A Departure: Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Finale Review 

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!

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!!

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.

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! 😊

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)_/¯

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!

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 :(