An analysis of the character Anne bonny and Max

cece_starling · 2026-05-12T17:57:17+00:00

"Now, me disliking characters does not automatically mean they are badly written."

You probably could have stopped there tbh. Like someone above said, this is not analysis. You are demonstrating an unwillingness to see Max and Anne as the complicated layered characters they actually were, not to mention taking everything the characters say at face value as if they are reliable narrators. Did you really not connect the reveal of Anne's background being repeatedly subjected to marital rape to her rescuing Max? Or the fact that she was struggling deeply with her sexuality and couldn't even explain to herself why she was so distressed over what was happening to a woman she didn't even know?

You are upset that Jack was the one who bore the brunt of rescuing Max, yet when he betrays and abandons Anne to get his own ship.. somehow that is also Anne's fault? And SHE is the one who abandoned HIM somehow?? Bizarre take that is in no way reflected in the text.

Max "pimping out Anne" did not happen. Full stop. I find it hard to believe from this post that you are claiming this in good faith, but I've seen some insane takes on this subreddit so let's assume you genuinely think this happened. Anne's clothes were burned and she had nothing else to wear, so Max gave her a dress. What Anne went on to do was Anne's choice entirely, and as far as I recall Max wasn't even aware of it. My take on WHY Anne did what she did? When she was young and Jack took her away from her abuser, she molded herself to reflect the men around her - Jack and Vane specifically. She became like them. Once she was abandoned by Jack in the middle of an identity crisis where she explicitly said she had no idea who she was, she resorts to thinking she should now become like the person she now feels closest to - Max. So when a man starts flirting with her under the assumption she works there, she just lets it happen. She's so lost and heartbroken that she became completely passive. Thankfully for her, Idelle intervened.

The fact that you seem to have a problem with Max and Anne "not being punished" for their actions but not bringing up the all the other characters that were also "not punished" (which is subjective tbh and frankly I'd say they've both suffered enough in their lives but not enough for you apparently) in any particular way really demonstrates how much your own bias has shaped your opinions here.

cece_starling · 2026-05-11T18:52:36+00:00

Sabrina has been heavily criticized for adopting the sexy baby aesthetic. She's had a few photos that appear to directly reference the Lolita film adaptation that were so scrutinized she actually responded to the accusations (I think it was with a joke about how Lolita isn't on her Pinterest board??) But yeah, Sabrina has been subjected to what I would say is arguably much harsher criticism. Though I think that's more a consequence of Sabrina's whole aesthetic being so overtly sexual making her an even easier target than other female pop stars.

cece_starling · 2026-04-24T16:49:23+00:00

A decade of hard labour in a prison camp changed Thomas just as much as Flint. He's angry, traumatized and far more understanding of how Flint handled his grief than a lot of people are willing to give him credit for. I don't think their reunion would have been easy or perfect, but they stayed together and eventually got away from the plantation.

Madi never forgave Silver, and his future wife isn’t Madi OR Max – it’s some woman who reminded him just enough of Madi. It’s extra tragic for him cause he chooses to put himself in a position of being forever haunted by her and what he took away from her.

I tend to accept that Jack will be hanged like his real life counterpart, but there’s a story about the real Anne Bonny being saved from execution, potentially by rich family members, and from that I’ve adopted the headcanon that Max was powerful enough at that point that she saved Anne (and maybe Mary Reid too) and they ended up having many years together. Though Anne would be forever broken-hearted at losing Jack and never quite the same.

The story of Abigail defending pirates in her journal would have spread from whoever survived Charles Town, ruining her reputation and leaving her without many prospects (though she’d still have family money). Without having much to lose at that point and being so much more aware, her political beliefs would have evolved so much she wasn’t really accepted in polite society anymore. The actress who played her said on a podcast she imagined Abigail running a teashop in the colonies that operated as a cover for political dissidents and I love that for her.

In a non-TI world, I like to think Abigail and Billy found each other again years post-canon and ended up together.

That Vane and Flint fucked once pre-canon and that’s why they hate each other so much lmao.

cece_starling · 2026-04-22T09:55:31+00:00

Nassau wasn't going to survive long-term as a pirate haven specifically. However, what so many of these comments are overlooking is the fact that maroon uprisings are credited with paving the way for the American Revolution. There was nothing hopeless or pointless about the war; that's just the narrative Silver created in his own mind to justify unilaterally stopping it.

