tizzyizzy

[tizzyizzy]

You know, the fact that Izzy's backstory and lost love was apparently going to be explored in s3 makes me think Izzy dying due to a wound on the opposite side actually was meant to be a fuckery of some kind, and he was alive the whole time.

In which case...c'mon, man.

[tizzyizzy]

Question: I enjoyed s1 OF OFMD, but for various reasons I never actually got around to watching s2 (pick up most of the plot from tumblr tho). What exactly went wrong in s2 that got so many people upset?

Oh, boy. Very long rant incoming.

So, for context, S2 had a significantly smaller budget, which necessitated moving the filming location to union-unfriendly New Zealand, reducing the number of actors/number of appearances of established actors, and cutting down the number of episodes from 10 to 8. In a show where each episode is only about half an hour long, that last one alone was enough to seriously hamper any character development or plot. I am very comfortable putting the vast majority of the blame on HBO because of these financial decisions.

The short version is that Jenkins et. al. needed to address and build on the problems left hanging in S1 while also getting the characters to the end of their character trajectories in case there was no S3 while also leaving room for additional episodes in case there was a S3, in a grand total of four hours, and failed.

The long version is that there were a bunch of what I'd consider small problems in isolation that came together and exploded in the S2 finale.

The reduced cast necessitated breaking up the crew (ex: having Swede marry Jackie and stay on land with her, so they don't need to pay Nat Faxon for all eight episodes) and not spending as much time on their relationships as S1 did.

The reduced time meant that the entire season was rushed (in contrast to S1, which takes place over at least several weeks if not months, most of S2 takes place in roughly five days), leading both to a lot of telling rather than showing (because they don't have time to show you), including vital character and relationship development.

This includes:

Having the Kraken half of the crew beat Ed to death after months of being abused by him – abuse that is clearly shown to have given them PTSD and a well-justified fear and hatred of him – only for them to be okay with him two in-universe days later;

On that note, having Stede dismiss the crew's concerns about Ed because he loves him and also we only have three more episodes left to fit in everything so we need to get over it really fast, even though Stede is supposed to be well-meaning and caring (even if he's not good at it all the time);

Resolving the issue of Stede abandoning Ed in one day, then having them "go slowly" in their relationship for two days and then have some spur-of-the-moment sex, and then the next afternoon have them break up over their diverging career aspirations, and then the day after that resolve that problem and retire on land while the rest of the crew sails off into the sunset;

Stede becoming a fantastic pirate captain over the course of one day, becoming wildly popular in the piracy world two days later, and then deciding the day after that to never be a captain again because he is retiring with Ed;

Having Ed and Stede decide to retire together as what is implied to be the end point of their relationship arc, when none of Stede's issues from S1, like his poor self-esteem, have been so much as mentioned by anyone, implying that he's either magically gotten over them or they don't matter all that much, actually, even though they were the catalyst for basically everything he did in S1;

Ed having two separate character crises – "I am an unlovable person" and "I want to do something with my life other than piracy" – not spending a lot of time on either one, having moments that clearly indicate he is still working on both problems and they have not been resolved, and then apparently having them both be resolved in the final episode despite nothing occurring to actually make that happen, and in regards to the latter, despite the story actively undermining it by repeatedly showing he can't do anything other than piracy;

Related to the above, Ed ending the series as allegedly being loved by the crew as a family (thus solving Crisis #1) despite this never actually being shown, demonstrated, or even fucking alluded to onscreen. If anything, it shows the exact opposite.

This last point is especially galling to me because of what is probably the most divisive issue in the fandom right now: killing off Izzy Hands after giving him seven episodes of character development.

The show begins with the Kraken crew clearly trying to use the skills they learned as part of Stede's crew to cope with their incredibly shitty situation and care for each other, which includes Izzy. Izzy, on his end, tries to protect the crew and speak up for them, which results in him being repeatedly hurt (both implicitly, as Ed at one point says "that's another toe" in response to Izzy advocating for the crew and we later see he's missing more than one toe already, and explicitly, as Ed shoots him in the fucking leg in front of the crew when he stands up for them).

This camaraderie is shown again and again and again. Frenchie, Jim, and Archie take care of Izzy while his leg is infected, at risk to their own lives. Izzy's misery over losing his leg is what unites the PTSD-ridden Kraken crew and the well-meaning-but-ignorant-of-PTSD marooned crew, who are initially at odds, to make him a new prosthetic leg. Izzy gives Lucius advice about forgiving Ed. Izzy is introduced to drag and opens up enough to sing at a crew party, and the whole crew is having fun together while Ed and Stede are in their cabin having sex for the first time. Izzy gives Stede pirate captain lessons and bonds with him when Ed leaves him. Izzy provokes the season's villain into focusing on him and then gives a big speech about how piracy is about belonging to something, giving the rest of the crew time to try to escape.

