Have you seen the gayest show on tv ever? Our Flag Means Death?
Gay pirate rom-com.
I would literally kill everyone on earth to see David and Michael in a show like that or Aziraphale and Crowley be that open and in love.
Anyways, it is on HBOMax and the last two episodes drop next week. Watch it and thank me later.
So, I’ve recently received these two asks about Our Flag Means Death, and between these messages and seeing my social media feeds blowing up about this show seemingly out of nowhere, I thought I would take the time to watch it (which I now have, all 10 episodes) and write about the show and my thoughts on all the discourse that’s popped up.
Before I get into the meat of my analysis, standard disclaimer that what follows are my opinions. What I think is by no means gospel, and I absolutely encourage folks to watch the show themselves and form their own opinions. At the same time, I was also very hesitant to watch the show initially, and I hope people understand that just because lots of GO fans or people you follow are watching the show and becoming fans, it doesn’t mean you have to, too. So if you don’t want to watch it, that is totally okay, and if you do want to watch it, that is okay, too.
All that being said, let me first list the things that I did like about OFMD, in no particular order (**Note: Spoilers for OFMD may follow, so read at your own discretion):
- Loved Ewen Bremner as Mr. Buttons, because I was immediately like “HI SPUD!” and let’s face it, Mr. Buttons is pretty much what Spud would be like if he were an 18th century pirate, albeit with less heroin and more cannibalistic tendencies. Bless.
- Loved the relationship between Lucius and Black Pete, and how the latter carved a new finger for the former after he lost his, and the depth of emotion from Pete when he was giving it to him (”I’m used to death, but, um...not your death”).
- Loved that Mary didn’t even blink or blanch when Stede said, “Ed. His name is Ed” after she asked the name of the person Stede had found who makes him happy, and that she was so supportive of him even after all they’d been through.
- Taika Waititi’s entire goth daddy pirate aesthetic as Blackbeard/Ed gave me life. The whole look was very Michael Sheen as Lucian from Underworld on the high seas and normally I am not here for a giant beard, but when he shaved it off in a later episode, I was nearly bereft.
- And yes, the burgeoning relationship between Stede and Ed was and is adorable, but something about which I continue to have somewhat mixed feelings (more on that in a minute).
Overall, Our Flag Means Death was a cute show (if a bit gory at times) and enjoyable on its own. But where I start to struggle is with the repeated comparisons to Good Omens (and especially to comparisons between Michael/David and Rhys/Taika, which is what I think I have the most problem with). And here’s why.
When I become specifically, intensely interested in something, whether it’s a movie or a band or a TV show--and this may have to do with my being autistic or just who I am--I am only interested in That Thing. For the past three years, Good Omens and Michael and David have had my heart, and so my initial hesitation in watching OFMD stemmed from seeing what I perceived as fans jumping on this bandwagon and rushing to replace Aziraphale and Crowley with Stede and Ed.
Now, I am aware this is not the case for most people. I know a lot of folks are filling the void between now and when season 2 of GO comes out, and this doesn’t make them love GO any less. But for me, there is something very special and unique about Good Omens and the characters of Aziraphale and Crowley and what they have all meant to me personally. So when I started seeing the comparisons between GO and OFMD, I wasn’t sure how to feel. What I mainly feel now, however, is that the comparisons do a disservice to both Stede/Ed and Aziraphale/Crowley, because while these relationships may seem similar on the surface, underneath they are very different.
The number one thing I have seen folks talking about on social media is the kiss between Stede and Ed in episode 9 of OFMD. I did think the kiss was sweet, but also a bit stiff--and not because of it being a first kiss. In talking about this, I think we have to mention acting and chemistry, both of which hugely influence how a relationship reads on screen, and Rhys and Taika do indeed have chemistry in the show. But when I saw them kiss, what I immediately saw was the acting. When I see Michael and David together, I see them being. It’s the difference between acting chemistry vs. people chemistry, embodying Aziraphale and Crowley from the inside out, as opposed to from the outside in, and having that relationship informed by the powerful bond between Michael and David off-screen.
So when I saw that kiss, I couldn’t help thinking that a kiss between Aziraphale and Crowley would be completely different from the kiss between Stede and Ed. (For many reasons, which would necessitate a longer discussion about representation and Michael/David (especially Michael’s) fearlessness and entire lack of hesitation in playing queer roles and the parts of him those roles represent.) But mainly because that chemistry and connection between Rhys and Taika doesn’t hold a candle to the chemistry and connection between Michael and David. And the presence of a kiss between Stede and Ed does not automatically mean they have romantic chemistry in the same way that Aziraphale and Crowley do, despite the absence of a kiss between them.
This is also the reason why I had to do a double-take when I saw a post here on Tumblr putting Michael and Georgia/David’s Twitter interaction side-by-side with one of Taika and Rhys’ and saying it had the same vibes:
For me, these two examples could not be more disparate. Again, it’s that thing where on the surface there appears to be a similarity, but when you look closely, there is a difference. Right off the bat, Taika qualifies his tweet by using the phrase “onscreen crush,” thereby drawing a clear line between him and the character of Ed/Blackbeard. But for the past three years, Michael has done nothing but the complete opposite, entirely blurring the line between him and Aziraphale, saying how David is very easy to fall in love with, calling David his lover, directly referencing fanfic by saying it is about he and David having sex, and countless other examples I have chronicled on my blog. (This isn’t even getting into how David has reciprocated outside of social media, albeit in his more reserved, David Tennant-y way.)
To go back to the example above, in contrast to Rhys and Taika’s exchange, the “other wife” comment--along with Michael’s response--is referencing something that has nothing to do with anything onscreen. We saw the first reference on Georgia’s birthday, and the tweet above continued it. But these references (#MugGate 2020, the use of the phrase “other partner” prior to “other wife” becoming a thing) have been going on for TWO YEARS now, so there is a history to this and a very high probability that it’s alluding to so much more than we even know about. So it seems like that takes things far beyond the realm of one very specific, narrowly-defined Twitter exchange, and is for me the reason why they are so completely different/not in the same realm.
All of the above being said, watching OFMD made me think of many things, but in particular, it made me think of season 2 of GO, and what could be in store/what I hope is in store. I know I have said previously that I am okay with Aziraphale and Crowley kissing or not kissing, and while watching OFMD has certainly tipped the scales in favor of “kissing,” what I hope is that that chemistry between Michael and David will be utilized to maximum effect, in whatever form that may take.
I hope Neil will see what they’ve brought to Aziraphale and Crowley in the first season and not let it go to waste, because the chemistry between Michael and David is truly a once-in-a-lifetime find. Like you, @blueberrysconematurity, I would also love to see Aziraphale and Crowley being that open--or at least being open in the way that is right for them--and putting to rest any of the absurdly still-lingering doubts about the love that is between them.
I hope that we can acknowledge and respect that there is room for all sort of queer representation in the media landscape, and that though there may be parallels, the relationships between Aziraphale/Crowley and Stede/Ed are not completely alike, nor should they have to be, to be viewed as representation.
And I hope that, for the sake of both Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death and the creators and cast who worked so hard to make these shows happen, the comparisons will eventually die down. I feel they shouldn’t be compared, but rather appreciated for the individual, unique shows that they are, with two relationships that are worth celebrating without casting them in each other’s shadow.
So those are my thoughts on OFMD, and I hope this post helps some folks out who have been wondering about the show. Thanks for writing in! xx
