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it was racism!! it was good ole american racism!!! this cannot be forgotten. any discussion abt this topic without racism front and center as the PRIMARY REASON for this change is toothless and impotent.
the auto companies created the term "jaywalking" to demonize walking on streets, associated it with stupidity and "undesirable people", and offered automobile ownership as the solution. they convinced the white upper and middle classes that public transit was a waste of money and did they really want to sit next to Those People on a trip to the park? and CONVENIENTLY built highways through communities of color and immigrant communities, neatly displacing them and gentrifying the surrounding areas in one fell swoop. it was because of RACISM and CLASSISM. the auto companies weaponized racism and classism to sell privileged white people on a stupid technology that actively harms everyone on the planet themselves included.
electric trains are an efficient technology that does a lot of good for communities and is extremely necessary in the coming years of climate catastrophe but we canNOT discuss this with discussing class and race and protecting people affected by pro-public-transit policies while implementing them. we MUST protect vulnerable communities liable to get ousted by luxury apartments built next to the new metro station. rent controlled apartments and redesigned zoning laws are a MUST.
in primary school we had a creative writing assignmentĀ where we had toĀ āwrite about a character in a new, strange situation!ā and i wrote about a squid that was somehow teleported from the ocean to the forest floor and slowly choked to death for two pages and iāllĀ never quite forget my teacherās face because it turns out she wantedĀ āthis new school is scary, i hope i make friends!ā and not a graphic description of a squid dying
gfetting thrown out of a boxing match because i keep yelling "umm you pornsick freak jujst because he said you could punch him doesnt mean its okay to do it!! yuou can't 'consent' to violence!" at the boxers
getting thrown out of a performance of hamlet because im loudly whipsering to the guy next to me "so what if they're 'just pretending', don't you think you ahve to be sick in the head to want to pretend to kill your uncle with a sword? how does no one see anything wrong with this??"
I know I don't shut up about this but frankly not enough people are angry about the 5-day/40 hour workweek (and I am AWARE a lot of people work even more than that). I feel like a lot more people should be absolutely furious that we only really have two days a week and some occasional hours in the evening to socialise, run errands, do chores, or relax.
It's no wonder so many people are profoundly lonely and disconnected from their communities when maintaining a social life in what little free time we have is incredibly difficult. If you have kids, a second job, a very long commute, or other responsibilities, it's nearly impossible.
We literally aren't meant to live like this and I'll never stop being shocked how many people just take it as the natural state of things and don't want to throw a brick through a billionaire's window every time they think of it.
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Modern fandom went awry when people stopped learning how to avoid content that upsets them and instead starting actively seeking it out.
I mean this in the kindest, most loving way possible, but babes you'll be so much happy when you stop focusing on what other people are doing and instead focus on what you like.
You'll never be able to stop people from liking what you hate, and the best way you'll find any peace of mind is properly utilizing blocking, blacklisting, and muting tools. Take it from someone who used to run a shipping discourse blog, fandom is supposed to be what you enjoy, stop focusing on things that upset you.
u ever see someone with extremely fucked up views (or actions) and think wowww if a couple of things in my life went the tiniest bit differently that would have been me
Sometimes people bitch about media, both fiction and nonfiction, that they think "humanizes" bad people, especially bigots fascists Nazis et cetera. And I'm just like. Hey. Hey. The problem is. They ARE human. HUMANS did that. Your next door neighbor could do that. Your grandma could do that. You could do that.
"No I'm a good person" why? Because you've gotten lucky and not seen propaganda yet that perfectly hit your buttons? Because you had people to correct you when you fucked up? Idk man I don't think we're all so different from the bad people. We're all just people.
Reminding ourselves of our shared humanity with terrible people does NOT serve to justify their actions. It serves to remind us that the seeds of what happened to them could get into us as well, or might already have. It reminds us to be vigilant and interrogate the hatred inside us.
If you convince yourself that you're just an Inherently Good Person who would never believe hateful things well. Now any little hateful thing that makes its way inside you undetected is never going to be interrogated. It will be left to grow undisturbed.
If you remember that those things can get into anyone, you know to look out for them, and weed them out when they appear, and take the criticism when others point them out in you. So remember, that could have been you. If you forget, maybe it will be.
seriously tho, every time I come acroos the terf stuff about "destroying our daughters and weaponising internalised misogyny" I remember my mum saying things that were scarily similar and that if she'd found mumsnet back then I probably wouldn't be speaking to her anymore
drives me up a wall living in a very very red district, like āno democrat is ever going to win any local election, let alone a real leftistā district, like āour school board members ran on who was the most anti-maskā red, like āI pass white supremacist signs on the way to buy weedā red
and being in the local leftist community and the guy who runs the anarchist book club and the lady who helps keep the warming shelters open and the people who marched on city hall when a local business was getting death threats for having a drag show are all members of a discord and we get on this discord and have frank discussions about how best to vote
the people who do the protests and the mutual aid and all the real work
going āokay, theyāre both fascists, but this one lacks ambition and seems happy to just glide in the positionā or āthey both suck, but this one can be reasoned with if you frame it patriotically enoughā like we donāt even have a democrat to vote for. we know what a vote is. we know what we hope accomplish with it. we know what it can do, and we know what it canāt.
and going from those discussions to here where people think that your vote is some kind of fucking??? enabling maneuver??? as if someone isnāt going to end up in that seat regardless of what you do???
we didnāt build this system, we just live in it. weāre just trying to survive. a vote isnāt a statement of your values, itās not an endorsement, itās not a marriage contract, itās a strategic play you make to keep alive.
the biggest mistake I see leftists making is overestimating their own popularity. āwell but everyone would be leftist if they just-ā no, stop, 1) you canāt possibly know that 2) everyone will not just
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In an effort to prove or disprove the Stede is in the Gravy Basket theory, mainly to myself, I've been watching some scenes in slow motion and taking screen grabs.
