Our Flag Means Death Review

Our Flag Means Death is a MAX original, featuring Rhys Darby as a pampered aristocrat, named Stede Bonnet, who abandons his fancy life to become a pirate. During Captain Stede’s adventures with his not so feared crewmates Lucius, Oluwande, Jim, Wee John, Frenchie, Swede, buttons, and roach, they join up with the feared Blackbeard, played by Taika Waititi.

Many of the shows characters are LGBTQ+, especially the two main captains Stede and Blackbeard. Jim, played by Vico Ortiz, is non-binary and transitioned throughout the show. Vico Ortiz is also non-binary, and uses they/them just like Jim. Lucius, played by Nathan Foad, and Black Pete, played by Matthew Maher, are seen together on the show as a couple. Lucius and Black Pete are a very casual couple, they’re not shown getting together for the first time, but are instead shown together as if they were together the whole time. Wee John played by Kristian Nairn, goes on the show in drag for one of the season two episodes. This show truly embraces queerness in every episode.

Our flag means death is a very sweet found family type of show. The crew is just so connected with each other and they act so natural like they’ve been friends for years. Even when Blackbeard joins in after a few episodes, him and Stede become best friends almost instantly. Olu and Jim have great chemistry as well, those two have been friends for years and they certainly act it. Fang and Ivan, two pirates from Blackbeard’s crew, are probably the ones with the best relationship dating or not. When fang was talking about how Blackbeard told him to put his dog down Ivan was there to comfort him and say things such as he was in doggie heaven. Jackie has a good relationship to her 12 husbands and it shows in the 2nd season. Karl the seagull and buttons, they are the silliest together, though I do miss them.

Izzy Hands is the WORST character but unfortunately he is apart of the pirate family. Izzy is the reason why the season finally for the first season was so upsetting, but then again unfortunately he kind of carries the plot of the show. He is the reason why the plot isn’t just happy fun times which goes with a pirate show. Without Izzy, Stede and Blackbeard probably wouldn’t have met, and if Izzy didn’t get the British army to put Stede in jail, Stede wouldn’t get that closer with his ex-wife. Some might say that Izzy shouldn’t be in the show, but unfortunately he’s not going anywhere anytime soon and maybe, just maybe that’s a good thing.