Subscribe
Follow Us
Max series Our Flag Means Death is a rag-tag group of people, also known as pirates. But more than that, they're a family. And this family's home is called the Revenge led by the Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby).
SPOILER ALERT! The following contains spoilers for Our Flag Means Death season two.
However, the family lost one of their own, Izzy Hands (Con O'Neill). O'Neill spoke exclusive to Collider about what Izzy's personal growth amid their high seas hijinks.
While season two may have started out bleak, he points out that the show did have “fabulous make-up.” Izzy has gone back to his and Blackbeard's (Taika Waititi) old lifestyle, but something feels off.
O'Neill acknowledged this and said, “It goes back to how it used to be, but Ed’s broken, and that's the difference. Before Stede appeared, Izzy and Blackbeard worked as a unit really, really well because they were both on the same page. When Stede breaks Blackbeard's heart, Izzy and Blackbeard aren't on the same page.”
“Basically, Izzy’s looking at a man that he loves falling apart, and all the joy is gone — not just from Blackbeard, but from piracy. He can see Ed's decline, he can see the decline in his crew, which is fundamentally really, really the most important thing to him. He can feel his own heart breaking, because he's seeing the devastating impact of his actions,” he continued.
Izzy Hands… and leg
O'Neill also spoke about Izzy's amputation and his adjustment to a new way of getting around. He also addressed how that changed the dynamic between Izzy and the crew and that moment when they built him a new leg.
He acknowledged this and responded, “What's interesting, though, is the love for Izzy to his crew and the crew to Izzy, it's always been there. It's just not being presented in this way. The giving of the leg, I believe, is the first time in his life where he's actually had an emotional connection that he wasn't able to control. That act of kindness overwhelms it.”
“But he's still a pirate, and the leg ultimately allows him to be a pirate again. He does change his attitude towards his crew after the new leg and after the unicorn statement, but it's also about how to navigate the new crew as the first mate. And that's the beauty of what [series creator] David's [Jenkins] written. It's not suddenly he's this new guy. He's still a bit of a dick, but he's their dick, as [co-star] Vico [Ortiz] says,” O'Neill added.
He pointed out that amid this sincere outpouring of love that could have been cheesy and cringey, “It's a beautiful human version of the story that could have been really sentimental, and I don't think we go there. He doesn't suddenly become everyone's mate. That was never going to happen. That would have been dishonest. But he just has a need for them more because he's not as physically able as he used to be, and with that comes an understanding of them.”
Our flag may mean death, but la vie en rose
Article Continues Below
O'Neill also spoke about Izzy singing La vie en rose. He recorded both the French and English version of the song and lip-synced the English one first.
He confessed, “Every minute of that, from the recording of it to the lip-syncing it to the filming it, was terrifying. I haven't sung in public for 20 years. But it felt right, and it felt like the absolute right choice of song. It felt like the absolute right choice of language. If you would have asked me prior to doing it which song Izzy would sing, I'd never have thought “La vie en rose,” and now I can't think of a song that's more appropriate for Izzy.”
And as for Izzy's death, O'Neill talked about how he played him with Waititi who also served as executive producer and saying goodbye to a character they both loved.
“Taika is a beautiful actor to play opposite. And in that moment, we just got to say goodbye to a character that we both loved. You never get a death scene that's going to get all those boxes, but for me, it was never about what Izzy said,” he stated.
“It was about Izzy being vulnerable enough and brave enough to say, “Sit with me.” It was about Izzy being allowed to be held in the last moments of his life. That's all I remember about the day. I’m very proud of it,” O'Neill concluded.
The show has been renewed for season three, but no details have been announced. Fans may have to wait a while with Waititi busy with a full slate of projects.
Our Flag Means Death seasons one and two are available to stream on Max.
