat — because that's who Izzy is, but he does give him love and understanding — and that's down to David and David's choices. Remember, this is a comedy. He's done all this in a comedy. That's really profound that we're going on these routes of human stories in what is essentially a comedy.

COLLIDER: One that really stuck out to me was Izzy singing in the “Calypso's Birthday” episode, especially because it plays as a backdrop to some pretty significant moments. I wanted to ask you about the preparation process behind performing that song. Did you have to record it and also do it live on-set?

O’NEILL: I got an email from David a third of the way through the shoot asking me if I knew “La vie en rose,” which, of course, I knew, but only as I'd heard it. I was actually in Wellington filming a different show because I did a different show for a week, and I just got this message. We were just gonna sing the English version because we didn't have the rights to the French version, and I don't speak any French at all. Nothing. Zilch. And then I got the phone call. Would I be able to learn it in French? So I did. I called a lot of people, and a lot of people who say they speak French don't. But my partner does, and I have a friend who just played Piaf. So, between the two of them, they gave me an understanding of the French.

We recorded both versions, and I lip-synced to the English version first before the scene with Ned. I thought we were just gonna do a little bit of the French version for the end of the episode. I had no understanding that it was gonna play out the episode. I’m thrilled that it does, but it was terrifying. Every minute of that, from the recording of it to the lip-syncing it to the filming it, was terrifying. I haven't sung in public for 20 years. But it felt right, and it felt like the absolute right choice of song. It felt like the absolute right choice of language. I didn't want him to be too French, I just wanted him to be able to because Izzy speaks bits of every language, as most pirates would. I thought it was audacious. I thought it was moving. I thought, again, it shied away from sentimental. And I’m just in awe of how David's brain works. If you would have asked me prior to doing it which song Izzy would sing, I'd never have thought “La vie en rose,” and now I can't think of a song that's more appropriate for Izzy.

COLLIDER: I talked to David, as well, about the scene of Izzy talking about piracy in the finale, and he said it's kind of like Izzy giving his own eulogy, in a way, before what happens next. That scene where Taika is holding you feels significant for the show — not just in terms of the weight and impact, but because so much of the cast is there, and it really feels like a moment of family getting to be together. Even if it's mostly an exchange between Izzy and Ed, everyone's there to send him off. I would love to hear about the experience of filming that on the day.

O’NEILL: David sent me the scene a few weeks prior, and the date was set to film it, which was gonna be in the last week of filming. It was early on in the last week, and then it was in the middle of the last week, and then it was scheduled for the morning of the last day. Then, suddenly, it became the last thing we were gonna ever film in Season 2.

Those things aren't easy. They're quite difficult because no matter how you think about it in your head, it's not gonna play that way. We were on a set, we were on the ship, there were hundreds of crew, there was the whole cast, they were setting up the shot. It was busy. David, bless him, played a playlist to help us all get in the mood, but it's just a cacophony of noise and busyness, and we’re getting towards the end of the day.

Suddenly, it was just me and Taika. Suddenly, all the noise disappeared, and suddenly, all the process of filming a scene disappeared, and it was just me and him. And Taika is a wonderful actor. Everyone talks about his writing and his directing, and this and that. Taika is a beautiful actor to play opposite. And in that moment, we just got to say goodbye to a character that we both loved. You never get a death scene that's going to get all those boxes, but for me, it was never about what Izzy said. It was about Izzy being vulnerable enough and brave enough to say, “Sit with me.” It was about Izzy being allowed to be held in the last moments of his life. That's all I remember about the day. I’m very proud of it.

COLLIDER: I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me about the show. It's been great to finally get to reconnect with the cast and to really get to talk about Season 2.

O’NEILL: Oh, it’s my pleasure. It’s my pleasure.

COLLIDER: I’ve enjoyed your performance so much these last two seasons, and who knows? Maybe we'll see Izzy's ghost pop up in Season 3.

O’NEILL: Who knows?

COLLIDER: You can't predict anything with this show.

O’NEILL: No, none of us can, and none of us know. Literally, we are all in the dark, all of us, David included. None of us knows what's gonna happen. David always wanted three seasons, and I think this story should be allowed to run its course. I would say that because I'm involved, but even if Izzy isn't involved in Season 3, I would be heartbroken for the show if it didn’t get to conclude, because it's an important show.

