Joel Fry-days
Frenchie, Our Flag Means Death
Oh my god! Early in Joel Fry-days, I decided that I'd save my Our Flag Means Death rewatch/review for the end (-ish,) after I'd caught up on Joel Fry's work up to this point. For one, I knew it'd be a guaranteed high note, but for another, where do I even start to write this? I signed up with Tumblr *specifically* to talk about season 2 back in the fall of 2023, and since then, I've written about the show more than 100 times, including dozens about Frenchie and over 20 fanfics (mostly about Frenchie!) What can I say about OFMD/Frenchie in a single post?
I'll try my best.
Given all that, it might seem silly to start with a quick overview of the show, but that's what I do in Joel Fry-days reviews, and I do like to stick to my patterns! In 1717, wealthy gentleman Stede Bonnet leaves his wife and children to become a pirate captain. He's had his ship (the Revenge) built to his specifications, he's assembled a crew that he pays a salary, and he’s eager to shift away from the usual “culture of abuse” way of doing things, preferring to “talk it through as a crew.” Although Stede’s approach initially feels suspicious to his crew, they gradually come to like having the opportunity to express their own softer/creative/silly sides. When Edward Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard) hears about the fancy man from Barbados, he has to see it for himself. Ed and Stede have an instant connection, one that will change both their lives.
That paragraph feels so inadequate to me, because Our Flag Means Death is just so much! It deftly navigates comedy, drama, romance, and action, slipping across big tonal shifts in the course of a single scene and making it look effortless. It features one of my favorite ships of all time! The central romance is deeply founded on a gorgeous friendship, where banter, vulnerability, and play are all important factors in their love. It explores its themes in complex ways, examining intersections between homophobia, toxic masculinity, and colonialism--how these forces box the characters in and how they push against it all to define their own ways to live. Every element of the production, from the writing to the acting to the costumes to the camera work, is masterfully done. You can feel the love that went into every inch of this show.
For a half-hour pirate rom-com that's only 18 episodes long, OFMD also does an excellent job of balancing its large cast, especially in its first season. And where Joel Fry is concerned, that's a very good thing! Because although Frenchie isn't among the most prominent members of the ensemble, he's still frequently showcased in ways that make him hilarious, fascinating, and unique.
One thing that really struck me on my latest rewatch is this: there are no bad Frenchie episodes. Maybe that's true for all the characters, I'm not sure, but I know it's true for him. While there are episodes with more or less Frenchie, every single one gives you something memorable. Take 1x02, which is probably the most Frenchie-lite episode in the series. I doubt he's onscreen for more than a few minutes, and I'm pretty sure he only has one line, yet my brain immediately goes, "Ooh, 1x02! That's the one where Frenchie and Wee John blow stuff up! Gleeful laughing and leaping around and 'I love vacation!'" Frenchie gets, like, 10 seconds of focus in that episode, and he kills it. Joel Fry consistently makes the most of every moment he gets in this role!
Frenchie is a member of Stede's crew, the ship's bard. He's terrified of cats ("'cause they're witches, and they've got knives in their feet,") and he assumes everyone else is too, so he creates multiple cat-themed pirate flags to make the Revenge the scourge of the Caribbean. He accidentally nails his sleeve to the deck, and when he briefly has to fill in as Stede's scribe, he writes with doodles instead of words. (But despite not being "the strongest writer, or reader," he still manages to invent fanfiction!) He's a hell of a con man who uses snobby rich folks' racism to his advantage. He lies either amazingly or terribly, with no in-between. In fact, he does a lot of things with no in-between--as I like to put it, Frenchie has no medium setting. His approach to mental well-being is to "bottle it up" and lock his trauma in a box in his mind, yet he can also be very perceptive and emotionally intelligent.
Many of Joel Fry's characters fall within recognizable "types," even if his performance makes them more interesting than the usual tropes. The comedic best friend/sidekick, the gently-devoted wife guy, and so on. But with Frenchie, part of what's always resonated for me is that I'm not sure if I've ever seen a character like him before. He's such an interesting mix of delightfully random quirks, unexpected talents, and sincere moments of depth, I love it! You can never really predict what you're going to get from Frenchie in any given scene, and yet somehow, everything he says/does makes you think, "Oh my god, that's so Frenchie!"
Much of this uniqueness comes from the character itself, but the secret sauce of Joel Fry's performance really makes it special. I just adore the choices he makes in this role. When Frenchie is nervous vs. chill vs. overconfident vs. smooth. The way Frenchie's reactions to things are often out of step with the other characters'. The 100% commitment to every scene, whether it's ridiculous, heartbreaking, or anywhere in the middle.
And if you know me, you know I'm obsessed with Joel's physicality as an actor. Going into Joel Fry-days, I should've realized that this would be a highlight for me, since a lot of my favorite Frenchie moments come down to the way he uses his body.
(unlabeled GIFs by @telumendils, @foreveramedley, and @laceratedlamiaceae - their original posts are here, here, and here)
Iconic. Amazing. Nobody's doing it like Frenchie, and Joel Fry's performance is a critical part of that. Even though I’ve now seen Joel with much more prominent roles in different projects, this one is still a favorite of mine. Seriously, Frenchie forever, oh my god!
Finally, a quick note. This is my last Joel Fry-days review for now--at least until Joel has new stuff coming out--but I'm not going anywhere! There's still plenty of meta I want to write about his characters/performances, and now that I'm caught up on my reviews, I also want to write some posts that look at multiple projects at once: comparing Joel's many Best Friend roles, the way his characters cry, so much stuff about fidgeting, etc. Plus, I'm dipping my toes into making fan videos!
I know that eventually, a new special interest will take hold, and while I won't love Joel Fry's acting any less, he'll take up a much smaller portion of my brain. In the meantime, though, my brain and I are both sticking around here. ❤️
