I took a long flight today, so I rewatched Our Flag Means Death, and caught something I completely missed the first time. I’m sure others did not miss it. I’m not writing this to enlighten anyone, it’s just that writing things out is how I solidify things in my head.
So here’s what I realized: Ed is the only character who looks at Stede without prejudice, even if you include the camera as a character. Ed sees past all the norms, expectations, stories and lies, the stuff the camera largely keeps our amused focus on, and Ed sees Stede as he truly is.
The first time though, I thought Ed saw Stede as something other than he is until he meets Stede the first time and sees that, whoops, no, this guy isn’t actually a competent pirate after all. But he’s interesting anyway.
Ed has heard these rumours about Stede and goes looking for him. Izzy puffs Stede up to make him seem both more ridiculous but also bolder and braver than he actually is, so I assumed what gets Ed’s attention is at least mostly the fiction about Stede.
Which of course makes sense. You can’t possibly understand someone before you meet them, based only on second hand accounts. You just can’t. And the story shows us that Stede is basically incompetent and only getting through by luck and the seat of his pants.
Because of that, I originally thought there was a missing scene where Ed connects the dots and clocks what Stede actually is. I thought he must have seen this reality, adjusted his perspective, and then decided that he likes Stede anyway.
But I realized today that there is no missing scene. Because Ed isn’t even all that interested in the lies that Stede is trying to construct. The lies are not what Ed sees when he looks at Stede. So there’s no need for him to adjust his perspective. He gets Stede right the first time.
It’s as if Ed’s scale for judging Stede is radically different from how the narrative he’s in judges Stede.
As the audience, the narrative encourages us to see Stede an incompetent man pretending that he’s something he isn’t, with hilarious, cartoonish results. Stede is so charming and likeable, so silly and ridiculous, his showy audacity pulls focus. But Ed is never distracted by that the way I am. Ed always sees Stede as he is: a creative, intelligent, dramatically original thinker. And that’s what draws Ed to Stede. I don’t think Izzy understands that at all. Actually, I think Izzy and the camera are in agreement in not understanding it! But Ed is clear as a bell about Stede from the start. Ed admires Stede’s choices even while we’re laughing at them.
We know that Stede only bested Izzy by bluffing and lucking out. It’s framed as a fortunate and kind of ridiculous accident, but Ed immediately sees it for what it actually is: a real win driven by original, creative thinking and a massive amount of courage. Stede puts on a fuckery without knowing what a fuckery even is, on the spot and under pressure, with no resources at all, and it worked. He bests Izzy. Twice.
The Revenge is an outrageous, impractical ship, and everyone thinks that Stede’s design choices are sign of his incompetence, including the narrative. But Ed never thinks that way. He sees Stede’s choices as risky, creative decisions driven by an unwillingness to conform in the face of overwhelming pressure. If Stede is anything, he is uncompromisingly himself, even when it’s not prudent.
Ed doesn’t go looking for Stede because he’s an interesting and new fellow pirate and potential ally or foe: Ed goes looking for him because he immediately recognized that Stede is a creative, original and unique human being regardless of his competence. Ed sees Stede’s soul.
“Do you know how hard it is to find someone doing something original out here? S’fucking impossible, man.” versus “If you just use a little imagination - it’s like pulling teeth with you sometimes.”
Here’s someone who is thinking on their feet. Here’s someone doing the unexpected and the bold and the weird and Ed hasn’t seen that for so. damn. long. He’s been treading water, waiting to drown and along comes this man who thinks so far outside the box he probably doesn’t even know what a box is and that is what draws Ed to him.
Everyone else has always told Stede his ideas are stupid or wrong or bad because they don’t fit in that narrow limited world view. Ed’s world is just as narrow and limited by his position and role. And here are two utterly wild thinkers finally meeting someone on their level.
There’s a reason they both come up with the lighthouse scam in the same instant. Ed is the greatest tactician but this guy? This weird, quirky, funny, bold guy? He comes up with exactly the same completely buckwild plan as Ed does. For the first time, they’ve met their match.
