Lost at Sea or in Space

• He's absolutely fucking brilliant, a real genius - Ed is able to count down to the fog's appearance with a margin of error of seconds, and has obviously been keeping count of the date in his head. He's also very obviously a very intuitive and clever sailor and is excellent at playing with multiple moving parts to organize a solution
• Despite being so fucking smart, Ed actually gives up VERY easily. He's used to success coming the first time, perfectly, every time, and when his one brilliant plan doesn't work, he's shocked and gives up immediately.
• Ed cares SO MUCH about the people depending on him. Like the first thing he says after he realizes is to tell everyone he's sorry. The weight of being a captain and having everyone trusting him for a solution is really getting to him
• The striking thing about his plan is that his mistake was small but crucial, and it would've been easily corrected if he'd been open about it from the start. But he was looking forward to the big reveal! He likes the illusion of mystery and infallibility! (and, honestly, can't blame him for not telling anyone - when he tries to talk to Izzy about the clouds early on, Izzy fails to get that it's important and just starts nagging at him.)
• When he's pressuring Stede to show him what being Blackbeard is like, he's being a bit harsh (I get the sense it's a very cathartic moment for him, to have just one person experience what it's like to be him for even a few minutes), but, crucially, he's doing that under the impression that there is no real danger because he thinks he's already solved it. When he realizes they're actually in trouble, Ed immediately takes full responsibility and does not expect anyone to help him come up with a plan - he's so used to handling things entirely on his own

What do you like about living?