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My intentions:

Change on beat.

Minimal repetition of scenes and especially shots.

Maximal number of scenes.

Maximal number of little para||els.

Saving the best for last; i.e., more effective matches later in the video.

Chronology, especially within what felt like continuous sections of the song, musically or lyrically (e.g., “reckless, stubborn and affectionate”).

Equitable division of the temporal assets — in other words, the same amount of time focused on Shane and Ilya. I initially tracked it closely, down to beats, but found that POV ≠ screen time ≠ density of content. Still, I think I succeeded in making it feel pretty even.

Once I realized I didn’t include any kisses (on the mouth) until the last beat drop, I stuck to it on purpose 😈

I'll sum up what I got right and wrong in my previous masterpost, excluding between-ep adjustments, which are only recorded in my reaction videos.

Episode 6: Calypso's Birthday

What I got right: Ed only wears black, because he's been allowed to change back, and Stede wears his red, then green shirts. Stede doesn't make Izzy first mate. They talk on the Revenge, sort of about their plan to make landfall and what they'll do there. Izzy and Ed talk on the deck before they leave. They go to the market and get decoration for the party, which was the goal (and we don't know whether the crew made the banners); I'll give myself that one even though I didn't include other supplies. Ed does offer those kids knives. Stede first wears green when we first see him back on the Revenge. The performance is neither the talent show nor Lucius and Pete's wedding, but its own thing. Izzy doing drag comes about naturally. The record Ed beat is the one he intended to in 2x01, and it's density of raids. Edward Low is defeated without external help. The crew ends the episode on a positive note. Banes reappears. The shot of him with the white and blue prosthetic and Zheng smiling down are from the same scene.

What I got wrong: The conversation early on is about landfall plans — it is about intentions that lead them there, though. There's a new first mate, and it's Oluwande. The show is a concert — it's actually a party more broadly. Wee John doing drag doesn't come about naturally — strictly speaking, it's planned. Izzy is cheered on to sing — he just goes for it. Izzy gradually changes his approach to coping or is prompted to by an event; this could be connected to the performance — there's no explicit update on that. The overarching threat, not Edward Low, makes Ed feels like a storm is coming; his statement precedes the explosion, or the attack on the beach. Stede screams during the Edward Low storyline. Ed and Stede sneak off near the end of the party for their sex scene and their distraction makes it possible for Ned to attack. The crew executes a lighthouse fuckery-like solution to beat him. They don't continue the party after the attack. Banes reappears at the end. His "gentlemen" speech happens later, before a big mission. He wears the white and blue nose prosthetic first, and they don't change back and forth.

Episode 7: Man On Fire

What I got right: The morning scene is really early in the episode (and we don't know whether that's strictly Stede's robe Ed is wearing). We learn their plans for the day, and they head to the Republic of Pirates. People probably trying to kill Stede explains that one guy who smashes a bottle. The "we" who've been through Hell together refers to the crew of the Revenge; more specific, but it's so close I'll take the point. The indoor and outdoor fights are actually one that moves outside, and happens close in time to Zheng and Oluwande's "fool me once" conversation. Banes explodes buildings, causing chaos in the street. This is the end of the episode!

What I got wrong: We open with the morning scene. They make plans for the day — Izzy actually gives insight into their existing plans. (The alternative that this conversation fits into the end of the previous episode, followed by Banes plotting.) There's a change in public attitude towards Stede — I literally just misheard Ed's line as "something's different, they're probably gonna try and kill you." He falls out of favor because word got out about Banes's plans. Banes is seeking pirate allies, and his conversation with Zheng is in this episode. First, there's nothing out of the ordinary at Jackie's, then Ed and Stede return to find that people are out to kill Stede — the latter is not a second visit. They go on their fish shop date in between — the date comes first. (The alternate order that people want to kill Stede the first time around, he talks to the group on the stairs and wins them over, then they all go to the bar for the "I'm a sea God" bit.) Afterwards, Stede hangs out with the people he met at the bar earlier, and Ed sees him out and talks to Izzy. (The alternative that Stede just goes in first on their first visit, because Ed wants to take a moment to observe the boat.) The folks Stede hangs out with on the steps suggest he get an earring — not exactly, but it's close; it does happen over the course of them hanging out. Ed goes down the stairs from the platform after all of the above — it's actually before "we've been through Hell together." Around that time, Stede tells someone being a failure isn't so bad. With the stairs group's support, Stede appeals to Jackie at the bar — it's actually to Zheng. Banes explodes Jackie's, out of revenge — the finale reveals that he actually destroyed pretty much everything except Jackie's. The episode ends after Stede and Ed talk at the cabin.

The Rest:

What I got wrong: The party doesn't introduce fireworks that are involved in the explosion in 2x07. My handy-dandy chart 2.0 was wrong as well, but only a little 😄

In my defense, where the freak was Stede's earring during the conversation with Zheng? Oh, and when he screamed? *squatting squinting woman meme* Also, the Regular Dude outfit will extend for a teensy bit longer.

The first of these was just gonna be a rough chart for myself, then I figured it would be helpful for readers too, but now there are few enough outfits left to keep track without one. I've grown a little attached, though, so, see you in season three, handy-dandy chart 🥹👋

But before we get there, O O F,

Episode 8: Mermen

I already saw the title, so I might as well predict on it here and not just at the beginning of the reaction. It seems self-explanatory enough: it means saviours, maybe psychological or imagined ones. Because it also references someone you're in love with, and Stede specifically, I intuitively want to say that it refers to Ed and Stede being each other's saviours, Ed being a figurative merman for Stede too. More on that shortly.

It's no wonder I was like, "how does this all fit into two episodes?!", 'cause now I'm like, "how does this all fit into one episode?!" 😅😳 Let's take it step by step.

