#i think it's really clever how you can see stede at the end of this last episode at his lowest

[marsupials-of-mars]

So, I don't think Stede wanted to kill Ned. Ed told him not to, and he did, but I don't think he wanted to.

I know it's been said that both sides still don't fully understand why the other would want them or the kind of life they have. They both think they have to change to be worthy, no matter what they are directly told by the other. It's a fundamental part of their identity that they hate their prior lives.

Think of the first scene of the season, a rugged bearded pirate stede killing his romantic rival in cold blood, an act of utter devotion and unbridled passion, and Ed loves it.

This part of his identity extends to how he expresses himself romantically. I'm not saying that he can't just be eager, like in the second kiss and the sex, especially because he's finally freeing himself from repression of his sexuality. But think about the context.

He wants to show Ed he cares. Ed has defended him with force. He sees Ed being berated and tortured, and he can finally do something about it. Ed tells him not to do it, but Ed is only saying that to spare his fragile mind. Ed would kill Ned in a second, and now Stede is a real pirate, and he is going to show Ed that he can pull his weight, protect his love, use his mean voice, be a proper captain.

So, afterwards, we have Ed, who didn't want Stede to kill Ned for not only Stede's sake, but for his own. Because he's even more sick of the brutality now than ever, he was finally a little settled with a boyfriend who can take things slow with him, and help him appreciate beauty. But he won't say that, because stede made his choice, and he's here to comfort him, because he must be having a horrible time, with how he's handled killing in the past.

But we also have Stede, who catches him entirely off guard. Because he sees the killing of Ned as a GRAND ROMANTIC GESTURE. The shedding of the self to become something new and worthy, not just for Ed, but because he said he wanted to be a pirate, and he'll never go back on that again. So he assumes, after this grand gesture, that this is the perfect moment for their first time. Because it's so romantic! And he even goes in with gusto, how sexy!

He's completely blindsided by Ed saying it was a mistake. Because if he went to the lengths of killing a man in cold blood to make absolute certain that he would do anything for this love to work, then Ed saying it was a mistake means that there's no hope of it ever not being a mistake.

And Ed watches Stede change like this, trying to be happy for him because it's not his place to tell him not to be a pirate after everything. And obviously Stede was spooked by the idea of starting new, plain lives, enough that he refused theirs and left his own twice.

And he watches, knowing that he's taught him this way and played a huge role in hardening him, making him lose so much of the softness and beauty that he fell in love with.

Because he can't help but defile beautiful things.

[plantsjustwannahavefun]

I keep seeing so many people here getting angry that this season is "vilifying Ed", and it's depressingly fascinating to see how others can watch the same show and somehow see something completely different. Is it simply the lack of media literacy? Is it the inability to appreciate and enjoy complex, nuanced, morally grey characters without willfully blocking out anything even slightly unpalatable about them to the point where the character they think they love isn't really that character anymore?

Because, uh... Season 1 already "vilified" Ed plenty. Except "vilify" is the wrong word, of course. It wasn't in any way malicious or mean-spirited, quite the contrary, it was often played as comedic (until the end of episode 10 when it was anything but) - Ed was always meant to be a sympathetic character, he's a protagonist after all, and the show's portrayal of him is very compassionate. It merely refused to sugarcoat or shy away from his darker side. He's literally history's most famous pirate, you don't become one by being nice and treating everyone gently. He ambushed and strangled his own father to death when he was like 9 years old (100% deserved and justifiable ofc, but it still bears saying it out loud like this just to comprehend how unhinged this actually was). He loves torturing and maiming people for fun, and sometimes even animals (that scene with forcing a turtle to fight a crab). He didn't give a fuck about his crew members dying to satisfy his whim to meet Stede. He entirely failed in his role as a captain in ep 4. He effectively played a double agent with Izzy and Stede for a while before changing his mind. He attempted to murder Lucius. And while you could try to argue his punishment of Izzy was at least to some degree deserved, not only cutting Izzy's toe off but forcing him to eat went beyond punishment, it was sadistic torture.

