Black Sails 2x02 Reaction

Black Sails really gets going after the first couple episodes of s1. All the characters experience growth in different ways. The standout is John Silver in this episode with his daily reports. They are hilarious and effective. He takes the beatings but sticks it out. The humor he provides for the crew he is so out of left field for Flint and the crew with what he does but it works. Flint of course out smarts Dufresne(sp) easily, knowing this guy doesnt actually feel like a fighter and captain. So in his need to prove it he steps right into the trap Flint figured he would. I really like Vane so I am happy to see him involved and as this season goes on he really stakes some steps forward like our enter cast of characters. You have Jack I wish at this point him and Vane were on better terms. Elanor has some big goals but despite her best efforts she needs the other pirates help. Her pride also matches those of the pirates so she is always walking a fine line. She also knows she can manipulate Vane like Flint knows he can the crew. I am really happy you guys decided to watch Black Sails and stick it out there is so much in depth conversation that is really enjoyable.

Flint has multiple incredibly cunty moments in this episode lol The first is when he starts walking away after ordering his crew to fire on the other ship. It was more like an attitude strut. The second is the way he immediately puts the captain's jacket back on after Dufresne leaves the room. Flint was like "yeah, this shit is back with who it belongs"

First things first: that spanish coat Flint wears in the end is a masterpiece of perfection, I love it so much, it's like a Cloak of Charisma +5, for anyone who can get the reference ^^ Also, I'll go against the grain here because I know she is beloved by many, but this episode is when I started to dislike Max very much, I hate the unjustified antagonization of Jack and this adds up to her other selfish and greedy behaviors.

I can't blame you for wanting to binge watch the show, I started after you and I finished season 3 last night 💀💀 and holy shit I didn't expect this show to be this good and to love it this much! I can't wait for your reaction to the rest of season 2!!!

Also I believe what bothered Dufresne the most about Flint's plan was how seamlessly he orchestrated it, like everyone and everything was just that unimportant to Flint, that leading them to a ship where the outcome would be not only some of our men dying but we will have to kill everyone on board the other ship as well came so effortlessly to Flint. With the other cases like Billy or Gates, he wasn't actually there so he could at least tell himself that he believes Flint feels bad about it, but in this case he was front and center and looked Flint in the eyes and saw almost no regret. I LOVED when the camera followed him picking up his glasses from the desk and you could visibly SEE him shaking at this realization, this was his first true taste of what Flint is and it terrified him.

The more of these reactions I watch the more I can't wait for you guys to get to the next episode. And the one after that, and the one after that...

Love you ladies bringing up how Flint's childhood may have been the cause of his hatred of Civilization, it's lightly hinted at in this episode but you could tell, Flint has always struggled with what would be deemed "Civil", I loved his Superior's speech in the flashback about his darkness, it makes you realize just how long Flint has been wrestling with his inner darkness. I also agree with you ladies that I felt VERY bad for Jack in this episode but I absolutely loved how he just accepted it and moved on. Once again we get another case of Vane telling Eleanor the way it is, he clearly can see that she is holding on by a thread and if Ned Low persists, he very well can be the end of her, but more importantly I loved how Eleanor realized he was right and went to ask him for help. Just like in The Wire, your name carrying weight means a great deal to a pirate, so I loved when the show showed us that Vane and Flint's names strike fear in people. You ladies are also spot on, Vane is in love with Eleanor but I don't believe Eleanor is in love with him, I believe she has warmth toward him but she isn't in love with him. Like you ladies said, she's too wrapped up in wanting to succeed in her plans for Nassau that love is the last thing on her mind.

The parallels between Vane and Flint's name/reputations and how they're used to strike fear in people is really interesting, at the end of the day it's not guns and swords, but their reputations that matter. It immediately reminded me of Jack and how he "used his wits to build the name", and I've come to really sympathze with him and how the most important thing to a pirate got dragged through the mud, poor Jack :/

"Vane doesn't own clothes!" I mean if I had a body like his, I probably wouldn't wear a shirt either lmao

“These men, they don’t fear ships, they don’t fear guns, they don’t fear swords.” “Then what do they fear?”

