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Our Flag Means Death Season 1 Review

Our Flag Means Death is a period romantic comedy series that premiered its first season on Max in 2022. It’s a flawed, but charming and fun show.

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“Actually I think I’m just so-so,

but I’ve decided to carry myself like I’m cute“

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The series follows the misadventures of gentleman-turned-pirate Stede Bonnet and his crew aboard the Revenge as they try to make a name for themselves as pirates and cross paths with famed pirate captain Blackbeard. This show makes a silly claim that it’s based on a true story, but only the background of its main character is authentic and everything else was made-up. This type of show won’t be for everybody as it subverts the pirate story to the extreme, but I mostly did appreciate its approach of telling its 18^th century story with a 21^st century sensibility.

The first season has ten episodes of around thirty minutes in length and I actually really liked this format as it made the series neither rushed nor needlessly prolonged. The humor ranges from just okay to brilliant. My main issue is just that – the uneven nature to these episodes. While the finale in particular was incredible with so many hilarious gags and lines of dialogue that made me laugh so hard (the fake death sequence was ingenious), many other episodes forsake hilarity for character development and drama, but mostly for the worse.

With that being said, I did like this roster of pirates quite a bit, though many do not get their proper due sadly. So many of the supporting players only get to have a moment or two where they shined (the nude guy with the bird being the prime example), but at least the main players got solid arcs and well defined relationships between them. Izzy the henchman had such a funny sadomasochistic relationship with Blackbeard and that was the most realistic part of this show that is otherwise obviously too tame. But the addition of these darker elements was satisfying.

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Jim Jimenez obviously represents non-binary people and I found this character not fun and too serious, but Jim’s flashbacks and backstory worked. Lucius is a fun gay feminine character and I found his interactions with the main couple very amusing. Speaking of the two, I have to say that Taika Waititi was just solid in the role of Blackbeard. I expect more from him going forward. But their romance was quite sweet and playful and the actors were game in all of their scenes together.

Rhys Darby is clearly the MVP of the show, at least he was in the first season. His Stede Bonnet is an instantly memorable character and the very idea of the gentleman pirate was hilarious. This cast is quite diverse in sexualities and nationalities too – British, American and Australian actors comprise the cast. Darby himself is from New Zealand and his accent was quite amusing. In particular, his facial expressions, line delivery and mannerisms were top-notch. He is the main reason to see this show.

Our Flag Means Death should have been brisker in pace and more entertaining. The dramatic episodes and arcs didn’t fully work. I preferred the comedic and over-the-top episodes myself. The technical aspects are just serviceable with the costumes being way too modern for the time period. The score, sound and cinematography are all just okay. The show is middling in these aspects, but the dialogue and humor elevated the weak story for the most part.

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