Recall that Season 1 had some pretty well-established universe rules, one of which was that it runs on Muppet physics/magical realism. People can jump off yardarms, hit the side on the way down, and be perfectly fine. People can get stabbed in the liver and it's totally okay because it's probably not that important, and even can stay pinned to a mast all night that way with only mild discomfort. Buttons can talk to birds and see long distances without a spyglass and put hexes on people. Good people can be hurt (Stede is stabbed repeatedly), bad people can die (the Badmintons, Geraldo), but no one we care about is ever killed.

This is repeated in Season 2: Ed is beaten into a coma with a cannonball and wakes up like Sleeping Beauty after a spirit journey, with no injuries to his face or body. Buttons turns into a seagull after spending an episode doing a magic ritual and is never seen again (because they couldn't keep paying Ewen Bremner due to the budget cuts). Jackie microdoses her husbands with poison to build up their immunity, so that she can later pull a Dread Pirate Westley and poison the British with shared drinks.

So: in the finale, the villain of the season is taken hostage by the pirates (for reasons? unclear how that fits in the plan), happens to have a gun on him (no one checked??), shoots Izzy on the right side and then leaves with no repercussions. The entire crew stands around silently doing nothing while Ed cries over Izzy and tells him that he's his only family.

And Izzy fucking Hands, the guy who just spent eight episodes bonding with and protecting everyone, uses his last words to reassure Ed that him becoming Blackbeard/the Kraken was Izzy's fault and that the crew is Ed's family and they all love him. No one else says anything to Izzy or tries to comfort him or help him in any way.

I repeat: in a show predicated on the idea that bullies and bigots die stupid deaths while queer people and POC are basically magic, a show that was praised for being kind to queer people by not making them worry about their faves suffering or dying, a show founded on the strength of the relationships between the characters, the guy who went through a season-long arc of learning to embrace his pirate found family and his own queerness is shot for stupid reasons on the side we're told isn't important and dies while everyone just stands there. His last words are about the whole crew loving Ed when the only person that the whole crew has loved all season is him.

Anyway, never mind all that, let's cut to Lucius and Pete getting married and Stede and Ed retiring!

Complicating all this is that people who liked Izzy (or even said anything insufficiently mean about Izzy) were harassed for months in between seasons with insults, slurs, and actual fucking death threats. Izzy's growth was kind of a vindication for liking him: it meant that, despite all the harassment, we were right to like him and care about him as a character. Even people who didn't like him initially started to like him during Season 2.

And then he dies, and now there's a bunch of people saying that Izzy fans are big whiny babies who can't handle fictional death, and actually his death was so meaningful and beautiful and the only logical end to his arc, and it can't be bad writing because people die in real life all the time, and also he admitted he fed Ed's darkness so actually he was a terrible person all along anyway and they were right to hate him (and his fans)!

So, yeah, there are a lot of reasons why it's so hated, and I'm probably only addressing the problems of the pro-Izzy people (from what I can tell, BlackBonnet shippers who don't like Izzy think Ed and Stede's relationship is fine and dandy, but I'm sure that there are other criticisms they have that I have not addressed). I'm not even addressing the issues with Jim and Oluwande's relationship this season (and whooo boy are there issues).

It wasn't a universally bad season. There were episodes I really loved and still do. But the finale was a train wreck, and because it was a train wreck, a lot of people are looking back at what happened before the wreck and realizing that, oh, the train lost its brakes and steering because of the budget cuts and the engineers kept throwing fuel in the engine to make it go faster, and huh, now that I think of it, that part earlier in the trip was really wobbly but I didn't pay much attention to it at the time because I was sure the engineers had everything covered.

#ofmd critical

[tizzyizzy]

since we're all sharing the whackiest S2 Izzy Hands takes we've seen: I don't even remember who originally had this take and it really shouldn't keep bothering me but it is just so absolutely bugnuts that it does indeed live in my head rent free, SO, my nominee:

"awww, clearly Ed doesn't want to hurt the crew, that's why he's only pointing the gun at them but not shooting it! he only wants to hurt Izzy, who deserves to be shot because of how badly he treated Edward!"

which is such an utterly bananacrackers interpretation of that scene that I keep second-guessing myself and thinking, "there's no way someone actually saw that scene and then had those thoughts and then wrote them out and then proofread them and thought 'yeah, that's something I need to share with the world!' and then posted them on the fucking internet. maybe I just had a weird dream about the Izcourse and hallucinated the whole thing."

like, for all the talk about Izzy enjoyers being abuse apologists, that is swinging dangerously close to actual abuse apologia. pointing a gun at someone is not proof that the wielder is trying to avoid harm: it is violence with the threat of increasing that violence should that person not comply with your demands.

Ed asks everyone if the vibes are poisonous with a gun to their fucking heads. everyone says "no" because they understandably don't want to get shot. Izzy is shot because he is the only one to contradict Ed, and the crew knows that's going to happen if he does: all of them pause when Izzy shouts at Ed, and Frenchie even subtly tries to get him to back down. Ed's threat to kill people if they say the atmosphere is fucked isn't an empty one, and the crew knows it.

the irony that this spawned from the same pool as "Izzy telling Ed that he'd better watch his step was a death threat, which justifies everything about how he treats Izzy from that point forward" is not lost on me.

