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celluloidbroomcloset · 6 months

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Once more, I return to the stabbing scene vis a vis Izzy and Calico Jack, more or less related to what I talked about here.

Again, this moment is clearly memorable for Ed, as he tells Mary Read, and even perhaps for Stede, who recalls the line "I stabbed you, you nut" via "You nut, why'd you have to go and get yourself killed" when he's sitting by Ed's bedside.

But this is also important in terms of how the representatives of toxic masculinity in the pirate world, Izzy and Jack, conceptualize sex between men.

Both Izzy and Jack clearly view sex as something that is done by someone to someone - I've discussed earlier how Izzy's understanding of the stabbing precipitates his insistence that Ed kill Stede. He's requiring that Ed fix the hierarchical imbalance created when Ed asks an "effeminate" man to penetrate him - something which Ed ultimately declines to do, and which Izzy himself cannot do (because his attempt to kill Stede backfires and effectively unmans him by breaking his sword).

Jack's own view of sex and sexuality is markedly similar. He also attempts to dominate Stede by his account of his "dalliances" with Ed, by reducing their sexual relationship (and all sexual relationships between men) to functions, and finally by pissing on Stede's shoes. It's entirely a performance of dominance - he tries to argue that Stede is ashamed by the thought of "buggery" and drags Ed's own sex life into the open (something which Stede rejects, saying that Ed's past life is his own business and that he respects that). Since Jack was sent by Izzy, one wonders how much he's learned about Stede and Ed from Izzy, and how much he infers on his own. The question - "Are you buggering each other?" - is a frank statement about what Izzy certainly thinks is going on.

Izzy's view of the stabbing scene and Jack's discussion of buggering are entirely about who is doing what to whom - and to them, who does what determines sexual roles and therefore their place in the hierarchy. Dominance and submission is about who penetrates and who is penetrated, and that is ultimately about power, not pleasure, desire, or love.

At no point do either of them imagine that Stede and Ed's relationship could have a romantic or emotional component - Izzy only sees Ed being seduced by Stede, Jack only sees buggery and dalliances. That their sexual roles could be not about power but pleasure and desire, much less an expression of love, is not something Izzy or Jack consider. And that Ed could be topped or even dominated by a gentle man who doesn't use, or think to use, penetration to hurt or shame him doesn't enter into their heads.

Ed, as much as Izzy or Jack, is aware of the power dynamics in sex between men in a way that Stede is unlikely to be. Ed does know the rules by which Izzy and Jack function, and it's consistently shown that he's tired of those rules - hence why he wanted to meet Stede in the first place, and why he continues to reject Izzy and Jack in favor of Stede. But he believes that's who he has to be - he tells Stede "you were always going to find out who I am" before he leaves the ship with Jack.

I've said before that Ed's entire purpose in the stabbing scene is to have Stede hold him. He's unable to ask for the softness he wants and so turns it into a violent game, not so dissimilar from the ones he plays with Jack. He allies a symbolic sexual act with violence because that's the primary way he understands - and, we can infer, has experienced - sex. But what he sees and feels in that moment, and what he remembers when he recounts it to Mary, is a soft man who doesn't treat sex and violence as inextricable, and is only concerned about having hurt him.

By the time we get Calypso's birthday, Ed seems to have fully realized that there is an alternative to the sexual power structure in which he has lived his entire life. That discovery is as freeing for him as it is for Stede, because it means that the soft things he wants, and the desires that he has, are not shameful, nor do they need to be violent for him to find pleasure in them. Being held by Stede is something he can ask for, and being penetrated by Stede doesn't need to be painful. By then, neither Stede nor Ed see their roles, or their choices about their sexuality, as fitting into a masculine power structure.

It is about love.

#ofmd season 2 #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd season 1 #ofmd meta #stede bonnet #ed teach #edward teach #izzy hands #calico jack #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #toxic masculinity #homophobia #guess i had more to say on this topic #as always i'm happy to discuss anything #my wee thoughts

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jennaimmortal · 7 months

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I absolutely love seeing Ed being super protective of Stede! I think one of the fears that assaulted Ed about Stede’s newfound fame is a fear that Stede won’t need him anymore if he’s not “Blackbeard.” Ed & Stede both struggle with trying to be who others want them to be, even with each other.

WE know that they love each other just as they are, warts and all, but neither of them can accept that possibility. Ed is very likely afraid that of the main reasons Stede left him was because he had changed too much and wasn’t being “Blackbeard,” considering how Stede reacted to Ed shaving his beard off.

Ed doesn’t understand that Stede was actually blaming himself, feeling as though it was his fault that Ed was turning away from his Blackbeard persona. Stede doesn’t understand that Ed genuinely WANTS to get away from that side of himself. That’s the most important conversation that they needed to have, but in the week or two (maybe not even that long) since their reunion, they have both been focusing on everything EXCEPT for the important conversations they need to be having.

Ed also has a bad habit of trying to completely run away from the parts of him that frighten him. When Izzy confronted him about becoming “Edward” in 1x10, it made Ed feel like his softer side was wrong & problematic.

So what did he do? He ran so far in the opposition direction that he became The Kraken. Now, being faced with all the guilt & trauma of his time as The Kraken, he feels like he has to once again to a total 180 and leave behind all of his darkness. He doesn’t understand that he can accommodate the darker and lighter sides of his personality without going to extremes.

After seeing Stede leaning into his newfound popularity, Ed’s fear of Stede leaving him again flared into a full blown panic attack. He likely believes that Stede won’t be able to fully accept him if he leaves “Blackbeard” behind and embracing being “Edward.”

The last time he told Stede that he wanted to do just that, Stede left him. Ed’s trauma from those months without him is SO fresh! That terror of once again letting himself go all-in is all too relatable. It’s easier to run away than to once again be left behind, especially now that they have taken their relationship so much further.

My greatest hope is that Ed realized ON HIS OWN that he had panicked, and that he doesn’t actually want to be a fisherman. I really want this scene to be Ed returning to Stede & the Crew on his own, without knowledge of the attack.

Realizing that Stede is in danger, or possibly even dead, would certainly be more than enough of a catalyst to make him go dive for his leathers, preparing to go to his beloved’s rescue. I hope that will be the moment that he also finds Stede’s letter(s), which will make it very clear that Stede loves Edward, not Blackbeard.

It’s going to be such a long week waiting for them to be back on my screen!

#ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd #taika waititi #ofmd spoilers #blackbonnet #our flag means death #gentlebeard #ofmd season 2 #ed x stede #ed teach #blackbeard #stede bonnet

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brigdh · 8 months

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Ed and the mortifying ordeal of being known

Ed does not like revealing his feelings. He is incredibly consistent about lying,

hiding

displacing,

distracting, or just outright denying what he's feeling instead of actually talking about it. This is a consistent pattern of behavior with him. There are a few exceptions – most significantly, I think, the bathtub scene where he confesses to Stede about killing his father – but they are a) rare, and b) occur under unusual circumstances, such as a PTSD flashback. In general Ed goes to great lengths to prevent people from recognizing the truth about him.

