Pulling off time-period shows rooted in historical facts can be daunting. On one hand, in an environment where the acceptance of historic truth isn’t a sure thing, there is a sense of duty to honor what actually happened hundreds of years ago. On the other, the very nature of entertainment means there is a need to engage an audience. However, the success of works such asHamiltonproves that there is a market for media that takes root in history.
RELATED:How Taika Waititi’s ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Performance Wrestles With Blackbeard’s Legacy
Our Flag Means Death, which was recently renewed for ahighly anticipated second seasononHBO Max, seamlessly balances the two, producing a witty romantic comedy on the seven seas. Succeeding where others have failed, the show hit a perfect nerve by taking inspiration from the true lives ofStede BonnetandBlackbeard, two pirates who lived and worked during the Golden Age of piracy. Still, it never claimed to be a historically accurate depiction of the events.
Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard’s Age
Real pirates lived and died young and Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard were no exception. The real men were in their early to late thirties at the time of their death in 1718. While it would be easy to cast two younger actors to play the roles, the choice of showrunnerDavid Jenkinsto useTaika WaititiandRhys Darbyfor the pair was one of the many keys to the show’s success. Waititi and Darby’s established decades-long career partnership and real-life friendship make the chemistry between Bonnet and Blackbeard more authentic.
By aging up the two leads,Our Flag Means Deathalso gives the rare gift of older queer love. While many films and shows focus on the discovery ofqueer love in high school,Our Flag Means Deathis a story for those who may have made those personal realizations a little later in life. It reminds its audience that love and joy are experiences not just reserved for those in the blessings of youth, but could be waiting just around the corner for us all.
Pirate Attire
OurFlag Means Deathforgoes the cliches of wooden legs and eye patches for their pirate crew and instead decides to dress the menacing buccaneers in a blend of seemingly historic and modern clothing. Gone are the large tri-corner hats and frilly shirts and in their place are leather studded belts alongside salt water-stained linen and rope. While Blackbeard most certainly would not be wearing a purple crop top in the early 1700s andOluwande’srubber clogs weren’t invented until nearly 300 years later, somehow none of it seems out of place.
RELATED:10 Times Stede Stole Our Hearts and Blackbeard’s On ‘Our Flag Means Death’
Our Flag Means Deathdoes an excellent job of using costumes as characterization. Stede, dressed in elegant embroidered coats and silk breeches, has the most historically accurate attire of the crew. Stede is trapped in his marriage and what society expects of him. It’s not until the end of the season that he begins to loosen up and his clothing reflects it. In contrast, Blackbeard’s leather breeches, motorcycle jacket, tattoos, and jewelry give him the appearance of a rockstar. As the relationship between Stede and Blackbeard grows, and Stede begins to see the man behind the myth, we see Blackbeard’s attire change too. The way he styles his hair, the colors he chooses to wear, and the style of his clothes are all a reflection of the love he’s letting in.
Stede and Blackbeard’s Relationship
When it comes to pirates, there isn’t much on paper in terms of historical accuracy. Much of what we know about pirates today comes fromA General History of the Pyrates, a book first published in 1724 byCaptain Charles Johnson. Although the real Stede and Blackbeard may not have been romantically involved, same-sex relationships were not unheard of for pirates. Matelotage was a term used by pirates during the 17th and 18th centuries that was similar to a marriage. The two men would share incomes, inherit property in the event of a death, and fight for and defend each other’s interests in battle. Because same-sex unions were forbidden during this time, matelotage gave the pirates who used it a sense of safety.
The true relationship between Stede and Blackbeard was far more complicated than their HBO counterparts. The two men did meet, with Bonnet ceding command of his ship to Blackbeard after sustaining injuries. The two struck up something of a working relationship, until Blackbeard eventually deserted Bonnet, stripped his ship of supplies, and took much of his crew, leaving Bonnet behind. Creator David Jenkins said in arecent interviewthat the backbone of the show was the romance between Stede and Blackbeard, “It ended badly in real life, but we’re not doing real life because we’ve got a Polynesian-Jewish man from New Zealand playing Blackbeard. Once you’re doing that, you’re not doing real life.” The reassurance that sometimes history means there might be a happy ending for these two after all.
The depiction of Stede’s crew, both fictitious and factual were incredibly unique. When Stede Bonnet decided to dip out on his family in a seeming midlife crisis to pursue a life of piracy, he did something that most pirates never did: he bought his own ship and paid his crew a wage instead of splitting the plunder. His crew of over seventy men included a quartermaster and officer, both of whom he heavily relied on. Bonnet, who was born into a life of immense wealth thanks to the inheritance of his family’s plantation in Barbados (which included about 400 acres and nearly one hundred enslaved people), had no knowledge of sailing or nautical navigation.
RELATED:‘Our Flag Means Death’ and ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Move Us Because of Their Absurdity
WhileOur Flag Means Deathkeeps Stede’s characterization as a man incredibly out of his element, the show opted to go for a much more reasonable crew of eight. While this makes casting much more reasonable and affordable, it also allows the show to remain rather intimate. The audience gets to know each crewmate of the Revenge as well as they know Stede; they all have individual personalities and character arcs that will no doubt continue to grow as the showcontinues into its second season.
Stede’s Homecoming
The end of the penultimate episode of the series shows Stede making the choice to return home to his family, abandoning the opportunity to run away with Ed. Although the real Stede did seemingly abandon his family on a whim, he never returned due to the weight of his guilty conscious or otherwise. Instead, after Stede Bonnet slipped out of his family’s estate in Spring 1717, he never saw them again. His time as a pirate was a short one, giving him little time to tell stories with childhood friends as he does on the show, considering the real man was executed for the crime of piracy on June 14, 2025.
This timeline shift allows Stede to have closure, giving his anxious mind confirmation his choice to be with Ed is the right one. He is able to settle the score with his wife Mary (who has made a successful life for herself in his absence) and has the opportunity to fake his own elaborate death (with a leopard, runaway carriage, dropped piano, and all!) He feels incredibly out of place back on land, unable to fit in with his old life and his old friends, and finds himself lashing out at inopportune moments. When he confesses to Mary that he has found love, her acceptance helps him come to the realization that leaving Ed behind wasn’t bringing the legendary pirate to his knees, it was giving both of themwhat they needed in each other.
NEXT:Why More Historical Fiction Like ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Needs to Poke Fun at Itself
