The season finale of Our Flag Means Death has left many of us devastated. But as Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) taught us, we need to talk it through as a crew.
***This article contains major spoilers for Our Flag Means Death season 2***
For many, this was the season everyone came around to the dark side and fell in love with Izzy Hands (Con O’Neill). Welcome, we love to have you here. Some fans fell in love with the angry king during the first season and have loved seeing his growth in the second season. (It’s me, I’m that fan.) He confessed his love to Blackbeard/Ed (Taika Waititi)! His leg was amputated after Blackbeard shot him! Even though he was a drunken mess, the crew pulled him out of his stupor with a new leg and dubbed him their unicorn. Our man Izzy sang to the crew in stunning makeup. And we had more than one thirst trap moment. It was all so beautiful.
Then along came episode 8, “Mermen,” to completely wreck us. Izzy talks to Richard Banes about what it means to be a pirate. He gave a wonderful speech about giving up your ego for something bigger than yourself—the crew. We knew you had a giant heart underneath all of that leather.
When the pirates escape the British and run towards the ship, Izzy gets shot. They get him on deck but the bleeding is too much, and he is fading. Ed tells Izzy he can’t die because he is his only family. Izzy replies that Ed should just be Ed and that the crew is his family. “Blackbeard” was really the darkness created between Izzy and Ed. And then our wonderfully gruff pirate was gone. The crew buried him near a house where Ed and Stede settled. In the last scene of the episode, of the season, we see Izzy’s grave marker. A seagull (Buttons, is that you??) lands on it to pay its respects to the great man.
R.I.P. King
Saying I am devastated over Izzy’s passing is putting it lightly. I am one of those fans who form deep connections to their favorite fictional characters, and it feels like a deep personal loss when they die. But looking at Izzy’s arch over the season, it makes sense to end it this way. The first episode started with Stede dreaming he was killing Izzy (and this show loves parallels). On the Revenge, Izzy’s world was falling apart at the hands of his beloved Blackbeard. When he finally stands up to the other man, Blackbeard shoots him. Izzy was so far down emotionally that he wanted to die. He tried to get the others to let him bleed out and he shot himself in the head.
When his attempts at ending his own life failed, Izzy tried to drink himself to death. The crew pulled him out of his spiral and gave him a new lease on life. And he enjoyed it, being himself and free like no other point in his life. With the end of the Golden Age of Piracy on the horizon, many can feel they need to move on with their lives. Unlike Ed and Stede, Izzy wouldn’t be happy doing anything else than pirating. It made sense that it was his time. He had a beautiful end to his story and greeted death with open arms surrounded by his family.
We will miss seeing you every week, Con O’Neill. Your performance as Izzy was nothing short of magical.
And who knows, maybe he’ll come back as a ghost in season 3.
(featured image: Max)
