Our Flag Means Death: The Internet’s New Pirate Sensation

Last week, we asked our readers which show or movie they thought we should watch next. It’s 2022, but we gotta confess that finding queer content is still hard and not because of the lack of it (thank the Gay Gods now we have plenty to choose from), but because networks and streaming platforms fail massively in promoting them accordingly. Consequently, many of them go completely unnoticed. Our Flag Means Death is another example of that.

We didn’t hear about HBO Max’s new pirate show until our readers started screaming about it on social media. The first three episodes of the show were released on March 3, and the last two on March 24, and it wasn’t until this past Saturday (April 2) that we actually heard about it. It took a month, folks! A month for us to know of the existence of this masterpiece of piracy, comedy, and queerness! *insert massive aggressive eye-roll* 

We don’t live under a rock, of course, we had seen the internet going crazy about a new gay pirate couple. We had seen some renaissance type art pieces making the rounds on Instagram and Twitter, but we had NO IDEA it all actually came from a show that was streaming on one of the most popular streaming services today and not from let’s say, a new trend someone had decided to bring back from Tumblr. 

But anygays, that doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is that we got the chance to watch the show this week, we screamed about it with the fandom on Twitter (what a welcoming and loving community this show has formed already, how do we join?), and now we want to share our thoughts about it.

So without further ado, here’s our review of the queerest show currently taking the internet by storm: Our Flag Means Death.

Act I: The Gentleman Pirate and his crew of oddballs and misfits

The series, created by David Jenkins (People of Earth) and executive produced (and acted) by Academy Winner Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit), loosely follows the adventures of real-life gentleman-turned-pirate Stede Bonnet, a former British Army Major and sugar farmer of the 18th century. Bonnet, after a midlife crisis, opted to leave his life behind to launch a career as a pirate and actually got the chance to learn from Blackbeard himself.

The official summary for HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death reads: “The year is 1717. Wealthy landowner Stede Bonnet has a midlife crisis and decides to blow up his cushy life to become a pirate. It does not go well. Based on a true story.” 

At first, Our Flag Means Death seems like nothing but a comedy about a bunch of incompetent misfits making absolute fools of themselves at sea. A gentleman who wants to become a pirate but knows nothing about piracy or the sea? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. And it is, and it’s absolutely brilliant! But the fact that we loved it doesn’t mean everyone else will. 

We have to be honest and say that the ridiculousness of it all can seem like a bit too much for some people, especially when you know the series has a total of 10 episodes, but we can promise you that if you get past episode 4, you’re going to love the show. We know it sounds unlikely if silly comedy isn’t your thing, but believe us when we tell you, as the rest of the story starts to unfold, it gradually reveals itself as an emotional tale about reinvention, self-discovery, family, friendship, loyalty, and love. Yes, folks! Love! 

Have y’all heard that phrase that says, don’t judge a book by its cover? Well, we say, don’t judge Our Flag Means Death by its first 3 episodes.

In hindsight, these episodes serve as a vessel to introduce us to the “Gentleman Pirate” Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and his crew of oddballs before the show changes course and goes into deeper waters. In the words of the creator himself, “We needed to see Stede on his own, to see how that went for him, which is badly. And then seeing how he changes once he meets the love of his life – to me, that seemed important, to see how badly he was doing on his own. And we needed to get a sense of the ensemble. Once Stede and Blackbeard get together in the first season, they eat up a lot of story, and we don’t get to learn as much about our crew anymore. We don’t get to see them do things as much as I would like, because there’s just a finite amount of time.” (Via Polygon)

So in summary, in these first few episodes, the members of the crew and all the guest stars get to shine before Our Flag Means Death becomes a rom-com. We meet Lucius (Nathan Foad), the scribe Stede brings to keep track of all his adventures; Jim (Vico Ortiz), a non-binary skilled fighter who has a bounty on their head for killing one of Spanish Jackie’s (Leslie Jones) many husbands; Buttons (Ewen Bremner), the guy who talks to birds and has a tendency for nudity; Frenchie (Joel Fry), our beloved lutenist; Oluwande (Samson Kayo), the most loyal and noble pirate you’ll ever meet; Black Pete (Matthew Maher), a wannabe mutineer who constantly claims to have worked with Blackbeard; Wee John Feeney (Kristian Nairn), a fire-obsessed seafarer with a heart of gold; Swede (Nat Faxon), the guy with scurvy that loves to sing and whose teeth won’t go back in; and Roach (Samba Shutte), the cook at the Revenge – Stede’s fabulous ship. 

All these characters have very specific traits and personalities that make for a very good comedic ensemble. So maybe these first three episodes aren’t the strongest of the show, but they’re good and will make you laugh and question what on Earth are you watching a gazillion times, but ultimately, they end up being essential to hoist the sails and ensure a smooth sail for the rest of the season.

