#bs 2x01

[appletvdaily]

BAD SISTERS

[friendofthefrogswastaken]

hello i just rewatched black sails episode IX (2x01) and HOLY SHIT. THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON. SO MUCH THATS THEMATICALLY RELEVANT TO THE WHOLE SHOW. but first, the silverflint. THE SILVERFLINT!! everything i love about their dynamic was in this bit, how flint is so exasperated with silver, how funny and witty silver is, how well they work as a team and how despite it being better for them to abandon each other they KEEP. COMING. BACK. also every time that flint has a flashback to london hes right next to silver, looking at him, thinking about him!! i thought before that i didnt really see the silverflint in seasons 1 and 2 but i TOTALLY see it here, i think this is the beginning of it, the pivotal moment was when silver helped flint through gates’ death and the whole mess, so its early on but its there!!!

and now for the themes bc AAAAAAAAHHHH!! the episode STARTS with this merchant captain saying “those stories youve heard— tools of the trade, self-applied by the pirates themselves, intendeed to separate us from our cargo by surrender rather than sword. These are men… not monsters. if we behave rationally and civilly, so will they” which is USUALLY true for pirates from what we’ve seen so far, but then ned low ISNT like that (i hate ned low) but also this merchant captain’s view is what the show is trying to say! (without the whole civility think at the end) the pirates are people! but then he brings civility into it which is sooo interesting and important and thematic

i started thinking about how at both the end of season 1 and season 2, someone who flint loves and who has kept him steady dies and he’s adrift and doing bad mentally (i feel like its not mentioned often how in the beginning of this episode, flint is not trying to stay alive. he’s given up. he was going to let himself drown at the end of 1x08 and that hasnt changed yet. UNTIL he has a path forward. and he has that path because of SILVER *cue silverflint squeeing*) the only one who dies at the end of s3 is vane who isnt close to flint but hes important to the cause… doesnt really fit into this narrative but whatever. at the end of s4, flint dies. HE DIES!! everyone close to him has died, and now it’s his turn.

flint’s speech about the fucking warship is so good. like the writing is so good. the structure of the speech is EXCELLENT. how he uses the anaphora (wait now i forget if its anaphora or epistrophe but im gonna trust past me who said it was anaphora in my notes on the episode) of “a fucking warship” building the intensity of omg this is hopeless EXCEPT. here im giving you a way out and the way out is “there might be something else you can steal. the fucking warship” IS SUCH A GOOD END TO THE SPEECH IT BRINGS IT ALL TOGETHER this really made me appreciate flint’s speech giving abilities hes so charismatic and convincing!! so yeah the writing of it was excellent and also toby stephens’ delivery of it has such a great cadence and intensity was PERFECTION!!!!!

in the second flashback when they’re watching a pirate get executed and the crowd cheering for it, james says to thomas, “in most cases a man trying to change the world fails for one simple and unavoidable reason— everyone else.” (the quotes are bolded bc i bolded them in my notes and copied it into this post but also it works) anyways. this is so thematic both because thomas fails because of everyone else (his father and peter) and in season 4 flint is a man trying to change the world and he fails because of someone else (we’re coming back to this) so the parallels!! and flint understands this in the moment but he gets so reckless by the end of their time together he forgets that thomas is probably going to fail!! and he forgets that he’s probably going to fail in s4!! and he never sees the betrayal coming!!

NOW FOR THE BIGGEST PART THAT MADE ME START WRITING THIS POST IN THE FIRST PLACE!! MIRANDA!! THE FIRST TIME JAMES MEETS MIRANDA IS IN THIS FLASHBACK!!! AND SHE SAYS SO MUCH IMPORTANT STUFF IN THIS WISE AND ALLURING AND CHARMING WAY THAT WE CAN SEE DRAWS JAMES IN SO WELL!! here is the final things she says to him: “great men aren’t made great by politics. they aren’t made great by prudence or propriety. they are, every last one of them, made great by one thing and one thing only— the relentless pursuit of a better world. the great men don’t give up that pursuit. they don’t now how. and that is what makes them invincible.” first off in the context of this episode. flint remembers this when hes on the ship, watching the crew vote on if he should live. he looks over at silver, cue flashback. he is thinking of himself as a great man here, and he is pursuing his gold and his revenge on england. but right now he’s been in a place where hes giving up. hes at a huge low point, and hes struggling to convince himself its worth it to keep going. then he remembers miranda saying that great men dont give up. they dont know how. and thats (part of) what convinces him not to give up. and when flint doesn’t give up, he’s invincible (*cough* 4x10 *cough*) which brings me to… who in the show is a great man? I can say 100% Madi is a great woman. she is the best she is wonderful i love her with my whole heart and she definitely meets this criteria. Thomas is who miranda is talking about in this context, shes saying that he is a great man because he can’t give up on his dream for nassau, and i agree he definitely meets the criteria. and his (and james’) downfall is that they are great men. they dont know how to give up. THEIR DOWNFALL IS THAT THEY ARE GREAT MEN!!!!! silver is not a great man. he gives up. he prioritizes comfort over the cause. so… is james flint a great man? I think that this show is about him becoming one. In the beginning, he’s conflicted. he’s angry at england, he’s a bad partner, he’s committed to piracy. he has given up on their original dream for nassau. that changes in s2, when he’s given hope for their cause again and his original dream comes back, replacing his desire for revenge against england. in s3 he’s slowly pulling himself out of this massive pit of grief where he is driven by depression and grief and anger and hopelessness. he’s just living, even though he doesnt want to (also i barely remember anything from s3 because i watched like 60% of it in one day and all i was paying attention to was the silverflint so… i might be a little off there but thats the idea) he grows throughout the season, and he becomes a better man. s4 flint is flint in his final form. committed to a just cause of freeing people from the british empire, and fighting for it alongside (in some cases) equally committed people. he is fully committed to both the cause AND john silver, and he doesn’t know how to give either of them up. HE DOESNT KNOW HOW TO GIVE EITHER OF THEM UP, BUT HE HAS TO GIVE UP AT LEAST ONE OF THEM. john silver doesnt give him a choice. he would be invincible if he didnt have this internal conflict of being committed to two things and not being able to chose to give up either of them. thats what destroys him. HIS DOWNFALL IS THAT HE IS A GREAT MAN!!!!

so uh yeah i think the rewatch value on this show is pretty good

[threadbareturnbacks]

I feel like Silver was down for a quick fight but the Pirate IronMan that Flint puts him through in 2.01 is patently insane. Like the sheer endurance it takes to do a 2 mile ocean swim in baggy clothes, a rope climb, and then fight for a few hours in what I can only imagine is obnoxious humidity?

No wonder Silver looks exhausted and Flint is dissociating, they need gatorade and an ice bath after that shit

[rackhamrogue]

[jaredackles]

“The risk falls almost entirely on the first two men out. I would volunteer for exchange for your pardon. That leaves one man to go.”

[moon-yean]

The pirates offered me a cache of stolen gems to persuade me to surrender. The cash of gems representing the last remaining share of the U r c a plunder. They are paying for their war with your money.

[appletvdaily]

Bad Sisters 2.01 Good Sisters

[rackhamrogue]