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“Black Sails” recap (3.05): Who Says You Can’t Go Home

Previously on Black Sails, Flint crew found themselves on Maroon Island, a community of escaped slaves ruled by a fierce woman and her mysterious husband, Eleanor helped Rogers get to Nassau to recover the Urca gold and civilize the island, Max split up some gold for herself and for Jack and Anne to take, and Mr. Scott was shot.

After another dream featuring Miranda and Death, Flint wakes up on Maroon Island to the sound of horns announcing the return of the king. The king being Mr. Scott, and Mr. Scott being shot. He recognizes him immediately and knows things just changed for them drastically.

On Teach’s ship, Vane is looking out into the vast ocean, swimming in his own thoughts. Teach approaches and says that he knows how women can leave their marks on people, but Vane says Eleanor barely left a scratch. Teach doesn’t buy that for a minute but assures him that he’s doing the right thing. He says a lion keeps no den, because everything the light touches is theirs, and even though technically lions do exactly that, he understands. They’re the same brand of slightly unhinged.

They see Spanish ships, and Teach decides to show off for his prodigy and attack it.

On Maroon Island, King Scott asks the people treating his wounds to give him a moment alone with Flint. The Queen is still suspicious of the pirate, but complies.

Scott tells Flint everyone thinks he’s dead, that Rogers has arrived and is offering pardons. He tells them Vane and Teach escaped, taking with them any chance of resistance. He explains that he’s been running this island forever, that it was one of the reasons he encouraged Eleanor to be in charge, so he could have a foot on both islands, and that even Eleanor thinks his wife and daughter are dead.

Scott asks for Flint’s help, teaching his people how to survive. All Flint has to do is appeal to the Queen. But also keeping in mind that if he doesn’t convince them that their relationship could be mutually beneficial, the Queen will kill him and all his men. No pressure.

Meanwhile, Eleanor Guthrie finally returns to Nassau.

She watches Rogers settle into a house that was her home once upon a time, and he gets a paper delivery. She casually asks him what it’s about – so fucking smooth, like she’s just making conversation; he never suspects that she might be collecting information, watching him so carefully, always prepared to fight or flee. He tells her that it’s about insurance, and while he talks, Eleanor’s face does a thing, and he assumes she’s worried about Vane. He promises her the pirate is gone, and it’s unclear whether that was even what she’s thinking about, let alone whether that sentiment is actually what she wants to hear or not.

Hornigold comes in to tell them that the Spanish gold has been found. Eleanor asks about Jack Rackham, but he’s MIA. Rogers asks why he cares, and she said that they’re entering a game of chess, and it’s helpful to know where all their pieces are; especially the rooks.

But the real piece they need to watch out for is the queen, who is currently working in the brothel, listening to men share their woes about being pardoned because Max is so easy to talk to. Just another day for Max.

Until Eleanor Guthrie walks in, surrounded by redcoats with guns, in all her glory, looking like she’s never been a prisoner a day in her life.

Max stands and looks at her like she’s seeing a ghost. They make eye contact for the first time in forever, and all the air leaves my lungs never to return again.

They go into what is now Max’s office and finally the two of them are alone together. Max can’t believe Eleanor is standing here, but then again she shouldn’t be surprised that nothing could have kept her from Nassau, not being kidnapped, not the King of England, not even death.

Eleanor, in her classic thinly-veiled-metaphor way, tells Max that she had the desk where it was for a reason; the place Max has it gets too much sun. But how would she know that? Max asks why she’s really here, and Eleanor explains that Rogers is establishing a governing council made up of 12 people and that they would like Max’s blessing. Max clarifies that she’s not being offered a seat, and finds this highly insulting.

Max says she’s better at being Eleanor than Eleanor was – she’s just as strong a leader, just as smart, but because of the way she rose to power, she doesn’t have to deal with nearly as much resentment. But Eleanor scoffs at this idea and calls Max a pirate.

Eleanor admits that when Rogers asked for a list of organizers and VIPs of the island, Max’s name was at the top. Max doesn’t understand; she’s doing exactly what Eleanor did. But Eleanor says she lost everything to get there. She looks at Max and repeats pointedly: Everything. Max knows she holds the power here, but Eleanor says that if Max crosses Rogers, she will seriously regret it. Max keeps a brave face and says no one talks to her like that anymore, in threats and orders. And honestly, it’s probably giving Max a bit of a thrill to match wits with someone at her level again.

Eleanor looks sadly upon her ex-lover and urges her to be smart.

Before Eleanor leaves, Max asks if, before Eleanor was kidnapped, when she set out to kill the people who stood in her way, if Max’s name was on it. Eleanor’s eyes grow weary and sad, and she says no, it wasn’t.

