Take Three: Our Flag Means Death

Our Flag Means Death: Season 1, Episode 3 “A Gentleman Pirate” (B+)

It’s easy to tell what kind of show this is from the guest stars featured in this episode, who happen to both be “Saturday Night Live” alumni. Fred Armisen also appears in the next episode of “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber,” and Leslie Jones was in “Coming 2 America” and “Death to 2020” since she left the variety show. Casting Jones as an intimidating figure who keeps a collection of noses in a jar was an interesting choice but one that worked well for this show, and I think I’ll try to move on from that miserable scene where Stede and Lucius commented on how delicious their drinks were before finding out that they were the liquid from the nose jar. While Bonifacia thought she had managed to deceive everyone, that was not the case, and it was only because Blackbeard arrived that she and the rest of them ended up not getting killed. Stede’s desire to market himself as a gentleman pirate in a place that was supposed to be seedy and all about illicit deals and trade was not a smart one, though it was Lucius who ended up getting his white clothes stained with blood multiple times during the trip. I’m eager to see more of Stede interacting with Blackbeard, who I should note is played by Taika Waititi, the Oscar-winning director, writer, and star of “Jojo Rabbit” who also serves as a director and executive producer on this show. The man certainly knows how to cast himself in great parts.