Ed heard the word 'boyfriend' come out of Stede's mouth, got into over the top flirting mode, realized it happened in front of everyone and got so flustered he started talking about cats. The man is fighting for his life
Ed is just. He’s so happy. He’s fucking THRILLED to be back together with his boyfriend. It’s got him saying nearly incoherent shit in a room full of people. He’s rambling about cats in a life or death situation. That man is delirious with happiness after a lifetime of suffering.
It's true that Stede could never have been played by anyone other than Rhys, and Ed couldn't have been played by anyone other than Taika, but even more than that, Ed and Stede wouldn't have worked as well without both of them working together.
Yeah, Rhys is amazing at bringing a likeability and emotional weight to Stede, who could've easily been a very unlikable character. He's an amazingly physical actor and hits those dramatic beats so wonderfully. Taika Waititi, too, is honestly very underrated as an actor; his ability to hit those devastating lows of emotion just as well as the goofy silly moments is wonderful to watch. You can tell watching their performances that these are very important roles to both of them and they care about playing their characters.
But a big part of the reason OFMD works so well is because they're playing these roles together. They've been friends for many years, and they're clearly incredibly comfortable with each other and just enjoy being in each other's company. Rhys and Taika have both said that having each other on set made it so much easier for them to hit the really vulnerable beats, because they were there to support each other.
There's just something really fucking beautiful there. Ed and Stede's relationship is so believable because the guys playing them do love each other, even if it's a different kind of love. They just like being around each other and you can tell in everything from the little gestures to the glances to the way you can see sometimes that they're trying to make each other laugh. And, a lot of the time, this show is so fantastic because, as they've said, they made each other feel safe and supported on set.
No one else could've played Stede, and no one else could've played Ed. But, even more than that, nothing about this show would've been the same if it wasn't the two of them playing these roles with each other.
sambaschutte: Today’s Crew Shoutout: the hilarious @mattjohnmaher who plays Black Pete🏴☠️ Every word coming out of his mouth is gold☠️ It was an honor marrying him. And we love screaming…⚔️