Black Sails 3.10
Mar. 27th, 2016 04:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakTrue, it's Easter Sunday, but the lure of piracy is too strong to resist.
A major theme of the season and indeed the show, of course, that: the creation of villains. We had various characters declaring themselves ready to play the part - Flint in the s2 finale, Woode Rogers after his chat with Flint on the beach. We had characters declaring their desire to make their name and have their legacy - Jack and Blackbeard. (BTW: amusingly awkward reunion, that one. Jack trying to get Blackbeard to admit that he, Jack, wasn't such a bad pirate and Friend Of Charles after all and Blackbeard just stoneeyed staring back cracked me up.) But with the finale now ending season 3, I think the character who both creates himself and is created this season is Silver.
And here the writers pull off another great twist, and wonderful dramatic irony, if you're familiar with Treasure Island. They also finally give Billy an agenda again which, in retrospect, he's had all through the season. That early s3 episode chat where Billy tells Silver he needs to make Flint see him as an equal? Gains a new layer once you know that Billy was thinking of building Silver up to an alternative to Flint. It also puts his conversation with Ben Gunn during the Flint-Blackbeard duel in a new context, where Billy observes that maybe he remained around Flint in order to finally find out who can put an end to Flint. And his insistence that Silver, not Flint, should make the big annoucement mid season.
This is such a smart episode. It delivers the expected end of season action goods, and the battle for the island is duly suspenseful and twisty, with everyone, Flint with the Maroons and the Walrus crew, Jack & Anne, Blackbeard and his men, getting something to do, and Hornigold getting a good send off as the opponent who is smart and figures out some tricks, but not all. We also got further good character stuff for Madi, in her conversation with her mother and then with Silver, taking her place as leader. But great as these scenes are, the true heart of the episode lay in the interspersed lengthy conversation between Flint and Silver the night before which the episode cleverly kept handing out in bit parts as flashbacks throughout the action stuff, and in the intercut final scene with Billy & allies on the one hand and Max & council members on the other.
The Flint and Silver conversation, after some preliminary re: the treasure (and of course Flint burying the treasure and not telling the Maroons where is good foreshadowing), starts with with another confidence when Silver asks what truly started Flint on his path to Flint-dom and "the war" , and learns the rest of the story he hadn't known before, the true nature of Flint's relationship with Thomas Hamilton. So far, so hoped for and expected. But then comes the twisty stuff. After sympathy re: Thomas, Silver's conclusion isn't, like before, that getting close to Flint has put him in a possible death watch list, but that in order not to end up on said list, he'll more likely than not will end up destroying Flint instead. And, as much as he doesn't want to right now because he's come to care about Flint, he knows that he can do it.
Flint's reaction - some scoffed disbelief and amusement, but also, if you watch carefully, some inner "hmmm..." (because did or didn't Flint seek his own destruction along with a lot of others for a good while now when he wasn't trying some version of ruled-by-him-Nassau?) - was superbly played. And this interspersed sequence would be been wonderful on its own. But truly, the end of the episode in Nassau, with Billy creating the "Long John Silver" name and, using and building on Silver's 2.07. memorable appearance in the tavern, turning him into a fearsome legend to return to Nassau, and very deliberately making him into Flint's replacement/rival (just as Madi will replace her mother; her conversation with Silver about successors works as a parallel here), was the wrap up/reveal that made it awesome.
Tragic, too, of course. These two men, Silver and Flint, have against the odds become very close. And now it looks like the remainder of the show will present us with them turning against each other, not immediately, naturally, but at a guess before the next season is over, whether or not there will be a season 5. This won't negate the closeness: I'm betting on a "Best Enemies" type of relationship. But I think when he looked across the water to Silver (and Madi at his side) after the battle was one, Flint did realise that he might have finally met his match in that sense, too; the nemesis whom he let in and who'd thus be able to end him.
Mind you: not just him. There's another fitting karmic irony: Billy just created the agent of his own destruction as well. Which reminds me: other than the "Long John Silver" business, the next biggest Treasure Island shout out is of course The Black Spot being handed over, and I fannishly squeed. Again, Billy creating his own destruction here, using the Black Spot to drive fear into the heart of government loyalists and to drive a man to his death; this is how Billy will die, driven to his death by fear of the Black Spot and Long John Silver. The art of the show is that it was still a thrilling scene when we saw that thing.
On a minor note: Woode Rogers, recovering from his disease, has just one scene, but since I've been secretly afraid he'd throw Eleanor to the wolves as a cheap bit to pacify Nassau, I was very relieved and pleased when he chose to support her instead. This doesn't exclude him betraying her in the future, because everyone betrays everyone else on Nassau sooner or later (yes, even Jack and Anne, or rather Jack betrayed Anne for a ship to captain last season) if pushed hard enough, but for now, he ends the season remaining a worthy ally to her. Since Eleanor is now the most hated woman in fandom for killing Charles Vane, I realise I'm probably in a minority of ten or so people here, but I'm glad she didn't end the season dead or back in chains as she started it, or any of the other fates Vane fans have wished on her.
Doesn't mean I don't think Eleanor made a mistake in her pre- conversation with Rogers decision not to listen to Max but to listen to the English officer instead re: showing weakness. Of course that was a mistake. And you can see why Max has the better people skills and long term strategy by her keeping her options open by not revealing what Mrs. Maplethorne found out re: Idelle, so she keeps her options open. But in the season as a whole, I understood why Eleanor did what she did, I liked her development (again: minority here, I know), and I really don't want Jack Rackham (or Blackbeard) to avenge Vane on her.