As stated, Ed has a couple more Regular Dude scenes, where he looks out at the water and where he stares up at smoking ships from a tiny boat. I would place it in that order: the next time we see him is before he heads out to fish, and he's probably reflecting on his life and the future he's realizing for himself.

After looking out at a view with nothing alarming, Ed rows out and sees the destruction. I put a pin in the idea of him imagining it to think about why he says Stede's name, and was comfortable not settling on much when it Hit Me. The ships are Zheng's, and this is the first Ed sees of the explosion, so his quiet "Stede" is an expression of his fear for Stede, not himself.

Ed calling to Stede because he stumbles on something frightening would be the path of least resistance, and he does sound that way. Plus, counterpoint, the ships don't have red sails... Still, what are the odds that there are unrelated smoking ships? This is a figurative heart-versus-brain thing, and my brain is winning two-zero so far — Anne doesn't kiss Stede at dinner and the beach battle surely comes before "there's a lot of them" — so I'll trust it again!

Whether there's more to that scene and whether Ed appears again in-between, which if I had to guess, I might say not, he does show up to fight at the beach, emerging from the sea, having donned the old leathers once more. Maybe even these consecutive shots from the trailer are consecutive!

Already, this reminds me of some really interesting analyses, but this ain't the post for those 😅 Back to mermen, however, this could be what prompts the symbol: Ed arrives to fight alongside Stede, possibly even in a critical moment, and does so in such a fantastic, symbolic way that until the headbutt, I thought it would be part of a dream sequence. He throws his clothes associated with piracy and Blackbeard to the ocean floor, then literally rises from it wearing them. That's enough for merman comparison for me! It's also an interesting flipside to mer!Stede swimming down to Ed, who is underwater.

Again, he's dry after, so... maybe it is a dream sequence, which would make it all the more merman-comparable, but I don't think so. I'll just be joking for the rest of my life that it's a 1x08 callback. Imagine we get a "never left" 2.0... Then I will leave. To deal with my emotions 😅

I also think there might be a callback to Stede "sending" Ed bottled letters, because I'm pretty sure this is the first time we find ourselves on a beach since then, excluding the gravy basket, and it might be the same one. Maybe Ed will even — and this would be so dramatic — receive a bottled letter after all, perhaps in his lil fishing boat, and that will also prompt him to return. Since I made the point, I might as well elaborate on it: I think we're more likely to see that before than have it be revealed after, but they would probably still circle back to their episode 7 conversation with Ed now confessing that he did receive one 🥺 At that rate, I think they would find a way for him to keep the bottle that whole time so he can straight-up produce it. Anyway, I'm not holding my breath for more than verbal connection to the beach, just wanna be covered in case it happens 😊

They fight, run to each other, reunite (thank you! I don't need another hiatus with Gentlebeard apart; it's enough that we're already apart from OFMD), then help out Zheng.

I'm not sure how Zheng and Stede end up at the beach together, but perhaps that's still to do with Oluwande, Jim and Archie. Something like, Stede finds Zheng assessing or mourning the damage, and having confronted a much more significant event last night, plus with some time to calm down and return to heartbreak about Ed over anger about more people leaving, Stede comforts Zheng by affirming the crew's freedom to be captained by whomever they please. At which point Zheng goes, *mirthless chuckle*, what am I captain of anymore?

Alternatively, Banes sends some men to capture Zheng — she's still a pirate, after all — who might be near the beach because she has no ship to return to, and Stede is somehow positioned to come to her rescue. Maybe he's spying on the shore for Ed, like in 1x08.

I already argued that the beach battle happens first, with Ed wondering about Zheng, then they team up nearby, and show up all together to wherever they run into the soldiers. Now I'm all the more confident, 'cause I think we can all agree the beach interaction is Gentlebeard's reunion. They hang out on the sand after the battle, but I changed my mind on the order: business first so Ed and Stede can end up staying on land until sunset, at which point they end up at the shack, which will have been shown earlier for setup.

To repeat: it's an excellent setting for Stede to give his last day on Earth speech though not the most appropriate time, and it probably has some greater meaning. Here I was, typing away about how surely Stede didn't hang around the Republic of Pirates as a child without us hearing about it before, even when he and the crew lived here, and he didn't bring them he— this is Stede's cabin from 2x01, isn't it? 😅 Mystery solved. He's gonna be like, and this is where I lived, and this is where I pretended you were sleeping next to me, and this is where I looked out onto the beach and thought about when you kissed me... 🤭 Jk, but, I definitely think the conversation will be about their relationship, and thus necessarily also about at least some of Ed's recent struggles, 'cause it will be their first extended chance to talk alone. And yeah, we might have part three of merman and bottle confessions with the cabin, and the bottled letter connection as discussed above.

This might also be when Ed says that he's truly present for the first time, which is a lot like "the most fun I've had in ages"; he's engaged in his life with Stede, maybe? 🙂 In the promo, it's combined with Ed facing the wreckage and preceded by "I used to view the sea as a battlefield." If either or both of those are the context in the show, Ed is probably talking about the new threat, saying that he's long viewed piracy as full of conflict and danger, but this is the first time he actually feels like he has something to lose: Stede and his own hopeful future.

Re: the failure conversation, I did see someone confidently say that it's with Izzy, but that might just be strong opinion, not based on, for instance, photos I didn't look at, and I don't see why Izzy would say that he's failing when he's probably feeling and behaving better than we've ever seen. Zheng, on the other hand? What an aprupt, thorough defeat. Foreseeable enough that she could reasonably tear herself apart over letting the signs slide. I don't know who would feel more like a failure, and we just Do Not Have Time for a one-off character. It also para||els nicely with Stede briefly living under this same wall after he lost the Revenge. In terms of placement, I did just spot someone next to Stede, and unless that barely-in-the-shot tat disproves it, I'll say that's probably Ed sans jacket.

