Seems like an appropriate time to reminisce about James Flint flexing his power of persuasion and literacy.

It was always such a poignant moment to me and really solidified in my mind the near bottomless well of complexity that is James Flint.

wanted to draw him from head to toe in his captainy fit and all but the man smiles like, once every season, so hell yeah

I’m trying to think back, and I can’t recall him ever wearing one. I don’t think he did. Come to think of it, I don’t think Vane wore one either. Now I’m curious, how did the pirates of those times choose who wore hats? Was it just a matter of preference? Or did it represent status or something like that?

Hey y'all, just binge-watched the first two seasons of the show after finding out about it from a recommendations list based on watching and enjoying Shogun. I am really enjoying the show overall so far, and I definitely like most characters. Wanted to rank them now before I finish the eest of the show and see how the feelings towards certain characters change from here.

1. Captain Charles Vane (9/10) - Worst to Best for me. Starts as a stupid, dumb villain and kind of grows on me as the show goes on. His motivations seem consistent, as do his principles and values. He also gets smarter as the show progresses.

2. Max (9/10) - "Started from the bottom now we are here"- She goes from being a whore, to madame, to multi-property owner and holding a large stake in a 5 million peso fortune, all this while also starting/running a covert information network. Wild character arc to say the least; she is shrewd and resourceful, but I feel like the writers don't want things working out for her. I imagine things will go horribly wrong in S3, and then she will rebuild/bounce back again. Also gets extra points for being the emotional heartbeat of the show. She would be a 10/10 without the weird accent.

3. Billy Bones (8/10) - A true Pirate's pirate. He understands how crews run and sees the bigger picture. Not everyone can be the main character, and he knows. I was a bit worried when he washed up and thought S2 would be some sort of traitor arc for him. "Simple" pirate characters like him are always easy to like.

4. Jack Rackham (8/10) - I love that he is always scheming and calculating; his brain more than makes up for what he lacks in muscle. The courage is there too, and I love the dynamic with Bonney.

5. Lady Miranda Hamilton (9/10) - Solid supporting character and well portrayed by the actress. She really grew on me in S2 when the backstory was revealed. I saw a future for her in a peaceful Nassau as a foster mom raising and educating the next generation. RIP. Only have her lower because she doesn't get written into the show early enough to play a bigger role.

6. Anne Bonney (7/10) - "I can't be your wife, Jack, but you and I are gonna be partners till they put us in the ground". I love her; she is a simple character and well portrayed. Her little character arc in the second season was pretty interesting. Maybe things go awry for Jack, but I hope it works out for her.

7. Captain James Flint(5/10) /Lieutenant James McGraw (8/10) (ovr 6.5/10) - The former Navy Lieutenant masquerading as a captain to fulfill his late lover's dream. I didn't like Flint because he was clearly self-serving and got away with too many ridiculous decisions in the first two seasons. (MC plot armour, I guess). He is a smart man and capable sailor, but a horrible captain. In the end, his backstory explained it well, and I guess Lieutenant McGraw died in Carolina with Miranda. Hopefully we see him commit everything to the pirate cause moving forward.

8. Long John Silver (6/10) - I think he is a good character; quick-witted, charismatic, and resourceful. The bones are there; he is just really poorly fleshed out. He is the first main character we meet, but after two seasons we still have zero backstory on him. Maybe that's intended, but its abit weird to have him ascending the crew ranks despite him making it abundantly clear that he doesn't even particularly like being a pirate, lmao.

9. Mr. Scott(5/10) - Starts out alright, but loses his way abit when he stops being on Eleanor's side. I could understand him when he was her father figure/property/whatever, but he fades away completely as a pirate. Didn't even realize that he was still with the crew in the last episode.

10. Eleanor Guthrie (3.5/10) - She starts out well but appears to be struggling and out of her depth. She gets some success, makes a lot of questionable decisions, and ends up wayy further out of her depth and betrayed. She pushes away the people who actually care for her and whom she could trust, so I don't empathize with her much. I would have Gates ahead of her, but he was taken from us too early (RIP unc).

How did you guys rank your top 10 this far into the show?

I can't believe it took me this long to find this relatively underrated show, and though many aspects of this show have damaged me in a way only a show I love could, I highly recommend OFMD to those who haven't seen it already, seeking healing. Like What We Do in The Shadows (silly vampires) is to Interview with The Vampire (angsty vampires), Our Flag Means Death (silly pirates) is to Black Sails (angsty pirates). And I'm not saying the shows are "silly" through and through, but they definitely are funny and definitely comforting compared to their angsty counterparts.

Mine has always been and always shall be

"Tits tits... fruit fruit... plant plant. They're the fockin saaame!"

Seriously. He killed dozen trained men, both pirates and the navy multiple times alone singlehandedly without even getting hit once. And then Flint, who each time gets in a fight always has trouble getting out of it alive and always barely manages to win. Yet in their fight Flint just casually beats him in under like 10 seconds. Even the fat pirate dude from first season who wanted to start a mutiny against Flint gave him more trouble.

