Our Flag Means Death review: a terrific pirate comedy to binge — eventually

It’s easy to look at HBO Max’s pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death and immediately type it as “Taika Waititi’s latest project.” Waititi, director of Thor: Ragnarok“What We Do In the Shadows”And Wilderpeople: HuntThe show’s executive producer was. He also co-starred in the pilot. This pilot is very close to the original version of What we do in the ShadowsThis version features pirates rather than vampires. The humor, built around a foppy, pretentious wannabe pirate captain and his crew of oddballs and misfits, falls directly in line with one of Waititi’s favorite themes: the mildly tragic, often hilarious conflict between the way people envision themselves, and the way everyone else sees them. Like virtually all his best humor, it’s wholly deadpan and utterly ridiculous at the same time.

The series’ vision is the work of David Jenkins, writer, and showrunner. And after that setup, he takes the series in directions that people expecting a Waititi comedy might not expect — directions that make the show authentically memorable and admirable, instead of just the light, disposable sitcom fun that the first episodes tease. Waititi certainly isn’t a stranger to heartfelt beats or big drama, but the more the show builds throughout its 10-episode season, the more it comes from a completely different distinctive, specific voice. You might want to wait until the final episode is complete before you watch it. This will give you enough time to binge-watch the entire series and gain a greater understanding of how the show works.

It’s not that there’s anything actually wrong with the opening episodes of the show, which introduce “gentleman pirate” Stede Bonnet and his crew, and set all the crucial gears in motion. Stede, played by Rhys Darby (a longtime partner of Waititi’s, and the head of the “werewolves, not swearwolves” pack inHow we work in the ShadowsThis was actually an 18th-century plantation proprietor who left his family to purchase a ship and claimed to be a captain of pirates despite having no experience on the seas. Darby plays his incompetence to the hilt: His version of Stede is a chipper, prissy soft boi who’s inept with weapons, sailing, and command. He’s more suited to garden parties and lace-shopping than for boarding actions or weathering storms, and it’s immediately evident in everything he says and does.

Photo taken by Jake Giles Netter/HBO Max

His crew is dubious about him at best, but they aren’t exactly killer material either: The lineup includes cannibal nudist Buttons (Trainspotting’s Ewen Bremner), apathetic lutist Frenchie (Earth’s Joel Fry), sneering lunk John Feeney (Game of Thrones’ Hodor, Kristian Nairn) gangly doofus Swede (Nat Faxon), and wannabe mutineer Black Pete (Matthew Maher). Only soft-spoken Oluwande (Samson Kayo) and mute knife enthusiast Jim (Vico Ortiz) seem competent and capable, or at least willing to tolerate a situation where they’re paid regularly and don’t have to risk their lives on actual ship-to-ship fights.

The pilot, with all the characters that he has to introduce is light-hearted and humorous. Stede invites his disgruntled crew to enter a competition for best pirate flag. And the kickoff doesn’t do much to suggest what’s coming later, when Stede meets the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Waititi, in a striking, standout performance). The show follows the broad parameters of Stede’s life enough that his Wikipedia page could be considered a series of major spoilers. But what’s missing from the history books is what drove Stede and Blackbeard’s relationship, and that’s what Jenkins is looking to fill in with the show. Once this process begins, Our Flag Means DeathFully finds its feeting and its heart. The drama underpinning all the funny characters and straight-faced comedy banter is also fully realized.

The show introduces Waititi’s Blackbeard early on, along with initial hints about other elements that will become significant to the big picture, including Stede’s feelings about his wife Mary (Claudia O’Doherty), Jim’s secrets and backstory, and Black Pete’s fannish hunger to be seen as a real pirate. But the pieces don’t entirely come together until around episode 4, when Jenkins starts revealing his bigger intentions. It’s a delightful collection of silly setpieces, with a few guest stars such as Leslie Jones and Fred Armensen, who play a married couple in a bar. Rory Kinnear plays a British navy officer. There’s a lot of Waititi-style humor, with one type of character being oblivious, self-important, and full of their own self-mythologizing, and another type being sloppy, strange, and prone to failing upward.

Photo: Aaron Epstein/HBO Max

Once the set-up is complete, however, Our Flag Means Death It becomes something far more tender: A story about identity, friendship and how it is difficult for people to find their true selves when they are alone or surrounded by others. Throughout the full 10-episode run provided to critics, Jenkins’ series never loses the slapstick angle or the lowbrow humor — Bremner proudly running around bare-assed, spitting invective in a near-impenetrable heightened Scottish accent, is a gag that just keeps getting bigger throughout the show. The story is a great example of how people romanticize themselves and lose out on connections that they can make in real life. It also shows how relationships are always negotiated, with the desires and needs of people changing as they age.

And in particular, Darby and Waititi’s performances just keep getting better and more nuanced as the show unfolds. Stede, who is an uninspiring joker of a man in the first episodes, starts to get annoying. That’s unquestionably by design, but his purposeful, intentional shallowness doesn’t make him any less shallow. Blackbeard starts off more legend than man. As the series progresses into deeper waters, however, the men add charm and nuance to their characters, making it worth spending the time just to view them. Waititi has always been as much of a draw onscreen as he is behind the camera, but here, as a man who keeps showing new layers in every episode, he’s particularly compelling and exciting.

Obviously, it’s possible to watch the opening episodes of Our Flag Means DeathYou can return later to see more of the show’s content, or launch it at once. But there’s so much content out there these days, and it’s so easy to start a show and then lose track of it amid all the other competition — especially something that starts off as episodic and sitcom-y as this series, without the kind of obvious mystery that makes for appointment viewing. The binge-watching experience will be more enjoyable when the series relies so heavily on making early gags into drama and on putting together large emotions from small beginnings. Perhaps give Our Flag Means DeathThis week, get a pass. And then don’t miss out when you have a chance to get the full impact.

Episodes 1 – 3 Our Flag Means DeathThese are Watch now on MaxYou can watch the full series on YouTube, and two episodes will be added every week on Thursdays.