#its only one season before david like don't be lazy

[sapphiremcguire]

[londonspirit]

The Big Picture

The second season of Our Flag Means Death takes a unique approach to the trope of separating romantic couples, exploring the emotional ramifications instead of resolving it quickly.

Season 2 delves into the heartbreaking consequences of the split between Stede and Ed, showcasing Stede's pure affection and Ed's descent into self-destruction and violence.

While their reunion is a melodramatic and intimate affair, the emotional reconciliation between Stede and Ed will likely unfold over time due to the aftermath they have both experienced. The show's strength lies in its intentional pacing and character development.

Tropes are tropes for a reason: when done with clever forethought, they're a comforting delight. As with anything recycled a hundred times over, however, there are the Bad Tropes; the "please, beloved media, don't fall into that lazy writing trap." One of these Bad Tropes surrounds break-ups. When a series separates its main romantic couple, the split tends to lack lasting consequences or finds itself resolved altogether too quickly. Exploring the emotional ramifications for each character, let alone those on the periphery, takes a backseat in favor of restoring things to the status quo. It shouldn't be a surprise to fans of Our Flag Means Death that Season 2's first three episodes didn't take the expected route. Nevertheless, the relief that the first season's intelligent writing didn't vanish overnight burns as bright as the fictional pain that cuts like a knife.

David Jenkins' period pirate rom-com could've easily, immediately reunited the unlikely star-crossed lovers Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Edward Teach/Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) or smoothed over their climatic separation. Season 2 does neither, avoiding that temptation. It forces its own storytelling to earn their reunion in a way as slow burn as the romance's development. For a series already acknowledged for its insightful writing, that's the smartest move David Jenkins could've made.

‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2 Earns Its Darkness

Season 1 of Our Flag Means Death was aggressively revolutionary in its quiet normalization. It shattered Western television's long-established history of queerbaiting (teasing an LGBTQIA+ relationship for attention but never confirming it) just by existing. Our Flag Means Death's romance between Stede Bonnet and Ed Teach wasn't just unambiguous, it was a tender takedown of toxic masculinity, an intimate exploration of male vulnerability, and a story of two opposites stumbling into their perfect compliment. By seeing beyond the other's unconventional exterior and expressing tenderness, Stede and Ed become one another's safe space: their lighthouse in the dark, if you will.

Then the Season 1 finale ate fans' dreams for (temporary) breakfast. Shattering a happy couple usually means drama for drama's sake; said decisions aren't concerned with character growth or arc resolution. Not only are those the express purposes behind Stede and Ed's split, Our Flag Means Death Season 2 forces us to witness all the bloody misery, psychologically vivisecting both characters. The differences in each man's perspectives have never been more heartbreaking than charming; now it's the reverse. The pure simplicity of Stede's affection is just that: pure. He writes Ed love letters. He dreams about being a traditional pirate who exacts violent revenge before running into Ed's arms along a sunset beach. He's a man reveling in his first love, and he's gloriously smitten while also painfully yearning in his loneliness and regret. Even surrounded by members of his crew, without Ed nearby, Stede's skin doesn't quite fit his exuberant body. It's the same revolutionary gentleness Our Flag Means Death displayed in the crafting of their romance.

Then there's Ed. Even with the series' reliable banter and rom-com undertones still in play, it's difficult to watch his parade of slaughter without flinching. He labels himself the devil and is, at certain times, worthy of the moniker. Ed hasn't merely re-embraced his Blackbeard persona through his homicidal actions, he's spiraled into suicidal self-destruction. There's no goal except torment, no outlet save violence. He sprays innocent blood at weddings. He maims his crew via torture and courts their retaliation. And it heals nothing; he lies despondent on the floor clinging to a wedding token that reminds him of Stede. Ed's brutal unpredictability is both disturbing and heartbreaking, especially since he's relieved when the crew of the Revenge mutinies and nearly kills him. Our Flag Means Death never holds back on where the heartbreak of shattered vulnerability might tip a traumatized murderer, both holding Ed accountable and empathizing. This triplicate of episodes marks the best acting of Taika Waititi's career for balancing all the scripts' demands, especially with their unhurried detail. Everything could have been resolved in the first episode, but that would've betrayed all that Season 1 carefully developed.

