Our Flag Means Death is one of my favorite shows currently, the first season was practically perfect, a blend of humor, romance, and more melancholic themes that give the show a sense of pathos belying its quirky Kiwi humor. It returns for season two on October 5, and as dumb as the Max app is—HBO Max was fine, I will never understand spending hundreds of millions of dollars to make it worse—I will tolerate it for my silly gay pirates.
The full trailer for season two shows us Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard “on a break”, according to Stede, after their misunderstanding and more or less accidental breakup last season. Rhys Darby is phenomenal as Stede, and Taika Waititi remains outrageously hot as Blackbeard. He’s maybe even hotter here than he was in season one, with the stubble and the luscious locks and the rockstar pirate getup. I am rooting for these two, even though I know how they ended up in real life (hanging and boat murder, respectively).
Romance is a big topic here, as the trailer concentrates on Stede and Blackbeard’s falling out, and Blackbeard’s simmering anger and hurt. He’s in full doom mode, while Stede seems to be talking himself around to an “it’s not that bad” stance. One thing I am terribly curious about in this trailer is a scene in which Izzy Hands, Blackbeard’s main sidekick, appears to be training Stede in the ways of piracy. I must know what Izzy Hands is up to! I do not trust him!
Speaking of not trusting people, STILL NO LUCIUS. I swear, if Blackbeard actually killed him! Lucius was a stand-out in season one, but I am afraid he’s fully dead. Flag is the “silly gay pirate rom-com”, but it’s also a thematic exploration of mental health, and Blackbeard is both prone to lashing out when hurt or angry, and believes himself to be a murderous monster. A lot of his character journey involves reconciling who he wants to be, and who he believes he is. Murdering Lucius in a moment of pain and anger wouldn’t be outside his wheelhouse. It would just bum me out a lot because Lucius rocks.
But the rest of the crew is back, from Black Pete to Jim to Oluwande to Frenchie to Wee John Feeney, and Leslie Jones is also back as Spanish Jackie. I have a slight dread of Flag being darker in season two—piracy generally didn’t end well for anyone—but at the same time, the jokes in the trailer are working for me. I am ready for the return of the silly gay pirate rom-com that’s not actually that silly.
