Gobbledygeek episode 466, “Our Flag Means Death,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! Paul and Arlo set sail for a discussion of David Jenkins’ pirate rom-com Our Flag Means Death. The new HBO Max series, a very loose telling of the history between Stede “The Gentleman Pirate” Bonnet and Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, begins as a silly romp very much in the vein of executive producer/star Taika Waititi’s other work. And then…well, it becomes something very much more, depicting a number of queer romances in positive, affirming fashion. The boys discuss this shouldn’t-be-shocking-in-2022 level of representation, the chemistry between Rhys Darby and Waititi, how closely (or not) the show follows the historical record, the series’ moral of not accepting that the way things are is the way they have to be, and more. Plus, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, Arlo is reading old Superman comics!

NEXT: reply hazy, try again.

BREAKDOWN

• 00:00:47  –  Intro / Banter
• 00:18:30  –  Our Flag Means Death
• 01:36:26  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

• “‘Our Flag Means Death’ Just Delivered a Mortal Blow to Queerbaiting” by Kaila Hale-Stern, The Mary Sue
• “How ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Uses Piracy to Denounce Toxic Masculinity” by Marco Vito Oddo, Collider
• “Not Just Queer Rep, but Queer Joy: A Deeper Look at the Multiple Romances of ‘Our Flag Means Death’” by Dani Herd, Collider
• “With Gay Pirates, ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Revolutionaizes Queer TV” by Mey Rude, Out
• “Vico Ortiz on playing non-binary pirate Jim in ‘Our Flag Means Death’: I’m ‘proud to be part of it’” by Yolanda Machado, Entertainment Weekly
• “‘Our Flag Means Death’s creator on the show’s fandom and future, in season 2 and beyond” by Tasha Robinson, Polygon

MUSIC

• “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed, Transformer (1972)
• “Miles from Nowhere” by Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman (1970)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 
• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• The Trevor Project provides information and support to LGBTQ youth: thetrevorproject.org
• Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/ 
  • US (877) 565-8860
  • Canada (877) 330-6366
• National Center for Transgender Equality: transequality.org
• Advocate for writers who might be owed money due to discontinuance of royalties: https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/ 
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/