- Flint and Dufresne; for those who've seen it, this scene reminds me so much of the episode of Lost where Sawyer plays the long con against the rest of the survivors, to which Charlie asks him "what kind of person would even *think* of something like this?". All of Flint's transgressions do of course bring with them the notion that for as unforgiveable as his actions may be, there have undoubtedly been innumerable occasions in which Flint saved the men from further peril by allowing a few of them to die. How much of that had/has to do with him achieving his own personal goals is another story altogether... - In relation to Lost, I neglected to mention earlier that the flachbacks we've been getting of Flint, the way they create a secondary storyline that compares and constrasts with the present day storyline, is something so well done that it reminds me of the former series, which is just about as high of praise as I could give anything. It really feels as though the threads that were created in season 1 are really starting to overlap now. I think the small amout of characters we have is an incredibly wise decision, as well as a risky one. The writers need to be able to maintain suspense and push the plot forward whilst also developing and/or reinforcing characters, and they're truly doing a phenomenal job. Getting to know the characters so well and then seeing them weave back and forth is such a joy. Although the early seasons of Game Of Thrones had good reason to hold back on character overlap (not to mention a far larger roster of characters to begin with), seeing it starting to happen more and more is such a joy to see. Even though we're just 10 episodes in, it feels as though we've waited for so *long* to start to get to this point. I've no idea what's going to happen by the season/series end at this point, but I do hope that the later seasons don't become bloated roster wise. Not because I'm afraid of time being taken away from our OG roster, but because it's the type of dynamic where the writing can either become deeper and richer, or else end up being spread too thin trying to juggle too many people at once. Although of course it's a totally different show, The Wire did this beautifully. So, yeah, I'm somewhat dreading the addition of many new characters in a show that's proving to be doing so well with the few characters that they have, but I guess time will tell. For now, I'm absolutley loving Black Sails, and I'm glad I'm doing these write-ups because there's so much to garner from the re-watch.

About Flint, I think he did like Gates, and did feel the pain of having to kill him, but I think it was most of it only on that moment. Losing his captaincy seems to bother him more, and seems to be what he thinks about the most. It looked very effortless for Flint to use Gates as a mean to regain his captaincy. He's a master at manipulating people, and executed the plan perfectly.

- El and Low in the bar; I... I don't think Meeks is going to be okay, I don't want to be a negative nancy but I have a feeling that he won't be coming back from that one. And he seemed nice :(   - Silvy in the mess hall again; When Flint said "If you're trying to impress me it's not working", it gave me a Dr. Cox/JD from Scrubs vibe :') It's a nice comforting thought that distracts me from thinking about the rest of the scene (: As for the English ship incoming, it's great to see Dufrense gain even more confidence. Big Dufresne Energy :D - Flint flashback; goddamn that dialogue is excellent. Not to compare every ethical downfall character to Walter White, but I can't help but draw comparison to 1x01 of Breaking Bad when Walt's dark side comes out in beating up the kids bullying his son. It isn't just regualar anger, that too was 'darker, wilder'. - English Ship approaches; seeing the flag lower was an unbelieavably satisfying moment, Flint's smile made me smile too :) Of course, it does end up going the way it does, but it doesn't in any way diminish his ability to have made it this far to begin with. Dufresne's brains are as big as his balls, but this is a moment that relies on experience more than anything else, and Flint is the one to suit the situation, no two ways bout it. - Flint: "If any men live to tell the tale, no one will ever surrender before that flag again. Me, with an IQ of 200: "They could just fly under a different flag :)" - Vane and El; New's acting is so great here, it comes across as incredibly believable. Vane has such an interesting role here, given that in a way he is sort of replacing the role Scott used to play, but of course coming from circumstances that couldn't be any more different. It's also interesting to see him taking part in the consortium at all, on top of having taken the fort the way he did. "Here's the member of our counsel who's a cut-throat pirate" lmao. I mean it's not *that* out of place but you know what I'm getting at. - Anne, Max and Jack; I was genuinely not expecting him to just waltz on in. He's so unbelievably funny. Having the most conscious character of the show also be the comedic relief was a stroke of genius, honestly. Jack Sparrow with exaserbated English energy is the gift I did not know I wanted, but I needed <3 - Flint and Dufresne; for those who've seen it, this scene reminds me so much of the episode of Lost where Sawyer plays the long con against the rest of the survivors, to which Charlie asks him "what kind of person would even *think* of something like this?". All of Flint's transgressions do of course bring with them the notion that for as unforgiveable as his actions may be, there have undoubtedly been innumerable occasions in which Flint saved the men from further peril by allowing a few of them to die. How much of that had/has to do with him achieving his own personal goals is another story altogether... - In relation to Lost, I neglected to mention earlier that the flachbacks we've been getting of Flint, the way they create a secondary storyline that compares and constrasts with the present day storyline, is something so well done that it reminds me of the former series, which is just about as high of praise as I could give anything. It really feels as though the threads that were created in season 1 are really starting to overlap now. I think the small amout of characters we have is an incredibly wise decision, as well as a risky one. The writers need to be able to maintain suspense and push the plot forward whilst also developing and/or reinforcing characters, and they're truly doing a phenomenal job. Getting to know the characters so well and then seeing them weave back and forth is such a joy. Although the early seasons of Game Of Thrones had good reason to hold back on character overlap (not to mention a far larger roster of characters to begin with), seeing it starting to happen more and more is such a joy to see. Even though we're just 10 episodes in, it feels as though we've waited for so *long* to start to get to this point. I've no idea what's going to happen by the season/series end at this point, but I do hope that the later seasons don't become bloated roster wise. Not because I'm afraid of time being taken away from our OG roster, but because it's the type of dynamic where the writing can either become deeper and richer, or else end up being spread too thin trying to juggle too many people at once. Although of course it's a totally different show, The Wire did this beautifully. So, yeah, I'm somewhat dreading the addition of many new characters in a show that's proving to be doing so well with the few characters that they have, but I guess time will tell. For now, I'm absolutley loving Black Sails, and I'm glad I'm doing these write-ups because there's so much to garner from the re-watch.

