Our Flag Means Death is due for round two later this fall, and fans can hardly wait to reboard the Revenge and strap in for some more rollicking, dire, and delightfully queer shenanigans off the port bow.
When we last left off, Ed’s identity crisis had finally gotten the best of him, Stede accepted his feelings for the legendary pirate, and he set off in search of him. Indeed, it may like to have fun most of the time, but Our Flag Means Death has never shied away from bringing a more intense, dramatic edge into the mix, and exactly how that shade of the show could escalate from here is anyone’s guess.
Anyone, that is, except for the talent behind our jolly seafarers like one Con O’Neill, whose character Izzy — the first mate of Taika Waititi’s Blackbeard — proved to be quite the challenge as the actor tackled his incredibly dense upcoming arc. In an interview with Vanity Fair, O’Neill opened up about the ins and outs of crafting one of the show’s deeper characters, noting the emotional depths he was required to delve into this upcoming season, all without abandoning the ethos of the show.
“He understands what love is and whom he’s in love with. Physically it’s been quite demanding, and also emotionally it’s been quite demanding to be playing a man enraged by unrequited love, who’s basically a hopeless romantic, and to be able to play all that and also remember that this is fundamentally a comedy.”
Indeed, it will be interesting to see just how much further Izzy will go in season two, given the character’s already kinetically combative attitude that gels so explosively with their relationship to love and friendship, and he’s but just one piece of the Our Flag Means Death puzzle — a puzzle whose essence few shows will ever hope to capture again.
Our Flag Means Death is available to stream on Max. Season two releases to the platform in October.