izzys-tummyache

[izzys-tummyache]

Going over the izzy/lucius/shark exchange is so interesting in the context of this being an episode about apologies. About making concessions and trying to fix things.

(In this ep there's a lot about ed making amends/accommodating the crew's triggers and trauma. It's also about stede having to fix things when he upsets the superstitious crew by not treating their feelings as valid.)

At the start we have Ed's (probably well intentioned) but evasive, non-apology. He does an 'I'm sorry you feel that way' sort of apology about 'whatever that bad stuff was'. It's a wish to do better, but it doesn't really cover what went before. A lot of people interject here, but Izzy remains completely still and silent, off to one side.

Lucius says he never used the word 'sorry' and rightly calls this out. Roach however, says he's never heard an apology before - and liked it - so this seems like as much as it's a first for Ed to take even some accountability, it's probably the first time some of the crew have seen a captain (or anyone else) do this too.

Archie says 'They just get away with it and we move on'.

Lucius rounds on Izzy, because obviously Izzy should have the biggest grievance here. But Izzy responds to the question about Ed's apology as if it was about piracy in general - clearly showing that the cycle of abuse is a feature, not a bug. This is part of his life and identity as a pirate. This is, actually, things going back to normal. You get whipped (and we see these scars on him later) no one apologises, and you just reset to how it was before, pretending nothing has been altered until it all bubbles over again.

Ed then tells stede that he's never apologised for anything. Confirming that most of the crew's responses are in line with their past experiences.

Then Ed goes to fix the door and tells it that it's not its fault that it's broken, it was just doing it's job. This directly parallels Izzy's rant to the figurehead about it failing to do it's job. Ed could be talking about himself here, as Izzy was talking about himself - but to me it doesn't fit that well, because what 'job' was Ed trying to do? He could instead be acknowledging, indirectly, that he is aware that Izzy was doing his job - trying to make sure they all survived and functioned as a crew. Ed probably broke that door, and he broke Izzy. But he has yet to talk to him about it.

Immediately following this, is when he scares the BEJESUS out of Lucius and tells him 'it would be faster to get all this out in one go'. It sounds like a reasonable suggestion, but we know that it doesn't actually work. Lucius pushes him off the boat and it doesn't help. Because 'I hurt you, so now you hurt me' doesn't benefit the abused, it's still about making the abuser feel better - making them feel punished and therefore redeemed, even when their victim isn't healed. I don't think Ed is trying to manipulate Lucius here - both of them think it might help to 'fix things' but fixing things takes emotional intelligence that's not really developed yet.

ENTER, THE SHARK

Izzy starts working on the shark, after the non-apology. He doesn't have it in the 'candle fighting' scene obvs - but he does receive an apology in that scene, when stede says 'feet' and then corrects himself to foot. It's a simple straightforward apology, even if he does sort of laugh awkwardly. Izzy also at least attempted to apologise to Stede in ep. 3 - so he clearly sees the use in apologies - AND right after the apology, Izzy agrees to help stede. Their relationship changes. It gets better and they're no longer stuck in those old patterns. Izzy is full-on gentle parenting stede - even when he shoots down a fucking sail.

He also, notably, states that the crew's feelings on the curse are important. Meaning, how the crew feels is important to him, period.

After this, we're back to Lucius throwing Ed overboard. But it doesn't work because Ed doesn't remember the talent show thing, he doesn't really know why Lucius was so blindsided by that betrayal of trust. It's not about who goes overboard. It's about the dynamics underneath that and those can't be fixed by just trading places for a moment.

FINALLY. We see Izzy finishing the shark, and he's completely unsurprised that Lucius pushing Ed into the water didn't fix things. Izzy's done this 'tit for tat' thing - betraying Ed to the English over being banished - and it ended terribly for both of them. It escalated things. He knows it's not as simply as getting even with someone.

The solution Izzy has chosen to the cycle of his relationship with Ed is to pretend that Ed hasn't done anything to him. A shark did it. Like with the non-apology, blame is being shifted to a third party 'the bad things' the 'bad times'. Lucius (rightly) points out that this is not healthy, but Izzy's response, that's better than not moving on, clearly resonates.

Izzy's response to being hurt was to 1. Get even and 2. (when that proved deeply unsatisfying and made things worse) to put the unresolved conflict behind him. Because he doesn't think Ed is ever going to apologise or change, and wanting those things just hurt more.

