#edward teach meta

[veeagainsttheday]

Two lines from OFMD s2 have been rotating around in my head for the last few weeks. 

The first is from s2e3, when Ed is speaking with Hornigold about his sandals, and Hornigold tells him that he always has to have an angle. Ed responds by saying, ‘Nah, mate, I’m actually just a very simple man’ before sharing his thoughts about opening an inn. 

The second is in s2e7, after Ed left Stede, when Stede and Izzy are in Jackie’z. Izzy says to Stede, ‘You know what he did when I told him I loved him? He shot me,’ as Stede says, ‘He shot you. I know.’ Izzy continues, ‘He’s a complicated man.’ Stede doesn’t respond; they look at each other for a moment and then the scene ends. 

First of all - that line of Izzy’s about Ed shooting him when Izzy told Ed he loved him makes me want to start ripping my hair out in frustration. Ed shot Izzy when Izzy announced in front of the crew that vibes were bad because of Ed’s feelings for Stede Bonnet. Ed responded to Izzy saying he loved Ed by making a noise of disgust and walking out of the conversation. So it’s fascinating that Izzy has reframed the event in this way (and not the first time we hear him reframe it - as he tells Lucius a shark took his leg). Stede obviously heard that Ed shot Izzy (he says, ‘shooting people’s legs off’ in the list of reasons why Ed’s in the sackcloth at the start of s2e5), but we have no idea where he heard it from or who told him why. The way he says, ‘I know,’ to Izzy in s2e7 gives me the impression that he’s heard Izzy say it a number of times - he sounds weary. I’m guessing Ed’s never told Stede what really happened, nor any of the crew who witnessed it. But if I could ask the writers about one line from s2, I really think this would be it - I just don’t know how to interpret it (and if anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them below!). 

Anyway. Back to those two lines. Ed says he’s ‘actually just a very simple man’ in response to being misunderstood by Hornigold (actually his own self-consciousness). For two seasons, Ed’s been attempting to communicate that he’s got a simple, reasonable desire to retire from a dangerous, violent career and be with the man he loves. Izzy’s response has been to deny Ed that, to call Ed insane, try to keep him in piracy by whatever means he can, and of course try to get Stede killed. By the time Ed’s in the gravy basket, he’s arguing even in his own head that he’s a simple man, with a simple desire for the future. 

Then we come to s2e7, and Izzy still doesn’t get it. He still thinks Ed is a complicated man, he still thinks Ed is acting in a way that doesn’t make sense or requires some convoluted explanation. It’s notable to me that Stede doesn’t agree - we know from s2e3 (and, ya know, the rest of the show) that Stede understands Ed deeply.  Then I think about Ed talking to the ‘wolf’ in s2e4 - ‘It’s a very rare thing to find someone who understands you,’ he says, tears in his eyes, obviously missing Stede but also - fuck, man, that scene with the rabbit is so funny but makes me so sad for Ed, because he really does have a pretty simple desire and he’s spent months - implied years - being told that he’s crazy for having it.

[cursed-rat-of-homosexuality]

Listen, I know we're all talking about the beautiful editing in this scene right now. However, and that might be just a guess, I think Ed is killing someone here.

First off, look at the background. They aren't fighting anymore. This isn't an action packed raid scene where everybody is fighting against one another amidst the chaos of bloodshed. It's quiet, normal even. The fighting is over, and everyone is either checking their newly acquired loot or looking at Ed, who seems to be at the center of ship. Now see where the gun is pointed - it's down,

almost as if he is shooting someone who's kneeling.

That's not a warning shot and neither is it a fight, that's an execution. Ed is killing again (by his definition of killing I mean)

And I DEFINITELY am not implying that he has become super violent and angry or something like that (which I think is a very stupid, racist take and not in line with his previous characterization at all, but that's a whole other post), tbh I think it's exactly the opposite. He isn't angry at all, that's what's worrying me. There is a stone cold dead calm in him. I think he has given up.

That is, by letting go of one of his core principles (not killing), and therefore becoming the Kraken - he is personafying himself as his father's killer, trying to become the monster other people and himself believe him to be. I mean, LOOK AT HIS CLOTHES!!

He is wearing nine guns and is very much looking like a vampire clown. He's dressing up as a caricature of himself. He is doing all of that because - deep down - he thinks that's why Stede left him. Because when he finally laid his soul bare in front of him, Stede rejected him (so that surely must mean that he saw something he did not like in there). To Ed, Stede finally "sees him now" as the monster he really is. A monster who isn't deserving of fine things, or luxuries such as not killing. So when he becomes the Kraken, after Izzy does That Whole Thing, he gives up trying to fight for them.

