Our Flag Means Death 2×01–2×03 Recap: A Dive into Season 2’s First Three Episodes

Greetings, crew! After what’s felt like a tide-tossin’ eternity, the second season of Max’s original series, Our Flag Means Death, has finally washed ashore! Yes, fam, our beloved queer pirate show is officially back and with a splashing three-episode premiere! Yes, you read that right. After a long year of waiting, we got not just one, but three episodes of the brand-new season of Our Flag Means Death to scream about. Titled “Impossible Birds,” “Red Flags,” and “The Innkeeper” respectively, these three episodes mark the return of what is, in our humble opinion, the best comedy show on TV right now.

Season 1 of Our Flag Means Death ended on a major cliffhanger with several broken hearts, the fate of many of our favorite characters hanging in the air, relationships in jeopardy, and the promise of more shenanigans on the horizon. In the final scenes of Season 1 we saw Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) steal Stede’s (Rhys Darby) ship – the Revenge – and leave most of the original crew members to die marooned on a desert island.

And while Stede managed to rescue all his stranded friends after coming to terms with his true feelings for Ed, he did so too late to turn things around. Ed, plunged into a deep depression due to heartbreak, is no longer Edward Teach, but Blackbeard – the most fearsome pirate captain of all time. 

Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death picks up right after that and appears to offer the chance to chart a new course for these co-captains and their crew of misfits. But we don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone, so if you haven’t watched the season 2 premiere of Our Flag Means Death just yet, we recommend either reading our spoiler-free review (which you can find here) or streaming the first three episodes before continuing reading. 

From this point forward, there will be spoilers aplenty! Consider yourselves warned. 

But anyway, if you’re all caught up, come with us as we delve deeper into what these first three episodes of Our Flag Means Death Season 2 have in store for us.

Episode 1 Recap: “Impossible Birds” – A Long-Awaited Return to the High Seas

We’re going to confess that the anticipation leading up to the moment we were going to be able to talk about this show again has been as excruciating as waiting for the wind to fill our sails. Since that heartbreaking Season 1 finale, we’ve been on tenterhooks, longing for the return of our beloved TV show. But now the time has come when we can finally raise our voices with the rest of y’all and share our boundless excitement about it. So let’s not waste any more time and delve into everything that happens in these first three episodes!

In this season opener, we witness an intense sword fight between Stede and Blackbeard’s first mate, Izzy Hands (Con O’Neill), which later leads to the long-awaited reunion between Stede and Ed on a beautiful beach. However, in true Our Flag Means Death fashion, this tender moment that we thought was some sort of prologue is nothing more than a dream that left us yearning for their actual reunion.

But anygays, when Stede wakes up and the story actually begins, we’re quickly reacquainted with the quirky and endearing crew of the Revenge – who have found refuge in the Republic of Pirates and now work for Spanish Jackie (Leslie Jones). The crew’s dynamic is as entertaining and humorous as ever, and lots of banter ensues between them. But this show is not just a comedy but also a romance, so almost immediately we see Stede writing Ed a love letter that he plans to send sealed in a glass bottle across the sea.

And it is precisely through what Stede narrates to Ed in his letter that we get a recounting of what’s happened to the entire crew since the end of Season 1. As we peek into their new lives, we learn not only about the Swede’s (Nat Faxon) new status as Spanish Jackie’s 20th husband but also about the crew’s attempts to rebuild themselves while working at the bar where they’re scraping together every doubloon to save for a new ship.

Stede seems to be in his romantic era because he really pours his heart into the letter, telling Ed how often he thinks of him and how he hopes Ed is thinking about him too. Stede’s heartfelt words to Ed are a testament to the enduring love that binds these two individuals, even in the face of separation and uncertainty. Stede even says it himself when he admits that the odds of Ed getting his letter are slim, but he’s determined to find him because so were the odds of them finding each other in the first place. *screams and cries into a pillow*

Ed, on the other hand, is spiraling out of control, crashing a wedding and declaring himself the “fucking devil.” His crew is concerned about his increasingly reckless and unhinged behavior. They’ve been attacking ships randomly, and it’s clear that these acts of pure madness are driven solely by Ed’s inability to handle his breakup with Stede.

