{ [...] Some leviathans have been observed using their threat displays to hunt, dazzling their prey into sensory shock before striking. And isn't it mesmerizing? You can't look away. You can't look away. You can't look away. }
One of the best things about the show is how it plays with genre. There's nods and influences to the stylistic trappings of other genres all the time. Horror with the Kraken, historical drama with the british navy, comedy with Stede, romcom with... half the cast at this point. And Izzy is a grimdark pirate sadboy.
Our flag means DEATH. piracy is brutal, you can devote your entire life to it and it won't repay you at the end. The title isn't just for funsies, it's Chekhov's gun and it's been with us the whole time.
What Izzy did get, though, was a chance to live for a moment in another genre. He got to feel genuine love and friendship. After Ed shot him and he lost his leg, he came to the dramatic conclusion of his pirate arc. He makes the transition to ensemble comedy, he gets to experience belonging and love and all the things he talks about in his final speech.
But Izzy is a grimdark pirate. He knows he's gotten more joy and love than he was ever supposed to get. He could have gotten more, if only he weren't the legendary pirate Israel Hands. But he is. And he knows he is.