Thing is, the Kraken is not really killing other people, at least narratively speaking (sorry Lucius). Killing is a tool he is using to let go of the part of him that longs for Stede, love and all the fine things that he can't have - and the part of him that is just so, so hurt by not having them. The Kraken isn't killing others, it's killing Ed.

So it's no wonder that we see him kill at a wedding of all places. It's the embodyiment of everything he has ever wanted and lost so far. Extravagant dresses, good food, fancy stuff and, most of all - love.

[tizzyizzy]

Ed's Song vs Izzy's Song

Both scenes involve troubled leather-wearing pirates putting themselves out there to the crew of the Revenge through the medium of song. But what are the differences?

Captain Instigated vs. Crew Instigated

It is Ed who is the first to sing, much to the bafflement of the crew. He has feelings and he wants to express them to a supportive group. This leads into Buttons's experimental tone based singing and Ed's idea for a talent show. The crew are totally on board, but this is still Ed, as captain, setting the agenda.

Calypso's Birthday is an event the crew come up with, separately from the captains. In fact, the holiday itself is a kind of defiance of authority. It's a "pretend holiday" that a captain can "fall for", and Stede agrees to play along. Izzy even isn't even there for the initial planning. Izzy's role comes later; his singing is a contribution to and complement to a tone already set by the rest of the crew.

Emotional Low vs. Emotional High

Ed is at his lowest point in the narrative so far. Stede, a man he opened his heart to for the first time in his life, abadoned him. His hopes for a gentler life have been shattered. His conversation with Lucius and singing to the crew are desperate attempts to elicit the emotional support that Stede was the first to give him. And the crew are supportive, even asking him to sing again.

Izzy sings at the peak of his emotional health in the series. He is no longer obsessing over Edward. He's developed trust and friendships with the crew. The fact that Izzy is putting himself out there, wearing makeup and singing in front of these people, is proof of how far he's come.

This is reflected in their clothing choices, or lack thereof. Ed has dragged himself out of his depression pit and looks like it. Izzy is wearing makeup and a flower, and has never appeared so gussied up.

New Relationship vs. Tested Relationship

While Ed did pal around on the Revenge, and Lucius in particular offered him relationship advice, he spent most of his time and emotional energy on Stede. For everyone on the crew, except perhaps Lucius, seeing Ed suddenly being so vulnerable and open with them was something of a shock. They rallied, but from their expressions it's clear they aren't initially sure how to react. They're up for forming a closer relationship with Ed, but this is just the start.

Izzy's relationship with the crew had been developing in every season 2 episode before his solo. It started with Izzy reluctantly allowing himself to be hugged by Fang, and has included him saving the crew from a suicidal Blackbeard, a gift of a peg leg, and chats about trauma with Lucius. Izzy's song can be seen as a gift to the crew, or even a love song to them. It is his relationship with them that has allowed him to feel safe enough to come out of his shell.

Implications?

While both characters are trying to connect to the crew, when we compare Ed's experience to Izzy's, it's easier to see how Ed's actions and emotional situation were not ideal. All it takes is one conversation with Izzy for Ed to start regarding the crew with suspicious or resentment again, more of an emotional threat like Stede than a source of comfort. He swings in the other direction and attempts to kill all but two, whom he kidnaps.

While Izzy does not have an Izzy figure in his life to express disgust for his soft, unpirate-like behavior, it's doubtful that he'd pay them any mind at this point in his emotional development. If, for example, Ed had insulted him after this song, Izzy would have told him to fuck off.

It's also worth pointing out that Ed's song was followed with him suggesting a talent show and toying with the idea of giving up piracy. These actions are both out of character and that latter is a pretty extreme, impractical suggestion. Ed seems to be flailing around, uncertain about his identity and desires.

While on the surface, Izzy's makeup and singing might seem like an even more extreme change, both a appropriate for the event he is participating in: a party. While he is trying something new, he is doing so within the confines of a space and time designated for such activities. He isn't even the most garishly dressed: he was specifically emulating Wee John, who appears in even more elaborate drag. His core personality hasn't really changed much. He still says fuck and can be abrasive. He smiles when he watched Stede kill Ned Lowe, unbothered by the violence as usual. He's still a pirate.

Of course this is not me saying "Izzy good, Ed bad". It just shows the difference between two characters at different points in their story. It was good Ed was reaching out for help, but he was emotionally fragile, and overcorrected at the first challenge. Izzy had to go through hell and be forcibly adopted to get where he is.

