#don't stream on max

[iamadequate1]

"Discomfort in a Married State" What does this mean?

In Discord, I jokingly said I'd do the Webster's Dictionary trope to start a post.

But... was I joking?

Webster's Dictionary defines marriage as "an intimate or close union," or closely, marry as "to unite in close and usually permanent relation." Taking about marriage is not just about a literal spousal union, and it is not just about romance. You have aspects and ideas in your life that you are married to even though you don't put the word to it. "Marriage of flavors", "married to your job", "marry academic disciplines,"... I had a teacher who said "I'm not married to this idea" when writing something in scratch work as a possibility.

The title "Discomfort in a Married State" is pulled from a quote from the real Stede Bonnet at his trial, and it's repurposed in the show, used at the start of Fictional Stede's pirate journey rather than the end. To me, I do not feel like the adjective is used in the episode as actually being about a spousal union. Stede is not a good fit with Mary, no, and the episode opens with both Stede and Mary both being pushed into the marriage by their parents because of societal expectations and goes on to show that their marriage doesn't work. However, Mary's not alone in Stede's horror dream, and it doesn't just feature his failures in their marriage: the "married state" title drop slides directly to his father mocking Stede's aversion to violence (and weakness, in his, the father's, eyes) and Smoke Blackbeard and Alma serving as a callback to his naive pirate dreams becoming more starkly real when he was stabbed. Mary wasn't what Stede left; unfortunate as it is, as a man, he had other less extreme options to make an unhappy marriage more comfortable for him. The "marriage" Stede has is the life that his father and role at birth pushed him into, and initially, Stede planned to take Mary with him in leaving it. Stede pushed out into what he viewed as a more idealized lifestyle, even though he's finding out its not the final destination in his journey.

On Ed's side, his parallel is not his relationship with Izzy. In his first big conversation with Stede (the one in the library), he says plainly what his "discomfort" is:

Ed: You ever feel trapped, like you're just treading water, waiting to drown? Stede: Yes, I very much have felt that way. Ed: Blackbeard always wins, that's the thing. He can't fail. It's not even a challenge anymore. People just see the flag, and they freak out, Blackbeard!, and they basically just give up, they surrender. What's the point? I don't even need to be on the boat. I'm a ghost. There's no chaos, there's no drama, there's no fucking life! Stede: Look, I can't believe I'm saying this, but have you ever considered retirement?

Ed's "marriage" is with the Blackbeard persona and the pirate life. He's not happy, and he is also looking for a way out. He's idly mentioning death as an alternative (e.g., the "I haven't died yet, have I?" outburst with Izzy, and "I'm thinking about packing it all in". It can be a bit of a grind"" to Stede before Stede introduces Ed to retirement). He then pivots to the brief identity theft escape, then the China plan with Stede. There is a parallel of the marriage -> finding escape pipeline. Ed and Stede were both intrinsically bound to lives they do not want, and they had to take dramatic steps to leave them.

Izzy narratively differs from Mary in that Mary isn't an antagonist (bless you, DJenks). This is a storytelling medium without monologuing voice overs or Shakespearean soliloquies, and something needs to be in story to represent that conflict. Izzy is the representation of the external antagonistic force that adds fuel to Ed's internal conflict, analogous to the function that the Badmintons (instead of Mary) have for Stede. This is what we mean when we say Izzy is a plot device for Ed's (and to a lesser extent, Stede's) story: most of his scenes (all in S1?) revolve around keeping Ed in a life he doesn't want while also functionally servicing as a conventional reaction to Stede's brand of captaincy (characters like Lucius or Frenchie have their own independent quirks, so that's why they don't get this same comparison). Izzy is in story as the obstacle that keeps pulling Ed into that life, into that marriage with that persona. The story is not literally saying Ed is married to Izzy or that they were former lovers, but as the representation in story, Izzy is going to act like a jilted spouse. (And Ed's not into him and views him as a father figure, so... not a literal spousal marriage.)

