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Spoilers ahead for the first three episodes of Our Flag Means Death season 2.
Summary
- Stede Bonnet is determined to find his former lover, Captain Blackbeard, as he narrates his misadventures and expresses his love for him.
- Captain Blackbeard, consumed by heartbreak, reverts back to his violent ways, leading to a toxic atmosphere on the ship and an awkward breakup with Stede.
- Stede and his crew find themselves in a tight spot but are saved by Zheng Yi Sao, a revered pirate queen, who takes them aboard her ship. However, things become complicated as the crew questions their loyalty to Captain Blackbeard.
The three-episode Our Flag Means Death season 2 premiere on Max is packed with all the humor, heartbreak, and high-seas misadventures that made the first installment such a hit in 2022. In Our Flag Means Death season 1, gentleman-turned-pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) renounced his family’s wealth and aristocratic title for a life of piracy. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Stede, who found himself falling for the once-ruthless Captain Blackbeard, a.k.a. Ed Teach (Taika Waititi), against his better judgment. At the end of Our Flag is Death season 1, Stede fakes his death to return to Ed and their pirate life.
Unlike Stede, though, Ed isn’t taking their sudden separation well. Consumed by heartbreak, he ignores his duties as captain of the Revenge, inciting anger from his first mate — and notorious Stede hater — Izzy Hands (Con O’Neill). After being accused of going soft, Ed tosses one of his own overboard to flex his power, dumps all of Stede’s belongings overboard, and strands the gentleman pirate’s crew on a deserted island. Little does Ed know, Stede is dead-set on being reunited, which is right where Our Flag Means Death season 2 picks up.
Stede Bonnet Is Consumed With Thoughts Of Finding Ed
Having officially renounced his wealth and recovered most of his crew, Stede is trying to make his way in the pirate world. In the Our Flag Means Death season 2 premiere, he pens a message in a bottle to Ed, narrating the ups and downs of his misadventures. Mostly, things have been challenging, though Stede tries to put a positive spin on it all: “We’re in a rebuilding phase as a crew,” he writes. But what’s really driving Stede is his love for Ed and his desire to find the wayward captain. “To reiterate, we’re doing great,” Stede narrates. “I think of you, often.“
A Heartbroken Ed Reverts To His Blackbeard Ways
While Stede is turning his heartbreak and hardship into action, Ed isn’t handling the separation so well. Instead of being driven by purpose, he’s compelled by his off-the-handle emotions and reverts back to his Kraken persona. “I’m the f***in’ devil,” Ed announces in true Blackbeard fashion as his crew murders an at-sea wedding party just for kicks. Even to Ed’s crew, the violence seems uncharacteristically hollow and aimless, making Blackbeard and Stede’s awkward breakup all the more troubling.
Bonnet’s Crew Is “Rescued” From Spanish Jackie By Zheng Yi Sao
In Our Flag Means Death season 2, episode 1, “Impossible Birds,” Stede and his crew find themselves without many options. Hoping to save enough for a proper ship, they broker a deal with Spanish Jackie (Leslie Jones), a much-feared pirate bar owner who boasts 19 husbands, working for her at the Republic of Pirates. After Stede’s crew tries to rob Spanish Jackie of her chest full of precious indigo, they find themselves in a tight spot until the local soup kiosk owner, Zheng Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian), saves them.
Zheng Yi Sao reveals herself to be a revered pirate queen and takes Stede and his comrades about her ship, the Red Flag. Earlier in the episode, the faux soup server explains that she prizes action over ambition, which becomes a running theme for the season. Generally speaking, the captain of the Red Flag doesn’t take men aboard her vessel but makes an exception for Stede’s crew of “tender as hell” guys. At first, that seems like a life-altering favor, but things grow more complicated on the pirate queen’s ship.
Ed’s Crew Calls Their Toxic Workplace Into Question
After Izzy encourages them to dump loads of loot from the Revenge just so they can plunder more, Blackbeard’s crew starts to speak up about what’s happening aboard the ship. “We think you’re in an unhealthy relationship with Blackbeard,” Jim (Vico Ortiz) tells Izzy. But that’s not the only friction point. As a heartbroken, angry Blackbeard creates an increasingly “toxic atmosphere,” the crew isn’t just worried about Izzy, but themselves too. Unfortunately, things don’t go well when they voice these concerns.
Ed Decides To Kill Izzy (But The Crew Secretly Saves Him)
In season 1 of Our Flag Means Death, Izzy had accused Ed of being a “shell” of his former self after the once-ruthless captain continually hesitated to kill Stede. Outwardly, Ed has tried to project strength and rehabilitate his soft image, though that’s caused him to backslide and take things too far. The friction between Izzy and Ed is still very much there, so when Ed draws his pistol on the crew during the workplace meeting, the first mate has no problem telling Ed that what’s ruined him is, “You’re feelings for Steve f***in’ Bonnet.” Without a second thought, Ed shoots Izzy.
