Onwards to the episode in which we get to see Flint and Silver each having a very bad day (as well as two literal dicks that nobody had asked to see).
Black Sails VII (s1 ep07)
- We open on Pastor Lambrick's sweaty face as he intensely rehearses the Easter sermon and heās obviously eaten up by what he did with Miranda. His sermon, unsurprisingly, focuses on sin, keeping sin hidden, and the hell that awaits the sinner. Which leads us nicely onto Flint, whoās distracted (by his own sin? by thoughts of Miranda? both?) during a meeting with Eleanor. Eleanor is pissed that Miranda let Richard Guthrie send a message to the Andromache and then waltz into town to close up his business; Flint tries to take the heat off Miranda, once again protecting her (at this point, he may not know the contents of the letter).
- During this meeting, Flint is startled when Silver first speaks up to say that the mob in the street was bad - clearly Silver is a sort of intruder in this meeting. But Eleanor, after Silver reminds her by unsubtly clearing his throat, tells Flint that heās not to harm Silver because he was instrumental in setting up the Consortium. Silver looks so pleased with himself in these scenes, and Flint quite defeated when he tells Silver to follow him back to their camp. I love it.
- To parallel Flint/Mirandaās Sulky Sex scene from ep4, we have Anne/Rackhamās frustrating/disconnected sex scene. It shows us a few things about them mainly that Anne wants to keep a lot of control over what happens, hence Rackham being tied up (though of course this might also be his kink), her wearing a shirt that covers up most of her body, and the reverse cowgirl position that means that sheās both in control of what happens and completely avoids eye contact. The position reminds us of the Flint/Miranda scene, where Miranda was also on top, but their scene involved more eye contact (yes glaring counts, heās still intensely focused on Miranda), gentle touching (on Mirandaās side) and her being naked and open to him. Another parallel is that both Flint and Rackham arenāt in the right frame of mind for sex, Flint being angry and Rackham lost in a sea of worries (and probably also somewhat angry/disappointed at Anne for forcing him into the plot to kill their crewmates). The difference between Flint and Rackham is that while Flint doesnāt seem to have any trouble performing, Rackham is miles away and doesnāt even notice that heās lost his erection - again. Anne is frustrated by this, and apparently knows him well enough that she offers to put something up his arse, but heās clearly not in the mood, and she leaves in a huff, abandoning him all tied up as a sort of revenge for his performance problems. Whatever the problem is between them isnāt put into words (because Anne canāt yet, for starters), unlike the one between Flint and Miranda. The intimacy between Rackham and Anne, so often described as close partners, seems much more distant to me than the one shown between Flint and Miranda. Iām not sure whether itās because of anyoneās sexual orientation, or just the fact that theyāre fucking but theyāve never discussed the big important things, such as Anneās identity/feelings/etc.
- In this episode, Dufresne gains a lot of power: with a freshly (and badly) shaved head and a new tattoo, heās been promoted to Quartermaster on the Walrus in Billyās place. And very quickly he has a problem to deal with: Randall revealing that Silver stole the page. Gates had actually already told this to Dufresne, as is revealed at the end of the episode, which might explain why Dufresne is relatively calm during the whole conversation, while DeGroot wants Silver and Flint hanged and Howell is surprisingly ruthless: he brings up the idea that it may be better to kill off Randall in order to get to the treasure, if they canāt make sure heāll keep quiet about Silver being the thief. Dufresne is actually quite kind towards Silver in the scene where he puts Silverās memory to the test - a test that could result in his death if he fails it and that Silver constantly grumbles against (I love his grumbling!). Basically, at this point Dufresne remains quite a sympathetic character, which will change a lot as the show goes on, especially after Jannes Eiselen had to leave the show (such a sad story, RIP Jannes).
