Blackbeard has BPD; I think

"You know what's not fair? You expecting me to melt back into your arms!" - Ed

Me and my agents have been carefully studying the actions of Ed, but Season 2 really really gets into the nitty gritty of it all. This will get into mental health, BPD specifically, trauma, drug mentions, sex mentions, described really bloody stuff, and really bad spoilers of OFMD… Before I start, you should watch OFMD because it’s a great show and you’ll understand what I’m saying more but I’ll try my best to provide context.

OFMD, or Our Flag Means Death is a HBO show made in March of 2022 and the second season is currently running at the time of writing this. The show in 3 words is “Really gay pirates”. Blackbeard/Edward Teach and Stede Bonnet are dating. To understand their dynamic a bit, Ed was *the blackbeard* a really famous pirate known for killing and pillaging. Stede was a rich man who left **HIS KIDS AND WIFE** for piracy. This is about Ed though. In season 1, Ed and Stede became really close and soon had a romantic relationship. In an episode the crew try to make their boat seem haunted but it ended up triggering Ed and he ended up running off to a tub with a blanket to cry. He confided in him about his trauma of killing his father and his loss of identity. He didn’t want to be a pirate anymore, he was tired and bored with just killing* people. “Killing” has an asterisk because he also confessed he actually hasn’t killed much.

"Besides, it's kind of comforting really. I'm folding stuff... And that's okay.". In the season finale Ed and Stede are sent to a royal privateering academy after Stede was going to be killed for pirating so Ed renounces piracy for him. Over the next few weeks they both live a calm life. Ed shaves his beard because of the rules, and it feels freeing to him. "These past few weeks have been the most fun I've had in ages, years, maybe ever.". Over the next few weeks Ed talks to Stede saying he wants to run away with him later that night. He wants to take a boat to China and live a calm life. “We’ll go somewhere they’ll never find us. Our old lives will be gone, dead.”. Stede initially agrees and they kiss. Later that night Ed waits for Stede at the dock but he never comes. Stede went back to see his wife and children. Soon he realizes that and teary-eyed and heartbroken, he sails away. He wants to kill Stede.

Ed tracks down The Revenge (The ship) and overtakes it. He leaves crew members that he sees as obsolete on an island and leaves with the rest. As the new captain Ed becomes manic and violent. He starts doing drugs to cope and punishes the crew and Izzy (His first hand) at any perceived insubordination. Once, after raiding a wedding he painted the cake toppers to look like him and Stede. Eventually, Izzy and the rest of the crew reluctantly confront Ed about his behavior saying the aura on the ship has become toxic. Izzy reinforces them, saying it's because of Stede. Ed immediately shoots Izzy in his left leg at the mutter of Stedes name. He made Frenchie the new first mate and his first order was to kill Izzy. EDIT: I forgot to say, he was holding a gun at the crew members as he asked if the ship had became toxic

The crew keeps him alive and Ed discovers this and two other crewmates kissing and forces them to fight to death else he’d shoot a cannonball into the mast, killing them all. One of the two, Jim argued that he would do it anyways which he confirmed. The crew, tired of him, bands together to kill him. Izzy comes back to shoot Ed and the rest of them maim him with a cannonball. Edward smiling through, finally dying like he’d desired.

But the bitch isn’t dead. Having to make a decision between life and death, Ed realizes that he wants to live. For Stede. Well lucky for him because Stede was there for reasons that would take too long for me to explain I’m sorry. Later, Ed was banished from The Revenge and goes to an Island which Stede also travels to. Ed runs into some old friends and they both stay for dinner. Over a meal, it slips out that Stede went to Mary. “You left me for Mary..?” *smashes a chair over the wall* Over the night they make up though and Ed is allowed back on the ship.

But to get into the meat and potatoes, if you read into his actions more you can see how this relates to BPD. “Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.” He’s broken up with Stede 3 fucking times. In one of the most recent episodes he flatly tells him “I’m leaving”. And he got a fisherman job, even when Stede says he’s being impulsive. "Ed, you're panicking!” "I'm not panicking! Here's the news, I'm leaving.". I believe the reason why he’s doing this is because Stede is suddenly becoming popular and he thinks that he’ll leave him again like last time. "I don't even know who I am, but I know I don't want to be a pirate. And look at you, you're the toast of the town!". A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. In the end of season 1, he wanted to kill Stede for leaving him. But before that he wanted to run off to China with him. OK… "Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self." He’s said multiple times that he doesn’t know what he wants to do in life and what his purpose is. He’s lost with his life and has no idea what makes Ed, Ed. "Impulsivity in at least 2 areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)" He tried to get his crew to kill him, went on multiple raids that he had so much treasure that he just wanted to throw it all out just to go steal more, after Stede left him he turned to drugs, and he drove the boat into a storm on purpose…

Additionally, I want to add some more things I think are relevant. "Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)". When he found out Stede left him for Mary he smashed a chair at the wall, when Stede was teaching him about the high society and a captive that was one of them insulted him he grabbed him by the collar and yelled at him and threatened to kill him but quickly went back to the table calmly, he shot Izzy in the leg at the mention of Stedes name, he cut off multiple toes of his, fed him some of his own toes, and threatened to cut off more.

End essay. I know I sound literally insane describing the plot of this show but this is me trying to fit context in. Watch OFMD for yourself and make your own opinion! Alright bye bye