I don't really blame Ed for this habit, to be clear. He went through an abusive childhood, and though we don't see a lot of the exact dynamics in baby Ed's house, it's very common for abused children to become hyper vigilant of both their own and others' emotions. It's an attempt to exert some, any control they can over the situation, as though they can prevent setting off the abuser if they just always say and do the right thing.

Ed escaped into piracy, but in terms of talking about his feelings, I don't think it was much of an escape. Piracy in OFMD seems to be a place where the idea of having friends (though not the reality – I'd argue Ed might not use the word 'friend', but has had close relationships) is to be scoffed at. "We're all just in various stages of fucking each other over!" says Calico Jack, and being open about your emotions, plans, hopes, etc would just make it all the easier to be betrayed. On the other hand, lying, obfuscating, or just telling everyone about Plan A and then instead pulling off Plan B makes you look like a double-crossing genius who outthought everyone around you. So I'm not surprised that's Ed's learned to be manipulative and uncommunicative. I don't think he's ever been in a situation where emotional openness wouldn't be a disadvantage.

Regardless of why he does this, it's very clear that it's a pattern of behavior for him. This is one reason why I don't think Sad Robe Ed back in Episode 10 was healing – healing requires addressing and dealing with your feelings, and Ed was very much not doing that. I've already written a whole post going through that episode and laying out how Ed never once mentions Stede, or love, or heartbreak, or anything related to what he's going through, so I'm not going to do it again here. In brief, Ed's putting on a performance of sadness for the crew, but it's a generic, vague sort of sadness, without any connection to his personal, specific pain.

Who finally brings up Stede in Ep 10? It's sure not Ed. Izzy:

Which brings us to Season Two. How is Ed doing now?

He's once again making a performance of his pain, and once again keeping it vague, not letting any of his true, personal hurts be revealed.

These:

Are performances of his pain and sadness, but just like before, they're generic, unspecific. This is "Mad Devil Pyrate Blackbeard", not heartbroken, human Ed. Who is it that brings up the private reality of what's causing this toxic atmosphere? Once again, not Ed. It's Izzy, just like before. And this time he gets shot immediately for saying Stede's name, and Ed doesn't even look at him.

In all three episodes, Ed mentions Stede directly only once, and very pointedly, it's when he's alone:

I'm glad Ed has decided that he wants to live, but that's the beginning of a journey, not the end. What I really want to see in the next couple of episodes is Ed finally, for once, opening up. He doesn't want to be vulnerable, but the lack of emotional intimacy that constantly lying and performing has gotten him is, quite literally, killing him.

Ed can't get over his own, very real pain until he's willing to admit that it exists. I want to see him acknowledge where he hurts. He needs friends. He needs love. He can't get those without being honest.

I hope he does. I hope the show will have him do this work instead of skipping him ahead immediately to the happy ending, no behavioral change required. I think they will. It's kind of their motto, after all: talk it through as a crew.

Now if the co-captains would just follow their own advice...

#I could work on articulating this more but I really want to post it before the new episodes tomorrow #our flag means death #ofmd meta #edward teach #blackbeard #ofmd 2x02 #ofmd 2x03 #ofmd 2x01 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 speculation

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spenglernot · 7 months

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STORIES TELLING: ED TEACH’S JOURNEY FROM ARMOR TO AUTHENTICITY

One of the joys of watching season 2 of Our Flag Means Death is discovering the visual parallels with season 1 that add so much meaning and richness to the story. With affecting, extraordinary economy of visual storytelling, we can see the progression of Ed’s journey from choosing armor in season 1, episode 10 – Wherever You Go, There You Are, to choosing authenticity in season 2, episode 7 – Man on Fire.

[I have to point out the gorgeous cinematography here. Panning down on the left, panning up on the right. The clear resolve of S2 E7 Ed turning to ascend to the deck. I also love the timing of both shots. S2 E7 Ed is turning toward the red silk that S1 E10 Ed will release.]

S1 E10 Ed considers the red silk. The symbol of his tenderness, softness, and vulnerability.

S2 E7 Ed hoists his leathers and his firearm - his literal and symbolic armor and protection - to the edge of the deck.

S1 E10 Ed releases his tenderness, softness, and vulnerability to the sea.

S2 E7 Ed releases his armor and protection to the sea.

S1 E10 Ed throws the person who understands what he’s going through and is in a position to help him work through it in a healthy way, into the sea.

S2 E7 Ed makes breakfast-in-bed for the person with whom he shares emotional and physical intimacy. An act of care and service that strengthens his bond with Stede.

Show, don't tell doesn't seem adequate to describe these two sequences. They are masterful and say so, so much.

The double-edged sword of self-awareness

You’ve really got to give it to Ed. He’s making huge progress. Making a better choice for himself. Moving forward.

Change can be terrifying. For Ed to release that which protected him for decades is, well… it’s courageous and demonstrates hard-won self-awareness and integrity.

Of course, choosing to be authentic to yourself doesn’t translate into automatic relationship building. Understanding and communicating with other people, particularly the person you are in love with, is a related but different skill set. It is also true that, once you know that you can’t perform a persona to please other people, no matter how much you love them, you risk losing them.

Ed in the second frame, above, kills me. He knows that piracy might be the wedge that drives Stede and him apart. He is trying to share how he feels. But Stede is so enamored with finally being a successful pirate (and glowing from the best (and only) love-sex of his life) that he can't hear Ed.

I love that OFMD takes no shortcuts in matters of the heart. If these lads are going to be together for reals, they are going to have to work for it, and there is still much work to be done.

I'm looking forward to likely being simultaneously emotionally fulfilled and mentally devastated by the season 2 finale in about 30 hours.

This meta was written before OFMD season 2 has fully aired. No idea what’s going to happen in the finale (and I’ve generally fled social media to avoid spoilers). I’ll be back, looking at everyone’s fascinating posts after episode 8 airs.

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ladyluscinia · 7 months

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Hi there! I just read your meta about how Izzy knows the real Edward and not just Blackbeard, and that got me thinking… why does Ed tell Stede he doesn’t have any friends? I’d initially chalked this up to Izzy only wanting to be friends with Blackbeard, but if Izzy knows and is loyal to the real Ed, why doesn’t Ed consider him a friend?

Hi! You just stumbled on one of my favorite things to talk about that now I get to add S2 context to, so thank you!

Ok... Edward & his total denial of friendship. There's the big reason - which is completely divorced from the reality of any of his relationships - and then there's the smaller, related reason that I'm not even sure Edward is fully aware of.

Reason #1 (the big one) why Edward says he doesn't have any friends is because he's having a depressive breakdown in a bathtub when he says it.

It all comes back to the fact Edward hates himself, which was fairly clear in S1 and now made explicit in S2. Specifically in 2x03. Which, in a season full of excellently timed flashbacks and echoed scenes from S1, still contains the single example that made me leap from my seat in pure vindication.

