#izzy deserved better

[izzyhandslightofmylife]

ofmd really said okay imagine there's this guy that's been desperate for love his entire life and was so convinced that he was destined for tragedy that he actively tried to bring about his own downfall and pain because he was convinced it was all he had. now imagine that there's this guy that got accepted despite the darkness inside of him for the first time in his life and instead of being scorned ended up bringing light to everyone around him. imagine him with a family that he had convinced himself he didn't deserve. got him in your head, this little guy? is he there? do you love him? we're killing him now. sorry

#izzy hands #ofmd #izzy canyon #izzy deserved better #ofmd critical #izzyposting #ofmd finale #izzy hands apologist

[queerfandomtrifecta]

Izzy Hands and Mary Bonnet have so many parallels between them that it’s wild. Emotionally distant husband (Izzy is wife-coded AF so it’s fair to make this comparison with Ed) who they’ve been with for a long time. Their husbands are very unhappy with their life. They’re both having to tell their husbands to pay attention to them, do what they’re supposed to, stop being so whim-prone. Izzy is the one tending to the crew, reminding Ed about their welfare, and Ed seems too distracted to really care. Mary is the one taking care of the kids and has to ask Stede multiple times to play with them, and he seems far too distracted to care (though he does briefly). Neither Izzy nor Mary are happy either, but they’re still trying to make it work beyond what their husbands are. And eventually, Izzy and Mary’s husbands leave them for something ‘better’ unexpectedly, and in a way that’s a betrayal to Izzy and Mary. When Stede panics after Chauncey kidnaps him in s1, he goes back to Mary and tries to pick up where he left off but it’s clear he’s not wanted by Mary. When Stede doesn’t show up on the beach, Ed goes back to Izzy and tries to pick up where he left off, but it’s clear this gentle version of Ed isn’t who Izzy wants him to be. When they finally have distance between themselves and their husbands, they both find themselves and are finally happy toward their end of the time on the show. Mary has her painting and her found family of widows and Doug. Izzy does drag and sings and whittles and has his found family of the crew. They both support their former husbands’ new love at the end of their arcs.

Izzy and Mary’s husbands fell in love with each other, but only one of these characters got to be happy at the end of their very parallel arcs in a way where it felt complete to end their time on the show.

Idk. It’s something.

#imagine if they killed of Mary #and then said it was because that’s what had to happen for Stede to be free and happy #that’s insane but it’s what they did with Izzy #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd #ofmd meta #izzy deserved better #izzy hands #Ed teach #stede bonnet #mary bonnet #david jenkins #ofmd critique #ofmd critical #also I doubt Izzy is really dead but for the purposes of examining the existing narrative arc we’re assuming he is here

[fishhuh]

I would just like to drop this here

the trope is primarily used on female characters, and I just noticed that after Izzy "softens up" and becomes more "feminine" (doing drag, showing his emotions, etc) this happens to him. I obviously don't think it was intentionally written to follow this trope, however it does leave a bad taste in my mouth.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #our flag means death #izzy hands #con o'neill #ofmd spoilers #thank you to my mom who mentioned this trope when I was ranting about izzys death to her lol #my posts #izzy deserved better

[frooogscream]

Writing room: So what offensive trope do we want to use for Izzy’s death? The frigid wife? Out of the closet & into the fire? Redemption arc for the antagonist just to sacrifice himself? Abuse victim who “asked for it”? Queer lover demoted to family? Bury your disabled?

David Jenkins: YES!

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #our flag means death #ofmd season 2 #ofmd izzy #izzy hands #izzy deserved better #david jenkins #is a mediocre cis het show runner who thinks he’s exceptional #like this is a joke but also it’s true #you’re telling me he didn’t see the problem/this coming across as lazy obvious writing with any of this? #ofmd critical #i guess #davids shitty writing critical

[thomasthequeer]

Feeling emotional about ofmd again pals ):

#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #stede bonnet #edward teach #oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #archie ofmd #frenchie #izzy deserved better #the show deserved better #still holding out slight hope to get picked up elsewhere but god I am not as optimistic as I’d like #and to be FAIR a lot of that is immediate distrust because it SHPULDVE BEEN RENEWED #zero logical reason for it to have been cancelled based on viewership and shit #just #god I’m so over capitalism

[ldrmas]

One more thing

Can we talk about what's worse is that Izzy didn't die by his gun? He died because he walked a man who was armed and extremely dangerous into the den of wolves. And not one person spoke up to say it was a bad idea. In fact, he died because the characters were stupid for stupid sake, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in tv tropes.