[arun-armand-amadeo]

Don’t mind me, just getting all emotional about Ed thinking that people only like him for being Blackbeard and the first person he lets himself be Edward around abandons him at the end of a dock 🥲

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

godddd the way the original e5 “you wear fine things well” scene was backlit by a giant full moon that didn’t actually exist bc this was ed and stede’s fairy tale romance, the way they’re both all dressed up in finery and looking their best after a fancy night out (which didn’t go how either of them expected but that’s not the point the point is it was an Event it was a whole Thing they went to)

and then in the e5 “wear fine things well” 2 electric boogaloo scene the moon is a waxing gibbous because it’s real and stede’s wearing what remains of his fancy suit he had to get rid of and ed’s wearing a fucking. sack and a cat collar. and holding a fucking dead fish. and they’re just catching up after both of them had a pretty normal day doing their own things. this isn’t the picture-perfect fantasy from last season this is both of them grounded in the moment taking it slow because their relationship is worth handling with care. they want this to last and they want this to be real so they’re taking their time, being gentle. they’re not as completely absorbed by each other the way they were last season, they’re their own separate people who can exist in different plotlines for an episode and then come back at the end of the day and catch up, swap stories, kiss and hold hands and just hang out and enjoy being in each other’s presence.

now if you’ll excuse me. i have to go cry.

[lightbluetown]

i just love that ed asked for stede to stop

i love that stede was finally able to tell ed that their first kiss happened too fast and that he panicked. i love that when they kissed again, when ed leaned in for a quick peck but stede got passionate, ed was able to break the kiss and say "hey man, let's take this slow". i love that stede, of course, immediately stopped. i love that it didn't feel weird and they kept playing with each other's fingers and talking about their day

that was the most healthy, natural, realistic kiss i've seen. it wasn't romanticized for tv, it wasn't forced to be something it didn't have to be. it happened under a moon that wasn't full, on the deck of a messy ship, after ed complimented a piece of fine clothing that had lost most of its charm. it was as awkward as it was graceful

[edscuntyeyeshadow]

thinking about how ofmd took blackbeard, a historical (almost mythical) figure that has pretty much always been depicted in media as a super hypermasculine white cishet man, and turned him into a gay man of color who wears crop tops and silk gowns, paints his nails and pines for his boyfriend

[xray-vex]

is this anything 🥲

(this just occurred to me and i'm haunted by it, now you can be too)

[blakbonnet]

Ed baiting Ned Low </3 oh i get it. the tally marks, ‘we’ve got a record to break.’ ed was baiting ned low deliberately. he had to know low would come after him: low was ed’s original passive suicide plan - @forpiratereasons

[captain-flint]

something something Ed not being able to step in to protect Stede from physical and emotional harm out of fear of damaging Stede's reputation and instead letting it play out as he silently falls apart in the background

[palaceoftheprophets]

I am feeling fine and perfectly normal about them. :)))))))

[dragonlands]

This isn't the face of someone who is sad or even unsure of what he wants. This is Ed being vulvenerable. His face is open and loving. This is the man who's had a lot of sex in his life but none of it had meant anything and now he gets to have sex that means EVERYTHING. This is the face of a man in love coming undone.

And also. This isn't the man turned on by violence deciding to fuck Ed on a meaningless whim. His eye are glistening from tears and there's so much going on but his eyes are filled with unbearable amont of LOVE. Yes he just killed a man, and there's probably adrenaline rushing through his veins, but this moment has been long time coming. And it isn't motivated by violence, it's motivated on Stede holding onto what's real and good in his life, and that's Ed. He doesn't know who he is, a gentleman or a pirate, the only thing he knows is that he loves Ed. Wants Ed. Needs Ed.

And I want to add that it's not uncommon at all that death and violence act as complex motivators for sex. Funeral sex is a concept - people wanting to celebrate being alive when confronted with their own mortality. Baby boomers originate from people historically fucking like rabbits after ww2. So yeah, I think the scene was realistic, consensual, and amazingly nuanced. I could not have hoped for a better first time for these two.

[tizzyizzy]

Wait, I forgot to put this on my post about the differences between Ed and Izzy singing for the crew!

Intimately Personal Song vs. Existing Love Song

When Ed sings, he isn't singing just any song. He's singing a highly emotionally charged song he wrote himself about his personal feelings, all while he is still in the grip of those feelings. Ed does not sound like a practice singer, so this may well be the first time he's ever sung with an audience.

Izzy is an excellent singer, which suggests he has done so in the past. He is also singing a song he didn't write with a pleasant, romantic mood. The crew can and do dance to it.

While performance is always exposing, Ed is taking a much greater emotional risk than Izzy. He is putting his most intense feelings out there for a group of people he doesn't really know. The Revenge crew were encouraging, but if they hadn't been, it would have been devastating. Ed is literally undressed in front of them, baring his deepest soul.

