Day 1 of the Renewal RushĀ Challenge: Share your favourite underrated detail or scene.
Izzy choosing to part ways with the Revenge, leaving Ed to his new life.
Itās a shame this bit often gets forgotten or ignored, because it says a lot about Ed & Izzy.
But mostly, I want to know what Izzy is chucking in that boat. Did he bring a dozen different leather vests with him? Is he raiding Stede??
Hmmmā¦so I am feeling things about both the caption in the original post and also the reactions and reblogs Iām seeing?
Like this scene and their interactions in s1ep4 ABSOLUTELY do show so much about their dynamic and are very important, butā¦
Izzy isnāt āleaving Ed to his new lifeā here. Heās not magically āallowing Ed to be himselfā or whatever out the gate and then backtracking later in the season. Thatās not where his actions here were coming from?? When heās getting ready to leave Ed here, he has no perception that Ed is no longer Blackbeard or that Ed is even trying to strike out on any kind of ānew lifeā yet. Whenever Izzy even gets a WHIFF of that, he goes off and immediately starts trying to push Ed back into the Blackbeard box. Every. Single. Time. Including in this episode! He doesnāt relax until Edās proven that heās still Blackbeard and āhas still got it.ā
Earlier in the episode, Izzy berates Ed repeatedly for being spacey and stupid while Ed is noticing very particular details and forming a plan to escape the Spanish while Izzy is complaining at him that Izzy has to do all the work and Ed doesnāt do anything anymore. Izzy is extremely rude to Ed all episode and completely dismisses and ignores everything he says. He bitches about how Ed USED to be the āgreat Blackbeard, the greatest sailor he ever metā all while treating him like an idiot that doesnāt know what heās talking about but heās LITERALLY actively doing what Izzy says he likes about him? THEN gives Ed the double bird right in his face, says heās resigning, and calls him a ātwat.ā Talk about insubordination! The audacity!
Izzy realizes heās made a complete ass of himself when Edās plan comes full circle and it becomes clear Edās known exactly what heās been doing and been totally in control this whole time. And Izzy realizes all that little ātrivial shitā Ed was pointing out was extremely relevant. Edās plan is perfect, minus the date and the corresponding moon phase being off, but he and Stede come up with a brilliant work-around together not too long after and pull it off beautifully.
Izzy is leaving because heās embarrassed himself! Heās already told his boss he quits and blatantly disrespected him and realized he was totally wrong, so heās seeing himself out, presumably because when you do all of that kind of shit to your boss, your ass is fired. I assume Ed hasnāt gotten to where he is as Captain Blackbeard by routinely being cool with that level of insubordination so Izzy is acting accordingly.
Yes, Ed stops him from leaving and manipulates him into staying by stroking his ego about being captain after Ed retires.
I wonder and speculate about Edās exact motives in doing this and I strongly question whether Ed really intended on killing Stede and stealing his identity and then changed his mind or if he made that plan up just to keep Izzy around (and just kind of hoped he forgot about it, I guess?)
Primarily, I think it speaks to their unhealthy enmeshment and co-dependency because, by all counts, Ed should have let his ass go for that behavior. Like I was just thinking: āShame Ed didnāt just let Izzy go when he was making the decision on his own and Izzy wouldnāt go fuck up everything later and send Ed on that damn trauma spiral where he almost died.ā All his behavior this episode was such a red flag about what he was going to do later on in the season! Completely disregarding Edās feelings and intelligence and agency as an individual to be able to make his own decisions because it doesnāt exactly fit Izzyās expectations. But Edās maintaining the status quo here, because Izzyās always around, and despite how unhealthy his relationship with Izzy is, it probably feels safer to him to have Izzy around. Especially since he hasnāt solidified his bond and trust with Stede yet, Izzy seems to be a sort of secure base for Ed at this point, until that role for Ed shifts completely to Stede.
You may clock the Mood Ed is in in the beginning of s1ep7 after Izzyās plan to get rid of Stede has backfired on him and heās instead succeeded in exiling himself. Ed is anxious and itching to get back to some sense of normalcy, talking about how heās surely overstayed his welcome and canāt be āsitting idleā which, of course, brings on Stedeās sweet little treasure hunt date. It isnāt until heās further charmed by Stedeās softness, reassured that Stede likes him, likes having him around, and wants him to stay and co-captain with him that he starts to relax into something outside of the status quo and starts really entertaining that maybe this nice thing he has going with Stede can be a New Normal that he can feel safe about.
But, man, the other takes Iām seeing? Acting like Izzy in s1ep4 was a battered spouse finally leaving his abuser for a better life? WTF? Or saying Ed knew Izzy has unrequited love for him and just kept stringing him along to be cruel, poor mewmew? What? The only one I get is the people who are like āOh Izzy wouldnāt have been maimed and would still be alive if heād left then šā because thatās probably true. But also Izzy being a dick to an extremely vulnerable person while at his lowest who heās supposed to āknow better than anyoneā was the direct cause of all of that. So likeā¦yeah, Izzy having left here would have stopped him from continuing to do shit that backfires on him spectacularly (which is a PATTERN for him). But I honestly donāt have much sympathy for Izzy even then because heās constantly playing stupid games and winning stupid prizes.
