maidenvoyage42

[maidenvoyage42]

i saw some criticism about the resolution of ed and stede's arc (of course, bearing in mind that this was not intended as a series finale). though i can see where these voices are coming from, please don't forget that everything in this show is parabolic and symbolic.

yes it was important before that ed had not killed anybody besides his father and stede's first kill was really heavy. so it may feel strange that during their reunion scene, they massacare a lot of people like its nothing.

and yes, it feels lacking that they do not have a discussion about their future, just open an inn (you might say 'on a whim'...).

and this can be caused by the budget cuts but i see the resting point of their arc in a different light.

both of these characters are in a crisis during the whole show:

stede doesn't value himself, he wants to be respected by other (piracy just a means to gain respect)

ed doesn't want to be blackbeard anymore, he just doesn't know how to stop

the massacre-reunion scene is so important for both of them, because the crises get resolved (with all the built-up before)

stede is finally a 'real' pirate (the wooden boy became real). he offed ned, he gained the respect of the other pirates. but what is more important: he 'feels' like a real pirate, he believes in himself.

and ed is finally able to face his legacy. he once again puts on his leather clothes: he acknowledges his past. yes, he is blackbeard and he cannot pretend that he is but a humble fisherman. he stops running from his past.

they kill a lot of people, but these killings are symbolic: they mean that both of them are pirates and for stede it is a chatartic reaching point, and for ed it is an acknowledgement and acceptence.

and that is why they don't need a lengthy discussion afterwards. they know who they are, the crises are averted, they can be present in their lives as they want and have a real connection with eachother. and at the moment they want to be innkeepers together. of course, as the narrative established they ARE pirates, so it is not the end by far. but where they are now, it makes total sense.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #blackbonnet #blackbonnet spoilers #ofmd season 2 #gentlebeard #gentlebeard spoilers

[maidenvoyage42]

i might regret posting this, but tumblr is so annoying right now.

of course it happened again, you put somebody on piedestal (david jenkins), and the moment something happens that differs from your ideal outcome, you want to 'cancel' him.

i know that shows and characters are important to all of us, and ofmd is truly something else and means a whole lot to all of us, and izzy's death hurts me too.

but please please be able to see nuances, to watch a show critically, to absorb its positive and its negative sides. please don't fucking say that one of the queerest mainstream show of our age is suddenly homophobic, just because you are sad that your fav character died. it is not and you know it. izzy's death made narrative sense, and good stories have chatartic losses, too, because that is part of life also. and yes, you can disagree with me, and say that it doesn't make narrative sense, it is really okay to debate if a writer's choice is good or bad. but don't pretend that one bad choice cancels out all of the good. (or label the show something that it is not because of it.)

and of course, you can be sad, i'm fucking sad, too and that is appropriate in this situation, because good shows make you care. what is not appropriate is to lose all of your common sense and turn on something that is ultimately one of the best things that came out from last decades' mainstream media. this is not sherlock or supernatural all over again and don't pretend that it is.

#ofmd spoilers

[maidenvoyage42]

and that's why he is the way he is in the next ep.

in 02x03 he hopes that things will be better: blackbeard is gone from his life, stede is back, and maybe he and the whole crew can now create a more healthy environment (by now he realised that stede's happy-go-lucky attitude is better than what heartbroken ed has created). but no, ed is still alive, so he has to face their fucked up relationship and stede doesn't speak to him. he had hope for a minute and he lost it, that's why he starts to drink and chooses denial. (of course, than the healing begins, but it is so interesting to see his journey unfold, just like everyone else's. and these are 30-minute episodes, that's what i can't believe.)

i really like izzy and stede's dinamic in 02x03. izzy is constantly trying to connect with stede. first he tries their good old thing: to provoke stede and get a reaction from him. he tries a couple of times, and nothing. his last attempt is something else altogether: he tries to thank stede, back at the revenge. stede is again silent, in return.

i think izzy is genuinely glad to get stede back, and he is hoping to restore the 'before' situation: to have the crew back, stede being their captain (at this point izzy has recognised that stede, may be a 'twat' but is better than toxic blackbeard by far).

it is heartwrenching to see his desparation after every attempt to connect with stede, and only getting silence back. it means something is changed for good, and you can 'never go home'.

