#omfd meta

[welcometotheanonsclub]

A note on Izzy Hands (and Steddyhands)

I think it would be cool if steddyhands happens in s3. It probably won’t, the whole show is centered around Stede and Ed’s relationship, and I can’t see a world where the main relationship is a gay poly one, especially with the polycule that’s already forming. (A girl can dream, but I realistically just can’t see how it could happen.)

Also I can’t see Ed and Izzy ever getting together, especially now that Izzy has grown so much away from him, has changed so much already, for the better. I don’t think he can ever go back to the person he was when he loved Ed, especially now that he loves himself.

But on the other hand, Izzy’s so completely entwined with their relationship. He was there when they met. He watched them fall in love. His voice is literally the soundtrack to them having sex for the first time. He is there for Stede after Ed decides to leave on a whim. There’s something so romantic about him being there. Supporting Ed when Stede leaves (albeit going about it the wrong way) and doing the same for Stede. He’s there for both of them, even after all this time

[been-around-seen-things]

It’s so fascinating and important to me how Oluwande provides a kind of a moral center for the show. From the very beginning, he at least tries to help Stede understand that pirating is a necessity, not a choice, for the rest of them, even if Stede’s not quite able to grasp that fact. He’s the one who literally shakes sense into Stede and prevents his tenure as pirate captain from being exceedingly short. So, it’s only fitting that he’s the one who spots Stede and ends up speaking the final line in the season finale.

But Oluwande doesn’t just fulfill a narrative purpose; he’s a fully rounded character who is sometimes ridiculous (no one can make him lose his head like Jim) as well as a source of stability and reason—the obvious choice to be captain while Stede and Ed are out of the picture. And his racial identity isn’t just happenstance—Ep2 shows how being part of the BI in BIPOC creates ground for solidarity, and Olu’s identity clearly shapes how he moves through the world (Ep5 in particular also, of course). That he is not only not white, but also the darkest-skinned character on the show, makes him being the center of gravity of goodness extra moving, for me. I want to cheer when I think about it!

I just love the writing on this show—how complex and woven together everything is, and how seen it makes me feel, even if my own racial identity is not directly represented. It’s beautiful.

[sarucane]

OFMD Spiral Parallels 4: Stede's Letters

Intro: What I love most about how season 2 builds on season 1 of OFMD is the spiral narrative structure. Ground is repeatedly and explicitly re-trod from season 1 to season 2, but in season 2 everything goes deeper than season 1. Meanings are shuffled, emotions are stronger and truer, and transformation is showcased above everything. The first season plucks certain notes, then the second season plucks the same ones--but louder, and then it weaves them together to create a symphony.

---

Now, to this meta: An unexpected letter, from one partner to another.

Season 1 Episode 4

"Dearest Mary,

You deserve happiness, as do I. My hope is that the vast wealth and property I've left behind for you and the children will suffice...You're quite right: we only have this one life.

Fond Regards, Stede"

This letter is an ending. It's shallow, and it's selfish. It's not malicious, but it is careless--as if money could replace a husband and father. There's not a connection here: this letter is about Stede distancing himself from what he's left behind. The letter is essentially a formality, a final obligation to give some sort of explanation for his absence. And as Mary asks in his hallucination, "Did you really think a letter was enough?" Even he knows this was a cheat.

But underneath all that is a something genuine. There's Stede's desire for happiness, knowing he won't find it on his father's land. His acceptance of what Mary's said about having only one life, but a refusal to embrace the same fatalism she was suggesting. It's clumsy and a bit dumb, but it expresses a desire for transition, and it's Stede actually seeking a way to be true to himself for the first time in his life.

Season 2 Episode 8

"Dear Ed,

I long for you. Every day we spend apart feels like an eternity. I know you don't wanna hear from me, but I write these letters daily, hoping one will reach you. Hope that's okay. I know we're not through. I can feel it in my soul. A love like ours can't disappear in an instant: we're joined to one another, intertwined. We wrote our names on each other, in permanent ink."

Stede's first letter is about his relationship to Mary; this letter is about his relationship with Ed. This goes right down to the pronouns: "I" and "you" appear most in the first letter, but "we" is threaded all through the second letter. And that "we" isn't just an artifact of the writing: the audio makes that we-ness real by intertwining Stede's and Ed's voices as the letter continues, using sound to create connection.