Stede is clearly addressing someone else, but it would have to be after the battle. What's weirder, them leaving the beach, or them having this conversation the next day? ...I'm gonna say this is the next day, in a convenient location to find out that everyone else, except Jackie and the Swede, have been captured.

These shots are probably from when Banes comes to talk to the crew, basically to gloat about erasing them and their legacy. I think Izzy replies in the shot where the camera and people around are drawn to him, and what he says makes Banes decide to talk to him more.

A conversation in which Izzy says that piracy is "about belonging to something," and that their "spirit will last, throughout your entire fookin' empire" even if Banes kills them all, is an appropriate follow-up to Banes talking about pirate's tales and saying that all their stories will be lost. Alternatively, though I'm not betting on it, Banes has more practical goals, like getting information, and chooses Izzy for a conversation he would've had anyway. That's how Izzy ends up in a room full of soldiers when the trio shows up.

I'm pleased to seemingly have been right that this isn't Jackie's. The new footage of the trio running in with sabres already drawn suggests that the encounter with the soldiers is not a surprise: they're on a mission here, they just don't expect to be so outnumbered. They're lured in, and Jackie and the Swede are presumably captured soon too.

Then, they plot the suicide mission, which involves everyone disguising themselves in their enemies' uniforms. Sometime around here is another good time for Stede's last day on Earth speech. They run away from wherever they're held, on land, but have to get past a whole patrol of armed soldiers in the forest near the shore. Cue all the individual sneaking and fighting from the finale ad, and finally, fleeing the scene towards the Revenge. W accidental alliteration 😏💅

My hold-ups with this capture and escape timeline are that the whole group is never seen in the room with bars, and it's strange for Ed to point out that the escape plan risks their lives if the alternative is, what, death penalty? Or would they all take the Act of Grace? 🤪🤭 Lowkey... that would befit a comedy. Then again, Ed could say it before the trio try to break the crew out, though I think not, plus no alternative I've cooked up makes even close to as much sense, so... I guess they're just all moved to a different space. And while they surely didn't leave them in a room full of possible disguises, the planning and Stede dressing up sure look like they happen in the same building, maybe the room they barged into. This is to say that they don't plan this way in advance.

They all make it to the Revenge alive. Then Izzy dies.

I've seen a few comments, none of which say that, but from which I'm pretty much certain. I know people predicted it, but only through posts being like, "no he doesn't," so I don't know why. Now I'm noticing things that could relate to it. From the different-colored legs, I think Izzy is the one being supported by two people as they run, then based on the blue-screen leg thingy, he lies on the deck between Ed and Stede.

It crossed my mind that Izzy's death might relate to whatever he alone has going on with Banes earlier, but he obviously rejoins the crew and partakes in the escape plan, so he must be singled out earlier in the episode to take the final opportunities to develop his character and conclude his story. I assume Izzy is simply injured during the escape. I would imagine that he sacrifices himself, the peak of his movement towards caring about the other characters. It's probably for Ed and/or Stede specifically, also because no footage of them in this part has been shown. There are those shots with both actors on the beach, with Con O'Neill in uniform, so perhaps Banes catches up to them and Izzy fights him, fatally injuring himself, but maybe also Banes, providing a longer-term resolution to the conflict.

Ed holds up his hand, covered in Izzy's blood, probably as part of a statement about his death.

I noticed the probable reason that the crew, Zheng and Auntie are looking down when they stand together: this mound.

It looks like they hold a burial, and I highly doubt that there are two significant deaths in one episode, plus everyone but Jackie is accounted for, so it must be Izzy's. It also makes more sense for the Swede to still be with them at this point than before the capture. Izzy having died saving Ed and/or Stede might also explain them hanging back as the crew walks away.

...On the bright side, ass tonight 🥹🥴 Based on the pic Alex Sherman tweeted where his costume is labeled "Bare Butt Guy #1," his character can only be so significant, and I don't believe I've spotted him in any videos, so... I guess he plays a soldier who has his pants pulled down during a fight. I would bet on the escape as opposed to the beach battle: there are more people and more stuff going on.

After the burial when Ed and Stede stay back is the other possible time they have their conversation at the shack, and Ed saying that he's truly present for the first time does befit a conclusion. This might also be when they sit with Zheng on the beach, or when the failure conversation happens. They offer for Zheng to come with, unless Stede does that way back before they get attacked, but I'm not betting on the rest.

Based on Zheng next to Oluwande in the shot of everyone doing their tasks on the Revenge, I think we might end on a peaceful note, but that seems like something they would do if they thought this might end up being a series finale, which I don't believe is the intention. Then again, any setup would have to be a new threat, right?, and that would land like an afterthought. So maybe it pretty much ends on the crew (mostly) living to fight another day, and I would predict and hope that the post-credit scene checks in on someone else, ideally a seagull 🥹

I'll sum up what I got right and wrong in my previous masterpost, excluding any between-ep adjustments, which will only pop up in my reaction videos when those are eventually ready to post 🤭

Episode 4: Fun and Games

What I got right: The episode starts with the headbut, and in the in-between Stede tells the crew it was accidental. He runs into Ed at Anne and Mary's — Ed intends not to stay on the Revenge, but with Anne and Mary. Anne kisses Stede in the room where they have their conversation, which isn't the same room as the dinner. The look Anne gives is to an interruption; she is seemingly both being for real and trying to evoke a reaction: jealousy. Ed smokes with Mary sitting next to him. The crew wouldn't let Ed stick around in a position of power. The rest of Light Shirt Era is in the next ep!

