Our Flag Means Death came into our lives with such heart, and when season 2 hit Max, we were gifted with Ruibo Qian’s performance as Zheng Yi Sao. One of the most successful pirates of her time, Qian’s performance truly is a masterclass and one of the best parts of the second season of the hit series.
In joining the cast, she brings us a character who recognizes that male pirates maybe don’t love a woman taking over their ship, and she is brilliant in the role. In my conversation with Qian about coming into the show with an established fanbase, she said that the experience with the cast and crew was a supportive learning experience.
“It was intimidating as hell,” she said. “I think I walked into it just with sheer terror at first because you’re the new kid in school and they’re these genius performers and comedians and improvisational actors and people I’ve looked up to for most of my career. And you’re walking in there like, ‘oh God, what do I know how to do this?’ But I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful cast and crew. Everyone there are the most loving, welcoming, supportive group of people. And it was brilliant. I learned so much. It was really an amazing learning process.”
When I asked about season 3 and what stories Qian would love to tell with Zheng Yi Sao in the future, especially with this cast of pirates, she left that up to series creator David Jenkins and his writers. “I personally relinquish all of that to David and the geniuses behind this whole thing because for me, I love this character and I am down for whatever they want her to do,” she said. I’m in, I’m in. That’s it.”
You can see our full conversation here:
Our Flag Means Death season 2 is on Max.
(featured image: Max)
