#omfd meta

Intro: What I love most about how season 2 builds on season 1 of OFMD is the spiral narrative structure. Ground is repeatedly and explicitly re-trod from season 1 to season 2, but in season 2 everything goes deeper than season 1. Meanings are shuffled, emotions are stronger and truer, and transformation is showcased above everything. The first season plucks certain notes, then the second season plucks the same ones--but louder, and then it weaves them together to create a symphony.

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Now, to this meta: An unexpected letter, from one partner to another.

Season 1 Episode 4

"Dearest Mary,

You deserve happiness, as do I. My hope is that the vast wealth and property I've left behind for you and the children will suffice...You're quite right: we only have this one life.

Fond Regards, Stede"

This letter is an ending. It's shallow, and it's selfish. It's not malicious, but it is careless--as if money could replace a husband and father. There's not a connection here: this letter is about Stede distancing himself from what he's left behind. The letter is essentially a formality, a final obligation to give some sort of explanation for his absence. And as Mary asks in his hallucination, "Did you really think a letter was enough?" Even he knows this was a cheat.

But underneath all that is a something genuine. There's Stede's desire for happiness, knowing he won't find it on his father's land. His acceptance of what Mary's said about having only one life, but a refusal to embrace the same fatalism she was suggesting. It's clumsy and a bit dumb, but it expresses a desire for transition, and it's Stede actually seeking a way to be true to himself for the first time in his life.

Season 2 Episode 8

"Dear Ed,

I long for you. Every day we spend apart feels like an eternity. I know you don't wanna hear from me, but I write these letters daily, hoping one will reach you. Hope that's okay. I know we're not through. I can feel it in my soul. A love like ours can't disappear in an instant: we're joined to one another, intertwined. We wrote our names on each other, in permanent ink."

Stede's first letter is about his relationship to Mary; this letter is about his relationship with Ed. This goes right down to the pronouns: "I" and "you" appear most in the first letter, but "we" is threaded all through the second letter. And that "we" isn't just an artifact of the writing: the audio makes that we-ness real by intertwining Stede's and Ed's voices as the letter continues, using sound to create connection.

Mary reads the first letter sitting on her and Stede's bed--an extremely intimate location, but the letter is stilted and formal. It conveys distance, not closeness. In contrast, the second letter is written from and about distance, but it improbably manages to create intimacy.

The first letter was written out of obligation to the recipient, but this letter is written in hope of connection. The first letter is about Stede's hope for happiness, the second is about his certainty that happiness exists. And the first letter starts with "you" and ends with "I," but the second letter starts with "I": Stede knows what he wants now. He's not just running from something, he's running towards something.

And the largest spiraled parallel is this: Mary's letter was an ending, but Ed's letter is a continuation. The first letter focused on practicalities and closed a door. The second is focused on romantic fantasy--but not the kind of fantasies that drove Stede to write things like "we only have this one life" in the first letter. The kind of fantasies that bind tightly to reality, make life worth living, and keeps doors from closing.

I loved the ending.

I’m very sad that Izzy died, but I didn’t feel betrayed or like it came out of left field or anything. If anyone was going to die this season, it was going to be him. I think they handled it very well. I love the idea of him still being with Ed and Stede. His two monologues this episode were amazingly written and beautifully acted (ofc.) He has been my favorite character since season 1, and if the show continues, I will be sad that it will (probably) be without him. (BUT… I think DJenks may have some tricks up his sleeve)

And on the subject of s3:

I know David said that the show was projected to be a three season show. So I know a lot of people weren’t expecting this episode to feel so… final. But season 2 had such a hard time getting renewed, and faced some very obvious budget cuts, scheduling conflicts and restrictions. I know David (and us) want this show to have its full run, but I’m just not so sure it will happen. This was one of the reasons I was so anxious about the Good Omens s2 ending, because nothing is guaranteed, ESPECIALLY with queer shows.

But honestly? I’m happy with where Our Flag ended. If we don’t get a season three, I will be happy with the story, and the closure we did get from episode 8.

And intimacy, self-love and self-consent.

Spoilers for OFMD s2 follow.

**will add picture later**

something about the post-kiss thumbsies games rings wrong with me. not that it happened. not that is was included in the narrative (it's a great way of showing relief, actually.)

but what stede says at the end, when ed end up on top.