In the end, the "married state" is not literally about Mary or Izzy. Stede would still be unhappy with a different wife or as a bachelor in the same stagnating lifestyle. Ed would still be unhappy with a different first mate but still living as Blackbeard. Ed reacting strongly in 2x7 when he thought there would be a conflict of a possible deal breaking choice of staying with Stede and leaving piracy show that it isn't just about the right person but making sure that the two perfect people who found each other are both in a position to live a life that makes them both happy outside of their relationship. This is also a romcom very pointedly leading toward a climatic wedding of Ed and Stede, and the message is not that Stede and Ed don't like being married at all: they need to work together to reach a "married state" that satisfies all facets of their lives. They're so close!

We're joined to one another. Intertwined. We wrote our names on each other in permanent ink.

They're working together on their relationship ("the inn" at the end of 2x8 isn't literally about the inn), and they're finding the path to go on that takes them both to a place to where they want to be.

Also, "Comfort in a Married State", calling it as an episode title after WBD collapses and OFMD gets a pick up 🥰

#our flag means death #ofmd #stede bonnet #ed teach #mary bonnet #izzy hands #discomfort in a married state #i can't wait for wbd to collapse #don't stream on max #Youtube

[ibelieveinheadcanon]

How did I just find out about this yesterday???

This is absolutely hilarious!

Even New Zealand managed to make better advertisements than Max

#our flag means death #taika waititi #new zealand #don't stream on max #ofmd #save ofmd #long live ofmd #Youtube

[thepersianslipper]

I love how everyone is riding Max's ass on twt today. We're in our Kraken era and stand with our RapSh!t brothers to give Max hell.

A very quick downfall to you, Max, and take WB with you 🙏

The comments are delightful in this.

A taste:

#ofmd #our flag means death #Long live OFMD #don't stream on max #fire david zaslav #Cw: twitter

[virgo-79]

#now THIS is an idea #like even beyond ofmd this is a hell of an idea #who are the richest queers we know? #and how can we non-rich queers help? #ofmd #our flag means death #finish our stories #queer media #streaming services #don't stream on max

[dallonismysavior]

Absolutely heartbroken, queer people can't never win, ig.

I'm glad that there's more queer representation on media, but almost always is about kids (which is AMAZING!) but I feel that we also need more queer representation where they are adults/middle aged people. There are a lot of people in real life who are learning about themselves and exploring their identities later in life, people who were afraid or denied this freedom that connects with these characters that are going through the same journey.

Max not only butchered the show's budget and shortened the season — decision that affected the development of many characters and relationships, including the polycule — they never cared about the show: S1 had no marketing campaign whatsoever. I, and many others, only heard about the show through other people. S2 came in the middle of the strike. The actors, who so deeply adore the show, couldn't talk about it, and even though max did marketed the show this time, it was awfully done (for example spoiling episodes and memorable scenes, like the final ed & stede reunion even BEFORE the show premiered).

It is easy to say that max/warner never wanted this show to succeed — and ironically, despite their lack of effort, it became one of the most streamed shows from that platform. But apparently, it still wasn't enough.

I'm deeply grateful to David Jenkins and everyone involved in developing this show, so very deeply carefully made!

Thanks to Rhys and Taika for these characters, for every improv and gesture that made them come to life.

To the cast and crew who are in love with the show, just like the fans.

🏴‍☠️💕

#ofmd #our flag means death #rhys darby #taika waititi #gentlebeard #stede bonnet #david jenkins #fuck you david zaslav #don't stream on max #adopt our crew

[fruityedge05]

I'm sorry but the fact that David Zaslav didn't even WATCH "Coyote versus Acme" and then he still decided to delete it....

AND HE IS REFUSING TO LET OTHER SERVICES BUY THE FILM...

THIS MAN IS PRACTICALLY BEGGING TO GO BANKRUPT ATP BECAUSE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK???

#david zaslav #don't stream on max #coyote vs acme #our flag means death #ofmd

[save-ofmd-pl]

Nasza bandera znaczy śmierć - lektor PL

Ahoj załogo!

