Happened just right after this:

I mean you can see how they're still laughing before they kiss:

God I just love Rhys and Taika so much. This is literally one of the most genuine and wonderful relationships I've ever seen and I think it's only thanks to them and their actual friendship that it has this sort of magic that triggers such deep feelings in us. They're an absolute blessing

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Okay so. Let’s talk about Izzy’s death because as much as I’ve tried to give some of you the benefit of the doubt, some of you are projecting a bit too hard onto Izzy to understand how perfect this narrative was for him.

And before I get into it I’d like to preface that, yes, of course the season is rushed, the finale is rushed, the pacing is off. That is not the fault of David Jenkins or Taika or anyone else on set — it is budget cuts and it is HBO’s decision to provide them with a slot of only eight 30 minute episodes and little to no promise of a season 3. A lot of people’s issues with the finale and Izzy’s death are due to how rushed it was, the crew’s lack of mourning, Izzy’s character development not being fleshed out enough. Those are all valid things to be upset about, but we have to remember that production gave us all they could with what they had. Would you have rather had full fleshed out episodes but got the show canceled on a heart-breaking cliffhanger? Not like season one where there were less stakes and a good chance for season 2, but a full cancelation rather than, albeit very rushed, a happy ending in a world of sad queer endings??

Now that that’s out of the way, Izzy’s death narratively was so well done. As a writer, and from a writer’s perspective who, I remind you, created these characters and knows what they mean to the story and their place in said story, Izzy is there to represent part of our main protagonist (at least, for season 2), Ed. So is Stede in a way as well, but Izzy is a representation of piracy and the toxic parts of it. Izzy WAS, in a way, Blackbeard, they state this in the show. Stede, is the part of Edward that is Ed — the part of him that wants to be loved and live a fulfilling life.

A lot of people are mad about Izzy being “just a symbol”, and I don’t think that’s right at all. Yes, his character was a symbol for the toxicity of piracy and Ed’s abusive relationship with it and himself, because that’s how good writing works, but that’s not all Izzy is and season 2 showed us that. Izzy spent the entire season learning that he, even though he was a pirate and represented all of these bad things about piracy, doesn’t have to adhere to these toxic things anymore; he doesn’t have to be Blackbeard or need Blackbeard just as Ed doesn’t need to be Blackbeard. He spent this season learning now to love. And yes, of course we all wish he had more time to go on that journey, but with the time we had that journey was well spent and conveyed what it needed to.

Izzy is a beautifully fucked-up and complex character. Though it sucks to accept, he was written to die. He was written to be the part of Ed that kept him from loving himself and accept love and Izzy being gone allows him to do that. At the end of the day, Ed is the protagonist, the story is written in his favor for his hero’s journey, especially in season two. Izzy, thought deeply beloved, is a side character whose main hall narratively is to assist in the hero’s journey. And guys, he gave us SO MUCH! The fact that we all loved Izzy so much shows how well he was written, how so many people went from hating him to loving him in season 2 (myself included) because they gave him a character arc! They didn’t need to give him a redemption to fulfill his part in the story, but they DID!! Frankly, I think they could have done MUCH worse, but they gave Izzy a goodbye, closure, reconciliation with Ed, and let him die happy. He died happy, guys. All he wanted was for Ed to be happy, for them to both escape Blackbeard, and he dies happy knowing that he’s escaped Blackbeard and now Ed will too, because Stede has provided Ed that escape.

In this season, Izzy was shown real love for the first time in his life. And he died surrounded by the people that he loved and those whom loved him so much back. He’s ‘their dick’, their unicorn. He said earlier this season, “we’re born alone and we die alone.” But he didn’t. Against all odds he didn’t. Izzy lived his life and he went out HAPPY. Buried and mourned by the people who loved him which is so rare for a pirate.

I love you guys, I love this fandom, but you aren’t Izzy Hands, David isn’t targeting you directly by killing Izzy — it isn’t bury your gays, it isn’t queerbaiting — it’s writing. We can’t punish writers and directors for writing what they saw what best for their characters, THEIR characters. Not yours. You can love and cherish a character without them having the perfect ending.

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I’m gonna say it, I loved episode 8 and I think it was a perfect ending for the season and tbh even the series. I think a lot of people like to forget that the crew had serious budget and time constraints when it comes to episode number and lengths, especially because of their decisions to film in New Zealand and their contracts with Warner Bros and HBO. Yes, we all know that pacing was terrible, but this is not the fault of the writers nor the actors. I think what Taika and David gave us was exactly what they needed to give us in this short time frame. We had satisfying and (mostly) in-character endings for Ed, Stede, Izzy, and Zheng. I think that Ed recognizing that piracy is a part of him was important, but also in the end settling down with Stede and Stede also being able to give up that life and leave the crew to continue on their journey as pirates to be with Ed domestically is perfect. And yes I do wish we had more time to explore their relationship and their complicated feelings about themselves and each other but we DON’T! We have what we have and what we have told the story it needed to. This show gave us SO MUCH! Lesbian pirates, Pete and Lucius wedding, domestic Gentlebeard, Top Stede, MERMAID STEDE??? We got so much, y’all. That can’t be said for many fandoms, especially with the limited amount of content we were given this season.

When it comes to Izzy’s arc and d3ath, I also think that was beautifully done. Izzy’s arc was BEAUTIFUL. I never thought I’d be an izzy lover, but going from needing blackbeard and antagonizing him to be in this toxic relationship to calling him Eddie and telling him to go on, live as Ed and that people truly love him and he had a family… god, it’s perfect. It wraps up Izzy’s arc, which was to show Ed how much he really means. Stede can’t do that — Izzy is his oldest friend and the person he trusts the most, Izzy was the only one who could convince Ed that he is loved, wrapping up Ed’s arc as well. The “I want to go” made me break. I think Izzy’s arc with the crew and especially with Ed and Stede was some of the storytelling I’ve seen in a while, no matter how rushed it was. As much as I would have loved to see more character growth with Izzy, once again, what we got was fucking wonderful.