Quallian42

[hellishunicorn]

Why the end of epsiode 8 of season 1 hit has hard as it did

Myself and many others in this fandom have gone absolutely batshit over the end of episode 8 in season 1 and I never understood exactly why that scene made so many of us so emotional. because it's not the saddest, or most romantic or even the best scene by any means and I understand why others in the fandom don't get why that scene and the chain become so popular in the fandom. But I've realized what that scene reminds of of, how I read it.

It's the police attacking a queer bar and the people inside that bar deciding to stand together. (They are not fighting back, because they don't want the police to escalate things further but they're also not running away from the cops. Because this is their bar/ship, this is their place, their home.)

It's the attitude of 'if one of us goes down, then we all go down together'.

It's about community and preserving that community.

[nhbcnbx]

Lucius comes to his room several times a day to tell him gossip and stupid jokes that make his shot side ache. He brings Bonnet's books, crumples awkwardly, but agrees to read aloud.

He spends more and more time with Izzy and lingers with him until deep into the night, when the idea of going back to his own quarters becomes pointless.

[snake-snack-stede]

pete calling his fiancé dude :’)

[izzyhandsyouaglassofwine]

seen a couple people running to that "is it bad writing or do you not understand genre" post in regards to the ofmd upset. and let me remind people that this show was marketed as a romantic comedy, ESPECIALLY this season!

In that regard, I found an article/blog post that directly addresses the question "can you have character death in a romantic comedy?" And it really hits the nail on the head.

Even if you were to make the argument "well it's a dark comedy!" or "its a pirate show!" there's still a balance that needs to be met if you don't want to alienate your audience.

People are going to argue that the death was earned because they spent the entire season building up his character and "completing his arc". Well, I'll argue that they DIDN'T complete his arc. In fact they took about twelve steps back in his death scene by seemingly ret conning his progress and having him center Ed's feelings on his literal deathbed. So it really feels a lot like fridging, because that's exactly what it was. Izzy's death was for Ed's arc, not his own. And they spent so much time focusing on Izzy all season, focusing on his growth and giving him such a specific arc about queerness and recovery, that yeah, his death feels like a slap to the face and not a tragic story beat that makes the story all the richer.

[justsalpals]

of course he wanted to go

he was fucking suicidal

and fuck you for making that his ending

fuck you for looking me in the eye and saying that his growth, his acceptance, his love, his reclaiming his own identity, wasn't enough. that it wasn't enough for him to keep on living.

fuck you for having him die in the arms of the man he did everything for while his crew stood there

fuck you for standing there and letting him when he said he wanted to go. he was SUICIDAL.

fuck you for saying that's the ending people like us get

[nhbcnbx]

Family

[archetank]

Lots of ways to move on, and I don't know how to whittle.

[matttheratkingart]

Trauma Bonded Pair Do Not Separate

[san-sebastienne]

Look at this 1940s femme fatale CUNT being served. Lauren Bacall ass bitch. Legs for days and he knows how to use em. What have I seen what am I serving. THANK you Nathan.

[wildlymint]

[fribble-tribble]

definitely should have been workin' on other stuff today BUT i desperately needed to get these lucius doodles out of my system before watching the new episodes. best boy!

[nhbcnbx]

Old lusrael sketches!

[quallian42]

I realize I never posted my finished cosplay. Meet Lucius (who smells like strawberries and says “have you ever been sketched?”) and Pete (blueberries, “Goddamit”) they both speak when you squeeze their hooves and all of the costuming was hand sewn.

I am never hand sewing a jacket again.

[amuseoffyre]

OKay. So. Thoughts. Please excuse meandering. It's 7am and my brain is not yet fully operational.

Point the oneth: S1 has set up precedents of wounds getting infected, causing delirium and resulting in amputation (whether by colleagues or self-inflicted) in episode 6. It has also set in place characters in fevered deliriums seeing flashes of people/places that upset them - Stede seeing Mary with the letter, his father laughing at him with the murdergoose and a hostile Alma in episode 4.

Point the twoth: Last we saw Izzy, he had his foot mutilated. This is not a man who would ask for help when injured, so I bet he doesn't do anything about the infection until it's too late because….

Point the threeth: By the time we see Stede's training montage with him, Izzy has a wooden leg. In the scene with him and Stede fighting on the beach, he has both feet.

Point the fourth: Bearded Stede is an idealised pirate: he's dressed like a showy pirate would be. He has leather trousers. He has a beard. He's masculine and holding his own in the fight on the beach.

Point the fiveth: Bearded Stede has Izzy's sword.

Point the sixth: We've seen that framing and expression before on Stede's face on only one single occasion.

So my theory, as loosely mentioned yesterday, is now elaborated upon.

I'm now absolutely convinced that the bearded Stede, the dashing romantic hero-looking bugger, is all Izzy's heightened fever dream while he's delirious and infected.

He's reliving the moment that turned his life upside down: the day he ran into the man who "bested him at swordplay" and who his boss found "fascinating". He's disarmed, his sword is in the hands of the man who turned his life upside down when he "done something to my boss's brain".

And ngl, I am giddy with excitement that if this is Izzy's fever-dream, he's the one butching Stede up. Like sir, contain your fever-addled ravings! Some might even call them thirsty. If his fever dream involves Stede slashing his shirt to ribbons I will punch the air in glee.

And then, he goes to train said fellow and feels the need to slap him on the arse during said training.

I AM DELIRIOUS :D

[bookshelfdreams]

Pete going from "put me in charge, I'm the most badass" to "Nope can't do it, I have never even seen one of those"

GROWTH!!!

[thegorgonist]

I love how stage-y this show's production is, there's a slight storybook quality to everything. Excited for season 2 to crack me up AND break my heart in new ways! ~

I should have prints at RCCC and Geek Girl Con!

[nhbcnbx]

Have you ever been dance?