The parallels between the end of s2e2 (where the crew kills Ed) and the end of s2e7 (where Ricky blows up the Republic of Pirates) are undeniable. I'm more convinced than ever of the theory. Take a look:
I cannot fully capture in screen grabs how the lightning from s2e2 and the explosions from s2e7 mirrored each other, but the effect was stunning.
More on the Stede is in the Gravy Basket theory here, with addendum about the episode title:
A small addendum to my essay: It's why the episode title is Mermen. In Ed's time in the Gravy Basket, he sees Stede as a merman. It's his b
So looking at s2 through the (super fucked up) lens that Jim asking Frenchie āHow are you handling all of this so well?ā And Frenchie responding by saying he puts all the terrible things in a box in his mind and never opens it again was the lesson everyone was supposed to learn this season and like, thatās there in the text more than anything else and I hate that.
Frenchie is handling everything well because heās putting it in the box and never addressing it again.
Izzy finally says he has love for Ed, everyone is worried about him, the atmosphere is toxic and suggests talking it through and Ed goes on deck and points a gun at everyone as he asks them to talk about it, and when Izzy finally does address the reality of things and speaks Stedeās name aloud he gets shot in the leg.
Lucius isnāt talking about what happened. Avoidant about the Rat Boy name at first, says he fell off the ship, canāt remember when he picked up smoking.
Stede asks Lucius to talk to him about what happened after he was pushed off the ship, and Lucius starts to and almost immediately Stede runs away saying to save the rest for Pete.
Lucius says he talks to Pete and Stede says āplease tell me you held back on some of the darker stuffā and Lucius confirms he did because Pete got nauseous and started crying.
Lucius tells Stede he should look past the man he loves and examine all the awful things he did, but Stede brushes it off and doesnāt do that.
No one will tell Stede they killed Ed. (Arguably this is for their own safety as well but it fits the whole āweāre not talking about the hard stuffā theme so Iām including it)
Ed finds out Stede went home to Mary through Anne Bonny. Stede begins to try to explain but instead, Ed smashes his chair against the wall and walks off. They have a very brief conversation with mention that Stede was kidnapped by Chauncey then watched him die.
Ed gives his influencer non-apology that was clearly written by Stede to the crew, and everyone but Lucius and Izzy seem to have forgiven him. During the āapologyā Jim talks about how it made them feel and Stede shushes them so Ed can keep not apologizing. Afterward, for some reason, Jim says immediately says āI thought it was pretty solid for himā Archie says thatās how it goes in situations like this, Roach has never heard an apology before so theyāre all good apparently now.
Lucius pushes Ed off the ship but isnāt okay yet. Weāre addressing the trauma here and trying to make it right (even if itās in a messed up way); weāre finally talking about it directly, but Lucius isnāt okay after this.
Fang tells Ed heās not mad at him because he got it all out of his system when they beat him to death.
The whole Lucius/Izzy exchange āA shark did this to me. Dangling my legs over the side of the ship, served me right too.ā āOkay, that seems healthy. Using a bit of fiction to cover up your trauma.ā āNot moving on is worse.ā (Another point at which Lucius wants to resolve trauma and heās told no, donāt talk about it)
Lucius is clearly coping poorly and tries again to talk to Pete about how he almost died and Pete says he should find him when heās no longer thinking about his trauma (āfind me when Blackbeard isnāt living rent free in your headā) and that Lucius should talk about how he lived instead. Lucius then seems to decide that heās fine, proposes to Pete, and is seemingly okay after that. (5th point in the story when Lucius tries to talk about something to heal and is told no in some way, and here is when he finally seems to moves on and is played as ābetterā after this)
Izzyās drinking a lot even after heās not totally dysfunctional like at the end of ep4.
The only Ed apology to Izzy is āSorry about your leg.ā With no eye contact as heās walking away. To which Izzy responds āFuck off.ā After Edās out of ear shot.
Stede suggests Ed can absolve himself of everything by āturning the poison into positivityā and selling his treasure he got during the time he was abusing the crew to buy party supplies. Stede later says at the party that yes, Ed has achieved turning the poison into positivity, though Ed has done nothing by throw money at the problem.
Stede ignores Edās warning about not being able to come back from killing in cold blood and kills Ned Low.
Stede is visibly upset and Ed goes to check on him and begins to start talking, but Stede wordlessly grabs him and slams him up against a wall and then they have sex (which Ed has requested to wait on) instead of talking about it.
Ed decides heās leaving to become a fisherman because Stede is infamous now and Edās been wanting out of that life so thereās a brief disagreement where not much is said and then he leaves.
