Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for Our Flag Means Death Season 2.

The Big Picture

In Our Flag Means Death Season 2, Stede and Ed’s relationship goes through ups and downs, from dream sequences to fights, but they always find their way back to each other. Stede’s transformation into a mermaid was a dream come true for actor Rhys Darby, as he has always loved the idea of mythical creatures. The ending of Season 2 sees Stede and Ed deciding to settle down and give their relationship a chance, but they know danger and the pirate life will always be a part of their future.

At its core, Max series Our Flag Means Death, created by David Jenkins, is a story about family — the family we discover, the family we keep, and the family we fight to protect. Nowhere is this more apparent than within the crew of misfits on-board the pirate ship called the Revenge, captained by the unlikeliest of men in the “Gentleman Pirate” himself, Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby). While not everyone might be suited to a lifestyle of piracy at first, it’s through Stede’s first meeting with the legendary Blackbeard, aka Ed Teach (Taika Waititi) that the two forge an unexpected bond — and eventually, a romantic connection. But the promise of a stronger relationship between them is broken in the aftermath of Season 1, in which Ed believes Stede has betrayed him and throws himself back into his worst tendencies.

While the two men ultimately patch things up in Season 2, it doesn’t necessarily mean things are any smoother sailing for them either — but it also means that we get to see the ups and downs of Stede and Ed’s relationship, from a few memorable dream sequences to moonlit smooches to a fight that breaks them up yet again before they ultimately run back into each other’s arms. With Season 2’s ending, in which the two watch the Revenge sail off into the sunset and try to make a go of it as innkeepers, what does the future (and a potential third and final season) hold for them? In the wake of Season 2’s conclusion, we had the chance to catch up with Darby to break down many of his character’s most pivotal moments. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, the actor behind Stede explains the process of becoming a mermaid, the experience of wearing that cursed red coat, how much he enjoys playing lovers’ quarrels with Waititi, what the final Season 2 scene means for their characters, and more.

Our Flag Means Death Release Date March 3, 2022 Cast Rhys Darby, Taika Waititi, Rory Kinnear, Con O’Neill Main Genre Adventure Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure, Biography Rating TV-MA Seasons 2

COLLIDER: I have been dying to ask you about the mermaid sequence. I’ve seen the behind-the-scenes of filming and pictures and a video of you in the tail. What was that experience like? And how difficult was it to get in and out of that thing?

RHYS DARBY: It was an amazing experience. I’ve always been into cryptids. To be honest, I used to swim like a little merkid when I was a kid. I’d put my legs together and see if I could go underwater and swim like that, and so I was pretty practiced at it. So, when I put the outfit on — I’ve got to release a video soon, actually, sped up, of putting this thing on — I had to sit down, and then I had to pull it up like a big sock, and then they glued it onto me. There were eight people, maybe over an hour, definitely, gluing it to me and adding five kilograms worth of glitter. But when I was finally ready, you’ve seen that they wheeled me out, and that was my least proudest moment, being wheeled out but then dropped into the ocean, which was a pool. It was really cool. The only difficult thing was we had to get the weight right because I was floating, so once we put weights on me and got me to a point where I could pretty much sink, then it was all on and I swam. It was like a fish to water, honestly. It was really easy. I had no training, I just swam and just became a mermaid.

You had it in you all along.

DARBY: I had it in me! It was meant to be.

Image via Max

I spoke with [costume designer] Gypsy [Taylor] about that cursed coat that Stede wears at one point in the season, and how much fun you seemed to have just getting to swan around in it. Did that coat change how you held yourself in any particular way?

DARBY: It definitely did. You can see that. Rhys the actor was missing Stede from Season 1, not being able to wear big garments, and Stede himself obviously felt the same way. He’s a changed man, but he saw something that he still loves, beautiful clothing, that he had to have — and when he put it on, it does change oneself. There’s a flow to that jacket, they put tails on it, and they knew I’d have fun with it and I did. It really worked for the episode because Stede did not want to give up that cursed suit. But it helped strengthen him in a weird way, as well, because even when he did have to hand it over, he had to be a captainly leader at that point with the plan of giving it over to this French captain. If you remember, he shot his pistol at one point, so yeah, it helped him become the person he was already becoming. Getting rid of that, there was some symbolic move, as well, of releasing the old Stede from him because he’s not going to get his dream happening unless he keeps on the path he’s on, which is the new tough Errol Flynn-type, romantic guy.

Even the path he’s on takes some interesting turns. I’m thinking specifically of the “Calypso’s Birthday” episode. That’s pretty momentous for him, too, just because he has his first darker turn. Afterward, he’s wearing all black, and like you said, he’s got a little more swagger, but it also feels like he’s wrestling with the significance of that moment — not just in terms of his piracy career, but who he is as a person. How did you enjoy playing him working through that?