- In the meantime, the Flint and Gates relationship is crumbling. It's sad to see, especially since they're shown sharing chuckles as they talk about Dufresne's appointment in the beginning of the episode. But then Gates brings up the subject of Miranda and demands explanations about the letter Billy found. We're not shown exactly what Flint answers, but it's clear that he's actually trying his best to give him an explanation without incriminating Miranda too badly. The sad thing is that Flint is actually telling the truth: he actually wasn't involved in any betrayal of his crew and and can only guess at Miranda's motivations. But the fact that he's lied time and again in previous situations, including on the Maria Aleyne where he claimed Lord Alfred drew a weapon on him (and Gates secretly verified that this was a lie), and used men as pawns to advance his and Miranda's plans, is now catching up to him. Flint seems truly hurt when Gates accuses him of using the men for his own purposes, and turns spiteful, telling Gates that he should have been "a better father" to Billy and helped him "understand the world he was living in" (suggesting that such a forthright character as Billy can't really survive in a world of pirates who are all ready to stab each other in the back). After that slap in the face, Gates says he's exhausted from Flint and threatens to take it to the crew. Somehow, this pushes Flint to bare all: he tells Gates about his plan to keep a part of the treasure and use it to build up Nassau, depicting himself as a sort of saviour, doing it for the men's good: they'd rather be rich men in a safe place than dead thieves hanging from a noose. Gates sees this as delusions of grandeur, and tells him that while he'll see the Urca plot through, after that they're done. I actually think he sees Flintās point, since he doesnāt just throw him to the crew, but wonāt admit that out loud. The whole of this scene hurts bad, because you can tell that Flint is desperate and sad to be losing his closest ally and friend, and that Gates is hurting from the loss of Billy and exhausted from the toxic relationship he has with Flint, where he's played enabler to his manipulations for years.
- While Flint and Gatesā alliance is breaking, Silver has to forge one with Randall or die. Randall finds out in the beginning of the episode that heās been voted out of the crew. This is apparently due to DeGrootās fears that Randall could be a fire hazard, which the crew took disproportionately to heart. Randall is furious with Silver, who smugly tells him that in these situations, a setback often comes with a new or unexpected opportunity. Heās right, but at this point he doesnāt know that he is the opportunity Randallās going to latch on. Randall reveals that Silver is a thief, and Silver denies it, saying that Randall is both a halfwit and was in a haze of opium when he heard what he thought he heard; he even tries to convince Randall that he was mistaken (this, my friends, is gaslighting). However, by revealing that Silver was the thief, Randall sets a chain of events into motion which could either end with his death (if Howell has his way, since Randall is an inconvenient witness) or Silverās (if DeGroot tips the balance, not trusting Silver to remember the coordinates and not wanting to sacrifice Randall for nothing). Silver figures out that these are the outcomes, and tries to talk sense into Randall by making a deal with him: heāll care for Randall and make sure he can stay on the ship. But itās only when Silver finally admits that he is the thief and that Randall was right, that Randall accepts the deal. Later, Silver realises that Randall might have orchestrated the whole thing: heās now got Silver to serve him, doesnāt have to take any risks on the ship, and gets to remain with the crew. Silver wonders if Randall is a genius rather than a halfwit (a word thrown about a lot to describe him). And it seems quite obvious, considering what happened, that Randall still has strong survival skills (an amputee with impaired cognitive skills doesnāt stand a chance of survival outside a crew and he must be aware of it), that he still has a good memory and an ability to pick out useful information and that heās aware enough of whatās going on to be upset by the crewās rejection and Silverās attempt to gaslight him. I think itās important to recognise that Randall is more than a comic relief or a grotesque character: heās a disabled man who's lost parts of his cognitive ability and is struggling to survive.
- This episode focuses on Vane facing his past. He seeks out the island where he grew up and its master, Albinus. Iād forgotten or never really registered that Albinus was a pirate and that the men who work for him were mostly his crew - and likely slaves (or children, hence Vane?) that he managed to capture/press into service. Heās retired from pirating and set up a system where his men cut down trees for timber all day, without wages. Itās not clear exactly how he holds so much power over these men, although it seems that everyone is terrified of him. Heās extremely strong physically, seems shrewd, speaks rather well, and his tattoos suggest that maybe heās involved in some kind of ritual (truly religious or just for show?) which would make him all the more scary to superstitious people. Vane is clearly still frightened: he barely makes eye contact and practically stutters when he first tries to make the deal with Albinus, which is that heāll take some of Albinusā men as crew and send Albinus part of their earnings as tribute. It says a lot about Albinus that Vane, after years of having run away, is still so scares that heās willing to pay him a tribute. But he changes his mind as he stares at a boy bearing the same brand as he does: he tries to persuade the men that Nassau is a pace of pleasures rather than hard labour, and confronts Albinus. The fight is brutal and ends with Vane buried naked, just after Albinus tells him that heās proud of him. But of course Vane wouldnāt be Vane if he didnāt rise from the dead at the last minute and kill Albinus, goaded on by his inner Eleanor voice.