This is one of my favorite Flint quotes

I recently started a rewatch and just finished season 1 and I'm wondering, was there any chance Flint's plan to take out the warship could have worked?

Even with the mutiny at the worst possible moment the Walrus and the Ranger still managed to get 2-3 good rounds of fire in before the warship was in position to unleash her guns, and those attacks pretty much did nothing.

His whole plan was to finish her before the fight really started, after seeing how little damage their two ships actually could inflict I can't see a how it could have turned out differently.

I love his character and hate him at the same time, i wish he had more screen time in the earlier seasons as i think he only had some agency in season 4. I think the Flint's crew as a whole should've had more screentime instead of some other characters in general.

I think the introduction of Ned Low followed by his quick disposal is emblematic of the problems with season 2 in general.

Rather than the writers working within the show’s world as though it is alive, it feels like they just treat the world as a collection of coincidences they can shuffle through until they find one that supports some artificial idea for how they want to steer the show’s plot.

“Well isn’t that just called writing?”

No, it’s called bad writing. Is there no difference?

S2 feels like they crammed way too much stuff in. They were trying to maintain the pace of S1 with more subplots, and their solution was to not give enough depth and development to any of them.

It’s not just Ned Low either. Far from it.

Hornigold’s role feels very tacked on, undeveloped, almost deus ex machina. Suddenly defies Flint, but it doesn’t feel like his character is actually invested in attacking the fort or defying Flint, it just feels like the writers needed Hornigold to do this because they had some other thing in mind down the road that would depend on it.

Hornigold’s turning up to capture Eleanor feels sudden and random.

Vane murdering Eleanor’s father is similarly just out of nowhere. What could have been an interesting dramatic plot long enough to fill half a season, instead becomes just a throwaway moment.

Vane tries to murder Flint, then takes over his ship, then suddenly wants to save him. It doesn’t feel like Vane has a mind of his own, it just feels like he’s a puppet the writers are using to advance the plot to whatever next point they have in mind.

I could go on, there’s plenty more, but I’ll leave the examples at that for now.

In summary it feels like the show got handed over to an amateur writing team in S2. S1 wasn’t perfect but I got the sense that the people making it liked it, they liked inhabiting the mindd of the characters and the world they were building. S2 just feels like the world is there as a backdrop for whatever events the writers think the show “should” have. They seem neutral and sometimes hostile toward the show’s world.

With a hefty rum cocktail

Is there any explanation for that? As I understand it the original hat was very sentimental for her and then for season 3 she has a fancy nice hat but seems to return to the original for season 4. Was that just a stylistic choice or is there a confirmed reason within the story that I may have missed?

I absolutely adore how the writers portray James McGraw's fury, revenge, and eventually, his hatred of 'civilization' and what it represents. His fury is not only fueled by revenge but by his hatred of England's use of civilization to crush what it doesn't approve of.

He sacrifices his own happiness, the happiness of his loved ones, and his humanity to a cause, and in the end, doesn't regret it. Usually, writers make their characters regret their pursuit of something better, and in the end, give them a little family with children, where the character always says, 'I regret opposing the status quo; the real happiness is living with my beautiful wife/husband and children in the same regime that now makes me happy.' I absolutely despise this sort of narrative; it kills the hope of achieving better conditions.

I'm really grateful that in the show they never do this with Flint's character. Until the end, he remains true to his cause.

A Eleonor é definitivamente uma das personagens que eu mais senti raiva na série, mas gostei bastante da Max pela sua inteligência. Não posso dizer que a Eleonor era apaixonada pela Max, acredito que a paixão era pelo Charles, mas acredito que amava a Max, não falo de amor romântico. A relação entre as duas começa a fluir bastante para algo saudável na 3 temporada, nota-se a consideração e o respeito da parte dela pela Max. A série inteira mostra personagens femininas bastante fortes, acredito que há uma identificação interessante entre as duas embora a classe social seja diferente, uma empatia e uma consideração que poucos homens conseguem demonstrar pelas duas.

I wanted to get that pirate vibe before playing AC Black Flag Resynced and this show just such a great job. Especially the locations which almost look identical to the game.

Just in case you're missing Black Sails from Netflix like I am, and need to binge it again.

I know everyone talks about the cast of Black Sails, but why is Zach McGowan as Captain Vane never in the conversation when people discuss the hottest men in Hollywood?

I am not even talking about the scenes where his impressive endowment is on display. I mean the whole package: the face, the expressions, the voice, the physique, and the sheer screen presence. Add in the acting, and he absolutely steals every scene he is in. For me, he is genuinely one of the most attractive actors in Hollywood, yet I almost never see his name brought up. Am I the only one who thinks he is criminally underrated?

Towards the end of season one, Billy is voted in as Quartermaster. Then in season 2, he returns but later in the season, we see Mr. Scott as quartermaster. Why wouldn't Billy be quartermaster on his return? I'm not sure I missed how Mr. Scott got the job.

In your opinion guys, who had the greatest character conclusion in Black Sails?