Did the ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Finale Come Too Easily?

By Kaleena Rivera | TV | November 1, 2023 |

By Kaleena Rivera | TV | November 1, 2023 |

(spoilers for the season 2 finale)

In the final moments of this season of Our Flag Means Death, Stede (Rhys Darby) and Ed (Taika Waititi), our two swashbuckling sweethearts, are once again united and, newly retired, embarking on a new life as innkeepers. It’s a sweet ending to their love story, should this prove to be the end of the popular Max comedy. With Stede and Ed beginning to settle into their new life and the remixed crew of The Revenge—sadly, minus Israel Hands (Con O’Neill)—sailing off into the sunset with their new captain, the finale has been delivered with one great big bow tied to its proverbial head.

It all came a little too easily, no?

Admittedly, there’s never been any confusion as to what Our Flag Means Death sets out to do; there’s no attempt at genre-defying dramatics by this merry half-hour comedy. That’s not to say that it’s not emotionally affecting, especially when the show treats the romances at its center so earnestly—Ed returning Stede’s, “You wear fine things well,” before sharing a kiss in the moonlight is as emotionally resonant as any straightforward drama currently airing. But even though the general aim is comedy, there’s a simplicity to the way this season wrapped up that seemed less about its desire to assert its lightheartedness and more to do with an unwillingness to leave the audience in suspense for longer than a minute at any given time.

When Ed’s grand pursuit of peace and legitimacy as a fisherman is done in a matter of minutes thanks to his buffoonish lack of self-awareness, it makes for a great gag. His return to piracy is swift, as is his ability to locate his signature Blackbeard leathers he sank out in the ocean. The search for Stede takes slightly longer, as the two wind up doing battle on the exact same stretch of beach before finding themselves back in one another’s arms. At least it has the cute factor going for it. But when nearly every major plot beat happens at the same minute-long pace (saving the crew, the skirmish with the British Navy), my natural desire for a happy ending begins to be overtaken by my desire to get more actual story out of the vehicle.

Interestingly, I had similar feelings toward the What We Do in the Shadows finale from a few months back. While season 5 of that other Taika Waititi-adjacent series was largely successful, the finale showed a surprising meekness by pulling its punches and resetting the group dynamic to its previous form. Although the finales for What We Do in the Shadows and its spiritual pirate cousin have separate issues, both seem reluctant to take their respective shows, or audience, down a more challenging route. Much like I would have welcomed a potential storyline with a still murderous Nandor tracking down a vampiric Guillermo, Our Flags Mean Death would have maintained just as much charm and likability if it had designated any of its multiple plot turns as more of a struggle.

If the rapid-fire tying of these loose ends is due to the possibility of this season being its last—while the show has yet to be renewed by Max, creator David Jenkins has expressed a desire for a third season (per Variety), which could close out the story nicely—a clear solution would be to add at least one other episode to the season; it would, at the very least, have given us more Zheng Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian). But I suspect the issue has less to do with time pressure than it does an aversion to creating any more strife than absolutely necessary (Izzy’s death was the only thing holding the finale back from emotional monotony). That’s pure speculation on my part, but it does speak to what seems to be an emerging trend of “good vibes only” in the tv landscape. While it may feel good, it does make one wonder if there are any real surprises left should Our Flag Means Death take one more voyage out to sea.

Kaleena Rivera is the TV Editor for Pajiba. When she isn’t reconciling with the lack of Ruibo Qian on her tv, she can be found on Bluesky or Twitter.