This article contains spoilers for season 1 of Our Flag Means Death.
Just last week, the incredibly and immediately beloved series from HBO Max, Our Flag Means Death, wrapped up its debut season.
Our Flag Means Death, an HBO Max original, comes from Oscar winner Taika Waititi in partnership with creator and showrunner David Jenkins, whose previous credits include the alien abduction comedy People of Earth. In addition to producing, Waititi also co-stars in the series as Blackbeard, the fearsome pirate captain, alongside long-time collaborator Rhys Darby who takes up the mantle of Stede Bonnet, the “gentleman pirate.”
In addition to Waititi and Darby, the primary cast includes Nathan Foad, Samson Kayo, Vico Ortiz, Ewen Bremner, Joel Fry, Matt Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O’Neill, Guz Khan, David Fane, Rory Kinnear, Samba Schutte, Nat Faxon, Fred Armisen, and Leslie Jones.
To the surprise of many, the series has yet to be renewed for an additional season (or two). Here are several reasons why HBO needs to consider renewing the series for a future season (or two).
The Questions We Need Answers To
Where Is Blackbeard Going?
Poor heartbroken Edward Teach (Waititi) is back to his former horrific ways in an attempt to block Stede out of his heart and mind and cease to feel the pain of loving Stede and being abandoned by him. He made his right-hand Izzy Hands eat his own toe (it’s totally fine, though, because it was just the pinky), he pushed our dear sweet Lucius from the ship, he abandoned Stede’s crew and essentially left them to die while kidnapping Jim … and now he’s off to do what would appear to be more evil things. Where is he going, and why does he need Jim? This is one of the many questions that require a season 2 renewal to be answered.
Will Stede and Blackbeard Reunite, And Can They Be Together?
Obviously, everyone is hoping that Stede Bonnet and Edward Teach can be reunited, as these two deserve so many more moments like their tender first kiss on the dock and to have a complete story. But even if the internet’s new favorite ship can reunite, will these two be able to reconcile after all of the hurt they’ve now caused one another? Edward feels abandoned by Stede and rejected after showing parts of himself to Stede that he probably has never shown another human for fear of losing respect as a fearsome Captain. Stede, on the other hand, has found a family in the crew of the Revenge and will no doubt be devastated by the thought that his Ed could abandon his family to die like that.
If the two are able to reconcile and re-continue their love story, they will undoubtedly need someone to mediate their conversations at times, which brings me to the next question:
Is Lucius Dead? Please, Tell Us He Isn’t Dead.
This one speaks for itself. Lucius has been a fan-favorite from the beginning. Yes, all of the characters are fan-favorites, and all of them (except for maybe Calico Jack?) receive plenty of love from the fandom, but Lucius is really special. From his perfectly placed sass and wit to his endearing curiosity as he watches the world around him, no one is truly ready to say goodbye to this character yet. And if Stede and Ed are able to reconcile and they need a couples’ therapist of sorts, who else is supposed to take on this role? Izzy Hands? No, Lucius is needed for this. Hopefully, he was able to be resourceful or had a mysterious savior so we can see him in the future.
Does Blackbeard Make Izzy Eat More Toes?
Is this a silly question? Probably, yes. Am I genuinely curious if Ed is able to “shape up” enough to Izzy’s standard and image of his captain in order to restore some peace between the two? Absolutely! Based on the last look of Ed we received in the season, despite his best efforts to remove traces of Stede from his life, his heart is still aching from the man, and his mind will not let him forget the love of his life. It is bound to create an issue with Izzy again in the future, and I’m curious if Blackbeard will have to follow through with his promise to make him eat “the rest” if an issue arises between the two of them again.
The Creative Team Deserves To Complete This Story
Darby, Jenkins, and Waititi specifically have been immensely active on social media with an appreciation for the chance to create the series and for the response the first season has received from fans. The team clearly poured so much passion and creativity into this series, and they deserve to tell this story to whatever they view completion as. The cast all seem more than willing to return for future seasons, and there has even been interest in the franchise expressed by other talented celebrities, such as none other than Vincent D’Onofrio on Twitter.
The Social Media Response Has Been Incredible
If you’ve been on Twitter in the last month since the series began, especially over the last week since season 1 ended, you know that the fan response for this series has been incredible to watch. It seems like almost every day, Our Flag Means Death is trending. There is an outpouring of breathtaking and heartfelt art being made by the fandom, who are so thankful to finally see a series tell genuine queer stories to completion and not be queer-baited. From video edits to poetry to paintings and sketches, it is clear that this series is deeply loved by so many and that a renewal would be nothing but appreciated.
There Is A Demand For At Least One More Season
If you’re not convinced yet that Our Flag Means Death absolutely needs a season 2, I have another point for you. There is absolutely a demand for at least one more season from virtually everyone who watches the show and makes commentary on it. Based on the social media interactions of the cast and crew, it is obvious that everyone involved has no quarrels with making more of this series either. With Our Flag Means Death quickly climbing to be the currently most in-demand series from HBO/HBO Max, it only makes sense that they would renew the series for an additional run (or, again, two).
The demand for more of the series is so high, in fact, that this Sunday (April 3), the fandom plans to create a trend on Twitter using the hashtag #RenewOurFlagMeansDeath. If you want to see more of this series, join in on the event on Sunday (details in the tweet below), and don’t forget to let HBO/HBO Max know that there is an interest on social media … but do it nicely! They were, after all, nice enough to give us this amazing series, so we should be kind when we request additional seasons.
If you want to see more of the series, utilize social media to request that the series be renewed, join the fun with the fandom and appreciate some of the amazing art they’re making, and give the series a watch (or re-watch!). Our review for season 1 can be found here. Our Flag Means Death is available to stream now on HBO Max.
