Hot take: I like what they did with Izzy
First of, this is all my own opinion and if you think they did Izzy dirty, you do you babez. But please don't come after me for what I think about Izzy and his character arc.
Tbh I don't really know if there could've been a direction for Izzy to go without Ed. Like he said, they were Blackbeard. In season 1 he saw Ed wanting to move on from Blackbeard, so he became desperate enough to give them up to the English so that Stede would be killed and they could stay as Blackbeard. But Ed really loved Stede, so he brought up the Act Of Grace just to save him. Then when he returned alone and became Blackbeard again, Izzy thought he got what he wanted. But it wasn't what he wanted after all.
In season 2, Ed was Blackbeard alone, leaving Izzy to feel isolated and hurt over and over again by something he thought he wanted. But that loneliness and separation from wanting/needing Blackbeard opened him up for the rest of the crew. It allowed him to accept their help and their love. So when that bullet he fired missed, he decided to go help his family instead. With Stede coming back, he allowed himself to finally have even the tiniest of friendship with him because he recognized the love Ed had for Stede. It wasn't mean and twisted like the love he thought he wanted from Blackbeard, but nice. By episode 6 he had enough courage to join the party the crew was having instead of brushing it off, even joining in with his iconic singing and look. He looked at the crew as family now, something he would fight and die for gladly. And eventually, he did.
I think even before they got to the boat, Izzy knew he didn't have much time. As much as the people around him wanted to help, it would only be a waste of time and resources. He apologizes for what he has done in the past even though they have BOTH been terrible to each other. Blackbeard was not healthy for either of the parties involved and both of them have grown to the point that they can see it now. Izzy thought he'd be nothing without Blackbeard, so he fought hard to keep Blackbeard as it was, only to see that without Blackbeard, he was so much more. When he says "I wanna go", I took it as him accepting death rather than just wanting to die in general. Because he crawled from his death bed to help his family, and seeing that his family was safe Ed included (Eddie, NOT Blackbeard). He has grown over the season to embrace Ed, to try and love him like he loved the idea of Blackbeard. So in his final moments, he tells Ed to just be Ed. Even giving us a mirroring scene with that "There he is" line. The difference is that s1 Izzy wanted Ed to become his image Blackbeard. s2 Izzy got to know Ed and just wanted him to be himself. And him dying was like the final nail in Blackbeard's. Ed killed his part of Blackbeard by embracing Edward and following his dream of opening an inn. Izzy killed his part of Blackbeard by learning to be his own being and being a part of something else: the crew, his new family. And though he unfortunately didn't survive to see them thrive, he died knowing his family was safe. With the "brains of the operation" being gone, Blackbeard is truly... dead.
Also, I've seen a couple people say that they didn't like how Izzy was buried on land near the inn. Like,, sure, again you can have your opinions, but you can't exactly bury him in the local cemetery. And if he was just dropped in the sea, it would've felt like just another joke like "welp, that's dealt with". I like to think that having Izzy's grave near the inn allows Ed to go and talk to him but that's just a headcanon lol.
So TLDR: I think they did Izzy's character arc justice by having him learn that his desire of needing to be a part of Blackbeard was not healthy, learning to open himself up to his new family and eventually learning to love Eddie for Ed, not Blackbeard.
Of course it would've been nice to see Izzy thrive in season 3, but his character arc is done (dead and buried lmao). Yes, it was rushed, but I blame HBO max entirely, this show deserved 10 episodes.
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sorry im just thinking about bcs but like. why not add a few smaller scenes of gus interacting with his own men? why does it seem like, in comparison, mike is almost immediately elevated to a higher status than those two in bcs purely because we actually get to see him having normal conversations with gus? like i understand they might not keep the plot moving as well because of the fact obviously if victor is currently doing something it’s because gus told him to etc. but for the most part all of the smaller interactions gus does have with those two ends up being in a somewhat high stress situation where it feels very tense between everyone. and it’s just like damn! is it always like that?? why do those two even care that much about their jobs if their boss is a bit of a dick? etc. i think even an additional scene or two with those guys (either alone or the both of them) talking with gus in a more normal situation could’ve both added a bit more depth into how gus treats his employees (we got a lot with how he treats lyle and co., but not a whole lot with the illegal side of things), how comfortable vic and tyrus feel around him in a calmer setting, and exactly why they both feel the need to be as loyal as they are to the guy.
and also on the other side of this i don't think it'd hurt to maybe elaborate on their pay just a bit..? i'm not saying to randomly put a number out into the atmosphere but i just mean some smaller things like. do they buy nicer things for themselves? what's their housing situation? what's their car situation? are the escalade / yukon their own vehicles or does gus just use those two for business situations? do they use them when they're doing their own stuff off the clock or do they have their own cars? etc. that can also help with understanding their motivations a bit. don't get me wrong i don't think they should be visibly rich or something because that's not what gus would want but just smaller things! cause it's easy to write their loyalty off as Well they probably get paid super well, which i'm sure is true, but if they don't show a single hint of that then what's the point. even something as simple as giving tyrus a nice watch, or maybe victor having a nicer looking gun, etc. something small like that. because as it stands right now the average 41 year old viewer who watched the show once only knows and will only ever know victor and tyrus as those two guys in the background who do random stuff for gus with no clear motivation. just the personification of "On it boss (salute emoji)". and to be honest this is true for a whole lot of fans who do watch the show multiple times and enjoy thinking about it more in depth, because on screen we barely have anything about the two.
and to be clear i'm not trying to say we should have an episode just for them or something like no i understand they're side characters. i understand we don't need all that. and i understand this is also primarily Jimmy's show. but it's not like these two are on the same level as like, arlo or paige and kevin etc. these guys have been around since brba. victor was literally introduced in the same episode gus was. and they are a huge part of gus's story, especially in brba. s4 wouldn't have been what it was without victor and tyrus. and in bcs, ignacio's situation wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for victor and tyrus as well. and i just personally believe that if their goal with gus in bcs was to go back and elaborate on how everything came to be and show what he was like a few years younger, they could've dragged victor and tyrus into that. and i think his character would've benefited from taking that extra step with those two.
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