āIām sorry I was such a dick.ā Is the biggest apology weāve gotten all season. Itās immediately dismissed as āyouāre not a dick. Lifeās a dick.ā
No one in the crew seems to be mourning Izzyās death and we as the audience seem expected to move on from it very fast. Avenging his death is proposed by Zheng but then it cuts to nope, weāre done with that and weāre inn keepers now instead. Put the terrible thing youāve seen in the box and never open it again.
Iām definitely sure I forgot some of these and it felt at first that these were being set up to be played negatively because this is the donāt-bottle-it-up/healing-from-our-traumas show but that just doesnāt play out. Like so much of itās either dismissed without reason, played as a joke, or framed as acceptable and the fact that I could pull so much more of this stuff out of the text than I could any other potential thematic element does has me just so baffled. I donāt know what to do with it.
so much rage for anyone who tells the story of the radium girls likeĀ āohoho werenāt people in the 20s fucking stupidā and not likeĀ ācorporate greed has always cost peopleās lives and healthā
The Radium Girls were factory workers who painted glowing markers on watches. They pointed their paint brushes with their lips after being told do so and that it was safe for them to do so by their managers. The paint had radium in it to promote the glow.
Dentists became the first people aware of the medical complications happening amongst all the women working in this factory. Complaints of loose bones, teeth, ulcers, etc. began to circulate amongst the staff.
Eventually, the girls started to die. The first oneās jaw literally came off her skull before her death as a result of radiation poisoning.
Perhaps all of that you could say was āstupidityā on behalf of the workers and corporation.
But what came next wasnāt. The corporation, the U.S. Radium Corporation, originally called the Radium Luminous Material Corporation, lied to the public and said that their workers were dying from alternate causes such as syphilis. They continued to instruct their staff to work business as usual, perpetuating more deaths and illness amongst their staff so their product could continue to be made.
The Radium Corp offered to change the method of painting dials, but the alternative brushes slowed down work and they were paid by the dial. To continue earning the wages they needed, the girls were forced to continue to use the brushes that they had to wet with their mouths.
The girls eventually took the matter to court. They took it to court eight times because Radium Corp continued to appeal until 1939.
As a result of their win, which provided a settlement to each girl a lump sum, a yearly stipend, and medical expensed paid by the company, LABOR LAW changed to ensure that companies could be held accountable for not properly protecting their employees from disease. New health regulations and standards were put in place to keep workers safe and they stopped using the brushes after that point.
(I donāt have the data to say if there was a corresponding wage increase to factor for lost wages due to a slowing down after new regulations were made).
The point, though, is that this company willfully knew that its staff was geting sick and dying from the procedures they put in place, and lied to their staff and started a public smear campaign saying these women had sexually transmitted diseases instead.
Thatās not on the āstupidā women, thatās corporate greed.
Iād also like to add that they were intentionally delaying the court case so there would be less girls left alive to be there. Even after theyāre caught, they are still heartless shits. Donāt ever forget these poor women and the company that thought cycling through workers and leaving a trail of bodies was worth making more money at the top.
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The season 2 finale of Our Flag Means Death is odd.Ā It hits weird. I think I know why. And this is going to sound bananas, but give me a chance to explain.Ā Maybe youāll agree.
It has a huge tonal shift. It seems to speedrun Stede and Edās romance. It feels like weāve missed out on something from the end of episode 7.Ā The fight scenes and pirate plans are nonsensical, even for OFMD. And most egregiously, a prominent character is killed off in a way that feels disingenuous to his story arc, just for starters.
But Iām getting ahead of myself.Ā We need to go back to the beginning of season 2.Ā The season opens with Stede looking more piratey than ever. Beard, sash, earringā¦ oh heās his own fantasy of a real proper pirate.Ā Heās clashing swords with Izzy Hands and demanding to know where Ed is. Heās dreaming. In the dream he kills Izzy. He and Ed run into each otherās arms while screaming each otherās names. They crash into the surf. Ed says āI knew youād find me, Babe.Ā I knew youād find me, Love.ā Stede keeps asking if theyāre good. Ed dodges the question. Then Ed asked about the smell. Stede wakes up in a crowded room with farting and shushing roommates.
At first I thought the finale was supposed to be just a āsatisfyingā mirror to Stedeās dream. Stede and Ed call each otherās names and run into each otherās arms in a display that resembles a more grown up version of Stedeās dream fantasy. Thereās some wild sword fighting not unlike Stedeās dream duel with Izzy. And Izzy dies.
It does mirror, but I didnāt find it satisfying. All of the characters except Stede feel flattened. Stede gets to make the heroic plan (that we never even hear) while thereās at least five pirates with better skill sets for it in the room. Ed, as Blackbeard, was described last season as āHistoryās greatest tacticianā; Zheng Yi Sao conquered China; Jackie just took out a room full of British soldiers. Izzy and Auntie are right there. You could make arguments that Jim or Frenchie, or pretty much anyone could make a better plan. Then Stede says āItās only suicide if we die,ā which is horrible considering the plan gets Izzy killed.
Stedeās really the only person in that room who thinks Stede should be making the plans.Ā So I got to thinking, what if it's not just mirroring the dream? What if it is a dream? Last shot of episode 7 is an incoming cannonball. Maybe heās unconscious.