Izzy was holding the man hostage with only a single dagger, nothing else.

And both men that he trained with, also pirates he mentored into becoming an formidable crew, you're telling me that not a single one of them spoke up to say "hey maybe let's make sure Prince Ricky is unarmed!"

You're telling after staying by Stedes side and training him, Bonnet didn't once think to search the prince to make sure he couldn't pose a threat to the crew.

You're telling me that after sailing with Blackbeard all these years, disarming hundred of crews, rampaging ship after ship, Edward wouldn't once think to say; "Hey strip that fucker bear we only got one shot at this, we gotta be smart now if we wanna stand a chance."

You're telling me Fang, Jim, even Black Pete wouldn't be the one to volunteer to lead Ricky across the battlefield so that Izzy wouldn't be front and center in danger.

This, this is what hurts so twating much! I know you fellow izzy stans understand.

#ofmd finale spoilers #ofmd finale #izzy stans #izzy hands #isreal hands #ofmd izzy #ofmd spoilers #izzy deserved better #i hate when characters are stupid for stupid sake #shame on you stede #shame on you edward #shame on you crew of the revenge #but most of all shame on you jenkins #ofmd s2 spoilers

[incorrect-our-flag-means-death]

Izzy, when he confessed to Ed: I think I'm falling for you.

Ed: Then get up.

#ofmd #our flag means death #incorrect ofmd #incorrect our flag means death #incorrect quotes #ofmd season two #edward teach #blackbeard #Izzy hands #izzy x ed #source: generator #izzy deserved better #I miss him

[scaryhaven]

im so upset at anyone thats really saying that izzy was dragging ed down, and ed could never truly be happy if izzy was around, i said it before and ill say it again, izzy was already in the process of being a better person, he was already getting over ed romantically, and wasnt even burdening ed with his feelings anymore, and he was actively trying to help ed and stede work things out and be together, he was able to be on friendly terms with ed, he forgave him for causing him to lose a leg, and he was on friendly terms with stede, helping him manage the crew and become a more talented pirate, and youre really going to sit there and tell me that this was for the best? that izzy had to die so that ed could fully move on from blackbeard? is that all that izzy was to you people? a plot device to help further other characters stories rather than being an actual character that had feelings too? ed had the ability to destroy blackbeard all on his own without his best mate dying, i believe he had that power within himself to change, you dont? the writers dont? ridiculous, its all an excuse for people that never liked izzy very much to sound intellectual and act like this made any sense at all and wasnt just lazy writing

#izzy deserved better #izzy hands #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers

[cannibalsandplaid]

Stabbing something over and over helped.

#izzy deserved better #izzy hands #our flag means death

[googoogojob]

#stick figure #our flag means death #ed ofmd #ofmd #ofmd stede #stede bonnet #gentlebeard #blackbeard ofmd #edward teach #ofmd fanart #izzy hands #izzy deserved better #ofmd reverse bang 2023

[izzyhandslightofmylife]

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.

#izzy hands #izzy hands apologist #izzy canyon #our flag means death #ofmd finale #ofmd #izzy hands death #izzy deserved better #ofmd fanfic #i guess #ofmd canyon #con o'neill #tragedy #oh uh happy new year #ofmd meta

[queerfandomtrifecta]

How Izzy’s Death Could’ve Made Basic Storytelling Sense

Just to be clear, Izzy is my favorite and I wanted him to live more than anything. This isn’t about that, and that is NOT why I hated his death. Had it served the narrative in a way that made even the most basic storytelling sense, while I’d admittedly have been devastated in a different way (i.e. the character whose queerness was relegated to the subtext in s1 and as soon as it’s textual and his whole arc is that he’s killed, but that’s a whole separate post…), but at least there would’ve been a correctly crafted arc from a surface level narrative standpoint that ended in the death of my favorite character. But that’s not what this is about. It’s is about how the show could’ve actually made the death actually make sense and work effectively. (Also, if you want my unasked for thoughts on how most of the existing plot of s2 (minus 7-8) could’ve easily been adjusted to fix the narrative as a whole and keep Izzy alive, I wrote this)

But. For those in the fandom insisting that Izzy HAD to die, including DJenks who has said as such in interviews (for reasons I do not understand), from an objective developmental editor standpoint, this is what I think needed to change to make Izzy’s death serve the narrative, character arcs and dynamics, pacing, structure, and thematic elements correctly.