We gotta admit that Blackbeard’s heartbreak-fueled crimes bring a darker tone to the episode that we absolutely adored. The juxtaposition of Stede’s optimism and Ed’s despair creates a captivating contrast between them that helps highlight the fact that their paths are clearly destined to cross again. Soulmate stuff.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Back in the Republic of Pirates, Stede grabs a “Most Wanted” poster with Ed’s face on it – apparently, the man he loves has been on a crime spree since their separation. Stede and Olu (Samson Kayo) discuss their bleak prospects of saving enough money for a new ship and Olu’s suspicions that Stede is stalling because he fears Ed will want to kill him for ending their relationship. Blackbeard’s reputation is changing, even the lady at the soup kiosk calls him a madman, but despite the local gossip, Stede remains convinced that Ed is a good person.

Meanwhile, on the Revenge, the toxic environment that Blackbeard is fostering is causing the crew to suffer. But the one who seems to be suffering the most is Izzy, who is practically breaking down in front of the crew at the slightest command. It’s clear that being the first mate of a heartbroken Blackbeard is destroying him, so he confronts Ed about it. 

During their conversation, Izzy makes the terrible mistake of using a phrase that reminds Ed about Stede, which causes Ed to lose his temper, shoot him in the leg, and promote Frenchie (Joel Fry) as his new first mate. The first order for his newly appointed chief mate? Throw Izzy overboard. *gasps*

Yeah, fam, it looks like we’ve completely lost Ed at this point. And as Fang (David Fane) mourns Izzy’s fate, Jim (Vico Ortiz) attempts to lighten the mood by retelling the story of the wooden boy who wants to become real, a reminder of the good old days under Stede’s command. And boy do those good old days seem even further away when Ed’s plan for a pirate’s life at sea takes shape, and he declares his intention to never touch land again and instead sail, rob, and raise hell forever.

But that’s not all, storm clouds seem to follow everyone on this show. Just as the crew on the Revenge is going through a lot, so are Stede and the rest who seem to have a setback when Spanish Jackie steals their savings and kicks them out of the bar, forcing them to live on the streets. However, all is not lost for the crew, as a conversation with Ricky Banes (Erroll Shand) – a minor prince and great admirer of Stede’s exploits – leads to the revelation of a valuable item in Spanish Jackie’s possession that could help them get what they want. And so a plan to steal it is born.

Against all odds and not without complications, the crew successfully steals the chest from Spanish Jackie’s quarters. But just as they’re about to get their way, Spanish Jackie catches up to them and threatens to cut off all of their noses to put them into her famous nose jar. However, the soup kiosk lady who calls herself Susan (Ruibo Qian) and who Stede and Olu spoke to earlier in the episode, intervenes and buys not only the stolen chest from Spanish Jackie but Stede and the rest of the crew too.

Yeah, there’s more to her than we originally thought and in an unexpected twist, the crew discovers that Susan isn’t a humble soup seller but Zheng Yi Sao, a pirate Queen. And they all work for her now. *gasps again*

Episode 2 Recap: “Red Flags” – Stormy Seas and Sinking Hopes

The second episode opens with Stede reminiscing about that red handkerchief he once gave to Ed. All while Ed is struggling with his inner demons, haunted by some figurines he stole from the wedding cake in the last episode and which now look eerily similar to him and Stede. Ed’s descent into despair is palpable as he casts these mementos of happier times into the unforgiving sea.

With Stede and the crew now aboard the Red Flag – Queen Zheng Yi Sao’s ship – we’re quickly introduced to their unique way of life on the vessel. It seems that the Queen shares some core values with Stede because on her ship, as was once the case on the Revenge, things are not what you would expect from a pirate ship. Yi Sao and her crew focus on unity, cohesion, mutual support, and balance. At first glance, everything seems very nice. They even practice Tai Chi! But Yi Sao didn’t become a pirate queen by being gentle, so even though she exudes an air of niceness, her rise to power suggests otherwise.

