Our Flag Means Death

I was looking forward to Our Flag Means Death ever since I first heard about it and that Taika Waititi was involved. This series is about a wealthy aristocrat who leaves his privileged life and family to become a pirate. He's called the gentleman pirate for the way he treats his crew and how he doesn't want to use any violence. What follows is one hilarious moment after another. The writing and character development is what makes this show so good. You really come to care for each of these characters and what happens to them. This is one of the most original and unique shows I've ever seen. I'm already waiting for next season to come out.

Overall this show has very likable and fun characters with a wacky comedy style. The main relationship between Stede and Blackbeard is very well done and each crew member is excellent. This show explores such great themes and it was not at all what I expected from this show during the first 2 episodes.

Episode breakdown:

Episodes 1-2 are the black sheep of the show. It sets up the rest of the show very well but in the moment while watching it's just not as interesting as the rest of the show and it doesn't reveal exactly what the show is about right away. In hindsight the episodes make the show better overall but they are quite boring by themselves.

Episode 3 is very funny and is the exception to the first 2 episodes, it doesn't introduce Blackbeard yet but the episode Itself is a lot more fun and enjoyable.

Episodes 4-10 are all very high quality and on similar levels. The show shifts to the relationship between Stede and Blackbeard and all the crew members and it begins to tell the great story, it's funny and heartwarming and definitely worth watching.

The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, a little bittersweet but a second season seems to be teased with it.

Overall a very good show that should definitely be watched!

I came as a fan of anything Rhys and Taika have done before (and hoping for a Jemaine cameo) but truly this is unlike anything they've done before and I don't think you'd have to be a fan of anything previous to like this. (There's no Jemaine cameo, minus one point!).

I also came for a queer pirate love story and boy did this deliver in a surprising way. Maybe the best thing about it is that there is no erotic element to the love Stede and Ed develop onscreen - not that I wouldn't want to see Rhys and Taika in an erotic embrace! But the absence of lust makes this quite a rare depiction of gay love on screen. It's really beautiful and the viewer is just witnessing two people realise over the series they ultimately just need each other to be happy and that's just doggarn adorable.

Comedy wise I agree with some reviews that the comediens are not used to their best abilities. It's not side splitting, but it is still thoroughly entertaining.

I am really nervous having read the true story of Stede Bonnet what a second series would bring... I'd love for there to be one and would also hate for it to be too close to the truth. I hope if there is one it goes further down the route of fancy and also allows a beautiful gay love story to have an even rarer happy ending.

The silliness of this show works because of the excellent cast, and it gets better through the later episodes imo. It was probably more fun to produce this than to watch, bit it's exactly the kind of effort that audiences should reward- dumb as it is, it's a great break from the stark reality of 2022 : )

I'm really enjoying every moment of this show! It's got story and a little bit of drama, interwoven with perfect comedic timing and silly moments. The characters are brilliant too. If you're a fan of Taika and Rhys... this show will be right up your alley.