Frenchie’s comment ‘such dicks about spoons’ is unrivalled in its comfort and support of Ed. But I want to shout out to a previous line as a close-run thing.
‘What did they do to you, man?’ shows immediate understanding and empathy. It’s as if Frenchie’s been waiting for this to happen, his previous conversation with Stede highlighting this ‘hoity-toity’ lot aren’t all that fancy. It allows Ed to feel safe in speaking to Stede with Frenchie there. And in fact Frenchie shows emotional intelligence immediately as Stede gets into gear.
Until this point, Frenchie has referred to Ed as ‘sir’ or ‘Blackbeard’, whereas the use of ‘man’ develops intimacy. Whilst man can seem distanced in other ways in the show, Frenchie’s use of it to Ed moves things down the scale of formality, whilst still showing respect. It’s not ‘mate’ or ‘Ed’. Man… man like me; fellow human, person of colour.
Frenchie implies ‘I’m your friend,’ without overstepping the mark.
Happy Frenchie Friday!
Tagging @follows-the-bees
