Stеdе Bonnet

Stede has hazel eyes, pale skin, and blonde side-swept hair with sideburns. As a former aristocrat, Stede does his best to maintain a clean and well-groomed appearance. Before he gave up his wealth and title, he often wore a variety of fancy clothing on a day-to-day basis, including dressing gowns for when he slept, and when he attended high-society events, he wore a white powdered wig. Currently, Stede wears much more simple attire due to no longer having access to his wardrobe of fancy clothing.

Stede has a very cheerful and positive personality and tends looks on the bright side of things. He describes himself as a "gentleman pirate" and enjoys reading and dressing up in various fancy clothes. While he is intelligent, he can also be somewhat naive. He is not very adaptable to the dangerous life at sea, but tries his best nonetheless, and is very adventurous and curious, with a passion for traveling, sailing, and exploring wildlife. Despite often feeling insecure of himself due to the bullying and abuse he endured as a child, he does his best to carry himself with confidence and grace. While he is generally kind, generous, patient, and friendly, when he is faced with a difficult situation, he can be prone to selfishness and cowardice, often running away from his problems instead of facing them.

Early life Stede Bonnet was born in 1688 in Barbados to an aristocratic family. As a young boy, he was bullied by several of his peers, including Nigel Badminton.

One day, as a child, Stede's father took him on a walk, and told him how all of their land would one day be Stede's. However, he stressed to Stede that this was not because he deserved it, but because he got lucky, calling him "a weak-hearted, soft-handed, lily-livered little rich boy", and that this was all he would ever be. Stede's father's words would stay with him into adulthood.

Married life When Stede reached adulthood, his father arranged for him to marry a woman named Mary. Prior to meeting Mary, Stede told his father that he had always thought he'd marry for love, but his father stated that only peasants marry for love. Stede and Mary were married next a lighthouse, where the priest told the uncomfortable pair that they would be unwavering lights for one another that guide for eternity. Eventually, Stede and Mary had two children, a girl and a boy named Alma and Louis respectively, and while Stede would frequently play pirates with them, Mary disliked this, as it gave them nightmares.

While the two managed to tolerate one another for some time, Stede quickly grew tired of his life, and began to fantasize about a life on the sea. Mary, meanwhile, began to grow irritated with Stede's indifference to her and their life. On their most recent anniversary, Mary gifted Stede a painting she had created of the lighthouse they had been married in front of, while Stede gifted her a model of a ship he had begun to build. Stede asked Mary how she would feel about living at sea, and this infuriated her, resulting in her telling Stede that she had no desire to abandon their lives.

Unable to bear the monotony of his life and loveless marriage any longer, Stede eventually left his home to set sail on the Revenge, leaving Mary a letter explaining why he had left.

Life at sea At some point, Stede hired a crew of pirates, namely Oluwande Boodhari, Jim Jimenez, Lucius Spriggs, Black Pete, Frenchie, Nathaniel Buttons, Wee John Feeney, Roach, and the Swede.

Initially, Stede's unorthodox method of captaining disgruntled most of his crew. While Stede's wealth allowed him to pay them a salary, many of the crew resented him for not giving them the thrill of pirate life that they were accustomed to. Eventually, Black Pete and several others began to plan a mutiny. Fearing this potential mutiny, Stede told the crew that they were going to attack a nearby ship, though it turned out to be an English Naval warship that was being captained by Stede's old bully, Nigel Badminton. Nigel, having recognized Stede, soon boarded the ship with three of his soldiers.

While showing Nigel his cabin, the captain laughed at the "ridiculous" features of Stede's ship, and spoke of a rumor that he had heard claiming that Stede had left his family to become a pirate. Nigel's patronizing words triggered Stede's memories of what his father had told him as a child, eventually causing him to knock Nigel out with a paperweight. However, Stede quickly panicked when he realized that Nigel had fallen on his own unsheathed sword, which had pierced him through the eye and killed him instantly. With Jim and Oluwande's help, Stede convinced the rest of the crew that he had intentionally murdered Nigel, impressing them, and kept two of the English soldiers as hostages.

Encounter with Izzy Hands Some time later, Stede accidentally beached the ship on the Mabo Island, where he began to have hallucinations of the deceased Nigel Badminton. When the English hostages escaped due to Roach's negligence, Stede, Black Pete, and Oluwande ventured into the island's forest to find them, where Black Pete and Stede were captured by the indigenous people of the island. Oluwande was able to convince their leader Chief Mabo to release the two men, but a guilty Stede hysterically admitted that he was a murderer, though the chief did not believe him and could see that he was “clearly unwell”.