When Edward tackles his conjured Hornigold to kill him, before he realizes he's in the gravy basket, we great a great line...

"It all boils down to this. You're afraid you're unlovable."

...followed by a set a flashbacks that feel chosen specifically for me 😌

Edward killing his dad, with the voiceover "I'm not a good person Stede..." cut to Izzy's destroyed laugh right before Edward left the room in 2x02, and then cut back to the bathtub from 1x06 to finish "...That's why I don't have any friends." Stede affirms he is Edward's friend and then it ends on the crew's mutiny from 2x02 and the absolute darkest point of Edward's depressive spirals so far.

That is literally an explicit connection I couldn't have dreamed of in the S1 hiatus.

Because, like... Edward's whole thing is that he's been on the edge of drowning under this lifelong struggle against depression since we met him. He does fundamentally believe in his darkest moments that he is monstrous and poisonous and no one could ever love him, but it's not a logical belief. He's not making an assessment of his relationships as he sees them, he's voicing his self-loathing and depression.

And the parallel between "I don't have any friends" and "I'm unlovable" is soooo crunchy because we know for a fact the second statement is just depression talking. Not even just Stede! Edward spends the first two episodes actively resisting evidence to the contrary in his spiral because it hurts too much - Izzy blatantly confessing his love didn't break through, it just got him shot for trying.

To go back to the bathtub in 1x06, Stede's affirmation there wasn't any more effective than Izzy's confession in S2. It gets Edward to get up out of the bathtub and pull himself back together, but the very next episode opens with Edward getting antsy and trying to leave before Stede can reject him. In 1x08 he's still half-waiting for Stede to notice there's something wrong with him.

Edward always has a little dark voice in the back of his mind saying that Calico Jack isn't his friend, and Izzy isn't his friend, and Stede isn't his friend... but it's Edward's voice. One he'll have to fight against forever, one that will sound really persuasive in his darkest moments (like when he's in a bathtub admitting its source out loud for the first time in his life), but also one that is lying.

So... that's the big reason.

Now, Reason #2 is a bit more nuanced - Edward is really repressed.

This is pretty much entirely the fault of Reason #1, but it is technically a different thing. Because Edward hates himself and has a flawed perspective of all his relationships, he instinctively holds himself back from them to some degree.

This kinda gets into the whole Izzy vs Stede thing, because Edward has a very small collection of interests and desires that he shoved into a small box as things he didn't deserve well before becoming a pirate (due to both mommy and daddy trauma), and then he never brought those things up with anyone close to him. Until he met Stede, who was basically the walking embodiment of several of those interests/desires and a person who Edward uniquely did not have a script or baseline for interacting with, so he ended up doing the reverse and diving into exploring all that as the core of this one singular relationship.

Which has left him very unbalanced.

Like, he's not wholly engaging in the relationship due to fear of rejection either way. There's nothing intrinsically healthier about letting Izzy know all his ugliest bits or Stede know all his most hidden emotional vulnerabilities. And the fear of rejection in both cases is based in his depression / conviction he's unlovable, not evidence that Izzy would react poorly or whatever.

But if he was capable of evaluating his relationships objectively, he might have felt a little like even Izzy who knew him so well wasn't as close of friend as he truly desired, simply because he puts away that box of things around him. Only... Izzy doesn't make him do that. That box was probably put away before Izzy even met him.

And like... Edward can feel his feelings about Izzy not knowing the super important emotional things he wants him to know, but it's still on Edward for not even trying to tell him.

(This got longer than I meant it to, lol. Anyway here's my hiatus post where I'm nice to Calico Jack on this topic too.)

#our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #blackbeard ofmd #izzy hands ofmd #ofmd meta #ask #stede bonnet ofmd #ofmd 1x06 #ofmd 2x03 #parallels #hornigold ofmd #ladyluscinia

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izzysillyhandsy · 7 months

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Thoughts about the finale, and my utter confusion about Izzy Hands

What I hated about Izzy's death wasn't him dying. I love a tragic arc, and although Con O'Neill elevated every scene he was in, it would have been ok if they'd handled his death better.

To have him die with only 10mins of the episode left (and this might even be the last ever episode!) was the first terrible decision. Everything that was built up over 2 seasons had to be resolved in a few minutes, we don't see any repercussions for anyone Izzy was important to - Ed, the crew and even Stede.

But the main criticism is the 180° turn the show made for his character arc in the last episode (or more precisely, in Izzy's last scene) and in David Jenkins' latest interviews.

Since season 1, I kept asking myself the same two questions:

What function does Izzy Hands have in the narrative? What is the nature of his relationship with Ed?

And the answers changed drastically from S1 to S2, and got more and more complex and intriguing.

Until the finale.

Izzy Hands as a plot device for the main couple

In S1, Izzy was an antagonist. His function in the narrative was to stand in the way of the Ed/Stede romance, of Ed growing and finding happiness and to move the plot along. He brought a lot of humour to almost every interaction he was in - he was such a fish-out-of-water character, clashing with everyone and constantly losing.

He was barely human - he was a pirate cliché.

But there was also so much going on in the background - his quiet desparation, his obvious love and longing for Ed, and these hints of a fascinating backstory between the two of them. This is what many fans picked up on, and going into S2 we hoped that we'd get more of this (for me personally the most important thing was clarification on Izzy's importance to Ed).

And then S2 came along and boy, were all of our expectations exceeded.

Suddenly, Izzy wasn't a plot device anymore. He was one half of the most intense (and interesting, sorry Stede) couple in the show. It was even confirmed by the showrunner that he was in a love triangle with the main couple!

In the first 2 episodes, we got so much more than we ever expected. At the end of Ep2, Izzy broke the lifeline with Ed, both of them almost dying in the process. He went on a journey of discovering who and what he even was without Ed (and right up to his death he was still deeply unhappy and broken, even though he was on the right path).

Izzy suddely became a fascinating character in his own right, with his arc of healing and self-acceptance and his inability (for now) to keep himself from sliding back into this relationship with his other half. He was blaming himself for everything that had happened. He was still so entangled with this man he built his whole life around. He still had a long way to go and a lot to work through (the same also applies to Ed btw).

But he also became the crew's unicorn, doing Izzy things (still related to Ed, always to Ed) but you could feel him becoming more himself. Slowly, Izzy's real personality started to shine through and we realized - this man is fascinating on his own accord. He's a respected and very capable pirate. He came from nothing and fought his way up. He's a really good teacher. He's creative and sensitive. He also cares about other people than Ed a lot.

Viewers who hated him or were indifferent to him in S1 suddenly became interested - this man's journey was fascinating and, most importantly, it wasn't at all finished. There was so much yet to come, and we wanted to see it.

Does this sound like a plot device to you? If it doesn't, bad news.

At the end of the final episode, Izzy is suddenly back where he was in S1.

