*Lucius-related spoilers.*
Yep, the Our Flag Means Death hits just keep on coming. Like Oluwande and Jim, Lucius was one of the more prominent crew members in season 1. And although he too has a smaller role in season 2, he still has some strong material to work with.
Lucius comes aboard the Revenge as Stede’s scribe, tasked with following him around and taking dictation on his observations about life at sea, complete with calligraphy and sketches. This isn’t the most desirable job around—Lucius witnesses Stede’s poor survival instincts up close and is at times dragged into dangerous situations along with him, like when Stede insists they wear matching all-white suits for his “regional debut” at the Republic of Pirates, and even when he’s not almost getting them killed, Stede is monologuing self-important nonsense for Lucius to write down.
However, Lucius isn’t cut out for much else on board. He’s pretty allergic to manual labor, and when the whole crew is expected to pitch in on a task, he might be spied in the background halfheartedly pretending to work. When Izzy has a grudge against him and forces him to remove all the barnacles from the side of the ship, Lucius shouts, “This is deranged! I don’t clean things!”
Besides, as a certified “double threat,” a.k.a. a “strong reader/writer,” Lucius is a vital crew member for Stede to have around. When Lucius is the first to (accidentally) discover Jim’s secret and they lock him in a trunk so he can’t blab, Stede casts around the ship for another scribe, evidently preferring the unschooled Frenchie to, you know, just writing his own journal. So Lucius sticks close to Stede, becoming closer to the captain than he probably ever expected. He recognizes that Stede and Ed are into each other before either of them do, and he helps Stede nurse his bereft feelings when Ed leaves (temporarily with Calico Jack.) Lucius often projects an aloof, bitchy image of himself, but when he does show how he cares for someone, he's actually very sweet. He stands up for Stede against the English, using Stede’s journal as proof that he’s a “real pirate,” and when Ed returns to the Revenge heartbroken at the end of season 1, Lucius is wonderfully gentle and kind with him.
Because season 1 ends about as bad as it possibly can for most of the characters, pretty much everybody is Going Through It at the start of season 2. We entered the second season without confirmation that Lucius was even alive—Ed’s prologue to becoming the Kraken is to push Lucius, the crew member with the greatest insight into his vulnerabilities, overboard. It’s not until episode 2 that we see him again, having made his way to Zheng Yi Sao’s ship. The poor man had a terrible time between seasons, doing whatever he had to to survive far away from Stede’s “talk it through as a crew” management style. These experiences leave him with lingering trauma, and it’s much harder for him to accept Ed’s return than anyone else.
But while season 2 is a story of hurt, it’s also a story of healing. After Lucius’s support of Stede in season 1, Stede returns the favor by advising him not to push Black Pete away after what he’s been through, and Black Pete in turn urges him to focus on his incredible survival. Slowly, and with help, Lucius starts feeling safe on the Revenge again. I don’t know if he’ll ever fully go back to being the droll bitch of season 1, but he knows how strong he is, and as we (hopefully!) move into season 3, he’ll have his new matey beside him when things get tough.
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