[wolf-in-a-trenchcoat]

I wanna reblog a reply because as someone who does want more from Ed apology-wise, I thoroughly agree with you.

Ed was only violent because he had to be. That was his entire life and his father was- as he put it eloquently- "a right dick". Edward was mostly redeemed in my eyes because Stede helped him see that it's okay to be kind and gentle. Now, I playfully call myself an Izzy Apologist because I know for sure he's a dickhead. But despite Izzy's wrong-doing, he also deserved a redemption.

Ed's lack of apologies towards the crew for me isn't because I see him as an inherently violent person. I see it as someone who cared too much and snapped, but still hurt so many people he was friends with in the process. No one deserved what they got, though based on historical accuracy reasons I do think Izzy having a toe cut off was enough of a punishment for him egging on the whole "Blackbeard" thing.

And, of all people, Ed deserved an apology the most. Especially from Izzy.

And while Izzy's end speech to him does sort of count as one, I felt like there wasn't enough time to get it out and mean it, you know? I'm sure he meant it when he was saying it- he did take responsibility for the whole Blackbeard thing- but it felt so rushed that it lost some of the authenticity I'm sure we all craved.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Edward may have done bad things, but all he wanted was to be heard and understood. The fact that people are literally skipping over that kinda pisses me off. I'm sure it ties into the whole racism aspect that I've seen come across Tumblr OFMD discourse, but that doesn't mean that they're going to be correct with their opinions. If Edward was truly a monstrous being, he wouldn't have been as wonderful of a redemption as he was. My guy was hurting and dealing with it the only way he knew how at the moment.

(I really wish HBO gave him more time to be given the chance to have apologized more. I'm just going to pretend he did by the end of S2.)

I've talked about how takes that Ed needed to be "punished" more or didn't do enough to apologize bother me in the past. They imply that Ed's just some naturally violent, wild thing, unable to realize that what he was doing was shitty, and that's just a very unempathetic way of thinking about him, obviously, and this is a show that's very uninterested in "punishing" characters for their actions. It doesn't care for that kind of moral absolutism.

But I think the thing that still gets to me is - I don't understand how you watch the first three episodes without feeling that what Ed's going through is an absolute tragedy. I don't understand how you can watch those first two episodes without thinking "poor Ed, won't someone please help him?" Ed is a deeply, deeply lovable person, and he's so convinced he's unlovable he doesn't even see a way he can live anymore. He's so convinced he deserves to die a painful death that he's willing to make people who care about him do that to him, all while the love of his life is trying so hard to get back to him. The tragedy is Ed is so, so loved, and he can't even see it.

Fortunately, OFMD is a kind show to its core, and Ed gets to end the season happy and loved and safe, learning that he's so much more than the monster he convinced himself he was for years. And I love our show and how it handled his story. But if you're out here saying that Ed needed to be punished or insisting he's irredeemable, you missed the point and I don't fuck with you

[candied-cae]

I think the reason Ed stared at Lucius so long and so darkly before pushing him over... is because he was begging him to realize what was happening and stop him.

He had settled it in himself - the only way to survive Izzy right now is to harden up again. Put back on the mask, and be the guy who never cared. So he lets that red silk slip past his fingers into the air. He imagines it hitting the ocean water, soaking and getting heavy, drowning. Drowning beneath the waves, all the way to the bottom. There's a whisper in his mind that wants to join it. Wants to reject Blackbeard and soften so much that he lets himself sink to the bottom of the ocean. From that thought, there is a weakness.

And from that weakness, he could not just return to being Blackbeard convincingly. Lucius would fuck it up. He knew he would. Lucius had seen too much of him. He saw how much he loved Stede, he saw what mess he was when he left with Jack, he saw him cuddled in the pillow fort when Stede left him. Lucius knew too much. He’d look at him and see what was going on. He’d look into his eyes and see the cage where he’d have to lock up Edward Teach again. And if he wasn’t careful, Lucius would open the door and let Ed back out again.

It was too risky. Lucius had to go. Or else he'd lose everything he had left.

