Idelle for the character ask thing?
oh that's difficult! I'll try
First impression: I don't know when I first start noticing Idelle, you know I am not really someone who usually focus a lot on background characters instead of main characters, plus I have bad facial recoignization so it takes a lot for me to notice that a recurring minor character with fews lines is like. Actually always played by the same actor. Anyway I always thought that the prostitute offering John Silver a big long gun when he asked for a weapon, a knife etc was incredibly cool. Her annoyed face during that exchange was priceless.
Impression now: I really like how Idelle, despite being a minor character, has evolved into such a distinct one. She isn't here for lots of minutes but if she would disappear she would be missed you know. I like her friendship with Max, her genuine admiration and affection toward her. It's a very touching bond of solidarity and sisterhood between two self-made women who made it through povery, sex work and a violent and chaotic environment together, and made the best of it. I've read that Idelle is the quartemaster to Max's captain and it's very sweet and true.
I also love her nonchalant attitude about whatever crazy stuff everyone around her pulls out.
Oh Vane is chocking Max and this new guy who is Max's sketchy new business partner is asking me for a weapon? Just smile and give him a bazooka.
Oh I woke up and there is a war ship under the window? What else could happen when Flint is around, you know how certain captains are.
Unbothered queen. No pirates shit can surprise her anymore.
Favorite moment "But I still fuck the shit out of him, right?" Idelle is hilarous and that's why I love to have her on the background of this show.
Idea for a story I don't have any.
Unpopular opinion I understand Max's pain and rage but it's a bit unfair that when Max is justifying why she is defending Anne despite the, you know, murders, she says (rightfully) that Anne was the only one who cared about her while she was in the tent; and she looks at Idelle as to imply that Idelle was amongst the ones who didn't, and Idelle makes a guilty face.
I think it's unfair for the simple reason that Idelle could have not saved Max in the way Anne and Eleanor did.
Idelle was a prostitute in the brothel tryimg to survive just like Max was, and she didn't have the social power or the connection or ability to fight off pirates to stop the abuse Max was enduring, like Eleanor or Anne did, so it's a bit unfair to hold her at theirs same standard. Or at the standard of any men..
Could she have been shown a bit more emphatetic/concerned for Max when she returned to the brothel tho? Yeah.
Favorite relationship. Max obviously as you can imagine but I also like her relationship with Fearingthon. He is more in love with her than she is with him obviously, but I think that's why they might work lol, I think initially she saw him only as another john and rightfully, but given than all her potential romantic male partners in the Nassau are men who were or could have been her clients; and she is presumably a heterosexual woman (crazy that these exhist in Black Sails... sometimes) so she could have just thought "ok this pirate is respectful, would tell me anything because he's crazy about me, and kind and good enough" but then I think she grew genuinely fond of him.
Favorite headcanon. I don't have any headcanon about Idelle but now that I think about it, Max mentioned something about her mother and how she used to hide from her, it might be a fake origin story that Idelle told to seduce men showing vulnerability but I do like the idea of Idelle coming from an house with a mean, domineering, but unhappy mother and also an abusive step-father. (My headcanon).
Imho lost of women who were prostitute back then retourt to sex work to find a way out from difficult or unsafe parents, families or husbands. There weren't lots of way to gain economical indipendence (and thus freedom) for any woman, but especially women who weren't born rich.
I also think Idelle rightfully don't like Anne (for valid murders related reasons) but I think she doesn't really respect Jack either lmao, she thinks he's fine and innocous but a bit ridicolous lmao. She likes that despite being technically the brothel's owner (or is still Vane; technically, given the fake document from s1? Lmao) he doesn't know or give a shit anymore about how to run the brothel so all of this fall under Max's authority, and when Max is too busy or becomes too important to micromanage the brothel, the responsability is on Idelle.