[tizzyizzy]

He calls Izzy his only family...?

And it still functions narratively as a love triangle. David Jenkins himself was describing Izzy as a jilted spouse. Ed might not have romantic feelings for Izzy, but Izzy is a long-standing source of stability and comfort (Izzy pours his tea, is called on to get him out of a harness, and put bows in his beard in a cut scene).

Izzy represents a past life, and Stede represents a more emotionally open, more vulnerable future, and Ed struggles between the two forces and the two relationships.

Also, like, the toe thing was absolutely the horniest thing in that show, so...

Alright, I keep seeing posts about Izzy fans not understanding media literacy, so let's actually talk about that, shall we?

I've seen people describe Izzy as THE main antagonist of the show. He's not. He's a secondary antagonist. The primary antagonist of season one is Badmitton. Izzy is the romantic rival. A secondary antagonist that is a roadblock in the road for the protagonists rather than being an ACTUAL threat.

Izzy literally fulfills the same role in season one as Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. He's a small time antagonist to cause trouble without being the actual main threat. And by season two, he's not an antagonist AT ALL!

I've never seen anyone complain about people liking Zuko after his redemption arc. Or even Iroh - an adult who was the heir to an evil empire who killed people as an adult before he was redeemed.

But for some reason, Izzy's redemption arc is mocked and people who point out that he's always shown the capacity for goodness and change are ridiculed or called stupid. The foundation for Izzy's character arc has always been there, just like the foundation for Zuko's character arc was set up even as he was doing despicable things. If a children's show can take characters and show their nuances, why are people getting mad that this show does the same?

Genuinely baffling to me

[tizzyizzy]

I'm not going to touch whether Izzy is the main antagonist for now, but Izzy is absolutely part of a live triangle. Yes, it's non-traditional, but it still serves the same narrative purpose.

Izzy is presented as Ed's Mary in s1e4, discomfort in a Married State. Izzy's apology is intentionally reminiscent of one you'd see in a romantic relationship. Stede jokes about trouble in paradise. In s2, we get lines like, "what am I to you" and a scene where the crew talks about Izzy and Ed's toxic relationship. At the end, Ed chooses Izzy the same way Stede runs back to Mary, returning to the comfort of an unhappy but stable older relationship.

Also, literally the next scene Edward appears in after Izzy is kicked off the ship is him staring out into the ocean, then saying it was time for him to leave the Revenge.

Izzy doesn't imply he's going to murder Ed. It doesn't makes sense in terms of the context, wording, or characters. The real threat was that Izzy wouldn't serve Ed like he served Blackbeard.

And come on, we both know the custody thing has nothing to do with Izzy taking ownership of Ed, right? He was just getting him out of the hands of the English Navy.

Alright, I keep seeing posts about Izzy fans not understanding media literacy, so let's actually talk about that, shall we?

I've seen people describe Izzy as THE main antagonist of the show. He's not. He's a secondary antagonist. The primary antagonist of season one is Badmitton. Izzy is the romantic rival. A secondary antagonist that is a roadblock in the road for the protagonists rather than being an ACTUAL threat.

Izzy literally fulfills the same role in season one as Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. He's a small time antagonist to cause trouble without being the actual main threat. And by season two, he's not an antagonist AT ALL!

I've never seen anyone complain about people liking Zuko after his redemption arc. Or even Iroh - an adult who was the heir to an evil empire who killed people as an adult before he was redeemed.

But for some reason, Izzy's redemption arc is mocked and people who point out that he's always shown the capacity for goodness and change are ridiculed or called stupid. The foundation for Izzy's character arc has always been there, just like the foundation for Zuko's character arc was set up even as he was doing despicable things. If a children's show can take characters and show their nuances, why are people getting mad that this show does the same?

Genuinely baffling to me

#the izcourse

[tizzyizzy]

OFMD S2 Rewrite Part 1 (???)

I probably should write out a whole, finished plot outline, but I instead I'm starting with my attempts at replacements of the first two episodes.

Episode 1:

On the Revenge, we see that Ed is on a downward spiral. He is drinking to numb his emotional pain, cares little about his own safety or the crew's, and keeps taking risks in an attempt to feel anything. This includes stealing a prize from right under Ned's nose.

Throughout, we see how much this is wearing out the crew, especially Izzy. His toe is infected, but whenever he suggests a break, or going to shore to resupply, Ed is dismissive and uncaring. It isn't until Izzy collapses from infection Ed realizes what's going on.

Meanwhile, Archie has been picked up at some point to join the crew, and her relationship with Jim is developing.

Meanwhile meanwhile, Stede is learning that he has to regain the loyalty of his crew. Without money, they aren't inclined to follow him.