So, yeah, please just read all that and take it in. And then remember once again that Ed is also a traumatised, lonely, depressed, sensitive, creative, curious, deeply passionate person yearning for true love and for something different in life... just like Stede. He loves music and can play the piano. He wrote a very vulnerable song and sand his heart out. He likes his tea with seven sugars. He enjoys fashion and dressing up. He has such a limitless sense of wonder for the world. He went on a trek with Stede just to make him happy, even though he hated nature and was in a shit mood that day. He wants to host a talent show. He wants to become free. He's clever and funny and fascinating. I love Ed.

Yes, it's possible to reconcile those two sides of him and accept both sides as the "real" Ed. You have to reconcile the two sides if you want to enjoy him as a character, because if you don't, you're going to either detest him to the core (which would make enjoying the show practically impossible since he's sort of a main character...), or you'll only be able to enjoy a diminished, crippled, cardboard cutout version of his character, which would be such a pity and a massive disservice to the creators of this show who worked hard to create interesting, multidimensional characters.

Not to mention you'd be missing one of the core messages of the show - the idea that people still deserve love and can be loved even if they're imperfect, or not necessarily good people. Because love is a human condition. It's not a sole dominion of "good" people. "Bad" people can fall in love too - even if, just like them, that love isn't exactly "nice" or "pure", and neither are the relationships that stem from it. They can be messy and exasperating. But "bad" people can also grow and change because of it. That's what OFMD is ultimately about - growth and change, learning to accept yourself but also become better. That can't happen if the character is already 100% perfect the way they are.Ed is far from that. So is Izzy. They can both become better, and they both still deserve compassion and understanding, because that's the environment people need to become better.

So, if you're mad that at the start of S2 the crew are sympathetic to Izzy's suffering and want to help him instead of kicking him when he's down, and what Ed did to him is being acknowledged as cruel and wrong... congratulations, you have completely missed what OFMD is all about.

[fallenrocket]

#OurFlagMeansDeadloch Watch Party - Episode 8

(crossposted from my Twitter)

Before I start, I really hope we don't get a last-minute twist where James is the killer. Can you imagine if he was just pretending to be incompetent to sabotage the investigation? His villainsplaining would be *insufferable*.

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Second, I'm manifesting Abby suckerpunching James in the finale and then exclaiming, "Ma'ams, did you see that? I did a punch!"

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"Go color-code your Birkenstocks or some shit"--'cause it's not enough to just take Dulcie off the case. Gotta throw in some "clever" homophobia too.

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Okay, "emotional truffle pig" is a great descriptor for Cath. Props to Nadiyah!

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"Where would I have the time to murder? If I had free time, I would take my kid to the pool, not kill her fucking dad." Go, Sharelle!

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"Darlings, I'll get you out of here, I won't rest until it happens!" says Margaret as her scurries out the door.

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When the convenience store owner stops to help a customer while Dulcie and Eddie are getting to get information on the bus, you can actually see Eddie's soul leaving her body.

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"He's taken them up into the hills."

"Like The Sound of Music."

"Yeah, sure."

lol, I love it!

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"Ugh, I muscle-memory drove myself back to Deadloch! Sorry, guys." omg, Sven, I've been there!

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I like that this show takes the OFMD approach of, "It's okay when racists/colonizers die."

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And there's the big twist! Yikes, poor Eddie--you think she had issues getting close to people *before*???

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"James, I'm talking to Skye. Let women have the floor, mate!" omg, I can't with this guy's ultra-considerate "let's unpack toxic masculinity" spiel when he's kidnapped a bunch of dudes to murder them. He's evil, but he's hilarious!

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"I don't have to do all this murder!"

"Yeah, everyone knows that, mate! Everyone knows that except for fucking you!"

lol, these two are taking me *out*!

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I like that we're shown how killing predatory men is still a product of his misogyny, that notion that women are so helpless and brainwashed by the patriarchy that they "need" a man to step in and do what needs to be done to liberate them.

It has a thematic ring with Miranda asking why Margaret gets to decide who "deserves" what in an earlier episode, which is very fitting.

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"Attention all units: the men are not on the bus. Repeat, the men are *not* on the bus." lol, that timing is just *chef's kiss*.

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"So Collins, were you always into women, or was it something you had to work on, like a muscle?" hee!

