This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The second season of Our Flag Means Death is almost upon us, and soon we’ll see whether the star-crossed lovers Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Ed (Blackbeard) Teach (Taika Waititi) will come back together. Based on the trailer that Max released today (set to a rendition of Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen’s “Because the Night,” no less) it looks like the two pirate captains have some work to do on their relationship.
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It seems like Blackbeard hasn’t handled his breakup with Stede very well and has opted to go on a drink and drug-induced binge of pillaging, including crashing a wedding and apparently killing all the attendees. Hopefully they’ll make up soon! We also get glimpses of some of the show’s new cast members, including Minnie Driver as Anne Bonny, and Rubio Qian’s new character, “Susan.” There’s also a scene with a noseless gentleman who looks to be the pirates’ latest adversary.
The ensemble cast, however, is what makes the show truly great. Show creator David Jenkins even compared the crew to another fun group of anarchic performers: the Muppets. “You’re like, ‘These are all my favorite Muppets, and they’re back and doing weird things!’ That’s the vibe I feel on set,” he told Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview.
We can see this swashbuckling version of the Muppets when the second season of Our Flag Means Death premieres on Max with three episodes on Thursday, October 5, 2023. The season continues with two new episodes weekly leading up to the season finale on Thursday, October 26.