Mary reads the first letter sitting on her and Stede's bed--an extremely intimate location, but the letter is stilted and formal. It conveys distance, not closeness. In contrast, the second letter is written from and about distance, but it improbably manages to create intimacy.

The first letter was written out of obligation to the recipient, but this letter is written in hope of connection. The first letter is about Stede's hope for happiness, the second is about his certainty that happiness exists. And the first letter starts with "you" and ends with "I," but the second letter starts with "I": Stede knows what he wants now. He's not just running from something, he's running towards something.

And the largest spiraled parallel is this: Mary's letter was an ending, but Ed's letter is a continuation. The first letter focused on practicalities and closed a door. The second is focused on romantic fantasy--but not the kind of fantasies that drove Stede to write things like "we only have this one life" in the first letter. The kind of fantasies that bind tightly to reality, make life worth living, and keeps doors from closing.

And so, where the first letter created pain in its recipient, pushed its reader down into a dark place, the second is a gift of hope, and it lifts its reader up out of the darkness.

[wokeandghey]

A thought has occurred to me

I was thinking about Ed and Izzy's past together, about Ed's time on Horningold's ship etc. It's very possible that there was a point in time where Ed, Izzy and Jack where on the same ship. He for sure heard/saw them fuck no doubt, we know he's aware of their past so it's not a stretch to assume that.

Fast-forward to 06x01 when Izzy hears Stede homoeroticaly stabbing Ed and says "oh my God" repeatedly with different line deliveries. I think hearing them gave him flashbacks of hearing Ed and Jack, one of the thoughts inspiring one of those "oh my God"s was probably something along the lines of "fuck not this again"

[aqueenofthestars]

While I’m not much of a meta writing person (though I love reading it), I just think it’s so interesting that something that I’m hearing again and again is how much Our Flag Means Death has resonated with “fandom olds” and are bringing people (like me) back to tumblr and fan fiction writing (and art and MVs etc) for the first time in years and I think it is! So! Interesting!

Something others have definitely discussed already that I won’t really touch on here is the fact that the writers didn’t queer bait us and that the seemingly subtextual romance was indeed TEXTUAL romance and I know that’s certainly part of it!

But I also wonder it has something to do with the ages of the main leads? As a thirty something, I’m still at the point where I love YA and adult fiction both, but I’ve started to deeply appreciate media focused on people in their thirties and forties and beyond. I think because of that deep-rooted, media-fueled idea that life stops after you’re twenty and as someone who’s no longer in my twenties, there is a specific joy I get from seeing people my age and older having adventures, discovering new things about themselves, falling in love, all of it. I just wonder if others resonate with this feeling and if this is partially why this show has gripped me (and so many others) so viciously (in a good way) by the throat.

[turq8]

IT'S A WAXING MOON

In the first moonlight scene, the Moon was completely full, but here it's waxing, which means it's *becoming* full, but it's not quite there yet.

Their relationship isn't back to where it was yet, but it's getting there 🥹

[rachelillustrates]

Just thinking about Anne and Mary and Ed and Stede.

(OFMD s2 spoilers under the cut)

Something about Anne and Mary clinging to each other in recommitment in the burning wreckage of their home after addressing one of the biggest reasons for how toxic they've become. "I thought this was what you wanted." "I thought this was what YOU wanted!" As Ed and Stede leave that scene, in their new beginning, after having finally begun to re-communicate too.

Something about loving someone SO much that you stay and fester, even though you're so terrified of losing them you cannot communicate. Something about staying, and accepting that that's just how it is, cause that is better than losing them entirely.

Something about agreeing to run away together on a beach, unable to voice your panic. Unable to face your doubts. But unable to say no to the person you love most.

Something about seeing clearly again, once that Truth is out, and Love flooding in after all.

(Will likely add to this on a rewatch but that's what I've got so far. Ooof.)

[ed-edward-blackbeard]

Izzy Hands is a victim of his own success.  And not just in his construction of Blackbeard, which we'll get to... later.  Probably in another post.  But he's a victim of his own success in that he has created his own persona and nobody ever takes him for anything but surface value.  

Izzy's created himself as a capable, suave, smart individual who can handle anything that comes at him.  And, in a general sense, it's true.  He's helped Edward Teach create the Blackbeard myth, he's an obviously talented fencer and fighter, and he's reasonably (more in a minute) sure of his place in the world and what his responsibilities are.

And here's the thing.