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Ah, bless Abby, walking down the street with her new bangs, eating a sandwich, off to meet up with her forensic Edward Teach a.k.a. Kate. Lovely ending for her!

***

lol, and we end on one final mixed-up name from Eddie! It reminds me of when the Kraken crew were telling Stede that Ed retired and Archie just mumbled, "Yeah, got tired."

[prettybard]

So I’ve watched a ton of reactions to ofmd (indulging the ones mentioned in your post) because I was really curious to see how people responded to a show like this and I’ve observed some THINGS

• People generally don’t like/aren’t sold by ep 1 (crazy to me since it’s one of my faves and I was hooked instantly but it). Even people that liked it don’t seem to get the tone just from one ep.

• People always end up having a favorite crew member. Very fun to see who they end up gravitating towards

• Most people believe Black Pete’s stories at first/think they will be proven right later

•Most people don’t pay attention to Jim’s pronouns unless they are already aware that they are nb/are told by commenter that they are nb

• A lot of the little jokes and clever moments and line deliveries kinda go over a lot of peoples heads

• Queer people love Stede, straight people have to warm up to him

• Most people credit Taika for this show/most straight people heard about it because of his connection to it

• I’ve only seen one person previously unfamiliar with the foot touch in ep 8 notice it

• Everyone loves Lucius

• Hardly anyone notices how romantic the moonlight scene in ep 5 is (and of course the ones who pick up on it are the gays)

• This show reads much better for gay people. Like of course, but it’s interesting to actually watch the differences in reaction to a lot of moments. I mostly like to watch people who aren’t familiar with the show at all and I like to keep the mix of people (straight, queer, poc, white etc.) diverse so that I can see how people with different backgrounds respond. Queer people 100% of the time are feeling those themes and narratives.

• Everyone always loses their shit when Karl dies

• No one ever talks about how fun Geraldo is and that’s wild to me. Loved his character so much.

• End of ep 3/ep 4 is what usually hooks people

• Most people, including the straights, actually do see the kiss coming but there are a few who are still shocked

• People want to fuck Blackbeard and Jim but what else is new

• A surprising amount of people “predict” that Ed isn’t going to kill Stede because they’re going to end up friends. Like…..yeah. He’s the main character. Idk. They kinda set that up for you.

• A lot of Ed’s vulnerable moments go overlooked

• Most people can’t believe Ed leaves the dock and freak the hell out when he goes back to being Blackbeard. Very fun reactions to those things.

• Not many people point out Izzy’s attraction to Blackbeard

All this information may be completely useless but it’s really fun to observe how people respond to this show. OFMD is UNDOUBTEDLY a show for the gays but I love that by the end most straight people also highly praise and recommend the show.

omg anon i love you and im gonna try to respond to most of the points bc im v happy i got this message.

it genuinely made me so sad when ppl weren't that into the first episode, its so perfect and very easily shows the found family shit thats about to happen.

ik a lot of new people dont know about jims pronouns but by fucking god does it make me uncomfortable when ppl immediately use she/her pronouns for them,, but im glad that ppl start using it when commenters tell them abt jim.

OMG YEAH SO MANY LITTLE JOKES GO OVER PPLS HEADS AND IM JUST SCREAMING AT MY SCREEN TELLING THEM TO APPRECIATE IT ASKFJS,,, the scene where stedes like "no this is it,, thats it." THE FUCJING LINE DELIVERY ON THAT IS PERFECT BUT LIKE NO ONE MENTIONED IT

stede is for the gays,, only we can fully understand that little fucker

no bc it made me so mad that not many people credited david jenkins properly,, like its his show?!?!?!

everyone should love lucius,, hes perfect in every way

GOD I WOULD GET SO SAD WHEN MOST PPL JUST SKIMMED BY THE MOONLIGHT SCENE,, AND I DON'T THINK ILL EVER FORGET "nice , theyre friends now" HUH?!??!??!?!

