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Black Sails 1x03 Reaction

its past midnight for me so merry christmas to anyone who celebrates (ours is on the 7th) and happy holidays to everyone

Black Sails 1x03 Reaction

Comments

Girls, i don't understand why you made such a big deal out of this. I agree that the scene was unpleasant, and that was the point (to be unpleasant) but the show is not that. You already saw 3 episodes, and this unpleasant scene was like 2-3 minutes of a whole of approximately 150 minutes of show. This episode alone had some amazing moments that deserve a bit more focus than to mainly focus on that scene. By the way, the show actually picks up after episodes 4-5.

AlexBoss

Yes, I think exactly for that reason Eleanor is a complex and interesting character. I don't hate her, she is one of my favorites characters.

refo44

I get what Lola and Milena are saying - she’s certainly devastated in that moment - but I do tend to agree. One of Max’s strongest traits is her resilience I think.

cosmotron

All great points - Jack is wonderful, and while he isn’t my favorite that’s a lot more about how amazing all the characters are and not a slight against him. The more I’ve rewatched the show and the more I’ve read from Marcus Arelius, the more I realize just how intentional the writers were being by including it in the story. It’s not just because of the lines Miranda reads here - there is much more to it than that. And yeah, your points about Eleanor are true too. I’ve always been someone who loves Eleanor’s character, but I’m also not gonna defend the vast majority of her actions lol. She, like basically all the characters, is definitely not what I would call a good person. But I think she is still very interesting, and her choice at the end here highlights that.

cosmotron

I mean, if we have to have it as a plot point at all, I think we could have had more or less the same story points by Eleanor discovering Max is being held hostage after the first time we see her - she’s naked and battered and we can infer a lot of things about what was done to her without having to see it on screen. Then it would also tie more into Eleanor’s anger at Vane - he wasn’t as responsible for what happens on the beach as he is for Max being captured in the first place.

cosmotron

You said "I’ve seen plenty of shows or movies handle the subject matter worse, but I’ve also seen it done much better. ". In your point of view, how do you think it could've been better?

TeaDrinker3000

Damn, this kind of characterisation kind of inspires me to really analyse each episode as it comes. I could end up completely wrong in my theories, but it would still be a useful excercise.

TeaDrinker3000

@Cosmo Lm Reactions is truly for the gays and girls ^_^

TeaDrinker3000

🥹🥹🥹 that's so nice to hear, thank you!

TeaDrinker3000

just wanted to say i enjoy your reviews, its a cherry on top getting a bonus written reaction alongside LM's. ^_^

Ninaly

Well, I finally watched the reaction and also read all the comments so far. I just want to add a few things. "You're too clever for your own good, Jack." I think that's an excellent description of this character. I confess Rackham is one of my favorite characters. He and Silver are both mischievous scoundrels, and they're definitely always interesting, morally gray characters. We also see the strong loyalty Anne Bonny and Jack Rackham seem to have towards Vane. “I hear you say, 'How unlucky that this should happen to me.' But not at all. Perhaps say instead, 'How lucky I am that I am not broken by what has happened and I'm not afraid of what is about to happen.' For the same blow might have struck anyone, but not many who would have absorbed it without capitulation or complaint.” As Cosmo says, I also agree that this quote from Marcus Aurelius and similar ones are significant and insightful for the enrichment of the characters and the plot. That was a great quote and I think is meaningful. "Unless you decide right now to elect yourselves a new captain. Unless you decide to join the crew of Captain Flint" Regarding Eleanor, I think she's a really complex character with multiple layers. But I believe Lola is right in her interpretation of what Eleanor said. Yes, she is a horrible person. That 'unless' changes everything. It's right that she wanted to destroy Vane as a retribution for what happened to Max, but she also sees a way to take advantage of the situation for her own ambition and to favor Flint. However, this was already foreshadowed for this character; at the moment Max split up with her, we already knew she would be capable of something like that for her own ambitions.

refo44

imagine people 200 years from now 'adapting' to the atrocities of today... i don't think it needs to be done

JoJo

It’s interesting that they’re using the term “broken” for Max at the end. Cuz I don’t see her that way at all. The strength and resolve to know that she can survive repaying Vanes remaining crew, so she doesn’t have to rely on Eleanor for protection, is immense. “How lucky I am that I am not broken by what has happened.” I think she looked more “broken” last ep when Eleanor gave her up. By the end of this episode she looks resolved.