He dies in a completely unnecessary way - almost as if how he died didn't matter. And it didn't matter, because in the end, Izzy Hands' journey didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was that he died and how it affected the main couple.

On his deathbed, Izzy is saying exactly what Ed needs to hear to move on. He absolves him of any guilt. Ed is ready. Izzy has played his part, he's ready to die.

Notably, nothing is really resolved for poor Izzy. Even if Ed says he doesn't want him to go, it's because Ed is losing his only family. He doesn't tell Izzy he loves him, or that he's important to him as a person, as his oldest friend, as the one who knows him best.

In the end, Izzy's function in the narrative, even after everything that happened in S2, was to be an obstacle to the Ed/Stede romance, to Ed growing and finding happiness. He had to die to free Ed of his Blackbeard persona and because "it's nice that Blackbeard is upset by it" (WTF).

The problem is, for the rest of the season, that wasn't Izzy's role in this show at all and I felt completely blindsided.

More than a spurned, jilted lover

"I guess it's a journey of redemption, but I think it's more a journey of finding out, who is he to Blackbeard?" According to Jenkins, Izzy is "more than a spurned, jilted lover." "What is that relationship about? And I think by the end of the season it kind of becomes a little unexpected of who they are to each other and what they mean to each other." (source)

I also made a poll about that question after Ep3 if anyone's interested.

The answer is, apparently, the two of them were Blackbeard. Or, Izzy was the brains behind the operation. Or, Izzy egged Eddie on to give in to his darker impulses (which, I think, was alluded to quite strongly in the murder/suicide scene).

I mean, yes. That was one of the options on my poll that I was quite sure of, and I think most of us suspected this even in S1.

Izzy was Eddie's only family. Ok, I think family doesn't quite express what was going on between them in S2, but that certainly was one aspect of their relationship.

This is all fine. I can see that being built up to over the two seasons.

But.

"And then there was the realization that [Izzy] is kind of a mentor to Blackbeard and that he is kind of a father figure to Blackbeard. It felt nice to have him die and have Blackbeard be upset by it, because Blackbeard killed his father. But this is a father figure that he’s losing that it’s hard for him; it's sad and he doesn't want him to go." (source)

This is not fine. Not at all.

Izzy is not Blackbeard's mentor. Izzy is obviously in love with Ed (and Ed is fully aware of that). Izzy might have been a mentor-like presence in Ed's life when they were younger, but when we meet them in S1 Izzy is more like an overworked housewife cleaning up behind her disinterested husband. Izzy would do anything for Ed (apart from killing him) and is ready to die at one point because of him. Izzy is desperate, grabbing onto the scraps Ed throws his way.

Where, where does Izzy seem like a mentor to Ed in all of this? A mentor is supposed to be at least at the same level or above but Izzy is clearly not.

And in the death scene, suddenly, that's all there is left of their complex, intense dynamic.

Izzy took young Eddie in and fed his darkness. He was Eddie's only family, binding him to himself out of selfishness in the process.

So that's their unexpected "who they are to each other". Izzy taught Ed everything he knows (which is actually bad for him) and it'd probably been better if they'd never even met.

And don't get me wrong, I don't completely disagree with this take. As a part of their dynamic, this is a fascinating concept - but only if this wasn't the end.

Because there was so much more, so much promise of a complicated, mutually destructive relationship that nevertheless was also full of love. Those two seemed so intertwined (and I'll never forgive Stede for stealing that for himself and Ed). Ed is Izzy's missing half and Izzy is Ed's.

And I still believe that, without Izzy, Ed isn't complete.

And with this rushed conclusion, and all the mess left behind and never even looked at, Ed will never be happy.

Conclusion

I think what hurts the most is, that with Izzy dead and their last conversation being that reductive, all possibilities of an exploration of all these complex and fascinating aspects of their relationship are now closed. I know this show isn't about Ed and Izzy. But Izzy is a big part of what made Ed interesting, and he's a brilliant character in his own right. We could have gotten so much more (even if it's only allusions, we really don't need everything spelled out).

I guess I expected too much from this show - but with good reason. The actors gave it their all. S2 set up such an intricate dynamic (and it was probably overly ambitious with only 4 hours of screentime!). I've never gotten so much of what I wanted from an outsider character in any show.

And then it let us down in the last 10 minutes.

And even if we hadn't gotten a season 3 - the setup was all there for meta, for fanfiction. Why ruin it all with killing off Izzy for all the wrong reasons and making their last conversation all about Ed "outliving his mentor".

To quote Prince Ricky: "Oh, my goodness. You've just grown so tedious."

Still, I love everything they've done in this show except for the ending. I will watch it again, many times, and enjoy the drama, the humour and the complexity. But I will try to forget these interviews and convince myself Izzy's senseless death was just a dream :).

#ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands #edward teach #it's just not fair #Izzy deserved so much better #and Con O'Neill as well #so many things were set up and then boom #nothing matters anymore

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blackbeardsemophase · 7 months

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The thing is, Stede has never liked piracy for the same reason that Ed despises it.

It's just that Stede believes it's a matter of skill and experience that he needs to obtain in order to be a "real pirate" and that once he gains those things, he'll be magically okay with the gore-y bits. The soul crushing bits. The poison.

Stede desperately wants to belong and to have friends because more than anything he wants respect and love - things he has never had before. He's interested in the idea of community and team work and communication - it just so happens that he has made these interests pirate flavored because it facilitated the latter. Own a big cool ship, get a bunch of crew who were basically hired friends, and do something stereotypically masculine in an attempt to feel like a success.

We see Stede haunted/guilt ridden even by his involvement in the accidental deaths of the Badmintons. Yes, part of his guilt is due to feelings of inadequacy stemming from his failed marriage/domestic life, but the other half is feelings of inadequacy at being a pirate aka committing acts of violence. The whole reason Stede pushes back against the whole "traditionally piracy is a culture of abuse" is because it makes him uncomfortable to do violence. This is well established within the first episodes of season one, and during Stede's reaction to raids, or to Calico Jack, or Chauncey's death.

Episode 2x06 was a great culmination of this point about Stede. When he had Ned at swordpoint, he had to decide whether or not he was going to kill him. Ed, who knows extremely well how bad it feels to kill from his own firsthand experience, cautioned Stede against it in an effort to spare Stede these awful feelings of guilt and trauma (which I think Ed knows Stede would feel because he can tell how Stede handles violence and it isn't well). Stede is therefore torn between performing the violence that is expected of him as a pirate captain (there is so much to say about how this relates to masculinity that I don't have the words for) or saving himself the trauma of killing. In the end, Stede kills Ned and we immediately see in his expression that he is upset, so much so that he flashes back to his childhood; one scene of himself picking flowers and being soft and the other of him watching horrified as his father slaughtered the goose. He also retreats to his quarters to isolate where he sits on the sofa in much the same way as he did after Nigel died in s1. It was a perfect setup to illustrate that at the end of the day, Stede is never going to be okay with killing in the same way that Ed isn't. Their relationship to violence runs nearly parallel, and once Stede realizes this completely I think he and Ed will come to a compromise about how they want to spend the rest of their lives together and what they really want to do.