It’s about 2K words just so you know what you’re gonna get into. Spoilers under the cut.

Issue 1. Izzy’s relationship with the crew and how they truly became his family this season totally vanished during his death scene. The same crew who he protected from Ed during the later, worse parts of the Kraken phase. The crew who banded together to save his life by hiding him from/lying to Ed about it, and amputating his leg to save him. The crew he saved by crawling up those stairs during the storm, hobbling out into the rain with one leg and shooting Ed before he could shoot a cannon ball through the mast and kill them all. The crew who called him “our dick”. The crew that then banded together with Stede’s half of the crew to him the leg and the new unicorn (aka the figurehead of the ship). That crew didn’t cry a SINGLE tear when he died. What?? Fang sobbed most of episode one and really lost it when Izzy got shot. Where was that when he died?? Izzy’s last speech to Ricky had something along the lines of: piracy is about belonging/family. We are Good. (Forgive me, I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist). Izzy truly did find his family in the crew outside of Ed. That was absolutely fantastic, especially in the first four episodes and episode six. It VANISHED when he was dying and dead.

The fix: To make the death impactful, effective, or even to make it make sense on a very basic acting and writing level, the crew should’ve been utterly DEVASTATED. At least heartbreaking music and like 30 seconds of everyone breaking down and holding each other. At least some of them crying and holding each other in the background when he was dying. Come on.

Issue 2. Thematically speaking, is piracy Good or Bad? Again, Izzy tells Ricky that they (the pirates/his crew) are capital G Good. Yet Ed has spent a lot of time maintaining piracy is capital B Bad. He tells the urchins as such. Here’s some money that I never had, now you don’t have to be pirates. Don’t be pirates. He doesn’t want Stede to kill Ned Low in cold blood. Ed just doesn’t want to be a pirate. Even at the end AFTER Izzy dies telling Ed he’s with his family (implied that this is the crew) and they love Ed, Ed LEAVES THAT FAMILY AND LEAVES PIRACY IMMEDIATELY. We’re left with him and Stede watching the family Izzy swore was Good and loved Ed sail away because Ed thinks piracy is Bad. Which is it?? The death served nothing in convincing Ed he could be happy with his found family on the sea as Ed, not Blackbeard, so the dying words were pointless. The thematic elements are all over the place (for the whole season but that’s another post) and that needs changing to make the death scene make sense.

The fix: Izzy should’ve told him he sees he doesn’t want to pirate anymore, he’s glad he’s found love with Stede because Izzy isn’t going to make it, go run your fokkin’ inn, you twat (affectionate).

Issue 3. Izzy died of bad planning and bad luck. Why didn’t they take the gun from Ricky? Between Spanish Jackie, Izzy, and Jim, SOMEONE would’ve thought about it. If not those three, someone else would’ve, but come one. One if not all of those three would’ve known better. Yeah, Izzy happened to be standing in front of Ed and he got shot instead of him, but you’ve gotta be REALLY looking for that to even be aware it’s what happened. It wasn’t even on purpose unless Ed strategically placed himself behind Izzy (which I doubt was the intent). Izzy didn’t position himself protectively/take the bullet for anyone on purpose. It was just happenstance and you only notice it if you’re rewatching and hyper-analyzing everything (which a lot of us, me included, in the fandom do, but casual watchers don’t. It’s totally unclear as far as the surface level narrative goes) Any sort of “heroism” is not acknowledged, it’s barely even noticeable in the shot. If that was the intent, it HAD to be clearer and acknowledged by the characters so the audience would realize the stakes and repercussions of clear choices. As it is, I don’t think it was intentional. If Izzy HAS to die, it should truly have rounded out his arc in a way that CLEARLY changed the course of the scene, leaving him to protect people he’d put in danger at the end of s1. It didn’t. It just read as terrible planning to the point of it being out of character for more than one character, and bad luck.

