Spotify Wrapped Memes : @shadowcovcn ( Frenchie ) For Izzy # 66 61 Free By Florence + The Machine

🪐 — spotify wrapped memes : @shadowcovcn ( frenchie ) for izzy # 66 61 ▶ free by florence + the machine

❝ THIS IS HOW IT IS — how it's always been. ❞ they're alone in the captain's cabin, just the two of them, & izzy allows himself to watch frenchie's hands with open appraciation as they gracefully move over the strings of his lute. with the wedding fast approaching, the new captain & his first mate had a surprise performance to plan. & given all that they'd been through in recent weeks, it felt only right to celebrate their collective survival. a little strange, maybe, but somehow fitting. ❝ we exist in the face of suffering & death & somehow still keep singing. ❞

some a lot of thoughts re: stede in s2 & the most recent episode pair in particular : — expect spoilers if you keep reading ! —

stede as a character has been both very interesting & a bit infuriating to me this season, & i will likely extrapolate most of these points into a more organized meta at some point, but i just really wanted to talk about some parts of his arc that i am finding particularly compelling at the moment, with a strong focus on the most recent two episodes. so without further ado, let's dive into my thoughts :

stede has always been absolutely desperate to be a "proper" respected pirate — that has been his primary self-fulfillment desire since before he met ed. & that is how their dynamic begins in s1 — with ed teaching him how to be more fearsome & earn both fear & respect.

the goal of being a "proper" pirate is heavily tied up with what i think is one of the most obvious (if not the penultimate) themes of the show: masculinity. & masculinity, as understood by the vast majority of pirates around him & as it is framed in in stede's childhood trauma ("this is what a man's work looks like"), revolves around violence & specifically the ability to kill. this has been one of stede's primary struggles over the series — his (& ed's) unwillingness to kill, which he is told repeatedly is reflective of his inability to live up to the ideals of masculinity.

so now, as of the most recent two episodes, he has finally achieved his goal from the first season of being a feared pirate in his own right, with the citizens of the republic of pirates are singing his praises & literally ready to die for him. & he achieved this status by "wasting ned low." so he is finally living up to that masculine ideal — & being handsomely rewarded for it, socially speaking.

but what no one save the crew of the revenge knows is that stede didn't gain the upper hand on ned using violence — he beat him by talking it through with his crew, & asking "what if it weren't like that" in regards to the toxic vibe ned had created on his ship. ned low was NOT taken down by violence — his killing was extraneous & unnecessary in the sense that the victory had already been won.

i think that it's very telling that stede sees a flash of that same childhood trauma when he kills ned. & watching that scene, it's obvious that in the moment, he didn't like it, it didn't feel good to kill someone who he didn't need to. but what does feel good is the attention he is getting from the pirate community at large. he's a leo ass bitch who loves the glory, & loves feeling like he's finally fitting into society ("the gentleman pirate's the dude!" after setting a man on fire), but i think that he has forgotten that he originally went to sea to escape those kinds of pressures. but toxic masculinity ideals permeate all aspects of society, including piracy, & stede has a very externally-motivated sense of self worth. so when he is praised for killing a man, he leans into it.

& what stede doesn't realize is that his crew (& ed) like him because he doesn't fit that masculine ideal, because he has a different way of doing things. i don't think it's a coincidence that jim & olu (the heart of the crew) decide they want to leave to travel with zheng (following their hearts) as soon as stede starts being That Guy who's all about his big bad pirate reputation.

i also don't think it's a coincidence that stede gets his ass utterly beaten by zheng so shortly after killing ned low. i saw a post about this already, so apologies to the person who i am paraphrasing, but when stede killed ned & thus became a "real pirate," he left the world of muppetry low-stakes tom-foolery that exists on the revenge behind, & became an actual pirate whose actions have actual consequences. the reason that the muppet tricks he used to beat izzy in the duel in s1 didn't work on zheng is because he's a real boy now — & real boys can bleed.