Oh, and it was 2x04 and 2x05 I recommended to watch together actually haha.

I have things to say this episode!! Tadhg Murphy who plays the detestable Captain Lowe is blind in his right eye from a childhood accident. Easy enough to recognize from Vikings as Lola said. He does phenomenal work in this role. I truly can feel his malice & depravity. Lola mentioned in S1 that worse pirates would be all the more reason for them to become invested in Charles Vane, and worse pirates have arrived. The News of the Day bit with Silver is one of my favorite parts of the entire series. Pure comedy and who doesn't love some good gossip. I have so much respect for Jack. I walk away from most scenes thinking I would have the same responses(not nearly as cleverly, of course)

Back at Nassau, Eleanor and Vane meet once again. She’s well and truly in a tough spot, with basically no one else she can turn to. And again, while I do think Vane wants to help Eleanor out here, it’s also undeniable that he has made it so that there is no one else but him she can turn to (since he took control of the fort). And while I think it is clear that Vane does in fact care about Eleanor very much, I totally buy that she doesn’t believe it or see it. I’ve mentioned before that Eleanor has a hard time in general believing people truly care about her, and that’s likely something that originates from the treatment she received from her father. Even with Scott last season, she made several similar statements about Scott being concerned for “this place” rather than for her. She just can’t believe that people who say they love her actually do, and I think that says a lot. Back in the brothel, Anne is clearly waiting up at night and unable to sleep. Max’s words from before seem to be manifesting. She now knows that this part of herself exists, and has had that need met. And now she’s hungrier for it than ever before, and can’t resist more of it. Max isn’t surprised to see Anne at her door, but what IS surprising is that Jack soon follows in after her. And it’s not to be angry or accusatory, but to propose a solution that will benefit them all: Max will help secure them leads for their own ship and crew, captained by none other than Jack himself. And what he says here to Anne is very sweet. “Darling. I can understand why you would want to keep this from me. But I hope you know that all I have ever wanted is for you to be happy.” You can see afterward that it wasn’t easy for him to do this either, but that he does understand and accept that it’s what Anne needs and wants. And fighting it would make him more likely to lose Anne than simply accepting it, and finding a way to make all of this work. Also, I love that he just helps himself to a cup of Max’s wine at the table lmao. Back on The Walrus, Dufresne is officially voted out as captain. And the full extent of Flint’s manipulation becomes clear. “That you orchestrated it all. The deaths, the destruction, the loss. All to achieve this very moment. Is it possible a man could do such a thing?” Flint doesn’t need to answer. Because he is that man. And I love that final shot of him walking forward and putting on the coat, as if literally setting the mantle of captaincy around his own shoulders. The crew and ship are his again. Aaaaand that’s where we end! What an episode. Can’t wait to see what everyone else thought ot it, and for all the episodes to come.

Back to the Walrus, Dufresne and the crew board the ship they come across, and for a time all is going as it should. But Flint explains to Silver this is the most dangerous part: though the other captain has surrendered, he will be questioning that choice. Looking for any reason to go back on it, to fight to preserve his cargo. And the thing that keeps him from doing so would be his fear of the pirates - the captain - that boarded them. Because he recognized the sail: not just as any pirate flag indicating it could be any crew, but that this was the crew of Captain Flint. And it was the fear of him that made them surrender. No one knows Dufresne, and as soon as it starts to become clear that he isn’t Flint, the fear from the other captain and captured crew starts to fade. If Dufresne were smarter, he would have tried to play it off like he was Flint, though I’m not sure how successful he would have been at that either. “These men, they don’t fear ships, they don’t fear guns, they don’t fear swords.” “Then what do they fear?” Flint doesn’t have to answer. Because the answer is obvious. Flint is who they fear. The ‘story’ of him, and other captains who have gained such reputations (like Vane for example), are what they fear. The idea of this person they have heard terrifying stories of. Things spiral out very quickly from there, and Dufresne is rapidly overwhelmed. We saw a glimpse of this last season when he hesitated too long after Silver fired a cannon, and we see the full force of it here. Dufresne freezes. To the point where it seems to the crew that “no one is in charge here!” Until, that is, Flint steps forward. He even tells Dufresne what they need to do, and waits for Dufresne to try and give the order himself. But Dufresne doesn’t. And just like that, Flint has gained control of the crew again. Proved how invaluable his leadership is in battle. He doesn’t need to say anything, announce that he is captain again. He simply walks by the crew, and all of them know.