‘Our Flag Means Death’s Love Story Has Always Been Vulnerable

Underneath the quirky pirate shenanigans, Our Flag Means Death deconstructs childhood trauma: the ricochet effects on individuals' lives and how courageous and healing it is to give and receive emotional vulnerability. Ed views himself as a monster, and this inherent belief in his unlovable irredeemablity, seemingly confirmed by Stede's abandonment, manifests outward into trying to burn down the world. He and Steed were both lost souls, but Ed's outcast state took the too-relatable form of self-hatred. When he decides to live in Episode 3 after actively imagining all the ways he could die, it's a sentiment in line with Season 1's themes as everything else. The moment's earned, and means something, precisely because Our Flag Means Death took its time getting there.

Meanwhile, Stede the daydreamer is left to reckon with Ed's actions. He tries to reason them away; he's never seen Ed reduced to his darkest base impulses-slash-coping mechanisms, so Stede's beloved is just "blowing off steam," surely. It's Lucius (Nathan Foad), the man who survived Ed's murder attempt, who forces Steed to look directly at "the man he loves" in all his shades: beheadings, arson, senseless parades of violence. (When freaking Izzy Hands wants to protect the crew from further "suffering," you had better start paying attention.) Only acknowledging Ed's better side is the same romanticization Stede applied to the entire idea of gentleman piracy. Much like the audience, Stede now has no choice but to either accept Ed or truly reject him and acknowledge his own unintentional culpability. Then, Stede's the only person who refuses to write Ed off as a lost cause. He's seen the terrified, tender man behind the kraken. And this reckoning wouldn't have happened, or would've occurred under less satisfying and revelatory circumstances, if Stede hadn't dashed back home.

Stede and Ed’s Reunion in ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2 Won’t Be Easy, but It Will Be Worth It

Our Flag Means Death keeping Stede and Ed apart for three episodes of reflection also makes their inevitable reunion more effective. One of the things the series does best stays intact: Jenkins both embraces his rom-com inspirations — Stede leaping into the ocean, professing his love over a dying Ed, and a symbolic rescue involving a merman tail set to a Kate Bush needle drop — and twists them onto their heads. There's no instant catharsis, as Stede finds the Revenge a tomb of hate. But he still saves his crew, and he still saves Ed. This Stede Bonnet is assured and decisive, a far cry from the man we met in the pilot. He knows what he wants, which isn't wasting his wealth on the high seas but being with the man he adores more than any treasure. It's only fitting that their reunion is a melodramatic, silly, and achingly intimate affair on both sides. Neither character would know themselves as well or reached an emotional breaking point to rebuild from without having spent time apart.

Having said that, although Stede and Ed are physically reunited, Season 2 has sat in the horrible aftermath for too long for the emotional reconciliation to be instantaneous. This is Season 1's reverse slow-burn echo. Even if the pair "talk it through as a crew," the raw encounter will likely unfold over time. There's too much behind them to rush into the future. Everything in Our Flag Means Death is building toward an intentional conclusion. Its best strengths, namely building character through pacing, are already soaring as high as a raised ship flag.

New episodes of Our Flag Means Death Season 2 premiere Thursdays on Max.

[bushybeardedbear]

So I've been considering writing and posting this little issue I've had with something. Sorry to anyone following me who doesn't care about MLB. And sorry to anyone who doesn't want discourse on their dash. I will tag accordingly...

So, all that said...

The Native American Miracle Box

Is it just me or is it a little problematic?

So, on the surface it's great to see it. It's using Native American symbolism and mythology. It's establishing that other cultures communed with and harnessed the Kwami. (Though, one could argue the Miraculous in general actually enslave these god-like beings but that's a whole other can of worms I don't want to open...) Jess being a Native American hero, wielding the Miraculous of Freedom. Its all superficially really encouraging, inclusive and nice.

But, this is a big but.

There's a huge period of Native American history where one would assume access to Super Heroes might have been a little useful.

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on the historical events, because I'm not. I'm not going to pretend I speak on behalf of or in replacement of anyone anyone else, because I don't. If anything, my ancestors may well have been complicit in the acts I'm referring to. So if I'm wrong, call me out on it. If I'm misrepresenting anything, do the same. I'd much prefer other more relevant voices than my own be talking about this and to be listened to. I'm only saying this because to my knowledge, nobody else seems to be talking about this.

