At long last, Stede and Blackbeard are finally friends again - back on the same ship, no longer at odds, and inching back toward the burgeoning romance they had in season one. It's a delight - and, honestly, a relief - to see Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi's chemistry back in play, and they work back up to a big relationship moment that doubles as a terribly sweet callback to one of their most memorable scenes together from season one.
They spend a big chunk of the episode apart, though. Blackbeard spends most of his time atoning for his actions toward the crew in the first few episodes in a plotline that doubles as a meditation on restorative justice. Stede teams up with Izzy to learn a few things about piracy (in some scenes I was surprised to find a bit boring; I was really excited for the dynamic they'd set up in earlier episodes, but Izzy seems to have chilled out so rapidly now that his redemption arc is complete that he's become a little dull here). He manages to show both that he's come along way as a pirate captain but also that he's the same silly guy we remember from season one, and it's great to see how he's grown while staying true to himself.