I'm thinking about how some people STILL claim Edward wasn't abusive but just defending himself against Izzy's supposed abuse. And I'm thinking about the symbolism in 4 and 5 and I'm losing my fucking mind.
Izzy still doesn't feel like he belongs, even after everything the crew have done for him. His prosthetic leg is super wobbly because he STILL doesn't believe they want him now that the immediate danger is over. He has no idea how he fits in now or what is expected of him and his fragile new leg is a symbol of that. He keeps to himself, he drinks constantly and he snaps at every attempt at interaction from the crew. He believes he is alone, even among the crew.
Then he tries to intervene to save the crew *yet again* (if he was the selfish asshole the antis like to paint him as why on earth would he even bother to do this?) and the leg breaks - and Izzy is sure he is alone with it, as proven by his "we are born alone and we die alone" mantra. And what do the crew do? They fucking fashion him a new - much more stable and durable - leg. They go out of their way to fucking paint it gold. They drop it off at his door without any attempt at talking to him, which is a wonderful gesture of kindness on their part, proving that they know *exactly* what he needs.
And it literally changes Izzy, even if he doesn't like to show it. He finds his footing again, both figuratively and literally. He becomes more open towards Stede, offering to train him (also great character development for Stede, realizing just how incompetent he is and who to turn to for help). He starts fucking whittling to deal with his trauma (as unhealthy as this is, it is at least *an attempt* to deal with it). He pretty much returns to his pre-Kraken ways, going on raids with the crew and even getting complimented by Stede on his swordsmanship (because that's just *what he does*). An most importantly, he is treated by everyone as one of their own, meaning that they care for him and provide whatever help he needs.
Meanwhile, Edward starts as everyone's enemy. Stede is the only one who wants him around, with Izzy being unable to properly voice his feelings. They vote him out. They ALL want him gone, and not just his old crew. Everyone. They realize that at his worst he's capable of killing them all on a whim and they don't want him in their safe space. They LITERALLY call it a walk of shame because they realize Ed deserves punishment for his actions.
They DO eventually let him back in, but the circumstances of this are so damn telling. He's standing before him like a penitent, confessing his sins. He's wearing a sackcloth AND a bell that adds to his humiliation while making sure he doesn't sneak up on anyone ever again. This is LITERALLY a medieval penance ritual and he doesn't even try to argue with it because he knows that he deserves it and that it is necessary if he wants to be allowed back aboard the Revenge. So he just goes on slowly repairing the damage he's done one crew member at a time, knowing he has to put work into gaining their trust back.
It is all so beautifully written, with Izzy's new leg making him confident enough to sit around in Stede's room and put his fucking leg(s) on the desk and Edward owning up to his actions and allowing Lucius to punish him in whatever way he wants. It is CRYSTAL CLEAR which of them is fully redeemed in the crew's eyes and which has to work very hard to earn forgiveness.