This isn't an easy topic, but America is founded upon genocidal colonialism. There's no two ways about it. Indigenous populations were murdered on a vast scale. The effects and marginalisation that resulted are still a part of people's everyday struggle. I'm fully aware that something like a cartoon talking about genocide and the lasting effects it has might be a little outside its remit, but there seems to be something inadequate about the way Miraculous Ladybug simply removes the Native American Miraculous from the equation and in a completely dismissive way.

So, based on what little information is out there, we are to believe that at some point in human history, some Native American people became aware of, communed with and created tools to harness the Kwami. In the centuries that followed, nothing was done with them. And then in around about the 16th century, these ancient powerful artifacts were just for no given reason or cause scattered around the world somehow. Then, it wasn't until the American war of independence that one of these artifacts were first used. By a white man.

Tell me its not just me that sees this as somewhat problematic?

Imagine if this was for example a hypothetical Jewish Miracle Box. Arranged in a box shaped like the Star of David and with Miraculous forged by Moses to free his enslaved people. And somehow, let's say around the 1920s, the box and its contents just conveniently go missing just before a major historical event involving Jewish people.

Wouldn't that be rightly seen as a bit messed up?

Even writing that hypothetical makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

So, isn't the Native American Miracle Box a very close parallel to the scenario I just laid out? Disappearing just before the colonisation of America happened? Or am I being somehow unfair and over-analytical? Please, if I'm talking nonsense, tell me so.

So, to my mind it feels a little like these new Miraculous have the trappings and essentially superficial decoration of Native American Culture. The most recent hero to weild them, also Native American. On the one hand that should obviously be applauded. But in the context of the Canon ignoring or marginalising the struggles of Native Americans and essentially using the peoples and cultures as decoration, isn't that a kind of clueless cultural appropriation? A kind of Colonialist attitude to the various Native American cultures as a kind of way to score points for appearing superficially inclusive?

Did Thomas Astruc or any of the Miraculous staff ask any indigenous peoples or groups for input before including this, for instance. I don't think for a moment it was actively malicious. Just, honestly a little thoughtless.

Though I suppose it's easy enough to argue that the integration of these super heroic power items into world history is in general not a great idea. Is this actually part of a larger trend of lazy world building written from the point of view of someone far removed from the historical horrors he's pushing his magic toys into?

It's one thing to argue maybe Sun Wukong, Robin Hood, the Pied Piper or other apocryphal and legendary figures held the Miraculous. Legends don't have a real world impact beyond the imaginations they spark, their place in the cultural zeitgeist. But when real world history is an issue, maybe you should have made an active choice to make your entire setting into its own historical reality based in mythology?

A similar issue to the historical problems of the Native American Miracle Box popped up in earlier episodes. Whilst not explicitly stated, it was strongly implied that during WW2, Master Fu guarded the Chinese Miracle Box from The Axis Forces. Preventing them from falling, he says, into the wrong hands.

So, why would Fu at no point consider that choosing heroes at this critical point in world history might not have been wise? Was it somehow morally wrong to intervene in defeating an ideology that threatened millions of people? Could any of the Miraculous in the hands of the Allied Nations have been considered the wrong hands given the enemy they were facing?

The issues are only compounded when you consider the Miraculous have existed in one form or another through all of human history. Yet its only now that they factor. We have to consider that either the Miraculous are always conveniently not available when certain conflicts happen or that they were indeed used but changed nothing meaningful.

If you're going to say these ancient relics have existed and been used for centuries, why not go the extra mile and examine how they've changed history? If you don't want to ever deal with the real world history, then perhaps only have the items show up in the modern day? It's the Half and Half response of "they only matter when it's easy to say they matter" that invites discussion of odd choices in the writing.

Maybe my willing suspension of disbelief for MLB is just shattered after season 3 was so... Unsatisfying?

Whatever the case, I'm just wanting to vent, put my thoughts out there and say that maybe attempting to insert new mythology into the existing world history and YET not having any impact on world history seems like its poorly thought out and best and deeply insensitive at worst.

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: Don't go there boyfriend!

AT some point in every season a bad start can no longer be written off as a couple bad games, nor should one dismiss a great ladder position as just an easy start to the fixture.