While I tend to argue, and will continue to argue, that Vane doesn’t understand Eleanor as well as he thinks he does, at this moment he absolutely knows the situation. “If you aren’t strong enough to protect yourself, I urge you to stop pretending you are.” It’s a hard line for her to walk. She has to try and project strength, but that projection can be quite fragile. Of course, at the same time, it’s important to remember that Eleanor may have had a very different go of it if Hornigold was still in charge of the fort and helping her with security. Vane’s men aren’t interested in what Eleanor wants (as that was Vane’s intention in getting them), but Hornigold's men would have been. On top of that he has *a lot* of men, and would have been able to provide more security if Eleanor needed it. So, while Vane’s point is true, it’s also kinda important to keep in mind that she is at least partly in this precarious position because of Vane’s actions at the fort costing her someone who was a big help in Eleanor being stronger/having more defense. I say again, poor Mr. Meeks. As soon as Low comes up to him in the bar you know it won’t end well, but you still don’t expect to go out and see Low DECAPITATING him. And things don’t improve from there. Mr. O’Malley follows soon after, and Eleanor is left with nothing to do but plead for Low to stop…which of course he has no interest in doing. Kudos to the actor playing Low, he’s very very scary here. Back on The Walrus, Silver is trying for what is apparently the fourth time to enact his plan. It doesn't seem to be going all that much better, though it is interesting that a lot more people are clearly listening to him than before. And then it all turns around, and we see the shift as things truly begin to change in Silver’s favor: as does Flint, of course. Then we come to Dufresne’s true test as captain. He knows to be suspicious of Flint’s advice, and decides to go against it, and hunt the ship they come upon. The ship itself is certainly up for it, and the men eager to do so, but Flint’s face says otherwise, and it’s that look on his face that leads us into another brief flashback, continuing more or less where the last one left off. They talk about how all men have something in them that rises when their “passions are aroused”, something that can cause them to lose their good sense. But when James does that, it reveals something “wilder and darker”, that it’s hard to say just how much James would be capable of doing with it when pushed to extremes. And that James himself doesn't even know what he would be capable of in that instance either. Of course, having seen all we have, we’ve certainly got some idea of what extremes can push James Flint into doing.

Then, we are back to Max. She is buying fabric from street vendors, and this is where I’ll talk about her outfits a little more! I think she makes some of these dresses herself, but probably less so now that she’s busier. Still we see her out choosing fabrics and such, and to me this shows how deliberately she chooses to present herself. This was something she did even when she was being held on the beach and she fashioned herself a dress out of a sail canvas, to still try and present herself to the world in a way that helped control how she was perceived. It’s something that reminds me a lot of Sansa from Game of Thrones, whose outfits/ways of style always communicated something about herself and what she was trying to present to the world. But, this scene is actually about Jack confronting Max. He’s realized quite quickly what happened between her and Anne. And to her credit Max doesn’t try to lie or anything like that, just states the truth and asks what else Jack would have had her do in her position. It wasn’t as if she had a lot of options. I think Jack puts it far too simplistically when he says that Anne did everything she did because she “secretly wants to fuck” Max, but it’s also clear that her attraction to Max has been a big factor. Furthermore I think it’s interesting that he interprets this as a way for Max to “gain power over our triumvirate”, rather than the answer Max actually gives. Anne was literally threatening Max’s life/to throw her out on the streets, and Max had very very little time to act and do something that stopped that. And if she really were just looking to put a wedge between Jack and Anne, she wouldn’t have told him any of this. That being said, her motives can certainly be more than one thing, but I don’t think she is actually trying to drive any kind of wedge between them, because that wouldn’t help Max at all. Having them all work together helps Max, and she knows it. As I’ve said before, trying to smooth things over or calm things down is how Max operates, and that’s what she did with Anne as well. Back on The Walrus, Silver starts putting his own plan into action. I love the way Flint stares at him while he gives his first announcement, and his utter bafflement at what Silver is doing lol. But then Silver explains it, and gives the tiniest of hints about his backstory in doing so. He mentions a “Solomon Little '' who he knew at an orphanage. And how he used his position of being overlooked to his advantage, to completely turn things around for himself and become a vital part of the lives of those around him, all for his own sake. Svefg gvzr Fbybzba Yvggyr vf zragvbarq, naq vg jba'g or gur ynfg. Gung anzr vf cebonoyl gur bayl "gehr" ovg bs Fvyire'f onpxfgbel gung jr npghnyyl xabj. Ur qrsvavgryl rapbhagrerq fbzrbar jvgu gung anzr, ohg gur fgbel bs jung unccrarq jvgu uvz punatrf va rirel irefvba bs gur gryyvat. V guvax creuncf guvf bar vf gur pybfrfg gb gur gehgu, ohg bs pbhefr jr jvyy arire xabj. “You realize those are grown men out there, not boys?” “In my experience, when it comes to ridiculing one’s peers, there’s little difference.” lmao so true Also, Flint’s “Good luck. With…whatever this is” always makes me laugh. It’s very interesting to watch the two different ways they go about manipulating those around them.

