Mermen is the eighth and final episode of the second season of Our Flag Means Death. It aired on October 26, 2023.
Synopsis[]
Stede, Zheng, Spanish Jackie and the rest of the Revenge crew team up to take down a nefarious common enemy threatening the world of piracy.
Plot[]
Edward narrates over peaceful music as he fishes from a rowboat. He admires the nature around him while a fisherman and his son unload their recent catch from another small boat. Ed clasps hands with them and "gives thanks to the spirits of the deep" for their meal, but in doing so, insults the fisherman multiple times, who slaps him to the ground and berates him for sitting around all day and and having no skills at fishing. Ed apologies and tries to make it up to the fisherman by serving the fish that's been cooking, only to drop it into the fire, which makes the fisherman irate again. He and his son shove off Ed's rowboat, calling after him to do whatever he was good at. Ed calls them dicks.
Meanwhile, the next morning has arrived at the Republic of Pirates, and Zheng's fleet is smoldering while Ricky Banes and an English Lieutenant walk through the rubble, congratulating themselves. Inside Spanish Jackie's, naval soldiers drunkenly sing Rule, Britannia! One of them pours their drink on Black Pete, who grudgingly offers to refill it. Roach taps cigarette ashes into a bowl he hands to Spanish Jackie, who delivers it to a table where Prince Ricky is happily drinking and singing along. Ricky thanks Jackie for "making me the man I am today," and asks to see his nose. Once the nose jar is brought to the table, he asks Jackie to retrieve it, and she unhappily begins digging. A fellow officer tells Ricky he should be worried about his drink being poisoned, but Ricky says he has a taster. Behind them, The Swede is being forced to drink by another soldier.
Outside the Republic, Zheng is sullen as she remembers Auntie, their crew, and her destroyed fleet. Stede, sitting with her, tries unsuccessfully to reassure her that it's alright to be a failure. They hear a group of people approaching and Stede hides, calling for Zheng to do the same, but she remains, unmoved. The English soldiers draw their swords on her, but Stede dives on them. They overpower him and threaten to take him to Ricky at Spanish Jackie's, but Zheng cuts them both down. She begins walking, now on her way "to skin a prince" and Stede follows, telling her they need a plan.
Ed, in his rowboat, has made it to The Republic of Pirates, only to see everything is rubble and smoke, screaming and gunfire. Shaken, he whispers, "Stede." A pair of soldiers tell him he's not allowed to fish here. A moment later, he's strangled both of them to death. He remembers the fisherman telling him to do what he was good at. Angrily, Ed agrees, and steps off the side of the boat. He swims, retrieves his discarded Blackbeard clothing, and rises from the ocean, donned in his leathers again.
Back at Spanish Jackie's, Ricky greets the prisoners being held behind bars, which includes the rest of the crew of The Revenge. He tells them they'll all be hanged soon, but not "by the thumbs, like that deranged Captain Kidd," only to be corrected by Izzy Hands. Ricky applauds Izzy upon recognizing him and tells a soldier to bring him upstairs so that he can have "a drink with a legend." Upstairs, Ricky tells Izzy he admires him, that Blackbeard is overrated and Izzy is "clearly the brains of this operation." Izzy tells him he doesn't know anything about piracy. Ricky says he's become tedious. At the bar, Jackie asks for brandy. "No, the good stuff." Roach looks at the bottle as he hands it to Jackie, who uncorks it. with a sly look towards the room
At the shoreline, two soldiers read a note they've found washed up in a bottle. The soldier reading it is suddenly stabbed in the shoulder and the note taken from him by Ed, who's grabbed the other soldier by the neck, strangling him, as he reads the letter for himself. He becomes teary-eyed, shouts, "You wrote me a lovely letter!" and runs off. Among the trees just beyond the beach, Stede is still following Zheng towards the Republic and Ricky. He tries again to convince her that she needs a plan and his help, but she continues to refuse, even as they're beset by soldiers. They draw their swords. More soldiers descend on the beach and divide, some going towards Stede and Zheng while the others run towards Ed, who's fighting multiple soldiers at once and surrounded by the bodies of ones he's already killed. Stede notices Ed in the distance while they're all fighting and calls out to him. Ed shouts back, and Zheng tells Stede to go while she continues fighting. They fight their way towards each other, running on the beach like in Stede's dream in Impossible Birds, but rather than colliding in the surf, they embrace and share a kiss. Ed apologizes between kisses and tells Stede he loves him, to which Stede replies, Han Solo style, "I know." They're interrupted by Zheng calling for help as she fights a group of soldiers, and Stede and Ed run in to help, brandishing their swords.