So he called Lucius into the quarters. Welcomed him out of the little passage to the small balcony on the edge of the ship. He was rambling, about something or other, Ed couldn't listen. He needed to focus on his resolve. So, in the dark light after the sun had set, surrounded only by wind and salty seawater, he looked at him. He was readying himself to do what needed to be done. He let his face fall into the familiar hardset expression of Blackbeard: cold, uncaring, angry, scary, cruel.

He began a count in the back of his mind: When he reached 10 he’d push, he made himself promise.

He gazed up through the grimace and met Lucius’s eyes. And a part of him begged that Lucius would do just what he was scared he’d do: that’d he’d look into those eyes and see what turmoil was winding around his heart. He begged Lucius to see it. To see what he was planning and to get out of the way. To get out of the way before he reached-

10.

And he pushed.

And Lucius was gone.

And he turned around and went back inside. He tried to keep that face fallen, still, committed. But fuck if he didn't feel that deep regret clawing up his throat. There was a fury towards himself seated there, at the base of his neck just above his heart. He felt it pulsing with what he'd done. And the worse part was that it was just the beginning of what he had to do.

He would maim Izzy to prove he was Blackbeard again, he'd get rid of everything that reminded him of Stede, and he'd abandon that crew they shared.

Every action made that resentment he held for himself beat louder. Each person he knew he was hurting made the beast hunger to see himself repaid for his crimes. He hated himself every second. He was the Kraken again. Once more he's killed and hurt, personally, because he had to survive. It settled Izzy enough. He'd leave him be. He would live with that fear that commanded his respect.

But every night, when he was finally alone again... he'd let that thing run free. He'd curl up by the window and sob while the monster ran his mind ragged, forcing himself to look at that lighthouse painting. Forcing him to remember that he was abandoned by Stede because, at the end of the day, he did see who he really was, just like he said when he left with Jack. Forcing him to remember the crew he'd hurt for the sake of himself who was so unworthy. He didn't deserve their deaths in place of his. But something in him couldn't be brought to let himself die. Something in him was still vying to live.

Maybe it was hope that he was wrong, that all could be forgiven, and Stede would come back to him.

Such a stupid, wasteful thing: hope.

Of everything else, he'd rather like to strangle the life out of that thing.

More OMFD

[spooky-space-kook]

Oh no Our Flag Means Death is so good and sincere and heartfelt and oh fuck my heart

I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS.

First and foremost, to whomever thought "we have a Taika, let's put him in long flowing locks that sit lightly on his shoulders and over his ears" you KNEW what you were doing and all I can say is THANK YOU. Holy shit. How is he still pretty under all. that. beard.

I have a lot of feelings in line with what everyone else has, honestly, but there were a few things that I really appreciate.

I love that a story entirely focused on queer love and finding yourself is named "Our Flag Means Death." Maybe it's not intentional and I'm just reading into things (but, like, this entire website could be called readingintothings.com so whatever), but flags and the queer community are a real thing. I feel like the title was trying to say something from the start. I dunno. I love it.

SPOILER TERRITORY. I like that we got a parallel between Mary's experience and Ed/Blackbeard's experience after Stede ran. Mary's life became brighter, lighter, and happier. Ed collapsed in on himself. I think that contrast is beautiful, and tells us so much about where Stede should be. Where he's needed, wanted and loved. It was so good.

I love that Ed is the legend. The tough guy. The shut down one who's done anything and everything. And he's the one who crumbles. I think that's beautiful. I know that a lot of the story is not just about romance, but about masculinity and how it presents itself (more from this EXCELLENT video on that), and I think they show that INCREDIBLY well in Blackbeard. And, I think, we'll get more of that excellence from Stede in future. I think of the two, Blackbeard is the one that opened up the most throughout the series, and ultimately became a living wound because of it. I think Stede only just started really experiencing that at the very end.

A total sidebar, but Izzy's relationship to Blackbeard (not necessarily with. No, I specifically mean to) is… woof. The dude clearly wants a certain kind of man, or at least a certain kind of energy, in his life. And he keeps trying to force Blackbeard into that mould. I hope next season we see Izzy realize he's doing more harm than good. I hope he's less blinded by his own selfishness.

To whoever called "Dog energy" vs. "Cat energy" you were 1,000% on the money. I honestly love the acting here. Both were really engaging, especially side-by-side with one another.

