Our Flag Means Death

What makes the second season of “Our Flag Means Death” special is how much the writing leans into both a greater degree of representation and a consistent theme across all of its subplots about fighting back against societal expectations.

With this new installment, Jenkins and the rest of the writing team — Alyssa Lane, Alex Sherman, Adam Stein, Eliza Jiménez Cossio, John Mahone, Simone Nathan, Zayre Ferrer, Jes Tom, and Natalie Torres — still manage to strike the balance between lighter and darker elements, which all contribute to a perfect tenor that sings throughout every episode.

The follow-up to Our Flag Means Death’s sensational first season retains the reasons legions of fans fell so hard for the show.

The wickedly mischievous "Our Flag Means Death," one of the more creatively delinquent comedies on TV, has gleefully gone off the deep end.

Episode three, “The Innkeeper,” makes us wait a hell of a long time to learn the truth of Blackbeard’s fate. .... The episode ends in a true gift for Stede/Ed shippers that’s also in keeping with Our Flag’s gorgeous earnestness. [The score is the average of grades for the first three episodes.]

Sentimental yet satirical, with thoughtful hidden depths: a rare and welcome combination.

Our Flag Means Death continues to emphasize story over gags, and manages to be both funny and touching at the same time.

Though it takes a couple of episodes to find the equilibrium that made Season One a breakout hit, “Our Flag Means Death"'s second installment elevates the show's ensemble comedy to new heights by shifting its tender queer romance front and center. With its unorthodox approach to comedy and romance, “Our Flag Means Death” continues to be a delightful surprise.

Fervent fans of the series will be majorly rewarded here; its sophomore season doesn't just bring a meaningful continuation of the story of the Revenge crew, but also some perfectly plotted-out season 1 parallels and sly fandom in-jokes.

A mostly successful, intermittently inert second season that complicates the liberated bliss of free love with the moral responsibility that comes with free will.

Darby and Waititi remain the charming fulcrums around which their very funny ensemble rotate. Even with a less purposeful narrative this season, Flag’s characters and a clever remix of pirate tropes continue to make this a singular watch.

Antagonists do appear in Season 2, but they take far too long surface, which makes “Our Flag Means Death” feel more like pure fan service than its authentic self. What started as a subversive show is now fully submerged.

The prevailing emphasis on Stede and Ed also creates an irregular pace that does a disservice to the supporting characters by first meandering and then sprinting through story lines involving them; a cliffhanger ending for seventh episode “Man on Fire,” the last one provided for review, probably would have had more impact if the crew drama leading up to it felt less abrupt.

While that undercooked romance is still played for laughs in minor ways, we are now asked to care about it in a way that’s ruinous for the comedy. Darby, a talented comedian, and Waititi, who as a performer has charisma but not a lot of range, work hard but can’t bring much genuine feeling to a relationship that functioned better in cardboard form. The shift in focus also takes time and impact away from the rest of the very capable cast of regulars.