Our Flag Means Death season 2 episodes 1, 2, and 3 recaps & review

Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death follows Stede and Blackbeard as they try to find their way back to each other as new threats roam the oceans. The episodes are streaming on Max.

Episode 1 recap: Impossible Birds

Stede dreams of being reunited with Ed but wakes up packed in a room with his fellow crewmates. He goes outside and writes a letter to Ed hoping it will find him somehow.

In the letter, he informs Ed that he and his men are on Pirate Island, working for Spanish Jackie and trying to save enough to buy themselves a ship. Oluwande’s connection to Jackie helped them strike a deal, as did Jackie’s fascination with the Swede.

Meanwhile, Ed and his crew have been raiding ships and killing people mercilessly every day and the crew is starting to feel the effects of all the bloodshed. Stede and Oluwande head over to a soup shop run by Susie and her auntie while they discuss their current situation.

Izzy tells Ed that the atmosphere on the ship is getting quite toxic but Ed doesn’t care. He tells them to get rid of some of the treasure so that they can lighten their load and catch up to their next target.

Some of them point out how it doesn’t make sense and some even comfort Izzy because he’s in a toxic relationship with Ed who treats him horribly. Jackie steals all of Stede’s savings and they decide to leave that place.

Another patron tells Stede about a valuable chest that Jackie recently acquired so Stede and his men make a plan to rob it. They formulate a plan with the Swede’s help.

Izzy tries to get Ed to see reason but Ed lashes out at him. He confronts his crew up on deck and interrogates them about the mood on the ship until Izzy mentions Stede’s name. Ed shoots Izzy and then promotes Frenchie to first mate, his first order being to finish the job and get rid of Izzy.

Stede and his men reveal that the chest has indigo dye within it, but Jackie catches up to them. Before she can punish them, however, Susie shows up and pays off Jackie for the chest, as well as Stede and his men.

The men wonder aloud who just saved them and Susie is introduced as the Pirate Queen Zheng Yi Sao. Ed tells Frenchie that going forward, he’s never going back to land and the plan is to roam the seas forever until their end.

Episode 2 recap: Red Flags

Ed is slowly losing his mind while Stede longs for him aboard the pirate queen’s ship. They are awoken early and taught the ways of the ship after a warm greeting from everyone.

They are introduced to the only other man on the ship, who turns out to be Lucius. He has seen a lot since he was thrown off the ship by Ed but he doesn’t reveal all of it to the others.

Zheng’s auntie thinks Buttons is the reincarnation of a sea witch and he decides to play along. Ed congratulates Frenchie on doing a good job getting rid of Izzy, but the truth is that they kept him alive and hidden in one of the secret rooms aboard the ship.

Jim and Archie are keeping watch over him and contemplate chopping off his leg since it is infected. Lucius is angry with Stede because it’s entirely his fault that Lucius had to go through everything he has.

Stede tells Lucius to talk to Black Pete about some of what he’s been through instead of bottling it up. Ed knows that Frenchie is lying to him and goes down to the room where Izzy is being kept.

He sends everyone else out and hands Izzy a gun so that he can kill Ed. Izzy refuses to do it and after Ed leaves the room, kills himself. Jim and Archie kiss after Archie says that she finds Jim interesting.

Zheng has a crush on Oluwande but Auntie warns her that he’s an oaf who won’t do her any good. Ed forgives Frenchie and gives him and the crew the rest of the day off while he takes the wheel. He steers them straight into a terrible storm so that he can sail to his death.

They try to talk sense into him but he doesn’t listen to reason. He is about to end all of them but Izzy turns up and shoots Ed. He tried to kill himself earlier but he missed because he was too weak to hold the gun properly.

The crew overpowers Ed as the ship is caught right in the middle of the storm with no way to escape. They decide to kill him and put an end to his misery.

Episode 3 recap: The Innkeeper

Zheng and her crew are performing a raid on another pirate ship and she meets with the captain of that ship to discuss an alliance. They later run into a ship and it is revealed to be “The Revenge”.

As soon as he hears that name, Stede rushes out and swims over. He comes across the crew down in his cabin devouring a seagull. Stede wants to know what happened to Ed and they all say that he retired.

Zheng wants to see what they’re all about but her aunt wants to execute them because she is certain that they mutinied against Ed. Ed wakes up on a beach and is found by someone who drags him away.

He comes too and asks the man if they did something to him but they say that they’re just trying to take care of him. When they come closer, Ed realizes that it is his old captain Benjamin Hornigold and he squirms in fear.

Auntie decides to investigate the ship while Stede tries to get to the bottom of Ed’s fate. Jim and Oluwande are reunited and Jim says that they kissed Archie but felt awkward about it.

Stede asks Izzy about what really happened to Ed and Izzy says that they deserted him on a beach after he went crazy and made their lives miserable. He tells Stede that if Zheng finds out they mutinied, she will be forced to kill them according to the pirate code.

Zheng checks in on Stede while Stede attempts to convince her that sparing his old crew is the best option. Ed and his old captain discuss their past while Ed also talks about his dream of starting an inn.

Hornigold gets on his nerves so Ed kills him, but he gets right back up. Auntie comes into Zheng’s cabin and says that she found the proof she was looking for. Ed’s lifeless body lays in the secret cabin where Izzy was hiding, and the crew is put into the brig.

Ed realizes that he’s in purgatory and that it is his choice whether he clings to life or lets go. Zheng asks Oluwande how he would feel if she executed his old friends, as well as Jim. She seduces him before they start making out.

Stede decides to break everyone out and take back their ship, Auntie realizes just as they’re almost out and rings the alarm. Zheng rushes out after asking Oluwande if he knew about the escape. Just as she leaves, Jim shows up to get Oluwande and run.

Ed concludes that Hornigold is just a manifestation of his feelings and that he hates himself. He has to be vulnerable and accept that he is allowed to be loved so that he can join the living again.

The Revenge is getting away as Zheng is livid that Oluwande betrayed her. Stede goes down to Ed’s body and apologizes for not saying how he felt sooner. Ed begins to stir and Stede’s voice is just the motivation he needs to pull him back as he finally wakes up with Stede by his side.

Review

• This season of Our Flag Means Death is going all in on Stede and Ed’s romance and it is adorable. Watching them react differently to their separation is quite interesting.
• The jokes remain as clever as ever and the writing is top-notch. The humor, the mild drama, and the emotional sequences are all a joy to behold.
• There are some curious new characters introduced and it will be intriguing to see where their stories take them and how they affect this merry band of pirates.

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