SPOILER TERRITORY AGAIN. That thing with Lucius. I thought Izzy did it. Izzy was the one with the grudge. That's not a small thing. You could see in Lucius's face that he genuinely hurt for Ed in that tent, but like everything that was tied to Stede or saw Ed hurting, he had to go. Because Ed's choosing to shut down and let go. Also if Lucius is ACTUALLY gone I'm going to fucking RIOT.

I have so many other thoughts. So many. Holy crap so many. I legitimately cried at the end. I want another season so bad. AUGH, IT'S VERY GOOD OK.

[vidavalor]

Ed & Izzy backstory headcanon

In real life, Ed came up in pirating as the first mate to Benjamin Hornigold, whom they mentioned briefly in S1 when Calico Jack was around and who I think is going to be a character who shows up in a future season of the show. (Namely because, in real life, he later became a pirate hunter and chased after Blackbeard, which would make for an interesting plot and also Ed is now a deserter from privateer camp after S1, which might set the plot in motion.) I think Izzy and Ed both worked for Hornigold and that's how they met.

They were friends working under a captain on Hornigold's crew, which is largely why Izzy can get away with calling Blackbeard "Ed" or "Edward" and sometimes does when they are either alone or just around Stede, who also now has that privilege. It's because Izzy really first knew Edward in the earlier incarnations of Blackbeard-- he basically saw the birth of Blackbeard, more or less, as the crew eventually overthrew Hornigold and Blackbeard commanded his own crew. Izzy helped him in the revolt and might well be the only one left from those days, or at least still sailing with them, so Ed gives Izzy a wide berth and way too many chances because he is someone who has been around long enough to understand more about him than anyone had up until he met Stede.

Izzy, for his part, adores Blackbeard and he tolerates Ed. Izzy lacks the imagination to really "get" Ed and sees Ed more as the side of Blackbeard to be put up with in order for Blackbeard to still exist. The power and raw energy of Blackbeard and the pirating genius is what Izzy gets off on-- he worships the guy who overthrew Hornigold and freed them all, giving them new purpose, and when that guy then turned to Izzy for a First Mate? Izzy's whole identity is now built around that. He sees it as his mission to keep Blackbeard alive, which obviously conflicts with the Blackbeard part of Ed that is largely suicidal throughout S1 and the Ed part of Ed that largely takes over and falls in love with Stede.

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

over on the horny sideblog (well. the hornier sideblog) i reblogged a rare edizzy piece (and uh, warning/disclaimer abt that art and fic here) and now i am thinking abt what The Canon Edizzy Dynamic is. to me. BIG warning for mentions of dubcon/noncon

general stuff abt ed and izzy's relationship that i think is pretty strongly supported by canon:

izzy did not meet ed until blackbeard was already well established. more on that take here.

at the beginning of the show izzy is like the only person ed has regular conversations with. izzy takes advantage of this and will stretch the truth sometimes when giving ed reports.

during the kraken era ed's isolation from the crew gets even worse. izzy is practically ed's sole source of any sort of human interaction that isn't violence.

ed and izzy were never physically or emotionally intimate. izzy thinks he understood ed and they had some unspoken deep bond (more on that take here) but in 2.01 he realizes that ed is not nearly as invested in their relationship as he is, and in 2.03 he realizes that what he felt for ed is not even close to what stede feels for ed.

some more headcanon-y (but still supported by canon) stuff about their pre-canon dynamic:

ed chose izzy to be first mate firstly bc he knew izzy did not have what it takes to be a captain. izzy's not charismatic enough to lead ppl and nobody's gonna follow izzy in a mutiny against THEE blackbeard. izzy also does not know enough about sailing to be able to make decisions about navigation and whatnot.

the other big reason ed made izzy his first mate is bc ed is very familiar w guys like izzy and he knows how to deal with them. mean older white guy with very specific ideas about what it means to be a man?? ed was rasied by a guy like that. ed's first captain was a guy like that. ed can handle izzy just fine. and if izzy is a bit of a dick and is constantly being an ass to him, well, ed's used to that too. he can take it.

ed being isolated from his own crew is not something izzy masterminded on his own to keep ed under his control so much as it's something ed gradually started doing out of very reasonable distrust of other pirates and not wanting to be seen as vulnerable. if the crew sees him laughing and hanging out they're gonna realize that the legendary blackbeard is just a normal ass guy and anyone can easily build a name for themselves as The Guy Who Killed Blackbeard. also ed isolates due to depression.