Izzy's place in the world is just, "Blackbeard."  I mean, yes, you could expand that to "Blackbeard's right arm," because Izzy is Blackbeard's first mate, given that position by Blackbeard himself.  But I'd make the argument that it wasn't really because Izzy did anything exceptional; it's because Izzy was there, he helped construct Blackbeard, of course it makes sense that the next step would be making him first mate to help keep Blackbeard shored up.

And being first mate comes with a certain set of duties, like keeping the crew in line, basically being the captain when the captain isn't around.  And as long as he's doing it in Blackbeard's name, there's not that much required out of him; the fear of Blackbeard does most of the job for him, and he can fill in the rest.  And the crewmembers like Ivan and Fang (I love Fang so much) have probably figured this out.  I mean, they have zero respect for Izzy; consider the sketching in "The Best Revenge Is Dressing Well".  Wee John comes in and tells Lucius and Fang that "the boss" is back, and Fang literally shits himself thinking Blackbeard is back and hurries to get up, but John tells him, "it's just that angry fecker, Izzy" and the INSTANT reaction is laughter and "let him look."  And then he proceeds to spill the tea to Lucius about Izzy's misadventures at sea, which was meant only to humiliate Izzy.

Which brings us to the Revenge crew.

Absolutely none of them have respect for Izzy.  You'd think they would, because of who he purports to be (Blackbeard's First Mate), but their first experience with Izzy is... they run rings around him and Stede steals back one of their prisoners.  Given what we know about the crew's opinion of Stede at that point, if Izzy can be beaten by Stede, why would they have any respect for Izzy?  And then he shows up on the Revenge and Blackbeard "takes" the ship, but it's not like any other ship they've encountered.  

They don't know how to be invaded, they don't know how to be prisoners, and Edward is totally enthralled with everybody and everything, including being ass over teakettle for Stede Bonnet.  There is no fear of Edward or of Blackbeard--only respect, and only for Edward.  Izzy gets dragged along, yes, but he's such a fish out of water.  He has no idea how to actually handle people; even Ivan and Fang ultimately agree to mutiny against him.  Lucius blackmails him--and let's marvel at that for a moment.  *Lucius* blackmails Izzy.  And not only does he blackmail Izzy in a beautifully benign way--"It'd be a shame if your nickname got out, Dizzy Izzy"--but he also shows Izzy that he is out of his depths.  Izzy tries to blackmail in return, with Lucius' sexual history, and Lucius basically defangs him.  He proves that Izzy really doesn't know how to manage people outside of fear, and that sets him back.  

Then, we have the heartbreaking moment of Izzy and Fang and Ivan in "The Art of Fuckery."  not just the opening monologue, but the moment of, "I guess we're not killing this guy" and Izzy's determination of, "The plan is very much alive. He promised me."  That's not the voice of a man who is happy, but of a man who is expecting disappointment.  He knows he's going to have to be the one to kill Stede Bonnet, and he's going to have to be the bad guy, again, and push Edward into something Edward doesn't want to do.  Izzy doesn't care that it'd break Edward's heart, or possibly break Edward himself, he just wants Stede and these other idiots gone and be back with the real Blackbeard.

But there's also like, maybe 1% of Izzy that is... well, not rancid.  He has actual feelings; Con O'Neill is utterly brilliant at using his face to show what Izzy is feeling, even when his mouth is saying something different.  He's chastising himself when he lets Stede get away with one of the hostages; he's petulant when he whines "Can't I just send the boys, Ed?" and Edward insists that Izzy do it to make a good impression on the "Gentleman Pirate."  Somewhere under all the bullshit that Izzy has constructed for himself, there's a person.  

And that person has some kind of love for Edward.  It's not healthy, for either of them, it's not even spoken of, hell, maybe it doesn't even have a name outside of "weird" or "toxic."  But he's capable of it, and the fact that nobody sees that is what makes me love Izzy the way I do.  Nobody sees beyond this shell that Izzy built for himself--which is exactly the thing that's happening with Edward.  Nobody sees beyond the shell that Edward has built for himself--except when he meets Stede.  

Izzy doesn't have a Stede; in fact, if there were someone willing, I don't know that Izzy would even accept it.  But I also think, of course he would if that someone was Edward.  

My hope is that eventually, Stede and Edward break through with each other, and then Edward can look at Izzy and say, "Shit, man, I've been wrong to look at you like this.  You're my friend, mate, and you need help."