April 16, 2024 • 29 mins
Welcome to Spacing Out With BB and Jason! We’re covering Our Flag Means Death, and this week we’re discussing season one, episode eight, “We Gull Way Back”. Thanks for joining us!
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Find these episodes and more on our main podcast feed, “Spacing Out with BB and Jason”
https://plinkhq.com/i/1529054920?to=page
Feel free to reach out to us with your thoughts; We may use your comments on an upcoming episode.
Email: spacingoutpod@gmail.com
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X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/Spacing_Out_Pod
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to Spacing Out with BB andJason, this week covering Our Flag Means
Death, Season one, Episode eight, We Go Way Back. Welcome to
Spacing Out. I'm BB and I'mJason, and we are discussing Our Flag
(00:20):
Means Death one episode at a time, spoiler free, and the series is
available to stream on the service Maxformerly HBO, And you should know this
is a rewatch for us. Wewill have a spoiler section at the end
of the podcast where we are freeto discuss any future events in the series.
So if this is your first timewatching and you don't want any spoilers,
you'll just need to skip that clearlymarked section. But otherwise we won't
(00:42):
be spoiling anything past this episode,which is Our Flag Means Death, Season
one, Episode eight, We GoWay Back. Get it, It's like
Seagual Goal way Back. I didn'trealize that with title until I sigded on
the title screen. This originally airedon March seventeenth, twenty two, written
by Alyssa Lane and Alex Sherman anddirected by Burton Birdie, which is a
(01:04):
directing duo. I've been seeing theirname pop up a lot. They did
a lot of like independent films andonline stuff for a while, but now
they've been doing a lot of scifi fantasy. They've been in Hawkeye Silo,
latest Walking Dead series, and thenthe show Cool. In this episode,
an old friend of Blackbeard's Calico,Jack, arrives, rousing Blackbeard's more
(01:25):
chaotic side, and stirs up Steed'sjealousy by mentioning that he and Edward were
past lovers. A drunken Jack killsButtons beat seagull Carl. Steve orders Jack
off the ship. Blackbeard decides tojoin him, and Jack admits to black
Beard that Izzy sent him to getblack Beard out of the way and led
the Revenge to be ambushed by ChaunceyBadminton. Blackbeard races back to the Revenge.
The British capture them, but Steveand Blackbeard are happy to be reunited
(01:47):
and then heartbroken by Jim's absence.Aliwandi gives up his cabin the Frenchy and
we John, who expressed their excitementfor their newfound status as roommates. Meanwhile,
Jim takes Giraldo hostage the four SpanishJackie into telling them everything she knows
about the Sieta Gios. Jackie killsGeraldo herself and reveals that'aldo was a
member of the Siete Gios, addingthat all the other members are probably dead.
(02:12):
Vibe check. Did we like theepisode overall? How does it stand
the test of time? All?Right? How does this one stuck up?
It's alright, it's not my favorite, but I think it's because Calico
Jack is just such an unlikable character, right, It's a it's a hard
one. It's not because he isso just awful, annoying and frustrating and
(02:35):
like ruining everything that you're loving.Yeah, though by like, I mean
he's it's intentional that he's that waythough. He's a literal agent of chaos.
Yeah. And then there's some goodmoments in there, but it's like
this guy, he's awful. Itmakes me hate will learn Net? Right
would you do to my show?Dude? Yes? I mean it's still
(03:00):
good, but it's it's a difficultone to swallow. Trivia time, What
facts could we uncover for week?All way back? So, Calico Jack
is based on a real pirate andalso knows Jack Rackham and Calico Jack was
executed in November seventeen twenty and hisbody was gibboted to deter others from committing
(03:22):
acts of piracy. And I lookedup giboted. That means that they just
display it for public scorn. I'mguessing he was hung yeah, or or
displayed out like like on one ofthose fun little stocks that they put people
in. Oh yeah, those things. Those are awful. I can't believe
people do that for fun, likeat fairs and stuff like. That's like
(03:43):
a form of capital punishment that you'redoing for fun. Yeah, take my
photo, ridicule me. Oh.Kendall Wells, who acted as Will Arnett
double for the episode, revealed thatBlackbeard asking Calico Jack to whip his balls
was improvised by Taikowa titi As wherea number of other versions of the same
scene, which didn't make the vinylcut. That was such a like toxic
(04:05):
masculine like interaction. Yes, Like, There's been so many instances, specifically
in like middle school and high schoolwhere I remember boys willingly putting their balls
in danger like that. I waslike, what are you doing, dude?
I feel like teenage boys just alwaysplay some version of that game of
(04:28):
yeah yeah, And I'm just likethis is peak like adolescent like fun for
men or boys or people with penises, and I was just like, this
is very authentic. This feels verylike it like cringe, hit me in
the ball, whip me in theball, because that's what it like.
(04:50):
Calgo Jack is bringing him back tolike act elicits like this like danger and
like juvenile kind of humor and everybody, what else do you got for trivia?
Also improvised was the foot touch sceneat the very end, improvised by
(05:11):
Taikawa and the creator David Jenkins admittedhe only noticed it when reviewing the footage,
and that was a really nice touchstandvery gently, very like I'm here
Fleetwood Max. The chain being usedin the episode was David Jenkins's idea and
it was the first piece of musicthat was ever cleared for use in the
show. It was really good.I think it was like the best use
(05:31):
of like music. Yeah, itwas really in the way that you like
managed to sink it with the action, like even the drummer hitting like a
drum that sounds very differently, butthe beat was still on it. And
yeah, it was really good.Deep Sea Dive, let's break down some
of our thoughts on the episode.You can share your thoughts with us through
(05:56):
email or social media. We mayuse your comments on an coming episode.
We go way back, So westart off the scene with a very peaceful
night. Everyone's laying down, sleeping, resting. So is that where they
usually sleep then on the deck.Yeah, that's why it's like really like
(06:17):
important that you get a room likethat's high status. They either sleep in
that room or they sleep downstairs inthat place where there's like a hammock.