#ofmd s2 meta #ofmd spoilers #ofmd speculation #sorry it's 7am and I've not slept so I am drinking a coffee and musing about this #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet

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hellishunicorn · 1 year

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Izzy is abusive towards Ed

Or there are at the very least some signs of abuse in their dynamic, Izzy being the perpetrator.

So I had to read a text about domestic violence and abusive relationships for a course I'm taking in university about queer life and struggle, and some examples were brought up: like, 'the perpetrator is likely to do' and then there is like a list of things depending on the situation. This is specifically in relation to queer people and I started to connect some of the things that got brought up to things Izzy has done to Ed.

So without further ado, here are some examples that got brought up about how abuse can unfold that reminded me of Izzy:

First the text mentions different forms of abuse including emotional, such as threaten and control ("Edward better watch his fucking step"), and shame ("insane, unpleasant shell of a man" "namby-pamby in a silk gown"). Then abuse related to a person's sex, gender, gender expression, race, ethnicity, sex characteristics and so forth ("whatever it is that you have become is a fate worse than death").

Then come other more generic examples of abuse such as: Shows much jealousy and ownership over the victim (that is literally Izzy's entire deal with Ed)

Threatens physical violence (I don't remember if he ever does that specifically, but the Edward better watch his fucking step line sure could include it)

Blames the victim for all fights, arguments and problems in the relationship (again, calling Ed insane, erratic and so forth) The perpetrator tries to control the behaviour of the victim (again, Edward better watch his fucking step) and tries to come between the victim and their current partner (Izzy has been doing that since before Ed and Stede even met, which ties into the whole tries to control the behaviour of their victim, as in Izzy trying to steer Ed into killing Stede, which he does again in episode 6 when he compares Stede to a pet and tells Ed he should end his life. Talking about Stede making Ed weak and such, which also ties into belittling him.)

The perpetrator keeps saying things that are not in line with what they do. (Izzy keeps saying he is just being loyal to Blackbeard and whatever, but his actions point towards him wanting to control him) and the text mentions that it's the actions that speak louder than words when it comes to domestic violence/abuse of some kind and the perpetrator might say all these things about how they are just doing this for the victim and that it is the right thing to do ("Edward, I know you're upset but, it was the only (Ed punches him)- remember though, you said when you made me first mate that above all is loyalty to your captain. You're my captain and I was never going to stand by and let you destroy yourself for that twat. And this is a humane way of ending this, it's quick, it's clean. Edward you know that.") Here Izzy is blaming Ed for the execution of Stede, by pointing out that 'Ed' was the one who said that loyalty to your captain is what's most important, and Izzy is simply doing this out of the goodness of his heart, because Stede is nothing but a twat, and Izzy knows what's best for Ed (note my sarcasm here).

And one final thing that got brought up is that when the victim strikes back against their abuser, the actual perpetrator might use that against their victim as an example of how the victim is the "real" abuser in this situation. So, if Izzy ever uses the toe thing against Ed in season two, I am jumping through the screen to choke that man to death and not in a fun way.

I am by no means an expert on abuse or domestic violence, but I am getting quite annoyed at the fact that it's been a year, and I'm still seeing people believing Izzy is in the right in season 1, just because he says he is, despite the narrative itself suggesting otherwise, and I'd like to provide some examples as to how his dynamic with Ed, specifically, is quite the opposite of what some fans seem to think it is.

the text that I read is in icelandic, so I doubt it would help much to link it here, but it is however translated (with permission and some alterations to fit icelandic society, I think mainly in terms of where people can look to if they are in an abusive relationship) from a brochure/booklet/pamphlet from this organization

Freedom from domestic abuse | RISE (riseuk.org.uk)

#Izzy critical #Izzy hands #Edward Teach #Blackbeard #Ed Teach #Stede Bonnet #ofmd #our flag means death #abuse #domestic violence #tw: abuse #tw: domestic violence

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suffersinfandom · 2 months

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I’m still thinking about dumb discourse because my brain is broken and guys there’s so much “Ed and Stede are not as queer as Izzy” out there what the heck.

Anyway. I said this in response to a different post:

There are so many ways to be queer and so many kinds of queer experiences. Not everyone is going to see themselves in Ed or Stede, and that's fine. Some people are going to see themselves in Izzy, and that's also fine. What's not fine is asserting that your pet white guy (who, yes, conforms to pirate standards of masculinity better than anyone else on the Revenge) is the only character with a valid queer arc.

But why do some Izzy fans (can we call them Izzy Heads? Izheads? I want a word for that specific flavor of fan) relate only to the queerness in Izzy's story? I can't stop thinking about it.

It seems that at least some people who consider Izzy the best example of queer rep in OFMD do so because they relate to the character. They don’t have a romantic partner or they’re in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same way. They’re disabled and focus on the intersection of disability and queerness. They feel as though they’re outsiders, even in a queer community (or a largely queer fandom like this one). They’re not cis men and they’re not trans in the same way as Jim is, so they don’t see their gender explicitly represented onscreen.

On paper, most of that describes me too. The thing is? I do relate to Stede and Ed and I don’t relate to Izzy at all.

I’m an AFAB nonbinary person who’s physically and mentally disabled. I’m aromantic and asexual with the sliders all set to 100%; I have never so much as dated, and I almost never engage with romantic media because I just don’t get it. I feel like a freak in most circles, like I’m missing a fundamental part of what makes humans human. There isn’t a character in OFMD who shares my specific gender or sexual identity, but Ed and Stede are absolutely queer in ways that are understandable to me and, I think, a lot of other people in this community.

Ed and Stede both grow up and live the first decades of their adult lives in societies that don’t want them to be themselves. Stede can’t love flowers or bright and flashy fashion; he needs to dress down and become a family man. He’s forced to marry a woman he doesn’t love (and who doesn’t love him) and father children to inherit his wealth. Ed can’t fancy a fine fabric or pursue a peaceful life because his world is one that demands cruelty and violence. He has to wrap himself up in leather and layers of myth and legend to survive. They’re both GNC and wearing masks and entirely miserable.

I know -- I think most of us know -- what it’s like to suppress who we are so we can fit in or be who the people around us expect us to be. I think we know what it’s like to be miserable and lonely for ages -- to bury who we really are deeper and deeper until we barely remember who that person is -- right up until we find out that there are people out there who get us. There are places where we can be who we are, or at least experiment a bit and discover ourselves.

Even if we don’t know what it’s like to find a great love like Stede and Ed do, there are parts of their relationship that we understand. I'm sure plenty of us know what it’s like to meet someone who doesn’t ask us to pretend for the first time. We know what it’s like to be on the same silly, stupid wavelength as someone else, and we know how it feels to play with someone who gets us. I think that the friendship that Ed and Stede share, even with the romantic and sexual elements removed, is a distinctly queer one.