It's also, honestly, a major social faux pas. It is not socially acceptable to write a dramatic song about your recent break-up and sing about it to your subordinates out of nowhere. And even if we do accept that it was healing, it is also...A Lot.

While Izzy is expressing himself through his choice of makeup, clothing, and song, he is actually filling an preexisting social role: performer. The crew might not expect Izzy specifically to sing or wear makeup, but they would expect music. Izzy is entertaining them. He is contributing to the experience like Roach with his food and Frenchie with his lute. While Izzy might have personal reasons for picking la Vie en Rose, no one hearing it would know.

So Izzy is risking much less. Maybe mockery over his makeup, or choice of song, or his singing. His pride and dignity might be on the line, but that's all.

[ridleymocki]

(seeing so many bad faith interpretations of the argument, y'all are really going to make me do this, okay HERE WE GO)

.................................

What Ed says: "I think last night was a mistake. I'm not ready for... Whatever this is."

What Ed means: "I didn't want last night to happen so soon or under those circumstances. Things are changing rapidly, which makes me feel out of control and scared."

What Stede hears: "I regret sleeping with you. I don't want the sort of relationship that you're after."

.................................

What Stede says: "It was a fine fish. It was... whatever. I was just trying to make you feel good!"

What Stede means: "I only cared about the fish because you cared about it, and I care about you. I liked the fish because it made you happy. Ordinarily, I'm ambivalent about fish."

What Ed hears: "I lied to you. I didn't care about your achievement I was just placating you to get what I wanted."

.................................

What Ed says: "Here's the news: I'm leaving. I got a job on a little fishing boat and I'm leaving. I'm a fisherman now."

What Ed means: "I think I need to be away from you to figure out who I am, because I haven't been able to do that while we're together, and your lifestyle now is the life I'm trying to leave behind."

What Stede hears: "I've made a decision to leave you and have a life without you. I don't value what we have enough to work with you to find a solution, I'd prefer to end it."

.................................

What Stede says: "Oh, Ed. Seriously? You're not a fisherman."

What Stede means: "I think you're using this plan to escape and avoid your problems. It sounds like you're pretending to be someone else. It seems to me like an impulsive decision and I am concerned."

What Ed hears: "I don't support this ambition. I think you're incapable. I don't think you can be different from what you have always been."

.................................

This is the kind of analysis done in therapeutic environments. When I put what they mean, it's not just a rephrasing but a boiling down to the core issue. I could go on to the rest of the dialogue but do you see the continuing ship-in-the-night miscommunication?? It's tripartite:

failing to express one's current emotional reality with the most accurate and clear language, often because that reality is not fully understood to oneself,

misinterpreting the other's language, due to preexisting sensitivities and defensiveness about one's own understanding of the situation,

increasing frustration and sense of personal attack that results from those misinterpretations, which perpetuates and worsens the poor communication.

Importantly, this kind of pattern means you miss the best and most important kernels of communication in an exchange because you're reacting to the more inflammatory parts.

Stede: "This can be whatever we want it to be." (I am willing to make changes to our arrangement so that you're happy). Ed: "I don't even know who I am! Alright? I know I don't want to be a pirate. And you, you're blowing up, you're the toast of the town." (I think we want different things. You're just starting a journey that I've already finished).

With those two bits alone they could've sorted this out. The first is the answer to the second. But they didn't -- couldn't -- latch onto it because all their other baggage was getting in the way.

And I'm being proven correct that this is what is happening, because I have seen next to nothing on here about the above two lines, only reactionary takes of fans also focusing on the inflammatory parts because of their predispositions. You're doing an encore performance of what they're doing.

Point being, there are no bad guys in this scene, just repeated system failure!

[lookinglass-fic]

THIS is Blackbeard. Not some namby-pamby in a silk gown pining for his boyfriend!

This little scene in the teaser is so important to me actually. Because no matter what Izzy took with those words, no matter what posturing Ed does with his nine guns and kohl beard, underneath it all, he is still the soft, queer, lovelorn man in a silk gown pining after Stede.

He is still an absolute badass. He is sliding through sand on his knees and cutting off Navy officers with a single blow. He's crashing ships and throwing knives and taking names, and he is also longing and aching and wishing to be the lovely, fine thing that Stede loved.

[chuplayswithfire]

it is so important that Ed wanted to live before he heard Stede's voice. It is so, so, so important that Ed had to be pushed instead of jump, that Ed struggled with the ropes, that Ed found his own desire to live even before he heard Stede's voice, because Stede gave Ed the strength to make it back, but Ed wanted to live, and Ed saved himself, and valued himself.

You can't live solely for other people and it is so important that they made sure we know that it's not just that Stede wants Ed to live, it's that Ed wants Ed to live.