What I got wrong: Ed walks out of the sea in his gravy basket dream sequence. He goes to Anne and Mary to stay with them. The four split into duos to talk after Ed causes some havoc at dinner. Ed steps down as captain partly in recognition of the harm done to the crew; this and them not wanting him to be in control plays out towards the end. Izzy's prosthetic is from Anne and Mary's stuff, picked up by Stede.

Episode 5: The Curse of The Seafaring Life

What I got right: Stede demands Ed's respect as his captain, and brings up the training idea to Izzy. They train on the deck and raid a ship relatedly to the training, where Stede picks up the coat, fights, and tells Izzy he did a punch, as demonstrated on him earlier.

What I got wrong: Ed and Stede are not made up. Ed's scoff about respecting Captain Stede is what prompts his training. Izzy agrees because he realizes now that Stede could become a captain he would respect, or because he feels like he owes it to the crew — it's not that deep, he was just flattered into it. The candle-cutting scene is a demonstration for training purposes. The raid is for practice — it was more of a diagnostic. Oluwande, Jim and Archie wear dumpling necklaces after the crew allies with Zheng — I guess they did steal those, just off-screen, or Roach got inspired! It just doesn't seem like a coincidence.

The Rest:

What I got wrong:

These shots are a reaction to the comeback of Ed's beard:

Red Shirt Era happens at the very end.

Thus, my handy-dandy chart was wrong, and I'm kicking off the predictions section with the new and improved version they hinge on:

Since Ed is very probably changing back and forth once, I'm not firmly set on him not doing it more.

Episode 6: TBA

This ep covers the first two sections of the chart.

Stede and Ed go to a beautiful market and encounter two kids to whom Ed prolly does offer knives. Is that a rainbow flag? 😭

Stede's top probably changes with the setting, so I think Green Shirt Era will begin the next time we see Stede on the Revenge. In that case, the conversation aboard happens earlier. I thought maybe Ed was back in black because nobody enforces what he does on land, but if the conversation is happening early on, he must have already been allowed to change back 🤔

I assume the conversation is about their plans to or for when they make landfall. They might get all the decoration for the performance at this market; that might even be the reason they go. Except for the lil banners, which remind me of the shipmade flags and paper snowflakes around a classroom, so the crew probably made one each 🤗

I thought it would be the talent show, or — gasp! — Pete and Lucius's wedding, but some article referred to an "impromptu performance," so I guess it's kind of its own thing. Wee John and Izzy do drag, which I figure just comes about naturally, and Izzy sings, which I could see people cheering him on to do.

Maybe in the housekeeping conversation, we learn about a new first mate? I was explaining at the start of a reaction that I would bet on Oluwande, one of the crew members who repeatedly guided Stede, notably in early season 1, but is also just an all-around practical, caring person, to an extent that he was unanimously elected captain in the season 1 finale. I also have live footage of getting the idea that Stede could make Izzy first mate, but I don't think so; nor that Izzy would want it, just like I picked up the idea that he wouldn't want to captain after what happened last time from naranja-petrificada.

Speaking of, after 2x05, because Izzy was not coping in a sustainable way, I thought he might eventually reach a breaking point, but... I sort of feel like he's had a considerable amount of focus this season, so I expect that he would sooner gradually change his approach, or something would prompt him to, than that he would have an intense reaction eventually. This could be connected to the performance: after all, "maybe sometimes, it can be an expression of ourselves"! The conversation with Ed on the deck from a BTS video might happen before they make landfall, then, also because there's just so much happening once we get back to the Republic of Pirates.

The show happens here because it's the same episode as the Edward Low storyline. That's advertised after 2x05, like 2x04 was after 2x03; it probably only lasts an episode, so needs to make way for the final boss; and it's Pre-Earring. I maintain that this is where Stede screams, and the concert might serve to introduce Chekhov's fireworks, a "surprise tool" that might be involved in a later, overarching conflict-related explosion — check out the top right corner.

There's apparently a publication that reports on things like Ed beating Ned's record — Pirate Times, or The Swashbuckler, or The Hook and Eyepatch; I could do this forever — presumably the one Ed set out to beat in 2x01. Ned doesn't give me the impression of raiding much, but he does have victims, plus Ed strikes me even less as setting out to beat a record of violent acts, so my bet is on amount or density of raids.

I was still leaning towards a possible Gentlebeard sex scene — Chekhov's orgasms — at the end of episode 7, despite the fact that if the in-bed conversation is their morning after, I wouldn't expect the show to keep the wound on Stede's chest until late 2x07 or early 2x08. Alas, I did see a fanart piece of what seems like that same scene, and the comments sound like they didn't take it slow and that caused a problem. Because I think the tone switch of their first sex scene right after the Ned situation would be hard to pull off, I would guess that Ed and Stede sneak off towards the end of the concert, and their distraction makes it possible for Ned to attack.

Side note — I totally did not think the person reading the newspaper and the conductor were the same. I also have actually heard of Edward Low as a kid, retaining only that he was a particularly cruel pirate.

I would be uneasy to delve much into the problem, but I think the solution might come without external help. One of my favourite parts of the show so far has been the lighthouse fuckery, because it was such a creative and adventurous scene, and maybe this will be an opportunity for the crew to execute a similarly cool solution. They're all dressed for a visually stunning scene as it is 😄 I don't think they would circle back to the show after the attack, so it probably comes first, and something else helps the crew end the ep on a positive note.

But then, a scheming Banes might reappear, because I figure he will at the end of the episode before he starts antagonizing. The "gentlemen" conversation seems too monumental to me now, like something he might say right before a big mission, so maybe not that. Plus, I don't expect his nose prosthetics to change back and forth, so he would be wearing the white and blue one first.

The Rest:

There is a lot happening after this point, so much that I'm puzzled how it all fits 😅 On one hand, it feels wrong to expect too much of it to be in episode 7, but on the other, I think significant scenes in 2x08 might not have been shown anywhere to avoid spoiling the suicide mission, so I would leave more space in the finale.