But with the help of the mysterious Ricky, Stede comes up with a brilliant plan to steal a ship. Turns out Ricky actually planned to capture Stede and use him as bait to capture Blackbeard.

But whoops, Stede and co. captured the lead ship of the Pirate Queen, and she's still on it! Now they've got Zheng's fleet on their tail, and a traitor in their midst!

Episode 2:

Izzy, delirious, refuses to accept an amputation, saying he'd better take his chances with the infection than become useless and be discarded by Blackbeard. Ed shoots Izzy in the leg to make amputation the only option. Overcome by guilt and despair, he locks himself in the brig to drink himself to death.

Between Izzy and Ed's delirious dreams, we get flashbacks of their relationship, where it is clarified for the audience. We see how close, productive, and joyful their relationship used to be. Then Ed becomes depressed, lose interest in piracy, and stop taking his role as captain seriously. We see how this puts an unfair burden on Izzy who tries to keep everything afloat while taking care of Ed, but also how Izzy misunderstands the situation and makes things worse by nagging Ed and trying to force him to do something he doesn't care about anymore.

Meanwhile, a storm is coming. Ed is too depressed to care. The crew on the Revenge are struggling to keep Izzy and themselves alive in the gale. Jim and Archie kiss, believing they might not survive.

Meanwhile meanwhile, Stede is having a crisis of his own. As they sail into the storm, his incompetence is becoming clearer and clearer...but he just managed to regain his confidence with his splendid plan. Zheng says she can lead them through the storm, but that would mean letting her out of the brig. Ricky tells Stede not to go through the storm, that it's better to wait it out than trust in someone as dangerous as Zheng.

In the end, Stede is man enough to give up power and trust in the crew and Zheng. Zheng takes charge and Stede, unlike Ricky, willingly submits to her orders, doing every bit of necessary manual labor with the rest of his crew. They get through the storm, and reach Revenge.

On the Revenge, Edward, finally, takes charge to get them through the storm. After his dark night of the soul, he has overcome his despair to save Izzy and the crew. He's wet and miserable with streams of dark makeup down his cheeks, but he's done it.

The storm fades. There are the slightest hints of a rainbow as Stede and Ed stare across at one another.

Authors Notes:

So I would consider this Act I. Here are some advantages of this setup.

No Evil Ed: Ed went full on bonkers in S2, complete horrific torture, murder-suicide, and PTSD inducing behaviors. In TizzyIzzy S2, Ed's atrocities are toned way down. While he's still a brutal pirate, he's more careless than intentionally cruel. This means he's more sympathetic as a character, keeping more of the audience on board. It also makes redemption much less of an issue for him, which mean we don't need to dedicate too much of later episodes to it. Speaking of which...

Ed's Redemption & Agency: In S2, Ed ends e2 being "killed" after nearly killing the entire crew, is unconscious in ep3 and spends all of e4 with Stede. He doesn't start trying to make things up to the crew until 5, and his attempts are woefully inadequate considering the impact. In TI S2, Ed is starting to work toward righting his mistakes as early as the end of ep2. By shooting Izzy's leg and forcing him to agree to the amputation, he's already acting in Izzy's best interest to make up for his previous negligence, even if it is in a fucked up way. Having him overcome his despair and guilt to save the crew in the storm shows growth, because he isn't letting his despair allow him to neglect the crew again. Development! It is also triumphant moment that gives Ed agency, conquering both a metaphorical storm and a literal one.

Stede as Captain: A big question that doesn't really get addressed in S2 is "why Stede?" Sure, he's got a pleasant attitude compared to most other pirate captain's, but he's fundamentally incompetent. Without his money, what is he? In S2, he goes from getting the crew hired by Spanish Jackie, to trying and failing to steal indigo at Ricky's suggestion, to being rescued by Zheng because luck. While Ricky still helps here, Stede still takes the lead in this unspecified brilliant plan. Sure, he messes up because he ends up taking Zheng's ship, but the fact that they actually succeeded goes to show his potential.

Stede as Crew: Another of Stede's flaws is that he can be arrogant. He wants the crew to do what he wants, even if he does genuinely care about them. He still wants to be the guy on top, and he's still naturally insecure about his pirating abilities. In TI S2 e2, he gets to overcome this flaw. He even gets to apply what he learned with Ed: just because Zheng is a fearsome Pirate Queen doesn't mean she can't be trusted. While we do get some of this in S2, I feel we could do with some more Stede bonding with the crew instead of lording over them.

Getting Stede and Ed Together: Before s2, I wanted Ed and Stede to grow a lot before finally reuniting. S2 made me lose my taste for that. Now we're getting Ed and Stede together an episode earlier. With less time needed to redeem Ed and them together an episode earlier, their relationship can be more thoroughly developed.