In the prison of Spanish Jackie's, Archie and Fang are using Lucius's shirt in an attempt to bend the bars and escape, but it begins to rip. Lucius refuses to let his jeans be used also, and Fang says someone peeing on the shirt will strengthen it. Archie balks at the idea. In another corner of the jail, Oluwande attempts to help a blanketed person who appears injured, only to discover that it is Auntie. He calls over Jim who, despite Auntie's protests, helps remove a piece of shrapnel from Auntie's shoulder. Auntie asks about Zheng. Meanwhile, Zheng, Ed, and Stede sit together on the beach, surrounded by the corpses of the soldiers they've killed. Ed and Zheng compliment one another while passing a flask back and forth, and Stede interjects that he also did some amazing stuff during the fight. Ed agrees with a pat to his shoulder, "It was incredible, babe." Back at Spanish Jackie's Oluwande groans in pain from Auntie gripping his hand while Jim works on Auntie's wounds. Auntie apologizes to Oluwande for misjudging him, that men have hurt Zheng too often before, but Oluwande isn't a man. "You're soft. She needed more soft in her life." Oluwande suggests Auntie try being soft, then groans as she grips his hand again and argues, "I don't do soft."
At the table upstairs, Ricky calls himself a pirate, but Izzy berates him for it. Just then, Stede storms in, sword drawn, with Ed and Zheng in tow. The soldiers in the tavern begin to rise, only to begin foaming at the mouths and falling over. Everyone looks stunned, except for Jackie, who laughs. Roach asks what was in the brandy, and the Swede asks if he's going to die, but Jackie reassures him that "Everyone is poison-trained in this household." Zheng rushes up to Ricky and holds a sword to his chest, but Auntie calls out to stop her so she can do it herself. She bashes his head against the table, then cries out in pain from her now-bandaged shoulder injury. Auntie yells at Zheng for taking so long, but Oluwande reminds her to be soft. She very stiffly manages to tell Zheng, "Good job. I'm proud of you," which Zheng tearfully thanks her for, and they embrace. Stede insists on a plan and says that having a hostage (in Ricky) could be useful. After Stede explains the plan, Ed and the others say it sounds like a suicide mission, but Stede insists, "It's only suicide if we die."
As music plays, the camera pans over a bare-butted soldier, as well as a room full of mostly disrobed dead soldiers. Stede, Ed, Zheng, Auntie, Jackie, the Swede, and the crew of the Revenge all dress themselves, and each other, in the English soldiers' attire. Archie and Jim share a kiss. Dressed and armed, they all walk out of the Republic of Pirates and into the forest, where they find most of the English forces. The majority of the crew silently surrounds the camp while Izzy, with a handful of thers, shoves Ricky forward by a gun pressed to his back. At first, Ricky plays along and tells one of the officers that the operation is over and to head back to the ships. But before they can respond, Ricky draws a hidden pistol from his coat, spins and fires on Izzy, shouting, "They're pirates!" The crew attacks from all sides, killing the majority of the soldiers before making their escape towards the beach. Zheng leads the party, followed by Black Pete, Stede, and Ed, but Izzy trails behind, holding his side. Ed asks if he's alright and Izzy says he's fine, but Ed and Frenchie end up having to carry him along the last stretch of beach towards the row boats.
Once the Revenge is at sea, it's clear Izzy isn't fine. He's pale and sweaty and groaning in pain as Ed, covered in Izzy's blood, sets him down on the deck. Ed calls for help, and Stede takes Roach to get bandages, while Izzy jokes that with Stede in charge, "I'm definitely fucked." The rest of the crew watches silently. Ed says it's not bad, but Izzy tells him to stop and just sit with him, and Ed promises he's not going anywhere. They apologize to each other, and Izzy explains, "Blackbeard, it was us. You and me. But you're good now." Ed tearfully says that Izzy can't go, "You're my only family." But Izzy tells him "You're surrounded by family. They love you, Ed. Just be Ed." Touching Ed's cheek he says, "There he is," mirroring Wherever You Go, There You Are, and then his hand goes slack as he dies. Ed sobs and the crew looks on tearfully.
