*Swede-related spoilers.*
It won’t be long before I run out of characters from Our Flag Means Death to talk about! When I get to that point, I’ll probably move onto other topics for a while—my hyperfixation brain has been glomming onto other things lately—but I want to finish covering the major cast first! While the Swede has a smaller role on the show, he can still be a lot of fun.
As a member of the crew, Swede doesn’t get a ton of focus in season 1, but he is featured prominently in a couple plots. First, when the crew is workshopping ideas for putting on a “fuckery” for a Dutch merchant ship, other folks offer up suggestions of scary things to do. The Swede, meanwhile, says, “I’ve always wanted to sing.” When he gets pushback on it, he mumbles, “Well, maybe it doesn’t always have to be scary.” But he does get to sing during the fuckery, and it’s both beautiful and scary. His solo leads into Stede’s “big finale,” with his siren song summoning the Kraken from the deep. Afterwards, Ed even compliments him on his beautiful voice—this is a big deal for him, because the Swede isn’t someone who gets to make too many valuable contributions.
Case in point, his other main plot in season 1? After the Revenge runs out of oranges, he’s the one who gets scurvy. This is used to kick off the trip to St. Augustine and explore Jim’s past, but the Swede’s predicament is compelling enough to get nearly everyone to agree with Roach’s insistence on getting more oranges. The Swede himself is distressed to learn that “the teeth don’t go back in” once they’ve fallen out.
Even though the Swede is in far fewer episodes in season 2, he actually gets a little more focus, which is cool for him. At first, it feels like an entertaining gag when he’s the one Spanish Jackie is attracted to, and I love Roach gleefully assuring her, “He’s single!” as everybody pushes the Swede forward. Jackie’s interest in him is what secures the rest of the crew jobs at her bar while they try to figure out their next steps.
But even if this story begins with the Swede as the newest eye candy for Spanish Jackie, it turns into a pretty nice story for him. He and Jackie are both into each other, and he’s happy about becoming her newest husband. Even betraying her to help out Stede and co. isn’t enough to come between them.
The next time we see the Swede, he’s had a major glow-up under Spanish Jackie’s influence, prompting Lucius to exclaim, “Is it just me, or did the Swede get hot?” Even on a ragtag ship full of misfits, the Swede was often a bit of a joke, so it’s lovely to see him find his best self in season 2, growing and getting a new look without needing to change who he fundamentally is.
To close, here are a few fun line deliveries from Nat Faxon!
· His bashful reaction when Ed compliments his singing – “Me? Oh, come on. Don’t tease me.”
· When Jackie threatens to sic all 20 of her husbands on Stede and the crew – “I know that guy! We had breakfast together.”
· When we see that the Swede’s turn performing the “husbandly duties” means giving Jackie a massage – “Your back is really tight. Like, super tight!”
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