If I hadn't been told specifically to keep going, I would have stopped after the pilot. It wasn't bad, but it's not a strong opener, which I think is one of the few weaknesses of this show overall. It's obvious that the cast is new to working with each other and are still finding their feet in terms of tone & style. Some performances feel a bit forced, and it's unclear at first whether we're meant to be laughing with Stede or at Stede (humor at the expense of people's differences is not my jam). Nevertheless I don't think they could have opened the show in a dramatically different way. It's critical to give some time to the character development of Stede and crew before jumping into the meat of the story a few episodes in. Coming back to this episode a second time, once you know the crew, it becomes much more enjoyable.
