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I haven’t been keeping up with OFMD meta so forgive me if this has already been talked about.

I want to talk about mirrors in OFMD

Calico Jack was an obvious mirror for Blackbeard. He wasn’t a mirror for Edward Teach though. Calico Jack represented all the wildness and debauchery that was the Blackbeard of legend. He brings out the absolute worst parts of Blackbeard and encourages the crew to engage in the same actions that the old Blackbeard would. It’s beautifully shown that Ed is torn between his new life on the Revenge and his old habits when he leaves the Revenge with Calico Jack. By returning to the Revenge, Ed narrowly avoids succumbing to his old ways, which die with Calico Jack. From that point on Ed has fully shed his former identity. Calico Jack dies by a British cannonball just as the legendary Blackbeard falls to British captors a few episodes later. In a way, the identity of Blackbeard is taken away from Ed whether he wanted it to be or not. It’s a convenient excuse to get away from causing terror by name alone, which is what Ed has been looking for.

The less obvious mirror is Ned Low and Stede Bonnet. Ned is what Stede from season 1 wants to be: an infamous pirate known for his dramatics and love of high society. Ned’s treasures are his records and his music just as Stede’s are his book collection and his extensive clothing. He is Stede’s first true murder, a symbol of Stede choosing to throw off (quite literally) the expectations and pressure that he put on himself of upholding the traditions of high society and seafaring life at the same time. Stede’s first step towards this was leaving Mary once and for all. After this, Stede truly starts dressing as a sea faring man as opposed to a nobleman on a ship. We get a small taste of Stede’s love of high fashion with the cursed jacket, but his murder of Ned Low was the final step towards fully embracing being a pirate. It’s possible that Stede could have ended up like Ned had he not had a crew that cared for him and Ed to guide him. The crew gently pull Stede away from upholding the expectations of high society, but Ed is the one who reigns him in from becoming a full blown, bloodthirsty pirate.