Which brings us to another flashback. James talking with Admiral Hennessey, his superior in the navy and the one who assigned him to this position. Hennessey is laughing about some of the things Thomas has said, and says that half the people there think Thomas is mad. It’s clear though, that despite what we have seen James say to Thomas, that there is a lot more that they agree on than they don’t, and this conversation proves that. James says he attended a “salon” hosted by Thomas, and for those who might be unfamiliar during the time period this referred to a meeting held at a wealth persons’ house. It would be a meeting of writers and philosophers and artists, as well as sometimes political people, or simply others in the same social circle. Miranda has mentioned back in S1 that having discussions with people like that was a regualr occurrence for her and Thomas, and something she misses about her old life. Here though it is underscored that for many of the people attending one of those salons, it’s very surface level. They “like to pretend themselves radicals” for discussing these things, but don’t truly believe it enough to try and make changes. But Thomas? Thomas is different. He sees these “systemic” things, as James says, and wants to change them. Moreover, he’s convincing James that they can and should be changed as well, and this…seems to concern Hennessey. Especially James’s use of Thomas’s first name and the clear familiarity that is already forming between them. The scene continues on after Hennessey leaves the room however, when James deliberately goes to stand by a group of naval officers that have been watching him and the Admiral (and clearly laughing to themselves about them). We learned last episode that James wasn’t educated the same way as many other men in the navy, and that he was the son of a carpenter, and his response to Thomas bringing up those things showed how often James has had to prove himself in the eyes of others. And how often they continue to show derision toward him for all that he accomplishes. Here, the naval officer basically says outright that he’s jealous James was given this position instead of himself, and deliberately goads James. It’s not the insults against James that really seem to affect him, however: it’s only when the officer insults Miranda and Thomas, and that results in an *instant* reaction from James where he punches the officer for that insult. He hasn’t even known Thomas and Miranda for very long, and yet already his first instinct is to viciously defend them against any slight. No matter what he insists to Hennessey about remaining impartial, it’s clear he already has a lot of emotion invested in the Hamiltons. (S2 spoilers here only:Cbbe thl yvgrenyyl unq obgu bs uvf srrg fjrcg bhg sebz haqre uvz ol Gubznf naq Zvenaqn, naq ur unfa'g rira ernyvmrq vg lrg. Ohg gung rzbgvba vf nyernql gurer, naq vf whfg tbvat gb xrrc tebjvat. V guvax vg fnlf n ybg nobhg Wnzrf gung bar bs gur guvatf gung ernyyl qenjf uvz gb obgu Zvenaqn naq Gubznf vf gurve vqrnf. Gurve zvaqf naq urnegf, naq gurve qrfver gb znxr gur jbeyq orggre.) Anyway, back to the present Nassau! Meeks is trying to get Eleanor’s help in dealing with Low. “I’ve heard you depose captains.” Welp, another unforeseen consequence: people now perceive that as something Eleanor can do easily and often. Even though doing so almost cost her the position she has now, and is in fact NOT something she can just decide to do. Yet Meeks’s warnings clearly strike a chord, especially with the interaction she already had with Low in her bar. Oh, and I guess Vane realized Eleanor did in fact actually want him to attend meetings like she said she did. And it’s clear that him doing this thing she actually wanted him to do already gives him a point in her favor, much more than him telling her what she wants and thinks did anyway.

