"I'm incredible at keeping secrets! My mom thought I liked girls for years!"

David Jenkins’ 2022 pirate-based rom-com adventure has led me on one of the stranger watch experiences I’ve had in recent years. From production to performance, the show is staggeringly well made and the authenticity behind its writing is so pure that I’d venture to say there’s never been a show that handles relationships more properly. However… Despite each individual piece being truly excellent, the sum of its parts just doesn’t equate to much. And that’s sort of strange.

If you’ve seen anything else with Rhys Darby or Taika Waititi, you’ll already understand the tone of the show. It’s a smooth, witty, soft spoken comedy that relies on anachronism, irony, and charm. Flag creates a stellar sound-bed of funny that lends the entire experience a sort of light and frivolous nature, perfect for the target audience. Where the show goes a little wrong [for me] is that it never quite commits one way or another once that baseline is established. While it did make me smile, chuckle, and feel generally good about the universe, it never made me laugh or chortle the way ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ or ‘Flight of the Conchords’ did. While there was a through narrative that dealt with real emotional tribulations of complex relationships, it was never committed to in a way that engaged me beyond [pardon the pun] shipping certain characters and being glad or sad at the outcome. There wasn’t the same depth as something like ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’, ‘Together Together’, or ‘Little Fish’ so, by the end of the show, I was left thinking, “Huh, well, there will certainly be more of that,” rather than, “I need to know what happens.”

This is mostly strange because, from all technical and production standpoints, the show is absolutely outstanding. With the exception of one character I found to be pretty middling, every single cast member is interesting, fun to be around, and genuinely funny. Even the hard and fast villains of the show are despicable in a way that you relish their screen time. Relationships are meaningful, natural, and sweet. On top of this, characters react to news of gender, sexuality, and preference in a way that is largely unseen across all media, despite it being the proper way to handle these situations; with no reaction at all. When a character misgenders another, they accept, use the right pronouns, and move on. The same goes for when one character wrongly assumes someone to be heterosexual -- he simply says his partner’s name and she then congratulates him. There’s no drama where it doesn’t belong and the show does an absolutely phenomenal job of normalizing depictions of “non-standard” relationships on screen. Also notable here, is the way the Flag completely eschews typical pitfalls of historical fiction with its near total LGBTQ+ characters, world, and natural setting.

The production value of the show is great with sets, costumes, props, and makeup being inventive, high quality, and consistent. There’s not much in the way of interesting cinematography [though there are a few standout shots] but this technical deficiency is offset by the excellent use of soundtrack during the ends of key episodes. One episode in particular breaks my criticisms of overly-light tone through an expert use of music, intimate performance, and authentic writing. It’s too bad the rest of Flag wasn’t on the same level. Though, as I hope I’ve outlined, this is a personal conundrum rather than one of quality.

‘Our Flag Means Death’ is a featherweight, frivolous, fun, and fabulous show in all the right connotations. It’s gentle, it’s manly, it’s soft, and it’s intelligent in ways not often seen in film, TV, or storytelling in general. While there are major aspects of this production that I think should be applauded and made standard, I just wish it was a little funnier or a little heavier because, at the end of the day, it’s one I appreciate in micro, but ultimately feels like an equation that someone forgot to calculate. While the crew of this craft is wonderful, beautiful, and perfect, their journey doesn’t seem to have a meaningful destination. Maybe X will mark the spot in season 2.

"Some men are not built for adventure. Some men should concern themselves with gentler things."