Black Sails into the sunset
The last time I was this pleased after a series finale was the final episode of Spartacus, although I was a bit more emotional over that one.
THREE CHEERS FOR OUR GAY/BI PIRATE SHOW. :D As most of us predicted, the show ends with Anne and Max, and Flint and Thomas, alive and with a reasonable chance at happiness together. Plus Anne and Jack pirating on! And there are other happy things, too - Silver and Madi survived, and will go on after they work out their shit. :D Along the way, sadly, we lost Charles Vane and Blackbeard, but hey. That's how this show rolls. BUT BUT BUT let me just point out that Teach and Rackham's love for Vane was a driving factor in everything that happened in season 4 - returning to Nassau, Teach joining the war, Rackham going after Rogers. More about that in a moment.
Over on Tumblr last week, I linked to a couple of pertinent articles - one about how the defining aspect of Silver's backstory, pre-Treasure Island, is that he was loved fiercely by Flint, and changed by that love. And I also linked to a quote about how this show reclaimed the Treasure Island narrative - a traditionalist straight white male story, traditionally seen as being written for boys - and reframed it as a "...revenge story about a gay man who declares war on an entire colonialist superpower because they killed his lover and defamed all their joint work towards international reconciliation". TRUTH. SO MUCH TRUTH.
Now at last we know why TreasureIsland!Silver had so much hatred for Billy Bones and why Billy feared being found by him in Treasure Island, and we also know that what drove Billy Bones was his desire to remove Flint from the equation without also removing Silver, and that what made him despair was that he only drove them closer together - so much so, he couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. OMG.
Now we know that Flint's love for Silver would cause him to forgive almost anything, and to always believe their friendship was worth repair. Even on the island, where he had to surrender to Silver's plan to survive - and he chose to do so.
Now we know that as soon as Silver thought there was a possibility Thomas was alive, he sent a man to find out for sure, before saying anything to Flint. The more cynical among you might think this was so he would have that bargaining chip later, but remember, Silver was in the 'he shall have my friendship in return' phase at that point in time. I think he did it that way as much to spare Flint the additional pain of dashed hopes as to be sure he had a way to end the war before it consumed them all. But Silver can't unmake himself; he is what he was created to be, as much as Flint was, and it's his nature now to always look for the angles.
Now we know that Silver gave up war, and treasure, for Madi - but also for Flint. He loved Madi enough to kill Flint, without question. But he loved Flint enough to force him to unravel the man he was, and return him to the man he had once been - it would have been much easier to just kill him. The tragedy and the irony here is, Silver has become very much the thing he denied being, and Madi saw right through it - she realized he had planned to betray her where the war was concerned all along, and what Flint predicted came true.
Now we know what Flint would give up for Thomas. :D :D :D (Um, assuming that Silver didn't tell that story to Madi to pacify her, which...yeah, I am not willing to believe that. Nope.)
I am also SO HAPPY that Percival, aka Tom Hopper, aka Billy Bones turned out to be the big villain of the story - and was up to the task! He was so great in his evil plotting/murdering role!! :D
One of the best moments of this episode for me was Silver happening upon the cook, and the way he lifted his head when the boy said, "Please sir, I'm just the cook!" OMGGGGG. Such a reminder about how far Silver has come in his story.
Other excellent moments: the moment where Madi looked up and saw Flint and Rackham had taken the ship; the smile of victory on her face, and the moment of realization for Silver that the war was alive in her heart just as much as Flint's, and it was going to separate them unless he took the action he had already planned for. You could see it all over his face.
And the moment where Rogers realized he had lost to Flint and Rackham, and his ship had been captured whole. OMG. Plus Jack's promise of pain for Rogers. Heh heh heh. Yes. Jack is that enemy who knows his prey so well, he can injure him in the worst ways without ever drawing a drop of blood.
And Flint knowing, before they even set out for Skeleton Island, that Silver was going to betray him, even though he was so blinded by the war he couldn't see the real reason until it was explained to him.
And that moment where Silver remembered just how fucking smart Jack Rackham is, and has always been. :D :D The joy of knowing that Jack unmade Rogers, just as Silver unmade Flint, is immense. Because it ties to the show's central theme of storytelling. Who tells the story? Not always the winner, certainly, but the narrative, once shaped, is hard to undo. As this show so brilliantly illustrated over and over.
This show had me from the beginning because it was always, always about relationships - everything that happened in this show was because someone loved someone, or hated someone, or was avenging someone. Nothing happened here out of personal greed. It was all about those we love, and lose, and their absence or presence in the story. AND THEN SILVER EXPLAINED IT ALL IN HIS SPEECH TO FLINT ABOUT THE CAUSE. Once Silver saw that Flint's rage could never be quelled, he had to play the last card.
Said Flint: "We will have been nothing - defined by their histories, distorted to fit into their narrative, until all that is left of us are the monsters in the stories they tell their children."
Also, hi Mary Read!!!!!!!! HI, JOLLY ROGER!!!
