Calamity and grief, that’s what was served up last night in old Nassau town on Black Sails.
Let’s just rip the bandage off, shall we? Eleanor Guthrie met the same fate as her own mother, killed at the hands of a Spanish soldier in an invasion engineered by her loving husband, Woodes Rogers.
But before this tragic event, we opened the episode with a powerful visual. The dramatic scene of slaves breaking the shackles and freeing other slaves.
It is poignant to note this because the end of the episode sees a silver lining in all this death and heartache, and it is from the slaves who were able to escape in the New World and all the islands surrounding New Providence that heard of the resistance and came to join their brothers. This was as powerful an ending as the beginning to this series which was a turning point for fans in so many ways.
In the beginning of it, Silver talks to Madi’s mother as Bones, who survived a near death execution from Israel Hands from last week’s surprise, is now at the mercy of the African slaves who have united under Julius. It’s not pretty what happens to Bones,
In what seems initially as a pointless conversation, Silver needs to know his vendetta against Flint is over and gives Bones an ultimatum: “You made a terrible mistake and you paid a terrible price. But we’re at war and you are an asset, and despite what’s gone on you are my friend.”
Bones is bloodied, defeated and resolute at the same time, as he says: “You chose. Live with it.” That scene ends with slave rebellion leader Julius arriving en masse.
Back at the beach, Eleanor and Madi observe Flint talking to a furious Jack Rackham. He wants no part in giving up his squirreled away Urqa gold.
As the show progresses, Madi’s mixed emotions show as she recalls and remembers Eleanor as a child, and how her mother the Maroon Queen and father, Mr. Scott really trusted no white people. She tells Eleanor how Scott lied to her about them being dead, as he secretly secured his wife and Madi passage to the escaped slave community on the Maroon Island.
This conversation does not sit well with Eleanor who storms out and goes to confronts Rackham. Off she goes with Flint under the gun.
As all of this personal high drama is going on, Nassau is completely under siege from the armada of Spanish ships sailing in with Woodes Rogers. Meanwhile, observing this frightening site, Max heads out to the beach where Rackham is, as she worries about Eleanor’s whereabouts.
As Max mays her way on horseback, the ships fire upon Nassau. Max meets up with Rackham, who is not so happy to see her. She gives him the immediate bad news. Rackham orders the men back to the ship and asks Max only once to join them as they flee the Spanish invasion.
Back with our two tacticians, Eleanor and Flint have a philosophical new world versus old world discussion as they spy the Spanish soldiers coming in from the bay and seek cover.
Now our Silver is still trying his best to convince Julius to partner up to fight for control of the new world. Blessed equally with a scowl and a poker face countenance, Julius argues with Silver over Pirate loyalty.
Then the news of the Spaniards breaks this meeting up as it sends Silver scrambling. He tries one more time with Julius, who walks away and we do not know what his intentions will be.
The Spanish soldiers are plundering and burning Nassau. Rogers is furious his remaining soldiers have let Eleanor escape. Now the Spanish are going back on their promise to protect her and anything Rogers holds dear.
Safely out to sea, Rackham devises a plan. Max goes inside to see Anne Bonny, barely recovering from her near death encounter with the British soldiers.
Max does not apologize for her actions. Anne demands she leaves. “Get the f*** out,” Bonny hisses.
Ever the intellect of the pirate group, Flint puts it together that Woodes Rogers was the reason the Spanish sacked Nassau, despite Eleanor’s protestations.
He tries to enact a plan, is freed from his handcuffs, and spies a Spanish scout party. Flint’s men open fires and a battle ensues. Three survive and Flint and company know they have to split and fast with Madi and Eleanor in tow.
Ensconced in an empty house, Eleanor and Madi await inside. They finish their conversation about their childhood and the secrets held from Eleanor. Lots of regret in this scene as together they build a fire.
Meanwhile out in the field, a presumed dead Spaniard is stirring.
Back with Silver, they are preparing for battle as Bones is freed. Silver hears the thunder of Spaniards on horses from the rear. Hands calls for retreat.
In the abandoned house, Madi and Eleanor are under attack from this rogue soldier. They are both locked in a fight to the death. We see Madi is struck and unconscious as Eleanor is mortally wounded yet she fights back and after dousing him with kerosene, she managed to burn him alive with a lit piece of wood.
Back to Silver. He knows he’s outnumbered and outgunned. Enter Julius to the rescue with all the freed slaves as that break allows Silver and his men to escape in the nick of time.
But sadness and tragedy await Flint who finds Eleanor outside of the house nearly dead. How she got there is a mystery. She tells him she tried to save Madi, but in this scene, Eleanor passes away in Flint’s arms after he tells her Woodes was not with the Spanish.
In a meeting to strategize all these moving parts, Flint finds Silver and shares the news of Madi and Eleanor’s deaths. Silver is bereft. ‘It’s over.” Flint steps in to save the pirates left.
Jack Rackham and his crew are out at sea still. Max is inconsolable. She says: “How could so many of us sacrificed so much with nothing to show for it?”
Rackham spots Flint and his men on the beach and wonders what horrors happened on Nassau.
We wrap up the episode with Woodes finding a dead Eleanor and he is overcome with grief.
Max reads the riot act to Rackham. “You cannot fight civilization from the outside in, and your plan is now to follow that man [Flint] now into more of the same?”
Max demands of Rackham: “Do you want to help me or not?… When Flint heads south we head north.”
“What’s north? says Rackham
Cue the portentous cliffhanger of the episode as Max says: “Eleanor Guthrie’s grandfather.”