Rec: Black Sails
Title: Black Sails Format: TV Show Published/Free: It’s free with a Starz subscription (so not free technically) Length: 4 Seasons (38 episodes total) Status: Complete Rating: Mature to Ultra mature Warnings: Rape (specifically in ep 3, and somewhat through s1. There is very little, if any, outside of that season after), major character death, a graphic keelhauling scene, blood, action violence. Link: on Starz. also hulu (s1-3) Summary: This is a prequel to Treasure Island and is set in Nassau during the golden age of piracy. It follows Captain Flint and characters involved with the crew or Nassau as Captain Flint chases after a shit ton of gold–and then turns to a power struggle on pirate freedom.
Review: This is a very very good show. The first season is a little….clearly trying to attract the straight man audience but then it starts to get gay and the women get very powerful. There are many gay characters and (with the exception of one) they all survive! One of the strongest characters is a queer black woman who came from a slave start (before the show) and ended up so powerful (and spoilers: she doesn’t die).
The characters are all nuanced and interesting and it is a very good show. The action scenes are tight and exciting. The relationships are so good (and a lot are gay which is what a lot of y'all reading this are looking for haha). The story is good and is not just focused on a hunt for gold. It talks of the problems with England and touches on “othering” (a lot having to do with the queer characters). It’s one big power struggle and it is amazing. There’s also a poly relationship if you’re into that.
There is a significant rape scene right at the beginning of season 1. It is a gang rape scene so please exercise care if you need it. The good news is–it gets better. Rape is not a main point in anything after that, outside of a few throwaway mentions (and i remember a throwaway line about bestiality in the same vein). Basically: pirates! gay! cool! action!