Thoughts on Our Flag Means Death Season 2: Episode 8

*Spoilers.*

I didn’t watch the first season of Our Flag Means Death until after it had all come out, so watching this season week to week was kind of a time-bendy experience for me. On the one hand, waiting every Thursday for the new episodes felt like forever. But on the other, it’s a little wild to grasp that it’s over already. (I’m honestly glad that Max didn’t drop the whole season at once—I didn’t have to debate between binging and dodging spoilers, and I got to savor it longer, percolating on the episodes each week.) Okay, season finale time!

The British (Pirates) Are Coming!

Look, there’s all kinds of big stuff that happens in this episode, including major swoonworthy romantic moments for Stede and Ed. But 100%, my biggest takeaway is when the pirates nab some British naval uniforms to execute Stede’s plan. Every last one of the cast looks so exquisitely good. We already knew that Stede could rock a frock coat, but, like, Ed in a tricorne hat? Zheng Yi Sao? Jim? Spanish Jackie? Frenchie? The scene of them all strolling in slow motion through the mist, each one serving deliciously hard, might be the coolest thing I’ve seen on TV all year.

But right before that extreme display of pirate swagger, I love that Jackie poisons the soldiers who took over her bar, assuring the Swede not to worry because he’s been “poison trained.” I love that the imprisoned crew are able to break themselves out before Stede, Ed, and Zheng arrive. And I love that, as the soldiers start keeling over, Stede looks at them and says, “Oh shit, that’s—is that us doing that?” Never change, Stede. Never change.

The Boys Are Back!

Naturally, the finale gives us all kinds of beautiful moments for Stede and Ed. I just love when Ed comes upon two soldiers who found one of Stede’s messages in a bottle, the overwhelming heartfelt look in his eyes as he reads Stede’s wonderful letter. (Bonus: this scene decisively answers the people who insist that Ed can’t read!)

Their reunion, fighting their way through British soldiers to get back to each other, is pretty glorious. The parallels with Stede's fantasy from the season premiere are obvious, but what I love best are the differences between these two scenes. Much like the redo of the "you wear fine things well" moment from episode 5, it's less idealized. Instead of running toward each other on a beautiful beach with the single foe already vanquished, it's in the heat of battle, with noise and chaos and danger all around them. Their reunion is cut short because they have to get back to the fighting. And while Stede is a swashbuckling hero in his fantasy, complete with a cool beard, here we see him struggling to get his sword out of the soldier he's fighting when he hears Ed's voice. None of this is the perfect image.

But for all that, it's better. In Stede's fantasy, once he and Ed fall into each other's arms, he repeatedly looks for reassurance that Ed isn't mad, that they're good, that he hasn't ruined things. But in return, Ed only offers him generic sweet nothings—nice to hear, but not what Stede is looking for. By contrast, in their actual reunion, Ed immediately wants to talk, apologize, and tell Stede that he's loved. Stede gets to be valued and cared for, and he gets to be the one reassuring the man he loves that they're okay, insisting, “You weren’t a dick. Life's a dick." A lot of this isn't how Stede dreamed it, but it gives him the most important part, the part he wasn't even able to imagine before.

Just Love All Over the Place

Ed/Stede take pride of place, understandably, but there’s so much love all over the finale, in different forms. We see Izzy championing what he’s learned this season in his final hurrah, first when he tells Ricky that piracy is “about belonging to something,” and again as he apologizes to Ed for feeding his darkness and assures him that he’s surrounded by family. We see Oluwande encouraging Auntie to try a softer touch with Zheng—the way Zheng’s strong, confident face cracks into tears of joy when Auntie says she’s proud of her is beautiful to witness. And we of course see Lucius and Black Pete’s matelotage wedding. I love that the crew tag-teams the ceremony, that it’s about these two but also the family that’s been built on the Revenge.

Where Do We Go from Here?

I’m ready to cross as many fingers and toes as I need to until Max gives us any announcements about renewal. Showrunner David Jenkins planned this as a three-season show, and I really want him and the cast/crew to get the chance to see that through. There’s so much potential in Stede and Ed trying(!) to run an inn together, and I’m curious about what the crew will look like on the Revenge without them (but with bonus Zheng, Auntie, and Jackie!) I hope, though, that whatever happens, Ed and Stede still have plenty of reasons to interact with the crew. That cast chemistry is too good to waste!

And as we wait for Max’s next move, I’m also glad that this episode could serve as a reasonable season finale if need be. There are definite places for the story to go and things that need to be wrapped up, but we’re worlds away from the desperate situation we were left in at the end of season 1. Stede and Ed are together, the crew is together, and the Revenge is sailing off into the beautiful sea. If Max decides to be a dick and cancels such a brilliant show, I’ll be able to remember the characters like this, and that’s a good place to be.