Our Flag Means Deathis back with its second season, and through its opener alone makes it very clear that we are going to see Stede Bonnet and Ed Blackbeard go through hell and back before the two pirate lovebirds are reunited. For a while fans were convinced it would not see a return at all, given it tookWarner Bros. Discoveryan age to renew the show as it slowly but surely garnered a passionate fanbase. And here we are, staring down the barrel of this queer love story that is required to crawl through tragedy before rewarding us with reconciliation.
The season finale left us in a world where Stede and Blackbeard were separated thanks to fate pulling them in different directions. Stede decided to renounce his wealth and pursue a new life with his true love, but a tragic misunderstanding has Blackbeard believing he’s been betrayed, causing him to sink even further into self-destructive behaviours it felt like he was finally leaving behind. After their first kiss you want them so badly to be together, but destiny has other ideas. At least, it wants them to fight for the right to fall in love all over again.
We’re greeted with a dream sequence in the first episode. Stede is brash, violent, and even sports a beard as he does battle with bitter rival Izzy Hands. Moments later he pierces Izzy right through the chest, leaving him for dead as his lover calls from across the sandy beach.
They sprint to one another before colliding in an outburst of passion on the ground. This is the fanfiction reunion all of us wanted, but it isn’t real. Stede soon wakes in the basement of a disgusting pub with his crew in tow, who are all now saving up the pennies to buy a new ship and reunite with Blackbeard. Their objective is simple, but how to achieve it without throwing their lives away continues to elude them.
I love how the show is so eager to throw us back into the thick of things with little room for debate. Stede and Blackbeard are in the midst of a barbaric lovers tiff, something that all their friends keep mentioning whenever they have trouble expressing their feelings or do a murder without thinking about the consequences.
It understands how well the community has come to know these characters, leaning into their vices but always subverting where we’ve predicted they might go. Blackbeard has found himself in a vicious cycle of murder and pillaging, ransacking any ship he comes across not for the riches, but to occupy his mind enough to forget the happiness he left behind. His crew isn’t the same either, shown across a heartbreaking scene where Blackbeard isn’t afraid to hold a gun to his head and blame himself for the toxicity he has helped normalise.
Blackbeard has been pushed to the brink, ready to put a bullet in his brain because he’s too scared to confront the feelings of love and betrayal now interwoven in his mind. It’s a calling card of trauma too, how a man who has proven countless times that he can’t be killed finally saw a reason to live, and now it’s been taken away from him. And so he leans into his evil habits in the hope it will prevent him from needing to change. Stede on the other hand, never once gave up hope. Even after stumbling across wanted posters listing Blackbeard’s crimes and having his optimism beaten down again and again and again, it’s impossible to wipe smiles off his face. It’s endearing, and speaks volumes about a man who has lost everything but is still capable of seeing the value in what he stands a chance of getting back. Love is worth it.
They’re both in love, but by virtue of their life experiences are expressing it in diametrically opposed ways. Stede has spent most of his adult life in a loveless marriage constructing a legacy he doesn’t believe in, and sure as hell isn’t going to give up on the only man he has ever loved after a single misstep. Blackbeard has never been loved before, and can’t deal with the hurt that comes with opening his heart for the first time only to have it torn asunder so quickly. Both of our boys are healing, but right now have to go through this grief alone.
Max has made the wise decision to deliver episodes in small chunks instead of dumping an entire season at once, with three available on the streaming service at the time of writing. I’m yet to watch more than one, but I prefer it when stories are doled out in ways where fans are given enough time to fall in love with characters, theorise on events, and establish a culture around shows like this that deserve it. As much as I’d love to binge these gay pirates, there’s a value to be found in pining for their reunion over a matter of weeks. I just hope they get to a place where they realise love is more than worth it, no matter how much it hurts right now.