Wanda Did Nothing Wrong

My boy Randall! “We like him”

Wanda Did Nothing Wrong

Season 3 is my favorite so can’t wait for you to get there.

Melkor

There really are a lot of little details in every scene. Rewatching, even when it's your first time through, makes you notice more and more. It's funny you thought the show would be more YA and not as deep with it's characters or plot, because that depth is definitely what makes the show so good imo! Everyone on this show is so pretty, I am in constant bi panic. Can't say much about the predictions, but I'm happy to read them and really interested in seeing how your opinions shift as the show goes on. Hahaha I totally get the comparison between Jack and Prop Joe in that one scene, that's funny.

cosmotron

Another scene I want to highlight is the one between Miranda and Pastor Lambrick. He stops by to read scripture with her, and it’s clearly a common occurrence. But there’s a line that gives her pause, once she wants to further discuss: “This, the truest form of love, love through suffering.” She wants to know if the Pastor believes it’s true, and he insists that it is, and that it’s not a matter of belief. She protests by quoting scripture that talks about other kinds of love, and finished by saying that “true love shouldn’t require suffering.” Not that it doesn’t, or can’t, but that it shouldn’t. She’s questioning the idea that suffering is a requirement for true love in the first place. Between trying to engage the pastor in conversation and her desire to discuss Meditations, it’s clear she is very well educated and that discussing religion and philosophy is something she is quite practiced at. Further emphasized by the fact that Flint’s gift to her was a book - something very easy to come by today, but much much harder to get in this time period. Flint has been established as having a love of books as well, so it’s clear they have this in common. We obviously don’t know much about Miranda yet, but these are pieces of the puzzle all the same.

cosmotron

Yeah, while you don't need to be familiar with Treasure Island to enjoy it, knowing details about that book adds other layers to this story for sure.

cosmotron

In regards to “the scene” and the frankly graphic and sometimes violent sex in season 1, that for the most part disappears after the first season. I think the show erroneously tried to emulate the violence and sex as they thought that’s what made GoT popular at the time, which is obviously incorrect. Shock factor isn’t good writing, and I personally think the depiction of that scene in the show was unnecessarily overboard. Despite the huge misstep of the writers here, the second season onwards largely moves forward with those scenes in an intelligent manner. As a whole the writing in the show is massively upgraded after the first season, but that’s just my opinion

My Toasty Toast

Oh I love to hear that! Come talk about it in the discord group linked in another comment!

cosmotron

goddamn...

BNJ

I started this show bc of you guys & im already almost done with season 1 lol it’s so good

Amber

Happy holidays to everyone!

RubénMO

I feel like I’m gonna be cackling a lot when they get to season 2. They’re just gonna ask more questions and make up more theories about Flint and Miranda. Can’t wait 😂

Bushido Black

I didn't know this show was a prequel to Treasure Island. That's pretty cool.

BNJ

They really are! There are so many layers to all of the relationships, and most of them I can’t talk about at all yet! But I’m just as excited for them to learn more about Miranda and Flint. Some of the things they said in the discussion had me cackling, while others had me going “oh man, you have no idea”. Really can’t wait to be able to actually dive into all that.

cosmotron

I like how it comes off as Silver at first looking to turn more people against Flint, and then it’s made clear he is gaining information to help endear himself to people like Flint and Billy. I also haven’t mentioned Randall yet, but between Silver asking him for information and in the previous episode seeming to imply he might know Silver is a thief, it seems that there may be more to Randall than there appears to be. The information John gets doesn’t end up being anything Billy doesn’t already know (I love Billy pushing Silver’s hand off his shoulder, it’s so deliberate and funny). But he does say something I want to talk about. One of the men thinks that Flint is a zombie who sold his soul, and is controlled by a witch who lives in the center of the island. It’s a ridiculous story of course…but there is a woman who lives in the center of the island that is clearly connected to Flint. So despite the impossibility of the rest, there is something to it that is truthful. And that’s very interesting.

