Black Sails season 3 finale
May. 28th, 2018 12:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkAfter how great the s2 finale was, and how much I loved most of season 3, I was slightly disappointed by the last two episodes. They weren't bad, just not as good as the rest, and the finale even felt a bit predictable. (The conversation between Flint and Silver was great though.)
I expected Charles Vane to die, but I did not expect him to just be hanged like that. Okay, not really "just", it did have an impact, but idk – maybe it felt like that because he's not one for grand speeches like Flint or Silver? He was captured while freeing Jack Rackham, who was captured because his stupid ego and thirst for glory were more important to him than caution, and he was caught in the attempt because all of them forgot to check that their enemies were not dangerous anymore, stupid. And then he was hanged by Eleanor, and he managed to start the resistance movement on Nassau and his death inspired Teach to fight and so on, but I'm still not completely happy about it. Hm. Maybe I'll change my mind later.
Another thing I didn't like about his death was that Eleanor ordered it. Eleanor came back from London with the new governor and gave him very good advice and helped him to a quick take-over of Nassau, and in return he put her in a very powerful position, to the point where, when he's incapacitated, she's his deputy and basically runs the island. Great comeback. At first I was surprised to see her with the "bad guys," but actually it makes perfect sense, it's basically what she wanted: a thriving, civilized Nassau, with herself in a position of some authority; and in addition to that she can get revenge on her father's killer. She also found a man she says she loves, bonus, and she doesn't want to have to betray the people closest to her anymore.
On the one hand I appreciate Eleanor being the one to order Vane hanged as ending to their story; on the other hand I wanted the "big bad" to be not Eleanor, but England. I wanted to be shown that the problem with bringing "civilization" to Nassau was not individual people, but the entire system that these people wanted to impose. Eleanor is not only a single person, she's also, as Rogers point out, not an "outsider." I was glad that later he said he approved of her actions, he probably would have done the same thing, but still. Ah well, I hope that'll be clearer in the last season.
Another thing that looks a bit different than I hoped it would is the maroon camp. It seems to basically be an absolute hereditary monarchy, and those are a) generally not that great, b) surprising when they appear to have been established less than two decades ago, c) surprising allies for "what greater authority" pirates in the long term. Show me an advisory council to the "queen" (btw I hate that we didn't get a name for her yet, at the same time I don't remember any of her own people calling her queen so what to call her), tell me why Madi is her mother's successor apart from the fact that she's her daughter. Especially since the show emphasizes so much that pirate captains depend on the fact that their men are willing to follow them or they have no power: the maroon camp agrees to a plan that means they will enter a war, and specifically to a battle plan that plans for dozens of casualties, and we're supposed to just believe that they all fall in line behind the word of their leader just like that. Madi demonstrates that her men trust her and follow her during the incident on the ship, which is nice, why? She's very young, and she can't have that much experience gained on that island, so where does it come from? Show me, or at least tell me.
I also don't ship Madi/John Silver at all. I like them as friends and partners together, but as a couple, not really. I'm not even really sure why? I mean, their life plans aren't really conducive to a life together, but I also didn't think they had a lot of romantic chemistry. And that's surprising because I ship almost everyone with almost everyone on this show. Unfortunately the show seems to be going there, so I just hope I'll like it more next season.
I'm still reserving judgment on Jack. I liked it when Teach said one of the few things Flint and he could agree on was wondering why Vane bothered with someone like Rackham, because I'd be lying if I said I hadn't wondered the same thing. Jack has shown a few glimpses of being smart and competent, but overall I'm just not very impressed by him, and I really hope that will change, especially now that he's basically carrying Vane's legacy.
One thing I love is how the show increasingly emphasizes the massive importance of stories, and who are presented as the villains. One of my favorite consequences of this so far is Billy basically inventing Long John Silver. Of course he picks Silver: he doesn't want to pick Flint because he doesn't like him, and Silver is the only alternative. Billy has a lot of trust in Silver's ability to talk people around, he was also the one who said it should be him in that bar, where he put on a great show that included (spontaneously) stomping Dufresne's head in (…looks weird written down.) And Silver has figured out that being liked and feared gives you the advantages of both, and he's learning about how to manage/lead his men. (I liked that we also saw him learning about ships.)
The relationship between Silver and Flint is so great. They've become closer, they're bonding over their inner darkness, they talk about leading the men together. Silver feels comfortable enough to ask Flint about his tragic backstory, and Flint tells him about Thomas because he feels Silver is entitled to it, very nice. And then Silver tells him that he's wary of the pattern of those in Flint's confidence dying and that he doesn't plan on being the one to die, if they get there, and Flint seems mostly amused, heh. Though he seems to understand how dangerous Silver is becoming, it's more that he's not that worried about dying, personally. Like Vane, he doesn't fear death.
It's already past midnight, so a few more things I really liked in bullet points:
- Vane interfering in the duel between Teach and Flint <3
- Eleanor and Max reconciling and bonding over doing terrible things for power
- the conversation between governor Rogers and Flint on the beach
- Flint wanting to go back and rescue Vane
- Anne diving over to Hornigold's ship to take it over (without her hat because she would have lost it)
We watched all of season 3 this weekend, but for season 4 I want to go back to a reward system: an hour of being productive per episode. (Fortunately I finally started to find tax law interesting, so I'm optimistic it won't take too long.)
