‘Our Flag Means Death’ Actor Promises Messy Feelings for This Fan-Favorite Character

Between the excellent writing and acting on Our Flag Means Death, it is hard to find a character no one feels attached to. Everyone adores the main lovebirds, Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Edward “Blackbeard” Teach (Taika Waititi). But fans also celebrate the rest of the crew and supporting characters. For obvious reasons, Lucius (Nathan Foad), Spanish Jackie (Leslie Jones), and Jim (Vico Ortiz) all have an avid fanbase. And we see you too, Buttons (Ewen Bremner). We just love them all, your honor!

Yet there is one character that has taken over the hearts of many a fangirl (it’s me, I’m that fangirl). That’s the fandom’s short king, Israel “Izzy” Hands played by the charming Con O’Neill. Sure, many consider him the antagonist or villain of the story and don’t care for him. Yes, he can be irritating when messing up the vibe of the lazy crew. I know he’s uptight and full of rage but that’s one reason we love him. Just look at him! He’s a pirate with a job to do. He’s a deep and layered character and many fans want to dive into his mind. Lucky for us, Con O’Neill has indicated we will get more of that mind in season two of OFMD.

All Hands on deck

Vanity Fair’s First Look offered up some of the juiciest information we have gotten about season two so far. O’Neill gave some hints about what Izzy has been going through during the season. He describes the feelings as “frantic” and having several dark moments while going on a “remarkable journey.” “He understands what love is and whom he’s in love with,” O’Neill said. It seems like all those dark, angsty fanfictions we’ve been reading and writing about Izzy and Blackbeard are spot on. (After Stede/Ed, Izzy/Ed is the top ship on Archive of Our Own.)

Izzy has a devotion to Blackbeard that puts everything else behind the well-being of his captain. When Blackbeard falls for Stede and begins to soften around the edges, Izzy cannot stand it. Obviously, his motives go beyond being a good first mate and dive headfirst into deep feelings of love that border on obsession. When Blackbeard cuts off Izzy’s toe and feeds it to him, it actually looks like Izzy enjoyed the maiming. He’ll do anything for any kind of attention from his beloved captain.

As much as we can self-interpret Izzy’s feelings and emotions, it would be great for the show to delve deeper into his inner workings since he keeps so much bottled up. With what O’Neill said to VF, we might actually be able to see it. O’Neill said this about season two: “Physically it’s been quite demanding, and also emotionally it’s been quite demanding to be playing a man enraged by unrequited love, who’s basically a hopeless romantic, and to be able to play all that and also remember that this is fundamentally a comedy.” Just let all those messy feelings out, Izzy. We are here for you, babygirl.

(via Vanity Fair; featured image: Max)