Our Flag Means Death: Thread 2. Still utterly brilliant and we are still obsessed!

[TriceratopsRocks]

Ahoy there mateys! Hop aboard our ‘safe space ship’ thread 2, where we can continue to wax lyrical about our favourite show.

If you haven’t yet seen Our Flag Means Death, what are you waiting for? Do go watch it (on BBC iPlayer) and then come back here and join us.

You may have heard that this is a comedy about pirates and think that's not for you. But it’s actually about self-discovery, healing and found-family with a love story at its heart. It does begin as a sort of pirate workplace comedy, but in episode 4 the tone changes and that’s where the main story really starts. The joint leads are both damaged by abusive backgrounds and think they want what the other has. The show is about their healing and their respective journeys. It’s tender, romantic, funny, emotionally intelligent and utterly refreshing. It subverts genre expectations. There is comedy, absurdity and a good amount of heartbreak and despair - sometimes in the same scene! The acting is outstanding (Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby especially). But the writing, music, costumes, sets, the sheer attention to detail – for a show with only 18 half-hour episodes it is still keeping us talking, a full thread and many re-watches later. Can you tell how much I love it?

If you think this might appeal, do watch it, then come back and talk to us. It would be lovely if more were to join our crew. But be aware it's a show that needs time. The 2nd lead doesn’t arrive until the end of episode 3 and that’s when the main story starts. You need to give it at least 4 episodes. It then took me several more to fully appreciate what I was watching but then I was hooked - and had to immediately watch it all over again. If you like Good Omens, What We Do in the Shadows, Ghosts or even Bridgerton, this might be the show for you.

(I’ve kept this spoiler free, but if you scroll down you will no doubt find many, so beware!)

Thread 1: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/5008593-our-flag-means-death-its-utterly-brilliant-and-i-am-obsessed?reply=135294204

Thank you 🫠🥰🫠🥰

Ha ha!
I love seeing them, obvs, just it feels weird in the fics as it’s the actors being themselves…it’s hard to explain.

I will definitely try Notting Hill, thank you.

Quite tempted - have you already got one and if so, are you happy with it and what was the sizing like? It seems to more or less be the v neck ones left and the sleeves look quite short.

I ordered one tonight as soon as I'd posted the link, because the first time I dithered and dithered and then regretted not getting it. Postage is a lot, but I just wanted it 😁 It's a good charity too.

I'm actually wearing an OFMD inspired t-shirt today - the women's fitted version in blue. I ordered bigger and am so glad I did because it fits perfectly. Just hoping it doesn't shrink too much when I wash it! I wanted something subtle. I've also got a Jeff's Inn by the Sea one on order for when I want to be more obvious.
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1267828637/gentleman-pirate-shirt-fun-at-sea-with?ref=share_v4_lx

@MrsJellybee

At first I didn’t like the anonymity (’Steve’), but it proved to make their connection more real.

Exactly - there's a power dynamic to wrestle with, but in their initial interaction they're equals and connect on a purely human level, neither of them hiding anything that would affect the dynamic. Even when Ed's status is revealed, it's still not bazillionaire rock star or solo exhibition at Tate Modern level - in wealth terms they're probably pretty equal?

Oh and yes to chp 9 and chp 32pics🔥in Narrowboat!

Thank you for the tip off - love the hair in ch 32 - I've never seen that photo before.

I love bitter Ed

Me too - he's a champion eye roller
y

I think I might've messed up posting that link - sorry if this appears twice
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Thank you - yikes that postage is hefty! Excellent charity though and I do really like it - will ponder, but not too long.

That tshirt you linked to is nice and subtle - has anyone asked you why you're wearing a pirate tshirt? I think I'm a bit unsure about wearing anything obviously fanlike which is probably silly, but then I'd never read fanfiction a couple of weeks ago either so it's a slippery slope. I really like the Jeff's Inn and BB bar and grill stuff, and I think it counts as pretty subtle as 99% of people won't recognise the reference and just think it's a nice print. The other 1% are like the guy at BB's bar and grill who's into gifts - they're the ones you want 😁

It was very cold here today when I was out and about, so sadly I needed a jumper on ☹️ Roll on summer! I was happy to be wearing it though.

Edited to add - I think the subtle one I'm wearing wouldn't be obvious even to some fans! But I like it. I would love to meet a fellow fan out in the wild, but have yet to do so. Even copious use of my BB Bar and Grill tote bag has yet to yield any interest. Maybe this or the Jeff's Inn t-shirt will be more fruitful. With (eventually) 3 t-shirts to choose from, a bag, a keyring and some pins, surely someone will spot me coming sometime 😂

@TriceratopsRocks I didn't read no 3 of the neuroscientist fic because I wasn't sure it was complete, so thank you. Maybe they just haven't updated the chapter count.

