Ahoy, "Our Flag Means Death"

Moderate spoilers ahead.

I'm not as gleefully happy with the pirate comedy "Our Flag Means Death" as some.  To be honest, the only reason I watched it was because of the rapturous reception it got from the LGBT community.  Created by David Jenkins, the show is about Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), an aristocrat who decides to try his hand at piracy.  He hires a crew, buys a ship, and sets off in search of adventure despite being a soft-hearted, bookish gentleman who clearly is not cut out for a life of bloodthirsty piracy.  

Stede's crew are initially perplexed, and not sure whether to mutiny against him or take advantage of his generous nature and deep pockets.  These include Buttons (Ewen Bremner) the "bird guy," level-headed Oluwande (Samson Kayo), tricky musician Frenchie (Joel Fry), the antagonistic Black Pete (Matthew Maher), Jim the Mute (Vico Ortiz), Lucius the Scribe (Nathan Foad), and the Swede (Nat Faxon).  In addition there are plenty of guest stars, including Rory Kinnear, Leslie Jones, Fred Armisen, Kristen Schaal, Will Arnett, and Nick Kroll, all gamely dressing up in fabulous costumes to play pirates, aristocrats, or other colorful characters.  It's really a lovely opportunity to let these silly people all be silly together.

The first few episodes are a little rough, as the crew get their sealegs, and figure out the right balance between the larger-than-life absurdity and exploring the not-so-nice side of piracy.  Stede Bonnet and several of the other characters are based on real historical figures, but we get the nice fantasy versions of them, who are essentially a passel of overgrown kids still working their way towards maturity.  This is especially true with our hero, Stede, who spends most of the season grappling with his first real romantic relationship, and mustering the courage to face the consequences of having deserted his wife Mary (Claudia O'Doherty) and children in order to go off adventuring.  

As I've mentioned, the LGBT community loves this show, because part of the show's fantasy conceit is that it takes place in a very progressive space where a variety of gender identities and sexualities are accepted among the main characters, though not the wider world.  Jim codes as trans or nonbinary, though it's not explict.  There are more gay romances going on than straight ones, which is understandable considering that most of the cast is male.  When female characters do appear, they're vibrant and interesting.  It quickly becomes apparent that "Our Flag Means Death" is intent on devoting a lot of energy toward questioning traditional gender dynamics and roles.  One of my favorite gags is when we discover that being abandoned was the best thing that ever happened to Mary.  

I don't want to say too much about the role of the fearsome Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) in this show, because it's really wonderful to see the whole story unfold, but when he and his first mate Izzy Hands (Con O'Neill) show up around the fourth episode, everything really starts to snap into place.  "Our Flag Means Death" feels very much like a Waititi project, with its deeply silly comedy paired with some really touching character stuff going on.  Rhys Darby is a fantastic lead, not only because he's hilarious, but because after a few episodes he gets you to root for Stede, and love him for all of his fussiness and cowardice and insane optimism.  And it really surprised me how much I cared about what happened to him by the time the last episode rolled around.  

I think this show is only possible because of recent advances in technology that let the production be shot with virtual backdrops instead of trying to shoot on location, or having to fill in too much in with CGI.  It's a really gorgeous show, full of fun visual details and heightened imagery.  Stede's beautifully ornate ship, The Revenge, is wildly impractical and a perfect reflection of his personality.  I especially enjoy the costumes, which make everyone look so good, and do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the worldbuilding.  The second you see Leslie Jones all decked out as the badass Spanish Jackie, you know exactly who she is.       

Oh, and I'm an absolute sucker for a classic rock soundtrack. 

---