Geelong had arguably the hardest first month and a half based on our preconceived ideas of how 2019 would shape up, and not only did they pass with flying colours they sit perched a game clear on top.

Too, if you’re of the Demon or Kangaroo persuasion, to have only win entering May with percentage as crap as Clive Palmer is likeable, that’s not ideal.

After the conclusion of the festival of footy where now the idea of weekdays without a match seems strange, we can now start to cast proper judgements as to what 2019 has in store.

 1.       Firstly, how is Jimmy Faulkner going? I mean, sure, its 2019 and language constantly evolves, but whilst I’ve been tight with some male friends before I’ve never resorted to the ‘boyfriend’ pseudonym. Sure, women refer to their girlfriends all the time, but even if it’s all a gross misunderstanding that set the media alight pre-breakfast, the use of that term, amongst blokes, has just got hairs on it, rightly or wrongly. That said, Faulkner as a bowler was proficient both over and around the wicket, so maybe he likes to…. no, that’s cheap, let’s talk footy.

2.       Paddy McCartin, pick one,  you thought, right, there’s a Tom Hawkins type to kick 500+ goals for the Sainter. Far too many headknocks later and its got the Liam Pickens written all over it. But never fear, Alan Richardson’s theory is that once he is right all will be resolved by moving him to defense, “to change not having to go back with the flight of the ball”…. Ah, God forbid Paddy ends up 10m short of an incoming opposition kick and has to go back with the…. Richo, you haven’t though that through!

3.       Let’s address Majak Daw again. This story is ridiculous, but in a lovely way. So whether we should say it or not (and I’m a massive proponent for calling suicide for what it is, but that’s for a different column) this is one hell of a comeback. Perhaps not for the typical sense, reoccurring knee injuries, the Jason McCartney story, but for the stark, cold-world reality of what happened that night on the Bolte Bridge. In a lot of ways, if he is able to return to VFL or senior footy in the next couple of months, as mooted, its less about him and his personal recovery, but more about the bigger picture, one that is now killing more Australians than pretty much everything else. I hope this can make a difference, it bloody well can and needs to.

4.       From serious to less so – now Melbourne. Kicked their lowest score since Snake was the preeminent phone app Anzac Day Eve. In real hurt. And its not just one small thing as previously suspected – they don’t win the hard ball, they are getting smashed on the outside and for run, their forward line is as dysfunctional as a vegan at Meat and Wine Co. and their backline shows as much resistance as France in any military combat. Lot to unpack, lot to fix, and those snow chalets are just putting the fire on – this spells trouble.

5.       Sydney on the other hand, well Horse has called it – after a gazillion years of annoying over-competiveness, they’re conceding a lean year. But when you’ve dished out such amazing value for ground admission over the last decade, if you’re going to finish near the bottom with a bounce back probably not far away, you can’t have much gripe if you’re a Bloods supporter.

6.       The Eagles need to get serious. Easy to say, especially given I have no interest in watching highlights of last year’s Granny, but they’re game style is like a Jackson Pollock right now. If their midfield isn’t punching above their weight Jack Darling is rendered useless, their forwards all look lazy and their backline whilst supreme can't stop the onslaught. Have an easy month coming up and will make finals, but super breakable as per the last fortnight’s evidence.

7.       Oh, yeah, the booing last Thursday. Was it coz Pendlebury exacerbated a high in that fourth quarter? Was it because a furiously competitive finish had a couple suspect-looking frees go against the Bombers, whose fans wanted to do nothing but rage against the machine? Or was it the two tribes bristling when Pendles acknowledged the crowd, the Bomber fans wanting to drown out their rowdy rivals? You know what, who cares, we don’t need a symposium for booing, next we’re going to have to stop funny puns on banners, re-write all club songs to be enthusiastically inclusive and do away with scoring all together because awarding winners and losers is essentially marginalisation. So to those who cried foul, its booing – move along.

8.       How stiff is Carlton? Lost the Suns game and then let the Hawks back in on the weekend. But, this column must concede, Bolton, an ex-Clarkson man which we acknowledge is key to success (last six premierships), might be just starting to extract from the talent he clearly now has to work with. Want to see them win this week and we will accept our fate – the Blues might be finally alright. But we wait, need to win this week.

