So I’m going to be really honest right now. I’m devastated with the final cancellation of Our Flag Means Death, I had such certainty that it’d be picked up that this scenario never crossed my mind. It’s not fair and I’m angry. This show meant so much to me and I’m so grateful for the things I’ve learned about myself because of this show. I know for many people that seems crazy that a show could lead to the changes that I’ve made in my life but well it’s the truth. I want to first and foremost say thank you to everyone who created this thing that I hold so dearly. And on the off chance they see this insignificant post THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart I am grateful.
OFMD made me be able to acknowledge my queerness to myself and I’ve been able to come out to special people in my life and that was something I never thought I’d ever do. I remember watching Calypso’s Birthday for the 3rd time and it just hit me that you can be happy and queer. Being raised as a conservative evangelical dealing with my queerness was a net loss in my mind. I was scared of what I would lose coming out. That’s why I relate to Stede so much, I was okay following the path of least resistance and that was what my family and the church wanted for me. This show showed me what life after the closet could be if I was brave enough to choose it. OFMD made me so happy that I could no longer inhibit myself.
It wasn’t just the main relationship that did that. It was the crew of the Revenge. The love and kindness of this show gave me a sense of what I want in a community. In January I had a bad flare up in my chronic illness and because of this community I felt safe enough to trust my friends to help me. And it was hard and I had to sit with myself. I find I internalize fiction and stories to process my own shit and OFMD has been my go to for teaching me how to be kind to myself. I love this show and its kindness and this fandom. And as much as I’m broken hearted about these turn of events I’m okay because what we have is special.
So all of this to say is thank you. Thank you David Jenkins and Rhys Darby and Taika Watiti and everyone else. I doubt it will but if this reaches any of yall know that you made a great and good impact on my life and future.
And last but not least…. FUCK YOU HBO/WB AND FUCK YOU CAPITALISM AND THE STREAMING MODEL!!!!
Zheng and her begrudgingly affectionate attitude towards Stede is one of the greatest things about season 2.
She's so unintentionally invested in Ed and Stede's relationship. Her and Auntie hear all about it during the Soup Stall days, then Stede goes around telling her whole crew about his and Ed's meet-cute and breakup. She fights the British Navy singlehandedly, just so Ed and Stede can have their dramatic romantic reunion.
But it's also lovely that she is able to show kindness. Not just towards Stede, as her relationship with Olu supports this, and it's clear when we see her interact with her own crew.
Zheng is more than just the badass Pirate Queen Who Bent China To Her Will, she's funny, she's caring, and she's emotionally intelligent too. As the other protagonists do, she rejects patriarchal ideals and thrives because of it. She has depth beyond simply being a s2 plotline. Honestly one of the best characters in the whole show, and for good reason.
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. 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 was from Chicago. Taika's 9-year-old was the one to call action. 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, 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.
modern au where jackie personally bans stede from singing romantic love songs at karaoke night because ed always fucking blows him in the bathroom after and people are starting to complain
I feel like most people in the OFMD fandom either flat out ignore or just never bring up the fact that Ed is also a rich guy. It's just that Stede was born until wealth and Ed wasn't. And while I don't necessarily dislike modern AU fics where Stede is the out of touch but ultimately kindhearted wealthy guy while Ed grew up poor, I think there should be more recognition for Ed being wealthy too.
And that's sad, because we lose a lot of juicy character analysis. Ed and Stede are both rich, but they are rich in really different ways and that's interesting, and it greatly influences them both.