Anyway, after the Queen welcomes Stede and his friends to the crew, she is quick to point out that men historically have a hard time adjusting to her ship, but that she decided to take a chance on them because their energy is… soft (not to say weak), and she mentions that there’s another man on board. 

And who that is, you ask? It’s Lucius (Nathan Foad), crew! He’s alive! 

When asked what happened to him, Lucius lies to his friends and tells them that he fell off the ship – though the reality is that Blackbeard threw him overboard. Suspicion arises among the crew, especially Pete (Matthew Maher), as Lucius’s story seems far from typical.

Back on the Revenge, Ed begins to show signs of recovery. He vows to stay sober and tells Frenchie that he expects great things from him. Ed’s curiosity about Izzy’s fate leads him to inquire about the details of Izzy’s death. Frenchie lies, claiming responsibility. However, Izzy is being secretly hidden in one of the ship’s many secret compartments. His leg is rotting and Jim, Frenchie, and Archie (Madeleine Sami) conclude that they must cut it off if they expect Izzy to survive. Jim and Archie, with no prior experience on the matter, undertake the grimy task.

While working on towels (yeah, that’s a real task on this ship), Stede seizes an opportunity to share his love story with Ed with the women of the crew. He tells them that he’s hoping to be able to trace Ed’s whereabouts from the information he has of the crimes he’s committed. Lucius, furious upon hearing Ed’s name, confronts Stede and blames him for everything that’s happened to him.

In a random subplot that had us in stitches, Zheng Yi Sao’s first mate, Auntie (Anapela Polataivao), refers to Buttons (Ewen Bremner) as a sea witch and offers him a book of spells so he can transform into a non-human form. Like, what?

Lucius opens up to Stede about the horrors he endured after being thrown off the Revenge, revealing the dark and gruesome side of survival at sea. It becomes clear why Lucius has changed and hardened since we last saw him. Stede offers Lucius relationship advice and tells him to share what he went through with his boyfriend Pete.

After talking to Pete, Lucius tells Stede that he should take a closer look at all those clues he has to find Ed and realize that they’re not just clues to finding the man he loves, but a testament to all the horrible things Ed has done. Stede realizes that he hurt Ed pretty badly. Lucius tells him that maybe he’s right, but there’s also a chance that the Ed that Stede met when they were together is the best version of the pirate he was ever going to be, that some people are just broken. Stede is neither willing nor ready to believe that. *screams into the abyss* 

But anyway, the Revenge crew’s secret about Izzy’s fate is short-lived and Ed ends up discovering what they did. However, instead of getting angry as expected, he takes the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to Izzy. He shares with his former first mate a dream he had the night before in which Izzy shot him right through the skull. Ed asks Izzy to end his life, but Izzy refuses, pointing out that Ed is afraid to hurt himself and wants someone else to do it. Ed leaves and a gunshot is heard, indicating that Izzy took the bullet instead.

On his descent into absolute madness, Ed takes control of the Revenge’s helm and recklessly steers it into the eye of a storm. As the ship rocks in the strong winds and high tides, Ed demands that Jim and Archie – whom he caught kissing not long ago – fight to the death, or else, he’ll kill them all. As Jim and Archie fight, the storm intensifies, and just as Ed is about to set off a cannon to destroy the ship, Izzy emerges on deck and shoots him in the arm. 

Amid the storm and chaos, Ed’s crew finally mutinies, critically injuring their captain. As we see Jim about to crush Ed with a cannonball, Ed seems content with the prospect of death. *cries*

Episode 3 Recap: “The Innkeeper” – A Soul-Searching Voyage

Episode three opens with the crew of the Red Flag victoriously defeating the notorious pirate John Bartholomew (Maaka Pohatu), also known as the Soul Reaper. The Queen, Zheng Yi Sao, takes charge of the situation and quickly establishes her dominance as the pirate who bested him. As the conversation between the infamous pirates progresses, it becomes clear that the Queen is looking for allies to form some kind of army.

