*Spoilers.*
First of all, let me just say I’m so happy! The first three episodes of the season cover a lot of heavy stuff by necessity, and while they’re excellent, it’s fun to get a larger helping of the show’s wild comedy in this next batch of episodes. Along with, of course, drama, romance, and character growth! There was just so much to love here. Let’s get into it!
“…Hello, Edward”
As I predicted last week, the crew’s reaction to Ed being alive is the first concern that the plot has to address. I’m glad it goes down this way; it would’ve felt weird if we’d jumped straight into Ed and Stede dealing with their relationship when you have so many crew members going, “Wait, what about him trying to kill us recently?” After Stede’s elation at Ed’s recovery, I understand why he would want Ed to stay aboard the Revenge, but it’s good that he accepts the crew’s vote to banish him.
However, episode 4 is nicely constructed to give us plenty of space to address Ed and Stede’s relationship too. When Ed wakes up from his near-death experience and is almost immediately banished from the ship, it makes sense that he’d view that as a further betrayal from Stede, especially in contrast to the vision he had of Stede in the gravy basket. “You’re no fucking mermaid,” is a great line, impeccably delivered, and I love Stede’s flummoxed reaction to it.
Then, when the two next cross paths, it’s in the company of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two chaos-agent queers who are more than ready to lob grenades into the boys’ drama for the sake of their own fun. So we have Stede and Ed forced together when Ed doesn’t want to be there, Anne and Mary dredging up old wounds with their questions, and secrets coming out due to Anne’s loose lips. All of this 1) adds to both the drama and the comedy of the situation and 2) gets Stede and Ed to a point where they pretty much have to hash it out. It’s a clever device to force the issue while keeping the conversation entertaining.
“I Love Everything About You”
To that end, I love the conversation Ed and Stede do end up having, once Ed comes out from sulking under a blanket. I like that Stede explains why he went back to Mary briefly and acknowledges the hurt he caused Ed, while at the same time pointing out that he’s forgiven Ed for things too. I like that Ed is vulnerable, admitting that he was “all in” that night on the docks and feels like an idiot for having trusted Stede. I like that Stede makes it clear that Ed doesn’t have to say “I love you” back, but that he also makes sure Ed hears his “I love everything about you” speech. Given everything that’s gone down between these two, the show does an excellent job of making their journey over the course of this episode feel earned. I can fully believe where they end up in the last scene.
I do hope, though, that at some point Stede shares his encounter with Chauncey Badminton from last season, just as I hope Ed opens up about the self-loathing and suicidal ideation he was experiencing at the start of this one. These storylines are much more complex than “Stede left because he was scared” and “Ed turned ‘evil’ because Stede left him,” which I love, and I really want the characters to know that too!
Things Take Time to Fix
As I said with Lucius last week, I like that there’s not an instant reset for the crew once they all come together again. A lot of folks have lingering trauma rooted in things Ed did to them, and Izzy is now permanently disabled. It’s so sweet that the guys who’ve been with Stede the whole time want to do something special to help Ed’s crew and Lucius feel safe, even as it totally makes sense that their efforts backfire because the others are too jumpy and freaked out to recognize the loving gestures for what they are. I love the resolution that they finally come together to help Izzy, who’s struggling more than anyone else.
I also appreciate that the healing doesn’t follow a linear or unified pattern. Some find a sense of peace more quickly than others, which makes it feel even tougher for the folks who need more time. For Lucius in episode 5, everyone seems to be moving on so quickly from what Ed has done to them, while he’s stuck in his fear and trauma. And while Izzy is doing better outwardly, he achieves that in part by straight-up denying how he lost his leg.
Making Amends Isn’t a Straight Line
Similarly, Ed’s attempts to reintegrate onto the ship in episode 5 aren’t smooth or easy. I like that he does seem to be sorry for everything he did and wants to make amends, but at the same time, he doesn’t know where to start and he also just kind of wants to get it over with already. I love that the crew makes him wear a bell so he can’t sneak up on anyone, and a potato sack onesie to…make him look less intimidating? Humble him? I don’t know the exact purpose behind that one, but it makes me smile. And it’s so beautiful that Ed’s first real breakthrough happens with Fang. Fang is older than Ed, a fellow Polynesian man, and so, so gentle. It’s through talking to him that Ed really starts to examine his hurtful behavior in a new context and makes his first genuine, heartfelt apology to one of the crew.
Two Whim-Prone Captains
Obviously, there’s a lot to love about that final scene in episode 5. The redo of the “you wear fine things well” moment, the fact that Stede and Ed share such a lovely kiss while Ed is wearing a cat collar/potato sack and holding a dead fish, Stede softly respecting Ed’s boundaries when he wants to take it slow and checking for his consent before they hold hands—it’s all the definition of *chef’s kiss*! But for me, my absolute favorite part is when they stack their hands and fingers over each other in a soft, affectionate thumb war.
‘Cause see, in both these episodes, there are references to the fact that Ed and Stede were immature and impulsive with each other in season 1. They’re both “whim-prone,” and they need to guard against those impulses to do things right this time. And I was a little worried that this was intimating that, in order to have a more mature romance, they needed to be less themselves. To me, both Stede and Ed are super neurodivergent-coded (more on that in Neurodivergent Alley once the season ends!), and a major part of their romance in season 1 is about how they operate on a similar wavelength, getting excited about/loving things that other people find odd and carrying out their romance in an unconventional way. I didn’t want any suggestion that, to do romance right, they had to be more conventional or neurotypical.
The thumb war calms those fears for me. In this small moment, the show reassures me that Ed and Stede can talk things through reasonably, they can be patient and not rush into things, but they can also still play together and do things their way.
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