Clarifying the Edizzy Situation: Are they they world's most divorced couple? Mentor and mentee? Friends with benefits? Idol and worshipper? I don't know, and neither does David Jenkins! This flashback picks a relationship, clarifies it, and sticks to it. We get to be sympathetic to Izzy, by seeing how Ed has taken him for granted, and sympathetic to Ed by seeing unhappy he's been. Maybe we even see that Ed feels compelled to keep being pirate lest he disappoint Izzy.

#ofmd critical #ofmd s2 rewrite

[tizzyizzy]

You're in the ofmd critical tag, genius.

Also reread paragraph 2. There's a difference between gaining development by interacting with side characters and ping-ponging between them with little to no sense of agency.

Ed really did get his character development handed to him in a silver platter, didn't he?

It's normal for characters to change and learn based on the advice of other characters, but they took it to a whole new level with Ed in s2.

Stede saves him from suicidal depression coma with the power of love.

Fang is the one who tells Ed to do the silent, thoughtful fishing.

Stede suggests the party.

Izzy tells him to follow his heart and become a fisherman.

The fisherman tells him he's no good at fishing and Ed leaves and goes back to piracy.

Izzy dies and tells Ed to give up Blackbeard, so he does that.

No wonder he comes off as having no development.

#ofmd critical

[tizzyizzy]

Ed really did get his character development handed to him in a silver platter, didn't he?

It's normal for characters to change and learn based on the advice of other characters, but they took it to a whole new level with Ed in s2.

Stede saves him from suicidal depression coma with the power of love.

Fang is the one who tells Ed to do the silent, thoughtful fishing.

Stede suggests the party.

Izzy tells him to follow his heart and become a fisherman.

The fisherman tells him he's no good at fishing and Ed leaves and goes back to piracy.

Izzy dies and tells Ed to give up Blackbeard, so he does that.

No wonder he comes off as having no development.

#ofmd critical

[tizzyizzy]

No offense meant to anyone, but I've started to notice a troublesome trend where people are being told not to engage with bad Izzy takes so as not to expose their followers to it.

This may not seem like a big deal, but I think it's important to maintain a clear sense of boundaries and responsibilities online. If we start with the expectation that people should avoid arguing with jerks for the sake of their followers, that means opening the door to other kinds of expectations. Don't talk about X topic because your followers don't want to see that. Don't depict Y subject in your art because it could trigger your followers.

Tags and warnings are one thing, but expecting anyone to curate what goes into their blog specifically for the tastes of their followers is overstepping. We're all responsible for managing our own online experiences. It's important not to get in the habit of expecting others to do it for us.

#the izcourse

[tizzyizzy]

On the one hand, it's just a TV show at the end of the day.

On the other hand, if you can look, in all seriousness, at one character feeding his subordinate multiple toes and say, "this is justifiable self-defense", what would you excuse in real life?

"Physical abuse isn't worse than emotional abuse" does not mean "grotesque, monstrous physical dismemberment and torture is the same as someone yelling at you".

#the izcourse

[tizzyizzy]

Official statement on why Izzy's death affected me so much

Our Flag Means Death, is, at it’s core, is a show that focuses on queer joy- a form of therapy for those that have been raised on queerbaiting, shipping minor side characters, or watching, when nothing else is available, queer tragedies. You know how it goes- the two main characters, both male, have chemistry. They say things to each other that seem weirdly like declarations of love. They look at each other with love in their eyes. You see these things and the main man gets married off to a badly written, unfinished female character and is left feeling empty. The best friend dies for the main character to live. When everyone talks about how cute the main couple are, you want to scream all of a sudden, because nobody can see this love story play out except you. It’s queer, it’s tragic, and nobody else can understand it. 

Not Our Flag Means Death. From the moment it aired, it was praised as a show with unabashed queer joy, which means more than I can possibly say. The two main male characters meet, they have chemistry, and they fall in love. It’s not implied, or hinted at, but blatantly obvious. Their romances and the queer romances around them attracted so many queer fans who felt that after so many years, this type of show was a vindication for what they had been through with other media. 

In this show, piracy itself was that of a found family. Though Stede Bonnet and the crew of the Revenge start off with many differences, the core of the show centers around a theme that many queer audiences are attracted to: found family. The Revenge was depicted as a safe space, where everyone could express themselves freely, a refuge from a world of judgment. Queerness was not only accepted but normalized on The Revenge. No homophobia, no coming out, no typical complications of queer romance. Just love and safety. Warmth, which was Ed Teach wished for in purgatory. Which was what he found on the Revenge. The ship was a safe space that so many queer audiences had dreamed of. 

Well, a safe space except for one person: Izzy Hands, Blackbeard’s First Mate, who was a man painfully stuck in the wrong genre. This is the general consensus by both fans and the cast: Izzy, Edward and their crew had been in a gritty action movie, whereas Stede and his crew were in a muppet movie of sorts. While the majority of Blackbeard’s crew quickly acclimates to and celebrates the change, Izzy doesn’t. 