That's where I assume they were sleeping. Yeah, but they get they're fucking
pirates. They sleep where where thefuck they want? Fucking sweet was in
a barrel, that's true. Roachwas hugging the onions, and Buttons was
(06:46):
playing a flute and bathing in themoonlight, preparing for a special evening the
following night, And upon him arisesa phantom perceived by him of Jack Kaliko,
who's like belligerent and like awful.Yes, And I think I love
Buttons, like, I don't knowhe might be here, he might not
(07:10):
be, and if he was,he's probably sleeping. I like the skepticism
that Buttons brings to the table.So you think black Beard is sleeping in
Steed's quarters? Oh, that's agood question. I don't know. I
don't either. They don't show thatright, No, but I think that's
part of the mystery of what's goingon between them, Like because even Kaliko
(07:32):
Jack asks like, are you guysbuggering each other? And Steed's like,
I'm not gonna warrant that with ananswer. He's like too gentlemanly to tell
on himself whatever's happening between them.Yeah, but it's like something is happening
between them to make Steed so jealous. Yeah, I just don't think they've
(07:53):
had a conversation about it. Ifeel like they haven't acted on it other
than just like friendly banter. Yeahco captains. Yeah. I think that
foot touch was like the closest touchingthat they've had. That's like their most
intimate moment so far, besides thatone moment where he says you wear fine
things. Well, So Steed iswoken up by all this cannon fire and
(08:16):
chaos going on upstairs, and hegoes up there and it's like, you
know, what the buck's going on? Then he tells Ed that breakfast is
ready, So I get like,is Roach setting up that breakfast for him
then? Because like it was justalready ready when Steve just got out of
bed. Yeah, Roach probably makesbreakfast for him. That makes sense.
Yeah, I guess. So there'sa lot of food too, is like
(08:37):
an everyday breakfast, probably because Steed'sthe Gentleman Pirate and they're all about excess.
It's about having too much food andnot eating it. It's a sign
of wealth, and like even richpeople today are doing it. Like I
think there was this thing about howduring the Grammys or something, they had
like charcouterie boards on all the tablesand nobody was touching them. And it's
(09:01):
a sign of wealth to be ableto spend money on food and then not
eat it. It's like wealth andexcess, and that's where Steed comes from.
So it's like hard to break fromthat. You're just not used to
seeing that many groceries in one place. It's not like after a big grocery
trip, No, I get it. It's like when we buy vegetables and
then we don't eat them and theyrut in the fridge. Yeah, it's
(09:24):
a sign of access and wealth.I want to jump to the roommate situation.
Oh well, all Alan day it'sjust like, oh, I'm so
sad about Jim. I can't evenbe in that room anymore. And fucking
Swedes like, wait a minute,did you just say that the room is
empty? And they run and Frenchiehears too. It was funny that the
(09:48):
word of mouth went from Swede andthen Frenchy overhears it, and then we
John gets in on the action.Yes, it's a hot commodity to have
that room, and it is anice little room. If I had that
or the ship's hull, I'd belike, yeah, give me your room,
man. Yeah, I mean nowonder Aluandi was like, we don't
(10:09):
need the mutiny. Let's keep thingsthe status quo. Yeah. So it's
really funny that. Well it's sadtoo that Frenchie and we John have never
had a room. They're like,I've heard of rooms, I've never had
one of my own. What dowe do? Like they're trying to design
things and come up with ideas onwhat they want to do. The fact
(10:33):
that Frenchy is totally put off bythe idea that someone else might come over
and visit them. Yeah, wellI get it. I don't want people
in my room. I just gotit. What if they try to take
it I'm still just curious, like, how is it that Aluwandi and Jim
ended up with rooms? And Jimis tough. Remember, everybody was afraid
of Jim. Jim probably like didsomething to like alpha male his claimed it
(10:58):
and though for yeah, they andthey needed the room because Jim had that
secret identity and that was the onlyplace where Jim could take off their prosthetic
beard and nose. So I feellike they probably were like very cunning in
their way to get it because thecrew respects Jim a lot, so I
(11:20):
could see like how they would maneuvertheir way into getting that room. I'm
glad those guys got their own room. I would have been really interested to
see what the Swede would have doneit with it. Though, with his
fallen teeth and nails from the scurvy, I feel like he needed a win.
Yeah. So do we need tosay more about Calico Jack. I
(11:43):
mean, I feel like we're prettymuch said how annoying and frustrating he is.
Yeah, I really don't like hischaracter, and I think that was
the point of his character was tobe this like annoying and convenient like distraction.
Yeah, it's not that like theytried to write a good character and
messed up, or that he performedthat role poorly, Like no, it's
(12:05):
it's as intended, but it's justso so well done that it's off putting.
Yeah, and then we learn eventuallythat this is all manipulation, even
though it seems to be still likethat's his personality. Yeah, Like he's
been mute neat like what three timesthis year, so he can't keep a
crew. Probably Isy Hands was like, I know exactly who to throw at
(12:26):
them because he probably has the sameexact feelings. When when Kalico's Jack is
around, Yeah, and he thoughtit was a surefire way to get Blackbeard
away from Steve Bonnet. And itkind of works until Kalico Jack spills the
beans about the real intentions of hislike being there, and he's like,
(12:48):
yeah, you didn't get like that. I was setting you up for a
trap, you stupid asshole. Andas soon as Blackbeard finds out, he's
like, well, that's my friend, that's not I'm not setting him up.
That's not cool, like, whichis like completely different from the black
Beard we initially saw, who wasready to take over Steve Bonnet's life.
(13:11):
It's like I'm not black Beard.I'm Steve Bonnett. I'm a well Steve
landowner. So it's really interesting charactergross to see here. And I feel
like is he probably could have givencalico Jack better instructions about not spilling the
beans right away. Yeah, well, I wonder like what his instructions were,
because because he could have come upwith some plan to like show up
(13:33):
and say that he needs a rideto the whatever the cove, Findman's cove.
Yeah, I feel like there's therewere simpler ways as opposed to relying
on like being able to get understeed skin and drive this wedge and with
just the right timing to get inthere. Like yeah, so, what
was your favorite calico Jack game,Whippies. What was the one where they
(13:56):
walk the pull the mast and jumpdown. I don't know, similar name
like Yardy or something. I likethe Coconut War. The Coconut War.