DARBY: I think that scene was really important. It had to happen, unfortunately, at a moment where they were all pretty much in a bliss state – they were partying, they were all at their absolute high, they were dressed up, they were just being themselves and it was amazing. Then, all of a sudden, that is all ripped out and there’s an evil villain there and then now they’re being tortured. To stand up at that point was the highlight of him as a character because the old Stede wouldn’t have been able to do that. So, he’s a changed man. He’s got his love there, and they’re both strong, but he’s stronger than Ed. I think the fact that he was there seeing his crew, which is his family, being abused the way they were, he finally smashed through the gates of this thing that he couldn’t get through and became the guy he dreamt he would become. He killed the bad guy, got the princess, it was a fairytale. So, he was on an absolute high.

Ed and Stede got together then, and then after that, there are the repercussions of what happens when you do achieve something, and you don’t realize you’re going to get there. There’s always stuff that happens afterward, the byproduct of the fact that he killed this villain that made him then famous, and he had to kind of deal with that. No one ever expects how to deal with fame. That’s never really thrown at many people. He probably never realized that was ever going to happen. But yeah, so much going on in this little guy’s head. [Laughs] I just went with it, and I felt it all as it happened, and hopefully pulled off the acting version of it.

Image via Max

Like you said, there are repercussions, and they kind of force Stede and Ed to have a come-to-terms moment about where they are in terms of their respective journeys. Is it as much fun to get to act in those fight scenes with Taika as it is in the moments where these characters are more tender?

DARBY: Yeah. What’s really fun, I think for both of us, is those tender moments, those lovers’ quarrels, as well. The moment where I’m in the house with him, with Anne Bonny, where I’m trying to show some mature emotion levels when it comes to expressing love, that’s what they’re both useless at. Seeing Stede try was fun to do, and also seeing Ed’s response when he wants to be a fisherman. Those are just such cool moments because we’re on this really cool set, and you can see us trying to understand each other, and the writing was really perfect around those moments, I reckon. It helped us.

I spoke with David, as well, about how I really loved the fact that Stede and Ed have a beach scene at the beginning, in Stede’s dream, and then you get the reality beach reunion. I wanted to ask you about filming those bookending beach moments.

DARBY: The run-togethers?

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Is that what they’re called?

DARBY: Yeah. Obviously, the dream sequence was so much fun to make because it was what [Stede] dreamt it was going to be. We actually shot that at the beginning of the whole season, so it was kind of perfect to go through the journey and then see myself becoming that. Then at the end, we did some fight training, and then I got to do the action — which is so much fun for me, personally, actually doing some pirate sword fighting and pistol shooting, and seeing the Brits go down, and then running towards him. I’m looking like the Errol Flynn character that I’m supposed to be in my head. It was highly satisfying.

Stede as a character has had to grow into the sword fighting and the more dangerous elements of piracy because, in the first season, he was more likely to just duck-and-cover. How much training did you have to do for a scene like that?

DARBY: We did a few sessions. Not much, just to sort of choreograph where the swords were going to go and things like that. It’s all happened so quickly, but I do enjoy those moments because they’re physical, and I like doing physical stuff. It’s one of those things where you go, “Wow. We’re getting paid to jump around on the beach with swords. I hope I make it look good!” At that point, he’s pretty much capable, which was cool.

Image via Max

I wanted to ask you about the ending. You see the Revenge sailing off into the sunset and then Stede and Ed are watching the ship sail off and deciding to settle down, put down roots, and deal with that crumbling shack of a building. Were you surprised at all by that decision, or did you feel like it made sense for them?

DARBY: There’s a certain amount of surprise. I think at that point I was so tired, I’m just taking the script and just learning it. But looking back, it deserves to be done because they deserve to give it a go. Now, I think they’re only really fooling themselves. They’re living in a fantasy, and why not? We all go through that moment, “Let’s get together. Let’s see if we can make this work.” But in the back of their minds, they must be thinking, “We’re going to be tracked down. We’re two of the most famous pirates in the region and this doesn’t end like this.” So, I think even though it may be a fleeting moment, it could go for months, could go for a year, could go for a couple of weeks, why not give it a rest? Why not actually give themselves a chance? They could be bickering in a day about something, knowing those two, but they deserve the chance to give a relationship and a moment of bliss a go. When they look at the pirate ship, I think what they’re thinking is, “We are definitely going to see those people again. It’s just a matter of time. Whether it’s that they’re going to be returning or we’re going to be returning to them.”

You’ve got to put yourself in the mindset — it’s hard with this show because it’s so fantastical — of these guys who are essentially pirate outlaws. When the pirate ship goes, I’m thinking in my mind, as the character, “Okay, danger’s just around the next corner for them, and I don’t want to be away from them,” because I love those guys, so I worry about them. He has mixed emotions there.

As we’ve seen with this show, the sea always has its pull, and sooner or later, like you said, either the Revenge is going to come find them or they’re going to find the Revenge. It feels like they’re only meant to end up back on the ship with everybody.

DARBY: Yeah, who knows? I like the way it ended because it’s nice. It makes you feel good. But also, you’re thinking, “This is too good to be true.” [laughs]

Our Flag Means Death is available to stream on Max.

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