And right away, many fans felt a deep attraction to Izzy. The reason that Izzy couldn’t get Edward to love him was because, in the end, the only way that Izzy knew how to love was through blood. To give and receive pain in an action movie is one of the greatest forms of love, but Izzy fails to realize that Ed is not in an action movie anymore. He is happy with this stability, and the reason that so many people felt Izzy’s presence so was strongly was that he wasn’t. 

So many queer people are, in a way, addicted to tragedy. Tragedy is all that is represented in queer media for the most part, or was until very recently. Take Achilles and Patroclus, one of the most celebrated and recognized queer love stories of both ancient and modern times. Why that one? There are other greek love stories, many of them queer. The tragedy of it- Patroclus’ death and Achilles’ rage- made it all the more appealing. Many in the audience of Our Flag Means Death were not comedy fans, they were horror or drama fans, attracted to a comedy because of the love story. But Izzy, to them, was a physical representation of who they were, carrying an awareness of homophobia, of blood and pain that so many queer relationships had previously been illustrated by (i.e. Hannibal). Though Ed may not have understand this type of affection, the audience did- Izzy’s Otherness from the crew despite it’s safety, his expressions of love and his unrequited love story were all things that the audience were familiar with feeling. 

If Ed and Stede were good queer representation, Ed and Izzy, for example, were a foil of that. They were evil, messed up, and fed into the worst parts of each other because it brought them closer. This is a theme present in a lot of queer media, and by extension, queer lives: “if you love me, Henry, you don’t love me in a way I understand”, is an excerpt classic queer poem about unrequited love that fits the situation. The very reason Izzy stuck in people’s heads because he was of a different genre. His grittiness and bitterness made sense to the audience. They saw Izzy and saw what was familiar. He was exquisitely written, simultaneously making even casual audiences both hate him, and against all odds, find him oddly endearing. The idea of this man sacrificing every inch of himself for an unrequited love was a concept of tragedy, leaking into a comedic show. 

So fans projected onto Izzy. He was a catalyst for the heartache, for the audience’s sheer inability to have a happy show. For one reason or another, some of the audience simply couldn’t live with a show that was all fantastical, which I theorize is because they couldn’t see themselves in it. So Izzy became the epitome of queer suffering: pining longingly after another man that couldn’t understand him. This projection of suffering, however, led to a new wish: happiness for Izzy. If Izzy in Season 1 was a tragedy, assimilating him into the found family in Season 2 would have elevated the safe sense of the ship all the more. It would have proved to so many of these Izzy Fans that yes, even though you view yourself as unloveable, even though you see yourself as Israel Hands, Villain, even he can be loved too. Why can’t you be? 

And Season 2, for the most part, delivered beyond our wildest dreams. Izzy had people who cared about him. And though the genre shifted into the darker, Izzy himself shifted slightly to the comedic side as well. His life, which had been centered for so long around a man that didn’t reciprocate his feelings, was gone. He started a new life, and this life, again, focused on queer joy. The queer joy from Season 1 was suddenly for everyone, even those like Izzy that couldn’t have understood it. He sang, he whittled, he talked about feelings, he dressed in drag. Many elder queer fans also saw Izzy as another metaphor, too: that queer joy can be attained overtime. You don’t have to have had it the whole time, but you can accept yourself even when you are older. The message of Izzy was one of resilience and stubbornness, one that the queer community needed to hear: that you don’t have to be like this, you don’t have to create pain for yourself. You don’t need to watch tragedies all the time. You, too, can heal from the past.

And then, the season finale happened. By this point, many argued that Izzy had stolen the show. Con O’Neil’s acting mixed with his general arc of self acceptance had made him a fan favorite. In the last episode, it is Izzy himself who sums it up perfectly, accepting that he belongs somewhere despite his pain and flaws. Despite the darkness within him, he was still accepted and loved. He says it right to the face of Prince Ricky, who thinks himself above it all. That piracy, a metaphor for otherness, wasn’t actually about being alone; it was about finding others that understood you when nobody else could. 

Listen, this show is known for it’s nonsensicality. In the finale of Season 1, Lucius is thrown overboard by Ed and survives by simply swimming to another ship. Stede reunites with his crew by sailing a rowboat. Buttons turns into a seagull. Stede stabs Ed for a comedic bit. Earlier in the season, Izzy himself gets shot and survives. This queer joy show was celebrated for being, well, joyful. Even when things like getting thrown overboard did happen, they were, ultimately, a blip in the character’s journey towards acceptance, healing, etc, which was what made the show unique. Our Flag Means Death, whose audience had been living for years off of the “Bury your gays” trope, was adored because it illustrated a world where things didn’t have to be that way. A place where the impossible, such as Izzy Hands being loved, could happen. This show was one of survival. 

But not for the one person that was seen to struggle with this concept the most. Not for the one person that was a metaphor for belonging in this place, who became, over the course of a season, the embodiment of the message itself. Not for the Unicorn, the very symbol of this magical, nonsensical ship. Not for the most stubborn, most indestructible, most enduring (queer) person in the show. Not for Izzy Hands. 