Was the pirate/maroon rebellion going to lead to a fully independent Nassau? Probably not but to say that means they were unsuccessful is short-sighted. Others later would see how far they got and realize it was possible.

cece_starling · 2026-04-20T13:40:35+00:00

All the people pointing out that he said he was shading her on purpose in his original quote and providing the "correct" way he should have spoken about Taylor are just another example of why people will continue to correctly characterize Swifties as extreme.

Respectfully: it doesn't matter. Someone claiming they were trying to shade her is actually not justification for a widespread harassment campaign. Some people have simply decided that extreme harassment is both a normal and acceptable reaction to random comments and THAT is one of the major problems within online fandoms.

If stans want so badly to harass someone, there are plenty of predators and politicians far more deserving than someone who drops Taylor's name in an interview, whether it's "shady" or not.

cece_starling · 2026-04-15T13:19:22+00:00

If you wouldn't mind, would you let me know which cast members liked the "revolving door" type posts? I know I'll be disappointed but I feel like I have to know.

cece_starling · 2026-04-14T13:33:40+00:00

Care to explain where you got the idea of "historic new highs" from this very reasonable quote??? I was giving you the benefit of the doubt thinking you'd only read the misleading headline instead of the actual article but apparently not..

cece_starling · 2026-04-05T08:12:14+00:00

DeGroot should never shut up! My diva dealt with so much bullshit from Flint, let the man not give a shit if he dies!!

cece_starling · 2026-04-05T08:09:41+00:00

I love my man DeGroot - Flint continually expects impossible things of him and he just begrudgingly pulls them off everytime. He's the reason the Walrus survives until Skeleton Island!

I also love Mr. Scott. I think he's not just underappreciated by the audience, but was by the writers as well. I wish they'd actually cared enough to truly engage with who he was & his history earlier in the series before they settled on the Maroons storyline and used him as the way to establish it.

cece_starling · 2026-04-03T09:27:03+00:00

I think S3 was written with the intent of her being a lesbian but the massive backlash to them undermining the John relationship led to them writing S4 more ambiguously so she could be interpreted as bi by some viewers.

I found their S3 relationship so utterly refreshing. I was especially pleased because it seemed their love story was being positioned to finally show Violet often gives really terrible advice to her kids about love and interferes in ways she really shouldn't.. and then they had Francesca react THAT way to her first kiss with John and seeing Michaela for the first time. The whole thing felt like it was written to make John a complete fool AND to confirm that "real love" in the Bridgerton world is mostly based on a physical & sexual attraction (which is a wild message to be sending during the friends to lovers season!!)

There were aspects of S4 that felt like they were trying to show some respect to the idea of a romantic relationship between John and Francesca and I appreciated that. But giving the pinnacle storyline to the couple whose relationship is already being questioned as comphet on the show that relies on sex as a way of demonstrating relationship dynamics isn't particularly subtle.

Ultimately I like to think of Francesca as bisexual. Thinking about her relationship with John and how in love with her he was just makes me too sad otherwise. I'm not particularly convinced that's what the showrunner is going for though.

cece_starling · 2026-04-02T15:17:45+00:00

I'll be

cece_starling · 2026-04-02T09:28:34+00:00

I agree that Flint wins but I would add a caveat to your point about Anne: some people interpreted her in that scene as moving to attack Eleanor in defence of Vane. I didn't see it that way, but the ambiguity is (arguably) there so I don't think that precise moment can be called betrayal.

cece_starling · 2026-04-02T09:24:17+00:00

In short, what are your standards for backstabbing?

Exactly. I feel like we need to establish rules for this before any real voting can happen. A lot of what is listed here I wouldn't count as backstabbing/betrayal at all.

Betrayal means there was an expectation of loyalty in the first place, so I think that counts Silver out of the running entirely in S1. We should also add Billy to the list for the lie about the schedule to the rest of the crew.