cosmotron

Okay so I just watched the girls react to 1x03. It's past 2am here so I haven't time to watch the actual review or read Cosmo's comments yet, I'm just gonna get down my general thoughts and then make a more detailed comment at a later time - So one thing that definitely comes to mind is the fact that I've to really pay attention to each scene as the show is a lot deeper with plot and characters than I thought it would be. As I mentioned before, I thought the show would be closer to a YA type of show, so I'm definitely going to go back over scenes once I watch an episode just to make sure I catch everything. - I found the introduction of Miranda to be quite interesting, I'm not sure what the show plans to do with her quite yet. I found the way they worked in quotes from Marcus Aurelius really well written. Also reminds me to relisten to that book, I listened to it on Audible years ago. - I think the episode did a great job establishing the conflict between Flint and Vane, and how it will ultimately affect everyone. I think it's a very strong start to the season and I really like how everyone is currently on civil terms with each other. They're able to all stay in the room together and discuss issues, even to Gates' chagrin at times lol. - Black Sails definitely follows The Wire for an attractive cast, goddamn! In seriousness though, the casting choices and even the costume design do a great job in establishing the characters. - Obviously I don't want anyone to confirm or deny this, but to me so far in the plot, there *has* to be some shape or form of 'El becoming captain' storyline, or at the very least climbing a particular rank that she wouldn't have done otherwise were it not for the events in the storyline. We've seen so much of her being able to stand her ground against the pirates, and her understanding of the politics between Zane and Flint, I don't know to me it just makes too much sense for her to *not* come into a position of power in an extreme way. And, of course, the scene of her talking with her father further enforces this. - The scene where Jack speaks to Gates around the 27 minute mark reminds me soooo much of Prop Joe, especially with the glasses hahaha - The scene with Max... I'm not sure if there's a huge amount I'll need to say about it necessarily now or later, I'd imagine we're prolly all on the same page that it's a rough scene to watch and prolly wouldn't be made today. However, I must say that from a storytelling point of view it felt wayyyy more organic than basically any other fantasy themed show I've seen that's portrayed this type of violence. All of the focus was on the emotional/story relevance and not the act itself, something which as always made GOT feel so gross, even during its golden era. Max then dismissing El during that scene and choosing to go with Zane was indicative of this, they treated Max as a human who was brutalised, and not a punching bag for the show. Again, we all could have done without seeing that depicted, but it was done a lot more tastefully than I was expecting. I wouldn't blame anyone at all for disagreeing with me as it is obviously a very sensitive subject matter, so I think I'll leave it at that. Like I said I haven't watched the girls' review yet so maybe they fucking hated it. I'll leave it there for now. I look forward to everything everyone has to say. This really seems like the type of show where it's worth putting the time into discussing, which I love.

TeaDrinker3000

Merry Christmas! I’m really excited for them to see more of Flint and Miranda’s relationship. Every single relationship (platonic and romantic) in this show is so complicated and that’s my favorite thing about the show.

Bushido Black

On a happier note, Lola and Milena speculating on the nature of Flint and Miranda’s relationship has me rubbing my hands together in glee. Tbq jung n ynlrerq eryngvba gurl unir. Fb zhpu fb vg ernyyl pna’g or qrfpevorq jvgu n fvatyr jbeq. Gur guvat gung oebxr gurz vf jung ubyqf gurz fb gvtugyl gbtrgure.

cosmotron

So, since I’m partway into the discussion, I wanna talk a little more about the show’s use of sexual assault. I agree with what you guys have been saying, and completely get feeling that way. I’ve mentioned more than once that this story choice is my biggest criticism of the show. Obviously you don’t want to be spoiled, but I feel comfortable saying this all the same. If someone wants to get irritated about spoilers, well, I think this is worth spoiling, and is your chance to stop reading. I’m not giving story details, this is ONLY about how the show deals with sexual assault going forward. This storyline involving Max is the only time there is anything like this in the show. Sometimes the subject of sexual assault is discussed or alluded to, but it is not like in Game of Thrones where all the female characters are constantly threatened with it. This plotline is the *only* one where it gets this kind of focus. I’ll get more specific in ROT13 about how long this plotline lasts, but that’s it. I hope it helps at least a little to hear this, because I totally get feeling bad about this story choice. ROT13 about how long this plotline is a part of the story: Jr unir vzcyvrq fghss unccravat jvgu Znk va gur arkg gjb rcvfbqrf ohg jr qba’g frr vg ba fperra. Gura vg raqf va rcvfbqr fvk. Naq gung’f gur ynfg gvzr gurer vf n cybgyvar vaibyivat encr ba gur fubj.

cosmotron

You too!!

TeaDrinker3000

Yeah, definitely agree about the show’s use of sex. I mentioned in my own comment but generally I think the show is a lot better about having the sex scenes have purpose? It’s not like the ‘sexposition’ scenes in GoT, and the show doesn’t have sexual assault be a constant threat/thing that happens to its female characters like in GoT.

cosmotron

Merry Christmas 🌲🌲❣️

Wallas

If you didn't see it above, we have a Discord link above if you want to discuss the show in detail with full spoilers. Or, if you want to discuss it here, you can always use Rot13 (google it if you're unaware of it!)

TeaDrinker3000

I've got Big Thoughts that I can't share because they're all spoilers in and of themselves, so I'll give this vague bit of commentary: You talked about the comparisons that people make between this show and "Game of Thrones". When I recommend "Black Sails" to other people, I often describe it as "It is what Game of Thrones THOUGHT it was." It takes until the end of this season/beginning of the next season for the change to really become evident on-screen, but the entire way they handle the nudity and sex scenes change behind-the-scenes. It loses the skeeviness that permeated this episode (And most of GoT) and allows what we DON'T see to tell a story.

JBK405

Merry Christmas!!

sakurabraus

Happy Holidays~

Tsunemori Kiriko

Suspicious, Isaac? Or are you thinking deeply, like your profile picture? 😅

TeaDrinker3000

Happy Holidays! 😊

Isaac

hmmmmmm

Isaac

never had a discord, i'll look into it later

sand_fl

Happy Holidays everyone!! Thankful to be part of a little community on here!

My Toasty Toast

Happy holidays to all ❤️ glad for another year around you all 😗

sand_fl

Miranda reads from Meditations by Marcus Arelius. For those unfamiliar, he ruled as Roman Emperor in AD 161-180, and the book is basically a collection of personal notes he wrote to himself, dictating his thoughts on stoic philosophy and self improvement. A lot of it talks about finding your place in the universe and how to be a better person, and what makes a good person at all. The lines Miranda is reading out at the end are of course from that book, and obviously are quite significant for the story and characters, making a point to linger on specific people for certain meanings. “I hear you say, 'How unlucky that this should happen to me.' But not at all. Perhaps say instead, 'How lucky I am that I am not broken by what has happened and I'm not afraid of what is about to happen.' For the same blow might have struck anyone, but not many who would have absorbed it without capitulation or complaint.” There are a lot of quotes from the book you may be familiar with, and many that apply to this show and its characters. I think Miranda is the perfect character to have introduced these things, and the mystery surrounding her and Flint really adds to it all.

cosmotron

Merry Christmas, Lizards! 🎄

Bryce

Please join us there! Looking forward to chatting with all of you. :)

cosmotron

So, obviously this is the last episode Milena had seen. And it’s the one with The Thing in it that contributed to her not continuing the series before. I’m going to talk about all of that, but there’s a lot that occurs in this episode, and I don’t want my comment to just be focused on that. So, I’ll get there in time. We open on a scene between Flint and the woman we saw at the end of the last episode: Miranda. We’ve only just learned her name and have barely begun seeing interactions between her and Flint, and yet their conversation feels…heavy? Like there’s something unspoken that is communicated between them outside of the words Flint is actually using. It’s immediately established that she knows what he does and is doing, and he confides in her about it like it’s a plan they’ve discussed many times. At the same time, her response indicates disappointment, though she denies as much and says she was just hoping to have Flint to herself, it’s pretty clear there’s more to it than that. What more? Well…I guess we will have to find out. When Scott goes to tell Eleanor that Max is gone…there’s really a whole lot you can read in these interactions - and how Eleanor responds to it. She seems to be genuinely surprised that Max left, that she “didn’t believe” Eleanor would protect her. Of course, as I said in a comment on the last episode, Eleanor’s promises of protection don’t mean much to Max and for good reason. You can’t promise to protect someone after it’s been made clear you’d let them get beaten for information. But there’s another layer here too. When Max begged Eleanor to leave with her, one of the things she said was this: “You’ve lost everyone you’ve loved and it terrifies you! But not me. I will never, ever leave you. I love you!” And she left. For good reason, and I don’t blame her at all, but I think…somehow, despite everything, Eleanor really thought Max would stay. And I think Eleanor knows, despite placing blame elsewhere, that Max left because of her. And so she’s lost yet another person she loves. The rest of this episode we see her very much trying to forget about this, in every way she can. Lashing out at Silver (“You’d better be worth it”). Focusing on business, hell even when she has sex with Vane later (and I’ll get to that), it’s still clearly weighing on her. It’s partly why she’s so determined to give Flint whatever he needs: now that she’s made this choice, it *has* to be worth it, or she’s betrayed Max for nothing. Silver continues to prove how smart he is by only showing a little of the schedule at a time, and gambles on the idea that he will be able to convince Flint not to kill him afterward. “That’s a few weeks from now…we might be friends by then.” That’s such a Silver thing to say. Even only knowing him for a few episodes that feels true. Oh, and of course (Treasure Island spoilers only, no Black Sails Spoilers here) Ybat Wbua Fvyire vf irel tbbq ng znxvat sevraqf. Znxvat crbcyr yvxr uvz qrfcvgr vg nyy. This next bit *does* contain spoilers for Blak Sails though. Vg gbbx zber guna n srj jrrxf, ohg tbq...guvaxvat bs gur eryngvbafuvc gurl sbez naq ubj trahvar naq erny vg srryf naq gura vg nyy snyyf ncneg...gung'f n ovt fgno va gur urneg. Svefg gvzr guebhtu V ynhturq ng guvf yvar. Abj vg whfg znxrf zr fnq. I like how Eleanor starts gentle and pleading in the conversation with her father, and then gives up on that quickly when it becomes clear he has no intention of listening. “Mother and I made you into the man you always insisted to them that you were.” Obviously Eleanor’s mom has been dead for a while, but this line strikes me. Seems like Eleanor and her mother had a lot in common. (BS Spoielrs) Ryrnabe'f tenaqzbgure va F4 vf cngreany bs pbhefr, ohg zbzragf yvxr guvf znxr zr guvax bs ure nyy gur fnzr. Gur 'uvqqra cbjre' gehyl va pbageby. Jnf Ryrnabe'f zbgure yvxr gung gbb? Oh, and here’s our introduction to Benjamin Hornigold, another real life pirate! I think I accidentally mentioned him among the real life pirates in the post for the first episode, but thankfully no one noticed lol. His words about why he and his crew became pirates are interesting: they wanted to restore who they thought was the rightful king. From another story’s point of view, that would be a heroic act, and yet they are pirates all the same. “No matter how many lies we tell ourselves, no matter how many stories we convince ourselves we’re part of…we’re all just thieves awaiting a noose.” Quite a line, and once again an emphasis is put on stories being told. The meeting between Vane, Jack, Flint, Gates, and Eleanor is immensely entertaining haha. “When I said we would need to keep our tempers in check in order to make this meeting happen, I should have specified we’d need to do so for *the duration* of the meeting as well. So, not to worry! Simple setback. Now we have clarity, and unity of vision. I feel good!” Then the little shoulder pat Gates does…oh that’s so funny. I love that bit. And when they have to go out again so Gates can yell at him! Comedy gold. On the other hand, Vane’s interactions during the meeting are so transparently all about trying to get senpai - I mean Eleanor - to notice him. It’s interesting to see the sort of personal push and pull: Eleanor rightly guesses that Vane wouldn’t have wanted to come and would need to be “bribed” but doesn’t realize that she’s essentially that bribe. Then Vane calling attention to the fact that he’s behaving himself, to how he doesn’t let go of her hand right away…all of it points toward his main emotional drive being all about her. I’ll talk about the sex scene between Eleanor and Vane here as well. I said to someone on discord that in my opinion most of the sex scenes in Black Sails serve a narrative purpose, and this one tells us a lot about Vane and Eleanor. Sex between them is like tug o’ war: both fighting each other for dominance. And at the end of it, when this was clearly just a physical thing for Eleanor, Vane makes it clear it means more to him. Contrast this with the sex we saw between Max and Eleanor in the first and second episodes: they were joyful and teasing and snuggled up in bed together. With Eleanor and Vane it’s a lot more about who has more power in the relationship, and that constant struggle is clearly one of the reasons they wouldn’t (and didn’t) work out. And…well…it’s time to talk a little about Max. You’re probably going to get comments about how what happens on the beach at the end isn’t Vane’s fault, and that is true. He had, at that point, let her go, and was having Jack escort her to a boat so she could leave. He had no idea she was still on the island, let alone that his men had her. But this moment, before all of that? This *is* Vane’s fault, and a whole lot of people who watch this show sure seem to forget about that. We don’t know exactly what was done to her, but a lot can be inferred by the state she’s in. Vane wasn’t there, didn’t participate…but he would not have been ignorant of the things his crew would do. It wouldn’t matter if his orders were simply to catch her: he knew what would happen. What state he would find her in. Did he feel bad for this? Did he empathize with her because of what happened with Eleanor? Perhaps, and him letting her go is certainly an unexpected choice from someone like him. But it doesn’t erase what has happened to her, and I would not blame Lola or Milena for holding on to that and never getting past it. I felt the same way when I first watched. Then there’s the scene on the beach. This story choice involving Max is probably my biggest criticism of the show. I think we could have gotten similar results from different things happening in the story. I’ve seen plenty of shows or movies handle the subject matter worse, but I’ve also seen it done much better. Like I’ve mentioned, I totally get Milena feeling upset and not wanting to continue watching, and I’m really happy she’s willing to give the show another chance. Ultimately, that’s about all I can say about that specific part. What I can speak more on, is what happens afterward. I’ve seen/read about people being confused by what Max says to Eleanor, and I can get that gut instinct, but honestly I think it makes sense. Max wouldn’t have expected anything else from the pirates. She knew that they would - at best - simply kill her. That’s why she wanted to leave, because she knew getting caught by that crew would result in horror and pain. But Eleanor? Eleanor was supposed to love her (and I think she does, for the record, but Eleanor is not very good at loving others). Eleanor betrayed her. Chose “sand” over Max’s love, and *would have let her get beaten* if she found it necessary. What the pirates have done is an expected cruelty. No less awful, but expected. What Eleanor did is a far more personal wound, and it does not surprise me at all that Max couldn’t stand her “protection”. At least if she works off her debt to Vane’s crew, she can then choose where to go from there. “We could have been free,” she tells Eleanor. And now they are both more trapped than ever. More to say (shocking I know) but this comment is long enough as is.

cosmotron

because we’re orthodox and we go by a different calendar thats like 2 weeks different, so christmas is celebrated on the 7th and new years is also technically on the 13/14th january but no one really celebrates it then

LM Reactions

Love it, honestly. The community we have is like a book-club for tv shows.

TeaDrinker3000

Merry Christmas mateys!

HenryM

Wait..why is yours the 7 lol? Anyways happy holiday everyone! Enjoy some wine people.. I know I will lol

Jack SV

Merry Christmas girls hope yall have a great 2024!!!

Berlin

Looking forward to the light reading 😁

Bryce

Happy Holidays to those who celebrate it! Like usual I’m sure I’ll post about fifty comments here before the day is out.

cosmotron

Hey guys, I'm after putting together a Discord for us regular Patrons to discuss the shows further. There's separate channels for discussing shows with full series spoilers, or for no spoilers past the latest episode reacted to. There's also a channel for recommending series and anything else to one another, something we haven't been able to do since Patron got rid of Member Posts/Community tab, as well as the spreadsheet detailing everything the girls have/haven't watched. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas! https://discord.gg/YsJNAxbz

TeaDrinker3000

Merry Xmas 🎄😁

Darrach


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