Stede is deeply impressed by the Queen’s handling of the entire situation. He believes they share a common goal of resolving conflicts through communication. However, the Queen dismisses Stede’s idealistic approach, emphasizing her conqueror’s mentality – join her or die. Interrupting their conversation, Auntie informs the Queen that they have come across another ship that has apparently come through a storm and has no wheel. 

It’s the Revenge!

Upon hearing this, Stede runs off to find Ed. His desperation to reunite with his lost love is palpable, and it’s clear that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to find him and make amends with him. But upon boarding the Revenge, what he finds is nothing short of heart-wrenching – a wrecked ship and a crew tangled in a web of lies.

After the crew is taken to the Red Flag for safety, Stede questions them about Ed’s whereabouts, but his friends avoid giving him a straight answer. Frenchie, feeling cornered, comes up with a cover story and informs Stede that Ed has retired. The rest of the crew goes along with the lie, but Auntie, who has been watching them from afar, tells the Queen that she smells mutiny.

Meanwhile, Ed wakes up stranded on a beach and is rescued by a mysterious man who drags him to safety. When Ed regains full consciousness, he discovers that the man is none other than his former captain, Hornigold (Mark Mitchinson).

Obsessed with the idea of finding the truth about Blackbeard, Auntie boards the Revenge and, after thoroughly examining it, concludes that a man was brought down on the deck, seemingly confirming that the crew of the Revenge did hurt their captain somehow.

On the other hand, Jim and Olu finally reunite. Jim confesses that while they were apart they kissed Archie, but Olu seems not to be angry or hurt by the confession, and they both assure each other that their friendship remains intact. They’re family.

Stede asks Izzy what they really did to Ed. He doesn’t buy the lie that Ed retired. He knows that his man was either going to watch the world burn or die trying, so Izzy confesses that Ed went crazy because of what happened with Stede and that the crew had no other choice. 

At first, Stede thinks they killed him, but Izzy tells him that they couldn’t do that, that they deserted him on a beach and left nature to do the rest. Izzy tells Stede that they can’t let the crew suffer any longer because of their mistakes and that if the Queen confirms that they mutinied, she will execute them on sight. It’s pirate code.

Looking in much better condition than the last time we saw him, Ed is telling his former captain about what happened before the mutiny and what he did to his crew. His former captain thinks Ed is worried he’s going crazy, and Ed admits he is. With a gruesome story about a cabin boy named Felix and a crab, Hornigold makes Ed see that feeling bad about the past isn’t going to change things, he has to move on or blow his brains out.

Stede talks to the Queen to tell her what Izzy told him about Ed and the mutiny. The Queen recognizes that Stede’s feelings are confusing. On the one hand, he’s glad Ed is alive, but then Ed did all these evil things to his friends. Stede confesses that he feels like he let Ed down and that he’s the cause of everything that’s happened. He admits that he should have just told him how he felt, but he was afraid.

The Queen sympathizes with Stede and shares that she’s dated her fair share of Most Wanted guys – they’re hot after all – but that it always ends in a massacre and with the wrong people getting hurt. Stede, in an attempt to save his crew, suggests maybe avoiding hurting the wrong people this time, and just as the Queen is about to forgive the crew for the mutiny, Auntie enters the cabin and says she found the jackpot.

Ed being Ed, suggests to his former captain that he open an inn – Jeff’s Inn by the Sea. Hornigold tells Ed that to do that, he needs to learn how to deal with people – an inn is a people’s business. But Ed is not good with people. Hornigold pushes Ed’s buttons, challenging him and mentioning his violent past, including strangling his father to death. Ed is surprised to hear that Hornigold knows about that, he hadn’t shared it with anyone. But Hornigold reminds him that he shared it with Stede and that he left him. 