Huge shout out to @Arty_Sunflowers on twitter (Iām not calling it X, fuck Musk) for pointing out that that isnāt the only episode that ends with a cannonball. Episode 2 ends with Jim swinging a cannonball down at Edās head.Ā Stedeās not just dreaming, heās in the Gravy Basket!!!! (Stede even screams āOh my God!ā at the end of episode 7 in the same tone he screams āOh my God, I donāt want to die.ā in s1e9.
Stedeās hopes, dreams, and insecurities shape everything in the finale. And it helps explain the absurdities in the episode when you remember that Stede is living out pulp adventure and romance novels in his head. (He even looks like someone on the cover of one in his episode 1 dream.) But Stede canāt be dead, you say. Heās literally the main character. Well, Ed was dead for a whole episode. Letās take a closer look.
I could and probably will do another essay on Lucius as a POV character and Edās mental health and how the threads they seemed to have dropped arenāt as dropped as they appear. But all of that hinges on me proving the Stede is in the Gravy Basket theory. So for this essay Iām focusing on that.
So for starters weāve got the cannonball scenes. Theyāre eerily similar even if the method of cannonball propulsion is different. We donāt know Ed is dead and in the Gravy Basket for about half of episode 3. Neither does he. It makes logical sense you can be there without realizing it for a while. Buttons even said Ed didnāt know whether he was in the Gravy Basket or not in episode 4. It definitely messes with your reality.
One of Edās issues is self hate. He manifests Hornigold as his companion. Stede is desperate to be a good pirate and have people be proud of him. And he lives in his fantasies a lot.Ā So his dream shapes his experience. Thereās a whole bit about Zheng needing āsoftā and Auntie saying sheās proud of her. That isnāt their issue. Itās discordant with the show previously. But it is Stedeās issue. Heās manifesting.
When we first see Stede and Zheng in episode 8, theyāre in a familiar spot for Stede, the bridge from episode 1. But why are they alone? When we last see Stede and Zheng in episode 7, several characters are within 5 to 10 feet of them. Did none of them decide to escape with Stede? Izzy, Lucius,Ā and Jim are closest. But we know Pete was there begging Stede to stay down during his fight with Zheng. Archie was definitely in the bar. That's why Jim entered the fight. So why is it only Stede and Zheng at the bridge? Because, going back to rescue others fits into Stede's hero fantasies.Ā
Zheng and Stede also argue about who pulled who to safety and how they got there. Stede waxes poetic about being a failure his whole life, but things always seem to work out for him. Heās such a main character mediocre white guy in this scene. He saves Zheng from two random soldiers, then she has to save him from them. Then they fight a bunch more soldiers on the beach until Blackbeard manifests in full leather from the ocean.Ā It looks cool. But it's absurd, even for OFMD.
Speaking of Ed, he begins the episode waxing poetic about nature and calling fishermen simple.Ā Those things are more Stede than Ed. Pop pop tells Ed, āYou have no skillsā which is something Izzy said to Stede in episode 5.Ā He also tells Ed, āIf you were ever good at something, go do that, you bum.ā If Stedeās insecurities could be distilled into one sentence, it would probably be that. (He also talks about being like a wave. Iām not 100% sure it's a The Good Place joke, but it would be thematically appropriate.)
Pop pop also tells Ed he āruined dinner.āĀ Back in season 1, in Stedeās flashbacks to life with Mary and the kids, Stede thinks heās ruined dinner. But remember, we also see another version of the scene where Stede is laughing with Mary and the kids.Ā Stede isnāt exactly a reliable narrator. Even in his own head.
Despite it being beyond unlikely, Ed finds soldiers reading one of Stedeās letters. I know physics in this show is sketchy, but this seems like a good time to point out no one found the red silk. Stede wants Ed to read a letter and for it to fix everything between them. The letter, plus Stede being in danger, make Ed swim out, find his leathers, and emerge from the sea with them on, while the music is the Swedeās solo from Stedeās fuckery in s1e6. Stede wants to be rescued by his handsome pirate in leather, again, just like a pulp adventure romance novel. Little chance of Ed swimming out and finding his kit.Ā Even less of him getting leather pants on under the water.
Back to the beachā¦ for some reason two squads of soldiers are wandering around out on an empty beach. A visually incredible fight scene occurs. It honestly reminds me of Peteās story in s1e2, including flips. Ed and Stede yell each otherās names exactly as in the dream. Like Iām pretty sure they used the same audio track. The same song (I Love My Baby, Nina Simone) starts playing. Ed says āI love you.ā Stede says āI know.ā (Weāll come back to the Han Solo joke in a minute.) They have a bit more absurd fighting then Ed, Stede, and Zheng sit on the beach complimenting each other. And Ed calls Stede ābabeā.Ā Heās never done that outside of Stedeās dream and this moment. Heās called him mate a couple of times.Ā Babe is exclusively in Stedeās head.
Back in the Republic of Pirates, the crew are locked in a cell that is actually the āvista suiteā at Spanish Jackieās.Ā Izzy gets a heroic entrance. Itās as cool as Stede thinks Izzy is. And he gives a speech that sounds like what he probably told Stede to get him to relinquish the suit in episode 5. Piracy is about belonging to something. You canāt ignore the wishes of the crew.Ā Izzy also knows details about Captain Kidd and Pinocchio. Not impossible, but not exactly Izzyās wheelhouse. It is Stedeās though. Heās obsessed with pirate tales and he read Pinocchio to the crew.
