‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2: Fans Petition to Save Beloved HBO Show
The 100% historically accurate tale of Stede Bonnet and Edward “Blackbeard” Teach was canceled after ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season Two but fans have #SaveOFMD trending.
The lovable pirate show Our Flag Means Death captured the hearts of the world when it premiered on HBO Max in 2022. Following the story of Stede Bonnet, a bumbling and foppish man who decided to try his hand at piracy, it’s a wholesome comedy with no shortage of romance, hijinx, and peril. When Season One ended, however, nothing was fun and bright. Most of the crew was marooned on an island, Ed had gone back to his old self, and Lucius was presumed dead. Season 2 has well ended. We’ll see where the crew is left this time—and what fans are doing to secure a third season for the show.
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So What Happened in Our Flag Means Death Season Two?
Season Two opened with a recap of Season One, before showing us where the team is now. Stede locates his crew and they make their way to Spanish Jackie’s island looking for work. Without a ship, money, or a full crew, they assume they’ll just work at Jackie’s until they can afford a boat off the island.
However, Jackie isn’t really paying them. Instead, she’s holding their wages as payment against a debt they owed her from before. Eventually, with the help of Zheng Yi Sao, the pirate queen of China, they escape the island—but Stede still pines for his lost love Ed.
Meanwhile, Ed and the crew of the Revenge have taken to raiding relentlessly, never stopping to enjoy their treasure or spending any time ashore. The crew begin to tire of the ruthlessness of their captain but fear there’s nothing they can do. When Izzy Hands tries to stand up to him, Blackbeard shoots him in the leg, ordering the others to kill him. They refuse, keeping him alive below the ship. Eventually, when Blackbeard sails them into the heart of a storm, they ambush him, attempting to kill him with a cannonball.
Reunited and It… Hurts
Eventually, the two crews clash when Zheng’s ship happens upon the Revenge while sailing. She takes the crew onboard as captives, but since they committed mutiny, she plans to kill them. Stede, every thinking with his heart instead of his head, frees the crew of the Revenge and flees the ship. Oluwe, who has developed a semi-relationship with Zheng, escapes with them, breaking Zheng’s heart and turning her cold in a mirror of Stede’s treatment of Ed. Izzy is given a rudimentary wooden leg and begins drinking heavily.
Stede attempts to revive Blackbeard, who comes to and immediately attacks him. Still angry at Stede for abandoning him after their prison break, Blackbeard has his own personal demons to cope with. When he apologizes to the crew, they banish him from the ship. He, Stede, and Buttons spend some time on a nearby island, where they meet Anne Bonny and Mary Read.
While on the island, the two agree to try a relationship, but they need to start over and go slow. Buttons seemingly transforms himself into a seagull, and Stede and Ed make their way back to the ship. Ed still isn’t welcome, but the crew tolerates him under Stede’s captaincy. He is still inept, however, so Izzy Hands offers him some advice. Meanwhile, a vengeful Zheng makes a deal with an English privateer the Stede wronged earlier in the season. He agrees to a hefty sum of payment, and Zheng thinks she’s outsmarted him until the deal very literally blows up in her face.
A Fairytale Ending, Eventually
The crew of the Revenge celebrate Calypso’s birthday, a made-up holiday that the crew pitches as VERY important to Stede, hoping a party will lift their spirits. The party is doing just that, until a rival of Blackbeard’s attacks the ship, hoping to regain his raiding record. Stede kills him accidentally, but the rush of taking a life sends him to Ed in the captain’s quarters. Needless to say, slow is thrown out the window.
Unfortunately, Ed is put off by this and leaves the crew while they are docked at Spanish Jackie’s. Zheng is also on the island, stocking up for a long journey. With help from Jim, Olu reconciles with her, and he, Jim, and a new crew member for Season Two named Archie plan to join up with her crew. Stede takes offense to this, and high off his false infamy, challenges Zheng to a duel. She soundly beats him, mocking him throughout. Just as she is about to strike the killing blow, all of her ships explode, and the trip the privateer set is finally sprung.
Abandoned and split from their crews, Zheng and Stede reluctantly agree to work together to avenge her crew. After a bit of coaxing, they bring Blackbeard back, and concoct a plan to take out the privateer before he can wipe out the pirates. They are successful, but Izzy is unfortunately killed in the crossfire. Zheng and the crew take to the seas, and Stede and Ed start their new life.
…Is That It for OFMD?
Unfortunately, hopes for a third season were scrapped when HBO Max canceled the show. However, the diehard fans over at Renew as a Crew have started a petition to have the show reinstated. Thanks to donations, the Crew took out a Billboard ad in Manhattan’s Times Square. Hashtags #SaveOFMD, #HoistTheAds, and #RenewAsACrew have trended on Twitter. At the time of this writing, the petition has gained more than 78,000 signatures—more than halfway to its goal of 150,000. Starting on January 29th, fans will be encouraged to reach out to HBO Max competitors like Amazon Prime and Netflix to advocate for the pickup of Season Three.
Want to sign the petition to #SaveOFMD? You can find it here!
