I’m a little late to the party, but I’m so glad that I finally watched Black Sails. For anyone who hasn’t yet watched it let me tell you about it. I recently binge watched the first two seasons in less than a week (I think I’m okay) and I am in love with this show.

Black Sails is a Starz original series. It is about infamous pirates from in history and is a sort of prequel to the book Treasure Island. Treasure Island is about a boy named Jim who after meeting the pirate Billy Bones ends up on an adventure to find Captain Flint’s treasure. He ends up on a ship with John Silver and finds out how pirates really are. It’s a good read if you don’t mind the older style of English used. Black Sails takes place about twenty or so years before the book so we are getting background on what made those pirates what they are in Treasure Island.

Before I get more into the show (minimum amount of spoilers ahead) I have to give major credit to the opening. It is seriously one of the best ones I have ever seen. I love the intricate art that was digitally made and music being played. Dark, sensual and haunting, it perfectly sets you up for a new pirate adventure. It was composed by Bear McCreary who you might recognize has made other hit show intro scores such as The Walking Dead, Outlander and Battlestar Galactica. Watch the Black Sails one below:

The show is mature, as in it doesn’t shy away from violence, sex or anything else. While I was squeamish through many of the scenes where men are assaulting women, especially in season one, I’m happy to tell you the show steps away from that plot device. The regular violence itself hasn’t bothered me. It is bloody and doesn’t turn the camera away or magically make it less bloody, but it also doesn’t make it gory for gore’s sake. I really appreciate that as many shows now try to make things more violent than necessary and it completely takes me out of the story to be grossed out. Black Sails doesn’t make that mistake.

I also really like that the show isn’t shying away from characters sexualities. While there is an eye roll amount of lesbian scenes, the scenes actually mean something. It isn’t just girls kissing for the scandal of it but because that is what those characters want to do. As for the men, there are actual full nude scenes of them. I was very surprised as most shows will never show the men even if the women are always fair game (side eyeing you Game of Thrones). While there is still a definite imbalance of female to male ratio, the fact that there is some puts Black Sails ahead of many of its competitors. It also doesn’t hurt to see all those beautiful men shirtless or naked. What? Don’t judge me.

I was also nervous about the introduction of the whore house. There is no better way to put that, the show itself speaks of it that way as well. Being a big part of the show there is lots of screen time for naked women, but I love that the show took something that would make a lot of people sigh and turn the channel because seriously who needs to see more of that? And turned it into the backbone of the show. All the characters end up there and most not even for a fun time. The brothel is the place where information is to be found, where it is sold and where it is stolen. Information is power and the whore house is probably the most powerful place in all of Nassau. Looking down on those women and their profession, or discarding them because they’re ‘just whores’ would be the stupidest of stupid things to do in this show.

I won’t get into every plot detail, because that would take ages to go over two season’s worth and this show has a lot of plot. I like that they are so rapid fire when it comes to what’s going on with the characters. I would go as far to say that the plot is more character driven than anything else. When one of them changes their mind the entire plot can go a different course and all the other characters have to shift and figure out what to do as well. It makes for a very entertaining watch.

One of the main characters that we see the most out of is James Flint (Toby Stephens). He is the captain of the Walrus and one of the most feared captains in not only Nassau (where the show is generally centrally located) but also the world. As the episodes go on we find out that Flint is determined to see his plans through, no matter the cost to anyone else. He wants to legitimize Nassau and with the help of his lover Miranda Barlow make it a better place. We find out about why Flint wants to do this through flashbacks of his past and where he and Miranda came from. Flint has a problem of not communicating what he wants to other very well. In fact he is more than happy to keep others in the dark completely so he can do what he wants when he needs to do it. This wouldn’t be so bad if people didn’t continually die around him.

Some of his crew start to catch on to this. The first mate Gates actually already knows and covers matters up when they need to be, but has a change of heart later on. Then there is Dufresne who will go to any length to expose and punish Flint even if it means also betraying the crew. Billy Bones (played by Tom Hopper) who quickly becomes one of the main cast members is the heart of the crew. He is forced to learn about seeing the big picture rather than focusing on what is right in front of him (a very un-pirate thing to do) and fights to keep his crew together. Billy is also one of the few characters where we learn some of his backstory. I am hoping it delves into his personal life and past more in future episodes.

Flint isn’t the only pirate captain around Nassau. There is also Captain Charles Vane (played by Zach McGowan), a volatile and dangerous man. I spent the vast majority of time watching Black Sails and cursing at Vane to stop messing everything up. Every time I thought I had him pinned as a bad guy though, he would up and change allegiances. It is a constant back and forth with him and I believe that Nassau’s fate will fall a lot on his shoulders and how he decides to deal with things.

There are also a couple more important pirates, Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny. Originally part of Vane’s crew they strike out on their own and find infamy, money and even more trouble. Played by Toby Schmitz and Clara Paget the duo sticks together through thick and thin and become more and more important as the story progresses.

Two very important women to the show are not pirates at all, or at least not in a literal sense. First there is Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New). She runs Nassau after her father, the former governor, left her there as a child with only Mr. Scott to help raise her. Together the two run the island with an iron fist. While Mr. Scott is more steady and Eleanor is quick; quick to anger, quick to lash out, quick to change her mind. Sometimes this serves her well as being flexible is necessary to run the ever changing Nassau. Much of the time this gets her into trouble too as she often has to betray someone to do what she thinks needs doing. Eleanor is very ambitious and determined to make Nassau her legacy. In this sense her and Captain Flint run on the same wavelength and have a strong allegiance to each other. She also is close to Captain Vane. A former lover they become even more erratic when together.

There is also Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy). A former whore turned boss lady she is a force to be reckoned with now. While Eleanor tries her hardest to be tough like the men, Max takes a very different approach. We don’t know anything about her past, but you can tell that then as well as through the show that most people have been cruel to her. Instead of being cruel right back at the world, which most people would do, Max uses kindness. She is tough when need be, but that is rare. Using her empathy instead she gains many characters trust and she doesn’t use that trust against them. Max is also very clever and shrewd. She uses her intelligence to find out the best information and ferrets it out for the best price or for her own gain.

The last character to make up this show and maybe one of the most important is John Silver (Luke Arnold). He starts out a straggler who is only into saving his own neck and getting as much money as possible. John is very charismatic and has a definite ‘silver’ tongue. Able to turn almost any situation into his advantage he quickly integrates himself with the others and is able to turn situations to best suit his own needs. Are those sometimes the best thing that needs to happen? Absolutely not. Sometimes John makes the worst decisions for others because it simply is better for him. As the show goes on you see John starting to war within himself as he starts to connect with others and finds himself thinking about their value too.

All these characters (and more, those are just the main ones) are interacting with their own narratives slamming into one another. While this is going on you also have England and other countries threatening all of Nassau and the pirates’ way of life. I love how the plots keep piling on each other and it’s an absolute roller coaster trying to figure out how everything is going to turn out. I found myself a few times actually surprised by what happened and I can tell you that is rare. I can usually suss out what will probably happen, but this show was able to surprise me time and again. The third season has recently started and I am definitely going to be watching it every week and writing a review.

Have you watched Black Sails? What do you think about it? Tell me below in the comments or go over to my twitter @quietlikeastorm. Make sure to subscribe here and follow us on twitter @thenerdygirlexp to never miss another article about Black Sails or any of your other favorite shows, movies, books, music and more!

– Erica