Stede, Ed, and Zheng show up just as Jackie has poisoned a bunch of soldiers. Stede makes a plan, despite everyone else being more qualified. Everyone disguises themselves as soldiers. Now weāve seen the crew of the Revenge wear disguises. They never do the weird free styling they do here. Only Stede actually looks like a British officer. Zheng at least wears the disguise properly. Suddenly Ed has a multi gun bandolier like Blackbeard in the books. Pete ripped the arms off. Izzy is still wearing his vest. Doesnāt make sense if weāre going for stealth. Neither does not checking hostage Ricky for weapons or putting Izzy and his wooden leg at the front of the group.
If I'm right, Stede wouldn't know Ricky was behind the explosions. However,Ā Ricky is basically evil Stede. He's Stede's perfect foil. All of this is reflecting Stede's psyche. So, of course, it's Ricky.
Izzy gets shot and says quite a lot of nonsense in his death scene. āThey love you, Ed.ā Um, 3 of them were going to leave like five minutes ago. Ed has made some progress with the crew, but weāre not at āthey love you Edā.Ā The only person who thinks the crew loves Ed is Stede. Stede who weeps for Izzy while most of the crew arenāt showing much emotion. Stede can barely deal with his own big feelings. His fantasy doesnāt give the crew room to have them. Also, given the rest of the season, having Jim just let Ed be the person cradling Izzy doesnāt fit. The crew is also pretty stony at Izzyās funeral.
I feel like it should be noted the last shot of Izzy in episode 7, heās got one are around Jim and a hand on Luciusās shoulder. He sat in Wee Johnās lap in episode 6. Reactions to his death donāt make sense.
Also, Izzyās terrible grave marker is very ā¦ Stede. Heād think it was a brilliant idea.
I didn't understand at first why Izzy had to die, even in Stede's dream world. Stede clearly likes him a lot better now. Why kill him? Well, it's because we're supposed to think Buttons is there to go to the Gravy Basket for Izzy. When actually he's already arrived in the Gravy Basket and he's there for Stede. Also, mentors die in pulp adventure novels. Stede sees Izzy as a mentor.
They go aboard the Revenge for Lucius and Peteās wedding. Itās cute that the crew performs the ceremony, but Iād venture a guess thatās because Stede doesnāt know a captain should do it if it's legally binding. Stede does love the romance of it all.Ā The sudden uptick in monogamy is also very Stede. He barely understands monogamous relationships. Polyamory is beyond him.
Then Stede and Ed, who earlier told Zheng theyād help hunt Ricky, go back to the island where Izzy is buried to start an inn in a run down shack.Ā Stede knows Ed wants to do this because Ed told the (Taikaās) kids that they ran an inn.Ā We hear Ed ask āJesus, what is that smell?ā Now, at first, I thought Izzy, because Ed āknows the smell of my rotting first mateā. But what was the last thing to happen in Stedeās dream? A fart joke.
Last scene is Buttons landing on Izzyās grave. To retrieve Izzy from the Gravy Basket? No, Izzyās not dead. Heās with Jim and Lucius, probably watching over Stedeās corpse. Buttons is there to retrieve Stede.
This theory fixes the plot holes and dropped threads problem. Weāre coming back to them next season. Ed's amends making should be far from over. And we see several moments during the season where he acknowledged that. And yet here on the island they've set up a horror movie and called it a happy ending.Ā Well, Stede is the type of boss who thinks things are fixed with a pizza (Calypso) party. In Stede's mind, this is a happy ending.Ā But really Ed is still off finding himself,Ā Stede is (temporarily) dead, and Izzy (who is not dead!) is probably guarding Stede's corpse.
They haven't resolved the domestic violence thread, but they haven't dropped it, either. Izzy is alive. Stede and Ed aren't together (yet). There's still time.
This also explains some of the freewheeling nonsense David Jenkins has been spouting in articles. Ed doesnāt see Izzy as a father figure and mentor, Stede does.Ā Stede almost turned to mush when Izzy approved of him. And David is writing a three volume adventure novel. Han Solo (Stede) is in carbonate (the Gravy Basket). The perfect end to the second act. See, I told you weād get back to the Han Solo joke.
I still have problems with the season.Ā I really think they need a sensitivity reader. Even just implying a newly disabled character was fridged is certainly a choice. Especially given the amount of time devoted to how the character handled the disability. The DV scenes were brutal, as well as the suicide attempt, and the Human Puppet joke. I think they need someone trauma informed and disabled in the writer's room. (David Jenkins hit me up!)
Overall, I liked season 2. Especially once I realized Izzy wasn't dead. I'm looking forward to season 3, the conclusion of the Gentle Beard arc, and hopefully 6 seasons and a movie of Izzy (to be clear, he's not captain) and the kids sailing up and down the coast being gay and doing crimes, occasionally checking in with Stede and Ed.
Seriously, David, call me.
Historical Note: IRL Blackbeard died on November 22, 1718, killed in a naval battle off Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. IRL Stede Bonnet died December 10, 1718, hanged in Charles Town, South Carolina for piracy.Ā IRL Israel āIzzyā Hands survives piracy, death date unknown. I know this show doesnāt actually care about historical accuracy, but this lends a little support for my Ed died, then Stede died, and Izzy isnāt dead theory.
