This review was made possible by advanced screeners of Our Flag Means Death Season 2, Episodes 1-7. The season premieres October 5 on Max.
What made people fall in love with Our Flag Means Death, is that it was unapologetically queer. As if there was ever a doubt, the new season falls in line with that theme as well. Just as fun as the first season, Our Flag Means Death Season 2 explores love, forgiveness, and what it means to be a pirate.
Love Hurts
Breakups are never easy on a person, and Ed ‘Blackbeard’ Teach (Taika Waititi) is dealing with his…poorly. Back to his old ways, people are finding out the hard way that Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) was the anchor for Ed, and without him, he’s a mess…and a mass murderer. The relationship between Ed and Stede isn’t the only one explored in Our Flag Means Death Season 2. New bonds are formed, old ones revisited, and a few surprising turns. No matter your opinion on love, there will be a relationship that you can relate to in this season.
What I enjoyed most was that Our Flag Means Death Season 2 really digs into how messy relationships can be. Sure, not every breakup is going to lead to plundering and torture and murder but if you’re dating Blackbeard, it might. It also shows that not all breakups are bad, sometimes people just grow in different directions. Some people handle breakups in a healthy way. It’s complicated and weird but that’s just how these things are. The writers really go all in on balancing humor and sincerity.
A Pirate’s Life For Me
If you were wondering if there’s going to be more pirate-ing in the pirate show, fear not. Our Flag Means Death is full of fighting, murdering, plundering, sea curses, and more. In fact, Stede Bonnet spends this season coming into his own as a pirate captain. A real pirate. He’s now spent much more time on the sea and has learned a thing or two about what it means to be a pirate. In the first episode, his crew consists of Roach (Samba Schutte), Oluwande (Samson Kayo), Wee John (Kristian Nairn), Black Pete (Matthew Maher), The Swede (Nat Faxon), and Buttons (Ewen Bremner) who we last saw stranded on an island at the end of Season 1. When we first meet them this season, they’ve taken up “temporary residency” on the Republic of Pirates.
Although Stede is glad to feel like a real pirate, not everyone feels the same and he does eventually feel the repercussions of his behavior. Honestly, I can understand and relate to Stede. He’s finally getting to experience a sense of belonging. However, what made Stede so loveable, why his crew accepted him as captain to begin with, starts to slip away and he will have to deal with that down the line. Priorities have shifted for several characters and I suspect by the end of the series, we will see where they fall.
Final Thoughts – ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2
Our Flag Means Death Season 2, to me, is just as good, if not better than Season 1. Although I haven’t seen the finale at the time of writing, I am certain that they are going to nail the ending. David Jenkins, along with the other writers, has created something so magical. The entire cast kills it once again, and I just want to give a special shout-out to Con O’Neill because, as someone who saw no redeeming qualities in Izzy Hands in Season 1, I actually kind of like him now.
The series keeps its humor, mixing historical (in)accuracy with modern-day lingo, which isn’t an easy feat as I’ve seen other series attempt this and fall flat. It’s campy, chaotic, exciting, everything you want in a TV show. I sure hope there will be a third season because I’m not ready to let these characters go quite yet.
Our Flag Means Death Season 2 debuts on Max with three episodes on October 5. Check out the trailer below:
