Holy Ship! Retrospective: Black Sails – “V.”

Season 1, Episode 5

Airdate: Saturday, February 22, 2014, 9/8c on Starz.

Rating: ★★★★★

[warning]Warning: If you haven’t finished or seen this episode, there are spoilers ahead. [/warning]

“We all have our parts to play.” — Captain Flint

In the latest episode of the STARZ series Black Sails, pirate problems and sea battles abound in “V.” Recent episodes have been slow, and it appeared the show was losing some of its steam as the characters spent more time on land than on sea. Thank goodness that’s not the case anymore as “V.” quickly makes up for lost time, giving viewers all the bloodshed and battles promised since the very beginning! “V.” is simply a fulfilling episode that pulls out all the stops. There hasn’t been this much action and intensity since locating the lost page of the Urca de Lima‘s schedule. It most certainly is one of the best episodes of Black Sails so far. We find Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his crew on the Walrus going head to head with the slave ship Andromache to steal its guns! Meanwhile, in New Providence, all is not well as Eleanor (Hannah New) must deal with some serious fallout from her hotheaded decisions.

Live And Let Die, Sort Of.

Captain Flint and Billy Bones

As soon as the main credits fade, we’re taken to the Walrus where Flint and his newly appointed quartermaster, Billy Bones (Tom Hopper), are on the deck surveying the sea. Between the ocean backdrop and beautiful cinematography, this scene plays out like the calm before the storm. In a few hours, their fate will be sealed and, of course, this gives way for them to put whatever issues they have on the table. Flint wastes no time in confronting Billy, “You don’t trust me, do you?” Funny hearing those words coming from his mouth considering all Billy has heard from Flint are lies upon lies. Flint is a master manipulator and even though we see his motives, they are not often so clear cut.

Billy: “Men died yesterday, careening our ship faster than it was safe. Men are going to die today attacking that merchant ship out there, and they’re going to die not knowing it was all based on a lie.”

Flint has no problem finding an excuse or re-directing the issue away from himself. Even when Billy asks him about Mrs. Barlow (Louise Barnes), he doesn’t reveal anything the audience doesn’t already know about her. So, she’s his lover but that doesn’t seem to change Billy’s mind, as we find out later.

One of the great elements of “V.” is how episode writer, Doris Egan, scripted the action sequences to bring to the surface new ways of seeing the characters. The best example of this is with the nerderific accountant, Duefresne (Jannes Eiselen). We’ve seen very little of Duefresne but who would have thought he’d have such a revealing role in “V.”? Due to the grave nature of the impending battle between the Walrus and Captain Bryson’s (Langley Kirkwood) Andromache, all men, including those who are not sailors, must fight. This not only allows Billy to step up to the plate as a leader, which Hopper does with a stellar job this week, it gives us a chance to see the clear and present danger of life on board the ship through the eyes of someone least fitted to be a pirate. The fear, the reaction, and the ultimate carnage that unravels at the hands of Duefresne makes you wonder if you’d be as adept as he.

There are extremely violent action sequences when the two ships battle in what looks like the showdown of all showdowns. Marc Munden’s direction pushes many of the scenes to another level for Black Sails in “V.”; they are as epic as any scene from a major motion picture. Everything, from the way we see Duefresne fight against the Andromache’s crew in a first person POV to the disturbing moment when he goes into complete beast mode, is done with brutality. The shaky camera view as the men from the Walrus jump on board the Andromache is an adrenalin rush. At no point do you feel like any of the characters we care about are safe. Hell, when Billy didn’t pop up after a few minutes, it made me wonder if he would leave unscathed from the fight. But, as the real battle erupts on sea, a whole other battle is stirring up on land in New Providence Island.

Who’s The Boss?

Eleanor Guthrie

Oh the Guthries, New Providence’s most dysfunctional family. In “IV.,” we saw both Richard (Sean Cameron Michael) and Miranda (Mrs. Barlow) make some sort of pact. Now, it was unclear as to whether Richard was going to run off without a word. We learn this week that isn’t the case at all. Nope, Richard decides to leave town in style, announcing to the entire island he is essentially a wanted man. All the money and goods are now the responsibility of his daughter, Eleanor. Seriously, talk about twisted; he’s leaving his daughter’s fate at the mercy of the pirates. Who knows what went down in their past but Daddy Guthrie is either one of the most despicable characters on Black Sails or mentally unsound.