So, as a physically disabled, queer, abuse survivor- Everything about the end of season 2 left me absolutely devastated, to the point that my partner and I haven't even REWATCHED it yet. To have seen DV and disability and queer joy be portrayed so beautifully and handled so well only for it all to get tossed out in the end just didn't add up, especially not with the "Kind Story" David Jenkins has said he intended to tell. None of S2E8 made any kind of thematic sense to the story, beyond just the normal level of nonsensical OFMD bullshittery- Despite how many people have tried to argue otherwise. You don't do all of that shit, line Izzy up to be an "indestructible little fucker", the figurehead of the ship, just to kill him and handle his death as badly as they did- When we KNOW that they're capable of writing something better than that.
S2 let me down to the point that I have been questioning whether or not I want to even stay on board with s3 if we do get it. I've seen the ghost theories. I've seen the sea witch Buttons theories of resurrection. I've seen "fwiw there'sĀ no versionĀ of this show thatĀ doesn'tĀ includeĀ Izzy Hands"- All of it felt cheap, like it would just be insult to injury, THIS is the first thing that's ever made me feel any kind of hope moving forward with this show. Maybe it's just hopeful delusions, but all of the above makes SENSE of a season that hasn't. If this is actually what they're going for, and only time will tell, OFMD could actually be redeemed in my eyes, and that's saying a lot.
Anyway, I was sharing this post with my partner and he pointed out something else that lends itself to the ending being from Stede Bonnet's perspective- Something that we've been gnawing on for weeks now..
Izzy Hands should have been given a burial at sea. Any sailor who's spent this much of his life aboard a ship deserves that much, Izzy wouldn't have WANTED to be buried on land.. The fact that he was is insult to injury, something that literally any other member of the crew except for Stede Fucking Bonnet would understand and respect the significance of.
Another thought I would like to bring into this theory is that Izzy taking responsibility for "Feeding Ed's darkness" as he's dying makes it so that Stede is "safe" from the violence that comes with loving Ed- Izzy had to die and carry that responsibility with him because Izzy Hands is evidence of what it really is to love and be loved by Edward Teach, something that Stede has consistently been in denial of in his fantasies. If what Edward did to Izzy was ultimately Izzy's fault, then Stede isn't at risk of suffering the same fate.
The season 2 finale of Our Flag Means Death is odd.Ā It hits weird. I think I know why. And this is going to sound bananas, but give me a chance to explain.Ā Maybe youāll agree.
It has a huge tonal shift. It seems to speedrun Stede and Edās romance. It feels like weāve missed out on something from the end of episode 7.Ā The fight scenes and pirate plans are nonsensical, even for OFMD. And most egregiously, a prominent character is killed off in a way that feels disingenuous to his story arc, just for starters.
But Iām getting ahead of myself.Ā We need to go back to the beginning of season 2.Ā The season opens with Stede looking more piratey than ever. Beard, sash, earringā¦ oh heās his own fantasy of a real proper pirate.Ā Heās clashing swords with Izzy Hands and demanding to know where Ed is. Heās dreaming. In the dream he kills Izzy. He and Ed run into each otherās arms while screaming each otherās names. They crash into the surf. Ed says āI knew youād find me, Babe.Ā I knew youād find me, Love.ā Stede keeps asking if theyāre good. Ed dodges the question. Then Ed asked about the smell. Stede wakes up in a crowded room with farting and shushing roommates.
At first I thought the finale was supposed to be just a āsatisfyingā mirror to Stedeās dream. Stede and Ed call each otherās names and run into each otherās arms in a display that resembles a more grown up version of Stedeās dream fantasy. Thereās some wild sword fighting not unlike Stedeās dream duel with Izzy. And Izzy dies.
It does mirror, but I didnāt find it satisfying. All of the characters except Stede feel flattened. Stede gets to make the heroic plan (that we never even hear) while thereās at least five pirates with better skill sets for it in the room. Ed, as Blackbeard, was described last season as āHistoryās greatest tacticianā; Zheng Yi Sao conquered China; Jackie just took out a room full of British soldiers. Izzy and Auntie are right there. You could make arguments that Jim or Frenchie, or pretty much anyone could make a better plan. Then Stede says āItās only suicide if we die,ā which is horrible considering the plan gets Izzy killed.
Stedeās really the only person in that room who thinks Stede should be making the plans.Ā So I got to thinking, what if it's not just mirroring the dream? What if it is a dream? Last shot of episode 7 is an incoming cannonball. Maybe heās unconscious.
Huge shout out to @Arty_Sunflowers on twitter (Iām not calling it X, fuck Musk) for pointing out that that isnāt the only episode that ends with a cannonball. Episode 2 ends with Jim swinging a cannonball down at Edās head.Ā Stedeās not just dreaming, heās in the Gravy Basket!!!! (Stede even screams āOh my God!ā at the end of episode 7 in the same tone he screams āOh my God, I donāt want to die.ā in s1e9.
Stedeās hopes, dreams, and insecurities shape everything in the finale. And it helps explain the absurdities in the episode when you remember that Stede is living out pulp adventure and romance novels in his head. (He even looks like someone on the cover of one in his episode 1 dream.) But Stede canāt be dead, you say. Heās literally the main character. Well, Ed was dead for a whole episode. Letās take a closer look.
