I almost think that, discomfort and hesitation and all, Stede might possibly have still gone to meet Ed (maybe talking him into a very quick side trip to make some amends to Mary and the children, because that unfinished business was weighing on him) if he hadn't been abducted and then totally retraumatized by Chauncey Badminton

I do think he was planning to escape with Ed. That "Yes" on the beach was real, and even in his discomfort, I don't think Stede would have lied to Ed. He wasn't crazy about the plan, but he was willing to give it a shot because Ed was so keen on it.

And yeah, it would absolutely have gone down in flames.

Here's something else I keep thinking about, re: these themes of identity and self-knowledge: In two of the most important moments of their relationship, Ed distances himself from his own name, his own identity. When he first meets Stede, and Stede asks him, "Do you work for Blackbeard?" Ed takes a moment to think, then says, "Yeah, I suppose I do work for Blackbeard." Which makes the viewer see Blackbeard as the persona and Ed as the real man underneath. But then on the beach, even in a very emotionally intimate moment, he's talking about himself in the third person: "I just wanna do what makes Ed happy." Not "what makes *me* happy." So who is Ed, then? Is Ed a persona too?

Also, here is a really lovely new interview with David Jenkins: [link]

(I swear, I think I might feel more normal about this show if we knew it was getting a season 2, but I just can't deal with the idea that the story might just end here!)

(I swear, I think I might feel more normal about this show if we knew it was getting a season 2, but I just can't deal with the idea that the story might just end here!)

I can't even let myself consider that--though, honestly, it's gaining such momentum that I can't imagine HBO won't want a season 2. I just wish they would order the damn thing already.

And, oh, that interview was beautiful.

Oh, that interview is great - so many shows at some point seem like the creators don’t even know what is actually good about them and here he can articulate so much if that, and does! So refreshing.

so many shows at some point seem like the creators don’t even know what is actually good about them and here he can articulate so much if that, and does!

YES.

I finally convinced Ethan to give the show another chance (he'd seen the first two or three eps ages ago via the press screeners) so we're rewatching from the beginning, and knowing where it ends up puts the awkwardness of those first few eps in such a better context. I love watching the crew gradually warm up to the idea that they're okay with being in a fun pirate romcom instead of the gritty grimdark pirate action movie they thought they'd signed on for. (They don't fully cross over into Stede's genre until the lighthouse scene when it's clear that Blackbeard is into it, which gives the rest of them permission to admit they're into it too, and from then on the comedy works SO MUCH BETTER because EVERYONE is finally on the same page about what genre they're in. Except poor Izzy, who will hang onto being a Gritty Grimdark Pirate with his dying breath because everyone else is Doing Piracy Wrong.)

I love watching the crew gradually warm up to the idea that they're okay with being in a fun pirate romcom instead of the gritty grimdark pirate action movie they thought they'd signed on for. (They don't fully cross over into Stede's genre until the lighthouse scene when it's clear that Blackbeard is into it, which gives the rest of them permission to admit they're into it too, and from then on the comedy works SO MUCH BETTER because EVERYONE is finally on the same page about what genre they're in.

Oh gosh yes. Though Oluwande was definitely prime to flip right from the start--we know absolutely nothing about his backstory, but he's clearly been at it for a while and he seems very aware from the beginning that this might not be a normal gig, but as piracy goes it's an easy gig, and he appreciates that and is cautiously willing to just follow it and see where it goes. Lucius, too.

Except poor Izzy, who will hang onto being a Gritty Grimdark Pirate with his dying breath because everyone else is Doing Piracy Wrong.)

OMG yes. Even worse, it's wrong but it keeps working anyway. How dare they! HOW DARE ANY OF THEM. He's spent his entire life torturing himself into becoming an excruciatingly stellar example of gritty grimdark, and that twat and his band of stupidly loyal, happy imbeciles are undermining the very core of Izzy's identity.

Oluwande was definitely prime to flip right from the start--we know absolutely nothing about his backstory, but he's clearly been at it for a while and he seems very aware from the beginning that this might not be a normal gig, but as piracy goes it's an easy gig, and he appreciates that and is cautiously willing to just follow it and see where it goes. Lucius, too.

Oh my two most precious cinnamon rolls and the way they try to protect Stede's little bubble of happy weirdness for him. I love them so much.

And the more space they make for his weirdness, the more freedom the entire crew finds for their own, which is considerable and joyful. Win/win/win/win/win/win/win.

JZ, your joy in this OFMD has lead to my discovery that I have HBO max through my cell plan! I am eight minutes in and can tell I am going to love it!

I am eight minutes in and can tell I am going to love it!

EEEEEEE. Come bring all your thinky thoughts here!