like i said before tho, izzy definitely takes advantage of the situation. ed relies on him for info and izzy does not always present info truthfully.

when ed does talk to other ppl in his crew it is not a casual friendly conversation, it's ed talking to an employee. the only time ed gets to actually have a conversation w someone who doesnt work for him is when he runs into jack or any other pirate friends he might have from before he became blackbeard. this doesnt happen often.

so ed is kinda starved for just like. a friend. and izzy is the only person he talks to. but izzy always maintains this air of like, "i am a loyal first mate doing my duty to my captain" whenever they're talking even if ed's just trying to have a drink and relax with him. it gets exhausting for ed.

the only time izzy isn't talking to ed like that is when izzy is bitching about something. this is just pure headcanon time but i think sometimes ed would intentionally wind izzy up just to get him to drop the "yes sir blackbeard" shtick for a minute.

what im saying is that for years ed's main options for socializing were people falling over themselves to obey him, his first mate talking to him like a robot, or his first mate calling him an insane and unpleasant twat who would be dead a million times over if it weren't for him.

now here's what i think is going on with izzy, disclaimer that this is pretty firmly just headcanons bc canon does not rlly confirm a hwole lot abt this guy lol:

izzy is strictly attracted to men.

izzy has a very rigid mental framework regarding what he thinks being a man means. i personally don't care enough about izzy to come up with a rich backstory to explain this, to me it's just "ex british navy, became a pirate in his 30s," so his standards of masculinity are very much informed by ahistorical ofmd british society. that doesnt rlly matter at all tho, the only thing that's important is that izzy has some very weird ideas about what it means to be a man.

those ideas are basically just glorifying power and thinking the best expression of power is through violence. also rejection of things that are feminine, soft, or emotional. rejection of vulnerability, and also rejection of open expressions of sexuality.

like, yknow how some ppl's idea of masculinity includes having a lot of sex with women? well bc izzy's gay that doesnt work for him. he is ashamed of his desire for men so his idea of idealized masculinity does not include openly expressing attraction. the calico jack style of openly bragging abt his sexual exploits does not apply to izzy.

izzy's repressed attraction to men and his belief of power and violence as the true measure of manhood have combined in his brain. the thinks men expressing brutal violence is hot. he's attracted to power.

like mostly i think izzy gets horny for being overpowered by a stronger man. it's like, he's not supposed to want to have sex with men, but if a stronger and more powerful man forces himself on izzy then it's not izzy's fault.

essentially: izzy wants ed to violently top him.

also tho i DO think that izzy can top. i think he'd top if some tougher guy was like, telling him to do it (altho that would also shatter his concept of how sex works bc izzy's very top=dom and sub=bottom). i do think izzy also would be turned on by being the more "powerful" one during sex, especially if he thinks he's overpowering a man who should be overpowering him.

ed:

is not attracted to izzy

is horrified by his capacity for violence

subconsciously desires approval from izzy bc izzy reminds him of his dad. this is not something i think ed ever realizes about himself in canon but there's a LOT to play with there in fics.

ed would only top izzy if he was in a deeply unhealthy headspace leading up to it. topping izzy the way izzy wants to be topped would reinforce ed's belief that he's a monster and would essentially be a form of emotional self-harm for ed.

so like the way i see it. canon dynamic edizzy smut is either izzy topping from the bottom and trying to incite ed to do horny violence towards him and ed hating every second of it, or it's izzy taking advantage of ed and ed seeking izzy's approval. either way tho ed is having a Very Bad Time

oh and also daddy kink. like rlly fucked up, deeply unhealthy daddy kink.

.

[phantom-ellie]

Voicemail Fail

Click here for CWs/Full Chapter List

Challenge: Slowvember 2022

Prompt: Lazy River & Floating

Summary: Stede calls Ed, but it goes straight to voicemail.

Modern AU: Doubt Thou the Stars

Ed was fishing in the river near Blackbeard's Campground (and Delights and Fishing Equipment). He wasn't expecting to catch much, but there came times when you had to test the equipment you've got in case someone actually buys it, right? Not that anyone ever asked to see the fishing equipment. But it was there. Anyway, he was nursing a beer, he had a pole stuck in the ground next to his shitty green camping chair, and the line was technically in the water. So it was fishing.

