Thoughts on Our Flag Means Death Season 2: Episodes 1-3

*Spoilers, including references to the trailer for episodes 4 and 5.*

I knew I was going to start churning out more Our Flag Means Death posts after season 2—various thoughts, Favorite Characters, Relationship Spotlights, and Neurodivergent Alleys (I’m so excited!) I was going to hold off until the end of the season, but I’ve realized there’s no point in fighting the inevitable. My brain lives here right now, and I can’t wait a month to start shouting endlessly about it. So each week of season 2, I’m going to collect some of my many random thoughts/feels and try to corral them into something that makes sense. And once the season is over, I’ll get back into the more targeted posts. Here we go!

Things Left Unsaid

One of the things that excites me the most about the rest of the season going forward is the things from season 1 that still haven’t come out. I get the impression that Stede probably hasn’t told anyone what really happened the night he was supposed to meet Ed on the docks. I can’t wait for Stede to unburden himself about that experience, and to see what the reaction will be like. Also, I doubt anyone but Izzy and Ed knows about their confrontation in the season finale. By episode 3, Izzy finally seems ready to acknowledge he had a hand in Ed’s Kraken era—though that in no way excuses Ed’s treatment of him or suggests that Izzy deserved it—but I’m desperate to see how people will react to this information: Ed and Izzy to that secret coming out, Stede (who’s solely been blaming himself,) and the crew, both those who’ve been sailing under Ed and those who were marooned by him at the end of season 1.

LUCIUS!!!!

I was like 94% sure he was still alive, but it feels so good to get that confirmation out of the way early, right near the top of episode 2. His reunion with Black Pete and the rest of the crew is so sweet. At the same time, while it’s horrible to hear about what he’s been through, I like that this isn’t just, “The gang’s back together, everything’s great now!” To use Stede’s parlance, he’s been “mentally devastated” by his experiences since Ed pushed him off the Revenge, and he can’t just turn that off. He’s angry with Stede, and he feels like he can’t talk to Black Pete about his trauma. With Stede’s help, he’s able to make a lot of progress by the end of episode 2, but there isn’t an easy fix here.

New Characters

I’m really enjoying Archie, who I think will be a good addition to the crew now that Ed and Stede’s crews have come together. I laughed at her reminding Jim to take “the fucked-up one” as they prepare to amputate Izzy’s infected leg, and I’m haunted by how quickly she accepts being forced to fight Jim to the death, even softly telling them, “It’s just life,” when they have her on the ropes. Meanwhile, Zheng Yi Sao is a fantastic new character. She reminds me a little of Ed in that she’s a legendary pirate who has the people around her in awe, but she often acts like just a regular person, like her sweet/awkward flirting with Oluwande or her iconic, “Girl, how are you?” to Stede after they learn what Ed has done. And Auntie is great! I love her take-no-prisoners attitude, her meticulous planning, and her filing system that’s “ahead of its time.” Each of these characters brings their own new flavor to the show while also fitting in beautifully with what’s already there.

The Gravy Basket

When Ed is in “the gravy basket”/purgatory, I’m struck by how instantly he reverts to the Ed we know, as opposed to his Kraken persona. Not that he isn’t messed up, because those are key parts of Ed—he does have intense issues with abandonment and self-loathing, and his anger can bubble over into violence. Those parts don’t disappear, but alongside them, we also see Ed’s goofy, honest, and sensitive nature. After seeing how Ed tortures himself and others in the first two episodes, drowning in his own pain and playing the monster in the hope that someone will put him out of his misery, it’s so nice to see him acting out his fantasy of being an innkeeper or trying to convince his vision of Hornigold that his mutiny wasn’t “basic.” And naturally, this leads us to…

That Final Sequence

Before we get into the dream sequence, can we just give it up for Stede Bonnet? He’s just learned that Ed’s crew (apparently) killed him, but then he saves them. Before Zheng can execute them for their recent mutiny, Stede includes them in his plan to take back the Revenge. It’s not until everyone’s safe that he gives himself over to his grief and goes down to sit with Ed’s body. Little does he know, Ed is still in the gravy basket, where we’ve learned that Hornigold is actually a personification of Ed’s self-loathing and depression. In the question of whether Ed wants to live or die, Hornigold makes that decision, tying a heavy rock around Ed’s waist and pushing him off a cliff. Hornigold is the part of Ed that wants to die, but again, it’s only a part of him. It’s important that, as Ed wakes in the water, he starts struggling with the rope and trying to swim upward before he sees the vision of Stede.

It's just so stunning. The first time I watched the episode, I was overwhelmed by all the emotions and didn’t know what to do with myself when fricking Mermaid Stede swam into view. Of course it’s cheesy. Of course it is! But it’s beautiful too, and that’s all I could see the second time. The music, the acting, the flashbacks, the tail, Stede’s desperation in the living world as he clings to Ed’s hand and pleads with him to wake up…absolutely incredible.

Where Do We Go from Here?

Obviously, I don’t know what’s next for Stede, Ed, and the crew, but I know we’re heading toward this exchange between them: “Shipmates!” “…Former.” While a lot of fans are anticipating that Ed leaves in anger because Stede left him on the docks, I’m not sure we’re going to be at the point where we can address any anger between Ed and Stede. After everything Ed has been through and that gorgeous vision he just had, I don’t think he’ll be in any sort of headspace to come right out with, “How could you…?” Instead, I think the crew will be Ed’s main impetus for leaving. Whether it’s because they refuse to let him stay on the Revenge, him wanting to deal with his guilt over his recent actions, or a combination of the two, I think all that needs to be untangled first.