I watched Our Flag Means Death for the first time about 2 weeks ago. I'm on my first rewatch already because it's such a beautiful show full of just absolutely amazing bits.
One of my favourite bits is this scene in s1e5 - The Best Revenge is Dressing Well
Now, someone who has the ability to make gifs could do something wonderful and gif this scene so we can see Ed's utter look of shock as Stede looks on at his handiwork. I, alas, do not know how one would do that.
(ETA: Thank you to @fallenrocket for finding and sharing said gif:
Anyway, as to why I love this scene. Aside from the fact that stede has just displayed the power of massive (passive) aggression in a beautiful way, it really switches the characters.
Out of the two of them (Blackbeard and the Gentleman pirate) if you were to bank on one looking maniacally on at their chaos and the other looking shocked at the outcome, you wouldn't think it was that way around.
Anyway, I love these pirates so much. I ugly cried at the end of season 2.
First of all, OFMD writer Alex Sherman was wearing an OFMD-themed sweatshirt with the s1 cat flag logo on it and sleeves inspired by the depression robe. 10/10.
Things I learned (this is mostly paraphrase):
S2 was hectic from the get, and particularly the last two episodes were rewritten until the last minute (sometimes in ways the actors didn't especially like), so I had no time to be nervous about being onscreen in the last episode. The AD was like, "Are you showing your butt later?," and I was like "Thanks for the reminder." They gave me a special sock to wear so I wouldn't show anything I wasn't supposed to. The person they put me on top of was from Chicago. Taika's 9-year-old was the one to call action for the scene. It was a weird day. That episode changed so much, but I advocated to keep my butt in it.
Samba really helped us find Roach's character. Roach was initially the merger of a couple of characters, and the way Samba played him fed into our writing for him.
Lucius was fun to write for because of his joke delivery. Nat Faxon (Swede) pulled off any dumb idea you gave him.
Rhys's body position was so consistent from one take to another, you could edit around him. Like, in a scene where he was writing a letter, holding the quill on the same line every time. Rhys brought so much humanity to everything. He felt so bad in 1.2 that Roach had to come to him about the missing hostage, and that impacted how we wrote the scene. We were initially worried about how people would respond to Stede, who left his wife and kids, and once Rhys started playing him, it wasn't even a concern whether people would find him likable.
[in response to a question about what character he sees himself in] I wish I could be Olu, but I'm Pete / Lucius / Stede. The Pixar try-ers.
[Who decided to make Pete funniest?] That was Matt being Matt.
[Anything you got stumped writing?] Sometimes we had to merge scenes for time. Improv did a lot of heavy lifiting in, say, the orange cake scene where no one wanted to sit next to the Swede.
[Lines you're especially proud of?] Black Pete having no idea how to use the crossbow! And this is [spouse] Alyssa's, but Lucius' "I'm so-so but decided to carry myself as if I'm cute." (which as organizers pointed out is something of a mantra within the fandom).
Surprised / delighted at how people got into Samba's baking, and how people resonated with Stede's trajectory.
Actors trained in comedy are used to getting feedback from a laugh, and doing drama was different.
Taika was always happy if you gave him a sword or gun to play with.
On many sets in the US, male actors are uncomfortable if you give them a scene in which they don't know everything. Like, they feel like they SHOULD know how to fix a car. That wasn't a problem on this set.
[about offscreen discussions that informed performance] We talked a lot in the writers room about the polycule when writing the Jim / Archie storyline in s2. And in 1.4, where Jim comes out as Jim, we were able to toss out about 10 beats of explanation, because Vico accomplished so much just by their acting decisions. DJenks's approach is generally, "How do we approach this from the perspective of a character who doesn't need their life explained, because they're living it?" I'd like to see a show that deals with polyamory not as an oddity.
[advice for aspiring screenwriters?] Write and read! Find scripts of the shows you like, and see how they relate to the onscreen product. A show isn't just one person. Storytelling can be structural (e.g., KPop Demon Hunters). Characters in s2 told stories in part through what they were wearing-- that was Gypsy Taylor's impact. And every department had a version of that: "this character went through this kind of trauma, so they'd fight like this" is the stunt coordination version.
[particular moments you remember fondly?] In 1.3 when Fred Armisen was on the way to sell them out to the Spanish Navy, Alyssa's and my love for tapas made its way in, and all the characters got a piece of their character out via delivery / reaction. We were all vibing. In 2.8, when Taika kills the two officers, I kept thinking, "I'm watching him kill two British officers in New Zealand," this is wild.
[what else would you write for this cast?] Them being roadies and following a band. (Other cast and crew asked this question have responded, variously: cowboys, space ships, Rocky Horror, sci fi.)
[fandom moment you enjoyed?] The snall SMAU day! Also, Alyssa found a dirty fanfic right after s1, and I was like, "I know these guys!!" Fans posting karaoke of themselves singing "The Chain" also really hit.
I'm still laughing about #Ass Tonight. I have a few friends on "The Pitt," so I'm trying to get my ass an airing on "The Pitt" at some point.
[The event ended with a few minutes of Alex beaming at the audience reaction at the venue.]
That's all for Wee Con programming today! I'll be coming back after recordings are posted to watch the "Stab Me" panel and the panel on historical (in)accuracy, because I can do 5 am but not 2 am. I expect to be back tomorrow with notes on the onscreen music panel.
Sometimes when I'm feeling negative I'll just remember Stede shouting "Man for sale!" in a sing-song voice and suddenly things don't feel that bad anymore
Have the confidence of Stede Bonnet dressed in white walking through the Republic of Pirates yelling ‘Man for Sale’ and ‘Buy my booty.’ Is a vibe and confidence booster.
romaincrisis
snowghoul
titsay
pixelskylines
andulkaphoto
turnnoffyourmind
tangentwithtanner
germansingergirl