Eventually, Stede learned that Chief Mabo had sold their English hostages to three unknown men. Having processed his trauma and guilt somewhat after talking with the Tribal Elder, Stede regained his confidence and led Oluwande and Black Pete to retrieve the hostages, who had been sold to Israel "Izzy" Hands, Ivan, and Fang. Stede, Oluwande, and Black Pete successfully ambushed the group, and Stede managed to convince Izzy at knife-point to let them leave with one of the hostages.

Republic of Pirates Eventually, Stede decided to begin using the moniker "the Gentleman Pirate". When Buttons suggested that they take their remaining English hostage to the Republic of Pirates to sell him, Stede quickly agreed, excited to introduce himself to the pirate world. At Spanish Jackie's bar, Stede encountered Izzy Hands once again. Izzy told him that his boss wanted to meet him, not revealing that his boss was actually the infamous pirate Blackbeard. Stede immediately refused the offer, stating that Izzy could tell his boss to "suck eggs in hell", to which Izzy responded that he would do so gladly.

After Stede was kicked out of Spanish Jackie's bar, one of Spanish Jackie's husbands, Geraldo, approached him, stating that he knew someone who would be willing to buy their hostage: the Spanish Navy. Stede agreed to this, taking Lucius, Jim, and Roach with him...

...him, but upon boarding the ship, he was immediately stabbed and sentenced to hang, only barely being saved when Blackbeard and his crew stormed the ship.

Recovery and meeting Blackbeard While recovering from his stab wound, an unconscious and feverish Stede experienced recurring nightmares about his wife, children, and Blackbeard. When Stede was eventually woken by Blackbeard, he did not recognize who he was, resulting in Blackbeard introducing himself simply as "Ed". Stede gave the intrigued pirate captain a tour of his cabin, and was shocked when he soon learned that Edward was actually Blackbeard. Both men quickly bonded over their fascination with one another, and upon succeeding in implementing a shared idea of how to trick the Spanish into abandoning their search for the Revenge, they decided to make a deal: if Edward showed Stede how to be a better pirate, Stede would show Edward how to be more of a gentleman.

Attending a high-society party After the Revenge was saved from the Spanish, Edward began to teach Stede how to pillage ships, while Stede taught him about high society. When Frenchie discovered an invitation to a French aristocrat party while pillaging the captured ship, Edward immediately expressed a desire to go, though a cautious Stede warned him that he would likely not enjoy it. Stede, Edward, Oluwande, and Frenchie later traveled to the party ship, where Stede posed as the intended recipient of the invitation, Sir Godfrey Thornrose. While Edward was quickly able to entertain and impress the aristocrats, Stede was not, and left Edward to continue entertaining the aristocrats on his own. Eventually, an enraged and hurt Edward found Stede and Frenchie on the main deck, reporting that the aristocrats had laughed at him for using utensils incorrectly at dinner. When Edward began readying his gun to enact his revenge, Stede ordered him to stand down and assured him that he would handle the situation for him. Through the use of his own passive...

...aggression skills, Stede was able to incite a brawl amongst the aristocrats, eventually leading to the entire boat catching on fire.

When they returned to the Revenge, Stede approached Edward on the main deck, complimenting the red piece of silk that he’d noticed the latter was holding. Edward allowed Stede to place it into his breast pocket for him, and Stede told him that he wore fine things well. After a moment of charged silence, the two parted ways for the night, but not before glancing back at one another one last time.

Learning the art of fuckery Over the course of the next few weeks, Stede and Edward continued to grow closer and enjoyed spending time both with one another and with Stede’s crew. One evening, Edward told the crew the supposedly true story of how he witnessed “the Kraken” kill his father when he was a boy. The following morning, Stede was very impressed when Edward used illusions to put on a dramatic, seemingly supernatural performance, which he called “the art of fuckery”, a tactic he often used to frighten his enemies.

and Desiring to create a fuckery of his own to impress Edward, Stede gathered his crew together and asked them to come up with ideas, though he was not satisfied with any of them. After Stede stormed off to his cabin, he was surprised when Izzy Hands entered, telling him he couldn’t give up, as Edward “adored” Stede and it was his job to keep Edward happy. Izzy’s words inspired Stede to continue with the fuckery, which was performed when the crew of a Dutch vessel boarded the Revenge.

