Our Flag Means Death: The Main Characters, Ranked By Likability
Our Flag Means Death follows real-life figures like Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard, but it's far more comedic than those men's deeds would indicate. While history showed those two pirates and their crew to be fairly cretinous, the HBO Max series shows them to be real people, with genuine interests and individualized flaws.
This means that some are going to be more likable than others. The ensemble comedy features great banter between Bonnet's crew on the Revenge, and some manage to prove endearing by showing off their compassion. The show's about the small moments, and there are a lot of great ones.
10 Calico Jack (Will Arnett)
Will Arnett is one of Our Flag Means Death's most recognizable guest stars and his presence is always a welcome one. The character of Calico Jack, however, is the opposite.
Calico Jack almost immediately tries to jam a wedge between Bonnet and Blackbeard, even going so far as to urinate on the former's shoes. He also shows no remorse after murdering Buttons' seagull friend, and rightfully gets the boot from the Revenge.
9 Mary Bonnet (Claudia O'Doherty)
Claudia O'Doherty is a very likable performer, and her character Mary's marriage to Bonnet is tough to see for them both. It's an arranged marriage and neither one of them wants it before or after meeting one another.
Then, one day her husband drops the bombshell that not only does he want to sail the high seas on a ship, but it's already in the process of being built. Fortunately, he makes the decent decision to sign everything over to her, but the brief time viewers spend with Mary shows her to be a kind and gentle person, and they're glad for her delayed yet true happiness.
8 Buttons (Ewen Bremner)
Buttons is always by the side of his captain, even when his captain is as incompetent as Bonnet. But Bonnet trusts the man completely, and calls on him for advice often, at least until Blackbeard enters the picture.
While he does think about eating others even in non-dire times, he's an overall gentle soul. This is seen in his interactions with Karl, who is arguably Buttons' best friend even over Bonnet. Karl is also a seagull, but he proves just as useful as any of the pirates on board the Revenge.
7 Black Pete (Matthew Maher)
Black Pete is nothing if not the source of a good story, even if it is entirely fabricated. He regales the crew of his adventures with Blackbeard the legendary and enigmatic pirate. It's all nonsense, but he soon gets his chance to make the lie real.
Fueled by a funny and believable performance from Matthew Maher, Black Pete also seems to be a healthy partner for Lucius. He's still a pirate who doesn't always seem particularly averse to the trade, but at least he's nice to his coworkers and partner.
6 Wee John Feeney (Kristian Nairn)
Kristian Nairn, from the fellow HBO series Game of Thrones, doesn't get too much to do in Our Flag Means Death, but his Wee John Feeney is an amiable enough pirate even if he does have a penchant for burning people alive.
Feeney is the type of guy to stick up for his friends, but that only goes so far with a pirate, and his love for flame makes him a liability. Even still, he's very likable if he's on your side.
5 Lucius (Nathan Foad)
Lucius marks the first major role for comedian Nathan Foad, who carries a large chunk of screentime during the HBO Max pirate comedy's premiere season. He's Captain Bonnet's scribe, and he struggles with the position because the captain struggles to know what he's doing much less articulate it.
Lucius is a charming presence as well as an overall amiable fellow. He's not trying to bring anyone else down or even bring harm, which is typically a pirate's bread and butter. Instead, Lucius is just living, and he even keeps his promise to not expose "Jim's" true identity to the rest of the crew, despite having several options to do so.
4 Blackbeard (Taika Waititi)
Responsible for some of Our Flag Means Death's deepest quotes, Taika Waititi's Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard, is nearly the show's most likable character. However, two factors hold him back.
In reality, Teach and Bonnet parted ways, with Teach accepting a royal pardon. This is what happens in the series as well, and Waititi's Blackbeard does what the real man did by swiftly returning to piracy. The show's Blackbeard is hurt, feeling betrayed by Bonnet. They were supposed to start their life together, but Bonnet is nowhere to be found. He's been kidnapped, but Blackbeard thinks it's just a case of abandonment. He loses a lot of likable points when he does the very same to Bonnet's crew by stranding them on a deserted island to die. Furthermore, Blackbeard lies to Bonnet earlier in the series about his track record with murder, claiming to have killed none. However, that's revealed to be a lie by Calico Jack, and the ease with which Blackbeard is able to pass it off makes the viewer wonder just how much of his cruelty he's truly put behind him.
3 Bonifacia "Jim" Jimenez (Vico Ortiz)
One of Our Flag Means Death's most intelligent characters, Bonifacia Jimenez boards the Revenge under the guise of "Jim," a quiet man with expert combat prowess. While Jimenez ends up holding onto the shortened name even after they are exposed, their combat ability stays just the same.
Jim is on the warpath for revenge against the people who killed their family, and the character's arc is both one of the first season's strongest as well as one of the most exciting for the second.
2 Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby)
Stede Bonnet, "The Gentleman Pirate," was born into money. This is true both of the real-life figure as well as Rhys Darby's assuredly more humorous take. Darby's Bonnet does what the real man did and turns his back on his wife for a life of piracy. There's something admirable about just going for it, but Bonnet would be far less likable were it not for Darby's bubbly and joyful performance.
Bonnet's interactions with his crew are always respectful, but he seems like someone way out of his element, because that's exactly what he is. When Blackbeard enters the picture, Bonnet ends up becoming even more likable, mostly because the series focuses quite a bit more on their relationship than it does on their plundering of merchant ships.
1 Oluwande (Samson Kayo)
Oluwande is the Revenge's unofficial mediator. When the violent crew becomes unruly, or even plots to kill their own captain, he steps in to make more level heads prevail.
He's the only one initially aware of Jim's truth and he's supportive in a way the viewer knows holds no ulterior motive. The crew is again plotting to overthrow their captain, a position that is now held by Izzy. It's obvious to all of the crew members the same way it's obvious to the audience: Once Izzy's out, Oluwande is in.