I suppose we open with a morning scene (I'm gonna lose it) where Ed, who might be in Stede's robe (...oof 😭) jinxes them into the upcoming fatally dangerous situation 😅

And they're like, "what's the plan for today? (let's spend time together)" and all head to the Republic of Pirates. Alternatively, this conversation fits into the end of the previous episode, and is appropriately followed by Banes being like... yeah, no, I want to put you all in a not-even-near death situation.

It looks like they go to the bar on three separate occasions: one with nothing out of the ordinary, one soon after where Ed can easily observe that something's different, and one with the soldiers. Perhaps Ed will talk to Jackie while Stede impersonates Buttons to the locals ("I'm a seagull!") first, then they'll go on their dine and dash date, and return to find that the patrons might try to kill Stede this time around! To make things confusing, Stede doesn't have his earring when he talks to the same people outside... I guess he departs to find his new friends after the change in atmosphere, and with Ed already alone outside after seeing him out, he talks to Izzy, who comes out of the bar. That sounds wrong, though: it feels like Ed stands outside before going in for the first time, so that's the alternative, and maybe Stede just enters first. Ed observes a small boat, and we see him admire a view at another point, so maybe he just tells Stede to go ahead so he can take that moment.

Stede's new rejection by the community explains the angry bottle-smasher when the group hangs out on the steps. Anyway, they're on Stede's side in the end, and might also be the ones to suggest he get an earring! I imagine with their backing, Stede goes to the bar to appeal to... Jackie? ("We've been through Hell together.") "We" in this case does not refer to Stede and the group, 'cause I assume they just met, nor Stede and Jackie; it's probably the Revenge crew.

That is, however, the third time he would be going to the bar in one ep, so I'll chuck in an alternative: Ed and Stede run into hostility the first time around, Stede meets some locals and wins them over, then that group heads to the bar together.

But what did Stede do to fall out of favor? I would guess word got around that Banes is up to something, especially because it looks to me like he might be seeking allies on the inside. The phrase "Zheng's recruiting" followed by two shots that may very well be from the same scene of Zheng across from Banes sparked the thought.

Meanwhile, yeah, Oluwande and Jim find out that Zheng is recruiting. Zheng and Olu's conversation and the indoor and outdoor fights have similar lighting, so it seems like they happen around the same time. Perhaps the same one altercation stumbles outside? Then Jackie's explodes, and I guess I have to replace my "the crew does it" theory with that Banes is behind it, out of revenge. Chaos ensues:

If I have the order right, which... no, this would be a reasonable end to the ep!

I straight-up don't know when to place Ed going down some stairs, because it doesn't look like it's towards Jackie's.

Stede does have the earring, so it must be after all of the above. And he might find a minute around here to tell someone being a failure is not so bad.

There's the beach battle and the run-in with soldiers at the bar, and I think they happen in that order for a couple reasons. Firstly, Ed crinkles a brow and says "who's your friend?" or so when Zheng calls out to them on the beach, and secondly, the trio shows up to find soldiers together, so it seems like they've already teamed up, which happens near the beach. The soldiers must be set up in the woods by that point and attack them...? I'm really not convinced on that order though; my heart says it's the opposite 🤷‍♀️🤪 But my brain did win the Anne-doesn't-kiss-Stede-at-dinner round.

I think the battle somehow integrates Ed coming out of the water in his black getup again, and I say "somehow" because he's dry after. Maybe that's an intentional 1x08 callback? 🤭 Ed and Stede fight, run to each other, have some super romantic interaction (goodbye), then help out Zheng.

I guess... they chill on the sand, talk of teaming up, then the crew catches up and they admire the local terrain.

From the time of day and the building's visibility earlier, it really seems like afterwards is when Ed and Stede hang out at this dilapidated house that might have some greater meaning, and, damn, if this ain't the place for Stede to say "if we die...," but they haven't even talked about the suicide mission yet, so... no?

Alternatively, it's so meaningful for some reason that they actually come back here after their planning. I have no ideas, though! I doubt it's Ed's childhood home because it raises such difficult memories, and surely Stede didn't hang out near the Republic of Pirates as a child. In any case, I'd say this will be kinda like the beach scene in 1x09. This would be another reasonable end to the ep!

Now. If the soldiers in the bar come after, but the bar has been exploded, plus Banes talks to Izzy in a different place, with a different prosthetic nose than he does with Zheng, and wouldn't have been allowed into Jackie's anyway… What if all this happens in this different place? Look who it is in the top right corner. It makes sense for Izzy to say that Banes doesn't understand piracy, and maybe was unsuccessful in his piracy goals because of it, if he's turning down collaborating with him. It's also an interesting reverse to Izzy plotting against the crew of the Revenge in collaboration with a leader of the king's soldiers at Jackie's. Also, Is That Not A Beard on Ed? Inexplicable.

Jackie — who, again, has had her place exploded — Zheng, Auntie, and the Revenge crew plan the suicide mission, which entails everyone — definitely Ed, Stede if that's him kneeling in the pic below, Izzy, Frenchie and Lucius, and I gather Oluwande and the Swede — pretending to be soldiers. They infiltrate Banes's people, and ultimately need to flee the scene.

Shortly before that is another reasonable time for Stede to give his last day on Earth speech. I'm not sure when Ed says that it feels like a storm is coming, but I think it has to do with the overarching threat as opposed to Edward Low... maybe before the explosion, as I suggested before, or before they get attacked on the beach.

First, I'll sum up what I got right and wrong in my previous masterpost, though I also made a bunch of predictions between eps that are only documented in my (under construction) reaction vids.

