A few months back, Entertainment Weekly shared an early look at the comedy-drama Our Flag Means Death. (I hate the term “dramedy.” The word makes me think of camels. Then I am sad when there are no camels on the show.) The HBO Max series is about a wealthy gentleman that has a midlife crisis and abandons his family and wealth to become a pirate on the high seas. It stars the incredibly funny Rhys Darby and the always-welcome-on-my-screen-and-dreams Taika Waititi. That got my interest. What sold me on the show, however, was this one photo:
Normally, I am hesitant about period pieces. But seeing Leslie Jones in that stellar swashbuckling get-up, I knew I had to watch. I didn’t even read much of the article beyond seeing her and reading about Rhys and Taika. That was it. Not out of a concern for spoilers, but knowing I was already totally on board. (Get it? “On board?” Pirates? Yar?) As per usual, I was distracted by something shiny (or was it an episode of Baywatch Nights?).
A couple of months passed, and I forgot about the show until some Twitter friends started mentioning how much they were enjoying it.
Well, after 10 episodes binged in less than a week, I get it.
Here’s where we venture into choppy spoiler territory waters. So if ye are of weak spoiler constitution, turn back now or be cursed!
Immediately, we meet the crew of The Revenge, a ship captained by the uptight Stede Bonnet. Everyone seems a bit off. A few characters were clearly homosexual stereotypes. I rolled my eyes and pressed on, knowing how good Darby and Waititi are in other shows like What We Do In The Shadows and Flight Of The Conchords.
Still, I was irritated by the lisping butch “totally straight” Black Pete (who wears pink, naturally) and the swishy, effeminate Lucius. Within a short time, the two are engaging in some booty plundering of their own, and things changed for me.
You see, I am proudly asexual and have been in the queer community for most of my life under some label, be it pansexual, bisexual, or straight-up gay. (Yes, I get the irony of that phrase.) Having experienced less-than-ideal treatment, invalidation, and plain old abuse due to my lack of straightness, I am sensitive to portrayals of individuals within the LGBTQIA+ community in the media I consume.
That all said, Our Flag Means Death‘s creative decisions truly took me aback.
There was no dramatic outing, no humiliation of being discovered as *gasp* gay! No one was upset at their tryst beyond the shirking of pirate-y duties. There was no big emotional coming out moment. There was no manufactured drama where we cry for the poor gays struggling to find acceptance in a world of straights.
Then it hit me. For once, a series treated homosexual coupling as something completely normal. The reactions were the same as any secret couple who was interrupted on any TV show, embarrassing and goofy sitcom-wise, yes, but not a thing of which to be ashamed.
I waited for the ruthless bloodthirsty antagonists to call someone a f*g or sissy. Or maybe a comment about shoving something somewhere, because… gay. But nothing. In fact, Black Pete and Lucius don’t even hide their sexuality in the show. There are a few comments about it, but no ribbing that any straight couple wouldn’t tolerate with a sheepish grin or sassy comeback.
The crew of the Revenge doesn’t seem to care in the least. No one does.
Now I am paying more attention. This crew that seemed a bit “off” as the show began suddenly makes more sense. No one punches down in this show that I could see. One character even goes “Moonbathing” nude while talking to his seagull friend, and still, everyone treats this as normal. He isn’t ashamed of who he is.
The entire crew of the Revenge has a near-total comfort with who they are, and everyone accepts them as presented.
This brings us to Jim, the mute bearded tough guy. A man’s man if we ever met one. A knife-expert and utter cool badass who is quickly revealed to not be a man, but a non-binary person on a revenge kick while sailing on the Revenge! Jim/Bonifacia is played by show-stealing non-binary Puerto Rican actor (they/them) Vico Ortiz. A non-binary person playing a non-binary role?! Heavens to Betsy!
This quickly goes against tropes. While Jim chooses to be called Jim even though their secret is out, no one questions that. The questions are all about how badass Jim is and their experiences. The character arc is Jim’s best friend, who knows Jim’s secret. Oluwande confronts his feelings for Jim and whether or not there is any reciprocity.
The crew eventually ends up at Jim’s home port and meets Jim’s Nana, who previously knew Jim as Bonifacia. A quick “I go by Jim now,” and even Nana is on board with a smile.
With zero buildup, all the characters refer to Jim as they/them. Even Nana. Most shows would draw this out and create tension, but instead, everyone just acts as if it is an everyday occurrence.
Because it is.
Finally, we have the season-long arc of Blackbeard (Taika) and Stede. They quickly become close friends, and there are hints at more. With how queer this show is, I wondered if they would take the two male leads and bring them together.
After declarations of their feelings on a moonlit beach, we get a daring on-screen kiss that will melt anyone’s heart.
Even Blackbeard’s on-again/off-again right-hand man, Izzy Hands, shows jealousy and rage toward Stede. But it is never pointed at his sexuality, specifically. Izzy is upset
Blackbeard is losing his edge. He is upset that he has fallen for someone which proves a distraction for the notorious buccaneer. The fact that it is a male/male relationship is not even an issue. It just is as normal as breathing, because it is.
The level of queerness in Our Flag Means Death is off the (sea)charts. Sexuality is ambiguous. Leslie Jones plays her Spanish Jackie character as uncharacteristically subdued and menacing, yet seductive. With 20 husbands (more or less), she is a woman who knows what she wants and even plays at seducing Jim after discovering they weren’t a male.
At the end of the series, we get the long-feared return of Stede to his family, who has thought him dead. His wife is in a relationship with her painting instructor. After Stede realizes he doesn’t belong here and that his heart belongs to Blackbeard, he confesses to his not-quite-a-widow wife after she was going to murder him to be free again.
I expected this to be the moment that has the jealous wife angry and upset that her husband is gay, or at the very least bisexual. But instead, she hugs him, and they work out a plan to fake his death. The series ends with him heading off to find Blackbeard, who is heartbroken and seemingly mentally unstable due to said heartbreak. Their love is looking to be the crux of a possible Season 2.
Our Flag Means Death has created a show where sex, sexuality, and relationships aren’t shamed. People are celebrated and accepted for who they are. That is something not seen on most shows.
We genuinely care for these characters because they care about each other and themselves. They become close to people because of who they are, not what gender or label they use. The same goes for rivalries. The source isn’t a fling with the housemaid, a surprise coming out, or a minor misunderstanding due to someone assuming the worst. The characters have clear goals and motivations that go beyond the typical sitcom tropes. Any interpersonal issues are due to character traits and decisions, not outward appearances.
The funniest thing about this comedy, which had me both laughing and crying in tears, is that in a perfect world, this piece wouldn’t be necessary. It shouldn’t be unusual to see a positive male/male relationship or be astonished by the unquestioning acceptance of someone suddenly using they/them pronouns.
I very much hope we get future seasons of the show. I want to show everyone what a queer-positive show can be. This swashbuckling world of high sea romance, buffoonery, and adventure somehow gets it right.
It shouldn’t be this hard to find shows that aren’t misery porn or full of emotional manipulation when it comes to queers and their relationships. Hopefully, the popularity of this HBOMax series will encourage more shows to treat queer relationships and the people in them as “normal.”
Because it is.
Our Flag Means Death is a 10-episode season, exclusively on HBOMax.