Act II: Blackbeard to the rescue

As we’ve already mentioned, the show starts to evolve after the 4th episode, which is when Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) fully enters the scene. He’s introduced early on the show with small scenes here and there where we, as viewers, get to see him and his crew in action, raiding vessels and showing a complete dominance of the art of piracy. But it isn’t until episode 4 that we actually get to see the man’s face. And what a beautiful face (and beard) he has! 

​​After Stede gets set up by Spanish Jackie and sold to the Spaniards, Blackbeard arrives to save the crew and Stede’s life (he was stabbed and hanged to death). Stede’s oddly ridiculous reputation has reached the legendary pirate’s ear and he’s intrigued, almost obsessed with this odd man who left all behind to become a pirate. So seizing the opportunity, Blackbeard temporarily takes command of the Revenge with his right-hand man, Izzy Hands (Con O’Neill, and the #1 man in our black list btw – not the actor, the character) while Stede nurses back to health. 

Blackbeard’s fascination for everything Stede represents is so endearing, he’s like a kid discovering his favorite candy for the very first time. So when Stede finally wakes up and meets Edward Teach (not knowing he’s Blackbeard himself) the two start to develop a friendship that’s like anything we’ve ever seen before. They’re complete opposites, but they quickly realize that they can learn a lot about each other.

So after succeeding in fooling the Spaniards together in an elaborate and ridiculous trick (a vessel had been following their trail), the two decide to spend some time together to learn from one another. Because of reasons the show actually explores at a length, Blackbeard wants to learn the ways of the aristocracy, and Stede wants to become a real pirate. This little agreement, of course, sets the ground for one of the best strangers to friends to lovers stories we’ve ever watched.

In our humble opinion, the story finds some real resonance in looking at how people tend to idealize their place in the world and miss out on the connections they could have made if they simply followed their hearts. From the outset, it’s already a gloriously inclusive and emotionally smart comedy. But that trend deepens and grows as its two main characters end up gravitating toward each other, riding the waves from adversaries to co-captains to spoiler alert: lovers. 

Act III: The ship of all ships

We’re not going to lie, when we first started watching this show we feared it might not be what the internet screamed it was – a VERY queer rom-com. Sadly, the queer community has been queer-baited far too many times and we’ve developed some trust issues when it comes to legit representation in mainstream media. But Our Flag Means Death is, in the words of one of the lovely folks who interacted with us when we were watching the show for the first time, “the most positively and explicitly queer thing ever.” (Via Twitter) 

And it is. Stede and Blackbeard’s love story unfolds naturally and organically, as it should. We’re not lying when we say that our queer eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Both Darby and Watiti put so much charm and nuance into these characters that the series would be worth watching just to see them interact. But in all their scenes, from their training together in both combat and etiquette to the huge romantic gestures they make for each other (like when Blackbeard claims Act of God to save Stede’s life and willingly accepts to serve the crown), they all are pure romantic perfection and explode with the chemistry between them. Even that ending, although it broke our hearts into million pieces, was brilliant and left us hopeful for a second season where this romance can blossom and turn into the most beautiful thing ever.

If you’ve been reading our reviews you know we don’t like to spoil major scenes since we think that they should be watched in all their unspoiled glory, but we’re going to make an exception and share a dialogue that’s exchanged between them because we still can’t believe it happened. 

Steve: “What makes Ed happy?”

Ed: “These past few weeks have been the most fun I’ve had in ages, years. Maybe ever. So… so, uh, I reckon what makes Ed happy is you.”

Quoting one of Q+’s absolute favorite human beings in existence JVN from Netflix’s Queer Eye: “Can you believe?!” That stuff seems ripped out of the best romance novel in existence. So is BlackBonnet/Stedward/GentleBeard (the fandom is still settling on one ship name) the ship of all ships? We think so! So grab your fanciest travel coats and get all aboard the yet-to-be-named Stede + Blackbeard gay ship! ‘Cause it promises to be one hell of a queer ride!

Our Flag Means Death gets a lot of things right, the characters, the setting, the rhythm, but most importantly the balance in the comedy and the tone it sets. Something that immediately made us cheer for this show was the fact that it never used its multiple queer romances (because yes there are more than one, but you’ll have to watch the show to learn about those) and the characters’ queerness as a source of comedy.

There are no jokes about coming out or falling in love with someone of your same sex. None of that is ever used as a punchline. And you could say, well duh, it’s a fantasy show surely in this utopian world homophobia doesn’t exist, but it does! It’s present, it’s just that every time it’s brought up it falls flat. And that’s, in our opinion, a very powerful step in the right direction. You can make comedy about queer people, you can be funny about queer stuff, but our queerness just can’t be the punchline. 

So if you haven’t watched this brilliant show, we truly recommend doing it. Go open HBO Max (or the streaming service that’s available in your region) and binge-watch this masterpiece of comedy. We promise you you won’t regret spending 5 hours of your life at sea with these fools in love and their lovely crew of oddballs. 

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Our Flag Means Death is available to stream on HBO Max. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff! Oh, and HBO Max if you’re reading this: RENEW OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH ALREADY!