TV

“Black Sails” recap (3.06): History has its eyes on you

Previously on Black Sails, Jack left Anne with their half of the treasure so he could get them some pardons, Flint convinced Mr. Scott’s wife to join forces and take Nassau back from England, and Eleanor came back, bitches and finally got in the same room as Max.

On Maroon Island, Mr. Scott is having some kind of healing ceremony performed around him, and his daughter notices someone missing from the room and slips outside. She finds Silver, the only pirate of Flint’s crew who stayed behind when he went to find Vane and Teach to join their fleet and scolds him for not being at the ceremony, as it could be perceived as disrespectful. But he wasn’t skipping because he thought it was just a bunch of hocus-pocus, he has a fever from his infected stump wound because he refuses to let it heal.

Teach and his men have set up camp on a beach and are being randy pirates as per usual. Teach is in bed with a woman who says that her “business” is better when he’s around because she can charge more for being “Blackbeard’s woman.” Everyone wants to be like the great pirate. He’s not as great as they think, though. He has a piece of shrapnel stuck in his chest, tick-tocking toward his ticker like Captain Hook’s crocodile. He’s pretty sure he’s not long for this world, which explains his insistence that Vane become his next of kin.

They’re interrupted when Flint and his men land on their beach, ready to rumble.

On Nassau, Eleanor asks Chambermaid Traitorface how she even ended up working for the Spaniards in the first place.

The Chambermaid says she originally declined, but one day when she came home from work, a man was waiting by her kids’ bed with a knife in one hand and money in the other. The man told her to choose which one he gave her children, so what was she supposed to do? Does it make me a terrible person for being glad we had a flashback of that? Because I don’t trust her, but I trust flashbacks. Luckily, Eleanor seems to feel bad despite not seeing what we saw.

Eleanor goes to talk to Rogers about it, and he confesses that she had been acting weird lately-he could have sworn some paintings were following him with his eyes, he kept finding glass cups outside doors, etc.-but he figured it had to do with his…relationship with Eleanor. Eleanor lets him know her theory about the whole Spanish gold thing, saying it’s not about the money lost, but about their pride.

He says he has to return the cash, or Spain will see him as part of the pirate problem. Eleanor has a different plan, though-what if they fight? Sure, the odds aren’t great, but defying the odds is kind of her thing, so she thinks they could do it.

He points out that the only problem with that is, if a Spanish/English war broke out, they wouldn’t be here to see it through. He’d be called back to England, and she’d be back on the rack. So there’s only one thing they can do: Find Anne Bonney and Jack Rackham, STAT.

And it turns out Jack isn’t very far away at all. He’s right down the road at the tavern to get his pardon. He runs into Featherstone, who is dressed in a “tit curtain” and trying to pretend to be a gentleman now that he has a pardon. Jack admits to Featherstone that he was hoping the transition would be a little less smooth, but Rogers’ Nassau seems to be awful neat and tidy. He feels rather defeated, but he doesn’t know the first of it. Because when he gives his name to the men handing out pardons, he’s told that Rogers is looking for him and British soldiers appear, making it clear this is not an optional request.

On Maroon Island, Silver is whining about his leg, saying he can’t go to a doctor or heal because it will make him look weak in front of his men. The Princess tells him to woman up.

She tells Silver that she more than anyone knows about burden, but that if he dies from an infection, he can’t help or lead anyone.

Cut to Teach Beach, where Flint says that Teach’s men and ships are technically his by oath and that he would like to take them to get Nassau back. Blackbeard says no, but Flint knows Vane holds all the cards here; if he goes, most of the men will follow. Vane tells Flint that he wasn’t there, he didn’t see men who fought by his side try to turn him in for a ransom, he didn’t see ruthless pirates lay down their sword because Hornigold said please. Vane says Nassau is dead, and it’s time to mourn and move on. Teach wants Flint to leave, but Flint would much rather duel.

Rogers goes to meet with Jack and the two men start to chat. Jack says he reads Woodes’s book…well, most of it. He skimmed it. He toasts to the book’s success, but Rogers cuts right to the chase: He needs the gold back or they’re all gonna die.

Rogers tells Jack that he understands why Jack would be tempted to take the cash and split, but Spain invading will be bad for literally everyone. The enemy of my enemy and all that. Jack just pouts and says that when he was little, he heard the way people talked about the pirate Avery and swore someday people would talk about him like that someday. Rogers says that you have no control over who lives, who dies, who tells your story. So he suggests writing a book to help his own story along.

Woodes reports to Eleanor that Jack has agreed to give back the cash, and wrote a letter that one single messenger is to send to Anne. Eleanor warns Woodes that Anne isn’t someone to underestimate, but he’s sure he sent his best lieutenant.

Max interrupts them and demands to know why Jack has been arrested.

The Duel of Teach Beach is dramatic and fierce, moving from pistols to swords, but when Flint falls, Vane jumps in to finish the duel for him, so Blackbeard walks away, defeated not my sword, but by betrayal.

Also Silver finally gets treated, the Princess holding his hand, sitting by him, and strategizing with him as he heals.

Max goes to talk to Jack and says that even though it must have been hard to give up the gold, it might not be the end of the world; it might not be the end of them.

She says that when Anne returns, Nassau will be secure, and everyone will know it’s thanks to Captain Jack Rackham. She plays to his hopes and dreams, telling him his story will be told, that she’ll tell it herself. But Jack isn’t worried because he’s not actually giving over the cash at all. The letter he wrote with Rogers to send to Anne that sounded like a white flag to Rogers will be a red flag to Anne. He knows Anne will get that message and run.

Jack Rackham will never have a hand in giving Nassau over to England.

Max begs him not to do this, but it’s already done. Anne has already killed the lieutenant; the wheels are already in motion.

Jack sees this ending two ways: Rogers will leave and Nassau will go back to how it was before he came, or Spain will destroy Nassau and a new pirate nation will rise from its ashes like a one-eyed phoenix with a pegleg.

The Princess of Maroon Island goes to visit her father. Mr. Scott gives her some fatherly advice: The villains make the story; know the villains, know the story. So if they’re going to work with the pirates, they all have to make sure they know who the common villain is and know everything they can about them. So the Princess goes to the bookshelf and takes out Woodes Rogers’ book.

On Nassau, Max and Eleanor listen to Rogers ramble about his worries that Eleanor’s predictions aren’t all coming true.

He says that Anne and the money must be found, and quickly. Because if this goes on too long, he’ll lose the love of the people that he currently has. But Max assures him that he won’t lose them, that as long as she tells them to trust Rogers, they will. Jack and Anne were here partners and friends — she adds, “more” here because she apparently can’t resist a little jab to Eleanor’s heart…and mine — but now they’re as good as enemies to her. Nassau is her priority, and if they stand in her way, they’re as good as dead to her.

Vane can’t believe he’s on a ship with Captain Flint right now, but Flint promises it’s not for naught. Vane says he has something of value to add, that hopefully makes up for the fact that they don’t have quite all of the ships or men they wanted, something he got off the Spanish Intelligence ship he raided with Teach. That something is the fact that some of the Urca gold has been traded for gems, and that if they get it before Rogers, they could have a better chance of taking Nassau back from the British.

So it looks like Jack put Anne in more of a predicament than he realized.

What did you think of “XXIV”?

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button