The fix: Izzy should’ve saved someone. I personally don’t like the idea of it being Ed. I’s have rather he save Stede (Not really, but it’s better than Ed I guess) But really Izzy should’ve died saving the crew. The crew makes the most sense to me, narratively speaking. He’s their figurehead, he’s protected the Kraken Crew for months and they should’ve been fiercely loyal to him, he blames himself for what Ed did to them (more on this later) so it makes sense for him to fiercely protect his crew. His family. Who should’ve been devastated that it happened because Izzy is the one character of the main three who’s managed to earn that status this season.

Issue 4. The death did not serve to move the plot along. There are literally zero things that would’ve been different for the end of the episode, save Izzy being alive and on the Revenge in his rightful role he earned with his crew as the captain, if he’d have lived. Ed and Stede aren’t partnering with Zheng to go after the guy who killed him in the next season. Nope. They got the offer but nah. They’re running an Inn. Which Izzy would’ve supported based on literally everything we’ve seen from him in episodes 5-8. The crew who Izzy protected fiercely and who viewed him as their leader? Not one tear during his death or the the funeral. Happily sailing away to do presumably more Muppet Treasure Island hijinks. No character development happened. No plot development happened. The season could’ve ended literally the EXACT SAME WAY with Izzy alive aboard the Revenge!!! No stakes were changed at all. No one was impacted enough for it to seem like it was even going to be a plot obstacle next season. It just happened, Izzy’s toxic situationship who maimed him multiple times over the course of months to the point of his leg needing to be amputated was sad for one (1) scene, then we moved on and did not seem sad at all at the funeral. What.

The fix: The plot should’ve been driven by the death. Ed and Stede (but especially Ed), and DEFINITELY the crew should’ve been sailing off plotting to avenge the death and defend piracy against Ricky and the British, especially with Zheng who lost her whole fleet. Ricky and the British are clearly (or so I hope, nothing’s clear here anymore tbh) the primary antagonist for the theoretical third season. No one should be running an whim-based inn for fun or sailing off happily into the sunset after the death of the most major character aside from Ed and Stede, who beyond proved himself a major part of something every character (his family) should’ve cared about this season. If he HAD to die, that death should have furthered the plot. But instead, it seems everyone shrugged it off with tears exclusively from Ed.

Issue 5. Izzy got shot in the left side. The side in which canonically NO ONE DOES FROM BEING INJURED ON IN THE OFMD UNIVERSE.

The fix: Yeah I know this is just too nit-picky but it was also just SO sloppy. Like just shoot him on the other side if he has to die, because this was a very memorable plot point more than once in s1. Like, come on y’all.

Disclaimer: Issues/fixes 1-5 would all need to happen together to truly fix it and make the death serve the narrative correctly. Issue/fix 6 is a totally separate route, which I personally hate, but at least the narrative would’ve made sense this way.

Issue 6. The idea that Izzy had to die so that Ed could be free of Blackbeard makes no sense at this point in the story. Ed already threw away his leathers and gave away his treasure to symbolically get rid of Blackbeard, and Izzy very sweetly encouraged him to follow the feeling that throwing out the leathers gave him. Izzy told Stede that he and Ed were good for each other. They balance each other out. Izzy is on good terms with both of them and their relationship, so Izzy “having to die” so Ed could flourish as Ed genuinely makes no sense and came totally out of left field.

The fix for 6: This one stands alone and is my absolute least favorite option, but if it HAD to happen without the 1-5 fixes, here’s how it could’ve made sense. If THIS is truly the way it was going to end, Izzy needed to be continuously antagonistic or avoidant to at least Ed and actually be shown holding Ed back from happiness until that last second. He wasn’t. He was so much better. Izzy clearly does blame himself (that’s for a separate post because I have lots of thoughts there) but to be fair they were both abusive in that relationship, for years it seems. Although I think by the beginning of s2, the power dynamic has clearly flipped and it was Ed who was doing most of it and Izzy was exhausted and knowingly “reaping what he’d sewed” (I don’t Blame Izzy for his abuse but I think this was his mindset) so the crew wouldn’t get the brunt of it.

If he seriously HAD to die because the writers just had to have it that way, those are the changes I think would’ve made the narrative work/make sense, served all the character arcs and dynamics correctly, and actually driven the plot as fictional deaths are supposed to, compelling things into a third season. Seriously, this season finale was a mess of baffling choices the most series finale season finale I’ve ever seen.