Łapcie naszą miłość z polskim lektorem. Możecie teraz obejrzeć OFMD z mamą czy dziadkiem ;), możecie odpocząć, nie myśleć w dwóch językach naraz, pośmiać się i popłakać. Trzymajcie się piraci! <3

OFMD lektor PL sezon 1 i 2

#nasza bandera znaczy śmierć #OFMD #odcinki #serial #lektor #our flag means lektor #our flag means lektor PL #nasza bandera znaczy śmierć lektor #don't stream on max

[ughmyheart]

😭 Stupid Dav@% Zas*!%

#our flag means death #ofmd #long live ofmd #don't stream on max

[slowestlap]

Max struggling to donate for Jimmy Broadbent's Mind Charity campaign during the 23h charity stream | via StanleyDeslandes_7 on twitch, 9 December 2023

↳ Includes Max being clueless and confused, boys tryna be helpful and Max just paypaling Bennett 1k€ to finish the donation on his behalf

+ Max's Bennett's donation message:

#max verstappen #team redline #video #mp #flashing tw #twitch #mv twitch #i don't think the tweets gave full context #so i went back and put this stream as bg noise while i was working #and this is how the donation actually went down fhjhfjd #this clip is 6min #but it took them 30 mins so i still had to cut a lot and felt like i couldn't cut it any shorter #the very last clip is after max came back in like an hour #confirmed bennett still had the money to pay the rest of the penalties off #and then he went away again #also i love how he already had bennett in paypal hjfhjfk #let's go luke!!

[formulaonedirection]

quadrant archives 1/?

Lando Norris takes a lie detector test

#lando norris #max fewtrell #these were in my drafts for no reason but i'm just gonna post them to cleanse because i cannot stand the car lando ing. vom #i'm gonna do some quadrant archives i have some twitch streams for 2021 i think i'll post next #these are only for the real ones #i don't love the colouring but i'm not gonna go back and redo because uhm. i'm tired #*mando #*quad #nadia's things #also dw mando isnt dead you can't kill two beautiful best friends

[rainymoodlet]

#TS4 #TS4 screenshots #ts4 cas #ts4 townies #ts2 to ts4 #cassandra goth #listen... listen to me... look at me now... #i can't make red work in her wardrobe it had to go on her head put the g*n down ok... #dating two heavily-pierced and tatted hot women-loving women and finally moving out of your parents' house is a big fat Glow-Up Cocktail if #i ever heard of one #there will be context for this make-over don't y'all worry #i guess this counts as tjol spoilers sdkfsfkj but YESSS #eva/ivory/cass is now canon and they've all moved in together #ivory just maxed the cooking skill and is starting to stream her cooking videos for fame!! :') i'm so proud of her #they're not allowed to have a gd baby in this house until ivory buys a restaurant so HELP ME god #BUT YES SORRY JUST BLACK CAS SHOTS BEFORE I DISAPPEAR FOR CHORES I LOVE YOU ALL MWAH

[iamadequate1]

Don't Stream on Max

Ragging on Max is fun, isn't it? This is going to be long since I brought tables. Here's a kiss GIF to get people's attention!

Let's be real: if HBO/Max has a cancellation rate this high and is the only streamer with a cancellation rate approaching these numbers, we're long past the point where fingers can be pointed at the shows individually, trying to invent unique "failures" in each one separately... except for Zaslav's baby, The Idol, that show deserved it. If there is an oddity like this, deduce down the common factor, and the common factor here in all these "failures" is WBD/HBO/Max. WBD does not know how to run a streaming business, and yet, it is charging consumers the highest rates in the industry.

✨Cancel Max now✨

Remember that WBD sponsored article from Vulture? Remember?? Specifically...

And then there was the final strike against last month’s canceled trio of titles: their production costs. As noted earlier, all three series went into development circa 2019-2020, at a time when competition for hot new shows was beyond intense. Streamers were handing out ridiculous deals in order to land coveted projects and agreeing to license fees and production budgets that were usually only reserved for big, established blockbuster hits. So a series like Rap Sh!t, which had the feel of an indie production and used iPhones to tell its story, ended up costing Max twice as much to license as HBO’s critically loved, niche comedy Somebody Somewhere, per a source familiar with show budgets. Our Flag Means Death, the same sources say, had a license fee three times that of Somebody.