This trope, honestly, was one that many have seen before, both in mainstream and queer media. A character, previously shown to be a villain or else to have gone through a lot of pain, is shown to heal, to get better, and then to die in order to “complete their arc”. This trope is common: Loki, Cas. even Ted Lasso, who doesn’t die but goes back to the very place that broke him in the first place. But the reason that Izzy’s death, while it might have been expected in another show, felt like a betrayal in this one is because it was known for subverting those tropes. From the “Bury Your Gays” to the “Up For Interpretation”, it was known to look those tropes in the eyes and say “fuck you, these people deserve to be happy”. And this did happen! Except for the one character who’s healing journey was one of the most relatable, at least to queer audiences. 

What also made it so jarring was that all the other characters got to be happy, except for the one that had struggled with the idea of happiness the most. In the scene immediately after Izzy is buried, Lucius and Pete get married. In the scene after, a montage of queer joy and found family is shown amongst the whole crew. In the final scene, Ed and Stede, our main queer couple, are shown healing themselves and starting a new life together. The last shot, however, showed Izzy’s grave, visited by Buttons the seagull while Ed and Stede had dinner. A tragedy in it’s finest. It wouldn’t have been difficult for Izzy to live. Because, in the end, his death meant nothing. His healing meant nothing. He died and was moved on from in a matter of seconds. He was, as I mentioned, the catalyst for tragedy, more specifically, queer tragedy. But because of this, of his genre, Izzy didn’t get to live. He had to die in order for the rest of the characters to keep living in this fantasy world. This death was, in a way, a preservation of these other love stories.

I maintain, however, that it would have meant more if Izzy had lived. If he had been  able to show to us that yes, despite what you have been through, despite what you may have inflicted upon yourself, you can switch genres. It’s possible. Izzy’s survival up until that point had been a profound testament to many that it is possible to heal, that queerness does not have to mean sadness. It would have continued to be a testament to that if only Izzy had lived. And so, this pirate that we latched onto, not in spite of his darkness but because of it, was buried on land on the side of the road. 

As a side note, many previous incidences in the story point to the idea even though Ed and Stede will definitely stay together, it’s uncertain if the inn would have worked out. It’s likely that, being a whim, those two might have chosen to move, or go back to the sea, or sail to China. If this is true, they would have left Izzy’s grave by itself, like a family pet buried in the yard. If this is true, Izzy Hands, a metaphor for belonging, would rot alone. 

Long live the tragedy addicts. Long live the Richard Siken poems. Long live Izzy Hands. 

*When I talk about the "fandom" I am referring to the canyon.

[tizzyizzy]

what is the different connotation btwn telling ed to watch his step vs telling ed to watch his back

When you tell someone to watch their back, you are saying that they'd better be careful, because you're going to get them when they're not looking. Think of putting "a knife in someone's back" as a metaphor for betraying someone. It means, regardless of your behavior, once your guard is down, they're coming for you. It is proactively aggressive.

"Watch you step" means something closer to "don't mess with me". It means, "if you're going to interact with this person, be careful, because you don't want to get on their bad side."

For example, let's say you visit the Republic of Pirates, and someone says to "watch your step" around Spanish Jackie. That means they're telling you Spanish Jackie is a dangerous, powerful woman who can cause you harm, and you should not give her a reason to go after you. However, as long as you mind your business, you don't have to worry about her. This is just a piece of advice to help you navigate your way around without getting on the wrong side of the wrong people.

If someone tells you, however, that you should "watch your back" because of Spanish Jackie, that means Jackie is actively looking for an opportunity to hurt you, possibly with a knife in the back. Maybe you killed one of her husbands and she wants revenge. You should leave as soon as possible because she's going to cut off your nose the moment she gets the chance.

Three more important pieces of context for the situation between Izzy and Ed.

Ed is used to ordering Izzy around and having Izzy do what he says. he takes it for granted that he can mostly due what he wants and tell Izzy what to do and Izzy will go along with it. Izzy's various attempts to murder hs boyfriend were exceptions to this rule.

Ed just had his hand around Izzy's throat and threatened Izzy. He's using physical violence and intimidation to get Izzy to submit to him-the polar opposite of "watching his step".

Izzy contrasts "watch his fucking step" with "I serve Blackbeard".

The actual idea Izzy is trying to convey is something like, "I will be respectful and submissive to you while you're acting like Blackbeard, but while you're acting like Ed, you don't get to order me around; don't mess with me expect me to accept it. Treat me with the respect you would treat someone like Spanish Jackie instead of your servant."

Also, if you think about it, it doesn't make sense for Izzy to make any kind of sincere death threat toward Ed. Izzy wants Ed to be the dominant, strong leader so he can follow him. You can't respect a leader who is only leading because he thinks he has a knife to his back.

In short, if Izzy said, "watch his fucking back", it would mean, "If you don't act like Blackbeard, I'll kill you."