Episode 1: Impossible Birds

What I got right: The cake the Revenge crew eats is wedding cake, and we find out by the end of the conversation about Izzy and Blackbeard's relationship that Ed has repeated his violent act from the finale. Fencing with Izzy is Stede's dream sequence, transportation is an issue for them, and this ep features Stede and Oluwande shopping, etc. and the rainy shots of Stede and his crew. Stede lies awake next to Roach thinking about Ed, which alternates or is consecutive with Ed playing with the cake toppers, but,

What I got wrong: It happens at the end of this episode, and Stede thinks about what he heard about Ed that day. The wedding raid is the first time Ed is shown, the conversation with Izzy happens right after they eat cake, and Ed plays with the cake toppers in the auxiliary closet.

Episode 2: Red Flags

What I got right: Ed just had a rough night, then behaves like he's moving on. The storm happens, and the crew mutinies. Ed is the person with the rock tied around them.

What I got wrong: The Fang and Izzy area starts the mutiny, though Izzy is not in favor of killing Ed. He is still thrown overboard by his crew, is seen falling into the water here, reunites with Mer!Stede and emerges from the sea at the end. The intended new captain is Jim — this we just never find out. Stede runs across the beach, lies awake under Buttons' hammock, and throws the bottle in this ep.

Episode 3: The Innkeeper

What I got right: Izzy's amputation is for medical reasons. The man Ed confronts is a hallucination of Hornigold.

What I got wrong: Izzy's amputation is in this episode and due to the injuries he sustained before the gunshot. The innkeeper is not a character seen anywhere else.

The Rest:

What I got right: The Chinese Outfit Era is before Green Shirt Era. The crew is dressed in Chinese outfits by the (eventual) capturers. The scene where Ed headbuts Stede is around the time of the escape, and they're not made up then or when Stede tells someone that he hurt Ed. This is their IRL reunion. Lucius is alive, he reappears before Stede and Ed make up (in fact, Stede never tries to reunite with Ed while thinking he might have killed Lucius), and this is a reaction to him:

I'm proud of myself for this last one 😅

What I got wrong: The Chinese Outfit Era in in episode 4. The crew wears the Chinese outfits to blend in with another group. The scene with Anne and Mary? is Stede and Ed's IRL reunion. This shot of Zheng is in episode 6, on the other side of this street chaos:

Now onto predictions! *rubs palms*

Episode 4: Fun and Games

Every time, the way I thought an ep would end was actually the way the next started, so I figure we start with a headbut! 😅 B****, you thought 🤭 Ed probably walks out of the sea in his dream sequence, I would say before that so the headbut causes a sudden tone shift that doesn't wear off.

In the in-between part, Stede tells his re-changed crew the headbut was an accident, but I bet much of what happens has not seen the light of day at all and is so much fun! 😃

...Later, Stede runs into the similarly rumpled, mark-on-his-lip Ed at this furniture... shop? "Former" means Ed intends to leave, so maybe he came to stay with his buddies?

We meet Anne and Mary?, Anne and Stede talk, and they have a double dinner date. It takes a turn 😅

Although the kiss looks like it's in the same room as the dinner — where Stede is already sitting and there would be someone else for Anne to look at — ngl, it's off. Look at the candles and paintings behind Stede 🤔

I'm saying it's this room, or at least the same room in a different scene:

And Anne's tone in this conversation could be interpreted as flirtatious, so idk, maybe she's for real and that look after the kiss is because someone interrupted. Still, the idea that Anne is making a point or trying to evoke some reaction feels more right to me, enough to outweigh the set details that I can't explain away, so I'm throwing it in as an alternative prediction.

By Ed's look and the setting — ooh, and Mary sitting next to him! — I believe this also happens at Anne and Mary's place. I guess they split into duos to talk, before the dinner. EDIT: Actually no, I think it's after Ed causes some havoc at dinner!

There's that clip where Stede demands Ed's respect as his captain. Someone predicted that Ed might step down as captain in recognition of the harm done to the crew, and I suppose it might also be because... they just wouldn't let him stay in a position of power if he sticks around. I believe this might play out towards the end.

Anne and Mary have a bunch of furniture and stuff, and Izzy's peg leg looks like it could be from another object, so I say he gets it from there. Through whom? All my guesses are equally unsupported, but maybe Stede feels responsible, or his anger towards Izzy has cooled off enough to think about what might help him.

What with their training, I think the rest of the Light Shirt Era is too much for one ep, so I'll say it happens in...

Episode 5: TBA

Ed is in his If I Was A Regular Dude Phase outfit, and Stede demands his respect as his captain. I have no idea how they still aren't made up, tbh. Stede isn't just immediately telling Ed why he didn't meet him at the dock, that he loves him, and that he's been looking for him for weeks? 🤨 The whole crew isn't groaning at them to just kiss already? Hyped to see what gives.

Anyway, Ed's disrespect prompts Stede to start training with Izzy. Stede may very well approach Izzy with the idea, 'cause I doubt he would go to Izzy just to be like, "what do I do if Ed doesn't respect me?" 😆 The way I see it, Izzy had two issues with Stede as a captain: his people-positive management style and lack of piracy skills. Stede was never gonna stop supporting his crew, but now that even Izzy is realizing Stede is onto something with that, he could probably respect Stede as a captain if he became a more capable pirate, so he's willing to help make that happen. Otherwise, Izzy sticks around because he feels like he owes it to the crew to improve their situation, which I'm basing on his 2x03 conversation with Stede where he takes responsibility for their pain and wants to prevent more of it.

Izzy instructs Stede on the deck and slices candles. We get a raid, maybe a small one for practice, where Stede picks up a gorgeous coat, fights a guy, and tells an observing Izzy that he's done a punch, as demonstrated on him earlier.

