This article contains comprehensive spoilers for seasons one and two of Our Flag Means Death. This show is rated TV-MA and contains mature and topics. It is only intended for mature audiences… sorry underclassmen.

Our Flag Means Death is somewhat of an enigma. Originally premiering with next to no flair and very little advertising, Our Flag Means Death beat the odds as season one was being released, becoming one of the most streamed shows currently on MAX (formerly called HBO MAX). 

The comedy stars Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet, also known as the Gentleman Pirate, and Taika Waititi as Edward Teach, who is more commonly known as Blackbeard. The show is a very loose interpretation of the ways their very real histories collide.

It’s a show about many things. Pirates, mostly, but also family, discovery, and above all, romance. 

Season one explores Stede escaping from his comfortable but confining life as a wealthy man with a wife and children to sail the seas on The Revenge with a small rag-tag crew while doing an admittedly awful job at being a pirate. He learns and grows as a person and a pirate after he and his crew are rescued by Blackbeard, the first mate Izzy Hands (played by Con O’Neill), and the rest of Blackbeard’s crew. The season ends with Stede faking his death and sailing off, finding his crew on the island.

The original season won two awards and was nominated for 16 more. With a booming fanbase, huge success, and an enthralling cliffhanger, it was sure to get a new season. But can the new episodes hold up to the monumental expectations from fans?

Impossible Birds– 

In the opener for this new season, Stede and his reunited crew try to save money to buy a boat by working at Spanish Jackie’s (Leslie Jones) bar— a character from the first season who is both a friend and a rival. She is taken with The Swede (Nat Faxon) and allows them to work and stay there. She finds the crew’s savings and takes all of it, leaving the crew once again broke and homeless.

Meanwhile, Blackbeard, as he tries to cope, throws himself and his crew into daily raids, which drives a wedge between him and the rest of the crew as they grow increasingly uncomfortable with Blackbeard’s reckless, rage-driven actions, leading him to shoot Izzy in the leg, declaring Frenchie (Joel Fry) the new first mate.

Stede, while talking to a wanted poster of Ed, runs into ex-wealthy man Ricky Banes (Erroll Shand), who wants to become a pirate. Despite Stede’s warnings, he insists. The crew and him plot to steal a box of indigo from Spanish Jackie, and nearly pull it off. However, Ricky is too cocky, which leads to him being caught and killed. Jackie then storms outside, catching the rest of the crew. Before Spanish Jackie can punish them, however, they are “bought” by a soup-seller (Rubio Qian) from earlier in the episode, revealing herself to be Zheng Yi Sao— a self-proclaimed Pirate Queen who conquered China. The episode ends with her bringing them aboard her ship, with The Swede staying behind, happy in his life with Spanish Jackie.

This episode was an incredible start to the series. Zheng Yi Sao is an incredible addition to the cast. The energy is the same as we watch the mental growth and downfall of these characters. There admittedly isn’t a lot to talk about here as this episode is mostly set-up for the rest of the season, establishing the new characters and showing how the characters have changed and grown, especially in their feelings towards Blackbeard.

Red Flags– 

Stede’s crew, while aboard Zheng’s ship, embrace the healthy, comfortable environment as the only men on the ship, except for “Rat Boy,” who is revealed to be Lucius (Nathan Foad), a crewmate thought dead after Blackbeard secretly pushed him off the ship. 

While Lucius reunites with the crew, he is notably hostile to Stede. For the rest of Stede and his crew’s time in the episode, we follow him trying to repair whatever rift happened between him and Lucius, and in the process learning about the horrible time he’s had at sea and Blackbeard’s attempt to kill him. We also follow Oluwande’s (Samson Kayo) bonding with Zheng, who clearly has a thing for him.

For the section of the episode where we follow Blackbeard and his crew, the stakes are higher. Blackbeard leaves his quarters, declaring himself drug-free and a new man. We then find out that Frenchie was supposed to kill Izzy and dispose of him. We then immediately find out that he lied and did not, instead hiding him under the deck and amputating his leg. Blackbeard discovers this incredibly quickly and has one more conversation to get closure with Izzy where he gives him a gun and encourages Izzy to kill him. When he refuses, Blackbeard leaves.

The next day, the crew awakens to discover that Blackbeard has steered them into a storm, removed the ship’s wheel, and is threatening to shoot a canon through the mast, killing them all, if Jim (Vico Ortiz) and Archie (Madeleine Sami) don’t fight to the death. When they refuse, Fang (David Fane) tackles Blackbeard to the ground, closing the episode.

A strong episode that covers a lot of ground. Maybe too much ground even, as some moments seem overly crowded or slightly disconnected. I won’t judge it too harshly, however. The team behind the show had a lot of ground to cover, and some of the minor, more odd elements may be leading up to a connection that hasn’t been revealed to us yet. Still a very enjoyable watch, with some of my favorite jokes so far this season.

The Innkeeper– 

Finally, three episodes into the show, the current and former crews of The Revenge reunite. That is, without Edward. Stede is left to presume that the crew has killed him or left him for dead, and Izzy, now on ye’ old crutches tells him the former is true.

Most of what Stede and the crew of The Revenge do in this episode is reunite and then steal the wheel from Zheng’s ship, before fleeing. Also, Oluwande and Zheng kiss before he is grabbed by Jim to escape her ship.

Meanwhile, Ed is woken up on a beach by being dragged by his former captain, Hornigold (Mark Mitchinson), who then attempts to take care of him, despite Ed’s resistance. Hornigold reveals to Ed that he’s in the space between life and death and that he has a choice to make, and everything on this island, including Hornigold himself, are in Ed’s mind. On Hornigold’s thinking cliff, as Ed debates whether or not it would be worth the effort to live, Ed comes to the realization that he hates himself. 

And then he comes to the realization there is a very large rock tied to him and he is quickly plummeting to his death in the water below, having been pushed by Hornigold Ed.

This leads to the clear standout scene of this episode where Ed is sinking in the water, choosing between the life he has and the death he believes he deserves. It’s a beautifully shot scene, truly showing off the magic of Taika Waititi’s wig. As he tries to fight his way back up, struggling with the stone still tied to him, he sees a light in front of him. It’s a touching, sad scene, which is immediately brought to a lighter tone when you see that the light is Stede as a sparkly orange mermaid. When asked why this frankly wild decision was made, showrunner and creator David Jenkins said this scene was inspired by “his desire to see Rhys Darby as a mermaid.” 

That leads to the reveal of Ed in the lower level of The Revenge, waking up with Stede next to him.

I would say this is the stand-out episode of the first release of episodes. The mermaid scene is easily one of the most memorable moments in the series, and was the perfect way to end the kick-off of season two, keeping the tone and general lack of seriousness with the perfect amount of heart and genuine love that this show seems to always balance effortlessly.

Overall, this season is incredibly promising, matching the first season at every step. The same wit, the same incredible acting, and that same beautiful wig. (What? I can appreciate a technical marvel when I see one.) The writing is well done and is taking special care to make sure characters are growing and changing as people. In the end, I’m just excited for the rest of the season.