i think alot of straight people just dont care, like most of the youtubers ive seen react to the show, mostly just care about the comedy and if its entertaining. it kinda shocking to me seeing ppl just act normally about the show and not completely dissect it and every single theme they can find

ahhh omg yeah idk how ppl can look at the bathtub scene with ed and just go "aww thats sad" and just dismiss it?!?! that scene changed my brain chemistry and ruined me,, ed vulnerable moments were my favorite and i really wanted more people to talk about that

oh man i feel like i can go on a whole ass rant about ed becoming the kraken,, like people say it doesn't make sense but if you just think about it for 2 fucking seconds you can see that it v much makes complete sense to his character,, hes just trying to protect himself

i like pointing out izzy's atrraction for blackbeard bc its fucking hilarious how pathetic he is for a man that barely even cared abt him and doesn't even exist (hes in love with the idea of blackbeard and but not ed)

anyways this was incredibly fun to respond to, anon!! pls send me more shit if you want <33

[wadebramwilson]

Ed + Frenchie BFFs

Sorry guys I have so many more thoughts on this and I would like to hear all of your thoughts on this too please. Spoilers for Ep5, Ep10.

Ed invited Frenchie to the boat party like they were buddies!

“What’re you doing tonight?” “Nothing.” “Nothing?” “Nah.” “Let’s do it.” I LOVE Frenchie. He strikes that balance where he absolutely can bullshit his way into the aristocracy (to a point). Like, he is bluffing like hell but he knows what to say to get him where he wants to be. He genuinely seems like he doesn’t really care what those people think of him. In his and Olu’s conversation with Siegfried he smiles and nods in the face of all that racism, because Frenchie is laughing at this guy. He knows he’s coming out on top at the end of the night. He is PLAYING these people every step of the way.

Ed has got to envy that.

Episode 5 sees the the social/power hierarchy flip from how it is on the ship. Ed goes from top dog to the bottom of the rung where his only success is in his being seen as a novelty. He’s out of his depth and relies on Steed as his social crutch. Frenchie, who is pretty well at the bottom of the power rung on the ship, has the upper hand in this episode more than anyone else from the very start.

Frenchie gets to see Ed in a really vulnerable moment: “I think I want to go now.” And his response is compassionate and comforting. “You alright mate? What’d they do to you man?” “They are such dicks about spoons!”

He just understands what Ed is going through on a level that Stede cannot, what with both of them having experience with what it’s like to be in the service class (Ed’s mum and Frenchie’s backstory). Maybe sometimes you can touch it but you can’t keep it, “We just ain’t that kind of people”. And no matter how hard they work at it, how much money or success they have, how well they bluff, it’s not going to happen for them. That idea is presented as out of Ed’s control, divine even, “It’s up to God”. Ed’s initial success is minstrel-like. 

This response in contrast to Stede’s “Why would you?”

(On one hand I love that Stede’s response tells us that he knows that Ed knows what he should have done. Ed named all the utensils correctly in his retelling. Never let it be said that he isn’t an extremely smart and attentive guy towards things he cares to learn. Stede knows this and never doubted that Ed wouldn’t excel at it without him.) But Frenchie is on Ed’s level with it.

I mean, Frenchie (and Abshir) are the real heroes of this episode. Stede wouldn’t have that information without them.

But Frenchie couldn’t have delivered the passive aggression in the same way as Stede could because even with all his bluff and all his cleverness in knowing how to manipulate these people, they still see him as other. He doesn’t fit in here, except as a novelty.

Which brings me to episode 10, where Ed chooses to keep Frenchie on the crew.

The Kraken doesn’t have friends, he has tools.So maybe Ed is telling himself that he’s keeping Frenchie for a purpose, but let’s be honest guys, this man is not a strong sewer. No way.

Ed likes him and wants to keep him but can’t justify it any other way.

In order to become fully realised as The Kraken, Ed needed to get rid of everything that reminded him of Stede, as well as anyone who has seen his vulnerable side (Lucius). But he didn’t get rid of Frenchie. 

I really think that Frenchie is going to fill Lucius’ counselor shoes in season two (probably reluctantly). I think Ed is stuck in this all or nothing mentality where he thinks he can only be either this bloodthirsty, brutal, detached version of himself OR the distilled, entertainer version of himself. Neither bring him happiness and bother are performative characters that are engineered to benefit others (and to protect himself). He needs to be able to find the parts of himself that he wants to keep and what to throw away and FRENCHIE CAN SHOW HIM HOW.