There's no shortage of gut-busting moments in HBO's Our Flag Means Death, which often come with hilarious quotes – which are the funniest lines?
Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the HBO show Our Flag Means Death.
The gut-busting first season of HBO's Our Flag Means Death has left fans with some unforgettable funny moments thanks to the goofy pirates and their wild antics. These hilarious scenes often come with well-written lines that highlight the absurdity of the situations, the characters' wacky personalities, and more.
The funniest quotes on the show so far often perfectly capture the pirates' reactions to the changes implemented by Captain Stede Bonnet. In fact, these lines usually come from the gentleman pirate himself, as he finds himself in awkward situations during his adjustment period in his new profession.
Although Stede tries to be likable on the Revenge, his attempts at compassion and kindness – as well as his new way of running things that parodies corporate management – only confuse and irritate his crew. One of the earliest and funniest indications of his strange management style happens during a crew meeting where he reminds them what they should do if anyone is "mentally devastated by what they've witnessed" during an upcoming raid.
The fact that he's taking their mental health into account is already odd to the pirates, who are used to an iron fist and an unforgiving, badass captain. It's this conflict that often results in gut-busting and awkward situations between them.
Frenchie definitely deserves more screen time on the show, as the underrated supporting character has an interesting narrative and a peculiar obsession with cats. During their flag-making competition, Frenchie decides to make his design scary by sewing an image of a cat, as he just assumes everyone knows "they got knives in their feet."
There's another hint at his strange views about cats in a later scene where he reminds their British guests that "everyone knows cats are very evil because they steal children's breath." It's an absurd storyline that's easy to miss, but viewers who do notice likely had a good laugh about it.
Stede isn't the bravest pirate among the bunch, as his life as a wealthy landowner didn't adequately prepare him for the scary things he would encounter out at sea. He seems to view himself as fit for the job, however, as emphasized in a conversation he has with Frenchie.
While talking about renowned pirates like Blackbeard and Captain Kidd, he puts his own brand – "the Gentleman Pirate" – right up there with them, even going as far as claiming that he is "the scariest of them all." This cluelessness, combined with his earnest belief that he can kill with kindness, makes the entire situation comical.
The crew of the Revenge finds themselves in trouble when their ship gets stranded on a seemingly deserted island. With nothing to do but wait for the tides to change, Stede advises the pirates to "view this" situation "as a holiday of sorts," which they all find perplexing. Wee John's sidesplitting reaction comes out of nowhere, as, like all the other pirates, he has no idea what a vacation is.
The comical moment and the ensuing explanation by Stede only further emphasize how different he is from the rest of them, as the pirates have never had the privilege of spending time doing relaxing activities.
Stede's cluelessness lands him and Lucius in hot water once again in the Republic of Pirates. Aside from wearing outrageous outfits to the dangerous place, Stede tries to sell their hostages by shouting at the top of his lungs so everyone can "check out this booty" he's "hawking."
The thieves, murderers, and other criminals on the island understandably get the wrong idea. Stede doesn't care or is simply oblivious to how everyone is reacting to them, though, as he's just glad to be able to walk among the people on the island as if he was truly one of them.
Some of the funniest interactions between Stede and Blackbeard happen when they're trying to teach each other new skills. For Blackbeard, this unfortunately means having to learn how to use the several utensils needed to dine as a gentleman.
When a hostage interrupts his lesson to call him "a rich donkey," Blackbeard's more menacing side comes out. He instructs Fang to "lash him to something very heavy" and then "toss him overboard," but not before skinning him with the "snail fork." It's the pause between the thought of skinning him and using the very tiny utensil that makes the scene even funnier.
Lucius is one of the funniest pirates on the Revenge. His overconfidence and witty remarks have quickly turned him into a fan favorite. One memorable scene with Lucius happens when he's confronted by Izzy, who taunts him by asking if he thinks he's cute.
It's just like Lucius to whip out a line that also happens to capture his personality during that tense exchange, which predictably annoys the already irritated Izzy. The awkward laughter that follows soon after makes the entire situation even more hilarious.
Stede makes the terrible mistake of trusting Geraldo after he sweet-talks the captain into believing they can sell the hostages to "the Spanish Navy." The naive gentleman pirate even brings gifts for their hosts, reminding his crew that it's rude not to.
He's beyond excited to introduce himself to the professionals on board and even announces how the world is about to "witness the Gentleman Pirate's first business transaction" before climbing up the ladder. His comical reaction to being stabbed by the person who hoists him up sums up his inexperience and gullibility, while also resulting in a comical scene.
Jackie has a strong personality and everyone knows not to mess with her or her nose jar. As Geraldo explains, Jackie has been collecting noses for the longest time for her "nose jar" – he makes it sound like it's one of her most valuable possessions.
With that context in mind, fans can understand how dire the situation is when Jackie rushes to find the person responsible for toppling her nose jar. She barely has time to make sense of Stede's title and gets it wrong in the funniest way, as she's too busy deciding how she wants to chop off the "genital pirate's" nose.
Blackbeard is surprised by how hurt he feels after being insulted by a British captain, which Stede immediately sees. Stede points out how he can't help but notice that the captain's words about him being "a rich donkey" have gotten under his skin, which prompts Blackbeard to respond by explaining how "they sounded polite, but they stung."
Stede puts on a serious face when he teaches Blackbeard about passive aggression, which he's used to because of the life he used to lead. The already gut-busting scene is made perfect by Blackbeard's reply, as he seems genuinely impressed and mortified when he says "that's f*****g diabolical."