I think I might be bad forsaying this, but I thought it was
really funny to have a turtle anda crab go against each other. That
(14:16):
was what really got Steed put overthe edge. I think seeing that barberism,
I just like the idea of aturtle with a knife on its back,
like this very slow like most likeI don't know when I think of
a turtle, I think of likea gentle creature, like not like a
(14:37):
vicious beast. But put a knifeon that motherfucker. It's still very slow.
It's kind of like that meme withthat cute little like hippo or or
it's like this animal putting away aknife, where it's like not choosing violence
today. It's this like idea oflike the super cute or that baby duck
(14:58):
with a knife, you know,like the idea of this like adorable soft
creature with like a weapon. It'sjust the juxtaposition. Really enjoyed it.
But Whippies was swan too, andeven though it got him in trouble with
fucking buttons. Yeah, that wasthe that was the fall of him.
(15:20):
The Swede like just begging for himfor Allawandi to whip him, whip that
jar off his head. Yeah,I'll close my eyes so you can't hit
them. They were all like mostlyon board, but then like they each
started getting hurt and they were like, oh, maybe this isn't such great
fun. Yeah, And no onewas on board for Carl getting killed.
(15:45):
No, that's when the mood changedeverything, like the tides were turned and
his death warrant was signed. Buteveryone was pretty sympathetic to him early on,
especially I don't know if he wasactually mutiny three times this year,
but they really sympathetic to that story. They were like, well, we
mute need Steed, we might stilldo it. Yeah, they were pretty
(16:08):
sympathetic at first, but then oncehe was obviously the bad guy, he
like murdered one of their crew.That bird was part of their crew and
they could not stand for it.And fucking Buttons hexing him what the fuck?
Yeah, but the hex was frickingweird, like the hand motions and
the intensity and the fact that hewas naked. And then the British came
(16:36):
and they take out fucking Calico Jack. Yes, and Buttons is like,
yes, my hex works. Ohand he has to break the news of
his dead bird to Deborah or whateverOlivia Olivia, and that was sad.
We also have Lucius handling the breakupscenario, delivering all the black Beard's which
(17:00):
seemed to be very few. Yeah, probably a couple of knives, Like
I didn't see anything in that boxand does he not even have like another
set of clothes. No, healways wears that leather get up. That
assumes he change it every now andno he doesn't. They're pirates. Everybody
wears the same outfit all the time, except for Steve. He's gonna say
(17:22):
someone doesn't. Steve is the onlyone who has a wardrobe in this fictional
world. But yeah, the Britishare here and black Beard is back,
and Steve was ready to fight.He's ready to go out fighting, but
black Beard's like, no, surrender, dude, you can't fight here.
I know it. You're three againstone and there's no escape from the cove.
(17:44):
Yeah, so they surrender and theyget boarded, and it's beautiful.
It's like the most epic scene thusfar in this show. Yeah, Like,
first they show the British and alltheir colonial might on their boats looking
like fucking Jo you know what's hisname, George Washington crossing the Delaware,
(18:06):
giving that imagery the iconography of likethese uniformed white men on a boat that's
very classic Americana kind of idealism.And then you have them like coming up
onto this boat and like using theirhooks and climbing up board and there's little
(18:26):
to no resistance from these pirates becausethey put up the white flag and they're
still getting brutalized by these soldiers andit's really chaotic and like it kind of
reminded me of like when the Titanicwas sinking in that movie The Titanic where
(18:49):
where it sinks nowhere, where Frenchiewas playing the loom or what is what
is that instrument? The maroon thewhat is it the loom? It's a
a lut, That's what I wasthinking of. Yeah, it is a
lute. Yeah, he's playing thelute on a ship while there's chaos,
and it gave me Titanic vibes whenthose dudes with the violins are playing right
(19:15):
till the end. Yeah, andthen Buttons is streaking around and no one,
no one wants any of that.And then they get captured. They're
all like roped up, and blackBeard is right there next to Steed,
and Steed's like you came back,and black Beard just socialantly is like I
(19:37):
never left, mate, and hewinks at him, and then they pan
out and they do a little foottouch and it's just like, oh no,
what's going to happen? Like they'retogether at least, but what's going
to happen next? We'll see.They always figure something out, we will
see. So I mean overall,it is actually like a really good look
at like jealousy and a relationship andlike maturity and yeah, just like how
(20:03):
how seeing someone from your past mighthave you changed your behavior and whay.
He's like, you don't necessarily seeyourself. You revert to your old ways,
but that's not who you are anymore. Yeah, And he was so
convinced that he was this person untilhe found out this was all a farce.
And he's like, I'm not thisperson, you know. I just
(20:25):
got caught up in the friendship andthe nostalgia. And I feel like we
could that can be any of uswith you know, certain friends or certain
like time in our lives where wewere maybe a little wilder than we are
now as we've got mellowed in ourage. Yeah. And I feel like
Blackbeard struggles with his identity for sure, for sure. And I wonder how
(20:48):
long would he have wanted to stayaround Calico Jack even if he didn't learn
that information now, because like Idon't know, if your college drinking buddy
comes a visit and you go outand have a good time together. It's
nostalgic, but like you're going todo that every night and keep doing that
for months, Like when does itend? Eventually you're gonna be like,
Yeah, I'm just I'm going togo back to the way I had my
(21:10):
life before you showed up. Igot laundry, dude, Like, I
don't know when you do laundry orlike what you do for money. If
you can keep going out like this, how do you It's not sustainable And
I think that shows with Calico Jackgetting mutanted every like other months or whatever.
It's not a very sustainable lifestyle.But yeah, I'm glad Blackbeard comes
(21:33):
back. That was very big ofhim. And Steed's face lights up when
he comes over the edge of theship. Yeah, you're ready to move
on. Yeah, Astral Queen,who was the standout character in the episode,
Astral Queen, you got you're pickinga Calico Jack, you know what?
No, I'm just kidding. Idon't know who my astrol Queen is.
