I want to talk for a moment (or a LONG few moments butā¦) about my special little angel face, honeysuckle, cuppie cakeā¦Stede Bonnet
From the start of the season, Stede is desperately seeking a person who heās afraid will think heās not good enough, that he is somehow lacking. Heās afraid he blew his chance at real happiness because he was scared and panicked (as he explicitly tells Ed in Fun and Games) but thereās so much more going on here. He wasnāt just scared and panicked because they were moving so fast during all their time together- he DIDNāT KNOW what they were doing. He didnāt realize they were falling in love because he didnāt know what it meant to be in love.
He was scared that running away to China was just going to be a rash decision borne out of a need to escape - he didnāt understand his value in general but more importantly, in that scene, to Ed. He didnāt understand that the āYou wear fine things wellā moment was special for Ed - we see that heās come to understand that NOW in the flashback in Red Flags. He didnāt realize that to Ed, Stede is special. In all the moments that we understand Ed has been vulnerable because heās willing to open up to Stede, Stede doesnāt have our insight. Not because heās emotionally unintelligent - I would argue heās generally well aware of how people see him - the problem is that NO ONE has seen him as worthy before and therefore is very easy to undervalue his significance.Ā
If we look at all the scenes that we as an audience can tell are meaningful to Ed, from Stedeās perspective heās either unaware of Edās motivations even though the audience is aware (the treasure scene) or can, through the dialogue or lack thereof, discount the importance because of his poor self-worth. For instance, in the bathtub scene, Ed specifically says he outsources the big job - Ed has told Stede he doesnāt kill people not personally - it implies Edās decision to NOT kill Stede isnāt all that big a deal or at least to a person who doesnāt see their value (Stede) it would be very easy to write off the idea that Ed specifically didnāt want to kill Stede. Stede is aware that the fuckery has been triggering for Ed - this doesnāt make Edās confession any less impactful but it does bring into question the reasons behind his decision to not kill Stede. For Stede, it can easily be explained by saying āEd has just relived a traumatic moment, heās currently dealing with a heavy emotional burden, Ed doesnāt kill people (he just said so) and so he doesnāt want to kill me because it would be further trauma. Ed didnāt even see me as his friend so Iām simply a random person who happens to be here.ā There, a neat little box of reasons that has nothing to do with Stede - not in any meaningful way, heās merely a prop in the story.Ā
On the cliff, that was the first time he was even aware he was having an impact on Ed in any sort of meaningful way. Ed had literally, just walked away, yeah he came back but itās not that difficult to see how it seemed easy for Ed to leave. Ed opted not to be Blackbeard anymore ostensibly to save Stede but, Stede is aware that Edās been thinking about packing it all in for a while now. Stede doesnāt understand how big an influence heās had on Ed. It would be easy to say that he did ruin historyās greatest pirate because he put Ed in a position where he felt obligated to save Stede. Stede knows that Ed knows that Izzy sold them out. Ultimately, Ed put Stede in the position of being found by Chauncey and his first mate made that possible. Itās not that much of a stretch to assume that Ed simply feels guilty for putting Stede in that position and is saving him from the firing squad because of that guilt. Stede doesnāt see his worth and canāt imagine that itās him as a person that Ed is attracted to, that Ed adores. That Edās quasi- or Izzyās direct involvement in bringing about the situation has nothing to do with Edās decision because that would mean giving himself more credit, giving himself more agency and Stede has routinely been told that he has none, he never earned his status and he never will. The things he enjoys are worthless and weak.Ā
Stede so undervalues himself that excuses for people NOT hurting him or saving him canāt be due to his appeal or importance. Heās unimportant, therefore Edās reactions and decisions have little if anything to do with him.Ā
This is the repressed trauma that he carries around with him, that he buries beneath the smiles and silliness. He has moments of working through that (āI am adequateā) but that doesnāt remove the deep-rooted insecurities. The fact that he gets up and smiles and allows himself to be silly speaks to his strength of character. The moments when the demons rear their heads are so impactful but the fact that they return below the surface doesnāt mean they go away, it doesnāt mean heās defeated them. Is it healthy? No. Is it still so courageous? Abso-fucking-lutely. Heās simply one of the strongest, most capable, genuinely wonderful characters BECAUSE he does all he does, saving the crew, working against his selfishness (most of the time), trying to figure out who he is and where he fits in the world while carrying this burden of internalizing his worthlessness.