After last week’s (literally) killer pilot episode, Our Flag Means Death is back with more laughs.
Blackbeard is the name on everyone’s lips. Black Pete tells some tall tales of his supposed time as his “right hand man”. Naïve Stede is the only one who seems to believe him.
Whilst everyone is distracted by Pete’s story, no one is at the helm and the Revenge runs aground. The ship isn’t going anywhere soon, and so Stede grants the crew the day off.
Everyone is rather confused by this concept of a “vacation”. Swede even asks if they’ll be punished if they don’t comply.
“There’s literally no way to mess this up!” Stede responds. But you guessed it: they do mess it up.
The Navy hostages escape into the jungle of the island, and so Stede, joined by Oluwande and Black Pete, set out to get them back. Eventually they do, despite a run in with the locals and some rival pirates.
The real laughs in this episode come from Buttons (Ewen Bremner). His deadpan manner and delivery have me cracking up no matter what comes out his mouth, whether it be which crew member he would cannibalise first (Lucius) or listing off a hundred sea creatures.
On a more serious note, Stede is haunted by what he did to Captain Badminton. It’s genuinely disturbing to see the apparition taunt Stede, sword jammed in his eye and all. It further reinforces that Stede isn’t really cut out for this way of life – he’s still just a scared little boy at heart.
Jim’s secret is also out – they’re on the run and in disguise. Concerned about their personal hygiene, they take the risk of going for a swim. Unfortunately, Lucius catches them. He swears he can keep a secret, but Jim can’t afford to trust him, ominously throwing a sack over his head and dragging him away…
The final scene actually gave me chills – the reveal that the other pirates on the island are a part of Blackbeard’s crew, then the pan up to the flag paired with the menacing chorus of Messa da Requiem Dies Irae. Wow.
With Blackbeard’s ship following the Revenge, who knows what will happen next?
Featured Image Credit: BBC
Film, media and journalism student. I like writing about my inability to eat gluten.
[…] We still haven’t properly seen Blackbeard’s face up to this point, adding some delicious tension. In the opening scene he’s angled away from his first mate Izzy and the camera. Maybe he really does have a head made of smoke, like Black Pete said. […]