I expected Charles Vane to die, but I did not expect him to just be hanged like that. Okay, not really "just", it did have an impact, but idk – maybe it felt like that because he's not one for grand speeches like Flint or Silver? He was captured while freeing Jack Rackham, who was captured because his stupid ego and thirst for glory were more important to him than caution, and he was caught in the attempt because all of them forgot to check that their enemies were not dangerous anymore, stupid. And then he was hanged by Eleanor, and he managed to start the resistance movement on Nassau and his death inspired Teach to fight and so on, but I'm still not completely happy about it. Hm. Maybe I'll change my mind later.
Another thing I didn't like about his death was that Eleanor ordered it. Eleanor came back from London with the new governor and gave him very good advice and helped him to a quick take-over of Nassau, and in return he put her in a very powerful position, to the point where, when he's incapacitated, she's his deputy and basically runs the island. Great comeback. At first I was surprised to see her with the "bad guys," but actually it makes perfect sense, it's basically what she wanted: a thriving, civilized Nassau, with herself in a position of some authority; and in addition to that she can get revenge on her father's killer. She also found a man she says she loves, bonus, and she doesn't want to have to betray the people closest to her anymore.
On the one hand I appreciate Eleanor being the one to order Vane hanged as ending to their story; on the other hand I wanted the "big bad" to be not Eleanor, but England. I wanted to be shown that the problem with bringing "civilization" to Nassau was not individual people, but the entire system that these people wanted to impose. Eleanor is not only a single person, she's also, as Rogers point out, not an "outsider." I was glad that later he said he approved of her actions, he probably would have done the same thing, but still. Ah well, I hope that'll be clearer in the last season.
Another thing that looks a bit different than I hoped it would is the maroon camp. It seems to basically be an absolute hereditary monarchy, and those are a) generally not that great, b) surprising when they appear to have been established less than two decades ago, c) surprising allies for "what greater authority" pirates in the long term. Show me an advisory council to the "queen" (btw I hate that we didn't get a name for her yet, at the same time I don't remember any of her own people calling her queen so what to call her), tell me why Madi is her mother's successor apart from the fact that she's her daughter. Especially since the show emphasizes so much that pirate captains depend on the fact that their men are willing to follow them or they have no power: the maroon camp agrees to a plan that means they will enter a war, and specifically to a battle plan that plans for dozens of casualties, and we're supposed to just believe that they all fall in line behind the word of their leader just like that. Madi demonstrates that her men trust her and follow her during the incident on the ship, which is nice, why? She's very young, and she can't have that much experience gained on that island, so where does it come from? Show me, or at least tell me.
I also don't ship Madi/John Silver at all. I like them as friends and partners together, but as a couple, not really. I'm not even really sure why? I mean, their life plans aren't really conducive to a life together, but I also didn't think they had a lot of romantic chemistry. And that's surprising because I ship almost everyone with almost everyone on this show. Unfortunately the show seems to be going there, so I just hope I'll like it more next season.
I'm still reserving judgment on Jack. I liked it when Teach said one of the few things Flint and he could agree on was wondering why Vane bothered with someone like Rackham, because I'd be lying if I said I hadn't wondered the same thing. Jack has shown a few glimpses of being smart and competent, but overall I'm just not very impressed by him, and I really hope that will change, especially now that he's basically carrying Vane's legacy.
One thing I love is how the show increasingly emphasizes the massive importance of stories, and who are presented as the villains. One of my favorite consequences of this so far is Billy basically inventing Long John Silver. Of course he picks Silver: he doesn't want to pick Flint because he doesn't like him, and Silver is the only alternative. Billy has a lot of trust in Silver's ability to talk people around, he was also the one who said it should be him in that bar, where he put on a great show that included (spontaneously) stomping Dufresne's head in (…looks weird written down.) And Silver has figured out that being liked and feared gives you the advantages of both, and he's learning about how to manage/lead his men. (I liked that we also saw him learning about ships.)
The relationship between Silver and Flint is so great. They've become closer, they're bonding over their inner darkness, they talk about leading the men together. Silver feels comfortable enough to ask Flint about his tragic backstory, and Flint tells him about Thomas because he feels Silver is entitled to it, very nice. And then Silver tells him that he's wary of the pattern of those in Flint's confidence dying and that he doesn't plan on being the one to die, if they get there, and Flint seems mostly amused, heh. Though he seems to understand how dangerous Silver is becoming, it's more that he's not that worried about dying, personally. Like Vane, he doesn't fear death.
It's already past midnight, so a few more things I really liked in bullet points:
- Vane interfering in the duel between Teach and Flint <3
- Eleanor and Max reconciling and bonding over doing terrible things for power
- the conversation between governor Rogers and Flint on the beach
- Flint wanting to go back and rescue Vane
- Anne diving over to Hornigold's ship to take it over (without her hat because she would have lost it)
We watched all of season 3 this weekend, but for season 4 I want to go back to a reward system: an hour of being productive per episode. (Fortunately I finally started to find tax law interesting, so I'm optimistic it won't take too long.)
