The irony is that this is exactly what Stede wanted to become.

The real Stede was actually famous for making people walk the plank.

I think Ned's death will have consequences for Stede, but I understand why he made that decision. Ned did everything Stede hates: he mistreated his crew, hurt Ed, ridiculed Blackbeard, and made fun of him. Stede became a pirate to earn the respect of others and this was the time to earn it, especially in front of Izzy. Also, let's remember that Stede decided to abandon Ed when Chauncey told him that he had ruined the greatest pirate of his time. That was the real trigger for his escape. The guilt for having abandoned his family had been with him since chapter 1. Stede hates to think that because of him people disrespect the figure of Blackbeard. On the other hand, it was very nice to see Ed's concern for Stede. He protected him with his body when the boarding began.

"Works for spiders, works for men." That's how we know Stede's not holding back

They are behaving like Stede didn't enjoy seeing a whole ship of French aristocrats burning with them on it

I fully support Stede in doing this, because in the end, it was purely out of self defense and love for his crew. But at the same time, I also feel bad for Edward, because he didn't want Stede to fall into the same pit of despair from killing and pirating. He really seems to want to retire now, but Stede's just getting started in his pirating career and becoming famous :( Also, is it just me or is Stede 100x hotter when he's assertive like this and protective over this crew??? And I'm amazing they included a real life historical fact too!

some say that the actual, historical stede bonnet invented walking the plank! he'd have people do it blindfolded though. rhys himself talked about it in a podcast, i believe earlier this year. that sneaky little man...

That little flashback to his childhood reminds us that he’s definitely not okay 😩 even if he seems confident by *ahem* that (amazing) scene afterwards

Everyone is saying Stede killed Ned on a whim and I am so confused???? Ned hurt his family. It's not obvious with the pacing. But it was probably a few hours of his crew and Ed being tortured. If I was Stede i would be planning that man's death the moment he stuck a hot iron into my boyfriend. I dont know about killing him on a whim. That shit seemed personal to me.

Protective and assertive Stede is hot af 🔥

I read that Stede was the pirate that made ‘walking the plank’ a famous signature move and now we finally see it happen ❤

Stede chose piracy over his former comfortable life not once but twice. He might have been naive the first time but the second he was perfectly aware of what a life of pirating entails. By then he had been responsible for the death of one person and an entire boat full of people going up in flames. It was evident in the finale of season 1 that he had become too violent for his old life. He claims to love everything about Ed knowing exactly what crimes and atrocities he has commited. I'm neither surprised nor put off by the fact that he killed someone in cold blood. The signs have been there all along.

"Real" Pirate Stede has awoken something in all of us, I think~

I wonder if one reason Stede did what he did was out of protectiveness of Ed. He started acting up after Ned insulted Stede, and seemed much more affected by his insults than Ed was himself. And I can't help but notice that his insults have parallels to how people mocked Ed back in S1, like Izzy and Calico Jack. I think that Stede finally understood the harm these comments have done to Ed, and was furious and DoneTM with them on behalf of Ed (in addition to the whole torturing his crew thing).

So, I've been re-watching this scene quite a bit and something I noticed is this isn't the first time Stede was regarded as Blackbeard's "pet" and Ed still doesn't say otherwise.

Loving the fact Stede likely knows that Ed is very afraid of spiders, so whenever there is one on the ship and Ed sees it and freaks out in fear, Stede is like "Never fear my love, I shall throw this vile creature off the ship for daring to get close to you" and Ed's like 🥹😍🥰 Stede being Ed's hero all the way in every scenario 🥰🏳️‍🌈❤️

"Walk." Stede's mastering his mean voice and I'm loving every second of it. 😍 This scene was damn intense. ❤👍

I get why Ed didn’t want him to but murder Stede is hot

Is Blackbeard aware of how Stede killed Nigel? I know the show classifies it as an accident, but the way it played out, he clearly wanted to.

I mean technically though, the water killed Ned, not Stede 😅 also could argue that he only threw a violin at the man and the rest was just gravity. (Yes I'm joking)

Could the episode 6 ending be the next scene you upload?

Stede was absolutely right to do it. If he hadn’t, this guy would’ve hunted down the other crew and hurt them. Stede saved lives doing this.

There is a generation who got emotional whiplash watching Balki torture people then walk the plank.

That was hot

I still think this is the controversial opinion in the fandom, but I'll say it anyway. This scene went totally against Stede's character. The crew had basically recovered, and Stede proved that violence didn't have to necessarily be solved through more violence. And once Ned was tied up, he was no longer a threat; none of his crew died or had lasting injuries that we know of, except Stede and Ed's brands. But other than that, there was no permanent damage. So why kill Ned? After all, the shit-talk and torture played out humorously, as most violence in the show is. The crew is saved, everyone is happy, right? Stede sure looked happy during the party, feeling like a more confident captain. So why is there any need for him to prove himself through killing, especially when Ed clearly doesn't want him to? If it was to defend Ed and his crew, that still doesn't match with Stede's earlier actions this season. If Stede cared for his crew, then why didn't Ed face more punishment for attempting to kill all of them? He left half of the crew for dead, the other half he put through living hell. And he basically physically and mentally tortured Izzy. But Ed got a pass, barely had to apologize and was forgiven almost instantly. Stede didn't defend his crew then, so why now? For Stede to kill Ned (after all his previous actions and attitudes towards death, as well as his confidence both around Ed and the crew) is at least highly hypocritical, at most against the tone and characters of the show completely. Cold blooded murder was not the only option when it comes to defending the crew. I'll never forget watching this for the first time; my heart just sunk. To me, this ruined my favorite character in the show. And he only got worse in the next episodes, too. I hold the ending of ep 5 forever in my heart, because to me that's where the show ended. I know others might disagree, that's how I interpreted things.

“𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠” BABE I’LL CRAWL IF U ASK