Black Sails: XVII Recap

Synopsis of 2×09: Flint and Miranda discover startling information about Lord Ashe. Eleanor attempts to stop Max and Rackham. Vane and his crew seize the Man-O-War.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Tonight’s episode will likely go down as one of the most explosive episodes yet, and that’s saying a lot for Black Sails. After the shocking death of Eleanor’s father last week at the hands of Vane, the entirety of Nassau is in a state of disarray.   Eleanor, dealing with his loss in her own silent way, is none too pleased to see Max in her office. Max shares her sympathies but Eleanor is less than amiable with her, demanding to know her true intentions in Nassau. Eleanor puts her plan to stop them in motion with Frasier’s help. After leaving, Max meets with Rackham, who she orders to sail as soon as possible for the Urca gold.

Over in Charleston, Miranda and Flint are not receiving the warm welcome they had hoped to have from Ashe. Ashe is willing to give Flint his ear, but his judgment is clearly guarded. Flint is more than willing to provide Ashe truthful answers to whatever questions he desires and Flint begrudgingly reveals his and Miranda’s roles in killing Alfred Hamilton, Thomas’s father, out of anger. Governor Ashe’s private guard, Colonel Rhett, is quick to judge though and is quite the trigger-happy man, obviously itching to use his gun on both Flint and Miranda. Flint piously asks that Ashe judge him not by the single act of Alfred’s murder and instead listen to what they have to say.

Eleanor and Nassau touchingly lay her father to rest in a funeral that is so rarely seen on Black Sails. Following the service, Eleanor meets with Mr. Underhill, whom she previously sought a word with about their shared ambitions a few episodes back but was initially refused. Eleanor asks Underhill if he would consider hosting Lord Ashe in his home. She reveals her intimate knowledge of Max and Rackham’s plan and her own plan to put a swift end to it before it progresses any further.

In Charleston, Ashe is having difficulty believing Flint’s visions for Nassau, despite once believing in Thomas’ goals. Flint admits that if his plan were to succeed he would have to retire the reputation of his namesake, Captain Flint. Miranda is particularly disturbed by something within Ashe’s house, but insists she is fine to Flint. Flint later emotionally reveals to Miranda that he has been ready to retire his name for a very long time.

Vane and his crew, having lain in waiting within the marsh outside of Charleston, makes his move during the dead of the night. Silver is fortunate enough to discover Randall’s dead body and hide himself before Vane’s silent attack. Vane and his men show no mercy, stabbing those that sleep in their hammocks and quickly disposing of those remaining on the deck. Billy proves to be quite the challenger though, grappling with Vane before being overcome by sheer force. His life is sparred and he is tied up with the remaining members of Flint’s crew.

Silver and another man, having hidden during the assault, debate as to how to now proceed. Silver believes that they may be able to disable the ship, forcing Vane to repair it before sailing once more, biding them a little more time. Silver is able to successfully disable the ship by cutting the stay, but is later caught.

Billy is brought before Vane, who rather than killing him, invites him to join his crew, believing he has the makings of a proper pirate. Billy is loyal to a fault as always, refusing Vane’s offer. Billy admits that while he also hates Flint, Flint’s plan is in the best interest of Nassau right now.

Back in Nassau, Anne works up the courage to see Rackham, having just returned from sea. Both are clearly distraught and overjoyed to see one another, but before their reunion can go any further, they are forced to deal with Eleanor’s assassins. While Rackham watches from the ground, as usual, Anne makes swift work of the two assassins. Rackham and Featherstone, along with Anne, are encouraged by Max to set sail immediately.

Over dinner, Ashe reveals that he believes he may be able to help Flint regain Nassau, but he asks that Flint tell his entire story, including the details of his affair with Thomas, in person to those in London. By doing so, Flint will do away with the monster and present himself as a new flawed man asking for forgiveness. Ashe insists that this is the only way. Flint listlessly agrees after heavy consideration.

Miranda, perturbed by the obvious gaps in Ashe’s history and answers, calls Ashe out on his relationship with Alfred Hamilton. Ashe begrudgingly admits that it was he who betrayed Thomas, James, and Miranda all those years ago. Ashe reveals that Alfred threatened his family and his daughter’s future and that his choice was made under duress, profusely apologizing for James and Miranda’s suffering. While Flint remains silent, Miranda is less than civil and quickly escalates, blaming Ashe for destroying their lives and causing Thomas’ death. Before she can be soothed, Miranda demands Ashe’s death and Colonel Rhett promptly shoots her point black in the head. Now, that was a surprising turn. Rhett and his men quickly arrest Flint, while Miranda’s lifeless body grows cold on Lord Ashe’s floor.

 Lord Ashe sends representatives out to Flint’s ship with a message, claiming Flint has been arrested after violating his trust and that he will be placed under trial the following day. Vane triumphantly announces to both his and Flint’s crew that they will be rescuing Flint, in order to save his good reputation and keep piracy alive.

Meanwhile Dufresne and Hornigold plan to make good on Billy’s former deal with the navy captain, but without Flint, they offer him the next best thing, Eleanor Guthrie. They quickly seize her from Underhill’s home in the dead of the night without any opposition. The captain eagerly accepts their offer, snatching Eleanor from them and leaving their ten pardons behind. It looks like Eleanor is in quite the unfortunate situation, as her captives won’t be as gentle as Vane would have been.