You’re right about The Long Winter – I was reading too compulsively to spot the question mark in the chapter total or see that it says it will eventually cover the whole story from Ed’s perspective. When you read it it doesn’t feel as though it’s unfinished as it fills in the gap and then links into the main story when they get back together. Very pleased to know there will be more of it to look forward to though!

And solidarity on the 2am reading, though I’m going to try to wean myself off the late night fan fiction and read an actual book tonight - when I start a ff story I find it hard to stop.

OK thanks @lizziesaurusx . I'll definitely read it then. With the late night reading, I don't sleep well and I'm often just lying there bored so it's something to do. When I wake up (usually between 4-5am) I can sometimes doze a bit, but often I end up awake till 7-ish anyway. Then I'll drop back off to sleep till my alarm goes off at 7.30. It's why I'm getting through so much fan fic atm. I have 10 pages of fics in my history (although a few are marked for later), and quite a few I've read multiple times. And I delete all the ones I not keen on. That feels like... quite a lot?

Edited for typo

Thank you - yikes that postage is hefty! Excellent charity though and I do really like it - will ponder, but not too long.

@lizziesaurusx You could save a little on postage if the OFMD UK fan page on Facebook does a bulk order like it did last time. But it really didn't save much I don't think - just a few £. And I wanted to get my order in asap before they ran out. It was the postage that was the cause of my dithering the first time so I just bit the bullet tonight.

I'm sorry - that sounds really difficult, and like not very much sleep in total. I hope the fan fic is some solace at least, even if sleep would be preferable. I'm a night owl and my brain is inconveniently programmed to be at its most alive and buzzy from about 11 so starting to read anything even slightly compulsive is a disaster. Predictably, I thought I'd just have a wee look at the Notting Hill one and now here I am an hour and half later, but it was gorgeous!

I haven't really worked out how to keep track of what I'm reading or want to read. I made a list and I have tabs open on my phone for favourites, but I might need to be a bit more structured: when you say your 'history', is that in AO3? And yes, 10 pages does seem quite a lot... although aren't there 30,000 or so possibilities?

@TriceratopsRocks thanks for posting the t-shirt link. I dithered last time too (I actually thought the t shirt wasn’t me what with the colourful print). Then regretted it. Saw your link. Put it in the basket last night, saw the postage, freaked, deleted! Came back ten minutes later…used Applepay before I could change my mind…it’s on its way. 😊

Oh, post it x1000!

Tell you what, Ed nailed the passive aggression in this scene. I absolutely adore the way he says ‘thank you’ after the beard compliment. It’s so clipped. I also love how he dabs his mouth and holds his finger up as a warning before smashing the chair against the wall. Then he steadies the vase and thinks, ‘nah, you can go as well’. It’s both so mannered and menacing. It’s a performance and it’s all for Stede. As for the ‘melt back into your arms’ comment, Stede never even hinted at that. Ed just shows his whole hand here. Bet he’s a rubbish poker player. God, I love him.

@MrsJellybee that scene with the chair and the vase makes me laugh every time, it’s so well timed and ridiculous and deliberate. He has a sense of a toddler being told not to do something, considering it briefly and doing it anyway, with gusto. I don’t know why I find that so funny but I do.

Woohoo! So now this show isn't just taking up our time, it's starting on the wallets too 😆. If Rhys and others come back for another event like Basingstoke I'm not going to dither either. Learned my lesson there too. I love the charity and the sentiment behind Crew for Life so I'm very happy now it's on its way.

And @lizziesaurusx I should complain about my sleep more often because last night I got almost 6 hours!! Haven't had that much for ages. I'll be bouncing around with energy all day today 😁

@lizziesaurusx Do you have a log in for AO3? When you are logged in the main menu items include My history (list incl. summaries of all the fics you've opened) and My Bookmarks for fics you have chosen to bookmark. Bookmarks can be private or public, and can be marked as a recommendation. I actively use both lists. I delete things from my history if I don't like it, and I bookmark all my favourite fics - the best ones as public recommendations. You can also subscribe to your favourite authors (a separate list) and get a notification each time they publish something new. If anyone is using AO3 without a login I'd really recommend asking for one. It makes it much easier to navigate and to find fics again that you've read before. I've still yet to find some that I enjoyed before getting my login.

@TriceratopsRocks I got my login approval this morning and have been like a kid in a sweet-shop! 😁

I really enjoyed the neuroscience conference one.

I do love how all of them involve Ed having knee trouble. You'd think in at least one of these universes he'd have a usable knee 😀

But of course it's a narrative device for Stede to put his arm around him or to demonstrate Stede's preternaturally attuned attention to all things Ed

And it’s not really canon that he has a troubled left knee. It’s a part of a futuristic costume. 🤣

As someone with a slightly dodgy knee, I quite like that he has it :) And despite knowing it was a costuming decision, I still think of it as canon because he wears it on the jungle outing but takes it off when sat eating. Presumably for comfort.

I wonder if Taika's got a dodgy knee

I'm sure Nurse Carter could help with that