We Love These Unexpected Pairings in ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2

We waited a long time for Our Flag Means Death season 2 and so far, it is not disappointing. We’ve got a new pirate queen, Zheng Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian), and two pirates who are like queens—Anne Bonny (Minnie Driver) and Mary Read (Rachel House). We found out Fang’s (David Fane) real name is Kevin, and that he comes from a long line of Kevins. Lucius (Nathan Foad) can’t stop reliving his Blackbird trauma through unhinged drawings. The Swede (Nat Faxon) joined the ranks of Spanish Jackie’s (Leslie Jones) 20 husbands. And Buttons (Ewen Bremner) is a bird now! It’s been a lot!

One of the most surprising things to come out of this season, besides the whole Buttons is a bird thing, is the new fan pairings. During the first season, most of the fandom rallied around Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Edward Teach/Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). This is understandable because Gentlebeard (as it’s known in the fandom) is wonderful. We’re excited for even more on-screen couplings in season 2, while crossing our fingers for certain relationships to turn romantic. Let’s take a look at some of the unexpected pairings in Our Flag Means Death season 2.

Remixed pairings

Stede/Ed/Izzy – Gentlebeard is still wildly popular. Izzy Hands (Con O’Neill) has been a fun addition to the pairing since last season. But this season, Izzy has gone from being a beloved character to a few of us, to being everyone’s short king. He’s also become Stede’s instructor in the ways of pirating and he admitted his feelings for Ed. Maybe they will become an onscreen throuple—or we’ll just have to keep up the spicy fan art.

Lucius/Black Pete/Izzy – Lucius and Black Pete (Matthew Maher) have always had an open relationship full of understanding. This has led to a lot of Lucius/Izzy fanfiction, usually with Black Pete involved somehow. Now that they are all on a ship together and Izzy is feeling flirty, maybe the trio will have a wild night together.

Jim/Oluwande/Archie – We are supporters of Jim/Oluwande here. Their romance over season 1 was beautiful. After being separated they both found other people: Oluwande (Samson Kayo) and Zheng Yi Sao had a mutual adorable crush, and Jim (Vico Ortiz) and Archie (Madeleine Sami) were shipmates who also made out. But Olu left Zheng Yi Sao’s ship to be with his family—and Jim—on the Revenge. Olu and Jim talked out their feelings, and while it’s not clear if the pair are romantically involved right now, I think they are. I loved that little moment in episode 4 when Olu called Jim “babe.” Olu and Jim have been also hanging out a lot with Archie. Team garlic! So are they a throuple now? The season isn’t over and Zheng Yi Sao isn’t totally out of the picture, so we could be looking at a love rhombus.

The new ship in town

Frenchie/Roach – The most unexpected pairing in the Our Flag Means Death fandom has to be Frenchie (Joel Fry) and Roach (Samba Schutte). These two aren’t a couple in the show, but after episode 5, fans are rooting for them. In the episode, most of the crew think Stede has a cursed suit. But Frenchie and Roach call themselves “men of science” (a possible pairing name). They also know to scientifically leave treats out for fairies or else the bed won’t rise. Roach creates a creamy, salty spread out of peanuts and shares his invention with Frenchie, who turns out to be allergic to peanuts. The duo blames the cursed suit for the rash covering Frenchie, and Roach yells that it’s “covering Frenchie’s beautiful body!” Maybe they are just best friends, but I think we should ship them.

(featured image: Max)