Back at Nassau, we start onboard the Fancy, Captain Low’s ship. I think it’s interesting to see the relationship between Low and his Quartermaster Meeks, compared to other captain/quartermaster relationships we have seen so far. There definitely doesn’t feel like there is a friendship between them, and Meeks’s attempts to manage Low (as Gates and Jack often did for their captains) doesn’t work very well. In fact, Low doesn’t seem terribly interested in listening to Meeks at all. Poor Mr. Meeks. You really weren’t destined to live long with that kind of captain around. And you really did try to help save your crew from him! Even in the previous episode you can tell he is uncomfortable with what Low has them do to the crew on the ship they captured. From there, we go to Max and Anne. Once more I have to compliment Max’s blue dress: her outfits are ALWAYS gorgeous. I’ll talk more about her dress choices and such later on in the episode as well. I like how much we can see from body language that Anne isn’t going to lash out at Max the way she has been. The thing that she had been denying can’t be denied anymore, and her anger at Max has gone with that. I know some people when they get crushes end up feeling a strange sort of anger and resentment toward those who bring those feelings out, and Anne was very much going through a more extreme version of that. Being around Max while bottling up and denying all of those feelings basically made Anne feel like she was always on the verge of exploding, so she tried to push Max and those feelings away. But they’re past that now. And there’s no going back. I think it’s interesting that Max didn’t even have to say anything, and Anne just starts to try and explain a little about herself. And Jack, of course, who is very much tied to her ‘self’. “When someone gives you a life, it ain’t truly your own. You owe some part of it back.” It’s a good line, and definitely says a lot about how Anne feels about herself and Jack. V ernyyl ernyyl ybir gur jnl guvf fgngrzrag pbzrf onpx yngre, jurer Naar erivfrf ure gubhtugf ba vg. "V bjr lbh zl yvsr Wnpx. Ohg gurer'f fbzr cneg bs gung lbh pna'g bjr." V guvax fbzr crbcyr fyrrc ba Naar'f punenpgre qrirybczrag, ohg V abgvpr vg zber naq zber jvgu rirel erjngpu. Max understands this. And it’s clear she really means it when she says that they can just try and move forward like the previous night didn’t happen. That last night can be the *only* night they share. But the second Max touches Anne we know that won’t happen. Anne reacts instantly to that touch. She just…inherently feels something with Max that she hasn’t felt before. Aaaand Jack unfortunately also notices the difference in how Anne is reacting to Max, because of course he does. He knows her too well to *not* notice. But more on that later. Back on The Walrus, Silver is talking absently to Randall about what he has to do to get back on the crew, and this scene sets up a very fascinating choice that Silver makes. Randall is overlooked because of his position, because of being perceived as a half-wit (whether it's true or not), and it is those exact qualities that make him someone perfect for helping Silver. As Silver makes his own plans, Flint starts to enact his own. He goes to talk to Dufresne in the captain’s cabin, and tries to talk very casually. As if Dufresne hadn’t shot him a few episodes back and as if Flint hadn’t called Dufresne a “cowardly fuck of a mutineer” lmao. It’s not as if Dufresne is unaware of these things, and it’s clear that Flint knows he isn’t going to want to listen to anything he says. But Flint decides to give Dufresne advice anyway. Good advice. Excellent advice that relies on Flint’s experience as a pirate captain and a sailor. It’s not a lie, or fake information: it is a genuinely true statement that, should Dufresne choose to follow, would help them out a lot. Flint is of course manipulating Dufresne as we will learn later, but I just think it’s fascinating that he used *the truth* to manipulate Dufresne. Even the things Flint says about when they first picked up Dufresne, or his feelings about killing Gates. All of that is clearly true. Flint feels the loss of Gates despite being the one who killed him, and has very likely been replaying that moment over in his mind and wishing something else had happened. I think the only part that’s really stretching the truth is the bit about Gates developing a “great affection” for Dufresne. But the rest, and the actual advice that follows, is completely the truth. Like, if Dufresne had listened to him it still would have benefitted Flint, even if not in the same way. Flint doesn’t give fake information or deliberately wrong sailing instructions or anything of the sort. He just tells Dufresne the truth, knowing what hearing that truth will make Dufresne do. Fascinating stuff.

We open on someone lying on a beach. The torture he’s undergoing was a very real thing done at the time as well, and it sounds horrific. The slowly shrinking leather constricting your body over the course of days until it literally collapses your lungs? I can’t even imagine what it would be like to experience something like that. Aaaand then it becomes clear who exactly is being tortured: someone grabbed out of the sea by English Naval officers…someone who we haven’t seen since season one: Billy Biceps Bones himself. We go right from there to the deck of The Walrus. We hear Thomas Hamilton reading scripture. I love how the camera winds slowly through the ship until we see Flint, and Thomas’s words bring with them another truth. “But the Lord beheld the man made in his likeness and he beheld his solitude, and He said: it is not good he is alone.” Flint sits by himself and apart from the crew he once captained, but then it becomes clear that this isn’t just narration meant to apply to the present. Rather, it instead seems to be something that Flint is actively thinking about, and it is his memory of these words that brings us to our first flashback of the episode. Thomas and James (it feels wrong to call him Flint here) are continuing to talk about Nassau and what to do. In contrast to how we see him in the present, James doesn’t seem too sure that things can change in Nassau, and he’s focused on trying to get rid of the pirates. But Thomas says something very interesting, something that shows he is more than an idealist, and that he understands quite a bit about why things are the way they are in Nassau. “I don’t believe the pirates are the cause of Nassau’s problem. I believe they are a symptom. The root causes are the ones I’d like to address first.” What root causes are those? Well, the corrupt and incompetent government, and that’s what makes Nassau so unstable in the first place. And that instability is what leads to the pirates. And that’s a truth we know of that extends far beyond this time period: the root of crime is not the criminals, but the instability in the world around them that draws them into becoming those criminals. It’s quite a radical statement for the time period. Hell, for some it’d still be a radical statement now. James lists off everything they would need to do to accomplish that goal, and makes it clear that he thinks it's unrealistic. He even offers for Thomas to find someone who sees things the same way, but that’s not what Thomas wants. He doensn’t want “someone to hold my hand” and agree with everything he says (S2 spoilers: gubhtu, hu, Wnzrf jvyy va snpg ubyq uvf unaq yngre, naq Gubznf fher qbrfa'g zvaq gung bar). But someone that challenges him. Makes him think about these difficulties and isn’t afraid to present them to him. “Strange pairs, Lieutenant. They can achieve the most unexpected things.” Aaaaand we are back to Flint, obviously mulling over these words as he considers what to do next. And who, perhaps, he should try to get help from to do it. The conversation he then has with Silver is quite interesting too. Silver wants to stick with Flint and get the Urca gold not because he’s interested in staying with the crew or becoming one of those “princes of the new world” Flint promised they would all be. Instead he wants freedom. Freedom of the kind such gold would provide: he would be able to go wherever he wanted, do whatever he wanted, never be hungry or poor or have to be on the sea at all. Honestly, it reminds me a little of Max back in season one, begging for Eleanor to take this money she was getting and for them to go, to be free. It’s not an unintentional similarity either: both of those characters are all about survival and adaptation. “In less than two days, I intend to be captain again.” And somehow hearing him say it you can’t doubt him at all, despite knowing it should be ridiculous to think he could do that.

