You can see the moment realisation hits him. The way his eyes widen when he sees Izzy is breaking down. Because he knows him, and he knows just how much it would probably take to make him so vulnerable. He realises just how horrible the situation is for him and doesn't waste a second to comfort him. Even when Izzy is trying to shake him off and downplay his emotions.
"Shh. It's alright. " He keeps repeating and even asks, "Am I crushing you?" Just in case he's overstepping. And he does it all so gently
It is my honor to participate in the #renewasacrew campaign! Season 1 of @ourflagonmax was brilliant and capital I Important for so many people. We know season 2 will keep up the trend and it deserves a season 3! Don't leave it up to chance! Head over to IMBD and rate the show! Share the many brilliant artists sharing their art! Make noise because the cast can't! #sagaftrastrike
I love how OFMD so clearly depicts the different ways Stede and Ed deal with their emotions.
Stede runs. He runs from home, runs from his family, and then runs from Ed and the Revenge when things got too much, too overwhelming. Eventually, he realises he can't continue doing that. Otherwise, people would get hurt again and again, and so he works to fix it.
Meanwhile, Ed shuts down. I don't believe he has ever let his guard down so fully in his life until Stede came along and showed him a peaceful life where he can unapologetically be soft, calm, decent, and even slothful. And then have it ripped away. He bared his soul only to get stabbed in the heart. So he shuts down his emotions because he doesn't know how to deal with them, they are too much, and he doesn't want to be feeling them at all. So he shuts down. And consequently shuts down any compassion or empathy he might have for other people, causing him to revert back to Blackbeard.
Season 1 was Stedes' character arc and him learning how to cope with his feelings, I'm hoping season 2 will focus on how Ed learns to do the same thing.