'you won.' and ed turns away, and his face turn quiet, serious. he huffs.

i didn't understand it right away - but I get the feeling, ed sighing harmonizes with me for some reason, and I have some ideas.

one, there's obviously a history of assuming their relationship is a game to the other. they realized and said out loud 'we are him prone'. the relationship being a game is not connoted positively BUT what would any (romantic) relationship be without games. being chums, fooling around. games make room for error, within games there is space to draw (and voice) boundaries. and they were performing playful, emotive exchange right before stepping into each others spaces, kissing, holding hands. so is it setting the game / any game and with that taking a chance on something good happening, but also taking a chance on getting hurt, in a physically intimate setting that makes Ed seem...uncomfortable?

two, 'you won' rings kind of absolute. alternatives may be: you win, you're winning this time. you got me. why does stede choose these words? well Ed obviously 'won' this exchange of thumbsies. but what makes the competition? they're on the same team, they're 'us'. or stede could mean: you're doing well, you're coming out on top of this, and the game is a signifier of this, if stede wants to make it that.

And Ed disagrees. his sea has not calmed (yet). he knows himself, he knows he's constantly shifting, and that he can be triggered. for ed, sorting out their relationship isn't over, and i don't think it is for stede either from what is shon. But we don't see stede worrying over his mental health, while we do experience ed going through enormous mental shifting with outright cruelty and suicidal behaviour on one end of the spectrum and shyly turning in to be kissed under the moonlight on the other end. and last time things went bad, stede was the trigger. but as we leave ep5, ed is taking care of himself, rebuilding trust, not apologizing but doing amends. so he probably has a thought or two about what is going to destabilize him, my first guess being izzy as ed cruelty to him is always mentioned in an impersonalized manner (izzy's name doesn't actually fall when discussing HIS LEG). i think, on some level, ed is aware of the cruelty he is capable to bestow upon others. probably not the most recent ones (see: izzy), but he is aware he can become dangerous to others and himself. and who would Ed hate to hurt? stede, of course. ed has 'won' nothing but a temporary refuge on the ship and an odd tranquility that gives him a chance to process i hope. he's still at war wwith himself inside his head, but how would anyone understand if he doesn't even understand how to navigate it

three, ed can't hold silence for shit. and stede can't really either. stede reaches for ed's hand, asking him calmly if this ok. ed answers 'perfect', and takes stede's hand in both of his. they play with their fingers, ed 'wins' and stede states the obvious. and it...has no end? their quip is going on and on and ed...maybe doesn't want to. he sat in silence (haha) with fang earlier (my man fell asleep on him) and maybe ed like that? but - as stated explicitly by fang - he's not good at that. he cannot emulate a sense of calmness/silence well on himself GUESS wHAT my babygirl is shit at emotionally self-regulation!!! and stede can't perform the calmness either, not yet. Meaning if either of them really shuts up, it means something may be wrong, or at least awkward ('please talk to me'). and fucking ed teach doesn't need awkwardness right now SO THE QUIPPING GOES ON and it's nice, it's romantic even, it feels easy. and while it might not be what he needs, ed at least identified what he needs from stede i guess???

In the first moonlight scene, the Moon was completely full, but here it's waxing, which means it's *becoming* full, but it's not quite there yet.

like, ed, who is presumably out as queer and more comfortable in his attraction to men, gets left behind and feeling like it was all a lie. left to question if stede just left because he couldnt commit to him specifically or (stay with me i know its insane for anyone to think stede could be straight, but i feel like it's safe to say ed has gone pro in anxious rumination) if he left because ed's not a woman... (yet)

and it's very important why stede goes back to mary and doesnt just hide away- his self-worth was so tied to his duty to being a husband and ideas of hetero masculinity he's inherited, that after that breaking point with badminton, it felt like going back to repressing his queerness indefinitely was his only option. you see how hard he swings back into those roles and basically being a misogynist controlling husband. like ew girlypop what happened to you? hey... repressing the gay thoughts did. episode 10 is very essentially about stede finally coming out to himself and to mary, and ed's side of the situation is representation for a... very real thing thats a risk of dating people who aren't out, and that happens to many.

just something i notice/at least that's how i read it lol/im having a great argument with myself in my head about if ed thinks that stede knows that he's gay... that's a related interesting question to pose.

But Oluwande doesn’t just fulfill a narrative purpose; he’s a fully rounded character who is sometimes ridiculous (no one can make him lose his head like Jim) as well as a source of stability and reason—the obvious choice to be captain while Stede and Ed are out of the picture. And his racial identity isn’t just happenstance—Ep2 shows how being part of the BI in BIPOC creates ground for solidarity, and Olu’s identity clearly shapes how he moves through the world (Ep5 in particular also, of course). That he is not only not white, but also the darkest-skinned character on the show, makes him being the center of gravity of goodness extra moving, for me. I want to cheer when I think about it!