Eleanor decides to take charge and figure things out. It’s absurd, really, for her to think she can manage this on her own. She does the smart thing of getting what little loyalties she has left to her defense. After proposing an aggressive plan, it turns out she will have to compromise to get what she wants in order to survive.

In one of the more interesting moments, John Silver (Luke Arnold) gives her the soundest advice, which is to let go of her guilt concerning Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy). He tells her she needs to let go of her pride and lift the ban on Vane (Zach McGowan) or she won’t have the other captains’ support. At this point, I find it shocking that Eleanor takes pause at this scenario. Does she not get that they’re going to kill her at some point? I guess she’ll learn the hard way.

Vane returns with his rowdy crew — Anne Bonny (Clara Paget) and Rackham (Toby Schmitz). In a desperate attempt to make some kind of living, they decide to buy out the Inn (aka the brothel) after the death of its owner, Noonan (Tony Caprari). Vane is still reeling from his faux Eleanor vision in “IV.” and it’s clear he’s on a mission to prove he’s got what it takes to be the best. When Rackham orders one of the prostitutes to clean him up, the slightly hungover looking Vane reflects on his feelings about Eleanor’s current plight.

Vane: “Truth is not one of us have any right to hate her. She’s strong, and we’re weak. That’s the reality of things here, and no one down there is strong enough to change anything. ”

Even though he doesn’t show up much, it’s great to see Vane’s character being built up bit by bit. The continuity with his storyline isn’t played out heavy handed for the viewers. Instead, we see he’s on this upward trajectory from rash captain to a more methodical and daring pirate. McGowan does a great job of portraying Vane by adding little nuances from sideway glares to his tone of voice. As Black Sails progresses, Vane appears to be is no different than Flint or Eleanor, which says a lot about the series.

Final Thoughts

“V.” remedies many of the problems with Black Sails’ plot points, which pays off in the end. The storylines are well balanced, which steadies the tone and pace of the episode. Of course, there are still flaws like character development (or, as I like to say, Black Sails’ lady problems). The circumstance with how slowly Max and Anne Bonny have moved, at a snail’s pace actually, is such a shame since they both had such important roles in the beginning. But that’s forgivable since the majority of “V.” remains steady and clear in its direction, making sure all the game changing moments hit their marks.

Everything contained within “V.” highlights Black Sails’ strengths, bringing it to the forefront. This is the first episode where the ending actually made me say, “NO!” because that’s how much it winds you up for the big finale. Make no mistake, the battles on the sea are what steal the show this time around; the drama on the homefront parallels the same kind of chaos at sea. At this rate, Black Sails will definitely have a season finale you won’t want to miss!

What did you think of this week’s episode, “V?” What did you think of the sea battles? And do you think Richard Guthrie really has Eleanor’s welfare at heart? Leave me a comment below or tweet me @conallen.

Tune in to Black Sails on Saturdays at 9/8c, only on STARZ.

Follow the series on its official sites: http://www.starz.com/originals/blacksails/ and http://www.pirates-wanted.com/ where you can also watch videos and clips of the episodes.

Follow Black Sails on its official twitter: @BlkSails_Starz and don’t forget the cast and crew:

@BlkSailsCreatrs,@mfernandezLA, @ScrambledLuke (Luke Arnold/John Silver), @ClaraPaget (Clara Paget/Anne Bonny), @markryan243 (Mark Ryan/Gates), @hannahnewuk (Hannah New/Eleanor Guthrie), @JParkerK (Jessica P Kenned/Max), @Zach_McGowan (Zach McGowan/Captain Vane), @fallofasparrow (Toby Schmitz/Rackham), @seancmichael (Sean Cameron Michael/Richard Guthrie), @Tomhopperhops (Tom Hopper/Billy Bones), and @hakeemkaekazim (Hakeem Kae-Kazim/Mr. Scott).