‘Our Flag Means Death’: How Nina Simone’s Music Played a Major Role in Season 2

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Episode 8 “Mermen.”]

Our Flag Means Death may have concluded its second season, but hopefully, there are more swashbuckling adventures on the horizon for Stede (Rhys Darby), Ed, a.k.a. Blackbeard (Taika Waititi), and the rest of their crew, should the show be renewed for Season 3 at Max.

One notable aspect of this delightful comedy though has to be the music, which has had several defining moments across the show’s run, whether it’s Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” from Season 1 or Kate Bush‘s “This Woman’s Work,” which played a prominent role in Season 2’s fantasy sequence in which a mermaid version of Stede saves a drowning Blackbeard.

(Credit: Max/Nicola Dove)

But one recurring music thread in Season 2 was none other than Nina Simone, a choice music supervisor Maggie Phillips reveals had to do with creator David Jenkins. “‘The Chain’ was so popular that David wanted to do more stuff like that,” she tells TV Insider.

When the second season opens, it is Stede’s dream sequence as he battles Izzy (Con O’Neill) that paves the way for this music through line. “The dream fight, I love that moment,” Phillips recalls. After stabbing Izzy, Stede hears and sees Ed calling from the distance and the pair run toward each other across this dream beach.

Playing in the background is Simone’s “I Love My Baby,” which reappears in the finale as Ed and Stede run toward each other on a beach as they fight the British. “We tried a few different songs there, and that’s the one we landed on,” Phillips reveals.

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The scene marks a full-circle moment as Stede and Ed are officially reunited after taking separate paths briefly in the seventh episode, validating Stede’s fantasy from the premiere episode. Sadly, the sequence from the premiere was even more foreboding beyond Stede and Ed’s reunion as Izzy soon perished after Prince Ricky (Erroll Shand) shot him.

Indicating the shifting tides in these pirates’ stories, Simone’s cover of “The Times They Are A-Changing” plays as the Revenge sails away with everyone except for the captains themselves on board. Looking on from the porch of their fixer-upper, Stede and Blackbeard plot their own future together with Izzy buried nearby.

“The version of that [song], which is beautiful,” Phillips says, has to do with Jenkins. “The bigger moments come from David,” she notes, adding, “Season 1 has more of my mark on it.” Just like the pirates on this show, the team behind the comedy gets the job done as a crew, delivering on a great second season.

What did you think of the music selections this season? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Our Flag Means Death, Seasons 1-2, Streaming now, Max