(22:00):
I think my Astral Queen going tobe butts for bathing in the moonlight
and keeping his rituals and being skepticalof strangers, and for the loss of
his beloved friend and the sweet,sweet vengeance that was given to him and
being like a crazy naked guy.Yeah, I've given it to Buttons,
(22:21):
what about you? So I hadtwo options written down and one I was
aligned with you on Buttons. Iwas also thinking of begging Steed, Oh
yeah, for saying get off myship. Yeah, because I am going
to pick Steed because he really likestands this ground and stands up for like
who he is. And he atfirst he's like very open. He's like,
(22:41):
you're a friend of a friend ofyours is a friend of mine,
and that's like the way you wouldwant to be with your partner. And
they're crazy friends, Like you wantto be open and kind and having a
welcoming environment. But if that bitchkeeps coming for you every fucking time they
get and you need to fucking tellthem who the Fox House this is.
(23:03):
And Steed did that very well.Yep. Yeah, I'm very proud of
him in this episode for growing someballs, and I think he chose the
perfect moment to do it too.Yeah, because everyone was aligned with him.
Then mm hmm. Then he hadto give like the divorced speech to
the crew, it's not your fault. We still love you all right then,
(23:23):
buttons instead, you're the winners ofthis episode. The next episode will
be episode nine, Act of Grace. As we're I've only got two more
episodes of this season, SEO stylistin this group Grace for Impact. Spoilers
(23:44):
ahead. If you haven't seen thewhole series, now is the time to
say goodbye. Remember you can contactus at Spacingoutpod at gmail dot com,
find us on social media, shareyour thoughts and be a part of the
discussion. Spoilers in five four threetwo ones. So let's talk about the
(24:06):
costume change first of all in thenext episode, because these motherfuckers go from
leather Daddy and mister Dandy to whitelinen soldiers, like they look like they're
at a SPA retreat. It's soweird to see them outside of their like
uniforms, almost especially black Beard,Like he goes from black to white.
(24:27):
It's crazy how clean he looks.Doesn't he have to shave? At some
point he chooses to shave, hethinks he's and then he gets stood up
at the altar. Basically, yeah, but yeah, I'm really excited for
the next episode where we find outlike what the British try to do to
them, and then how black Beardknows the law and he's like, ah,
(24:48):
we want to do this thing instead. And then Steve finds out he's
declared dead. I can't believe theydon't let him just go right then and
there, like, oh, you'redead, you should just leave, but
they let him go into prison orwhatever. Yeah. I love that is
based on true events where they dotake the Act of Grace and there they
stop pirating, and then of coursethey go back to pirting again. Yeah.
(25:12):
Yeah, I mean, of course, since we focused on Buttons on
this episode, I just keep thinkingabout him turning into that bird eventually.
Yeah, it's pretty cool. Yeah, I don't think I have much else
to throw in here. No,I think this episode was a good vehicle
to move forward in the plot,and I'm excited to see the next one.
I really wish that this show wouldget picked up for a third season.
(25:36):
It's like not going to happen,though, it seems, even with
all of the fan push. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean it
wrapped up in a way that issatisfying enough, like there's no big cliffhangers.
Not that satisfying though, because youwant to see more there, and
you know there's more. The creatorsaid there's more, and that's so not
(25:56):
fair. Yeah, he said there'splans for like a third and final season.
Yeah, and so like, yeah, I mean, of course I
want to see more. We had, like the whole the rest of the
crew besides Steven Blackbeard, like sailingout for more adventures, and I want
to see like that dynamic or evenif they end up back on the boat,
like let's see it. Like Idon't know, it's just like it
(26:18):
sucks how TV and production doesn't takeinto account like a massive fan following sometimes,
like how many people have wanted Fireflyto come back? Right? Yeah.
But I've also like I've heard creatorstalk about like thousands of passionate fans
don't equal like millions of actual viewers. So sometimes like, yeah, there's
(26:41):
a really passionate fan base, butit's not enough to have like the numbers
that the networks need. I don'tknow. I really applaud the like gumption
of community moving forward with like thehelp of Subway and shit like that,
like they made it happen. Yeah, but yeah, who knows how many
viewers they got, And then thequality of the work maybe wasn't up to
(27:06):
snuff at that point. I don'tknow, though, I feel like the
cast was more relaxed because they cartrid of peers. But yeah, I
don't know. I would I wouldreally love to see another season. But
I'm excited for this season to bedone. I think the heartbreak is really
hard to come back from, Likebroken black Beard is so hard to watch.
(27:29):
Yeah, that's why I'm like alittle nervous almost about these next two
episodes because I know it's gonna goit's gonna get worse before it gets better.
Yeah. Yeah, they have sucha whirlwind romance, and I think
if it's not this next episode,it's the one after where they finally kiss,
and I don't know, it's justlike crazy the kiss. Like I
said, we don't get a lotof like male romance or any queer romance
(27:55):
on mainstream media anymore, unless it'slike super whitewashed and sterilized, like I'm
thinking of like Modern Family. Howwe never see those two gay men interact
in a queer loving way. It'smore like a parents who have to tolerate
thing each other kind of way.Right, So they don't kiss, they
don't hug. They don't hold hands. It's it's weird. So I don't
(28:18):
know. I have the tender moments, and I like how Taichi Taika Taika
White t t he kind of understandsthat character really well in a way that
like he improvises and he like addsto it in a way that's really genuine
and like believable. Yeah. Iremember there's an interview on as one of
(28:40):
those YouTube things like Wired or somethingwhere they were Taka was saying that he
tried to do a little research intoBlackbeard and it's like, basically, no
one knows who the fuck this guywas, so I'm just gonna make him
my own. So yeah, Imean, he just brought what he thought
that character should be. Yeah.Cool. Also, I didn't like that
they called him Blackie. I wasreally off study. That was odd.
(29:02):
I didn't like it. That mightbe like a weird New Zealand thing or
something where the British because it wasn'tit British directors and writers. Yeah,
yeah, I didn't like that.All right, Well, let's get out
of here, all right, takecare. Next episode will be active Grace,
and thank you for sailing on therevenge and don't get a hex put
on you, or if you do, you know look out for Cannonball.