& when we consider how this all plays against ed, who is finally finally finally realizing that he doesn't have to (or want to) live that way, we see some really interesting parallels. looking at their early s2 reunion fantasies, we can see a dramatic difference in how they see an "ideal" stede. in stede's, he has a beard, he is wearing no fine silks or decorative clothes, and he kills izzy without any sign of remorse. but in ed's, stede is just this magical beautiful being that ed feels safe with & like he can breathe around.

i think it would be really silly to say that stede is leaning into these masculinity ideals because of ed — this has always been about him & how own insecurities. but i do think there is an element of 'this is what ed wants me to be' happening in his thoughts, even as ed desperately tries to tell him, over & over again, that's not what he needs or wants from a partner, & not what he loves about stede.

& this brings us, finally, to their canonical 'first time.' which i must confess, i have some mixed feelings about as a stede writer. yes, they clearly both wanted it in the moment, there was consent given. yes, it was sweet & romantic & hot with the fireworks & the song & all. & while stede did just kinda grab ed & interrupt him (after he brought up his father no less), given how the morning after scene went (& the fact that ed's spiraling didn't appear to really start until later at the republic of pirates), i think we can assume it was still an overall good experience for them both. but i also think that stede was very much acting in the spur of the moment & without full awareness. he says to izzy in episode 5 that he is "better in the field" & that "i just sorta black out & my body takes over," & i think that's actually very true. i think there was an element of that "blacking out" happening to him in this moment. he was feeling a lot of emotions — not least of which was the adrenaline & fear from having watched ed be tortured & potentially killed, which can absolutely result in an intense need for physical closeness — & his body just took over. & while that reaction is realistic & understandable, i do still kinda wish that he would have just been in a little more of a stable mindset, a little more present when they finally had sex for the first time — especially given how 24 hours ago, ed had asked him to take it slow. i think they both deserved that much.

all this is made more poignant by the simple fact that stede's behavior while initiating their first time is textbook masculine behavior. use no words, grab your lover bodily, shove them against the wall, & kiss them silly. & that's all well & fine — amazing even if that's what ed wants ! but does he ? we don't know for sure, because stede didn't actually ask. & this is indicative of the much deeper issues at play in their relationship which come to a head in their split in ep. 7: if they truly understand not just who their partner is, but who they want to be. & they cannot figure that out together if stede doesn't even know it about himself yet.

& the simple fact that ed is actually doing a lot more than stede at the moment to redefine his sense of worth & act in a way that honors his emotional & self-fulfillment needs even if it's outside his comfort zone is really telling to me about how deeply stede is in denial with himself about who he really is & what he really wants at this moment. i mean, even izzy is doing a better job deconstructing his masculinity & finding his self confidence at this point in the series — izzy ! come on, stede, you're being lapped by the slow horsey !

in conclusion... stede get your shit together challenge ! we will wait to see how the finale goes, but i really hope that he can come to understand that... he doesn't have to be That Guy, if he doesn't want to be. he doesn't have to kill or live up to some standard of manhood in order to be worth something. he was fine before, when he was still kinda soft & frilly. he was loved ! he was good enough ! edward loved him before, just like he was. even his crew found family had come to love & rally behind him, just as he was. & if he doesn't start to understand that he was fine the way he was, & stop trying to force himself into this little masculinity box to please the rest of the world, then i think he is at serious risk of losing both ed & the crew.

🪐 — spotify wrapped memes : @walkpathe ( edward ) for izzy # 44 ▶ my limb by hayley williams

❝ IT'S FUNNY — ❞ izzy speaks the lie with bitter irony in his tone, both of them well aware that there is precious little humor to be found here. ❝ of the two of us, you always were the gentle one. ❞ over his long years spent as blackbeard's sword, izzy had always known that he might one day pay a heavy price for his devotion to the defense of their shared myth. he had accepted the potential cost to himself years ago, the price one he was more than willing to pay to keep them safe. but what he'd never expected was for the worst hurt he had endured by far to come from his captain's own hands. & despite his stubborn desire to ignore the loss, it seemed that a wound took twice as long to heal when it was inflicted by someone you loved. ❝ when we first met, you were like a shy little rabbit, teething on a shotgun. ❞ his phantom limb tingles with an itch that can no longer be scratched.

