The Art of Fuckery

**The Art of Fuckery** is the sixth episode of the first season of *Our Flag Means Death*. It aired on March 10, 2022.

## Synopsis

Stede and crew stage a spectacle. Blackbeard struggles to carry out his plan.

## Plot

Izzy becomes secluded and upset by Stede's growing relationship with Blackbeard. This is made worse when Stede and Blackbeard spar aboard the Revenge, and Stede tells Blackbeard a story about a man with a hook for a head.

After the crew asks Blackbeard for a scary story, he tells the story of the time he believes he saw a Kraken; Blackbeard tells the crew that he doesn't feel fear, and they all seem intrigued. In the story, Blackbeard tells the crew that the Kraken is responsible for killing his father, and mysteriously, the Revenge becomes engulfed in fog.

Izzy tells Blackbeard that he has had enough, and warns him to stop treating Stede like a pet. He reminds Blackbeard that his plan is to steal Stede's identity. Izzy tells Blackbeard that he must end Stede's life at the same time as he steals his identity to ensure the story sticks.

Not long after, the Revenge approaches another ship and is boarded. Blackbeard believes this is his chance to act on his plan and attempts to murder Stede. Lucius interrupts, however, and cuts off his finger which became infected shortly before the Revenge was boarded.

Chaos ensues aboard the Revenge when the invading crew becomes disgusted at Lucius' actions. Stede tells everyone that the Kraken is coming, which awakens bad memories within Blackbeard. The invading crew retreats in fear not long after.

After the chaos has calmed, Stede checks on Blackbeard, who admits that he alone was responsible for killing his father, not the Kraken. Since then, he has not taken another life, and it quickly becomes clear this is why he is struggling in his task to steal Stede's identity. Blackbeard admits his plans to kill Stede, who is surprised but brushes the idea off and tells Blackbeard that they are friends.

Meanwhile, Izzy is tired of the games and challenges Stede to a duel. He is able to stab Stede, but misses his vital organs. Stede is able to best Izzy and banishes him from the ship. As a result, Izzy turns to Spanish Jackie with a proposal.

## Cast

### Starring

* Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet
* Taika Waititi as Edward Teach/Blackbeard
* Kristian Nairn as Wee John Feeney
* Nathan Foad as Lucius Spriggs
* Samson Kayo as Oluwande Boodhari
* Rory Kinnear as Captain Chauncey Badminton
* Con O'Neill as Israel "Izzy" Hands
* Vico Ortiz as Jim Jimenez
* Ewen Bremner as Nathaniel Buttons
* David Fane as Fang
* Joel Fry as Frenchie
* Guz Khan as Ivan
* Matthew Maher as Black Pete

## Trivia

* It took a whole day to film the duel between Izzy and Stede.

### Cut material

* A still posted by set photographer Aaron Epstein revealed that an additional scene between Edward and Stede was shot following their sparring, but it didn't make the final cut. In the scene, Stede helps wounded Edward to walk, presumably taking him to where he'll be able to rest.
* An additional scene was filmed - and cut from the final edit - in which the crew sedate Lucius with opium after his finger gets infected, almost killing him and causing Black Pete to mourn his lover before it turns out he's not dead.
* The scene of Izzy's departure from the Revenge was originally a lot longer and involved both him and Edward shouting obscenities at each other, but much of it didn't make it into the final cut.

## References

1. ↑ C2E2 2022 *Our Flag Means Death* panel at 33:41
2. ↑ The photo on Aaron Epstein's Instagram
3. ↑ C2E2 2022 *Our Flag Means Death* panel at 51:33
4. ↑ Florida Supercon 2023 *Our Flag Means Death* panel