I could and probably will do another essay on Lucius as a POV character and Edās mental health and how the threads they seemed to have dropped arenāt as dropped as they appear. But all of that hinges on me proving the Stede is in the Gravy Basket theory. So for this essay Iām focusing on that.
So for starters weāve got the cannonball scenes. Theyāre eerily similar even if the method of cannonball propulsion is different. We donāt know Ed is dead and in the Gravy Basket for about half of episode 3. Neither does he. It makes logical sense you can be there without realizing it for a while. Buttons even said Ed didnāt know whether he was in the Gravy Basket or not in episode 4. It definitely messes with your reality.
One of Edās issues is self hate. He manifests Hornigold as his companion. Stede is desperate to be a good pirate and have people be proud of him. And he lives in his fantasies a lot.Ā So his dream shapes his experience. Thereās a whole bit about Zheng needing āsoftā and Auntie saying sheās proud of her. That isnāt their issue. Itās discordant with the show previously. But it is Stedeās issue. Heās manifesting.
When we first see Stede and Zheng in episode 8, theyāre in a familiar spot for Stede, the bridge from episode 1. But why are they alone? When we last see Stede and Zheng in episode 7, several characters are within 5 to 10 feet of them. Did none of them decide to escape with Stede? Izzy, Lucius,Ā and Jim are closest. But we know Pete was there begging Stede to stay down during his fight with Zheng. Archie was definitely in the bar. That's why Jim entered the fight. So why is it only Stede and Zheng at the bridge? Because, going back to rescue others fits into Stede's hero fantasies.Ā
Zheng and Stede also argue about who pulled who to safety and how they got there. Stede waxes poetic about being a failure his whole life, but things always seem to work out for him. Heās such a main character mediocre white guy in this scene. He saves Zheng from two random soldiers, then she has to save him from them. Then they fight a bunch more soldiers on the beach until Blackbeard manifests in full leather from the ocean.Ā It looks cool. But it's absurd, even for OFMD.
Speaking of Ed, he begins the episode waxing poetic about nature and calling fishermen simple.Ā Those things are more Stede than Ed. Pop pop tells Ed, āYou have no skillsā which is something Izzy said to Stede in episode 5.Ā He also tells Ed, āIf you were ever good at something, go do that, you bum.ā If Stedeās insecurities could be distilled into one sentence, it would probably be that. (He also talks about being like a wave. Iām not 100% sure it's a The Good Place joke, but it would be thematically appropriate.)
Pop pop also tells Ed he āruined dinner.āĀ Back in season 1, in Stedeās flashbacks to life with Mary and the kids, Stede thinks heās ruined dinner. But remember, we also see another version of the scene where Stede is laughing with Mary and the kids.Ā Stede isnāt exactly a reliable narrator. Even in his own head.
Despite it being beyond unlikely, Ed finds soldiers reading one of Stedeās letters. I know physics in this show is sketchy, but this seems like a good time to point out no one found the red silk. Stede wants Ed to read a letter and for it to fix everything between them. The letter, plus Stede being in danger, make Ed swim out, find his leathers, and emerge from the sea with them on, while the music is the Swedeās solo from Stedeās fuckery in s1e6. Stede wants to be rescued by his handsome pirate in leather, again, just like a pulp adventure romance novel. Little chance of Ed swimming out and finding his kit.Ā Even less of him getting leather pants on under the water.
Back to the beachā¦ for some reason two squads of soldiers are wandering around out on an empty beach. A visually incredible fight scene occurs. It honestly reminds me of Peteās story in s1e2, including flips. Ed and Stede yell each otherās names exactly as in the dream. Like Iām pretty sure they used the same audio track. The same song (I Love My Baby, Nina Simone) starts playing. Ed says āI love you.ā Stede says āI know.ā (Weāll come back to the Han Solo joke in a minute.) They have a bit more absurd fighting then Ed, Stede, and Zheng sit on the beach complimenting each other. And Ed calls Stede ābabeā.Ā Heās never done that outside of Stedeās dream and this moment. Heās called him mate a couple of times.Ā Babe is exclusively in Stedeās head.
Back in the Republic of Pirates, the crew are locked in a cell that is actually the āvista suiteā at Spanish Jackieās.Ā Izzy gets a heroic entrance. Itās as cool as Stede thinks Izzy is. And he gives a speech that sounds like what he probably told Stede to get him to relinquish the suit in episode 5. Piracy is about belonging to something. You canāt ignore the wishes of the crew.Ā Izzy also knows details about Captain Kidd and Pinocchio. Not impossible, but not exactly Izzyās wheelhouse. It is Stedeās though. Heās obsessed with pirate tales and he read Pinocchio to the crew.
Stede, Ed, and Zheng show up just as Jackie has poisoned a bunch of soldiers. Stede makes a plan, despite everyone else being more qualified. Everyone disguises themselves as soldiers. Now weāve seen the crew of the Revenge wear disguises. They never do the weird free styling they do here. Only Stede actually looks like a British officer. Zheng at least wears the disguise properly. Suddenly Ed has a multi gun bandolier like Blackbeard in the books. Pete ripped the arms off. Izzy is still wearing his vest. Doesnāt make sense if weāre going for stealth. Neither does not checking hostage Ricky for weapons or putting Izzy and his wooden leg at the front of the group.