Oh Captain, my Captain ☠️🫶🏻

2x02 First Impressions - I hate feet so fucking much. I'll take any amount of blood and guts over having to look at toes any day of the week, jesus... But yeah, Billy is alive, obviously. There's no way an actor/character like that was gonna get an off-screen death. It'll be interesting to see what happens with him and whether or not we will actually find out if he fell irrespective of Flint's participation or not. I just wish he had been wearing socks if we were going to get a close-up shot like that. - Thomas and Flint; these parallels are insane. The biblical speech about solitude on top of the juxtaposition of current Flint and Silvy with past Flint and Thomas is insane. I'm aware that Grey's Anatomy does voice-overs to talk about overracrching themes too, but I don't know of they could be as good as this. As for the scene itself, it's interesting how Flint's counsel to Thomas links to Flint's counsel to Dufresne. "Strange pairs..." at the end to transition into Flint and Silvy is great. - Flint and Silvy; I didn't actually catch the first time around that it's Flint who specifically gives Flint the advice to make sure that Silvy can get himself 'in' with the crew. I also appreciate how Silvy doesn't give Flint an explicit answer as to why he trusts him, but to be honest I doubt that Flint himself truly needs it answered. I think it's moreso a case of his guard being up given the others (valid) disdain of him. - Meeks and Low; as soon as I heard Low use the word 'young' to describe El, I thought there and then "there's no way he's going to survive this season, he's being framed as irredemable too much". I very well could be wrong of course, but that very much seems to be the case at the moment as there's literally no redeeming factors towards him that have been given. - Max and Anne; First of all, what could there ship name be? Manne? Aax? Anne saying "When someone gives you a life, it ain't truly your own, you give some of it back" is something I'm really interested to see carried over to future episodes for her character. Jack being in the know of their affair so early is appreciated. In general, I appreciate the show going the extra mile for having the characters be as competent as they are. It can't be easy, as it means that the pacing is going to be significantly faster due to characters having the faculties to put two and two together. I'm jumping ahead a bit but Jack's later scene where he sees right through Max's game (something I myself did not see) is further evidence of this. The writers treating the characters with respect results in the audience being treated with respect as well, in my opinion. - Randall and Silvy; I was totally stumped on my first watch what exactly this scene was going to lead to. - Dufresne and Flint; first of all, I think the actor who is replacing Dufresne is doing a fantastic job. There's the noticeable visual difference, but honestly I cannot criticise the performance at all. As for the scene itself, I really enjoy the fact that we do not know at this juncture whether or not Flint's advice is to be taken on face value, or if it's part of him playing a game several steps ahead. In any case, you get the impression that he does genuinely care about the well-being of the fellow crewmates, and I think that Dufresne very much picks up on this himself. - Hennessy and Flint in bar; We already get a hint here of the trust and respect here that Thomas has for Flint when Flint recounts that he prefers to be referred to by first name. This could also be a subtle hint at the familiarty that Thomas shows towards Flint, which the girls have theorised may be indicitive of a romantic relationship between the two of them. The bar scene was a little forced, in my humble opinion. They leaped quite quickly to Flint being riled up in a way that came across a tad unrealistically, the chuckling men were a bit cartoonish, but honestly it's a perfect scene for what it's trying to get across. It's a good reveal of Flint's tenacity, even back then. Seeing him stand on ceremony as much as he is is both jarring (in a good way) as well as a reinforcement of his strong will as a pirate in the present. - El and Meeks; at this juncture, I was kind of looking forward to Meeks being a character we'd see a lot more of, there can never be too few dissenters in a show like this. Oh well lol - Jack and Max; I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it is that Max sees as being the goal here, what her long-term plan is. It's clear that what she's doing goes beyond simply wanting to have sex with Anne, as well as going beyond simply proving to Jack that she "fucks Anne better than he ever could". Max is a lot more put together to be that pity, and Jack is a lot more put together to be that threatened by something so surface level. Very much looking forward to seeing what comes of this. - De Groot and Dufresne; a great example of why I love this show so much. The writers have taken such great care to go the extra mile whenever possible to avoid the simple plot points. The example here is that lesser shows would have had De Groot square up to Dufresne and through gritted teeth say "why the fuck are you listening to HIM", whilst Dufresne would have backed down in tears. Instead, both characters are cognitively and emotionally intelligent enough to address the elephant in the room, and bring things back to what's most important for the larger goal. I really appreciate Dufresne as a character, so regardless of whether or not the plan is succesful, at this point it's difficult to not be proud of the progress Dufresne had made. - Silvy in the mess hall; when I first watched this scene, I had no idea