The second season of Our Flag Means Death has come to an end! In contrast to the first season, which ended with pirate lovebirds Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet breaking up and Blackbeard returning to a life of crime, the second season ends with the pair of them retiring from piracy to run an inn together. Is this where we leave them, in eternal domestic bliss?
If creator David Jenkins has his way, no. “I have plans for season three,” Jenkins told Inverse. “I would love it if Max had plans for season three, because I’d love to make another season of a show with them. I think they’re a great place to make a TV show. But season three would be the last season.”
As of this writing, Max has not renewed Our Flag Means Death for Jenkins’ third and final season, although given reports of how successful the show has been, I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear something soon. Still, Jenkins designed the season 2 finale in a way that it could serve as the end of the series, just in case they don’t come back. Speaking to Gizmodo, he called it a “safeguard.”
"I think there’s plenty of story left for season three, but I think that it was important to end this as if it was the end of the show, and on upbeat note and avoid the kind of “kill your gays” trope. I don’t want to see Stede and Ed punished for giving it a go. I want to see them really say, ‘yeah, we’re going to we’re going to try to have a relationship’."
What would happen in Our Flag Means Death season 3?
Let’s assume for now that Our Flag Means Death will return for season 3. What might be in store? Jenkins envisions us following Stede and Ed (Blackbeard’s real name) into the next phase of their relationship. The first season was about “immature” teens falling in love for the first time, the second about “people in their 20s trying to learn it if they want to move in together,” and the third would explore “what happens after you start a small business together? How does that work? How do you keep a relationship going? What are the problems in a relationship that are more than just like, oh, does he like me or does he not like me? How do you be a person for that person, and continue to grow with them? What happens if one of them stops growing and you keep growing?” Jenkins says. “That, to me, is a natural outgrowth of what we like in happily ever after.”
"Just because you’re not emotionally in your 20s doesn’t mean the love story stops…We need more love stories where we see this love mature."
Of course, the show isn’t just about Stede and Ed. While they retire to run an inn, the rest of the cast boards the Revenge under their new captain Frenchie (Joel Fry). What might they get up to?
“I would very much like to see pirates come to America,” Jenkins said of the third season. “Historically, they were in New York City and the Carolinas. And now, in the story, the Republic of Pirates is gone… I think that stories about piracy are a little bit like stories about the West. They’re stories about these things that are going to end inevitably…In some ways, I think then seeing them have to deal with some of these things in a country that’s coming together would be good. And I think it would be a good way to end the season, and see how they adjust to it.”
Our Flag Means Death boss talks about that big character death
And now we get into the slightly spoilery part of the article. Because if you watched the finale, you know that a major character dies. Spoiler dropping in three…two…one…
Izzy Hands, Blackbeard’s longtime first mate and bad influence, dies in Blackbeard’s arms, leaving Blackbeard free to leave behind piracy forever. For most of the first season, Izzy has working to try and get Blackbeard to stop concentrating on Stede and to start being a badass pirate again. But after Blackbeard really did go back to his old ways, things didn’t work out for Izzy; Blackbeard shot him in the leg and he had to start using a peg leg the crew makes for him out of the unicorn mast of the ship.
“His boss is falling for this manic pixie dream girl, and he’s got to keep his boss safe because that’s his job,” Jenkins said, explaining Izzy’s arc. “And then he has to get this ship to operate like a normal ship would operate. And they’re all weirdos. So he’s got the worst middle management position. And on top of that, his boss is a lunatic.”
"Izzy gets [what he wants] and it turns on him. That toxic relationship that he wished were all his, becomes all his… he’s crushed by it, and both he and Blackbeard both have to rebuild themselves."
At least Izzy could recover knowing his crewmates care about him. “After makes him the Unicorn leg, I think he kind of sees like, ‘oh, this crew cares for me’. And I don’t think he’s ever felt cared for in that way,” Jenkins said.
Actor Con O’Neill “too it hard” when he learned Izzy must die
So Izzy went on one of the bigger journeys in Our Flag Means Death. That’s why it was “hard” for Jenkins to kill him off. “It was hard to tell that he was going to die. And he was so lovely about it. But, at the same time, he took it hard,” Jenkins revealed. “Like this thing we built together is going to die. It’s one thing to write it, it’s another thing to produce it, and to see Con carry that knowledge through the episodes, knowing what was going to happen to that character. Con took it really seriously.”
"I think he gives his own eulogy. It’s about belonging to something. And that we do this for each other, you know? He came to view piracy as a thing we do for one another. And being on a crew is something you do for each other… he gets to a place where he eventually sees that it works because everybody is helping each other. Everybody cares for each other, and there needs to be some structure, but for him, it became less about dominance and more about belonging to something."
In the end, Izzy is buried outside Ed and Stede’s inn, which feels like an appropriate final resting place. “I think him being buried near them is a lovely image,” Jenkins said. “And there’s a reason that that happened. I think they both were sad to see their friend go. And I think they’re both thinking, ‘let’s make this work not just for us, but in memory of Izzy.’”
And that’s where we are ahead of season 3. Killing off a character wasn’t something I thought a show like Our Flag Means Death would do, since generally it keeps things pretty light, but pirates are gonna do what they want. And that could include bringing Izzy back. “Ghosts exist in this world,” Jenkins teased.
Hopefully we’ll get to see one when and if Our Flag Means Death returns.
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