But Izzy said, "watch his fucking step", which means "If you're not going to act like Blackbeard around me, either treat me with respect or avoid me. If you treat me like you're treating me now (intimidating, ordering, choking), I will retaliate."

#the izcourse #izzy hands

[tizzyizzy]

I said I would attempt my own version of an outline of an improved s2 plot. I'm gonna brainstorm here, 'cause who is gonna stop me? Feel free to chime in if you have Thoughts or even Opinions.

Each ofmd episode seems to have room for about three plots of equivalent size, or two beefier plots. Sometimes there will be a smaller subplot sprinkled in there, or overlapping.

Let's try to keep the main parts of the ending. Ed and Stede retire to run an inn. Izzy, though not dead, is written out of the show. The Republic of Pirates is exploded.

Ed and Stede are the major characters and both should be involved in a plotline in every episode. Their romance is the central plot of the series, and should get lots of attention.

So, what should their main plotlines be?

Stede needs to learn pirate competence. It's been set up as an issue since s1. While he cares about his crew, he needs to get better at taking care of them.

Ed is more complicated. He's got issues for days. He needs to figure out who he wants to be, whether that's rejecting Blackbeard entirely or integrating it into his sense of identity. He needs to settle things with Izzy. He needs to learn some empathy and selflessness, and work on making up for his past actions. He needs to be willing to open himself up to vulnerability again.

Oof, that's a lot. Luckily a lot of that stuff can overlap.

To leave room for s3, maybe we can have Ed reject the Blackbeard part of him entirely in s2, but have him need to learn to integrate that identity in s3.

As for new characters, I think I may have to scrap them or rethink them. There isn't much room, and plenty of existing characters need development.

Other plotlines I'm considering:

A proper Archie/Jim/Olu polycule subplot

Lucius/Pete engagement and wedding

Izzy's redemption, healing, and new pirate boyfriend?

Frenchie/Zheng?

#ofmd critical #im actually not sure if i should tag rewrite ideas with this #tell me if i shouldn't

[tizzyizzy]

Izzy would rather kill himself than kill Ed, but ultimately shoots Ed to save the crew.

Ed would rather torture his only family and get most of his crew killed than kill himself by his own hand.

#the izcourse

[tizzyizzy]

It feels like the writers gave Ed the character flaw of being selfish, but treated it as angst instead of an attitude/set of behaviors that needed changing.

We see this issue as early as s1e4. Three crew members die on a frivolous raid to rescue Stede for Ed's entertainment. We learn this because Izzy is unhappy about it.

Yes, there is a moment later in the episode where Ed indirectly expresses guilt and anxiety over the pressure of being Blackbeard. So he does care...but only enough to angst about it.

In s2, we see Ed express plenty of guilt and angst, but not much actual care. We start with an insincere apology. He didn't seem to understand or appreciate the damage he's done. He just wants to stop feeling it guilt. That's why when he angst, he does it alone, with his memories, while his interactions with Lucius are played for comedy.

#ofmd critical

[tizzyizzy]

Okay, sorry, but this contains a major pet oerve if mine:

Izzy never told Ed to watch his back. He told Ed to watch his step, which holds a different connotation. Izzy never threatened to get some kind of violent revenge on Ed if Ed wouldn't act like Blackbeard and it wouldn't make sense for him to do so.

You know what's crazy about s2 Izzy and Ed’s arcs?

Izzy got exactly what Ed always wanted.

Even though Izzy and the World drilled into him that he couldn't have it.

So Ed believes it. He puts his walls back up and pushes everyone away until all he can hope from them is the sweet release of death.

Ed wants to cry in front of the crew and be held through it. Ed wanted to the ship to be a place he could be his weakest/softest self and still be loved and appreciated for it.

But Izzy crushed his hopes in Episode Ten. He insulted Edward for daring to be vulnerable with the crew, and told him to watch his back or else a knife was gonna be stabbed in it.

But guess what happens to Izzy. He cries, loses a legs, shows the crew the most pathetic parts of himself and he becomes the New Unicorn. Everything Izzy said Edward wasn't allowed to have or do.

Even after Ed's banishment, He never really gets to have a moment like that with anyone on the ship besides Stede. Because the crew is still recovering from The Kraken. Until Izzy dies, that's the only time he cries. But do the crew gather around him and comfort him in his hour of need...

No. They just stand there solemnly.

[tizzyizzy]

Look if you really thought Edward was scared of Izzy at any point you really did drink his Koolaid babe.

Lucius isn't scared of Izzy.

FANG isn't scared of Izzy.

No one is actually scared of Izzy. He's a blustering joke to them in season one.

But you want me to believe the CAPTAIN Edward BLACKBEARD Teach. Pirate fucking king in the land of pirates. Is scared....of Izzy? Because Izzy yelled at him? (something we see him do regularly)

that's not fear on his face babe, that's annoyance, indignation and probably a little bit hurt.

The way this character has convinced some folks he's just a poor little sad boy in need of saving. X.X