In conclusion: what a superb season that was! And they're already shooting season 4. It's going to be a loooooong year till we get to watch it, though.
A major theme of the season and indeed the show, of course, that: the creation of villains. We had various characters declaring themselves ready to play the part - Flint in the s2 finale, Woode Rogers after his chat with Flint on the beach. We had characters declaring their desire to make their name and have their legacy - Jack and Blackbeard. (BTW: amusingly awkward reunion, that one. Jack trying to get Blackbeard to admit that he, Jack, wasn't such a bad pirate and Friend Of Charles after all and Blackbeard just stoneeyed staring back cracked me up.) But with the finale now ending season 3, I think the character who both creates himself and is created this season is Silver.
And here the writers pull off another great twist, and wonderful dramatic irony, if you're familiar with Treasure Island. They also finally give Billy an agenda again which, in retrospect, he's had all through the season. That early s3 episode chat where Billy tells Silver he needs to make Flint see him as an equal? Gains a new layer once you know that Billy was thinking of building Silver up to an alternative to Flint. It also puts his conversation with Ben Gunn during the Flint-Blackbeard duel in a new context, where Billy observes that maybe he remained around Flint in order to finally find out who can put an end to Flint. And his insistence that Silver, not Flint, should make the big annoucement mid season.
This is such a smart episode. It delivers the expected end of season action goods, and the battle for the island is duly suspenseful and twisty, with everyone, Flint with the Maroons and the Walrus crew, Jack & Anne, Blackbeard and his men, getting something to do, and Hornigold getting a good send off as the opponent who is smart and figures out some tricks, but not all. We also got further good character stuff for Madi, in her conversation with her mother and then with Silver, taking her place as leader. But great as these scenes are, the true heart of the episode lay in the interspersed lengthy conversation between Flint and Silver the night before which the episode cleverly kept handing out in bit parts as flashbacks throughout the action stuff, and in the intercut final scene with Billy & allies on the one hand and Max & council members on the other.
The Flint and Silver conversation, after some preliminary re: the treasure (and of course Flint burying the treasure and not telling the Maroons where is good foreshadowing), starts with with another confidence when Silver asks what truly started Flint on his path to Flint-dom and "the war" , and learns the rest of the story he hadn't known before, the true nature of Flint's relationship with Thomas Hamilton. So far, so hoped for and expected. But then comes the twisty stuff. After sympathy re: Thomas, Silver's conclusion isn't, like before, that getting close to Flint has put him in a possible death watch list, but that in order not to end up on said list, he'll more likely than not will end up destroying Flint instead. And, as much as he doesn't want to right now because he's come to care about Flint, he knows that he can do it.
Flint's reaction - some scoffed disbelief and amusement, but also, if you watch carefully, some inner "hmmm..." (because did or didn't Flint seek his own destruction along with a lot of others for a good while now when he wasn't trying some version of ruled-by-him-Nassau?) - was superbly played. And this interspersed sequence would be been wonderful on its own. But truly, the end of the episode in Nassau, with Billy creating the "Long John Silver" name and, using and building on Silver's 2.07. memorable appearance in the tavern, turning him into a fearsome legend to return to Nassau, and very deliberately making him into Flint's replacement/rival (just as Madi will replace her mother; her conversation with Silver about successors works as a parallel here), was the wrap up/reveal that made it awesome.
Tragic, too, of course. These two men, Silver and Flint, have against the odds become very close. And now it looks like the remainder of the show will present us with them turning against each other, not immediately, naturally, but at a guess before the next season is over, whether or not there will be a season 5. This won't negate the closeness: I'm betting on a "Best Enemies" type of relationship. But I think when he looked across the water to Silver (and Madi at his side) after the battle was one, Flint did realise that he might have finally met his match in that sense, too; the nemesis whom he let in and who'd thus be able to end him.
Mind you: not just him. There's another fitting karmic irony: Billy just created the agent of his own destruction as well. Which reminds me: other than the "Long John Silver" business, the next biggest Treasure Island shout out is of course The Black Spot being handed over, and I fannishly squeed. Again, Billy creating his own destruction here, using the Black Spot to drive fear into the heart of government loyalists and to drive a man to his death; this is how Billy will die, driven to his death by fear of the Black Spot and Long John Silver. The art of the show is that it was still a thrilling scene when we saw that thing.
On a minor note: Woode Rogers, recovering from his disease, has just one scene, but since I've been secretly afraid he'd throw Eleanor to the wolves as a cheap bit to pacify Nassau, I was very relieved and pleased when he chose to support her instead. This doesn't exclude him betraying her in the future, because everyone betrays everyone else on Nassau sooner or later (yes, even Jack and Anne, or rather Jack betrayed Anne for a ship to captain last season) if pushed hard enough, but for now, he ends the season remaining a worthy ally to her. Since Eleanor is now the most hated woman in fandom for killing Charles Vane, I realise I'm probably in a minority of ten or so people here, but I'm glad she didn't end the season dead or back in chains as she started it, or any of the other fates Vane fans have wished on her.
Doesn't mean I don't think Eleanor made a mistake in her pre- conversation with Rogers decision not to listen to Max but to listen to the English officer instead re: showing weakness. Of course that was a mistake. And you can see why Max has the better people skills and long term strategy by her keeping her options open by not revealing what Mrs. Maplethorne found out re: Idelle, so she keeps her options open. But in the season as a whole, I understood why Eleanor did what she did, I liked her development (again: minority here, I know), and I really don't want Jack Rackham (or Blackbeard) to avenge Vane on her.
In conclusion: what a superb season that was! And they're already shooting season 4. It's going to be a loooooong year till we get to watch it, though.