(29:23):
Thank you for spacing out with BBand Jason. You can help us out
by subscribing and leaving a positive ratingor review. Next time we will cover
our Flag Means Death Season one,episode nine, Act of Grace. We
hope you will join us
Welcome to Spacing Out with BB andJason, this week covering Our Flag Means
Death, Season one, Episode eight, We Go Way Back. Welcome to
Spacing Out. I'm BB and I'mJason, and we are discussing Our Flag
(00:20):
Means Death one episode at a time, spoiler free, and the series is
available to stream on the service Maxformerly HBO, And you should know this
is a rewatch for us. Wewill have a spoiler section at the end
of the podcast where we are freeto discuss any future events in the series.
So if this is your first timewatching and you don't want any spoilers,
you'll just need to skip that clearlymarked section. But otherwise we won't
(00:42):
be spoiling anything past this episode,which is Our Flag Means Death, Season
one, Episode eight, We GoWay Back. Get it, It's like
Seagual Goal way Back. I didn'trealize that with title until I sigded on
the title screen. This originally airedon March seventeenth, twenty two, written
by Alyssa Lane and Alex Sherman anddirected by Burton Birdie, which is a
(01:04):
directing duo. I've been seeing theirname pop up a lot. They did
a lot of like independent films andonline stuff for a while, but now
they've been doing a lot of scifi fantasy. They've been in Hawkeye Silo,
latest Walking Dead series, and thenthe show Cool. In this episode,
an old friend of Blackbeard's Calico,Jack, arrives, rousing Blackbeard's more
(01:25):
chaotic side, and stirs up Steed'sjealousy by mentioning that he and Edward were
past lovers. A drunken Jack killsButtons beat seagull Carl. Steve orders Jack
off the ship. Blackbeard decides tojoin him, and Jack admits to black
Beard that Izzy sent him to getblack Beard out of the way and led
the Revenge to be ambushed by ChaunceyBadminton. Blackbeard races back to the Revenge.
The British capture them, but Steveand Blackbeard are happy to be reunited
(01:47):
and then heartbroken by Jim's absence.Aliwandi gives up his cabin the Frenchy and
we John, who expressed their excitementfor their newfound status as roommates. Meanwhile,
Jim takes Giraldo hostage the four SpanishJackie into telling them everything she knows
about the Sieta Gios. Jackie killsGeraldo herself and reveals that'aldo was a
member of the Siete Gios, addingthat all the other members are probably dead.
(02:12):
Vibe check. Did we like theepisode overall? How does it stand
the test of time? All?Right? How does this one stuck up?
It's alright, it's not my favorite, but I think it's because Calico
Jack is just such an unlikable character, right, It's a it's a hard
one. It's not because he isso just awful, annoying and frustrating and
(02:35):
like ruining everything that you're loving.Yeah, though by like, I mean
he's it's intentional that he's that waythough. He's a literal agent of chaos.
Yeah. And then there's some goodmoments in there, but it's like
this guy, he's awful. Itmakes me hate will learn Net? Right
would you do to my show?Dude? Yes? I mean it's still
(03:00):
good, but it's it's a difficultone to swallow. Trivia time, What
facts could we uncover for week?All way back? So, Calico Jack
is based on a real pirate andalso knows Jack Rackham and Calico Jack was
executed in November seventeen twenty and hisbody was gibboted to deter others from committing
(03:22):
acts of piracy. And I lookedup giboted. That means that they just
display it for public scorn. I'mguessing he was hung yeah, or or
displayed out like like on one ofthose fun little stocks that they put people
in. Oh yeah, those things. Those are awful. I can't believe
people do that for fun, likeat fairs and stuff like. That's like
(03:43):
a form of capital punishment that you'redoing for fun. Yeah, take my
photo, ridicule me. Oh.Kendall Wells, who acted as Will Arnett
double for the episode, revealed thatBlackbeard asking Calico Jack to whip his balls
was improvised by Taikowa titi As wherea number of other versions of the same
scene, which didn't make the vinylcut. That was such a like toxic
(04:05):
masculine like interaction. Yes, Like, There's been so many instances, specifically
in like middle school and high schoolwhere I remember boys willingly putting their balls
in danger like that. I waslike, what are you doing, dude?
I feel like teenage boys just alwaysplay some version of that game of
(04:28):
yeah yeah, And I'm just likethis is peak like adolescent like fun for
men or boys or people with penises, and I was just like, this
is very authentic. This feels verylike it like cringe, hit me in
the ball, whip me in theball, because that's what it like.
(04:50):
Calgo Jack is bringing him back tolike act elicits like this like danger and
like juvenile kind of humor and everybody, what else do you got for trivia?
Also improvised was the foot touch sceneat the very end, improvised by
(05:11):
Taikawa and the creator David Jenkins admittedhe only noticed it when reviewing the footage,
and that was a really nice touchstandvery gently, very like I'm here
Fleetwood Max. The chain being usedin the episode was David Jenkins's idea and
it was the first piece of musicthat was ever cleared for use in the
show. It was really good.I think it was like the best use
(05:31):
of like music. Yeah, itwas really in the way that you like
managed to sink it with the action, like even the drummer hitting like a
drum that sounds very differently, butthe beat was still on it. And
yeah, it was really good.Deep Sea Dive, let's break down some
of our thoughts on the episode.You can share your thoughts with us through
(05:56):
email or social media. We mayuse your comments on an coming episode.
We go way back, So westart off the scene with a very peaceful
night. Everyone's laying down, sleeping, resting. So is that where they
usually sleep then on the deck.Yeah, that's why it's like really like
(06:17):
important that you get a room likethat's high status. They either sleep in
that room or they sleep downstairs inthat place where there's like a hammock.