The Rest, Chronologically:

I'm still grouping events by OOTD, though now breaking it down further to include Ed. Below is a handy-dandy chart for your reference. Keep in mind as well that there's Before Earring and With Earring for Stede.

I'm more or less saying it's an episode per slice.

Episode 6: TBA

I am so confused about the order of events in Green Shirt Era 😭 If how much 2x01 changed my predictions for the next two eps is anything to go by, 2x05 or 2x06 will make a lot of this fall into place.

"Alls I know is," in Green Shirt Regular Dude, Izzy and Ed talk outside Jackie's, then Ed talks to Jackie while Stede is a seagull nearby, probably after becoming the object of enthusiasm of these folks outside:

So maybe this is later in the same ep:

Quite possibly around here, Zheng returns and draws her dagger, and Oluwande fights someone.

Green Shirt Era also comprises this:

I think it would happen sooner rather than later, to allow time for more overarching threats and introduce the fireworks, which I'm pretty sure are involved in a later, Banes-related explosion — check out the top right corner.

Also, it's Before Earring, and speaking of that, I know people thought Stede's screaming is post-battle, but I think it might be around here, because of the bullet wound or whatever is going on. Banes also talks to the "gentlemen" at least an episode before they do anything, probably at the end.

Episode 7: TBA

We enter Green Shirt With Earring Back-To-Black Back-To-Beard. Someone was like, "why are they avoiding showing Ed in the ad? what are they hiding?" The beard that he grows overnight! And that's what everyone's screaming about here, if you ask me 🤭

More likely, it's an intimidation tactic! 🙌 Which is why Ed equally quickly loses it in time for the larger-scale beach battle.

Stede talks to someone about being a failure, probably before the succeeding action. The soldiers raid? the bar, and Zheng, Stede and Ed prepare to fight. There's that protagonist-caused explosion, and I suppose that's when chaos ensues on the street. Right before it might also be when Ed says that something's wrong.

New threat introduced and assessed, all the mains gather to discuss the suicide mission: the beach battle. Right? Surely it's not at the bar. I don't know when Oluwande, Jim and Archie wear dumpling chains, but nobody was shown stealing them, so perhaps it's after they ally with Zheng against their common threat.

lizardywizardry points out in the replies to the ad that "it's only suicide" is clearly from a different conversation than "if we die," predicting that Stede gives Ed a last-night-on-Earth speech, and naranja-petrificada did raise the possibility of Gentlebeard having a bittersweet sex scene with that context in the finale.

On the first point, yes, and I'm not oblivious to the possibility that that's actually when Gentlebeard make up. Super late, but as naranja-petrificada suggests, penultimate episode para||el 🤷‍♀️ I won't commit to that prediction, though; I think they'll get there by the time they're planning all together.

Secondly, Gentlebeard's probable sex scene — Chekhov's orgasms — totally escaped my previous post, whoopsie daisies, but I'll say... end of episode 7. It suits for an ending, it almost para||els the timing of their first kiss, and it won't detract from the fuckery-heisty-ambitious-packed-twisty-cliffhanger finale. naranja-petrificada says that might mean a morning after scene, which I would also bet on, and they have some more interesting ideas from there!

Episode 8: TBA

Morning after scene, then suicide mission. During it is the other time I think Ed might say a storm is coming.

Frenchie, Lucius and Izzy infiltrate in army? attire. But as I wrote last time: Izzy is also the only character seen talking to the new antag, about piracy and in his regular outfit. No way he gets in cahoots with them, and he could be recognized during the fuckery if it were before, so I guess that's in the aftermath...? Much to think about.

Also Red Shirt Era manages to slip in after...? I am SO confused, I'm SAYING 😫

Episode 1: Impossible Birds

I spoiled myself that 2x01 starts with Stede and Izzy fencing, and that's gotta be a dream sequence, because it's clearly Steard! I CAN'T BELIEVE they're baiting us like that 😆

But whose dream sequence? I'd say Stede's, because who else would it be besides Ed, whom I don't expect to see until...

The wedding raid! It's in this episode because it's reminiscent of Stede's crew's preparation in 1x01. It's probably also the first we see of the Revenge crew, so the first update is an impactful one.

Fang trying to get Izzy to see that he doesn't relate to Ed (or Blackbeard?) in a healthy way probably happens right after Fang says that he's never seen Blackbeard "like this," and that's a reasonable place for that to start. And when he says that, they're eating what must be wedding cake, 'cause it's not as if Roach is around to bake one.

We surely know by the end of this conversation that Ed has repeated his violent act from the finale towards Izzy (also spoiled by some text).

I'm hopping on the theory that Ed plays with the figurines very late in the episode in the auxiliary closet because I like it!

On Stede's end — I figure the shopping with Oluwande happens in 2x01, because the conversation about Stede and Ed's relationship feels like an update on Stede's perception of it. In that case, given the little Red Scarfie, 2x01 also contains the rainy shots of Stede and the crew, and Stede lying awake next to Roach, thinking about what people said about Ed today, maybe. This alternates or is consecutive with Ed also up at night with the cake toppers.

The Vanity Fair article mentions a set of Stede's cabin, which is probably where Stede lies awake both times. But if that's in the first couple eps, why would they be chilling in a cabin and not traveling around looking for the Revenge, or idk, pirating? Is transportation an issue at this point?

Episode 2: Red Flags

Ed just had a rough night, as supported but not proven by the cake topper in the upper right corner:

But something also prompts him to brighten up and try to move on.

The anticipated and shown storm happens here, which makes sense because we see Ed... cackling in it?, exactly what a person who is still going through it at this point in the season would do. Plus, I imagine it playing after Fang refers to Ed acting "like this" is intentional; that's an example of how he behaves early in the season, when he's still on the Revenge before getting mutinied— oop! I know from the hecking review that there's mutiny in the first three eps. And I mean, Fang's statement, his conversation with Izzy, and the next ep titled Red Flags? I would say the mutiny is here, and it's against Ed.