First of all, they picked the smallest show they could in order to justify ~scary~ words like "twice" and "three times" without any danger of being specific, but they also picked a show that was "renewed" and I can find no evidence it's being worked on anymore!

But 2019-2020, let's discuss that. The merger was finalized April 8, 2022, and Max, the illicit love baby between Discovery+ and HBO Max, launched on May 23, 2023. On its face, Max has the second largest sticker price of streamers, and that sticker price is mostly built from that HBO prestige, but I'll build to that...

Let's say Zaslav had to let 2022 roll, so let's look at 2023, shall we? HBO/Max had 11 shows debut in 2023.

Velma (Max - renewed + lol)

The Last of Us (HBO - renewed)

Fired on Mars (Max - Purgatory)

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai (Max - Renewed)

Clone High (Max - Purgatory as new season is coming in)

The Idol (HBO - cancelled)

Warrior (Max - cancelled + moved to Netflix)

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (Max - renewed)

Young Love (Max - Purgatory)

Scavengers Reign (Max - Purgatory)

Bookie (Max - Renewed)

Wow! Not even half confirmed renewed, and one of the success stories is Velma. HBO also only debuted two series that year: TLOU was in development since 2020, but The Idol was still in early stages when Zaslav wandered in. Since he didn't put a stop to it, The Idol remains Zaslav's sole contribution to HBO, especially since according to Wikipedia, the show went under a "drastic" overhaul in April 2022, the month of the merger.

There is an article going around citing that Max has a 26.9% cancellation rate, and that seems.... off? It is still far higher than every other streamer, but it's still lower than what's expected from what we've seen of WBD/Max. If you look at Max's original programming list and HBO's original programming list, something's not adding up. I tried to follow the source back, but it wanted money, so I'll do it myself! I suspect that the glut of mindless reality shows, exploitative docuseries, and miniseries really brought that percentage down.

I'm just going to look at the cancellation of actual scripted shows, ignoring miniseries (that's just a big movie on purpose and no concern about #FinishOurStories), series that haven't aired an episode yet, non-English series (most don't have Wikipedia entries and are a messier thing to research), and co-productions (as Anne with an E showed, sometimes the partner can be responsible for cancellations -- this unfortunately leaves off series like Gentleman Jack). I also limited myself to series that had/about to have a season debut after the merger date (April 8, 2022).

(I've got the 'tism, and I enjoy making spreadsheets.)

Drama:

Comedy:

Anthology:

Continuation:

Adult Animation:

Kid/Family:

(Note: I used "ended" if I immediately saw that it was the creators who ended the show on purpose.)

HBO Breakdown:

Max Breakdown:

Combined:

HBO/Max is hovering around a confirmed 50% cancellation rate. I don't expect shows like Tokyo Vice and The Sex Lives of College Girls to last past their seasons that are about to premiere, and I expect many of these other "renewed" or "pending" shows to disappear into the ether.

Let's talk money. What is the monthly cost to subscribe to streamers? To make my life easier, I'm not going to list out yearly costs.

Streamer | Cost/Month with Ads (USD) | Cost/Month without Ads (USD) Apple | n/a | 9.99 Disney | 7.99 | 13.99 Hulu | 7.99 | 17.99 Disney/Hulu Bundle | 9.99 | 19.99 Max | 9.99 | 15.99 Netflix | 6.99 | 15.49 Paramount | 5.99 | 11.99 Peacock | 5.99 | 11.99 Prime | 8.99 | 11.98 Starz | n/a | 9.99 Discovery+ (on debut) | 4.99 | 6.99

Disney and Hulu together without bundling would be 15.98 with ads and 31.98 without ads, so each bundle is 62.5% of what it would have been with a double charge. If Max would be a similar deal, the HBO and Discovery pieces separately would add to 15.98 (ads) and 25.58 (no ads), so assuming no Discovery inflation (and, lbr, the starting pricing was already too high), the HBO piece would be 10.99 (ads) and 18.59 (no ads), putting HBO as the most expensive streaming option.