So I guess I still don't know why Izheads only relate to his queer experience when Ed and Stede, in my opinion, are both extremely queer even beyond, like, the thing where they're wildly in love.

I want to think it has something to do with Izzy's status as a side character and not racism, internalized homophobia, or anything else like that. Characters without fully fleshed-out backgrounds provide opportunities to project whatever we want, you know? If you want to see your specific gender or sexual identity in a character, just grab one with little canon lore and fill in the blanks. Maybe I can be happy with characters who aren't just like me, but I don't expect everyone to be content with that.

What was I even typing about?

Oh, right.

Ed and Stede are super fucking queer. You don't have to relate to them because there are infinite ways to be queer, but you do have to acknowledge that there is nothing heteronormative about their relationship or them as individuals.

#ofmd #me typing things #like no really #i'm just out here typing things #no thesis no plan #gentlebeard #ofmd discourse #edward teach #stede bonnet #breaking news: ace discovers their first OTP #now i even read smut!#(if there's good character work)#(which there usually is with these guys)#queer #< tagging just in case

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ourflagmeansgayrights · 2 years

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yet another thing that ofmd does so well is how awkward and nervous all the dialogue is during all the romantic confession scenes we get from our three canon relationships. like it's so fucking relatable. watching those scenes makes me think of the (admittedly very few) times in my life when i have made these kinds of halting, nervous confessions. i can feel how the adrenaline is making their hearts pound and their hands sweat and their faces flush with heat. trying to sound casual while there's a heavy lump the size of a dodgeball trying to claw its way from your chest to your mouth.

Black Pete starts off stammering, "So... uh, listen." He veers too close to genuine, revealing too much when he says, "I-I thought I was gonna... lose you," and when Lucius responds jokingly, he tries to backtrack a bit, play it cool. "Exactly! And uh, and... uh—death, yknow..." He shrugs, tries for nonchalance and doesn't quite make it. "I'm used to death. But, um..." And Pete's barely been able to hold Lucius's gaze this whole time, his eyes constantly flickering somewhere to Lucius's left, but here he closes them, steels himself. "But not, um..." A beat. When he says, "your death," he opens his eyes again, looks right at Lucius, and the surprised little smile on Lucius's face is almost too much.

Olu's been listening to Jim's tragic backstory, hurting for them and understanding them on a deeper level than he ever has before. When Jim says that their nana is their only family, Olu's face goes on a journey, here: his eyebrows furrow in concern, then twitch upwards as he thinks about how lonely that must be. He hunches in on himself, shoulders to his ears and hands in his pockets, and he rocks himself to the side as he gathers his nerves. "Well, look..." he begins, moving half a step closer, "if you wanted–" his eyes land on Jim's for only a moment, then he's looking above them, around them. "I could be family," he says, shrugging and spreading his hands, like he's showing Jim what he has to offer: himself, just himself, and his desire to be someone Jim can lean on. "I just..." There's no ending to that sentence, he didn't know where he was going when he started it, so he trails off as Jim glances away, then looks at him from under the rim of their hat, considering.

(And Jim is so lucky—but also, it's what they deserve—that they get not one, but two confessions from Olu. When they come back, when they ask him why he gave their room away, Olu's demeanor goes from "happy to see his friend alive and well" to "nervous boy asking their crush to prom" in an instant. "I, um..." His hands bounce at his sides, his eyes flicker all over the room. When he finally meets Jim's gaze, his hands are still moving nervously. "I-I missed you.")

And Ed. Ed. He enters the scene by walking over and sitting so close to Stede, close enough that they could be touching. He sits in Stede's space like he belongs there (and he does; Stede doesn't move away, doesn't react like Ed's proximity is unexpected or unwanted). He looks at Stede and smiles at him as he offers reassurances, but once he looks away he doesn't look back for several minutes. As he dismisses Stede's self-deprecation and answers Stede's questions he alternates between fiddling with the sand in front of him and gazing out at the sea. There's nervousness there, things going unsaid that have been ready to jump from Ed's tongue at any moment. And Stede gives him that moment when he asks what makes Ed happy.

But despite how desperate Ed is to tell him, there's still hesitation. He meanders his way towards giving Stede his answer, starting with, "These past... few weeks?" as if this isn't something he's given much thought to. "Have been... th'most fun I've had in ages. Years." His voice is soft, his face scrunching casually as he speaks. He still doesn't look at Stede, because the nerves climbing up his throat right now would choke him into silence if he did. So he stares at some fixed point in the distance, maybe a specific rock or blade of grass, as he says, "Maybe ever," with a surprised twist in his expression.

And as he moves into the next part, into the important part, those nerves in his throat climb higher. "So," he says, firmly, but that's the last thing he manages to say with any force. As his nerves go higher, so does his voice, but the volume becomes softer.

"So–uh... I reckon. What makes Ed happy..."

He feels Stede's eyes on his face, and that nervous fidgeting is gone, replaced instead by a stillness that his heart doesn't emulate.

"Is..."

Ed's been run through many times. He's been held at gunpoint, had rope tied around his neck, been stranded for days without food. He's watched the life drain from his father's body as a result of his own violence.

But for some reason, this is possibly the most nervous Ed has ever felt, the hardest his heart has ever pounded. The only moment that competes is when he watched four men in red coats point their rifles at Stede's trembling body.

"You."

OUGHUHUFHUGHUGH..... i know EXACTLY how they feel and it makes all these scenes hit so much harder. and SO MUCH OF IT is how fucking good the acting. if you just read these lines as flat dialogue, taking out all those pauses and stammers that the characters are trying to hard to hide, so much of the flavor is lost:

"Death, y'know, I'm used to death. But not your death"

"Well, look: if you wanted, I could be family."

"These past few months have been the most fun I've had in ages, weeks, maybe ever. So, I reckon what makes Ed happy is you."

like these are cute lines, but they're also awkward ways to stumble around just outright saying "I Care About You" and it's so real and incredibly relatable. i know EXACTLY how it feels to nervously try and tell someone you like like them and ofmd does it so so well

(bonus tag game: if u reblog this and ur comfortable w it, PLEASE tell me about an awkward confession you have given or received, i love shit like this. i will, of course, add my own story in the tags of the original post)

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #our flag means gay #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #tealoranges #edward teach #s1e06 #s1e07 #s1e09 #txt #mine #meta #og #oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #black pete #lupete #my fic #ok so confession: i know imlike ''ugh i know EXACTLY how they feel in these scenes!!'' but like. i dont rlly catch feels lmao #it's mostly just I'd Be Down If U Asked w friends. & freshman year of college i had a friend like tht and one day a mutual friend says #that he'd asked her how to casually offer a fwb relationship w someone. and the mutual friend was p sure he was talkin abt me #so that puts my ''i'd be down'' feelings up to a ''OH SHIT IS THIS HAPPENING???'' so i text him to see if i can ask him smthng irl #we walk from our dorm to the campus deli and are heading back and i CANNOT MAKE MYSELF ASK im just rambling abt bs #when we're almost at our dorm he's like ''ur running out of time to ask me ur question lol'' and im like haha. ha! yeah lmao!!!#so im like ''i heard from. someone. that you were asking abt a fwb relationship'' and he was annoyed that she'd told me but he was like #''yeah i was.'' and i was like ''was the person u were thinking about... me?'' and he was like ''... yeah it was." and im like #''is that still... where ur at?'' and he's like ''um. no.'' and im like ''OH okay!'' bummed but not like </3 & he asks ''where are YOU at''#& i say ''im down for whatever you are!!'' meaning dating/fwb/just buds. anyway he said he didnt want to ruin our friendship

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celluloidbroomcloset · 5 months

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This scene is so good in so many ways, but I want to talk about how it's the first time, in Season 2, that we see Ed desiring Stede and expressing that desire to him.