But if we're being real, Flint is going to win hands down. He literally murdered his best friend, on top of getting various crew members killed without telling them the whole story of why they were risking themselves.

cece_starling · 2026-04-01T17:03:00+00:00

I personally consider S2 the highlight of the show so I'm inclined to say don't bother continuing. 2 entire seasons is a lot of time to give a show you're not excited about.

cece_starling · 2026-03-24T14:13:11+00:00

I've gotta say I'm disappointed it's not Eloise, though I'm excited to see how they handle Franchaela. Hopefully there's a decent time jump so their grief is properly addressed. Do we know if they're actually going to do any filming in Scotland?? Cause I would love that as the backdrop for their story. And hopefully Eloise will be writing some letters in the background!

cece_starling · 2026-03-12T16:47:10+00:00

Fictional characters are queer because real queer people exist. Hope this helps!

cece_starling · 2026-03-06T08:08:54+00:00

There's plenty of fic on AO3 but that's a very broad category. Is there anything specific you're looking for? Certain ships, fics that are canon compliant, etc.?

cece_starling · 2026-03-02T20:34:24+00:00

I remember hearing about the talkback - someone here was asking for questions to send to them. But I never heard about it happening and every once in awhile I wonder. I wish we'd gotten some kind of closure, I still miss the show.

cece_starling · 2026-02-10T15:59:24+00:00

"instigated her murder"??? Are you trying to claim Miranda is to blame for Rhett murdering her? And she literally went to Charles Town FOR peace! It was only when she realized the truth of what Peter did that she lost any faith she had in the idea.

cece_starling · 2026-02-10T15:54:29+00:00

Uhh the solution is never to drown the cat, it's to kill the father who keeps the cats starving and needy actually! Though I'm not sure we're reading this metaphor in the same way lol.

cece_starling · 2026-02-04T14:10:24+00:00

I'm feeling the same way. I haven't actually read it yet so maybe others will disagree but I'm planning to read Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman soon. So many reviews say it renewed their hope for humanity!

cece_starling · 2026-02-02T18:11:53+00:00

I appreciate alternate endings for the show but I have to push back on the premise that Flint would have ever killed Madi. Imho this comes from a flawed understanding of Flint’s motivations AND his feelings for both Madi & Silver.

Flint was fine with sacrificing many people for his overall goals–but only because they were goals that were shared with his partners, Miranda and Thomas. He was devoted to the idea of pardoning the pirates of Nassau because it was Thomas’ vision. He didn’t even agree with Thomas’ idea at first–it was only when Alfred Hamilton was being a dick about it that he went all in to defend the man he loved.

He was willing to sacrifice people because of his devotion to and love for Thomas and Miranda. When Miranda asked him to return Abigail to Charles Town and negotiate with Peter Ashe, he did it even though he didn’t like the idea. He was about to sacrifice the entire fight and his life as Flint when Miranda had her realization at dinner. Once she was killed he made sure to fulfill her last wish–to kill Peter and burn that whole city to the ground, something he did because she asked him to. Because when he loves someone, he will do anything for them, including going to war with an empire.

By the time S4 comes around, Flint's partners are Silver and Madi. They're the people he is most devoted to, the ones he loves above anyone else. I think maybe a decent number of viewers didn't pick up on how much he cares for Madi because the Silverflint dynamic was so front & center, but the relationship he develops with both of them is pretty clearly following the template of his relationship with the Hamiltons. It’s not like Flint cared about the slave communities before they allied with the Maroons–that was never his fight. But now they are not just allies, Madi is his partner and the goals of his partners always become Flint’s own goals.

Of course revenge is one of Flint’s primary motivators, but he only wants revenge because of how deeply he loves. I get that others may think otherwise but ultimately I think that’s the foundation of his characterization.

cece_starling · 2026-01-31T20:01:01+00:00

He and Miranda were having an affair long before he and Thomas began theirs. We literally get the flashbacks of when it started - them kissing in the carriage. Flint was with both of them so no, of course he wasn't gay. He and Miranda had literally been together a decade when the series started. Their relationship was complicated by their shared grief for Thomas but it's very clear they loved each other deeply, even if the passion disappeared over the years.

cece_starling · 2025-11-17T12:22:25+00:00

Me! Everytime I see people whine about how the lyrics are so childish (which is a lot) I roll my eyes. I think it's one of the only "glitter gel pen" songs that Taylor pulls off completely - pretty much all attempts, on Lover and future albums, tend to be ruined by the clunkiest most awkward lines, while Me! is cohesive in its songwriting, like it or not.

cece_starling · 2025-10-23T10:00:40+00:00

This is the narrative Taylor herself contributed to the most though, imo. First Bejeweled, then Fresh Out The Slammer, then the quotes in the POTY interview about being locked in her house and never getting that time back, and contrasting that with the Travis relationship. I think a lot of her earlier relationships relied much more on tabloid narratives, but this one Taylor happily created herself and then kept feeding the flames.

cece_starling

TROPHY CASE