Every once in a while, a show comes along quietly and then turns into a cultural phenomenon, despite an apparent lack of promotion. Our Flag Means Death, HBO Max's new comedy about 18th-century pirates, is exactly that. The show follows Stede Bonnet, a wealthy landowner who leaves his life of luxury behind in search of adventure on the high seas...in the form of piracy. The story really kicks off when he crosses paths with the notorious pirate Blackbeard, and both men find that they have something to learn from each other.
The show is primarily a comedy and packs a hilarious punch in terms of verbal, physical, and situational comedy. However, while some comedy shows today might try to take an edgy or cynical route and focus on a more sarcastic humor style, Our Flag Means Death is incredibly sincere and genuine. Cynicism certainly has its place in comedy, but Our Flag Means Death is a breath of fresh air in that it has a ton of heart, which makes it stand out from other shows in the genre and is one of the main reasons why it is so beloved by fans.
The show became a hit online, steadily gaining viewership and achieving an absolute skyrocket in the fandom as the final episodes aired. This was in part due to the romantic element of the show, as people learned that the show had canonical LGBTQ+ representation and wasn't just using the queerbaiting tactics that many other shows tend to employ. The show's humor style and positive representation of various racial groups and sexual orientations drew a lot of viewers in, and it says a lot about the industry that those elements are seen as rare, especially found all together in one show.
Our Flag Means Death is very sincere in its treatment of its characters and their stories. Stede is a ridiculous figure by all counts, but the show never seems to laugh at him. Rather, the audience sympathizes with his inner conflict and is drawn into his side of the story, so much so that it hurts when other characters make fun of his eccentric ways. On the other side of things, Blackbeard is treated with careful complexity, and is not just reduced to a fierce killing machine. In many ways, Blackbeard is the heart of the show, partially due to Taika Waititi's brilliant performance, but also because the story often focuses on his softness and the ways in which he resents the Blackbeard image.
The side characters are treated with care as well. Despite many of them being quite silly or not getting much screen time, they all manage to feel like full characters with rich inner lives that simply haven't been explored yet. Izzy Hands, an antagonistic force who is constantly trying to bring out Blackbeard's dark side and get him far away from Stede, isn't just a one-dimensional villain; in fact, he is one of the more fascinating characters. The fandom surrounding the show has latched on to so many of these characters despite them not being the main ones, which just goes to show how effective and careful the writing surrounding them is.
Our Flag Means Death also deviates from a lot of media in the pirate genre as it doesn't celebrate the violence and destruction that is often common in those stories. What makes Stede and his crew different and lovable is that they appreciate things like theater, and talk out their issues as a crew rather than just resorting to violence or anger. Blackbeard actively struggles with his past actions and worries that he's not a good person. The show doesn't assume that people are fundamentally bad or that piracy would bring out their worst instincts. It instead sees its characters as good people who are simply doing their best to get by and live their truest lives.
The humor in Our Flag Means Death never punches down, unlike a lot of other comedy shows. Sure, it doesn't shy away from a raunchy joke or two, and there is a healthy dose of swearing in the script, but it never feels like it's doing anything for shock value or to be overly edgy. It doesn't make jokes at the expense of marginalized people, and instead often makes the British colonizers the butt of the joke. Issues like racism and toxic masculinity come into play and are absolutely a part of the world of the show (it's not a utopian ideal or a race-blind story), but it is critical of those issues and actively seeks to showcase the characters in the story running counter to those societal expectations in a positive way.
There is a softness and tenderness to a lot of the dramatic scenes, and there is a lot of heart that's plain to see in the writing of the characters and the plot. Cynical comedic storytelling is all well and good, but it's so refreshing to see a series that has a heartwarming, genuine outlook on the world, while also not being afraid to dive into those heavier and deeper elements of the story. HBO Max has yet to renew the show for another season, despite the large fan outcry, but if and when it is eventually greenlit, the creators would be wise to keep the tone of the show consistent, and never lose that element of sincerity.