Only it was also boring. Things were always boring without Stede around. Which may be why he had earphones plugged into his phone and was listening to the voice mail message on repeat.

"Ed! Hi! It's me. Stede, oh, you know who it is, who else would be calling from this number? Listen, I have the kids this weekend and we're coming down. For camping- yes, Alma, I'll tell him, hold on! Anyway Ed, I know you said we didn't need them, but I got you and the guys down there your own portable water filters! You know, in case you need to drink water from the river. I also thought we could practice orienteering because I got this cool survival compass, only reading about it online made it seem complicated, so I was hoping you knew? How to do it? But maybe I shouldn't have assumed. Okay, Alma, Okay, I'll tell hi-"

The message ended and Ed went over to the next one.

"Ed, it's me again. Sorry, I do go on, I guess in hindsight I could have texted you, but I thought it would be nice to hear your voice? Or maybe you like to hear mine, but I suppose that's presumptuous, isn't it? Anyway, Alma really wants to tell you about this multi-tool axe-had that I bought, but in hindsight what am I going to use an axe-head for? I don't even know what half of these things do. What's a 'jimping' or a 'hex driver' for? I think I should return it, probably. Seriously, Alma, what does it matter to you, I already told you it's for adults, you aren't even touching it. Oh god Ed, and she found this knife she wants me to buy so I can show it to you, but I told her that Ed probably already has all the knives he needs and-"

That's where the second message had ended. Ed gleefully continued listening.

"Oh my god Ed, three messages, this is so embarrassing. What I really wanted to ask is if you know many campfire songs? Because there's this book here that has over 100 of them, which feels like overkill? But I can't tell if it is because everything that people say is overkill you seem to think is just fine? And- Louis, you're packing the floaties. You're packing the floaties and- Remember what I told you? You almost drowned! You're wearing floaties until you're twenty-five. You too, Alma. I don't care if you aren't a baby, you're still my baby, and you're both wearing the d- the floaties. And life jackets. Complain one more time and we won't even go anywhere near the wat-"

Ed flipped over to the final message in his mail box.

"Ugh, this must be a record. Hi, Ed! It's still Stede. I didn't actually have anything else to say, but it seemed weird not to say goodbye after this message? So this is me saying goodbye. I lo- Alma and Louis also say goodbye, yes. I told him! I told him, go brush your teeth! I'll read to you soon, let me say goodbye to Ed! Anyway, Ed, I love you and I can't wait to see you tomorrow morning! Bye!"

Ed sighed happily. That man was the love of his life. He closed his eyes and started listening for the fourth time, the sound of the lazy river grounding him in his joy.

[avelera]

This is brilliant! I absolutely love this point and I want to add a, "Yes, and...!"

I get the sense that Izzy's value to Ed is also his weakness. Ed's so famous now he needs someone around who isn't starstruck by him all the time. Izzy definitely calls Ed on his bullshit, he does all the boring parts of the job that Ed doesn't want to do (middle management, at which he's questionably skilled) and while I think Izzy is wildly incompetent he's not a complete idiot, which is something of a rare quality in the pirate world as we've seen it in the show so far.

But that cuts both ways. Izzy has gone so far in not being overawed by Ed that he doesn't listen when Ed is being the brilliant sailor Izzy claims to admire. Izzy offers his services as a bully to Ed but he doesn't accept Ed's offer in return to teach him how to be a brilliant sailor. Even worse, he doesn't learn how to understand what Ed does so he can't fill in for Ed in a meaningful way (as we see when he immediately sucks at being a captain in his own right) which means Ed can't deligate anything to him which means Ed is bored because he's always on the hook to do the entire job of getting them out of every scrape. He can rely on Izzy for some things but not all the things he needs to be able to rely on him for, and in the meantime, Izzy keeps wanting more of Ed's attention, wants Ed to play the role of Blackbeard, but Izzy doesn't want Ed to change from the version of Blackbeard he's infauted with. He doesn't want Ed to change his style, he wants to force Ed into giving him back that initial spark of awe, the double-edged sword of the fact that Izzy wants that spark of awe back but the fact he isn't in awe is what he has to offer Ed. It's a vicious, self-contradictory situation.