That's where I assume they were sleeping. Yeah, but they get they're fucking
pirates. They sleep where where thefuck they want? Fucking sweet was in
a barrel, that's true. Roachwas hugging the onions, and Buttons was
(06:46):
playing a flute and bathing in themoonlight, preparing for a special evening the
following night, And upon him arisesa phantom perceived by him of Jack Kaliko,
who's like belligerent and like awful.Yes, And I think I love
Buttons, like, I don't knowhe might be here, he might not
(07:10):
be, and if he was,he's probably sleeping. I like the skepticism
that Buttons brings to the table.So you think black Beard is sleeping in
Steed's quarters? Oh, that's agood question. I don't know. I
don't either. They don't show thatright, No, but I think that's
part of the mystery of what's goingon between them, Like because even Kaliko
(07:32):
Jack asks like, are you guysbuggering each other? And Steed's like,
I'm not gonna warrant that with ananswer. He's like too gentlemanly to tell
on himself whatever's happening between them.Yeah, but it's like something is happening
between them to make Steed so jealous. Yeah, I just don't think they've
(07:53):
had a conversation about it. Ifeel like they haven't acted on it other
than just like friendly banter. Yeahco captains. Yeah. I think that
foot touch was like the closest touchingthat they've had. That's like their most
intimate moment so far, besides thatone moment where he says you wear fine
things. Well, So Steed iswoken up by all this cannon fire and
(08:16):
chaos going on upstairs, and hegoes up there and it's like, you
know, what the buck's going on? Then he tells Ed that breakfast is
ready, So I get like,is Roach setting up that breakfast for him
then? Because like it was justalready ready when Steve just got out of
bed. Yeah, Roach probably makesbreakfast for him. That makes sense.
Yeah, I guess. So there'sa lot of food too, is like
(08:37):
an everyday breakfast, probably because Steed'sthe Gentleman Pirate and they're all about excess.
It's about having too much food andnot eating it. It's a sign
of wealth, and like even richpeople today are doing it. Like I
think there was this thing about howduring the Grammys or something, they had
like charcouterie boards on all the tablesand nobody was touching them. And it's
(09:01):
a sign of wealth to be ableto spend money on food and then not
eat it. It's like wealth andexcess, and that's where Steed comes from.
So it's like hard to break fromthat. You're just not used to
seeing that many groceries in one place. It's not like after a big grocery
trip, No, I get it. It's like when we buy vegetables and
then we don't eat them and theyrut in the fridge. Yeah, it's
(09:24):
a sign of access and wealth.I want to jump to the roommate situation.
Oh well, all Alan day it'sjust like, oh, I'm so
sad about Jim. I can't evenbe in that room anymore. And fucking
Swedes like, wait a minute,did you just say that the room is
empty? And they run and Frenchiehears too. It was funny that the
(09:48):
word of mouth went from Swede andthen Frenchy overhears it, and then we
John gets in on the action.Yes, it's a hot commodity to have
that room, and it is anice little room. If I had that
or the ship's hull, I'd belike, yeah, give me your room,
man. Yeah, I mean nowonder Aluandi was like, we don't
(10:09):
need the mutiny. Let's keep thingsthe status quo. Yeah. So it's
really funny that. Well it's sadtoo that Frenchie and we John have never
had a room. They're like,I've heard of rooms, I've never had
one of my own. What dowe do? Like they're trying to design
things and come up with ideas onwhat they want to do. The fact
(10:33):
that Frenchy is totally put off bythe idea that someone else might come over
and visit them. Yeah, wellI get it. I don't want people
in my room. I just gotit. What if they try to take
it I'm still just curious, like, how is it that Aluwandi and Jim
ended up with rooms? And Jimis tough. Remember, everybody was afraid
of Jim. Jim probably like didsomething to like alpha male his claimed it
(10:58):
and though for yeah, they andthey needed the room because Jim had that
secret identity and that was the onlyplace where Jim could take off their prosthetic
beard and nose. So I feellike they probably were like very cunning in
their way to get it because thecrew respects Jim a lot, so I
(11:20):
could see like how they would maneuvertheir way into getting that room. I'm
glad those guys got their own room. I would have been really interested to
see what the Swede would have doneit with it. Though, with his
fallen teeth and nails from the scurvy, I feel like he needed a win.
Yeah. So do we need tosay more about Calico Jack. I
(11:43):
mean, I feel like we're prettymuch said how annoying and frustrating he is.
Yeah, I really don't like hischaracter, and I think that was
the point of his character was tobe this like annoying and convenient like distraction.
Yeah, it's not that like theytried to write a good character and
messed up, or that he performedthat role poorly, Like no, it's
(12:05):
it's as intended, but it's justso so well done that it's off putting.
Yeah, and then we learn eventuallythat this is all manipulation, even
though it seems to be still likethat's his personality. Yeah, Like he's
been mute neat like what three timesthis year, so he can't keep a
crew. Probably Isy Hands was like, I know exactly who to throw at
(12:26):
them because he probably has the sameexact feelings. When when Kalico's Jack is
around, Yeah, and he thoughtit was a surefire way to get Blackbeard
away from Steve Bonnet. And itkind of works until Kalico Jack spills the
beans about the real intentions of hislike being there, and he's like,
(12:48):
yeah, you didn't get like that. I was setting you up for a
trap, you stupid asshole. Andas soon as Blackbeard finds out, he's
like, well, that's my friend, that's not I'm not setting him up.
That's not cool, like, whichis like completely different from the black
Beard we initially saw, who wasready to take over Steve Bonnet's life.
(13:11):
It's like I'm not black Beard.I'm Steve Bonnett. I'm a well Steve
landowner. So it's really interesting charactergross to see here. And I feel
like is he probably could have givencalico Jack better instructions about not spilling the
beans right away. Yeah, well, I wonder like what his instructions were,
because because he could have come upwith some plan to like show up
(13:33):
and say that he needs a rideto the whatever the cove, Findman's cove.
Yeah, I feel like there's therewere simpler ways as opposed to relying
on like being able to get understeed skin and drive this wedge and with
just the right timing to get inthere. Like yeah, so, what
was your favorite calico Jack game,Whippies. What was the one where they
(13:56):
walk the pull the mast and jumpdown. I don't know, similar name
like Yardy or something. I likethe Coconut War. The Coconut War.
