#anyway we’ve seen Stede comforting Ed

[lumiilys]

Stede /needs/ to allow himself to cry in Ed’s arms in s3!! Not only cause he deserves to feel safe confiding in Ed but also because WE deserve to see that!!!

[neptunepoe]

I really love in OFMD season 2 in general, but especially in these two new episodes, it’s obvious Izzy is starting to accept the crew.

First, when Fang hugged him and Frenchie held his hand, (after a bit of struggle) he actually let happen, and seemed comforted. It feels like that’s the first time we’ve ever seen him physically and emotionally vulnerable in such a way. Then later, when his leg is shot and they’re trying to figure out how to cut it off, he was screaming “Kill me you fucking cowards!” which I think was more of a “Kill me because if Ed finds me alive he’ll be furious at you all and probably kill Frenchie,” and less of a “I’m in so much pain end my misery,” way.

In the two new episodes, the peg leg the crew made for him made him cry (seeing him cry totally made me tear up too) and made him stop drinking it seems. He even keeps the note they wrote to him, saying “For the new unicorn” (🥹) Later, he accepts Stede’s request to teach him to be a better pirate, (I think Izzy S1 would rather kill himself than do that).

There are a handful of little things too if you keep an eye out for them, like in the scene where Stede fires a warning shot to the enemy sailor, Izzy gave a 😌👌 to him. He looked like a proud father. And another example is when Izzy gives his little carved shark to Lucius.

Anyway, im really living for all the Izzy character development and I can’t say I expected it to be this way. I would expect the crew to accept Izzy, but for him to accept them back is a nice surprise. I love mean and horrible Izzy, but I love healing Izzy too!

[xoxoemynn]

Get off my ship. Now. 

Just want to talk for a hot second about what a critical moment this was for Stede as a captain.

Now, obviously by this point the crew is fond of Stede. The dynamics have significantly improved from when the show first started and they were plotting mutiny. But still, when Calico Jack showed up, they reverted a bit too their old ways. Because just when they were starting to get comfortable with having the legendary Blackbeard on their ship, his ole bestie had to show up and remind them all again HOLY SHIT WHAT LEGENDS. THIS is the life of a pirate they signed up for -- rum all day, flying coconuts, devil-may-care stunts on the ship that may end in death but WHO CARES, it’s an ADVENTURE, what a STORY! And when Stede attempts to raise Jack’s constant acts of massive passive aggression, resulting in him sharing a sob story of being mutinied (again), the crew is quick to comfort him by throwing Stede under the ship, letting Jack know they were going to mutiny against Stede and probably would again some day.

But then Calico Jack kills Karl. And listen, everyone knows Buttons is a bit of an odd bird, but he’s their odd bird. There’s a lot of obvious respect for him, and by extension his bird friend, Karl.

When Karl is killed, all the laughter dies as well. Nobody is amused by Jack’s “oops.” He might as well have killed a member of the crew. And then when Buttons responds by placing a hex upon him and Jack laughs?? With utter scorn and derision and mockery???

There’s this suffocating tension because the crew is obviously on the side of Buttons and the dearly departed Karl, but how do you rise up against Blackbeard’s best friend? Sure, they’ve all become somewhat of friends in the past few weeks, but it’s still Blackbeard. It’s like Ed and Jack were the too cool for school seniors, and the crew were the gangly group of misfit freshmen, and they were all having a great time hanging out together over the summer, but now they’ve returned to school and all the old power dynamics are back and it’s scary and uncomfortable and they’ve lost any kind of even footing they had.

But then who emerges? CAPTAIN STEDE. And he IMMEDIATELY tells Jack to get off his ship. 

It’s the firmest we’ve ever heard him speak, leaving absolutely no room for questions or debate. Jack is GONE.

The crew has seen Stede and Jack interact. They may not know the full story, and they may not grasp all the nuances at play, but it’s pretty clear Stede isn’t a big fan of Jack. But he put up with his insults, put up with the changes to his routine, put up with behaviors he found juvenile and cruel...but he would not put up with anyone harming his crew. And by kicking Jack out, Stede was fulfilling his role as captain: to ensure his ship, and his crew, was safe.

And the crew recognizes this. The next day, when Stede tells them Blackbeard will no longer be sailing with them, they’re all disappointed, yes, but they also understand why and that Stede’s upset about it so they’re not going to press the issue...except for Black Pete, who lacks a bit of tact, but he’s roundly told to read the room and not be a dick. Now’s not the time to whine about how they wish Blackbeard were still on board. Now’s the time to respect their captain, who’s hurting. 

Anyway this turned out to be way longer than I thought it would, but it just struck me what a meaningful moment that was, with Stede truly stepping into his role as captain and his crew recognizing it. Such growth in a relatively short amount of time, both with him as a leader and with the crew as a bonded unit.