A Gentleman Pirate

**A Gentleman Pirate** is the third episode of the first season of *Our Flag Means Death*. It aired on March 3, 2022.

## Synopsis

Stede (a.k.a. "The Gentleman Pirate") conducts business in the Republic of Pirates. Oluwande and Jim face their past.

## Plot

Blackbeard insists on meeting Stede and instructs Izzy to personally invite him aboard the ship.

With Lucius missing, Frenchie has temporarily assumed scribe duties. However, since Frenchie is unable to write, he is drawing pictures in Stede's journal depicting their vacation day on the island. Frenchie asks Stede about the plan for the remaining hostage Hornberry, who is currently tied to the mast and being tormented by the crew. Stede decided to head to the Republic of Pirates, a haven for criminals, where he plans to ransom the hostage and make himself known among the pirates as the new "Gentleman Pirate." Oluwande unsuccessfully tries to convince Stede not to land here, as Jim has a price on their head for killing one of Spanish Jackie's twenty husbands,

Stede dresses Lucius and himself in matching white outfits, which are conspicuously out of place in the squalid Republic of Pirates. Lucius is concerned this is an error in judgment but Stede insists it's "a power move: make people feel underdressed and suddenly you're the one in charge!" As they walk through the streets of the Republic, Stede sings "Man for sale!" in reference to the hostage; they are stopped by a prospective client (the Creepy Pirate, or "Magic Man") who mistakes them for sex workers.

Jim and Oluwande find a wanted poster for Jim, who is upset to see the price on their head is set so low. They believe that killing one of Jackie's husbands makes them worth much more than 50 doubloons. Stede and Lucius follow Jim and Oluwande into Spanish Jackie'z tavern, where Stede makes Lucius announce his arrival. They order drinks from the bartender Geraldo, one of Jackie's husbands, who serves them juice from the nose jar.

Izzy approaches Stede, who recognizes him from their encounter on the island, and tells Stede that his boss wants to meet him, failing to disclose that his boss is Blackbeard. Stede rudely responds "you can go tell your boss that he has terrible taste in flumkies, and he can go suck eggs in hell." A fight over the hostage ensues, knocking over the nose jar.

Meanwhile, Spanish Jackie invites Oluwande to sit with her and asks him about his friend, appearing not to recognize Jim in disguise. Jim sneaks into a backroom and finds the mummified corpse of Alfeo de Le Vaca, the man responsible for murdering Jim's family. Jim's father's knife is on his body, but as Jim tries to steal it back, Jackie confronts them, saying "I knew you was a thief, but I loves me a thief" and proceeds to make sexual advances on Jim. She is interrupted when she hears the nose jar crash.

Stede starts to pick the noses up off the ground but Lucius declines to help him. Spanish Jackie thursts a dagger into Stede's face, telling him she's going to start a new nose jar, but Geraldo stops her, saying that Blackbeard wants to meet him. She banishes them from the tavern instead. As Lucius slips past her, he pickpockets the Jimenez family dagger to give to Jim later.

Back on the pirate ship Izzy tells Blackbeard Stede is not interested in meeting him, even though he explicity said "Blackbeard desired his company," which is a lie. When Blackbeard asks Izzy if Stede knew who he was, Izzy leans into the lie and says yes, he does. Blackbeard is even more fascinated

Geraldo tricks Stede and the crew into boarding a Spanish navy vessel. El Capitan stabs Stede, who seems more surprised than injured, asking him if he meant to do that. Jim's disguise is blown when Geraldo pulls off their nose and beard in front of the shocked crew.

A noose is placed around Stede's neck, but as he is saying his last words, the ship is boarded by a pirate crew. The barrel is knocked out from beneath Stede and his life with his family flashes before his eyes. At the last minute he is cut down, falling to the deck. A man dressed in leather steps out of the smoke and stands over Stede. He asks Stede if he's the Gentleman Pirate and says he's heard all about him. The man is revealed to be Blackbeard.

## Cast

### Starring

* Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet
* Ewen Bremner as Nathaniel Buttons
* Joel Fry as Frenchie
* Samson Kayo as Oluwande Boodhari
* Con O'Neill as Israel "Izzy" Hands
* Nathan Foad as Lucius Spriggs
* Vico Ortiz as Jim Jimenez
* Matthew Maher as Black Pete
* Taika Waititi as Edward Teach/Blackbeard

### Guest Starring

* Samba Schutte as Roach
* Connor Barrett as Officer Hornberry
* Leslie Jones as Spanish Jackie
* Fred Armisen as Geraldo
* Claudia O'Doherty as Mary Bonnet

### Co-Starring

* Christopher Corbin as Creepy Pirate
* Dan Considine as Ghoulish Man
* Pingi Moli and Ronnie Clark as Card Players
* Carlos Arellano as El Otro
* Nacho Vigalondo as El Capitan
* Pencho Cardeña and Marcelos Olivas as Seedy Drunk
* Eden Grace Redfield as Alma Bonnet
* William Barber-Holler as Louis Bonnet

## Featured Music

* *Our Prayer* by The Beachboys plays through the end credits.

## Quotes

**Stede:** Hi, all! I may be landed gentry, but I'm thrilled to be granted entry!
**Spanish Jackie:** I'm about to start a whole new nose jar.
## Trivia

### Behind the scenes

* Though music supervisor Maggie Phillips chose the majority of the show's end credit songs, David Jenkins revealed during a live interview that The Beach Boys' *Our Prayer* being used in this episode was the show's editor Daniel Haworth's idea.

### Cut material

* Samba Schutte revealed that the scene with Stede's dingy rowing towards the Spanish ship was originally longer and included Roach listing all the different types of tapas he's prepared.

### Historical inaccuracies

* The image identified as Captain Kydd at the start of the episode is an engraving of the actual Stede Bonnet.

### Improvised scenes

* According to David Jenkins, the Creepy Pirate's line "we could have made magic", which he uses as a response to Stede explaining that he's not a prostitute, was improvised by Christopher Corbin.

## References

1. ↑ An Unofficial ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Soundtrack List & Analysis
2. ↑ Kristian Nairn instagram live with David Jenkins at 6:18
3. ↑ C2E2 2023 *Our Flag Means Death* panel
4. ↑ David Jenkins' twitter