“You know, Jackie got feelings, too. Jackie is a person also.”

alright ! i've had a full 24+ hours to Process — which may have involved a bottle of prosecco ( i don't drink btw ) & going through a few waves of tears — & i'm here ready to talk about the finale. of.md spoilers below the cut, obviously !

some things i actually did like ( a short list ) :

the plot on paper. the beats of a good story were there but it was so rushed through & poorly executed that it just felt messy, unearned, slapped together.

ed thinking stede is dead & disassociating so hard he goes on a rampage & murders several of the soldiers in very sexy ways, ie: bayonet flip. also ed coming out of the ocean like aphrodite, ready to murder in his black leather. slay.

jim & archie kissing Like That before going to battle. also jim throwing knives from in the trees. very hot, powerful trans energy there, i really enjoyed it.

unfortunately everyone on the crew looked very sexy in stolen navy uniforms.

spanish "you best believe everyone in this household is poison trained" jackie.

zheng existing ( i would like to formally request a whole show about her )

stede yelling 'for love !' when attacking the british. romantic stede my beloved.

most of izzy's main dialogue — especially telling ricky that what really matters about piracy is belonging to something in a world that has told you that you are worth nothing. & yes, even most of of his conversation with ed. izzy telling him it's ok to just be ed ? killed me. & blackbeard was both of us ? don't even. i did want him to apologize to ed properly & am still glad that he did but be careful what you ask your god for am i right.

the final panning shot of the crew on the revenge. beautiful shot despite it all.

issues i had ( a longer list ) :

the editing ? why so many harsh cuts ? the way it was spliced together only contributed to the chaotic & disjointed feeling. & of course, the pacing. i think these two issues are connected & probably not the fault of the writers themselves. the show clearly really needed all 10 episodes to do what it really wanted to do, & this finale is just begging for that lost hour of screentime.

it wasn't even a good fuckery lol.

i wish lucius & pete's wedding had been... idk, just more. something more akin to calypso's birthday, a proper celebration for them. i also wish they would have given an indication they're still poly. "i now pronounce you mateys" was good tho.

ed apologizing & saying i love you & stede not doing either one in return. stede not being sappy in his irl fantasy ? impossible, im really confused by that choice.

0 resolution for stede's entire arc ? 0 indication of self reflection on his part ? & thus no resolution for the primary conflict of the show's central relationship ? they didn't even talk about their future, it just cut to them standing there & stede saying "so i guess we're innkeepers now" as if that's all he would have had to say about that ? i know that this show handwaves away a lot of things, like travel times & the realities of sailing, but i thought the story was literally about this relationship, & we don't get to see them decide on what their future together will look like. it's framed as stede just kinda going along with ed's latest whim ( since you know, they've always worked out soooo well for him in the past ) even though it's the exact opposite of what he's been moving towards personally lately, all without even saying a word about it ? i'm not even saying that i don't like this ending, but it just again felt so unearned.

very little actual resolution for ed's arc. his whole deal this season was about deciding who he wants to be, but he flip flops every time something doesn't go his way & the episode gave us no reason to think that would be different now with their inn. also he just killed a bunch of soldiers after having serious trauma surrounding the act of killing throughout the entire series, but i guess we're just supposed to believe that's ok, he's totally fine, he's an innkeeper now ! (will say more on this topic in the final section.)

poly things not being handled well or outright forgotten about. like olu / jim / archie / zheng has all the potential in the world for a beautiful poly love story & we barely got to see them interact together at all. & to think i was all :eyes: when izzy was dubbed the unicorn because i actually thought for a few episodes there that they might be doing the same thing for polyamory in s2 that they had done for queerness in s1, showing the audience that it's ok to see ourselves in stories & not just on the fringes, we're not stupid or freaks reading into something that isn't there. but turns out, it wasn't there, & i was the freak & the clown all along. live & learn.

the elephant in the room ( rip izzy you beautiful freak ) :

here's the thing. obviously i was never going to be happy that they killed my most favoritest old man. the fact that he's dead just when he found something real to live for is literally heartbreaking to me. but i could have swallowed it as a natural & important part of the narrative if one small thing was done differently: izzy could have had an actual sacrifice. & not for ed, but for the crew. after his speech about living for the crew, him choosing to act in a way that compromised his safety but earned their freedom would have felt like a completion of his arc. but instead it was a stray bullet to the left side which he earned in stede's so-called suicide mission ( don't even get me started on that line given where izzy started this season ), an injury which the show has told us previously is 100% survivable.