#ofmd #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #our flag means death #ofmd season 2

[maidenvoyage42]

i haven't seen it discussed (though it might have been), that when the crew unites, all of them change clothes to symbolize both the changes they have been through, and the fact that they are a united crew again, buttons still wears zheng si's uniform. to me this details seems huge, it means he belongs to her ship, and not to stede's crew. that's why i think those of us are right who theorise that he in fact did not turn into a bird but returned to zheng si's ship (and the bird is one of hers).

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #nathaniel buttons #our flag means death season 2

[maidenvoyage42]

i really like izzy and stede's dinamic in 02x03. izzy is constantly trying to connect with stede. first he tries their good old thing: to provoke stede and get a reaction from him. he tries a couple of times, and nothing. his last attempt is something else altogether: he tries to thank stede, back at the revenge. stede is again silent, in return.

i think izzy is genuinely glad to get stede back, and he is hoping to restore the 'before' situation: to have the crew back, stede being their captain (at this point izzy has recognised that stede, may be a 'twat' but is better than toxic blackbeard by far).

it is heartwrenching to see his desparation after every attempt to connect with stede, and only getting silence back. it means something is changed for good, and you can 'never go home'.

#ofmd spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd season 2

[maidenvoyage42]

during the wedding scene, the priest says that the natural condition of humanity is base and vile (nice opening for a wedding speach, bro), but the sacred matrimony will elevate this state. i think it is foreshadowing that ed will be redeemed by stede's love (no shit), and also how ed sees the world right now: everyone (mainly himself) is evil and all act of love is fake and staged (and must be destroyed).

also it's fucking hilarious when the priest uses the bride as a human shield during the attack (also pointing out the fakeness of this whole scenario)

#ofmd #ofmd spoilers #ofmd season 2 spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #our flag means death

[maidenvoyage42]

i really like how stede's subconscious manifests in izzy and ed's in captain hornigold and how differently they deal with them.

stede kills izzy when he confronts him with the reality of stede leaving ed, but hornigold kills ed when he finally starts to gain a bit of will to live.

stede's still in denial regarding their breakup and ed is still struggling with self-love

#ofmd spoilers #ofmd #our flag means death spoilers #ofmd season 2 #ofmd season2 spoilers

[maidenvoyage42]

im gonna wake up from my slumber and post some ofmd stuff. im gonna tag everything with ofmd spoilers, so feel free to do your thing

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd season2

[maidenvoyage42]

that is all

#ofmd #our flag means death #good omens #what we do in the shadows #wwdits #ted lasso #sherlock #supernatural #lotr #lord of the rings #star wars #and so on

[maidenvoyage42]

+ bonus Izzy

[maidenvoyage42]

I think Viago and Anton would actually make a cute couple completely unrelated to the Taika and Rhys and OFMD. They are both the carers of their group. They both prefer niceties over conflict - warewolves not swear wolves and being nice to victims. They are both night creatures though Anton can go out in the light which would be handy for them as a couple. Also the shenanigans and drama between a warewolves and a vampire dating would be fun. Anyway I’ve still got more OFMD and Viago/Anton art in me.

#omg

[maidenvoyage42]

we joke about the chain but which ofmd song really gets you fucked up. mine is miles from nowhere.

#same

[maidenvoyage42]

sorry not ofmd-related, but one of the best shows that i’ve seen in recent years is definitely fleabag. and it’s so frustrating that i’m probably never gonna be able to rewatch it, because since then i got guinea pigs, and it causes me physical pain to think about how that little piggie is treated in the show :( (in the smallest cage, all alone - piggies are social animals! - and i don’t remember anything else about her circumstances but in itself it’s so horrible. why did you do this phoebe :( )

#sorry i just saw a post about fleabag #and everytime i reminded of that show #i feel instant frustration because of this #i want to rewatch it but it hurts so much to see that piggie #and im frustrated because it would be so little effort to learn about responsible pet ownership before doing a show #and it would a great opportunity to promote the right way to have a pet #but no let's put her in a small cage and there's that #sorry im getting frustrated again

[maidenvoyage42]

okay I know there's probably not much to hint at this in canon but... Roach x Frenchie, anyone? I just think they'd be cute and chaotic together

#omg #its perfect

[maidenvoyage42]

this poorly made gifset is titled:

Newflash, Assholes, Rhys Darby Has Been Sexy This Entire Goddamned Time

#in a new zealand accent: #yes

[maidenvoyage42]

calico critter pirates

[maidenvoyage42]

new ofmd game: you can pick ONE actor to make an appearance in season 2. tell me who it is in the tags mine is Mark Sheppard :-)

#jemaine clement #obviously