In light of hearing about just how dismal Season 2’s budget was (cut by 40%!!!! I stg studios and distributors are ghouls), I really do think a lot of the issues fall on the shoulders of forces outside the creative team. Still stand by my opinions and feelings of the season, but hopefully Season 3 will be respected by Mr. Max, and the OFMD crew can actually execute the vision they want to create. Again, any of that making fucking sense (read that in the accent of a burly man from Long Island)? Sorry y’all, my sweet cat’s been missing for about a week; I’m going a little silly :(
I liked Izzy's character growth. even though it seemed really rapid toward the end of the season, i felt like he earned the love and respect afforded him in the beginning of the season by the Revenge crew considering the suffering he went through and the interactions they had amongst each other. even though it hurt that he died, i feel like if it had been earned and not entirely in an effort to evolve Ed further as a character and get a few cheap tears out of the audience, i could have been satisfied with it. as it stands im just disappointed that they wasted probably the best actor on the show when Izzy could have had even further development into a potential third season and then died a meaningful death that served his own character and not another. ¯\_(:V)_/¯
I did enjoy how his character changed and grew in the first half of the season, but definitely felt that by episode 6 we were just speed running it. Perhaps that’s why I wasn’t entirely sold on him by the end of the season, and I agree, it would’ve been really nice to see him get further developed in season 3!
i definitely agree with you! (also i love ur makeup!!) sorry in advance though, i need to ramble for a second here. it felt like they spent the first half of season 2 setting various things up only to try and backtrack or rush through those conclusions in the latter half. honestly, some parts of the season felt kind of pointless? like setting up zheng's fleet only to immediately blow it up. and just izzy's entire arc, like why show izzy grow away from blackbeard, bonding with the crew and encouraging ed to try something different, only to kill him off as a kind of redemption in order to set ed "free" bc izzy was apparently still somehow enforcing the blackbeard persona?? stede starting to thrive as a pirate only to suddenly give up on his dream to stay behind with ed had barely any buildup. izzy's final speech about the crew being ed's family (despite them being scared of ed for most of the season) only for ed to still just up and leave them a couple minutes later was so unnecessary and out of character for izzy. the finale was just so hollow and unearned. the entire season felt like a disservice to most of the characters, especially ed and stede. like, i thought the s1 finale was stede becoming a more considerate person, only for him to dismiss most of the crew's feelings in s2. ed and stede were self-centered and never got punished for it, like the crew even says the captains can get away with doing anything! last season was all about talk it through like a crew and instead their emotions are completely dismissed lmao. ed's character arc could have been interesting, but instead it was.. that. also like you mentioned ed was shown as a really good tactician in s1, (which izzy for some reason got the credit for in s2) but instead stede was the one left in charge of making a (really stupid) plan despite him learning the art of fuckery from ed and his elaborate s1 finale plan. frenchie's box mindset was really interesting but we barely saw him later on, just like jim's and olu's relationship.. most of the character progressions/regressions just felt very odd. i do like that the swede was thriving as jackie's malewife tho, good for him!! i watched s1 right before starting s2, and it came across as more heartfelt, while s2 just felt a bit more ?? meanspirited i guess. might be because of the lack of comedy that you mentioned. idk!! just a very different vibe. anyways, great video, thanks for putting things into words!!
First off, thank you!! And yes, definitely agree with the feeling of things being set up in the first half, only to have no payoff/get undermined by the end of the season. You make a lot of really good points about the various characters; I really hope that they all get done right by Season 3, and that their final season can be as heartfelt as the first.
I really appreciate your honest take! You summarised a lot of my feelings about season 2 perfectly. 💖 (Omg, especially regarding spoon-feeding us narratives. Sigh.) I was also left disappointed by season 2, particularly the second half. Hollow is the perfect word for it. It just felt so rushed, and I couldn't quite make sense of certain character decisions. I especially missed the more sweet banter-y moments between Ed and Stede, and of course the crew. I hope people don't think I'm being a jerk. The first season is some of my favourite television ever. I'll still come back to check out season three. 💕 Media critiquing is so important. You've done a fantastic job! 😊
Thank you so much! And yes! The banter-y moments; where have they gone!?!? Again, if there’s a season 3, I hope there’s a return to form, and we can get more of those 💕
Right! Thank you! I really needed more of those moments I think to really care. If I could just rant about one more thing.... Stede! Look how they massacred my boy! I know the plan was to lean into his selfishness more this season and put him on a 'villain arc'. I don't disagree with this choice, I think a lot of it makes sense and it could have been an interesting plot if given the time necessary however from the very first episode this season there were just moments that Stede seemed like a completely different character. He seems to lack empathy for the crew, we don't really get insight into his thoughts, and through the course of the season he becomes this typical pirate character. He becomes like completely fine with all aspects of the violent lifestyle. It's just not as interesting as season one where his goals and internal struggles were at odds. A lot of the humour and quirkiness came from Stede being a fish out of water, a 'gentleman' pirate, his solutions to problems where different and it made him unique and a character I could root for. He was my favourite character in season one. I'll be honest, I really struggled to like him at all in second half of season 2. This didn't feel like character growth. Also, I'll say it if nobody else will: Stede! The earring looks bad! Stop it! 🤣 Okay rant over. I love how much you sound like a let down parent in this video. You're not mad. You're just disappointed. I hated Rise of Skywalker so much, I actually cried. (I know v. lame haha) Cool ranch girlies unite. 💕