9.       As for Tasmania, yeah so given the strength of the junior programs and some key KPIs bearing fruit in the game’s NSW strategies, the talent pool for two more teams in the next decade is mighty feasible. So the game of bluff with giving Tassie a checklist for admission is staring down the barrel of actually happening. Right now, if there’s a wager as to whether the Apple Isle has its own team by 2030, get on, it would now need something to go badly amiss.

10.   Best on ground on Sunday down there is another this column needs to concede defeat on. With supposedly knees made of fairy floss, Jaeger O’Meara looks like the talent and promise he once displayed as a Sun might be now fulfilled as a Hawk. He is the definition of a jet. Such a shame we don’t have State of Origin, a centre square of him, Cripps, Fyfe and Naitanui is as electric a side you’ll see, would give Victoria quite a run.

11.   As for a pair of midfielders not getting the kudos, couple Victorian brothers playing for the Crows – the Crouch boys. Both averaging 30 a game, Cripps aside you hardly see better clearance work, and if the Crows can work their stuff out over the next month or so, they could play finals, be a nuisance, and the two lads from Ballarat will get the recognition they deserve for being proper guns of this competition.

12.   Couple more on the Crows – firstly Josh Jenkins. Jimmy Bartel and Matty Lloyd reckon he just comes back in after being dropped for the Saints game last week. Ah, why? Himmelberg came in and whilst not as talented looks a much better fit, structurally, than Jenkins, and given the Crows looked properly good why change a winning formula? Jenkins can sit until the need arises for mine.

13.   And as for Tex Walker, gee, if he can stay fit I can’t see why he can’t become the premier big man in the game. Has the size, strength and weapons to excel. You want a bag of five, he can, you want a 15-mark game playing up the flanks, he can, you want some presence for your smalls to work off, he can. Just turned 29, this is it for the lad from Broken Hill, but this column still rates the Texan.

14.   So let’s look at the teams we like, in no order let’s applaud the Essendon effort Thursday. Well and truly out of it early but it was sheer talent and will that almost got them over the line. We like their backline, like their kids, Redman, Ridley, and with Fantasia and Francis back in that side, and a fit Joey Daniher, this team wins a final. From there, not sure, let’s see, but this is a good footy team. And capable this Sunday too.

15.   As for their opponents this Sunday, how’s the forward line mix? Two-time Brownlow medalist as a midfield playing permanent flank, Gary Rohan, known for his speed, now sitting deep and putting the pace aside. Chuck in the enigma Miers, Hawkins looks in ripping nick – if the Cats go deep, it’s because of the forward line. But it’s still April, so let’s see.

16.   The Cats have lost once, to the Giants, down at Kardinia Park too. If I’m putting a dollar on a premier – it’s the orange tsunami. Still holds elite talent, probably the best list with those concessions still ringing true, and just idling at this stage of the season. Will be almost impossible to beat in Sydney and will win plenty on the road too. Don’t forget the Giants.

17.   So how many teams can win it – to this point, five. Giants obviously, got to include the Cats, the Pies are in the mix, then the Tigers and Eagles as well. Richmond make the finals, and finish the season strongly, look out, and the Eagles will make the finals and know how to win one. I don’t think they will but shit, they finish top four again somehow then why not?

18.   Couple question marks to finish, firstly Daniel Wells. If I’m Collingwood I manage him to be fit for August. If he needs three weeks ‘management’ in June, then fine, love it. But the idea of Wells fit, playing outside of the midfield rotation where a dozen touches could be match winning come the Spring time, it’s just another really problematic magnet for the opposition coaches to be concerned about.

19.   And for those that still want to pot Daniel Hannebery’s acquisition, sure, maybe he enjoys inhaling through his nose more than his mouth, maybe it’s a breathing preference, maybe its something else, but let’s not forget, Andrew Lovett cost the Saints the same trade deal and never played a game. But that year was 2010 and they were a bad bounce away from a second-ever flag that same season. Doesn’t mean they have a similar year this year, not at all, but one bad trade does not a bad club make. The Saints will be fine.

20.   And lastly, cricket – David Warner, the enigma staring down a return to the national team, has torn the IPL a new one. No-one has scored more runs this season; he amassed 692 from ten digs, which is just insane. The premier white ball batsman in the world right now, so what was a big question mark now becomes our greatest asset perhaps for a World Cup defense. Get excited.