- In the meantime, Mr Scott returns to Eleanor, apologising for what he did, telling her he betrayed her out of love. However he also reminds her of his slave status: technically, he belongs to her. The argument upsets her, and he quite cleverly uses this moment to ask her to free the slaves who were on the Andromache. And it works: by the end of the episode, sheās made arrangements for the men to work on ships and has bought the womenās freedom and found them jobs in her tavern. But Mr Scott has still decided to leave Eleanor to join Hornigoldās crew, to refrain from meddling with Eleanorās affairs, since he disagrees with her so strongly re: the Urca. Hornigold approached him earlier in the episode, and the introduction to that scene is quite interesting: Hornigold says to Mr Scott āIāll need to know your secretā and Mr Scott looks startled and frightened. It seems that heās startled because heād been giving food to the slaves, but in light of S3, it could be a much greater secret thatās being referred to. Mr Scott is relieved when he realises that Hornigold is simply talking about tolerating Eleanor, who he clearly canāt stand.
- Flintās bad day continues, of course, with the big confrontation he has with Miranda. Heās furious about the letter (of which he now knows the contents thanks to Gates), telling her that it could have got him killed, or destroyed the plans theyād made and asking her whether she was trying to embarrass him. This sounds so weirdly petty, and yet it also sounds exactly like the kind of argument that would come up in a bickering couple. Miranda answers that she was trying to help him out of that life, because she wants to move on. This is where Miranda utters the famousĀ āthere is no life here, there is no joy here, there is no love hereā. I noticed that, covered by Flint yelling at her, and distorted because her voice has gone very shrill, Miranda says another line, which sounds like āyou used to love, thenā. If that really is what she says, itās extra-extra-extra heartbreaking to hear (if someone wants to check it for me, itās around 35:40). Itās obvious that Flint and Mirandaās views on life are very different, and I canāt help but think back to the fact that, as a carpenterās son from the country, Flint has had to struggle all his life to become who he is. So when he says that you canāt get a life without having a war, and Miranda tells him heās wrong, sheās speaking entirely from the point of view of her privilege. Sheās never needed to fight as hard as he has to be happy, because she got extremely lucky in marrying Thomas. And when she says that Thomas would agree with her, Iām certain sheās right. But life has never been like that for Flint, and thereās no way heāll ever entirely agree with their point of view. Rewatching this scene is tough, btw, because they both have great points, theyāre both hurting so much, and thereās so much to take in between the body language, the facial expressions, the tones of voice and the actual words that itās a whole whirlwind. And it feels very, very real.
- Itās absolutely hilarious to see Rackham get robbed by the whores taking advantage of his lack of knowledge (and research). He should absolutely have done a better job and has no clue how to run a brothel. Heās lucky Max takes things in hand after having heard from Idelle that the girls were taking advantage.
- Then we have the beautiful Drunk Flint scene. Eleanor notices him feeling very sorry for himself after Gates has pretty much broken up with him and heās still reeling from fighting with by Miranda. I think Flint feels very misunderstood here. He thought that he was doing something good, to save Nassau and avenge Thomas, and doesnāt understand why they canāt see it, why they only see the terrible methods he uses to reach his goals. So heās full of doubt, clearly wondering if heās the villain of the story, and puts the question to Eleanor: is their plan worth it? Eleanor is the only person who still believes in him, which leads us to the only scene that I would ever call straight-baiting. Flint hovers near Eleanor, breathing heavily, and a variety of emotions play over her face during this moment of tension, as she seems to think this is leading to a kiss. It does, he gives her a chaste little forehead kiss and leaves. All the elements are in place to make your average viewer start shipping these two. I actually find it hilarious that the ship barely exists in the fandom (though I wasnāt there in the beginning of the fandom and I guess the viewership changed a lot between S1 and S4).
- The scene with Flint and Gates glaring at each other from their respective ships and Parsonās Farewell playing in the background... epic! We know this is the beginning of a big struggle between them, especially since we find out that Gates has pretty much decided that heāll hand Flint over to the crew once they get the money. But nnnnggh that scene! The ships leaving on their hunt! Awesome and heartbreaking!