@@maggiesverycoolYT Haha, love that image of the disappointed parent, lol. I do think that Stede did have a lot of selfish tendencies in Season 1, but you’re totally right. Where’d the Gentleman Pirate go? Now he’s just Pirate. I think the reason I still found him very likable in Season 1 despite his selfish tendencies was his soft nature, and the fact that the world around him told him told him that to be a man, you can’t be soft. Now the only reason he’s a “bad pirate” is because he can’t throw a good punch? But then he can? But then he’s told he’s useless again? So yeah, definitely biffed it with our guy :(
Ahh, thank you for such a thoughtful breakdown of your thoughts! I felt dissatisfied by the finale, but didn't really place that there were issues for the prior two episodes as well. I definitely was surprised when there wasn't an episode 9 though because while the finale felt finale-y, it felt like there was a lot more to say in season 2. That financial post you linked was really interesting. I've been avoiding press or posts about the show while watching because I wanted to go in fresh like I did with season 1. Damn Max to hell for not giving us a season 2&3 package! I remember Jenkins talking about wanting 3 seasons after s1 aired, and also that if s1 was focused on the feeling of falling in love, s2 would be focused on heartbreak. I was honestly surprised Ed and Stede saw each other's faces before the season finale. I like that they did see each other sooner, and that they kind of negotiated the liminal space of their relationship and got some feelings on the table. But yeah, the finale suddenly felt like they had switched a flip and there were no more problems and they were fine being together. It really felt like two episodes got cut or something, even though the finale didn't feel like it was a spliced together mash of multiple episodes. I really want a season 3, both because of and despite my disappointment. I do wish shows would stop killing off characters they feel have finished their arcs though (Izzy finishing his arc is arguable imo). Like, the trope of Put On the Bus is *right there*!!! Anyway, lots of rambling on my part. I enjoyed your thoughts and great costume! Happy Halloween!
“I really want a season 3, both because of and despite my disappointment,” a beautifully succinct way of putting it!! I do also think that the liminal spaces of their relationship were the best moments (end of episode 5!!). And thank you very much, hope you had a great Halloween as well!
Agreed. Izzy's speach was out of character. Ed was a dick the whole season, Stede just existed and there wasn't enough soft intimate moments between them. Also Olu and Jim were really well built up in season 1 just to separate them and add a lesbian relationship with a person we don't even know? like wtf and they just kiss once. I really thought we were gonna see the interpersonal relationships of the crew grow and get more personal but they didn't.
Yeah. I just saw some people also mention the fact that Ricky said Izzy was ‘the brains of the operation’ and Izzy didn’t correct him, like?? Ed was written to be a brilliant tactician?!? I did quite liked Ed’s arc at the beginning of the season, but wish he could’ve actually reconciled with the crew. Also, not sure I’d call it a lesbian relationship since Jim is nonbinary (I know some nb people identify as lesbian, tho) but it did suck to see Jim and Olu’s reunion overshadowed by their new partners. Fingers crossed Jim and Olu get done right by Season 3!!
Absolutely agree! The treatment of Jim and Olu was honestly one of the most disappointing parts of this season for me. It felt like their entire relationship and Jim’s apparently unresolved revenge arc were just unceremoniously dropped in s2. Super frustrating, especially since I loved them both in s1 and felt there was plenty of room to flesh out that relationship and Jim’s feelings around their lifelong revenge mission.
@@anitatherock you said it better, Blackbeard's arc wasn't completed. And Jim and Archie retionship isn't lesbian, my bad. I just lack the language to name it since I have very basic English, sorry.
i just want to say... ever since i watched season 2 i have been trying to figure out/put into words what exactly it was about the whole season (especially the finale) that wasn't sitting right with me and you just put it out there so eloquently! i felt like the authenticity of it was just, gone this season. i personally blame the studio for cutting episodes. there are definitely at least two episodes worth of missing footage... also can i express some outrage at the way they treated jim/oluwande this season cuz they were my favorite characters last season but this season? every character besides stede/ed (and even stede & ed) were just treated like shit this season. i'll shut up now :D anyways i love your vampire look, plz keep making these vids!
Aww, thank you! I’d love to make more videos; gotta figure out what to make videos of first tho, lol. Definitely confused by their decisions with Jim and Olu, and wish all of these great characters got more time to shine. Damn you, “Max”!
Brilliant! And a great reminder for myself to never watch romcom-trailers more than halfway, if at all. They spoil far too many of the best moments. Which is a critique on romcom trailers as a genre, not this vid. It's great, especially the choice of fools rush in.
I mean, I'd watch it. I honestly don't know why I started watching it, but if it had been presented to me this way, I would have definitely watched it anyway. And now I'm in my third rewatch, so...