Lucius Reappears & Tells Stede What Ed Did To Him
While aboard the Red Flag, Stede and his crew meet the only other man the pirate queen ever took aboard: Lucius (Nathan Foad). Formerly Stede’s scribe and the lover of Black Pete (Matthew Maher), Lucius is somewhat glad to be reunited with his former crew, but the events of the Our Flag is Death season 1 finale loom large. In fact, pushing Lucius overboard was one of the heartbroken Ed’s first acts that was meant to prove his still-callous nature. At first, Lucius hides the truth, but after Stede fixates on finding Ed, Lucius points out that Blackbeard might not be the person Stede wants him to be.
Frenchie & Nathaniel Buttons Get New Roles
After Ed shoots Izzy, he makes Frenchie (Joel Fry) his new first mate. Unwilling to be the next one in the line of fire, he tries to talk down his credentials. But the ever-unhinged, heartbroken Ed demands the appointment and Frenchie has no choice but to accept. His first act as Ed’s new right-hand man is to finish off Izzy, but Frenchie and the crew decide to secretly stow Izzy below deck instead. Meanwhile, aboard the Red Flag, Zheng Yi Sao’s first mate dubs Nathaniel Buttons (Ewen Bremner) a “sea witch.” Perhaps just a funny reference to the pirate’s ability to commune with seagulls, it could point toward a future season 2 plot point.
Ed Discovers Izzy & Threatens To Kill The Whole Crew
Given Frenchie’s inability to lie well, Ed deduces that his former first mate is still alive and on the Revenge. Below deck, Jim amputates Izzy’s wounded leg just before Ed discovers them. After handing Izzy his pistol and telling him to finish himself off, Ed decides to blow off some steam. He steers the Revenge directly into a raging storm and then shatters the wheel. Still not satisfied, he forces his crew to fight each other and threatens to fire a cannon at the mast, in the hopes of killing everyone on board. Breakups really are rough.
The Crew Of The Revenge Commits Mutiny
Unable to tolerate their captain’s barbaric behavior any longer, the crew of the Revenge take matters into their own hands and fight back. After knocking Ed to the ground, Jim raises a cannonball high into the air — seemingly to crush Ed’s skull. However, the camera cuts away, leaving Ed’s fate up in the air. When the battered Revenge washes up beside the Red Flag, the pirate queen’s first mate suspects mutiny and suggests they kill Izzy, Frenchie, Jim, and the rest of Ed’s crew.
A Love Triangle Forms Between Jim, Zheng & Oluwande
Back at the Republic of Pirates, Zheng Yi Sao falls for the ever-level-headed Oluwande Boodhari (Samson Kayo), as he and Stede were regulars at the soup kiosk. Previously, Oluwande was romantically linked to Jim, who, in turn, gets involved with Madeleine Sami’s pirate character —nothing says romance like amputating a leg together. When Oluwande and Jim reunite during Our Flag Means Death season 2, episode 3, “The Innkeeper,” it’s clear their connection remains, further complicating Oluwande’s budding relationship with the pirate queen.
Stede & The Crew Ditch Zheng Yi Sao For The Revenge
When it becomes clear that Zheng Yi Sao is going to heed her first mate’s advice and kill the remainder of Ed’s crew, Stede takes matters into his own hands and devises a clever escape plan. Not only does he bust out the rest of the crew, but he manages to get everyone safely aboard the Revenge. To ensure the pirate queen doesn’t pursue them, Stede’s crew steals the wheel of her ship. While the escape may be glorious, Stede has clearly made a powerful enemy.
Ed Speaks With Captain Hornigold In Purgatory & Has A Revelation
Earlier in the third episode, Ed washes ashore on a seemingly deserted island. This somewhat tracks with what Izzy and the others say when they’re accused of mutiny, claiming they just marooned a “retired” Ed. However, Ed’s unconscious body lies below deck while his mind and spirit go on a journey of self-discovery. As it turns out, the island is Ed’s version of purgatory. There, he meets his mentor, the late Captain Ben Hornigold (Mark Mitchinson).
“You’re afraid you’re unlovable,” the purgatory Hornigold tells Ed when he can’t decide whether to return to the world of the living or accept his demise. This ties into Ed’s history with his own father, whom he killed, as well as why he took the breakup with Stede so hard. When Ed says he hates Hornigold, the ex-pirate captain points out that he’s just a projection of Ed’s inner turmoil, pushing Ed to have the hard realization that he actually hates himself.
Ed & Stede Are Reunited
As Ed has his moment of self-discovery in purgatory, Stede finds his body and begs him to come back. In his vision, Hornigold ties a rock to Ed and pushes him off a cliff. Struggling to surface with all that weight dragging him down, Ed thinks about giving in to what’s heaviest. But when he hears Stede’s voice, Ed fights to return to the light. Unfortunately, episode 3 cuts to the credits after Ed opens his eyes. Can Blackbeard and Stede find their way in Our Flag Means Death season 2? If the sure-to-be emotional reunion is any indication, it seems the two pirates might be fated for each other.
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