If I'm right, Stede wouldn't know Ricky was behind the explosions. However,Ā Ricky is basically evil Stede. He's Stede's perfect foil. All of this is reflecting Stede's psyche. So, of course, it's Ricky.
Izzy gets shot and says quite a lot of nonsense in his death scene. āThey love you, Ed.ā Um, 3 of them were going to leave like five minutes ago. Ed has made some progress with the crew, but weāre not at āthey love you Edā.Ā The only person who thinks the crew loves Ed is Stede. Stede who weeps for Izzy while most of the crew arenāt showing much emotion. Stede can barely deal with his own big feelings. His fantasy doesnāt give the crew room to have them. Also, given the rest of the season, having Jim just let Ed be the person cradling Izzy doesnāt fit. The crew is also pretty stony at Izzyās funeral.
I feel like it should be noted the last shot of Izzy in episode 7, heās got one are around Jim and a hand on Luciusās shoulder. He sat in Wee Johnās lap in episode 6. Reactions to his death donāt make sense.
Also, Izzyās terrible grave marker is very ā¦ Stede. Heād think it was a brilliant idea.
I didn't understand at first why Izzy had to die, even in Stede's dream world. Stede clearly likes him a lot better now. Why kill him? Well, it's because we're supposed to think Buttons is there to go to the Gravy Basket for Izzy. When actually he's already arrived in the Gravy Basket and he's there for Stede. Also, mentors die in pulp adventure novels. Stede sees Izzy as a mentor.
They go aboard the Revenge for Lucius and Peteās wedding. Itās cute that the crew performs the ceremony, but Iād venture a guess thatās because Stede doesnāt know a captain should do it if it's legally binding. Stede does love the romance of it all.Ā The sudden uptick in monogamy is also very Stede. He barely understands monogamous relationships. Polyamory is beyond him.
Then Stede and Ed, who earlier told Zheng theyād help hunt Ricky, go back to the island where Izzy is buried to start an inn in a run down shack.Ā Stede knows Ed wants to do this because Ed told the (Taikaās) kids that they ran an inn.Ā We hear Ed ask āJesus, what is that smell?ā Now, at first, I thought Izzy, because Ed āknows the smell of my rotting first mateā. But what was the last thing to happen in Stedeās dream? A fart joke.
Last scene is Buttons landing on Izzyās grave. To retrieve Izzy from the Gravy Basket? No, Izzyās not dead. Heās with Jim and Lucius, probably watching over Stedeās corpse. Buttons is there to retrieve Stede.
This theory fixes the plot holes and dropped threads problem. Weāre coming back to them next season. Ed's amends making should be far from over. And we see several moments during the season where he acknowledged that. And yet here on the island they've set up a horror movie and called it a happy ending.Ā Well, Stede is the type of boss who thinks things are fixed with a pizza (Calypso) party. In Stede's mind, this is a happy ending.Ā But really Ed is still off finding himself,Ā Stede is (temporarily) dead, and Izzy (who is not dead!) is probably guarding Stede's corpse.
They haven't resolved the domestic violence thread, but they haven't dropped it, either. Izzy is alive. Stede and Ed aren't together (yet). There's still time.
This also explains some of the freewheeling nonsense David Jenkins has been spouting in articles. Ed doesnāt see Izzy as a father figure and mentor, Stede does.Ā Stede almost turned to mush when Izzy approved of him. And David is writing a three volume adventure novel. Han Solo (Stede) is in carbonate (the Gravy Basket). The perfect end to the second act. See, I told you weād get back to the Han Solo joke.
I still have problems with the season.Ā I really think they need a sensitivity reader. Even just implying a newly disabled character was fridged is certainly a choice. Especially given the amount of time devoted to how the character handled the disability. The DV scenes were brutal, as well as the suicide attempt, and the Human Puppet joke. I think they need someone trauma informed and disabled in the writer's room. (David Jenkins hit me up!)
Overall, I liked season 2. Especially once I realized Izzy wasn't dead. I'm looking forward to season 3, the conclusion of the Gentle Beard arc, and hopefully 6 seasons and a movie of Izzy (to be clear, he's not captain) and the kids sailing up and down the coast being gay and doing crimes, occasionally checking in with Stede and Ed.
Seriously, David, call me.
Historical Note: IRL Blackbeard died on November 22, 1718, killed in a naval battle off Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. IRL Stede Bonnet died December 10, 1718, hanged in Charles Town, South Carolina for piracy.Ā IRL Israel āIzzyā Hands survives piracy, death date unknown. I know this show doesnāt actually care about historical accuracy, but this lends a little support for my Ed died, then Stede died, and Izzy isnāt dead theory.
A small addendum to my essay: It's why the episode title is Mermen. In Ed's time in the Gravy Basket, he sees Stede as a merman. It's his beautiful, golden fantasy of Stede. In episode 8, everyone is Stede's fantasy of them. He's surrounded by mermen. (Especially Izzy and Ed, evoking the promo flag, but really everyone.) I actually think this is brilliant because in season 3, Ed and Stede need to deal with the reality of each other for their love to bloom. Lucius tries to get Stede to face the reality of what Ed's been doing in episode 2, but it's clear that Stede isn't ready yet.
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