Anyway. There’s my unsolicited two-cents. Now back to hoping Izzy’s in the gravy basket waiting to be sea witch necromancied back by seagull Buttons in season 3. I love this show and I hate hating what I hate hating about it because it’s my absolute favorite and I can’t stand it because it’s fantastic and the worst thing I’ve ever seen. (Also, Izzy should’ve lived).

#ofmd spoilers #izzy hands #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #ofmd season 2 spoilers #ofmd meta #izzy my beloved #izzy deserved better #we deserved better #eyyyy djenks if you need a dev editor for s3 just hmu #david jenkins #ed teach #stede fucking bonnet #stede bonnet

[fishhuh]

What feels most insulting about being told that Izzys death made sense or was an appropriate end to his arc is the fact that it essentially disregards every reason we are upset about how his character was portrayed and sums it up to us just being upset that our favorite character died.

Because it's not that. I mean yeah, we are upset he died, but specifically it's not only how he died, but how the show handled it. Izzy was not just some lovesick puppy pining for Ed, and he was not some hard ass asshole forcing Ed to do the things he did. He was a survivor. A survivor of Ed's abuse, of betrayal, of love that morphed into a desperate attachment to a man who gave him so little when Izzy was the very thing keeping his world still spinning.

Izzy was important to people because of this, and so much more. He represented healing, self acceptance, growth, love. To see a character who was beaten down and thrown away for so long get to see a glimpse of what it was like to actually be his own person, to be cared about and see family in someone who didn't hurt him, only for him to be killed by something that every other character in the show never would have been killed from. Every other character time and time again got to survive what would have logically killed them, and yet Izzy dies from being shot in a scene you only see for a few seconds. Because it's clear to me that the whole time, he was always meant to die. And that's the problem.

The way Izzy's place is Ed's life was written almost paints him as being at fault for his abuse. He tells Ed he "fed his darkness" as if that puts him at fault for Ed literally physically abusing and mutilating him. He is treated as nothing more than a plot device to further Ed's path to happiness. A survivor of abuse dies so his abuser can move forward and heal. Izzy sits rotting in the dirt under the very home Ed gives Stede the love Izzy so desperately wanted.

I also think boiling Izzy's character down to him having an unrequited love for Edward brushes over the reason Ed is so important to him. Izzy forged his entire self around Blackbeard. He was nothing without him. He loved him and saw him as family and Edward didn't give him the time of day. He sacrificed so much of himself so Blackbeard could thrive, and what did he get in return? When Izzy realized he saw the crew as family, that was a very big moment for his character. He finally realizes that he is loved. And then at his funeral, we get all these reactions to his death from the crew that are just so out of character. The whole season was about how the crew was becoming accepting and loving of izzy and literally protecting him and then when he dies they just, what go off and seemingly forget about him?

Izzy deserved better. And we aren't mad because he died, we are mad because such an important piece of representation for so many people was so blatantly thrown away and disrespected.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #izzy hands #con o'neill #edward teach #blackbeard #taika waititi #my posts #izzy deserved better

[frooogscream]

At least MY babygirl died a dramatic death with the actor being the fucking highlight of the season! YOUR babygirl (+her entire show) got canceled because the actor didn’t want to bother playing her anymore *laughing, in tears*

Is this post making me evil? Have I officially become the villain now? Is this what you’ve done to me, David? Are you happy now?

But why is anybody surprised, Taika said months ago, he’d be leaving: https://consequence.net/2023/11/our-flag-means-death-season-3-taika-waititi/

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #our flag means death #ofmd s3 #izzy hands #ofmd 2 #izzy deserved better #ofmd izzy #ofmd edward teach #taika waititi #when that interview of him dropped I knew this was the end #con oneill #con o'neill #Con was the best thing about this show and I stand by that #ofmd season 2 #edward teach #ed teach #izzy death #david jenkins

[youwearlavenderwell]

there's so much bts ofmd content that i should be obsessing over but i don't care about any of it. when izzy died so did my hyperfixation

#i feel nothing for a show that once was a huge reason to keep living #ofmd #izzy hands #ofmd critical #izzy ofmd #izzy deserved better #and so did we #mine

[ratlover7]

erm! Unpopular opinion!! I think that ofmd season two is awful and that said season made Edward genuinely evil and irredeemable and the fandom is really horrible sometimes

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #blackbeard #edward teach #stede bonnet #izzy hands #izzy deserved better