Some time later, the crew digs a grave and makes a marker for Izzy made of driftwood with his unicorn leg, cravat and ring tied to it. The crew walk silently back to the ship while Ed and Stede stay behind. They exchange a few curt words about Izzy before Zheng, with Auntie, approaches. She proposes that she and Ed team up to kill Ricky for what he's done to them. "The Pirate Queen, Blackbeard... And we'll need you too, Bonnet. You're a damn fine pirate." Later, Roach officiates Pete and Lucius' wedding on The Revenge, which is joyfully witnessed by everyone on the ship. Around sunset, the crew sets off. Among all the others, Frenchie gives orders, Pete slaps Lucius behind as he passes, Oluwande and Zheng look over maps together, and Jackie and the Swede talk about rebuilding the bar.
Meanwhile, outside of a shack on the beach, Stede and Ed watch as The Revenge departs. "So we're inkeepers, then?" Stede asks, and they agree to give it a shot, despite the state of disrepair the shack's in. They go inside, and outside, a seagull lands on Izzy's grave marker.
Post-Credits Scene: In the prison at Spanish Jackie's, Fang and Archie manage to bend the bars using a wet shirt. They ask who's going to go through, and since Lucius declines, Frenchie is nominated. He manages to squeeze through and shouts, "Go, Frenchie!" to the hushing of the crew.
Starring[]
- Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet
- Joel Fry as Frenchie
- Samson Kayo as Oluwande Boodhari
- Nathan Foad as Lucius Spriggs
- Vico Ortiz as Jim Jimenez
- Con O'Neill as Israel "Izzy" Hands
- Matthew Maher as Black Pete
- Kristian Nairn as Wee John Feeney
- David Fane as Fang
- Samba Schutte as Roach
and
Guest Starring[]
- Nat Faxon as The Swede
- Leslie Jones as Spanish Jackie
- Ruibo Qian as Zheng Yi Sao
- Madeleine Sami as Archie
- Erroll Shand as Prince Ricky Banes
- Anapela Polataivao as Auntie
Co-Starring[]
- Cohen Holloway as Fisherman Father
- Joe Valentine as Fisherman Son
- Stephen Papps as English Lieutenant
- Jaden McLeod as Soldier #1
- Rob McKenzie as Soldier #2
- Paul Williams as Bluecoat #1
- Louis Flavell-Birch as Bluecoat #2
- Ben Ellington as British Jail Guard
- Zach Douglas as Roderick
- Matthew J Smith as Chumsley
- Alex Sherman as Head Guard
Featured Music[]
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
Behind the scenes[]
- In the show, the character Izzy is always credited as "Izzy Hands" and referred to as such by others. This episode contains the first and only time in the show he's called "Israel," and it's by Ricky Barnes.
- Alex Sherman very proudly got his wish to moon the audience in this episode. (from his twitter, citation needed)
- David Jenkins stated that he didn't want this episode to end on a cliffhanger in case the series wasn't renewed for a third season, instead trying to wrap up the plot while also leaving possibilities for the future.
- At the fan recoil after Izzy's death, David Jenkins stated on his twitter that "There is no show without Izzy," and further stated that Izzy would be involved in a season 3 if the show is renewed, though he didn't clarify in what respect.
- Speaking of fan recoil, fans were quick to argue with one another about whether Izzy's death could be counted in the Bury Your Gays trope or not. Others found it distasteful that Izzy was buried on land as it's custom for lifelong sailors to be buried at sea. Still others found the use of his prothesis as a grave marker to be offensive, saying it should've been buried with him instead like the limb it was.
- According to Con O'Neill, David Jenkins took him out to lunch and bought him cake to break the news of Izzy's death and discuss it to him prior to filming.
Cut material[]
Historical inaccuracies[]
- "Rule, Britannia!" wasn't written and composed until 1740; the version sung in this episode with "rules" instead of "rule" and "shall" instead of "will" was sung even later, circa the 19th century. Interestingly, in 1751, one of the original cowriters changed some of the lyrics to tell a comical story about a sailor who fell overboard and married a mermaid at the bottom of the sea.
- Izzy calls Ricky "Pinocchio" (1883) which is both a historical inaccuracy but also a callback to the story being told to the crew in Pilot and Impossible Birds.
- Historically, Israel Hands was one of the few pirates to survive piracy. He was pardoned by exchanging information about political dealings after Blackbeard's death.
Improvised scenes[]
- After Izzy's death, Jim is wearing Izzy's glove for the remainder of the episode, which is something that was discussed beforehand by their actors.
Gallery[]
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