Favorite Scenes Between...Lucius & Buttons
When Stede tells the crew about the “vacation” in 1x02
Of course, it’s in the previous scene that Buttons tells Stede that “young and succulent” Lucius would be the ideal crew member to eat first
So, it’s fun to get this little unspoken exchange between the two of them here. As Stede assures the crew they have plenty of food and won’t need to eat each other, I like the way Buttons eyes Lucius. Meanwhile, Lucius clocks it, though he certainly doesn’t realize why Buttons is looking at him like that
When Lucius watches Buttons whittle in 1x02
One thing that’s fun about the early episodes of an ensemble show is that you tend to get a lot of variety in scene partners as the series figures out the overall dynamics/who clicks together/etc. Later on, things can get more cemented, and characters are less likely to stray from their lane—Lucius, for instance, spends the lion’s share of his season 2 screentime with Pete or Stede, and we don’t get as many moments like this
And really, this “figuring out the dynamics” thing is true within the story as well. From the sounds of it, the crew hasn’t been sailing together too long (in the pilot, Pete says they’ve been at sea “for weeks,”) so they don’t know each other super well yet. People are still getting to know each other and making friends. So I like that Lucius kind of awkwardly asks Buttons what he’s whittling, because it’s the first topic of conversation he can think of
I adore Buttons’s dramatic pronouncement, “This...will eventually be a harpsichord.” Even Lucius gets sucked in by it! But then immediately taking it down a notch with, “No, it kinda resembles a sharp carrot,” hee!
We then get Buttons’s spectacular take on a conversation starter, “Wanna wager I can name a thousand different sea creatures?” Love it! It cracks me up that he fully ignores Lucius from here on out and just starts shouting the names of sea creatures while emphatically whittling
And yet, Lucius just kind of quiets down and resigns himself to listening to Buttons name sea creatures. It’s not until Frenchie and Wee John’s explosion takes out a tree (which Buttons also has no reaction to) that he decides to remove himself from the situation altogether
I really like the way Lucius walks away, clomping through the sand with his palms turned down and his fingers spread wide. It’s so gay and makes me so happy!
I love, “Pomatomus saltatrix, which is Latin for ‘bluefish’”—also, “Other kinds of jellyfish. Don't wanna get stang by one of them, send you into a tunnel of despair…”
When Buttons bites Lucius in 1x06
“Ow, you bit me! What the fuck?!?” “I thought you were a demon, boy!” Flawless, outstanding! I love everything about it. I like that Lucius is equal parts bewildered/annoyed and that Buttons’s explanation is perfectly logical to him
“Sorry, laddie, ye triggered my fight-or-bite response,” is just a pitch-perfect line, impeccably delivered by Ewen! It always make me laugh on rewatch, and I use it as a vocal stim all the time
I also love the reveal of Buttons’s “summer” teeth—“Some are teeth. Some ain't.” Lucius’s reaction is great too!
When the crew is having broth on the Red Flag in 2x02
Look, I know Lucius is struggling right now, and it can be genuinely painful to watch what he’s going through, but it can also be so funny sometimes, and kudos to the show for threading that needle
Because this is the scene where Pete asks, “So babe, you smoke now?” and Lucius gives the worst “trying to be nonchalant” answer of all time—“Do I? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Erm, I must've picked it up somewhere or something. I don't know”
“You don't know if you picked up smoking?” Ewen Bremner, folks! Spectacular delivery, it’s so calm and even-keeled, yet 100% incredulous. I love it!!!
