Our Flag Means Death’s Finale Was Full of Hurt For Izzy Hands Fans
By Linda Codega
Last week, the season two finale of Our Flag Means Death aired on Max. The eight-episode season was marked by incredible acting, a mix of goofy swashbuckling and brutal nose-peeling mutilation, and an encompassing acceptance of queerness that made the first season lightning in a bottle.
For some fans, however, that bottle broke at the end of the eighth episode, when Con O’Neill’s Izzy Hands—first mate, jilted lover, and sometime serenader—was shot and killed. His death, the first major character to die in the series, sent ripples across Our Flag Means Death’s diehard fans. io9 spoke to some of those fans to try and understand why this show, this fandom, and this character elicited such a massive online reaction.
In the season two finale, Izzy gets shot by the villainous Prince Ricky Banes (Errol Shand) and dies in the arms of Edward Teach, a.k.a Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). David Jenkins, Our Flag Means Death’s writer and showrunner, described the moment in an interview with io9 as “a lucky shot.” It’s the sort of randomly cruel brutality that often stalks pirate stories… but doesn’t usually appear in workplace sitcoms or rom-coms, and doesn’t usually happen to main characters.
Izzy dies apologizing to Blackbeard, who had assaulted him and encouraged him to commit suicide at the beginning of season two. None of the other members of the crew of the Revenge, who had become very close to Izzy over the season, say anything during his painful death. The episode ends a few minutes later with a shot of a cross made from Izzy’s prosthetic leg, and his ubiquitous ring-and-kerchief tied around the brace. Then, Ed retreats into a cabin with his lover, Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), and a seagull lands on the beam of the cross.
