The latest Black Sails episode was a touch shorter than the others, but it packed in so much action, drama, character and plot development that you would never think it was shorter. Warning for spoilers ahead.

We start off where we left off with Flint, Vane and Anne planning Jack and the gold’s escape. They are now in Miranda’s old home and it’s sad to see all her stuff still sitting out like she’s just out for the day. Vane talks about how he could never settle down and Flint can’t understand that. It is one of the things that make these two men fundamentally different; although they grew up differently too. Vane always wanted to escape while Flint wanted to be accepted. Vane vows that if he ever even has the temptation, he will fight it. I feel like this may be important later on.

Flint also tries to get Anne to see that they are all in this together, but as far as I can see Anne doesn’t give a flip about this war. She just wants Jack alive and back with her. I had so many Jack and Anne feels this episode.

They learn that there are several possible routes that Rogers will take Jack and the gold to deliver to Spain. They have to choose the right one or all will be lost. Then they hear word from ‘Featherstones man’ and they know which way to go. His man isn’t revealed yet and I’m really curious to see who it might be.

We later know that Max too knew the route from a boy that worked for her and told her. She says he told no one else, but that doesn’t mean a certain man wasn’t listening in. Max not only defers that the English strategy wasn’t as nearly clever as they had thought, but she also figures out that everything with Anne is off and that there is a plot afoot. Not that the English listen to that either. What’s more Max also realizes that they have a spy within their midst. Seriously what would Eleanor and Rogers do without Max?

We see a lot of the sort of buddies Eleanor and Max this episode and I’m kind of digging it. Those two women working together will be a force to be reckoned with and I don’t think Rogers realizes just how entangled their past is and how they may be much more loyal to each other than he previously thought.

Meanwhile the rest of Flint’s crew and Madi and her bunch are all on the Walrus and waiting for Flint and the others to return. They have their own drama as one of the crew members beats up one of Madi’s crew because he was the one who picked who was to be tortured and killed while they were captives on the island. If word gets out her crew will riot and their partnership through. Silver isn’t sure what to do and in a bold mood, turns it over to Madi.

She shows off just how much of a Queen she is by letting the man go and promising he won’t say anything. That it was just a punishment for offending her. Her words stand true (for now) and the man says nothing and the other man responsible is secretly beaten and told never to speak of it. Silver and Madi are quite the duo and I’m almost positive now that she will be his future wife. What a scary thought!

Finally we get to the big action scene and why I decided to call this review cowboy pirates. We watch as Jack is loaded up into a carriage with Rogers and they take off with an armed guard. Jack actually talks about his past some. His father and father’s father were tailors in Leeds. He tells Rogers about how there was an unfair tax on cotton and they were put out of business and his father drank himself to death and Jack was made responsible for his debts. This again shows how many of the pirates became pirates because of richer people slighting or ruining their lives.

Rogers makes noise about how his life isn’t so great, but that’s hard to swallow when he has been given everything and has dealt badly with it. It’s his own fault. He also asks why Jack and other pirates always insist on thinking the most unlikely things will happen, referring to when Jack claims that Anne will try and free him.

It’s then that the attack begins. We get a quick but cool looking chase scene with our pirates on horses and taking out the armed guards and then the carriage itself. Outlaw cowboy pirates! It crashes magnificently and we and Anne are left to worry about what has happened to Jack who was chained inside.

It looks bad at first, but then Jack moves and Anne kisses him and it’s amazing. Okay so my little shipper heart squealed in delight, but I’m not ashamed! Flint and the money take off as Vane sets to freeing Jack. They have a nice reunion that I’m happy to see that all of them still share a bond. Then Jack is free and he and Anne start to ride off when the militia appears in the distance. Vane is too, but then Rogers who did not die in the crash gets up and shoots Vane.

They have a nice fight scene where Rogers bludgeons Vane a bunch, but Vane comes out on top cutting and punching him. He would have won had the militia not shown up then. Vane is now captured and we see Rogers asking Eleanor what she will do. For some reason she swears vengeance on Vane for murdering her father even though that man was nothing but cruel to her. She tells Rogers she loves him and is devoted to him, but she has no idea what she’ll do when confronted with Vane. We’ll see where her loyalties lie.

When Anne and Jack catch up to Flint and tell him Vane has been captured (even though they don’t know this. He could be dead for all they know) he wants to ride off and save him because Vane swinging would be the worse message possible right now. Billy intervenes and tells Flint to let him do that. That his parents were agitators and he was too and that by the time he’s done, Rogers will be too scared of losing the people to ever hang Vane.

I cheered at this because of course I don’t want Vane dead, but we finally get to see more Billy! I’ve been waiting ages for him to get a more centralized story line for himself and it’s finally arrived. I’m guessing he and Max will be feuding now as she has the street currently. It’ll be quite the match up.

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