Review: Our Flag Means Death, "Fun and Games" & "The Curse of the Seafaring Life" | Season 2, Episodes 4 & 5
With the reunions over, it's time for Revenge's crew to figure out what's next
“Lot of your friends are troubled, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. Ya know, they’re all pirates.”
“... True.”
I’ve talked several times in these reviews about how much I admire Our Flag Means Death’s memory for its various plot points and throwaway gags, and the smart ways it deploys those callbacks for a richer viewing experience. One of the most satisfying ones has been Stede’s captaining maxim to “talk it through as a crew”: it’s presented in the pilot as his overly naive Ted Lasso approach to piracy, and although Stede may have gained some additional perspective, it’s continued to resonate throughout the show’s run. It saved Stede’s life from the English firing squad when the crew came to his defense in “Act of Grace,” and then set off Blackbeard on an even more murderous tear when Izzy reluctantly invoked it in “Impossible Birds.”
And more than being just a callback, that idea has cemented itself deeply into the ethos of Our Flag Means Death. Instead of being a show where secrets and hidden truths are allowed to fester for weeks at a time, everyone is refreshingly upfront about their grievances and demands—fitting both for a world where life is short and a season whose renewal took longer than it should have. Both of this week’s episodes keep to this ethos, “Fun and Games” and “The Curse of the Seafaring Life” proving to be all about talking through the issues that have dragged this crew through the ringer, and coming out the better as a result.