Through the first few episodes, we see a lot of how Stede wants Ed—we know he's having sex dreams that keep the crew awake—but most of what we see from Ed’s perspective are romantic fantasies about marriage and commitment, and despair at having lost the man he loves.

This makes sense to their characterizations—Ed is spiraling. He believes Stede has left him, perhaps never loved him. There are other things going on with the shame he's been made to feel about his own more tender emotions, his "unlovability," and how he's unable to express his grief openly to others. We also know that Ed is the more sexually experienced of the two, but that his sexuality has always been filtered through violence and pain. Ed's relationship to sex, like Stede's, is complicated by the culture that surrounds him and by the desires that he's been told are shameful.

Stede has only just fully awakened to his sexuality. He's realized that he's in love with Ed and that Ed is in love with him. His fantasies are about conquering the foe and getting Ed back; he's very much trying to put himself into the romantic hero role. He's scared that Ed won't want him anymore, but he seems very confident in his desires now.

We see the beginnings of Ed's own desires being expressed in the "captain's voice" moment, when he's obviously aroused by Stede taking a dominant stance. It's a shift from the "teenagers in love" fantasies and games of Season 1 and how they relate in "Fun and Games," with Ed beginning to both acknowledge and show that he desires Stede sexually and is safe to do so. Stede's oblivious at this point, but he's not by the time we get to the second moonlight scene.

After telling his fish story, Ed pauses to look Stede up and down: "I like that shirt."

Stede is actually a bit embarrassed, just as Ed is when Stede later takes his hand. He doesn't know how to react. When has Stede ever been told that he’s attractive? That someone else wants him physically? He's had other men tell him he’s weak and soft, and Mary was never attracted to him. But Ed is saying that openly—that he likes the way Stede looks. He finds him attractive.

Ed ties this to who Stede is as a person—he wants to hear more of the cursed suit story, and he's disappointed when Stede doesn't continue. Again, as with his physical attractions, Stede has often been mocked (including by Ed) for talking too much and telling boring stories. In effect, this is both an apology and a compliment: Ed wants to hear him talk.

Finally, Ed brings this back to the moment that had deep meaning for them both. He looks at Stede's body again and repeats the "you wear fine things well line." The exchanges that come before that give it further resonance—not just that it meant something to Ed, but that he knows what it meant to Stede, then and now. Stede gave him something then that made him feel cared for and desired, and Ed is doing the same for him.

Their relationship is not at all shallow or only based in physical attraction, but by the physical attraction is there. It’s real. There’s a carnality for them both that is very present, and it’s a part of their love for each other.

The way Ed talks about Stede is more subtle than the way Stede talks about Ed. Ed doesn’t write love letters, but he does look Stede up and down and go “you’re beautiful. You’re interesting. I love hearing you talk. I love looking at you.”

This acts as both reassurance and a movement forward in their relationship as it matures and becomes more real. Ed might not be ready to make out or have sex yet, but there's a pretty clear emphasis on yet. He tells Stede that sometimes it's better to be patient and wait—he's not rejecting Stede at all, but asking for them to move slower.

Stede's relationship to sex and desire has always been distanced, but now it's being brought to bear on the reality of his relationship with Ed. Ed's knowledge of sex has been confined to games connected to violence and pain. Both of them are now finding their way towards each other with the understanding that their relationship is indeed romantic, it is passionate, it is sexual, and it's not connected either to shame or to violence.

They want each other.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ed teach #edward teach #stede bonnet #gentlebeard #gif #ofmd meta #long post #also just any excuse to use that last gif #ofmd season 2 #you wear fine things well

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sidewalk-scrawls · 2 years

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I do actually think Ed was feeling fear in the last episode prior to going into Kraken mode, but I feel like people often misunderstand what he was afraid of. He wasn’t afraid of violence from Izzy, and Izzy wasn’t threatening it. What Ed *was* afraid of, I think, was a mixture of two things -- The loss of the respect of the crew, and the idea of Izzy leaving. His fear was primarily related to the emotional context he found himself in, rather than a fear of physical harm (although I think the fear of Izzy leaving could fall a bit into both categories, considering Ed would be left with an incompetent crew and no right hand guy).

When Izzy confronts him, Ed was obviously already emotionally fragile. Like, that guy was balanced on a razor’s edge, trying to cope but doing it very badly through a heavy, heavy layer of denial. He was not dealing well with Stede not showing up at the dock, and it was not going to take much to push him over the edge. And then, during the confrontation, Izzy pretty clearly implies that he’d be leaving next if Ed didn’t get his shit together. I think that is actually Ed’s breaking point.

Because if Izzy *had* left, what then? Ed would’ve been stuck with a crew who didn’t actually know him, and who he clearly didn’t care about. He would’ve lost the respect and fear that he’d built up as Blackbeard, when that fear and respect provide him with a physical and emotional shield. *And* he’d have lost his first mate, who’s been with him for who knows how long. Plus, being abandoned again, right after being abandoned by Stede? That would fucking hurt.

From a practical perspective, too, there could be problems for Ed if Izzy leaves the ship. When Izzy confronts him, Ed is still firmly in denial mode, but I think that scene breaks him out of it -- Ed starts to acknowledge that, yeah, this thing that he’s doing with the crew can’t last. The idea that they can stop being pirates and become performers, and that the world will just let them... It’s just not realistic. And if Izzy leaves, well... Izzy plays the more rigid, methodical role on the ship in response to Ed’s creativity and impulsiveness. Their skills compliment each other well, which likely influences how Ed chooses to run his ship. So if Izzy leaves, not only is Ed taking an emotional punch, he’s also left with an incompetent crew and potentially the need to invent an entirely new leadership style.

Alright, so how do you protect yourself when you’re afraid you’ve lost the respect of your crew, and you’re also afraid of your first mate leaving? Well, if you’re Ed, you just make a series of incredibly destructive decisions! He pushes Lucius off the ship to prove to *himself* that he can still be scary and violent, and then he cuts off Izzy’s toe to prove to *Izzy* that he can be scary and violent. If Izzy thinks he’s scary and violent again, then he’ll stay. And then, to get rid of those last glimpses of weakness, he throws all his ex-boyfriend’s stuff off the ship and leaves his crew marooned on an island to die of dehydration.