Like I donāt get all of this āIzzy is the TRUE victimā discourse thatās been going on since OFMD s2 wrapped. Itās like weāre not watching the same showā¦
These are two complicated guys and the narrative treats them as such. Just because Ed is a protagonist doesn't mean he's a good man, and just because Izzy was an antagonist doesn't mean he's a bad one.
The truth is - Izzy is leaving Ed to a new life. One without him after 20+ years. He made a clean break with Blackbeard the night before, in the morning took accountability for his insubordination, and was set to leave on good terms.
Don't get me wrong, Izzy isn't altruistic. He's very obviously ashamed of himself, especially after offering his resignation in such a volatile way, but Izzy is also observant. He's seeing what we're seeing - Ed come alive around Stede. It's all of this together that prompts Izzy to amicably remove himself from Ed's life.
When Ed brings up retirement and leaving Blackbeard behind, Izzy isn't angry or upset at all. Why? It's a mix of things, certainly, but central to it is Izzy having come to terms with the two of them parting ways. Izzy's follow-up question is soft and full of concern, "and what happens to you?" That's Izzy's driving force throughout Season 1. Yes, it's mixed with hatred for Stede, pain at how quickly Ed replaces him as a partner, and anger at Ed showing such vulnerability, but the bare bones of it is that Izzy fully believes he's looking after Ed. However wrong he may be.
In contrast, we see the manipulative side of Ed during this conversation, and how readily he gives Izzy false hope. Ed begins his response to Izzy's apology by validating Izzy's actions and feelings the night before, "You were right, man. About all of it" and ends it with "I need you here." Of course Izzy is happy to have the man he knows back, it's like - "oh wow, he's still in there, i thought i'd lost him" but this moment of relief still happens after Izzy has already packed to leave, and since time is linear, we must analyse it that way. The reaction Ed gives Izzy when he twirls towards him vs when he turns away from him, further underscored Ed's intentional deceit.
Episode 4 is wonderful because we get to understand who Ed & Izzy are as a team. Ed is eccentric and brilliant, and Izzy is tough and focused. It's clear that they've known each other for years and should work well when communicating, but communication doesn't actually happen in this episode. Why? Because Ed is keeping secrets. He wants to show off. As time passes and the Spanish get closer, we see Izzy go from reluctantly entertaining Ed, "I suppose they look like sausages," to increasingly frustrated. If you don't like "nagging wife" Izzy, that's totally fair - he was a buzzkill while preoccupied with their survival.
It all comes to a head when Ed tells Izzy that he doesn't care who dies, "they're pirates, it's kind of their job." That is Izzy's final straw because it proves Izzy's worst fears: Ed is no longer the man he knew and doesn't care about his life or the crew's. And much like in Season 2, Ed not caring about his crew is what leads Izzy to break with Ed. In this scene - Izzy resigns. In Season 2 - Izzy shoots Ed in the arm.
Meanwhile, Ed continues to put on a show to impress the Revenge and Stede. It's not the nicest demonstration, he does place Stede under duress, but it allows for a lovely moment of character insight for Ed - one of my favourites in fact. When Ed is prompting Stede to come up with a plan as "Blackbeard," Ed becomes Stede's Izzy in the scenario. As "Izzy," Ed echoes the sentiments that Izzy said to him throughout the day, "... we need a plan. time for a new idea, Stede. the crew is going to die and it's all going to be your fault, all the men who trusted you." And you can see Izzy realise that 1) Ed does listen to him and 2) still cares about their lives. It adds to Izzy's remorse.
Now - you said "Ed's plan is perfect" except that it 100% failed...
Ed's plan alone would have meant death for everyone on board.
The failure serves as an example of how well Ed & Izzy work together when they are open and honest. But it's... boring. Edward has the ideas or in his words, "gets the plan," and Izzy handles the execution, "executes the plan and so on... it's all so f*cking boring." Had Izzy known about the fog and tide, he could have corrected Ed on the date. So much of the chaos between the beginning of the episode and the end would have been avoided. Including Izzy's big blow up. But Ed didn't want that, he wanted something new, and instead, Ed gets it wrong, gives up, and retreats to drink his remaining time away. Thanks to Stede's personal reflection, they're able to come up with a new idea that saves everyone. An idea that isn't planned out in advance, one full of whimsy and excitement. And it's a beautiful moment of connection that serves as a contrast to how Ed and Izzy's relationship works, as well as answering Ed's standing question 'is this all there is?' But despite its charm, it still doesn't negate the decisions that were made before that moment.
Season 2 is its own beast and treated both Ed and Izzy unkindly. As someone who loves Ed, I am devastated to say that Ed's character never recovers after using disproportionate violence against his own crew, with Izzy bearing the brunt of it through 88 consecutive raids. The question arises: when does "rightful punishment" cross the line into abuse? Is it after one toe? How about three? A leg? A bullet to the head? Is Is Ed the TRUE victim (whatever the fuck that means), and if so, does that absolve him of accountability when he becomes the victimizer? He terrorised his crew, took a man's leg, and assaulted Stede, but the blame is placed on Izzy, who uttered hurtful words and lacked sufficient body parts to settle the score. In your evaluation, Stede played no role in Ed's downward spiral. However, if Stede hadn't abandoned Ed for his wife and children, Ed might not have solidified his belief in being unlovable.
Izzy was a victim. But he was also brave. Ed was an abuser. But he was also broken. I don't know why it's so difficult for people to see characters for who they are unless they're ashamed of them.