Much like Andor, Our Flag Means Death has a crowded tier of favorite characters. While Ed and Stede are my favorite favorites, there are so many crew members that just make every moment they’re onscreen better, adding even more to this already stupendous show. Let’s talk about Roach!
Roach is both the cook and the doctor aboard the Revenge. He sees this dual role as logical—“Knives are knives, meat’s meat,” he drawls when it’s time to perform an impromptu amputation. And his duties can intersect in other ways, like urging Stede to get more oranges after the Swede develops scurvy or getting Stede a steak for his eye when Ed headbutts him.
But while both are his jobs, cooking is his passion. When Stede’s crew joins the Red Flag, Roach has his mind utterly blown by the soup they’re given, waxing poetic about the broth. “We eat, but how often do we taste?” he asks. He expresses affection through cooking, baking a cake for Ed’s traumatized crew after the Kraken era, and he also expresses creativity, inventing “peanut paste” to spread on sandwiches. In a way, he’s probably lucky that he wound up working for Stede. Not only does Stede’s wealth in season 1 mean a well-stocked galley, but his aristocratic tastes ask much more of Roach than the average pirate captain would. Stede has Roach bake him a cake with a 40-orange glaze! How many ship’s cooks get to do that?
When he’s not cooking or doctoring, Roach is a bit of a freak. He finds torture relaxing and doesn’t seem overly fussy about which end of it he’s on. When Stede gives everyone a “vacation” after the Revenge runs aground, Roach eagerly asks if his vacation can be torturing their British naval hostages, nail-spiked club at the ready. And when Ned Low raids the ship and tortures the crew, Roach looks like he’s still having a good time.
My favorite mid-credits scene in season 2 comes care of Roach. While the rest of the crew is off in the Republic of Pirates, he and Fang have stayed behind to do some work on the ship, but Roach decides they need some “me” time. He takes Fang out to a marsh for a spa day, and they indulge in some TLC and clay masks. It’s a delightfully offbeat little moment for the two of them, and a nice breather from the drama happening in the rest of the episode.
Even though he doesn’t have a huge role and is rarely a major feature in storylines, Roach is terrific! He’s always good for a great one-liner or reaction shots, and I love the little ways we see him interact with the rest of the crew.
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