how the plan would work, but I knew it would. Silvy is to the crew what Jack Black is to cinema: he just always finds a way to fit into wherever he is. I can see Jack Black in any film with no surrounding context and just accept it as appropriate. That's kind of how Silvy is here. I have no idea why he's letting himself get punched but if he has it figured out, then I'll trust him :) - Vane at the meeting; a brief bit of comedy, but it's well earned. I love the comedic bits in this series, they're very dry and always organic to the characters. - Low in the bar; You have to admit, it took Meeks balls to stick his neck out for his men like that. - Vane and El; I love El and what she's trying to stand for, but Vane has so much of this correct. The characters are so smart, I think if everyone just had a group therapy session for a few hours everything would be okay <3   - El and Low in the bar; I... I don't think Meeks is going to be okay, I don't want to be a negative nancy but I have a feeling that he won't be coming back from that one. And he seemed nice :(   - Silvy in the mess hall again; When Flint said "If you're trying to impress me it's not working", it gave me a Dr. Cox/JD from Scrubs vibe :') It's a nice comforting thought that distracts me from thinking about the rest of the scene (: As for the English ship incoming, it's great to see Dufrense gain even more confidence. Big Dufresne Energy :D - Flint flashback; goddamn that dialogue is excellent. Not to compare every ethical downfall character to Walter White, but I can't help but draw comparison to 1x01 of Breaking Bad when Walt's dark side comes out in beating up the kids bullying his son. It isn't just regualar anger, that too was 'darker, wilder'. - English Ship approaches; seeing the flag lower was an unbelieavably satisfying moment, Flint's smile made me smile too :) Of course, it does end up going the way it does, but it doesn't in any way diminish his ability to have made it this far to begin with. Dufresne's brains are as big as his balls, but this is a moment that relies on experience more than anything else, and Flint is the one to suit the situation, no two ways bout it. - Flint: "If any men live to tell the tale, no one will ever surrender before that flag again. Me, with an IQ of 200: "They could just fly under a different flag :)" - Vane and El; New's acting is so great here, it comes across as incredibly believable. Vane has such an interesting role here, given that in a way he is sort of replacing the role Scott used to play, but of course coming from circumstances that couldn't be any more different. It's also interesting to see him taking part in the consortium at all, on top of having taken the fort the way he did. "Here's the member of our counsel who's a cut-throat pirate" lmao. I mean it's not *that* out of place but you know what I'm getting at. - Anne, Max and Jack; I was genuinely not expecting him to just waltz on in. He's so unbelievably funny. Having the most conscious character of the show also be the comedic relief was a stroke of genius, honestly. Jack Sparrow with exaserbated English energy is the gift I did not know I wanted, but I needed <3 - Flint and Dufresne; for those who've seen it, this scene reminds me so much of the episode of Lost where Sawyer plays the long con against the rest of the survivors, to which Charlie asks him "what kind of person would even *think* of something like this?". All of Flint's transgressions do of course bring with them the notion that for as unforgiveable as his actions may be, there have undoubtedly been innumerable occasions in which Flint saved the men from further peril by allowing a few of them to die. How much of that had/has to do with him achieving his own personal goals is another story altogether... - In relation to Lost, I neglected to mention earlier that the flachbacks we've been getting of Flint, the way they create a secondary storyline that compares and constrasts with the present day storyline, is something so well done that it reminds me of the former series, which is just about as high of praise as I could give anything. It really feels as though the threads that were created in season 1 are really starting to overlap now. I think the small amout of characters we have is an incredibly wise decision, as well as a risky one. The writers need to be able to maintain suspense and push the plot forward whilst also developing and/or reinforcing characters, and they're truly doing a phenomenal job. Getting to know the characters so well and then seeing them weave back and forth is such a joy. Although the early seasons of Game Of Thrones had good reason to hold back on character overlap (not to mention a far larger roster of characters to begin with), seeing it starting to happen more and more is such a joy to see. Even though we're just 10 episodes in, it feels as though we've waited for so *long* to start to get to this point. I've no idea what's going to happen by the season/series end at this point, but I do hope that the later seasons don't become bloated roster wise. Not because I'm afraid of time being taken away from our OG roster, but because it's the type of dynamic where the writing can either become deeper and richer, or else end up being spread too thin trying to juggle too many people at once. Although of course it's a totally different show, The Wire did this beautifully. So, yeah, I'm somewhat dreading the addition of many new characters in a show that's proving to be doing so well with the few characters that they have, but I guess time will tell. For now, I'm absolutley loving Black Sails, and I'm glad I'm doing these write-ups because there's so much to garner from the re-watch.