In case you’ve been living under a rock, Our Flag Means Death is a runaway success. Max’s new smash hit loosely follows the true story of Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) (no, that’s not a misprint of Steve), a pampered aristocrat in 17th-century Barbados, who starts suffering his midlife crisis in his mid-twenties (lifespans were shorter back then, after all), and abruptly ditches his plantation, his family, and his former life … all to live out his dream of becoming a pirate king.
The only problem is that Stede sucks at pirating. Like, really sucks. He has no sailing experience, no one on his crew takes him seriously, and, oh yeah, he has a weak stomach for blood. He’s about the person least suited to being a pirate in the world.
But everything changes when he meets the legendary pilot Blackbeard, aka Edward Teach (Taika Waititi), who arrives on the scene. The two merge their crews – and eventually, their hearts, as the fearsome Blackbeard falls for the softest pirate on the seas.
What Makes Our Flag Means Death So Good?
If you couldn’t tell from the premise alone, this is a hilarious and heartwarming story, and the fact that it’s loosely based on true events makes it that much better. The inherent comedy of a show centered around a pirate who can’t quite pirate is already a very strong start, but it’s only improved by the writing and directing choices. The comedic timing is incredible, and the show, rather than attempting to be a serious pirate drama, leans into the inherent silliness of Stede’s real-life choices.
One hilarious and often-underrated facet of this work is the lack of period-typical dialogue. The characters speak in a thoroughly 21st-century cadence, disregarding the 17th-century setting of the show entirely – with side-splitting results.
Another of the funniest parts of the show is Blackbeard’s henchman Israel “Izzy” Hands (Con O’Neill). He’s every bit the ruthless pirate that you would expect from this sort of era and setting. Too bad for him that this is decidedly not the gritty drama that he thinks he’s in, and the contrast between Izzy’s darker and bloodthirstier side and the tone of the actual show is played for all the comedy it can muster.
Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby in ‘Our Flag Means Death’
A Welcome Mixture of Tones
However, every comedy must have some serious moments to back it up – and in this department, Our Flag Means Death excels as well. Stede and Blackbeard’s romance is sweet, well-developed, and earnest. The fact that they’re in a relationship is never commented on as unusual, but this isn’t rewriting history to make it more inclusive – historically, the high seas were seen as a haven for homosexuality, and Blackbeard and Stede were truly close in real life (though we don’t know how close, exactly, they were). The story delivers excellent drama beats when necessary, and the action scenes, while intentionally goofy, are still thrilling.
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It’s an often-said phrase that as adults age, they must give up what made childhood fun. And there’s some element of truth to that – the world is a far more troubling place than you thought it was as a kid. Piracy (the high seas version of piracy, not you acquiring digital media through less-than-legal means) was a nasty, brutish affair, something that the many, many beloved works aimed at children featuring pirates fail to showcase (by design). But those other works, the children’s shows about pirates, are mostly operating in a heteronormative framework.
Our Flag Means Death is a child’s fantasy of the Golden Age of Pirates, but it’s a fantasy for those little boys who grew up to like other boys. It’s the childhood adventure they never quite got to experience.
Our Flag Means Death is streaming now on Max.