in the crew sacrifice scenario izzy could have acted as the symbol of piracy itself, a way of life that is dying. he is, after all, The Pirate (aside from blackbeard himself) on the show. & he has a history of letting shit slide that kinda doesn't align with the way of life they're trying to build on the revenge, not just in s1 but also in the scene with lucius in s2 ("& you? are you happy with all this?" "well, this is a pirate ship, & i'm a pirate so... yeah, i'm good with it.") ricky says they are at "the end of piracy" & izzy is the last REAL pirate (including ed because at this point as he is moving away from that life). & as izzy himself says in s1, "the only retirement we get is death." izzy also shows pretty intense self-preservation, & most of his shitty actions in s1 are motivated by often misplaced survival instincts, ("i'm not dying. not for you & not for that ponce,") so having him go against this longstanding character trait to protect the crew would have felt earned after his dramatic growth. it could have worked. it still would have hurt, but it could have worked.

instead, the way it is actually framed, the narrative actively robs izzy of this symbolism & instead makes his death entirely about ed & ed's relationship to piracy. having him die in a random incident & then having his death scene be followed up by ed finally "officially" (for the third time) giving up piracy honestly flattens everything i find interesting about them as characters & their dynamic to each other.

ed & izzy have very clearly been in clearly a mutually toxic codependent relationship (platonic or otherwise) for decades, but the framing of izzy's death being the only thing that can free ed from piracy (& blackbeard) turns izzy from a complex character of his own into a 2-dimensional plot device. & if izzy truly couldn't exist without blackbeard, then it would make sense — but we've just seen that he can, actually ! that he is a person outside of that relationship, despite what he himself thought for most of his life ! that they can both exist outside of them, & there is a very real possibility that neither of them actually need blackbeard anymore. so instead his death feels cruel to me. & because we know this is the show where injuries simply don't matter unless we need them to, we know that this was a conscious choice, that the writers genuinely felt he had to die for the story (ed's story) to continue.

& you know, that's fair on some level. he's the lead after all. but i also think this framing is actually kind of reductive to ed's character ! i don't write ed, but part of what makes him so compelling to me is that he is... kinda a "bad person," but he wants to be better. he's extremely complex. he has trauma & big feelings & he doesn't always act on them in the right way. & he feels guilt & remorse — he knows he has done wrong in the past & wants to be better, even if he doesn't always know how. & izzy has admittedly been an obstacle to him reaching that end in the past, but to frame it as if ed's actions were because of izzy, & actually izzy was making ed be blackbeard & manipulating him into doing bad things that he didn't really want to do, then i guess now that izzy is dead ed is free to skip off into the sunset happily ever after with his man ! the bad influence in his life finally gone, so he is all healed ! never mind that his most recent return to piracy & killing spree as blackbeard had literally nothing to do with izzy & everything to do with thinking he'd lost stede again. never mind that ed's trauma has its roots in things that happened to him before izzy (his father) & things that also happened to izzy (hornigold). nope, izzy was the real shackle all along. he has to die so ed can be free, & he only ever existed solely to develop ed's pain. that's what this narrative feels like. & i just... don't like the taste of it on any level. izzy says himself that blackbeard was both of them. so why does izzy have to die while ed gets to move on, given they both have shown the capacity to do so ?

the bit that i think i like least about how it's executed is izzy saying "i want to go," especially considering how he & ed are both shown to be actively suicidal in the opening of the season, & he has since started to regain his self confidence from that lowest point. & maybe that line could be read as him just trying to soothe ed in the moment, but idk, it rubbed me the wrong way for him to say he still wanted to die when in fact he had just found something he actually wanted to live for.

so ! i think that's all i have to say about that ! if you've made it this far, thanks for reading ! i'll be working today on writing up a basic canon divergence for both stede & izzy, since i don't like how either of them ended the season out. sorry, but stede's simply not ready to give up pirating just yet, even for ed. & in my head, izzy is fine because he was shot on the left side & "science" tells us there's nothing important in that half of the body anyway. : )

COURTNEY EATON as LOTTIE MATTHEWS YELLOWJACKETS | S01E10, Sic Transit Gloria Mundi