Anyone who has parents/a partner/friend who's NEVER apologised for anything, knows how he's feeling. You stop trying to have it out and fix the relationship, and it starts to wither, even though the other person thinks it's healthy.

'Not moving on is worse' is a warning, and it's one that Lucius takes to heart, immediately trying to centre positive things instead of resentment and anger. He shares his feelings with Pete, and their relationship thrives.

The issue here, is that denial doesn't work. Lucius might be able to move on from what happened to him without a proper apology from Ed, but that's because he's not in a relationship with him. Izzy's the one who's really in it with Ed - he's had DECADES of this shit. That can't be willed away.

Stede's resolution to the curse conflict models a healthier method and one that I'm hoping we see in a future episode between Ed/Izzy. He validates the crew's feelings, make a sacrifice (the suit) and TOGETHER they collaborate on a solution to the issue that is mutually satisfactory - he even gets to keep the shirt, as a sort of compromise. It isn't about just making stede or the crew feel better, it's about moving on together.

This happens with Ed and Fang! Ed actually apologises once he realises what, specifically he did wrong. Fang says they're 'sweet' because he beat Ed to death (oof) which outwardly seems like retaliation working - but there has also been an actual apology and Fang wasn't retaliating against Ed, he was standing up for himself - a physical version of saying 'that wasn't OK - you need to change'.

This method of resolution is echoed in the final scene, with stede and ed. They reach an understanding about the pace of their relationship and find a happy medium (holding hands) - mutually satisfied and moving forwards.

Bottom line? I hope we see 1. Ed actually apologise to Izzy and 2. the pair of them outline what it is they want to change in their relationship moving forward, ending the cycle for good.

Thank you for coming to my Ed talk.

[izzys-tummyache]

I know the joke about Izzy is “human dropped into a muppets movie” but the tragedy is that he’s a queer-coded character from some 1940s or 50s popcorn flick dropped into a pride parade in a floating gayborhood & he flat out has no idea how to deal with it. We learn he’s a great swordsman in the most homoerotic way possible when he uses his skills to cut open a man’s shirt. We see him react more openly and with less inner conflict when Ed slaps him on the back and says “I need you here” than when Ed implies to him, a minute earlier, that he could be a captain. When he’s part of an overtly queer scene where other characters get the romance & he just gets the subtext, Con O'Neill’s body language stands out even more—go back to the scene where Izzy tells Stede that Ed adores him, the way he strokes his fingers down the curtain dividing him from Stede. There is literally no straight explanation for this choice, but there is also no explicit acknowledgement that the character is queer; in a different, older show or movie, that body language would be the acknowledgment. He imbues the character with the looks and pauses that you would see in, like, Ben-Hur or something, where everyone knew a character was gay but nobody could say it out loud. Keep in mind that in the comedies where these characters would exist, the subtextually gay man would sometimes be best friends with a Strong Leading Man who got the girl in the end.

We hear him say outright that there’s no retirement for people like Izzy & Ed, only death, which is itself a hugely loaded analogy next to the title statement “our flag means death” when you consider our history & our use of flags throughout. And Izzy’s so focused on pure survival that he ends up nasty, manipulative, violent—the only way men like him can survive in his mind, or in the genre he’s from, if they don’t have a Strong Leading Man best friend like, say, a Blackbeard to protect him from the narrative. When Ed starts to live in Stede’s world, Izzy is both losing his subtextual boyfriend and also acting as though Ed’s going to get himself (and Izzy) killed if he keeps going down this path.

I will never be sane over this. Izzy is a Celluloid Closet case study who’s been dropped into a Logo TV original, and so much of the conflict of his character comes from his trying to use the coping techniques from that world (including techniques used by queer coded villains! He’s not healthy!) in a world where these techniques are actively harmful rather than a way to survive.

