no but ever since the trailers fans were already talking about how stede wearing red represented stede replacing the red silk and the red silk was symbolic for ed's heart and stede is ed heart etc etc etc
but to put stede in this full red outfit in THIS EPISODE SPECIFICALLY. where we get a direct callback and a take two on the "you wear fine things well" scene, the one where stede put ed's silk in his pocket and said it suited him, wearing his heart out in the open like that. for this episode to be the one where stede is wearing red!!!
in s1 stede folds and tucks that red silk into ed's left pocket, right over his heart. and in s2 they kiss, stede gets hot n bothered, ed asks to take it slow, they hold hands and play a silly little game with their fingers and stede whispers you won. and stede folds himself up and slots himself in right beside ed's heart.
Another thing I think people are starting to talk about that drives me absolutely INSANE is the difference between the red silk and the red shirt.
The red silk, while iconic, is incredibly riddled with trauma and insecurities. It is directly tied to his mother, his father, his childhood. He carries it through so much that it has become tattered, torn, stained. It is so small in his hands, because it used to only belong to his mother. He hides it often, and he seems almost embarrassed by it at times-- not necessarily of the silk itself, but of the fact that Blackbeard has a heart at all. When Stede takes it and folds it over his heart he is putting Ed's wounded, fragile heart into place. "You wear fine things well" is a symbol and, in hindsight, a warning that Stede gives about never losing your heart. When Ed goes to kiss him and decides not to, it's because he still doesn't know how to have one. is so easy for him to let it go, and it can never come back.
But then there's the shirt. Stede has learned a lot, and he has grown a lot, but he still appreciates the fine things. He still proudly wears his heart on his sleeve, and the red shirt is an easy way to show that. Ed, on the other hand, has lost a big part of himself, something that can never come back-- innocence in love. He has been torn, tattered, stained. He has let his heart go, but seeing Buttons change made him realize that doesn't mean he needs to forget about having a heart at all. He may have lost a piece of it, but he's finally realized his heart wasn't just a thing of the past, but something he can find in everyone around him-- especially Stede. "You Wear Fine Things Well" isn't just a clever quip this time, it's accepting that he has found another piece of his heart, that he is willing to open up again and start fresh. It's accepting that while he has lost that part of himself, he wants to try again. And while the moon is no longer full, Ed doesn't have that insecurity weighing him down anymore. He kisses Stede like no one is watching, he is vocal about wanting to take it slow (which I suspect is because Stede said he left because things were going too fast, but also because he isn't ready to move on from what happened just yet). He isn't ready to wear his heart on his sleeve, but he is ready to accept it as an equal part of his life.
