The wide-ranging realm of genre television is already home to a lot of different characters — warriors, elves, monsters, sorcerers — so it’s somewhat surprising that, apart from only a handful of isolated instances, pirates have never really been front and center on the small screen. The release of Our Flag Means Death’s first season last year, however, was a stark reminder that not only could these swashbuckling ne’er-do-wells be cool again, but they could serve as the perfect backdrop for a found family consisting of outcasts and misfits. The high sea effectively became a safe space, wherein the show’s characters could embrace the things that made them distinct and unique as well as recognize the inherently valued traits in each other.

No wonder, then, that the series has attracted an intensely passionate fanbase, which corresponded to a major uptick in viewing numbers during the first season’s drop on what’s now simply called Max. It didn’t just have to do with the fact that Our Flag Means Death’s creator David Jenkins and the writing team actually committed to making the relationship between Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) a love story, but surely that didn’t hurt either. But anyone who may have thought that romance for these two characters would be all smooth sailing had another think coming, as Season 1 wrapped up with Stede and Ed on wholly different sides of a misunderstanding plot, the possibility of reconciliation between them all but dashed and the crew of Stede’s ship, the Revenge, practically scattered to the four winds. When we pick up with the misadventures of this motley crew at the beginning of Season 2, no one is exactly the same as when they first started out — and while this sophomore outing takes a distinctly darker path, it doesn’t mean that the series ever forgets to maintain the identity it’s already boldly claimed for itself.

‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2 Proves That Love Hurts
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In the aftermath of Season 1, the Revenge crew has been divided, with several members — including Jim (Vico Ortiz) and Frenchie (Joel Fry) — now ending up underneath Blackbeard’s command as he takes control of the ship and the violent piracy that ensues. This version of Ed is certainly more unhinged than anything we’ve ever seen before, and never more dangerous than he is with his currently broken heart, reverting to the person he was before he let down his guard enough to trust someone else with it. Waititi’s performance at this particular point of the season is just unpredictable enough to be genuinely frightening, as Blackbeard tries to fill the emptiness inside himself by orchestrating daily raids on other vessels, forcing everyone to dump any recent loot overboard so that they can make room for the next day’s haul. More than the uptick in robbery at sea, though, his moods are also on a hair-trigger, and he’s just as likely to order two of the crew members to fight each other to the death as he is to pull out his pistol and shoot someone.

Meanwhile, Stede has been stranded at the Republic for Pirates with several others, among them Oluwande (Samson Kayo) and Black Pete (Matthew Maher), and is taking charge by way of landing them all some form of income so that they can rejoin the others out at sea. The only way to do that is to start working under none other than Spanish Jackie (Leslie Jones), who’s more than happy to put these lads to work in her bar. By day, Stede’s optimism serves as a direct contrast to Ed’s tempestuous state of mind, as he frequently writes the other man letters that are driven by hopes of an eventual reunion. By night, Stede’s dreams are hilariously romantic and unabashedly filled with Blackbeard’s face, leading to him calling out Ed’s name so often that none of the crew can actually get any sleep. The fact that these two have such drastic perspectives on what actually played out between them makes a reunion as foreseeable as it is inevitable, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Stede hardly earns the warm welcome he’d been expecting when the two are finally face-to-face again.

RELATED: Stede and Blackbeard Pirate Their Way Through Heartbreak in New ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2 Trailer

‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2 Adds More Women Into the Mix
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For better or worse, Season 1 of Our Flag Means Death was arguably a bit of a sausage fest — but Season 2 takes a significant step forward in broadening the scope of the show’s characters as well as sowing the field with a lot of delightful new additions. After all, men weren’t the only ones at sea behaving badly! While some of the season’s initial reveals are too good to risk spoiling, there are more than a few others who have already been teased out in the weeks leading up to the premiere, and the show makes the absolute most of their presences whenever they pop up on-screen.

Of course, Jones’ return as Spanish Jackie is an appreciated one, especially when we’re reminded that she has 19 husbands at her disposal, all of whom are ready and willing to give someone a thorough thrashing on her behalf. Minnie Driver and Rachel House pop up in an early episode as the dysfunctional power couple Anne Bonny and Mary Read, both wildly successful pirates in their heyday who have since settled down on a remote island and now occupy their time with a combination of selling antiques and plotting various ways to attempt each other’s murder — you know, just to keep the relationship spicy. But their appearance isn’t just a glorified cameo or mere stunt casting; their characters serve the intriguing purpose of prompting Stede and Ed to do a little self-reflection on their own status, as well as whether they’d ever truly be happy in some form of retirement. In terms of the other women who round out more of the cast this season, Ruibo Qian’s Republic soup merchant Susan might be a bit more than she lets on, while Madeleine Sami plays Archie, another hardened member of Blackbeard’s crew who strikes up a promising new connection with Jim.

‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2 Is Distinctly Darker, But Never Loses Sight of Its Humor
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It’s clear that Our Flag Means Death Season 2 isn’t pulling any punches in its initial span of episodes — and not just in the aforementioned depiction of Blackbeard as someone who is processing his emotions in a very unhealthy way. In fact, if the Season 1 finale felt heavy-laden with jaw-dropping moments, the immediate follow-up is a generous dose of the same. Although becoming a pirate has always felt like a choice that would be riddled with tumult and uncertainty, this season doubles down on the dangers that are simply inherent in that lifestyle. Mutiny, drowning, amputation of limbs — these and more happen just within the first three episodes, proving that the show is capable of taking some very dark turns that also feel completely appropriate given certain emotional states.

But all of these initial, gloomier components don’t detract from the fact that Season 2 hasn’t lost sight of what makes the series a comedy at its core. With this new installment, Jenkins and the rest of the writing team — Alyssa Lane, Alex Sherman, Adam Stein, Eliza Jiménez Cossio, John Mahone, Simone Nathan, Zayre Ferrer, Jes Tom, and Natalie Torres — still manage to strike the balance between lighter and darker elements, which all contribute to a perfect tenor that sings throughout every episode. While Our Flag Means Death may already have a planned endpoint, and a possible fate in mind for some of its characters given real historical events, it’s difficult to imagine this little-pirate-show-that-could not succeeding at the impossible. After all, it’s already done it once.

Rating: A-

The Big Picture

Our Flag Means Death’s second season explores a darker path, but still maintains the show’s bold identity and humor. Season 2 introduces more female characters, broadening the scope of the show and adding delightful new additions. The relationship between Stede and Blackbeard takes a turbulent turn as they face challenges and a potential reunion in Season 2.

Our Flag Means Death Season 2 premieres with its first three episodes October 5 on Max, with two episodes dropping weekly thereafter leading up to the season finale on October 26.