Ed snaps at that and engages in a brutal fight with his former captain, eventually killing him when he mentions that Ed is afraid of being unlovable. But to Ed’s surprise, his former captain seems invincible as he keeps coming back to life no matter how many times he kills him.

Back on the Red Flag, things take an unexpected turn when Auntie uncovers the crew’s deception about Blackbeard and the harm they inflicted on him. She informs the Queen and Stede that they killed him and hid his body in the ship’s secret compartment, so as punishment they will be executed for mutiny the next morning.

But it turns out that Ed is not actually dead, although he’s not alive either. He’s in the gravy basket – the neither realm. Trapped between life and death. Ed’s haunting journey through this realization provides a surreal and thought-provoking perspective on the complexity of this character and the inner battle he’s facing. When Ed mentions that the only drawback he finds to the idea of continuing living would be knowing that no one would be waiting for him, we lost it. Sweet baby girl, we must protect. *cries*

But moving on… despite his heartbreak, Stede – using chamomile-soaked towels – stages a daring rescue to free his former crew from execution and take back the Revenge. Against all odds, and executed with a mix of humor and suspense, Stede and his crew manage to escape and even take Olu with them, who, by the way, was having a make-out sesh with the Queen herself while the rescue mission was taking place.

In the neither realm, Ed finally comes to terms with his self-hatred and realizes that he has the choice to live or die. His former captain pushes him to confront his fear of being unlovable. Ed appears to ultimately choose death, as the captain – who is just a figment of his imagination – throws him into the water with a rock tied to his feet, intending for him to drown.

However, not everything is lost just yet. Back in the real world, Stede stands at Ed’s deathbed and tearfully apologizes for what he’s done. In a connection worthy only of soulmates, Ed feels something when Stede uncovers his face, and suddenly the urge to stay alive kicks in. Stede, unbeknownst to all this, apologizes repeatedly, and Ed begins to react. *screams*

Stede finally realizes that Ed isn’t dead and desperately asks him to wake up and come back to him while holding his hand. As Stede begs Ed not to die, the rope keeping Ed underwater disappears. SOULMATES, Y’ALL! Stede tells Ed that he’s there. In a series of flashbacks, Ed begins to see all the moments he spent with Stede, as we hear Stede begging Ed to wake up and promising him that he will never leave again.

Underwater, Ed encounters a merman who looks exactly like Stede. Stede, meanwhile, assures Ed that he is safe and encourages him to return. In a touching moment set to Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work,” – we’ve been playing the song on a loop since we had the chance to watch this episode – Ed opens his eyes and the episode ends. 

Excuse us for a moment while we go and melt into a puddle of goo.

You know that we’re nothing if not honest, and we have to admit that the season premiere of Our Flag Means Death Season 2 has been a wild, tempestuous ride, akin to navigating a ship through a raging storm. We’ve witnessed the intricacies of love, loss, and self-discovery through the journeys of Stede, Ed, and their steadfast crew.

And speaking of them, we want to give a special shout-out to the talented cast for their exceptional performances in these first three episodes. They’ve breathed life into these multifaceted characters as if their actual lives depended on it, making every twist and turn even more thrilling.

With episodes 4 and 5 just around the corner, our anticipation is palpable. We’re on the edge of our seats, eager to dive deeper into this captivating world with y’all. But we’ve talked enough for today, and now it’s your turn. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these first three episodes. What moments resonated with you the most? Were you surprised to discover that Lucius was alive? What do you think will happen to Ed and Stede now that they have finally reunited? 

Share your speculations and feelings with us because, after all, discussing the twists and turns of Our Flag Means Death is part of the joy of being part of this incredible community. Let’s set sail together into the unknown and see where this remarkable journey takes us next! 

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The first three episodes of Our Flag Means Death Season 2 are available to stream on Max now. Episodes 4 and 5 will be available to stream on Thursday, October 12. Subsequent episodes will be released weekly in pairs until the season finale on October 26. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!