It's hidden, but Max is a bundle. Discovery+ and HBO do not have overlapping shows or audiences; it's really like if ESPN and Disney tried to sell itself as one service without telling anyone.

Since I tossed out the reality pieces, the cancellation rates I have above are the HBO pieces. If you're paying for Max, you're paying for the most expensive TV option, while paying for the highest turnover in TV productions. If you're subbed to Max for one show, it would be cheaper to just buy it from a digital store or, you know, 🏴‍☠️

So, circling back to the initial quote: sobbing about being beholden to the wacky 2019-2020 greenlights, when those greenlights are the only reason people are subscribed to the service in the first place is certainly a choice! Especially since now that the only "originals" Max is offering up are on par with Velma and The Idol, and the prestige TV that were underway at the time of merger (ex, TLOU and that upcoming HP show) maybe justify a one month sub-and-binge per year. With this obscene cancellation rate and creator disrespect, they aren't going to nab any more big projects, but they sure want you to pay them like they are.

Look, I'm not getting into the labor and worker treatment parts of this, and I'm not getting into the media representation parts of this or how non-white/straight/male shows have to meet impossible standards. Both of those are also egregious and part of a much, much larger discussion. Just from a purely consumer point of view, Max is a bad product.

Cancel Max. It is not worth your time to care about anything they put out.

Anyway, some petitions for shows that this failed streamer dumped recently. Max won't pick any of them up again, but you can show other streamers that there is interest for them to pick up the shows!

Our Flag Means Death

Rap Sh!t

Julia

Winning Time

Warrior (S4 has not been confirmed with Netflix)

#petitions at end #our flag means death #ofmd #save ofmd #adopt our crew #david zaslav #hbo max #max #don't stream on max #rap shit #rap sh!t #julia hbo #winning time #warrior #the gilded age #the gilded age should help out their Gay Twitter brethren

[thepersianslipper]

The only explanation that makes sense to me is WB being fucking petty and making negotiations impossible like they did with Coyote vs ACME.

I hope they know they made another powerful enemy in us.

#Ofmd #our flag means death #Long live ofmd #fire david zaslav #Don't stream on max

[virgo-79]

My answer as to why i was cancelling my subscription:

I subscribed to MAX for one show: Our Flag Means Death. I am profoundly angered and disappointed by the poor decision to cancel the show before its third season, particularly when MAX continues to use the show and its acclaim to market itself to potential subscribers. It reflects poorly on MAX to cancel a lauded and original queer show like OFMD, particularly while simultaneously retreading old material created by J.K Rowling, a known transphobe. I have no interest in exploring other shows on a platform that has proven it will end them early in favor of reboots of what's been done already. If MAX gets new leadership, continues Our Flag Means Death, and shows a genuine appreciation of and commitment to queer audiences and stories, and original material, I would consider supporting the platform again. Until then I have no use for this service, and will discourage others from subscribing.

#our flag means death #ofmd #don't stream on max

[idkwidatp]

i need (want) recommendations in a kinda specific way

i really like over the garden wall, coraline, jack stauber, the world of mr plant, all three tim burton stop-motion animated films, and heathers are there any other shows\movies similar to these that are definetly horror but also don't have *too many* jumpscares or gore, its more about tone or character designs? im also okay with gore if its just blood anything more than that and i will hate it.

#horror #recomendations? #part of me wants to watch dangonrampa #ive watched danny motta react to madoka magica but havent watched it myself #and im considering watching that too #heathers #over the garden wall #twomp #the world of mr plant #jack stauber #coraline #tim burton #ive only watch the nightmare before christmas more than once but ive seen the corpse bride and frankenweenie #max just took the corpse bride off its streaming platform #and i don't wanna watch frankenwenie because its made by disney

[fruityedge05]

I can't wait for David Zaslav to see his ass after this whole thing. Please god it would be do funny. PLEASE.

#david zaslav #save our flag means death #ofmd #our flag means death #coyote vs acme #i hate david zaslav with every fiber of my being #don't stream on max