Stede is inheritance rich. He comes from a rich family, he grew up rich, and that didn't only shape his childhood, but also how he sees himself as an adult and what issues he struggles with. Stede feels like he didn't do anything to deserve all this money and privilege, and his peers made it clear that he is inadequate. Stede uses his wealth to buy things he wants, and he does so freely, in the manner of a person who never had to worry the money might run out at any time, but the things that end up making him most happy are things money can't buy. He really cherishes his petrified orange, an objectively worthless (in the monetary sense) object he found in the dirt. But he found it himself! On an adventure! Stede wants nice things, and he wants the nice things to be things he earned and that mean something (as opposed to being random things he got through family wealth). Denouncing his wealth frees Stede from the perceived obligation of Being Good Enough to Deserve This Stuff. Instead, he sets out to get back the things that really mean something to him. Stede delights in things he aquired by himself now. The new shirt (definitely not cursed no!) and the suit (unfortunately cursed). Stede was so busy being a rich guy and living up to it that he never got to find out what Stede likes and wants to do.
Ed on the other hand is full of trauma from growing up poor. His early life was shaped by being an indigenous kid with no money and hardly any chance to better his and his family's situation. His mother's (wells intentioned but traumatic) lesson of "we're not these kinds of people" is haunting Ed into the present. He got rich with piracy. He's famous. He could easily retire and live a life of leisure, but that never occurs to him. He fancies the fine fabrics and the trinkets and the over the top decor he finds on the Revenge, but before running into Stede, he never got any finery for himself. He's a successful pirate. Surely he plundered plenty of ships carrying fancy fabrics or art or nice brandy. As the legendary captain Blackbeard, he could have easily gone and claimed any loot he wants for himself and nobody would have batted an eye. But he doesn't. Not ever. Not these kind of people is so ingrained that Ed lives a poor life decades after escaping poverty. He has more money than you can shake a stick at, and what does he do with it? Nothing! It is stashed away wherever (for the bad times?) and never gets touched.
And that's interesting for characterisation! There's that guy who earned all the money by being the top of his field, but instead of living a fancy celebrity life, he seems to own two shirts and loses his shit over a cashmere blanket. He could be drowning in cashmere blankets and silk shirts! But he doesn't, because he feels like he's the kind of guy who doesn't deserve nice things!
And Stede also thinks he doesn't deserve nice things, but for completely different reasons. Stede loves a fancy suit, but he wants to earn it somehow, though work or an adventure or whatever. Ed on the other hand needs to let go of the mindset of being a low level person who doesn't get nice things. Ed needs to dig out some of his treasure and buy himself fancy shirts and silk dressing gowns and a flowly ball gown and several super soft blankets.
And they live together now. So many juicy ways you can take this. Does Stede struggle with no longer having the means to buy his boyfriend all the nice gifts he wants to shower him in? How does Stede feel about being the poor guy in that relationship? How does Stede feel about being technically dependent on Ed to buy him food? How does Ed feel about being the rich guy? Can he be proud and happy about his wealth? Or is it tied to the life he left behind and feels more like a burden? Does he worry Stede stays with him for money reasons? Does he delight in buying Stede nice gifts? Does he actually get comfortable buying himself nice things he wants?
How do they deal with times of scarcity that might befall them in spite of Ed's treasure riches? Ed knows all about living on scarce resources, but Stede doesn't and will be prone to slipping up by throwing away things instead of repairing them, or spending a lot of money on useless fun things instead of buying food and other necessary supplies. How do they get through that. Is Ed perpetually worried to spend too much? Is Stede, once he fully grasps that Things Cost Money And Are Scarce, worried about spending? How do they find a balance of Being Normal About Money, something neither of them has any experience in?
There's a lot of trauma there for both of them, and a lot of source for conflict, but also a lot of potential for healing and growth and solving the problems As A Couple.
In a modern AU you could start out on the bonkers situation that rock star Ed Blackbeard Teach lives in a shitty tiny apartment or something, because he doesn't feel like he deserves a nice house. And a Stede who has not only a big mansion but also a holiday beach home complete with infinity pool and jacuzzi. How long does it take for Stede to figure out Ed is the famous Blackbeard? He can't be, his shitty apartment regularly loses power and doesn't have internet half the time. What happens when Stede finds out who Ed is? What does discovering he actually really wants to have a jacuzzi do with Ed? (And, next step, that he absolutely has enough money to move out of his shitty apartment and live somewhere that has a jacuzzi and a sauna and a giant bedroom with a balcony overlooking the sea?)