And I mean, it does work. Technically. Ed’s regained the fear of his crew, and Izzy stays. But I think his choice of how he did that is going to have a *lot* of rippling consequences in season 2 -- I'd wager we’ll see Ed and Izzy’s relationship get worse as a direct result of this, far before anything starts to get better.

#i think this framing makes ed a lot more sympathetic than the more standard fandom readings on this scene #because it reflects ed's actual fears rather than just relying on the assumption that he's afraid of a physical threat #a lot of his self-worth is tied up in how other people perceive him #and he is clearly very very sensitive to abandonment #and when you think about these scenes within the context of *that* it's very clear what he's actually afraid of #also autoblocking if anyone comments on this about how 'izzy got what he wanted'#he did not #edward teach #izzy hands #ofmd #ofmd meta

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elwynnie101 · 7 months

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Going back on my S2xE8 opinions oopsie

Spoilers again!!

Still think I could have been okay with Izzys' death if it was executed better. I honestly think Lucius and Petes' wedding could have been pushed for season 3 (because imagine it at Ed and Stedes' Inn where they could have gone full out and Izzy could in spirit (no pun intended) have been there with them. Like I was a little shocked of how non-extravagant their wedding was like this is Lucius's wedding??) and then with the cute moment of Ed thinking of marrying Stede himself, they would have been in their little inn and the life they built for themselves, where they feel safe.

Like if just the time that was taken to do Lucius and Petes' wedding was just used to let Ed at the very least grieve, because despite what Izzy had done to him, they were family!! And then the rest of the crew could have seen Ed at his most vulnerable moment and all mourned together, and THEN I would have personally been ready to move on.

I do think that no matter where this show was going, Izzy and Ed couldn't have co-existed together. Even with their own character development, Ed is still very vulnerable and working through just his and Stedes' relationship alone is difficult especially with Stede not communicating like he should (as someone who has never related to a character harder, fully get why he hasn't but please just TALK) and so Ed and Izzy trying to navigate how to go on with their fucked relationship I don't think could have ended them as friends.

Izzy coerced and forced Ed into this Blackbeard character and NEEDED that to backfire onto him (not saying he deserves a leg amputation but my god he was such a piece of shit to Ed)

Still not fully opposed to the idea of Izzy instead being left in critical condition instead of dead but after the initial shock and hurt of that last episode, and looking back on the rest of the season, yeah his death makes more sense (still not 100% content with it, I think it was cruel that Con only got told mid-season he wasn't coming back :( )

But it all just trickles down to pacing. I get that the last 3 episodes had to be hurried out because of HBO Max being a dick but just one more look over I think could've greatly benefited at least this finale.

(I am going to take a break from the OFMD community because it has become so negative and I understand why, I was in that headspace for a bit and that's why I am writing this because I wanted to correct my own opinion. I still adore this show and it means so much to me, but right now its all very overwhelming. Wish nothing but the best for everyone who worked on this show, you all did amazing with what you could, and I greatly appreciate what this show has done for me, and how lovely for 99% of the time this community has been :3 I'm not angry anymore I have honestly accepted this ending and I REALLY want a season 3, with hopefully 10 episodes so we can see the quality of writing we known these people can do, and I hope I haven't come across as too negative or mean)

#ofmd #ofmd 2 #blackbeard #edward teach #our flag means death #ofmd 2 spoilers #our flag means death season 2 #ed teach #ed x stede #stede bonnet #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd season 2 final episode #ofmd season 2 finale #ofmd season 2 episode 8 #izzy hands death #izzy hands #ofmd izzy

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nicnacsnonsense · 6 months

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can i ask why you thought ofmd s2 was bad? unrelated to you disliking it, i mean.

Oh Nonny. I could write you a 10000 word essay on the problems I see in OFMD s2 and still have much more to say. I am currently sitting on nearly six hours of footage going episode by episode detailing issues I see and the corrections I would make and why, and that still doesn’t fix everything. And part of the issue is all these things are so interconnected that it is hard to sit here and make a brief list of problems because it all feeds back into each other. What I will try to do here is list some of the broad topics of where I see issues, and you or anyone can ask follow up questions if you would like more info.

1) Character arcs

With the exception of the mini arc Ed goes through across the first three episodes, which is generally very well done, none of the characters go through any sort of satisfying coherent arc throughout the season. I count Ed’s reconciliation with the crew & retirement arcs, Stede’s manliness arc, Izzy’s “redemption” arc, Lucius’s trauma arc, and the arc related to Olu and his romantic relationships, all of which were poorly done.

2) Antagonists

Much like in s1, s2 has 3 characters seemingly set up to be major antagonists. However in this case none of these antagonists live up to their set up or potential at all. Ned gets killed off the same episode he’s introduced in and ceases to matter as a character after that, Ricky is a complete nothing of a character, and Zheng drops all the compelling themes and contrasts to Stede and the looming threat of her fleet to actually be our friend who we like now. And the plot that these antagonists deliver is underwhelming to say the least.

3) Humor

One thing the first season handled really well was the balance of the humor and the more emotional moments and more serious subjects. It was always careful about who or what it was making the butt of the joke. It did sometimes delve into slapstick or otherwise make a joke out of things that should have been painful or otherwise traumatizing but it didn’t generally ask you to laugh at trauma and certainly never invited you to laugh at trauma that you were at other times supposed to take seriously.

Another issue with the humor I have in this season is that there are a number of jokes that exist at the expense of characterization. The first season did have the occasional one liner that maybe didn’t totally fit in with the character, but this season has multiple extended joke sequences that bend characterization in order to work, which ultimately sucks a lot of the potential humor out of it.

4) Themes

This one is a bit of a odd one out in that in a different show I would not count it as point against the show that it fails to have meaningful themes. But the first season of OFMD set the standard for the show as one that does have a lot to say about things like trauma and recovery and emotional support, about masculinity and toxic masculinity and patriarchy, about racism and colonialism and white supremacy. Season 2 seems vaguely aware that it is a show that is supposed to have themes along those lines, but largely fails to incorporate them beyond the occasional wink at the camera and often ends up perpetuating the same things that the first season was trying to criticize.

5) Just the writing in general?

I realize this is kind of a cop out, but yeah. There’s just a pervasive problem with the writing throughout that’s hard to put into specific boxes. Set ups with no or underwhelming pay off, pay off with no set ups, characterization frequently feeling a bit off, characters lacking a clear motive for their behavior, and a tendency to jump from big emotional moment to big emotional moment where each individual moment is well done but there is a serious lack of connective tissue in between or even consideration for how these emotional moments reflection on each other.

Hopefully that helps give you an idea of what some of my issues are Nonny; like I said I can offer more specifics on any of these points on request.

#ofmd #ofmd s2

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