In return, Eleanor asks if the night she was taken, if Max told Hornigold where to find her. Asks as if she’s afraid to hear the answer. But Max holds her gaze and says that no, she didn’t.

A moment passes between them, a peaceful moment, and in it the tiniest glimmer of hope, the smallest possibility that someday, someday they might be able to reconcile. Someday they might be on the same team again; someday they might even rediscover the love they once had for each other. Because if these two teamed up, at work or at play, they’d have the world wrapped around their fingers.

Later, after she’s recovered from going toe to toe with Eleanor, Max invites herself to the council meeting. She smiles gracefully at the room and says the most badass thing she could have said in that moment: “I think you know who I am.”

She asks for a private word with Woodes, who pauses a moment, because he knows how it would look just to abandon the council meeting for this woman who just showed up, but knows it would be way worse to refuse Max. So he takes his leave and Eleanor follows.

The handmaiden watches suspiciously because I TOLD you she was trouble.

Max tells Rogers that she will not stand to be on the outside looking in. It’s how she spent her childhood, standing in the mud watching through the window while a little girl like Eleanor was warm and protected inside. She wants to be inside this time, and she knows she has the leverage to do it. She, for all intents and purposes, is Nassau, and he needs her. She doesn’t expect handouts, though, and offers him a dowry. A single black pearl, one of many. Woodes is suspicious as to how someone who owns a tavern could possibly afford this, but Eleanor knows it’s part of the Urca gold.

Max says that fact is unproven and untraceable. This kind of money would infinitely improve his chances for success, and would give them both what they want: A new beginning, a clean slate, a synergetic friendship. And when she says the bit of wanting the past to stay in the past, she side-eyes Eleanor, knowing she’s the one who could blow up Max’s spot if she so chose.

On Maroon Island, Mr. Scott encourages his wife to listen to what Flint has to say. She agrees, but only if he trusts her to make the final decision, which he does.

Before the meeting, Silver suggests to Flint that there might be an option other than his current plan of “kill the Queen if she says no” and that the Flint whose crew he joined could talk himself into or out of any situation.

Flint takes this advice to heart and doesn’t take his little knife to the meeting. He gives a grand speech, saying that if they work together, they could really stick it to England, starting by taking back Nassau.

The Queen isn’t sure how Flint plans to take Nassau from a British battalion led by Woodes Rogers, but Flint says that Rogers has Nassau, but Nassau has a fort with a hole in it and a bunch of sleeper cell pirates that would awaken upon learning that Captain Flint is alive. He wants to start a revolution, he wants pirates and slaves to band together against England, and he truly believes they can accomplish it.

Meanwhile, on Nassau, Rogers is giving the piles of treasure Max gave him a weird look. Eleanor asks him what he’s thinking, and he’s thinking it’s almost too good to be true. After being smacked in the face by fortune, quite literally, it’s weird to be hugged by it for once. Eleanor takes this opening to ask about the scar on his face.

He tells her that the battle that killed his brother marred his face, and Eleanor touches it gingerly. He takes a step forward, and the two of them kiss. And I genuinely think that Eleanor is playing him, that this is exactly what she wanted because she knows that if she wants to be in charge again, she needs to stop seeing her as a former threat he’s leveraging and instead as a partner he trusts unequivocally. Of course, it’s possible that she has enjoyed plotting with him, and appreciates being respected for her mind, her wit, and her strength of character over her body and perfect face. But we won’t find out just yet, because practically as soon as their lips touch, the handmaiden bursts in the door.

She confesses that she has been spying on Rogers for money for quite some time now. She thought it was just someone from the insurance agency, but it turns out to be Spanish Intelligence. They told her of a scheme that turned a large portion of the Urca gold into smaller treasures and was asked to find out if Rogers knew about it. Now she knows that not only does Rogers know about it, he’s considering keeping it, she wants to tattle on him.

He says that he’ll return the treasure, but she says that’s not necessary; the amount he was offered is only half of the missing gold.

Speaking of that other half, if you were wondering where Jack and Anne were all this time, they’ve been high-tailing it out of Nassau, heading for Port Royal. There’s only one problem Jack has with this plan, though…they’d need to change their names. Anne is like, “Yeah, so? A rose by any other name still has a fuckton of gold.” But he’s got a dash of ego, and his name is all he has really, so he is going to run back to the tavern real quick to get them some pardons so they can live their lives without the fear of being caught and hanged. Anne hates this plan.

But Jack kisses her atop her hat and runs off, leaving her alone with all that money.

Meanwhile, Flint sets out to rally the troops he promised the Queen he’d rally, starting with the one, the only, Charles Vane.

What did you think of “XXIII”?

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