Stede Bonnet and the Power of Crying Stede cries, (by my reckoning, I’ll take correction), in thirteen of the eighteen episodes of OFMD. In 109, he cries on four separate occasions.
It’s unusual for any character to be shown to cry so readily, especially one with a male identity. Stede could still be shown to have ‘soft skill’ strengths without crying as frequently as he does. So it’s interesting the significance the writing team attaches to Stede’s crying and the deliberate challenge to acceptable male expression of emotion.
God, that bottom lip
I love that crying’s simply woven into Stede’s characterisation. It is commented upon on a few occasions, but it’s never really made into a huge issue. Like the show’s approach to sexuality, Stede’s crying just sort of is.
IT’S NOT CRINGE
OR WEAKNESS
OR FAILURE
It’s normal human expression of emotion.
And it’s through Stede, others on the show learn to cry. Stede makes it safe for Ed to cry. It’s up to you how long you think it’s been since Ed cried prior to the bathtub scene, but I know my thoughts on it. It’s not recent. When Stede and Ed are separated, with Ed repressing who he is publicly via the Kraken persona, it’s crying when alone which keeps him alive. The moment he’s decided he’s done with all that, that he ‘feels a million bucks, actually’, is because he’s decided to die. He has to stop feeling, stop crying to die. Ed’s crying at Izzy’s death is also so important for the healing of the crew, and Ed’s own healing. It’s a huge moment of catharsis. Ed is fully human in a way most of the crew have never seen. He’s not Blackbeard or the Kraken. He is flesh and blood Edward Teach, a man. If the crew ever had doubts about the capacity for Ed to love and feel, they saw it then. They watched him fall apart in a healthier way than ever before, and show his messy, wonderful humanity.
And Izzy. His starting to cry at the start of season two signals the change in the direction of his character for the better. Learning to cry, and letting others see him cry, is at least some progress.
Stede brings open crying to the seas of the Caribbean. It’s not failure. It’s a brilliant gift.