THAT FINALE WAS PRETTY GREAT. :D
THREE CHEERS FOR OUR GAY/BI PIRATE SHOW. :D As most of us predicted, the show ends with Anne and Max, and Flint and Thomas, alive and with a reasonable chance at happiness together. Plus Anne and Jack pirating on! And there are other happy things, too - Silver and Madi survived, and will go on after they work out their shit. :D Along the way, sadly, we lost Charles Vane and Blackbeard, but hey. That's how this show rolls. BUT BUT BUT let me just point out that Teach and Rackham's love for Vane was a driving factor in everything that happened in season 4 - returning to Nassau, Teach joining the war, Rackham going after Rogers. More about that in a moment.
Over on Tumblr last week, I linked to a couple of pertinent articles - one about how the defining aspect of Silver's backstory, pre-Treasure Island, is that he was loved fiercely by Flint, and changed by that love. And I also linked to a quote about how this show reclaimed the Treasure Island narrative - a traditionalist straight white male story, traditionally seen as being written for boys - and reframed it as a "...revenge story about a gay man who declares war on an entire colonialist superpower because they killed his lover and defamed all their joint work towards international reconciliation". TRUTH. SO MUCH TRUTH.
Now at last we know why TreasureIsland!Silver had so much hatred for Billy Bones and why Billy feared being found by him in Treasure Island, and we also know that what drove Billy Bones was his desire to remove Flint from the equation without also removing Silver, and that what made him despair was that he only drove them closer together - so much so, he couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. OMG.
Now we know that Flint's love for Silver would cause him to forgive almost anything, and to always believe their friendship was worth repair. Even on the island, where he had to surrender to Silver's plan to survive - and he chose to do so.
Now we know that as soon as Silver thought there was a possibility Thomas was alive, he sent a man to find out for sure, before saying anything to Flint. The more cynical among you might think this was so he would have that bargaining chip later, but remember, Silver was in the 'he shall have my friendship in return' phase at that point in time. I think he did it that way as much to spare Flint the additional pain of dashed hopes as to be sure he had a way to end the war before it consumed them all. But Silver can't unmake himself; he is what he was created to be, as much as Flint was, and it's his nature now to always look for the angles.
Now we know that Silver gave up war, and treasure, for Madi - but also for Flint. He loved Madi enough to kill Flint, without question. But he loved Flint enough to force him to unravel the man he was, and return him to the man he had once been - it would have been much easier to just kill him. The tragedy and the irony here is, Silver has become very much the thing he denied being, and Madi saw right through it - she realized he had planned to betray her where the war was concerned all along, and what Flint predicted came true.
Now we know what Flint would give up for Thomas. :D :D :D (Um, assuming that Silver didn't tell that story to Madi to pacify her, which...yeah, I am not willing to believe that. Nope.)
I am also SO HAPPY that Percival, aka Tom Hopper, aka Billy Bones turned out to be the big villain of the story - and was up to the task! He was so great in his evil plotting/murdering role!! :D
One of the best moments of this episode for me was Silver happening upon the cook, and the way he lifted his head when the boy said, "Please sir, I'm just the cook!" OMGGGGG. Such a reminder about how far Silver has come in his story.
Other excellent moments: the moment where Madi looked up and saw Flint and Rackham had taken the ship; the smile of victory on her face, and the moment of realization for Silver that the war was alive in her heart just as much as Flint's, and it was going to separate them unless he took the action he had already planned for. You could see it all over his face.
And the moment where Rogers realized he had lost to Flint and Rackham, and his ship had been captured whole. OMG. Plus Jack's promise of pain for Rogers. Heh heh heh. Yes. Jack is that enemy who knows his prey so well, he can injure him in the worst ways without ever drawing a drop of blood.
And Flint knowing, before they even set out for Skeleton Island, that Silver was going to betray him, even though he was so blinded by the war he couldn't see the real reason until it was explained to him.
And that moment where Silver remembered just how fucking smart Jack Rackham is, and has always been. :D :D The joy of knowing that Jack unmade Rogers, just as Silver unmade Flint, is immense. Because it ties to the show's central theme of storytelling. Who tells the story? Not always the winner, certainly, but the narrative, once shaped, is hard to undo. As this show so brilliantly illustrated over and over.
This show had me from the beginning because it was always, always about relationships - everything that happened in this show was because someone loved someone, or hated someone, or was avenging someone. Nothing happened here out of personal greed. It was all about those we love, and lose, and their absence or presence in the story. AND THEN SILVER EXPLAINED IT ALL IN HIS SPEECH TO FLINT ABOUT THE CAUSE. Once Silver saw that Flint's rage could never be quelled, he had to play the last card.
Said Flint: "We will have been nothing - defined by their histories, distorted to fit into their narrative, until all that is left of us are the monsters in the stories they tell their children."
Also, hi Mary Read!!!!!!!! HI, JOLLY ROGER!!!
THAT FINALE WAS PRETTY GREAT. :D