I think I might be bad forsaying this, but I thought it was
really funny to have a turtle anda crab go against each other. That
(14:16):
was what really got Steed put overthe edge. I think seeing that barberism,
I just like the idea of aturtle with a knife on its back,
like this very slow like most likeI don't know when I think of
a turtle, I think of likea gentle creature, like not like a
(14:37):
vicious beast. But put a knifeon that motherfucker. It's still very slow.
It's kind of like that meme withthat cute little like hippo or or
it's like this animal putting away aknife, where it's like not choosing violence
today. It's this like idea oflike the super cute or that baby duck
(14:58):
with a knife, you know,like the idea of this like adorable soft
creature with like a weapon. It'sjust the juxtaposition. Really enjoyed it.
But Whippies was swan too, andeven though it got him in trouble with
fucking buttons. Yeah, that wasthe that was the fall of him.
(15:20):
The Swede like just begging for himfor Allawandi to whip him, whip that
jar off his head. Yeah,I'll close my eyes so you can't hit
them. They were all like mostlyon board, but then like they each
started getting hurt and they were like, oh, maybe this isn't such great
fun. Yeah, And no onewas on board for Carl getting killed.
(15:45):
No, that's when the mood changedeverything, like the tides were turned and
his death warrant was signed. Buteveryone was pretty sympathetic to him early on,
especially I don't know if he wasactually mutiny three times this year,
but they really sympathetic to that story. They were like, well, we
mute need Steed, we might stilldo it. Yeah, they were pretty
(16:08):
sympathetic at first, but then oncehe was obviously the bad guy, he
like murdered one of their crew.That bird was part of their crew and
they could not stand for it.And fucking Buttons hexing him what the fuck?
Yeah, but the hex was frickingweird, like the hand motions and
the intensity and the fact that hewas naked. And then the British came
(16:36):
and they take out fucking Calico Jack. Yes, and Buttons is like,
yes, my hex works. Ohand he has to break the news of
his dead bird to Deborah or whateverOlivia Olivia, and that was sad.
We also have Lucius handling the breakupscenario, delivering all the black Beard's which
(17:00):
seemed to be very few. Yeah, probably a couple of knives, Like
I didn't see anything in that boxand does he not even have like another
set of clothes. No, healways wears that leather get up. That
assumes he change it every now andno he doesn't. They're pirates. Everybody
wears the same outfit all the time, except for Steve. He's gonna say
(17:22):
someone doesn't. Steve is the onlyone who has a wardrobe in this fictional
world. But yeah, the Britishare here and black Beard is back,
and Steve was ready to fight.He's ready to go out fighting, but
black Beard's like, no, surrender, dude, you can't fight here.
I know it. You're three againstone and there's no escape from the cove.
(17:44):
Yeah, so they surrender and theyget boarded, and it's beautiful.
It's like the most epic scene thusfar in this show. Yeah, Like,
first they show the British and alltheir colonial might on their boats looking
like fucking Jo you know what's hisname, George Washington crossing the Delaware,
(18:06):
giving that imagery the iconography of likethese uniformed white men on a boat that's
very classic Americana kind of idealism.And then you have them like coming up
onto this boat and like using theirhooks and climbing up board and there's little
(18:26):
to no resistance from these pirates becausethey put up the white flag and they're
still getting brutalized by these soldiers andit's really chaotic and like it kind of
reminded me of like when the Titanicwas sinking in that movie The Titanic where
(18:49):
where it sinks nowhere, where Frenchiewas playing the loom or what is what
is that instrument? The maroon thewhat is it the loom? It's a
a lut, That's what I wasthinking of. Yeah, it is a
lute. Yeah, he's playing thelute on a ship while there's chaos,
and it gave me Titanic vibes whenthose dudes with the violins are playing right
(19:15):
till the end. Yeah, andthen Buttons is streaking around and no one,
no one wants any of that.And then they get captured. They're
all like roped up, and blackBeard is right there next to Steed,
and Steed's like you came back,and black Beard just socialantly is like I
(19:37):
never left, mate, and hewinks at him, and then they pan
out and they do a little foottouch and it's just like, oh no,
what's going to happen? Like they'retogether at least, but what's going
to happen next? We'll see.They always figure something out, we will
see. So I mean overall,it is actually like a really good look
at like jealousy and a relationship andlike maturity and yeah, just like how
(20:03):
how seeing someone from your past mighthave you changed your behavior and whay.
He's like, you don't necessarily seeyourself. You revert to your old ways,
but that's not who you are anymore. Yeah, And he was so
convinced that he was this person untilhe found out this was all a farce.
And he's like, I'm not thisperson, you know. I just
(20:25):
got caught up in the friendship andthe nostalgia. And I feel like we
could that can be any of uswith you know, certain friends or certain
like time in our lives where wewere maybe a little wilder than we are
now as we've got mellowed in ourage. Yeah. And I feel like
Blackbeard struggles with his identity for sure, for sure. And I wonder how
(20:48):
long would he have wanted to stayaround Calico Jack even if he didn't learn
that information now, because like Idon't know, if your college drinking buddy
comes a visit and you go outand have a good time together. It's
nostalgic, but like you're going todo that every night and keep doing that
for months, Like when does itend? Eventually you're gonna be like,
Yeah, I'm just I'm going togo back to the way I had my
(21:10):
life before you showed up. Igot laundry, dude, Like, I
don't know when you do laundry orlike what you do for money. If
you can keep going out like this, how do you It's not sustainable And
I think that shows with Calico Jackgetting mutanted every like other months or whatever.
It's not a very sustainable lifestyle.But yeah, I'm glad Blackbeard comes
(21:33):
back. That was very big ofhim. And Steed's face lights up when
he comes over the edge of theship. Yeah, you're ready to move
on. Yeah, Astral Queen,who was the standout character in the episode,
Astral Queen, you got you're pickinga Calico Jack, you know what?
No, I'm just kidding. Idon't know who my astrol Queen is.