Or, Ed does have the big mansion bought by fame rich money, but it's just this empty shell, and the only things inside are old keepsakes and props for his persona that he doesn't actually like living with. Give me Ed living in a brutalist concrete house with towering grey walls and minimalist decor (Izzy picked that, because it suits Blackbeard), and Ed's miserable with this expensive but lifeless stuff, because his dream house is actually a tiny cottage with purple walls stuffed full of trinkets. You can have a whole journey of rejecting the minimalism and embracing the love of trinkets or something. Throw in a Stede who is also conflicted about trinkets because he was bullied for having them all his life and is just now, after his coming out and divorce, relearning what kinds of trinkets he wants. Send them on a trinket quest of self-discovery together while they fall in love!
"Ed is rich as fuck but doesn't buy himself anything he wants/needs" is way more juicy than "Ed is poor" or "Ed is rich just like Stede". Ed is rich in a complicated traumatised way in which actual access to his money is locked away in the trauma vault so he never gets himself things he wants or needs. This character can fit many levels of fucked up into him!
I do find it a bit rich Izzy calling Ed a ‘wild dog’ when it’s Izzy who spends much of the show snarling in people’s faces.
I’m glad Ed gets to apply the description correctly just once.
Ed is absolutely pushed to his limit, in despair and heartbreak. Even then, Ed doesn’t get in Izzy’s face directly; doesn’t snarl, curl his lip, bare his teeth. He drops the register of his voice as low as it will go, but he doesn’t shout. Izzy even admits to goading… ‘There he is.’ He knows that’s not Ed’s character. He knows this is trauma - even if he doesn’t understand the particulars - that he, Izzy, weaponises to keep Blackbeard alive.
His treatment of Ed is inhumane, partly because he doesn’t view Ed as having human worth in the same way as he does.
But Ed never shows the characteristics of a wild dog, or dog, even.
Yet Izzy? He’s out of control: up in Stede’s face, Ed’s face, Lucius’ face. Pulling Fang’s beard, thumping Pete around the head. Violating Lucius by shoving a cigarette in his mouth that he himself has just dragged on; violating spaces in general. Baring and gritting his teeth; screaming and ranting and cursing and frothing.
I agree with Ed: dogs befoul the ship, and it’s Izzy who’s the wild dog.
Newest art. Because we need to turn poison into positivity. And these guys make me happy. (They should have danced. We should have gotten to see them dance.) 💔🧡💜
I think also about Our Flag Means Death and how it’s very…not sexually explicit. It is explicit about its queerness, but there are no sex scenes, no real nudity, no explicit conversations about sexuality. It’s a romance - we are left in no doubt that Ed and Stede desire each other, fall in love, have sex. Sexual dynamics are implied. We know that Anne and Mary are sleeping together, that Lucius has slept with half the crew, that Jim and Archie and Olu have been having sex.
But there is nothing in it that is more sexually explicit than your average cishet rom-com. Romance, especially with Ed and Stede, is a major focus. Stede does not come out and immediately start sleeping with a bunch of different men. Ed is remarkably private about his sexual history (though it is never implied he’s ashamed of it).
It does not desexualize queerness but it very much emphasizes that queerness is not solely sexual. The homophobia Stede faces is because of his gender presentation, not who he does or does not fuck. Frenchie and Wee John are never shown as sexually or romantically interested in anyone of any gender. Neither, for that matter, is Izzy.
It's interesting that aswell as seeing our three Captains in English Captain attire, we also see Spanish Jackie wearing a Captains coat too!
It completely makes sense, despite her not having an actual ship, she's undeniably a Captain in her own right. A queer poc woman running a successful business built around pirating, and then single-handedly taking down like 30+ toxic, racist Englishmen??? Stunning.
