Our Flag Means Death

Stede Bonnet leaves behind a life of property and luxury for a life on The Open Sea, a life of Piracy, his world is thrown upside down when he encounters the infamous Blackbeard.

It may take an episode or two for you to get it, and work out what's happening, but if you're unsure early on, I urge you to stick with it, it really is the most magical show. It's funny and weird in equal measure, the humour comes from the absurdity of it.

It's a show the family would enjoy, admittedly a family that has a chilled out attitude when it comes to bad language that is.

It defies every single pre conceived stereotype of what many think of when they think of pirates, if you don't think it'll happen, expect to see it here.

The characters are all magical, aside from the main players, the laughs will keep coming from Izzy Hands, The Swede, Buttons, they're a wonderful, amusing bunch.

Rhys Darby is an absolute joy as The Gentleman Pirate, he is equally matched by Taika Waititi, I could watch him in anything, the pair are phenomenal.

I'm counting down for the start of Series 2.

9/10.

The silliness of this show works because of the excellent cast, and it gets better through the later episodes imo. It was probably more fun to produce this than to watch, bit it's exactly the kind of effort that audiences should reward- dumb as it is, it's a great break from the stark reality of 2022 : )

I'm a huge fan of the actor who plays Blackbeard (I'm not going to embarrass myself by trying to get the name correct). He is intense and yet completely hysterical at the same time. He is intensely watchable Which is what makes me Think someone is what other people refer to as "charismatic." I really enjoy him as a writer and Director too. I enjoyed the Thor that he did and I enjoyed Jojo Rabbit. He's a perfect example of someone who shows that intensity can work both in comedy and drama. I would love to see him play the leading role in a movie. I'm sure he would kill it in a comedy but I bet he could do really well in a drama as well.

Overall this show has very likable and fun characters with a wacky comedy style. The main relationship between Stede and Blackbeard is very well done and each crew member is excellent. This show explores such great themes and it was not at all what I expected from this show during the first 2 episodes.

Episode breakdown:

Episodes 1-2 are the black sheep of the show. It sets up the rest of the show very well but in the moment while watching it's just not as interesting as the rest of the show and it doesn't reveal exactly what the show is about right away. In hindsight the episodes make the show better overall but they are quite boring by themselves.

Episode 3 is very funny and is the exception to the first 2 episodes, it doesn't introduce Blackbeard yet but the episode Itself is a lot more fun and enjoyable.

Episodes 4-10 are all very high quality and on similar levels. The show shifts to the relationship between Stede and Blackbeard and all the crew members and it begins to tell the great story, it's funny and heartwarming and definitely worth watching.

The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, a little bittersweet but a second season seems to be teased with it.

Overall a very good show that should definitely be watched!

I spent the first two weeks watching this show not knowing where it was going. Now that I've watched the entire season, I am more emotionally invested in this show than I've been for a long time. Every character shines onscreen and the chemistry between them all is a delight to watch.

Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi acted their hearts out in those final episodes.

I need a second season right now. HBO cannot leave it there.