(22:00):
I think my Astral Queen going tobe butts for bathing in the moonlight
and keeping his rituals and being skepticalof strangers, and for the loss of
his beloved friend and the sweet,sweet vengeance that was given to him and
being like a crazy naked guy.Yeah, I've given it to Buttons,
(22:21):
what about you? So I hadtwo options written down and one I was
aligned with you on Buttons. Iwas also thinking of begging Steed, Oh
yeah, for saying get off myship. Yeah, because I am going
to pick Steed because he really likestands this ground and stands up for like
who he is. And he atfirst he's like very open. He's like,
(22:41):
you're a friend of a friend ofyours is a friend of mine,
and that's like the way you wouldwant to be with your partner. And
they're crazy friends, Like you wantto be open and kind and having a
welcoming environment. But if that bitchkeeps coming for you every fucking time they
get and you need to fucking tellthem who the Fox House this is.
(23:03):
And Steed did that very well.Yep. Yeah, I'm very proud of
him in this episode for growing someballs, and I think he chose the
perfect moment to do it too.Yeah, because everyone was aligned with him.
Then mm hmm. Then he hadto give like the divorced speech to
the crew, it's not your fault. We still love you all right then,
(23:23):
buttons instead, you're the winners ofthis episode. The next episode will
be episode nine, Act of Grace. As we're I've only got two more
episodes of this season, SEO stylistin this group Grace for Impact. Spoilers
(23:44):
ahead. If you haven't seen thewhole series, now is the time to
say goodbye. Remember you can contactus at Spacingoutpod at gmail dot com,
find us on social media, shareyour thoughts and be a part of the
discussion. Spoilers in five four threetwo ones. So let's talk about the
(24:06):
costume change first of all in thenext episode, because these motherfuckers go from
leather Daddy and mister Dandy to whitelinen soldiers, like they look like they're
at a SPA retreat. It's soweird to see them outside of their like
uniforms, almost especially black Beard,Like he goes from black to white.
(24:27):
It's crazy how clean he looks.Doesn't he have to shave? At some
point he chooses to shave, hethinks he's and then he gets stood up
at the altar. Basically, yeah, but yeah, I'm really excited for
the next episode where we find outlike what the British try to do to
them, and then how black Beardknows the law and he's like, ah,
(24:48):
we want to do this thing instead. And then Steve finds out he's
declared dead. I can't believe theydon't let him just go right then and
there, like, oh, you'redead, you should just leave, but
they let him go into prison orwhatever. Yeah. I love that is
based on true events where they dotake the Act of Grace and there they
stop pirating, and then of coursethey go back to pirting again. Yeah.
(25:12):
Yeah, I mean, of course, since we focused on Buttons on
this episode, I just keep thinkingabout him turning into that bird eventually.
Yeah, it's pretty cool. Yeah, I don't think I have much else
to throw in here. No,I think this episode was a good vehicle
to move forward in the plot,and I'm excited to see the next one.
I really wish that this show wouldget picked up for a third season.
(25:36):
It's like not going to happen,though, it seems, even with
all of the fan push. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean it
wrapped up in a way that issatisfying enough, like there's no big cliffhangers.
Not that satisfying though, because youwant to see more there, and
you know there's more. The creatorsaid there's more, and that's so not
(25:56):
fair. Yeah, he said there'splans for like a third and final season.
Yeah, and so like, yeah, I mean, of course I
want to see more. We had, like the whole the rest of the
crew besides Steven Blackbeard, like sailingout for more adventures, and I want
to see like that dynamic or evenif they end up back on the boat,
like let's see it. Like Idon't know, it's just like it
(26:18):
sucks how TV and production doesn't takeinto account like a massive fan following sometimes,
like how many people have wanted Fireflyto come back? Right? Yeah.
But I've also like I've heard creatorstalk about like thousands of passionate fans
don't equal like millions of actual viewers. So sometimes like, yeah, there's
(26:41):
a really passionate fan base, butit's not enough to have like the numbers
that the networks need. I don'tknow. I really applaud the like gumption
of community moving forward with like thehelp of Subway and shit like that,
like they made it happen. Yeah, but yeah, who knows how many
viewers they got, And then thequality of the work maybe wasn't up to
(27:06):
snuff at that point. I don'tknow, though, I feel like the
cast was more relaxed because they cartrid of peers. But yeah, I
don't know. I would I wouldreally love to see another season. But
I'm excited for this season to bedone. I think the heartbreak is really
hard to come back from, Likebroken black Beard is so hard to watch.
(27:29):
Yeah, that's why I'm like alittle nervous almost about these next two
episodes because I know it's gonna goit's gonna get worse before it gets better.
Yeah. Yeah, they have sucha whirlwind romance, and I think
if it's not this next episode,it's the one after where they finally kiss,
and I don't know, it's justlike crazy the kiss. Like I
said, we don't get a lotof like male romance or any queer romance
(27:55):
on mainstream media anymore, unless it'slike super whitewashed and sterilized, like I'm
thinking of like Modern Family. Howwe never see those two gay men interact
in a queer loving way. It'smore like a parents who have to tolerate
thing each other kind of way.Right, So they don't kiss, they
don't hug. They don't hold hands. It's it's weird. So I don't
(28:18):
know. I have the tender moments, and I like how Taichi Taika Taika
White t t he kind of understandsthat character really well in a way that
like he improvises and he like addsto it in a way that's really genuine
and like believable. Yeah. Iremember there's an interview on as one of
(28:40):
those YouTube things like Wired or somethingwhere they were Taka was saying that he
tried to do a little research intoBlackbeard and it's like, basically, no
one knows who the fuck this guywas, so I'm just gonna make him
my own. So yeah, Imean, he just brought what he thought
that character should be. Yeah.Cool. Also, I didn't like that
they called him Blackie. I wasreally off study. That was odd.
(29:02):
I didn't like it. That mightbe like a weird New Zealand thing or
something where the British because it wasn'tit British directors and writers. Yeah,
yeah, I didn't like that.All right, Well, let's get out
of here, all right, takecare. Next episode will be active Grace,
and thank you for sailing on therevenge and don't get a hex put
on you, or if you do, you know look out for Cannonball.
(29:23):
Thank you for spacing out with BBand Jason. You can help us out
by subscribing and leaving a positive ratingor review. Next time we will cover
our Flag Means Death Season one,episode nine, Act of Grace. We
hope you will join us
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