Final side note, Izzy is dismissive of the value of knowing the clouds, something a sailor should know about and respect. Black Pete, in the episodes before we meet Izzy serves as a sort of mini-Izzy workplace antagonist to offer different perspectives, and Black Pete is dismissive of sewing, another well-known sailor's skill that any historical sailor would certainly have valued.

I think, though the show is generally gleefully historically inaccurate, we are meant to have at least a minor, "Wait, what?" reaction to that. OFMD doesn't assume its audience is familiar with pirate lore, indeed it invites us to forget everything we thought we knew about it, but this is very nearly common knowledge. The takeaway I think we're supposed to get? Is these guys are frauds. Oh, they're not lying about being pirates, they do have experience, but their machismo gets in the way of them being good at the actual job. They are bullies who lord their supposed manliness over others, not competent sailors who don't need to boast.

Ed is competent and as we've seen in studies on the relationship between competence and sexism (incompetent men are more sexist towards women in their perceived "space", competent men are comfortable with women in their space and indeed, happy to share their knowledge) wants to share his knowledge, he's overjoyed when Stede wants to learn it and the most tolerant we see of all the cast in accepting Stede's learning curve, he's just happy that Stede is interested in the knowledge he has to share and he values what Stede has to teach him in return.

And to finally bring it all back around, that's probably at least a bit of why Izzy hates Stede so much. Stede also isn't overawed by Ed. Sure, he's impressed by him, hero-worships him a bit, but still treats him like a normal human otherwise. Stede is also willing to learn from Ed, something Izzy has failed at. Stede is willing to accept Ed changing as a person (the miscommunication over Stede's perceived rejection of Ed without the "beard" is the flashpoint of tragedy that's kicking off S2).

Everything Izzy has offered to Ed, Stede can do better.

i am once again thinking abt the frankfurters scene at the beginning of episode 4

my original thought after watching that whole episode was that ed keeping his plan a secret for the purpose of a dramatic reveal was stupid of him. if he'd talked abt his plan with izzy (talk it through as a crew), they could've pointed out the flaw and they would've had time to come up with a plan b

then i saw posts that talked abt how ed was trying to tell izzy his plan, but izzy just thought ed was goofing off, bc izzy is bad at reading ed's language (and also just. people in general). and i was like "yeah, fair point, but ed still could've just. came right out and say it. why'd he have to play coy"

but the more i think about it tho?? the more i think about it

they're fucking pirates. they're sailors. they navigate the sea by boat.

if your pirate captain asks you about the clouds one morning, you should fucking realize he's talking about more than just the fucking clouds

sailors had to know how to read the sky and predict the weather if they wanted to have even a chance at surviving at sea. izzy even says himself that he thought blackbeard was the most brilliant sailor he's ever met. when i think about it this way, it's actually baffling that ed started pointing out the clouds and izzy literally had no idea what ed was talking about. he thought ed was just fucking around!! which is kind of fucking insulting, when you think about it!!!

like, this tells me two things:

izzy is not a good sailor. izzy doesn't know shit about boats. izzy's singular talent is sword fighting. ed does all the navigating, the crew does all the boat stuff, and izzy just sort of sits there and glowers. maybe waves his sword around if someone's slacking off. he's good in a fight, in a raid. if they're not raiding, izzy's not good for anything (which oughff puts his reaction to ed saying "why are we even being pirates?" into perspective. if they're not being pirates, then izzy is no longer needed)

unless ed is being like, brooding and straightforward, izzy doesn't fucking respect ed enough to think ed might take things seriously. because ed was like, giggling over stede's trinkets and talking about the clouds, izzy did not seem to consider that ed might've come up with something. if he's really been such a loyal right hand man for so many years, if he really respected ed as the most brilliant sailor he's ever met, that cloud conversation should've been a dead giveaway that ed knew what he was doing

and like, ed's frustrated "it's like pulling teeth with you sometimes, man" line makes it sound like this is normal? that izzy often brushes ed of when he talks abt things this way. and if i were ed, it would've been so fucking annoying to see my first mate ignore what should be some very obvious hints because he thinks im just fucking around. why would ed bother with being direct with his plan if izzy doesn't respect him enough (and also isn't a good enough sailor) to realize the cloud conversation isn't just about clouds.