[izzys-tummyache]

peak steddyhands dynamics:

stede and ed scheming and giggling over flirting with izzy and izzy being so stupid and confused about it

stede and izzy humping and grinding and ed being like "aww my boys are getting along <3"

ed and izzy referencing some inside joke/event from their past and stede being a slightly confused little puppy about it. he doesn't know what they're talking about but he's just happy to be here

stede coming up with coordinated outfits for the three of them and ed's so excited and adorable about it and izzy is grumpy and grouchy but he doesn't actually stop stede

ed grabbing both their hands in public and stede gives ed a peck on the cheek while izzy is mortified

izzy rolling his eyes every time ed and stede get lovey dovey together and whenever they try to make him express a feeling he goes bright red and clams up

izzy guard dog mode for his captains

[izzys-tummyache]

three person poly relationship made up of two people who are already dating trying to coax someone with horrific self worth issues into a loving relationship. stray cat style

[izzys-tummyache]

+ bonus

[izzys-tummyache]

"go find something that brings you joy" I find joy in being gentle with Izzy in a way that canon only allowed him for a few short days so what now.

tbh if I can be in the canyon and deal with the fact that I hate any positive mention of Jack OR Hornigold (both of whom like half of Izzy fans enjoy) I think people who love s2 can deal with the small portion of the fandom that's critical of s2.

[izzys-tummyache]

HELLO??

[izzys-tummyache]

I've written 30 gentlebeard fics because I hate them and the show, of course.

[izzys-tummyache]

"It makes me feel bad to see people critical of my favorite show/my otp/a character that means a lot to me" and this is valid but: it makes ME feel bad, as someone who relates to Izzy, to see him suffer so much in s2 despite being proven right in many ways AND making a meaningful effort to change as early as the first episode of s2. It makes me feel really shitty to have these negative assumptions and often really serious accusations made toward people who love Izzy, or who relate to him. Talking about how beautiful and perfect OFMD is may be a balm to you in times of stress. But talking about the unfortunate implications of killing Izzy off and how he deserved better is just as meaningful to me.

Nobody is a Better or Truer Fan for any of this. People connect with media in different ways. And it hurts to see how many people think my friends and I shouldn't engage in a fandom that is really meaningful and healing for a lot of us just because our way of doing this is being kinder to Izzy than the show was.

Go ahead and block people who post stuff that makes you uncomfortable. It's fine to not want to engage with certain aspects of a fandom. But please stop saying we're not real fans or should leave the fandom because of our opinions.

tbh if I can be in the canyon and deal with the fact that I hate any positive mention of Jack OR Hornigold (both of whom like half of Izzy fans enjoy) I think people who love s2 can deal with the small portion of the fandom that's critical of s2.

[izzys-tummyache]

something about unicorns being the third in a preexisting relationship and the steddyhands dynamic being co-captains and first mate is just soooo. and how captains always go down with the ship. the way that izzy is now considered a part of the revenge. the figurehead of the ship, of the crew. he’s inextricably tied to the ship now, and the ship is in turn an extension of the captain. or captains. i’m just saying.

[izzys-tummyache]

tbh if I can be in the canyon and deal with the fact that I hate any positive mention of Jack OR Hornigold (both of whom like half of Izzy fans enjoy) I think people who love s2 can deal with the small portion of the fandom that's critical of s2.

[izzys-tummyache]

Glad you agree! 💕

We're all having a nice time on Bluesky, and still the "I don't like S2! Izzy deserved better!" brigade rolls into the OFMD feed. My peeps, it's been over a year, and you followed a fandom to another SM platform just to complain the show ignored your fanon. Go touch grass, fr

[izzys-tummyache]

we have just as much right to be in the fandom as you guys actually. 🤷‍♀️

We're all having a nice time on Bluesky, and still the "I don't like S2! Izzy deserved better!" brigade rolls into the OFMD feed. My peeps, it's been over a year, and you followed a fandom to another SM platform just to complain the show ignored your fanon. Go touch grass, fr

[izzys-tummyache]

it's been a year and people are still headcanoning terrible things izzy did to ed offscreen and then getting mad at people for not agreeing. aren't you guys tired.

[izzys-tummyache]

izzy is swagless and I love him for it. he has all the social skill of a dead rat. he is a deeply odd little man who has never held a normal conversation in his life. he 100% thinks he's cool and does not grasp the fact that he's so fucking weird. izzy thinks he's the most normal guy to ever exist while being delusional about the state of reality and moaning "daddy... daddy..." at some guys he LITERALLY just met. he'll tell his boss he loves him but won't do drugs with him. when he was getting his tattoos done he absolutely sat perfectly still and quiet and stared off into space. he has zero understanding of personal boundaries. he's dramatic as fuck when he wants to be. he's wet and pathetic. he's got a -3 charisma modifier.

[izzys-tummyache]

every time i see this scene my brain supplies the ✨️💕🌟guess it was a suicide then🌟💕✨️ image like some kind of rocky horror audience participation situation. (this is a positive btw.)

[izzys-tummyache]