At the end of the fuckery performance, Edward suddenly panicked and took refuge in Stede's bathroom, and a concerned Stede followed him. Edward revealed to Stede that he was “the Kraken” who had killed his abusive father, and that he had not killed anyone personally since. He also revealed that he had intended to kill Stede that evening and assume his identity, but couldn’t go through with it.

When Edward broke down into tears and told Stede that he was not a good person and that this was why he didn’t have any friends, Stede reassured him that he was his friend, and that he was willing to forget Edward’s plan to kill him if Edward was, leading to the two sharing a tender moment.

Later, when Izzy discovered that Edward had decided not to kill Stede, he challenged the Gentleman Pirate to a duel. However, remembering a technique that Edward had taught him, Stede won the duel by rendering Izzy’s sword inoperable, forcing the humiliated man to leave the ship on a dinghy.

Nigel is quite an obnoxious person. He seems to take great pleasure in humiliating other people, although he does it in a polite way that would be accepted in high society. He also has no problems with his crew making racist comments about Stede's crew, which suggests he's also a racist. Even as a child he was quite cruel, bullying Stede (e.g. trying his hands to the oars on a row boat and making him row while Nigel and his friends threw stones at him), something that he sees as a harmless pranking, but which was very traumatic for Stede.

He seems to enjoy killing, but finds his life at sea boring, as he claims that he obliterated so many pirate crews that it's become a chore for him.

Nigel is an officer of the Royal Navy and a childhood acquaintance of Stede Bonnet with whom he went to the same boarding school. He has a twin brother, Chauncey.

In 1717, when Stede and his crew of pirates are sailing around, the Revenge runs into the ship on which Nigel is the captain. Nigel initially opens fire towards the Revenge, but upon seeing Stede on the ship, he sends a few of his officers over and demands to be let aboard to meet Stede. They have lunch with some members of both of their crews before Nigel demands a tour of Stede's ship. When the two men are alone, he confronts Stede about the rumors concerning Stede leaving his comfortable life to become a pirate. Stede confirms the rumor, but Nigel is unwilling to believe him, still seeing him as "baby Bonnet", the boy he used to bully in school. When a fight breaks out between Nigel's men and Stede's crew, Nigel wants to intervene, but Stede asks him to wait it out. Nigel makes fun of Stede for being a coward, which provokes Stede to bash him on the head with a whale figurine in an attempt to incapacitate him. Nigel falls down and gets impaled on his own sword, which goes right through his eye socket and into his brain, killing him instantly.

Chauncey is a middle-aged Caucasian man. Being Nigel's twin brother, he looks almost the same, the only difference between them being Chauncey being almost bald. He has a big liver spot on his head. He wears a Royal Navy uniform and sometimes puts on a traditional wig.

Chauncey is a privileged white man from a rich family. In his childhood, he was a bully. After his brother's death, he becomes fixated on getting revenge and is willing to do everything to achieve this goal, including going against the law.

Chauncey and his twin brother Nigel were Stede Bonnet's schoolmates. They bullied Stede for his "soft" personality and interests.

In 1717, Chauncey comes before King George, asking to be allowed to pursue Stede, whom he believes to have murdered Nigel. He is granted full support of the King and allowed to use the Royal Navy as he sees fit. To achieve his goal, he makes a deal with Izzy Hands and Spanish Jackie, agreeing to let Blackbeard walk away free in return for Stede's life and Izzy's service to the British crown. Acting on their behalf, Calico Jack leads the crew of the Revenge into a trap which ends in Chauncey and his men boarding the ship.

Hellbent on getting revenge, Chauncey is doing everything he can to see Stede sentenced to death. When Stede asks for the Act of Grace, Chauncey first insists he isn't eligible for it as he's not a real pirate, and when this doesn't work he draws his sword on him and has to be restrained by his crew. After Stede is sent to the privateering school, Chauncey gets very drunk and breaks into the barracks with the intention of killing Stede personally. He walks Stede into a nearby forest at gunpoint, but before he can get his revenge, he trips and shoots himself in the head, killing himself instantly.

Mary is a young Caucasian woman with brown eyes and long brown hair with bangs. She seems to enjoy wearing vests and cravats.

