Great Minds And All That.

Great minds and all that.

Izzy should've lost an arm instead of a leg so that they could just call him Izzy Hand

Man, I think about that first beach kiss in Season 1 and how everyone said it was awkward and uncomfortable (it was, but damn there were a lot of claims about the actors being homophobic or some shit because of that). That kiss was REFLECTIVE OF THOSE TWO MEN AT THAT MOMENT. Stede had never kissed another man. Ed had probably never kissed another man he was really in love with. Ed surprised Stede, and he definitely wasn't 100% certain how it would be received. Fuck, Stede didn't know he was gay. He may not have known what gay is. He just knew that he was "different" and that his difference wasn't acceptable to a lot of other people. And suddenly he discovers what his feelings mean and what that difference is and he's doing it while also working through a shit-ton of complicated emotions about this one particular man? Of course the goddamn kiss was awkward; they didn't know what they were doing.

And then their second kiss is the one in the moonlight? Stede has worked through all those issues of difference; he's accepted that he's gay, he's embraced that he's gay and that he's in love with Ed, and what's more, that he wants Ed. He's had months to do it and probably also to maybe come to terms with the fact that he doesn't just love Ed, he wants to have sex with Ed. (When, I ask, has this repressed man in a loveless marriage likely felt defined sexual desire for someone before? And now he's quite obviously have sexual fantasies about this man and keeping his crewmates awake at night?)

Ed has gone through a suicidal spiral, hurt a lot of people that he does actually care about (and a bunch more besides), nearly died, woke up to find the man he thought had abandoned him sobbing at his bedside, decided to open his heart to that man again, amassed a ton of guilt and horror at his own behavior, and has no idea who he is at the moment except that if he goes back to being "Blackbeard," he's probably going to die.

After a day of peace and fun (pirate-style), they get to be alone together, really for the first time since Ed woke up (since they spent most of that day at Mary and Annie's, getting Virginia Woolf'd). But it's not awkward. They haven't fallen right back into their old pattern of being uncertain about their own feelings or about the other guy's feelings. They're both way more confident about their relationship and where it's going.

Stede deepens that kiss because he's been pining for literal months and now he's got Ed back. Ed's very much not ready to go further than a kiss, but he's obviously happier, and Stede is ready and willing to meet him where he's at. But, like, man, that's their second kiss. Like their first, it very much expresses where they both are - it's open, and it's tender, and, yeah, it's sexual in a way that the first one wasn't because they're moving towards that in their relationship.

I hope we get to see more casually intimate relationship things with them in the next season, when they've actually been together for longer and open with each other for longer, but I really love how this season builds on everything that the first one established. Of course their first kiss is awkward and of course their second one reflects how they've both changed, separately and now together. Then their third kiss is all desperation and longing and desire to feel alive (don't get me started on how Ed nearly died and Stede just killed someone and they both want to feel each other's heartbeats, dang it).

A lot of romantic comedies and dramas just treat the various kisses as stepping stones to the next point in the relationship, but the situations and characters developed in this silly gay pirate show how very complex and messy relationships are, and each kiss reflects that complexity and messiness. They're not stepping stones; they're reflections of what the characters already know and feel for each other.

10/10, David Jenkins and directors and actors, et al.

☝️😐🪑💥🥀

This is how you know Twitter is the Bad Place. No way Izzy Hands is in the top 2. My mans was a mid character at best.

That bitch LITERALLY bottled his feelings up and threw them into the sea!

stede 'Bottling it up is the worst thing you can do' bonnet, captain of the 'Talk it through' crew and proud two-time gold medalist at the Not Following Your Own Advice olympics

looking back, i'm still really happy with izzy's death. a lot of different opinions have been floating around and, hey, this is mine. hell, his death is one of the main reasons i love this season so much

because season 2 is about ed reclaiming his own identity. he has to become the worst version of blackbeard in order to eventually become the best version of ed. ever since the very beginning he's been yearning for blackbeard's death. yet "blackbeard" isn't just ed's dark side-- it's a two-man-team with ed as the face and izzy holding the reins

in his final moments, izzy admits that he saw the façade of "blackbeard" as a shelter for his relationship with ed. a place where he was guaranteed to have control, where someone would always need him. he did everything in his power to protect "blackbeard" so that nothing could get in between what he had with ed

but "blackbeard" was always a ticking time bomb. not only did izzy not listen to ed, he didn't let ed listen to his own self. he used ed's weaknesses to serve his own interests. it was just a loop of izzy hurting ed and ed hurting him back, but izzy desperately needed to maintain this. it was all he had

and here's my favorite detail in this scene: right after he says this line is when stede comes back on deck. the weird fancy man who came out of nowhere and freed ed from the shackles of "blackbeard", who inadvertently destroyed izzy's world, silently walks in the background as izzy says:

he sees it now. as he told stede at jackie'z, he sees that stede is good for ed and that they balance each other out. he sees that loving stede is the best thing that's happened to ed. the darkness in ed that created "blackbeard" died during the storm and ed slowly started finding himself thanks to stede. sure, their relationship is awkward, but it's looking promising. izzy doesn't have a "blackbeard" to guard or to guide anymore. as he lets death drag him away, he's happy to take the last bit of "blackbeard" with him so ed can be completely free. having received so much love from his new family aboard the revenge, izzy is able to give ed and stede his blessing. it's a beautiful declaration of acceptance, repentance and encouragement

izzy, as a character, serves ed, who himself isn't even the main protagonist. for a supporting character to have an entire season build up to his death, all while allowing him to grow into the most comfortable and confident man he's ever been... getting to have closure and make amends... in my opinion, that's the greatest honor