#need s3 for more of this journey! please hbo

[iamadequate1]

OFMD S2, My Beloved

We need to stop tiptoeing around it! Stop with the "I liked it, but..." with every statement about S2. You can say the same thing about everything. It doesn't make you cool or better at enjoying media! You love people, animals, places, tasty food, twinkly holiday decorations, whatever!, but you don't preface all your statements "I like (thing), but (flaw)..." It's an exhausting human experience. It doesn't make you more intellectual to be cynical, and harassing those involved in show production to give some OOC "Emotions Are Not For Sharing" type soundbite to justify your terrible takes doesn't make you a quality warrior. There are things I didn't like in OFMD S2, but on the whole, what an experience! 2023 has been just a soul crushing experience, but here we have a sincere and joyful bright spot.

S2, just the payoffs, guys (gn)!! (I know I put S2 in the title, but this just turned into Ed/Stede, and I apologize for nothing.)

Remember this in 1x4??

Ed: Well, Blackbeard? What do you think? Do you concur? Stede: Me? Ed: I mean, you wanted to be Blackbeard. This is what it's like. (...) Uh oh, time's almost up. What're you gonna do? Stede: What? Ed: They're on us now. Time for a new idea, Stede. Stede: W-w-we talk. Ed: The crew's gonna die. Stede: I don't - have an idea. Ed: Hurry, you're going to lose all your men. It's all gonna be your fault. All of the men who trusted you. Stede: I don't know! Ed: All their blood's gonna be on your hands. It's going to be your fault! Stede: I don't know! Lucius: Time's up! Stede: I don't know what to do! Ed: Death it is.

It serves to show why Ed would want to give up Blackbeard, but also, payoff for S2 Stede! Half his crew is set to be executed, and he flawlessly whips out and carries out a rescue plan to save them, all while mourning the love of his life.

And Ed! Also in 1x4, we get the Treading Water speech.

We don't get the full effect of the life Ed wants to leave until 2x1-3. That life in 2x1-2 is the pirate life, only with fewer breaks. It harshly contrasts against Stede's life, and it was only theoretical in S1. We can see why Stede's Original Pirate Captain Style was so fascinating to Ed, and we can see why he fell so hard. In 2x3, we get the literal visual representation of a bright little goldfish Stede in Ed's dark life where he was waiting to drown.

It's soooo cute!

Ed knew first what was going on. In S1, Stede just did not know why he was so upset about Ed leaving on the "next adventure" or why he spent all night spying on Ed and Jack!

But in S2, he knows exactly why he's so upset for Ed dumping him to be a fisherman....

Oh wait, that's not a fun thing to revisit... backpedal.... end of S1, Stede finally realizes he's in love thanks to Mary the GOAT.

End of S2, he's confident in this love and knowing he's loved in return!

March 24, 2022 to October 5, 2023.... 560 days of speculation, and S2 gave us the softest reunion between these two!

And the callbacks! Ed always comes back to Stede.

In 1x7, Lucius dropped the revelation on Ed that his crush on that bizarre little man might be reciprocated, opening up all kinds of hope!

The payoff in S2, he gets the gentlest love confession from Stede.

Just the S1 gazes become sweeter when you know you get to follow the journey with them being comfortable with their affection to one another!

(The comparison between this gaze and a kiss is the whole reason I made this post...)

End of S1, Stede imagined just the domesticity of asking Ed about his day...

And he got to hear about Ed's day in S2 (featuring that homewrecking fish*), even getting a kiss out of it!

(* warning: post written between 2x7 and 2x8, and I was a bit too harsh on Ed in the end)

In 1x6, Ed had some manifesting skills with his "Stab me!" homoeroticism.

S2 Stede picked up some of his manifesting skills with his "Ed, oh, Ed!" dreams, and in 2x6....

Just after in 2x7, we get cute making-breakfast-for-your-SO like Mary and Doug in S1.

S1 showed how much they could hurt each other. Ed was so happy after Stede agreed (reluctantly) to run away with him to China.

And, well...

Ed hurt Stede, too... dumping him for Jack in front of everyone!

But end of S2, they're together! They're going to be working together on their relationship! They're in love!

Beautiful journey, and it isn't over yet! (S3 renewal announcement soon, HBO, please!)

And, I'm a simple creature. S2 also gave us the Cursed Red Suit and MerStede.

Bless you, OFMD S2. Both of these things made my life much brighter.

And how cute Ed and Stede were smiling at each other in the MerStede scene?

Just heartmeltingly cute. OFMD S2, I love everything about you.

🥰

This was Ed/Stede heavy, so I put up two bonus GIF posts just before this!

Roach:

LuPete:

Someone also posted a great Ed/Stede marriage visuals between S1 and S2 yesterday, too!

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd gifs #the greatest show #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #🥰 #ofmd s3 confirmation now plz #ofmd s2 is beautiful #i might have a stede bias #this show is my happy place #there is a 30 gif limit on tumblr posts #i cannot express my love for this show in 30 gifs #tumblr hates me specifically #i like it when a show takes me on a journey and i'm not mad at the destination #need s3 for more of this journey! please hbo #i spent christmas eve making gifs so i won the holiday #me and the free low quality gif maker on my phone are unstoppable #some of these gifs may exist but i made all the gifs on this post because it would look weird to put high quality gifs next to my gifs #the parallels!