The person coming out of the water clearly only has one arm covered by a black sleeve, and I was gonna say that one person being thrown into the sea and another emerging from it is an unlikely coincidence. Then I noticed that the rock tied to them — which is how I know it's no accident during the storm or something, and which is the same way Izzy was nearly treated when the crew mutinied against him — appears next to Ed later. Ed somehow survives this, and his rising from the ocean might be an impactful reveal at the end of the episode, kind of like in 1x02.

I saw Rhys Darby with a mermaid tail and the Vanity Fair article says there's an underwater reunion. Must be here!

I don't know who gets the mutiny started, but probably the Fang and Izzy area, although I'm not sure Izzy would be in favor of drowning Ed, since it looks like the show will try to redeem him... And I don't know who the intended next captain is, but unless it's Archie, whom I think we would know too little about by that point, Jim is probably the most interested and skilled. Izzy might be wary, and weary after recent events.

Meanwhile, a scarfless (that's the connecting link 😅) Stede throws the bottle, runs across the beach ("why are you running?" 🤨) and lies awake under Buttons' hammock.

Episode 3: The Innkeeper

Besides mutiny and drowning, the other thing that happens in the first three episodes per the review excerpt is amputation, and of course it's of Izzy's leg. The two previous episodes might be too busy for it, so perhaps here. I hope it's medical, which given Izzy's recent injuries is very plausible, as seen with Lucius.

But also, I caught a glimpse of the description, which says that Zheng takes over the Revenge? Well, idk who that is, but that adds up with the aftermath of a mutiny.

I don't think the innkeeper is anyone we know anything else about! It's probably not pirate Anne Bonny nor mysterious merchant Susan.

I know from the thumbnail that this is when Ed confronts the guy in the forest, who is "not even here, he's a hallucination." It's Hornigold, which seems fitting given what little we know of him and what Ed is trying to figure out about his life.

Episode 4: Fun and Games

Ed is looking more tan and a little rumpled when he runs into Stede, so that might be post-mutiny and Hornigold confrontation. Anne Bonny kisses Stede, then looks like she made a point, and they have dinner with the other lady. Looks like it doesn't run smoothly.

The Rest, Chronologically:

I'll group as much as I can by what definitely happens nearby, in a speculated order. It's very reliant on Stede's outfits 😅

There's the Chinese? Outfit they all wear when they're captured, so my best guess is that they change before that happens, maybe to blend in with another group, or they're dressed by the capturers. They're somehow right next to the Revenge? then, too.

I think the scene where Ed headbuts Stede is around there, and Stede's heartwrenched "Ed?!" seems like the sort of thing that would happen shortly before they make up, but I'm leaning towards Green Shirt Era (next paragraph). They definitely aren't yet because Stede says that he hurt "him" in this fit, which seems pre-makeup. Ed looks similar to the way he does at the market (note the mark on his lip), so the two are temporally close. So ALTERNATIVELY, this might be their first meeting in the season, and the awkward, anticlimatic market interaction is later. This is also episode 4?

There's the Green Shirt Era, which seems to last at least a couple episodes, and Gentlebeard probably make up during it. We see them separately, even in the same place, but it also contains the beach battle, and I do think they're back together by that point or shortly after given Ed's back-to-black outfit, which he wears in Red Shirt Era, when it seems like everything's good again. Therefore, I place this after the pre-makeup Chinese Outfit Era.

From the shot in the teaser, I thought this might be the talent show, but the trailer shows more angles on it and it's... bewildering at best. It's in Green Shirt Era, I just don't know what "it" is. Episode 5?

Ed and Stede chill with/at Jackie's around the same time as Stede hangs out with these folks, because he's with the same person. Maybe they meet in an outdoor scene, then go to the bar.

At some point, this street chaos happens, and maybe if we turned around, we would see Susan?

This is before or after a fight at the bar: Susan draws her dagger, and the only person we see next to her in that shot, Oluwande, hits someone with a bottle (it's hard to get a clean shot). All episode 6?

The battle is the last part of this era, because Stede has an earring now (which he also wears when he tells someone being a failure isn't so bad, hmm). Stede and Ed are fighting side-by-side, don't @ me. In episode 7, to leave a bit of room for the last thing.

I can't explain the screaming... Stede has a wound, from a bullet maybe, during the not-talent-show, but I think the battle comes after, and he has no earring when he screams. Where would these theories be without the scarfie and earring 😅

This somehow only leaves episode 8 for Red Shirt Era, where we're obviously all made up and together <3 Some final conflicts, big stakes and setup.

The Rest Rest:

Lucius is alive, and we learn this before Stede and Ed really make up. More on that in this post. Thank you, trailer, for assuaging the mild concerns I did harbor on that front with this shot that sent. me.

What if, ...hear me out:

Izzy is seen on set in... army? attire. So are Frenchie and Lucius up there, so I guess they infiltrate, in episode 7. Ooh, maybe a fuckery. Izzy is also the only character seen talking to the new antag, about piracy and in his regular outfit. No way he gets in cahoots with them, and he could be recognized during the fuckery if it were before, so I guess that's in the aftermath...?

Izzy is totally training Stede, though I'm not sure when any of it happens. That really explains "I've done a punch" after Izzy just watches Stede fight, Stede watching alone seemingly with his hands behind his back as a shirtless Izzy slices the candles, and their two scenes alone on the deck. That's so fun, I can't believe I've never considered it!

"I've done a punch" might be during a raid, but either way it's where Stede picks up the red coat.

What on Earth is going on with Stede demanding Ed's respect as his captain? Can't place that at all!