Our Flag Means Death - Thread 4: Roll up, roll up! Come join us for more pirate obsession!

[TriceratopsRocks]

Ahoy again mateys! Can you believe we are now aboard thread 4? Stick around for chat about this brilliant show, its cast, its music, fan edits, fan fiction and more than a little obsessing over our fabulous leads - pictures extremely welcome!

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

You may have heard that this is a comedy about pirates and think it's not for you. But it’s actually a show about self-discovery, healing and found-family with a love story at its heart. The joint leads are both damaged by abusive backgrounds and 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, three full threads and many re-watches later.

If you think this might appeal, do watch it and come back and talk to us. It would be lovely if more were to join our crew. But be aware that it's a show that needs time. It’s structured like a theatre production, with a prologue and 3 acts. The 2nd lead arrives (briefly) in episode 3. Episode 4 is the start of Act 1, where the tone changes and the main story begins. You need to give it at least 4 episodes, and from there it just gets better and better. It still took me several more episodes to fully appreciate what I was watching, but by then I was hooked and had to immediately watch it all over again. And again. And again! If you like Good Omens, What We Do in the Shadows, Ghosts or even Bridgerton, this might well 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
Thread 2 : https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/5076581-our-flag-means-death-thread-2-still-utterly-brilliant-and-we-are-still-obsessed?reply=136060611
Thread 3: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/5101662-our-flag-means-death-thread-3-its-still-utterly-brilliant-we-are-still-obsessed?reply=137315706

Oh STOP. I have to do bedtime with a six year old in ten minutes.

Can I offer this as a well done for an excellent bedtime routine? Makes me laugh out loud every time.

And for balance...

Does anyone have the link for this interview? I’ve seen it before but now can’t find it. They are both in costume, talking about working together.

It looks like this one, but it's very short. I think there may be a longer version around?

It’s deffo from that same interview session…. I shall keep hunting 😉

I've definitely seen a proper interview version too. Some scrolling back through my YouTube history may be in order tomorrow...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qLAax5QYUfo

Here’s another section. There is definitely a longer version, but I know there was some anti-union stuff in the original so it might be these have been edited now or taken down.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUKKcDyDjU&t=6s
Another part

Nomadsland has updated Chicago. That was a very enjoyable Saturday morning read.

I’ve just read the update too. Phew. At least we’ve turned a big corner.

Have Taika. I don’t usually like colour, but I soooo covet that cardigan. Also, he’s wearing Ed’s Kraken ring 😭🐙

So, is it worth starting it yet? Or rather, is it safe to do so? That's my question, from someone who would hate an angsty cliffhanger!

On that note, I read a really short fic (650 words ish) the other night, just before bed. I only skimmed the tags, but they were old men and it was a Thelma and Louise situation as they took their small boat out to sea in a storm 😱. Despite the shortness of the story, it certainly did not help me go to sleep!!!! 😫😭

I think you're safe to start it, @TriceratopsRocks! Spring has sprung in Chicago and Ed is being kind to pigeons (and Stede), and they're making jokes about roller blading.

I've been enjoying it. Nomad is very good at capturing place.

@TriceratopsRocks I enjoyed the non-weaponised sexual encounter. They’ve gone full circle and round again. It’s an interesting story.

@Phineyj I want to know what Ed’s Wi-Fi password is 😁

Recently back from first holiday ‘abroad’ in years (who knew Italy would be so wet?!) where I tried to have a little sanity break from all things OFMD. Then look! Walking through a citrus orchard I found my own petrified orange!

It’s a sign @MrsBruin !

@MrsJellybee something embarrassingly soppy I reckon. Date he first met Stede and the name of his drink!

Aw - deffo a sign that you don’t need a break. I just tried that after finishing a lovely fic (Rinse and Repeat - Yellow Mustard!) I had very good intentions of a break from the show and fic…. It barely lasted 48 hours!

That's awesome, @MrsBruin. And definitely a sign. I actually have no idea how to take a break. The boys are my break! This morning I downloaded 2 EReader apps and a dozen or so of my favourite fics (funnily enough, including Rinse and Repeat), just so I always have a selection I can read offline in dark mode. I knew I needed to wait somewhere today with no internet signal so wanted to be prepared😁

@Phineyj oooh… I like that. Something like…

j8nU8Ry5tHm8L0rT

@TriceratopsRocks that sounds a superb idea! Which apps would you recommend?

I tried 4 different apps and went with one called EBoox. You do have to give it permission to read all your phone files though. If you don't want to do that, Google Play Books doesn't ask for that permission. But I preferred the EBoox app because it's really simple and uncluttered. If you download fics as file type EPub, when you open the app it scans your phone for all EPub files (or whatever file type you choose) and sticks them all in the app, looking pretty like books. You can then adjust settings like text size, brightness, dark mode etc. I like it :) I'm sticking with the AO3 website for all my new reading, to save storing everything on my phone. This is just for my favourites (my history is up to 44 pages now 🫣)...

Recommending Foxtail’s kinktober somno fic. Please double check tags.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/59607256