HBO Max's "Our Flag Means Death" ended on a sad note but one that leaves fans hopeful — and impatient — for a second season.
The new comedy series is loosely based on the real life of the "Gentleman Pirate," Stede Bonnet, a wealthy landowner who left his wife and children in the early 18th century to become a pirate. In the first season, Stede Bonnet (played on the show by Rhys Darby) and his bumbling crew encounter the infamous pirate Blackbeard (played by Taika Waititi, who also produced the series and directed its first episode) and they agree to help each other.
After the season finale, which aired on March 24, the show became the top new series in the US, according to Parrot Analytics. With the show's growing fanbase and cries for a second season, many viewers are hopeful the show will get renewed, though HBO hasn't yet announced whether it will return.
Stede is on a mission to save his crew after returning to sea
At the end of episode nine, Stede had returned home after realizing he was not cut out for pirating.
After being arrested by the navy and put into forced labor, he and Ed — the name Blackbeard goes by in the show and a nickname for the real Blackbeard's given name, Edward Teach — express their love for each other and kiss. They plan to run away together, but Stede instead goes home at the end of the episode after a failed assassination attempt on his life by Chauncey Badminton, the vengeful twin brother of Captain Nigel Badminton, who Stede accidentally killed earlier in the season.
Unfortunately, in the finale, it is revealed that Stede's wife Mary (Claudia O'Doherty) had moved on after his unexpected disappearance, allowing their children to thrive, beginning a new relationship with her art instructor Doug, and becoming a professional artist under the moniker "The Widow Bonnet."
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After Mary attempts to kill Stede for returning and ruining her life, the married couple decides to air out their grievances for the first time. Stede admits he has fallen for Ed, and with Mary's support decides he must return to sea to be with him.
With help from Mary and Doug, Stede enacts an elaborate fake-death scheme —or "f*ckery," as Stede calls it, invoking Ed's phrase for elaborate illusion-making from earlier in the season. He returns to the sea to find most of his crew marooned on an island, not yet realizing it was a scorned Blackbeard who left them there.
'Our Flag Means Death' breaks up Stede and Blackbeard in the season one finale and sets Blackbeard on a dark path
Calls for "Our Flag Means Death" to be renewed are mostly due to those in love with the romance between the show's two leads, Stede and Blackbeard/Ed. While the show started as a typical comedy, it quickly turned into a rom-com as Ed and Stede form a bromance that turns into unambiguously romantic love.
In episode 10, Ed returns to Stede's crew and spends most of the episode heartbroken about being left behind by his lover. However, after some soul-searching and more than a bit of prodding from his villainous first mate Izzy Hands, Ed becomes the ruthless Blackbeard again and decides to turn back to his vicious pirating ways.
This includes stranding most of Stede's crew, kidnapping the rest to join his own new crew, and changing his flag to a skull aiming a spear at a heart.
Fans who quickly latched onto this relationship and the other prominent LGBTQ+ relationships on the show, making fan art and expressing their love for the characters on social media, are keen for a second season to reunite the two lovers. In addition, many fans from the LGBTQ+ community have praised the series for including that representation in a big way instead of relying on arguments of historical accuracy.
There is also the question of what happened to Lucius (Nathan Foad), Stede's scribe, another gay character in the series who's part of another popular romance with Black Pete (Matthew Maher). Lucius was pushed off Stede's pirate ship by Blackbeard in the finale to show the start of the captain returning to his cruel behavior since Lucius is the emotional heart of the crew.
We do not see Lucius for the rest of the episode, implying he died, but given how beloved the character is, many fans are hoping the writers wouldn't kill him off in such a discreet and sudden manner.
Stede Bonnet (1688 – 10 December 1718) was a Barbadian-born pirate and military officer, known as the Gentleman Pirate because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime.
Edward Teach (or Thatch; c. 1680 – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies.
in the season one finale and sets Blackbeard on a dark path. Calls for "Our Flag Means Death" to be renewed are mostly due to those in love with the romance between the show's two leads, Stede and Blackbeard/Ed.
The two finally end up on the same page and reunite in order to save their crew from the British. And, while the duo is offered another adventure on the high seas, they end the episode settling down together at an inn, realizing Ed's pining for normality and Stede's inability to mold to the pirating lifestyle.
His shipmates bury him on land, marking his grave with his prosthetic wooden horse leg. Despite Izzy's sacrifice, it's not all bad news for the Revenge crew: Stede and Ed get their long-awaited happy ending, settling down to run an inn together.
Our Flag Means Death has raised the white flag. Following the beloved pirate comedy's cancellation on Max, creator David Jenkins confirmed that the show has officially come to a conclusion, as his attempt to find a new home for the series (and a fan campaign to save the show) yielded no fruit.
Season-two finale “Mermen” chronicles the death of Izzy and his funeral before closing on Ed and Stede settling into their new home ashore as the Revenge sails into the future led by newly minted Captain Frenchie (Joel Fry).
Edward admitted that he simply wanted to do "what makes Ed happy", and when Stede asked what it was that made Edward happy, the latter confessed that Stede did. The two then shared a kiss, after which Stede replied that Edward made him happy as well, and subsequently made a plan to run away together.
Lucius Spriggs' fate after being betrayed by Blackbeard is not as it seems, and he survives his supposed demise in Season 2. Lucius undergoes a dramatic transformation, embracing darkness and violence after his brush with death.
Our Flag Means Death is surprisingly historically accurate, but a major element of the show is completely fictional. The show starred Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi as the real-world pirates Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard.
That said, it contains elements that make it not suitable for younger viewers. These include: graphic violence (mostly of a theatrical/comedic style-- like geysers of blood), domestic violence, sexual humor.
Upon learning that Stede is in danger, Blackbeard races back to the Revenge and orders the crew to raise the white flag. The Royal Navy capture them, but Stede and Blackbeard are happy to be reunited.
While Our Flag Means Death has always been a series focused on queer relationships, including the friends-to-lovers arc of Jim (Vico Ortiz) and Oluwande (Samson Kayo) and the enemies-to-lovers story of Ed “Blackbeard” Teach (Taika Waititi) and Stede “Gentleman Pirate” Bonnet (Rhys Darby), season two introduces even ...
“While Max will not be moving forward with a third season of Our Flag Means Death, we are so proud of the joyous, hilarious, and heartfelt stories that creator David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby, Garrett Basch, Dan Halsted, Adam Stein, Antoine Douaihy and the entire superb cast and crew brought to life,” a rep ...
The sweet yet oddly tensionless finale of Our Flag Means Death forewent the more thrilling ending viewers might have expected (the real Stede and Ed never gave up piracy and died for their crimes) and instead chose safety, love, and the chance to hopefully set sail another day.
Does Our Flag Means Death have a post-credits scene? Yes! But it isn't a teaser or a wink to the future -- it's a flashback. At the end of the finale's credits, we're treated to a brief rewind to the Revenge crew's imprisonment at Spanish Jackie's, prior to Stede, Zheng, and Ed's triumphant return.
When Jim comes back to St. Augustine, the Nun is disappointed that they only killed one of the murderers and talks them into following what she sees as their true purpose. Jim agrees, although they later abandon their mission after speaking with Spanish Jackie.
Our Flag Means Death season 2 finished filming in December 2022. Season 2 production took about two months. In an interview with Collider, Taika Waititi revealed that production on Our Flag Means Death season 2 moved from Los Angeles, California, to New Zealand in October 2022.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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