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It all comes down to this: is redemption possible, and is life worth living? Ed has to face the ghosts of his past, a contributor to the dangerous and violent life he's been forced to lead, while considering what it would take for him to change and find a new path. Life's pleasures can be simple ones, but Ed is afraid he's caused too much pain to be able to hope for companionship. Stede will show him that hope is justified and the final scene is perhaps the most stunning of the entire series. Shoutout to Gypsy Taylor for something that went way beyond costuming! I'm so glad I watched episodes 1-3 all together (all were released at once). (On January 9 Max canceled this show although everything was in the works for the expected third and final season. Please Google Renew As A Crew and sign the petition to bring this show back so this story can be told fully!)

The film starts out with a seemingly simple premise: a time traveler from the future comes back to present-day Toronto to fix world-changing mistakes. But the film keeps surprising us. Maybe people's motivations aren't what they appear to be. Maybe time travel is more common than we realize. Maybe "everything's gonna be okay" means different things to different people. Rhys Darby, as Casper, is hilarious, infuriating, and loveable. Gabrielle Graham has a breakout role as Holly, a jaded young punk who has to wrestle with how much of the world's burdens she has to take onto her leather-clad, spiky shoulders. And Julian Richings shows how much circumstances can change a person's trajectory.

I won't lie, this episode is intense and upsetting, but it's an important part of the dramatic tale. Ed is going through it. While the tone of season 1 was sunny and Stede-focused, alert viewers could see that Ed was prone to depression and was in an ambiguous state before meeting Stede distracted him for a while. Heartbreak has catapulted him back into his worst, most destructive self, and his crew is suffering along with anything that has the misfortune to sail nearby.

Stede is back to his singleminded focus on figuring out where Ed is by triangulating his crimes on a homemade map, and provides some semi-wise counsel to an old friend. Zheng Yi Sao, we learn, overlaps a bit with Stede's holistic view of wellbeing for her crew, but she's a much more formidable captain to be on the wrong side of.

Our heroes pick up where they left off last season, with Stede and much of his crew in straitened circumstances in the Republic of Pirates, while a heartbroken Ed wreaks havoc across the Caribbean with the weary crewmembers he kept on board the Revenge. We meet the odd "minor Prince" Ricky who leaves Spanish Jackie's the worse for wear while Stede's crew joins a new ship.

Stede thinks presenting himself in just the right way is key to the perfect reunion (as we see in the dream sequence that starts the episode-Stede is a "real pirate" with a beard and earring who wins a sword fight) but fears Ed is better off without him. Ed wants to make the entire Caribbean pay for the pain he's felt.

On first watch of the first two episodes, many (like me) enjoyed the comedy just fine while others (my spouse, for instance) weren't fully convinced. However these episodes plant seeds that blossom beautifully as the season progresses, and even more reluctant viewers are fully reeled in in episode three. Each episode keeps getting better and going deeper in emotional complexity, while remaining funny as hell. A rewatch shows how masterfully the themes and details were established in the first episodes.

So! Even if you feel "eh" on this episode, please do yourself a favor and watch two more episodes to see where things are going. I have watched and enjoyed a lot of television in my time but this is the only show that has literally been life-changing.