Mary's greatest passion is painting. She hates the ocean. She is very strong-willed and evolves from being forced to marry a stranger into becoming a strong independent woman who refuses to let anyone tell her what to do. She has a lot of resentment towards Stede for abandoning her and their children, but she is also very empathetic and eventually forgives Stede and helps him get out of the life he hates to pursue his happiness.

Mary was born on March 15, 1690 in Barbados. She comes from a considerably rich family. She was forced to marry Stede Bonnet - despite them being complete strangers - in order to combine the wealth of both families. The marriage was quite unhappy as Stede and Mary had no feelings for each other. Despite this, they had two children, Alma and Louis. Stede offered Mary to join him on a ship he had constructed - The Revenge - along with their children; this was an attempt to fight the monotony of their life. After Mary refused, Stede eventually decided to go to the ocean alone, leaving Mary and the children behind.

Some time later, Stede decides to come back home, believing this is the right thing to do. This wrecks Mary's life again, as during his absence she found true happiness in life, pursuing her passion for painting and becoming her instructor Doug's lover. She reluctantly accepts Stede back into her life while carrying on with Doug in secret and refusing to abandon her pseudonym the Widow Bonnet. When drunk Stede crushes a showing of her paintings and threatens Doug with a knife, Mary decides to murder her husband. She attempts to stab him in the earhole with a skewer while he is asleep, but he wakes up before she can do so. The couple argue for a moment before making up. They agree they don't fit for each other and decide to look for a solution that would allow both of them to live the lives they want.

...Stede fakes his death, helped by Mary, Doug, and Evelyn Higgins. He leaves all his money to Mary, allowing her to live comfortably and pursue her artistic passions.

Alma is a young Caucasian girl. She has long blond hair.

Alma is strong-willed and unafraid to say what she thinks. She has a lot of resentment towards her father for abandoning his family, but she eventually forgives him.

Alma is Stede and Mary Bonnet's daughter. She has a younger brother, Louis.

She is mostly shown in Stede's memories as he remembers his family life before running away to the sea. Some of these memories are happy, like when Stede played pirates with his children, while others are sad and involve his family ignoring his opinions and talking over him.

When Stede comes back to his family after abandoning Blackbeard, Alma has a lot of resentment towards him and doesn't want to have anything to do with him. When Stede and Mary decide it would be best if Stede disappeared again, Alma helps him fake his death. It seems she has forgiven her father at this point, as she shares his petrified orange with him, giving him one half and keeping the other.

Louis is very young, so he doesn't always fully understand what is happening around him.

Louis is Stede and Mary Bonnet's son. He has an older sister, Alma.

He is mostly shown in Stede's memories as he remembers his family life before running away to the sea. Some of these memories are happy, like when Stede played pirates with his children, while others are sad and involve his family ignoring his opinions and talking over him.

When Stede comes back to his family after abandoning Blackbeard, Louis doesn't recognize him at all, and reveals that he believes Mary's lover Doug to be his father. When Stede fakes his death, Louis helps him, although he doesn't seem to fully understand the situation due to his young age.

Edward has brown eyes, light brown skin, and long salt-and-pepper hair, which is often tied back from his face in a half-ponytail. He also has multiple tattoos on his body, with the most visible ones located on both of his arms. For most of his adult life, Edward sported a long, curly beard, but near the end of season 1 he shaved it off and has kept it shorter since.

Edward usually dresses in black and occasionally purple; his standard outfit - associated with the Blackbeard persona - is a black leather jacket with the right sleeve removed, black leather pants, black leather gloves, and black boots. He also has a holster for his gun and knife, and wore a brace on his left knee during the first season but not the second.

Although his career as a pirate rarely affords him a chance to indulge it, Edward also has a soft spot for fine fabrics and fancier styles of clothing.

Edward is an adventurous, charismatic, and altogether charming individual. He is quick-witted, and possesses a playful, irreverent sense of humor. He has a flair and a propensity for theatrics, as shown by his love of a good "fuckery." He is incredibly intelligent and a skilled strategist, and is just as easily capable of improvising on the fly, though at times he can prove to be easily distracted.

In spite of his tough, devil-may-care exterior, Edward is, in fact, a deeply sensitive and emotional person. As a result of his past traumas, he can be easily hurt, though he makes an conscious effort to hide this facet of his personality from others to varying degrees of success. He has a soft spot for the finer things in life, such as fine fabrics and fancy clothes, and values originality and ingenuity in others due to his many years at sea.

Stede is terribly in love with him.