Review: HBO's Comedic Take on Pirate Life

The pirates in Our Flag Means Death end up more interested in skirting imperial powers than in plundering.

The life of piracy depicted in HBO's Our Flag Means Death has little in common with the savage (yet family-friendly) life of piracy in the old Disney song "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)." The show's unconventional depiction follows the tale of Stede Bonnet, a real 18th century pirate, with a heavy dose of artistic license. Bonnet (Rhys Darby) leaves Barbados to pursue piracy, earning the nickname "The Gentleman Pirate" thanks to his gentle nature and background in the landed gentry.

Comedic hijinks ensue. Bonnet reads his crew of incompetents bedtime stories, they play pickleball below deck, and the flag atop the ship's mast features an intimidating cat. Bonnet eventually crosses paths with Blackbeard (Taika Waititi), and the two join forces.

After two seasons, at the show's conclusion, the pirates are less interested in plunder and violence and more interested in being left alone by the imperial powers. Likewise, a crew ruled by an iron-fisted captain is less fulfilled than a crew guided with a velvet glove. That, perhaps, would be the pirate's life for me.