Black Sails - Episode 1.03 - III - Preview & Teasers

Fans of Lost will find the opening shot of this episode very familiar as we start with Flint waking up in the mysterious house the morning after we saw him collapse at the door at the end of last week’s episode. We soon learn that this is Miranda Barlow’s (Louise Barnes) place, and she too is fairly deeply involved with the plot to find the Urca d'Lima, what other secrets she hides may take more time to find out though. I’m not sure where her house is situated, I had a feeling from the way we saw Flint riding hard through the night in episode II to get there that it would be some way across the island. But other characters (apart from one unfortunate prisoner) seem to come and go at a moments notice this week, although as this also leaves business completely unattended in Nassau to boot, I think this has more to do with a continuity issue than actual logistics if I’m honest.

Singleton may have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but it seems that his ideas of overthrowing Captain Flint aren’t quite so dead in the water, although news of this reaches Billy’s ears from the most unlikely of sources, John Silver. Then again, perhaps this isn’t as improbable as it first looks once you understand his motivation; he wants to be trusted by Flint and sees Billy as an easy route in I feel. He is a master manipulator, and the writers have made clever play on words with his surname by making him a very persuasive, silver tongued speaker who can think very quickly on his feet and usually outwit those around him. With the promotion that Gates has in store for him this week it’s looking more and more likely that Billy will be stepping into his shoes on the Walrus, this will obviously put the resident cook in a very strong position on board if he has the Quartermaster’s ear, and through him the captain’s trust.

I have to admit that I’m still finding this a show of two halves; I love Flint, Billy, Gates and Silver, but as ever there are parts of this episode I am really struggling to understand. I feel like I am always commenting on how badly some of the female roles respond to other characters, but this episode goes beyond how I have criticised before and I have to admit that I am completely baffled and bewildered by the behaviour of some of them. I was aware of the spoiler about Max that happens this week before I saw the episode, as it is out there on the net if you look, but I hadn’t realised that she would be so accepting of her fate, or indeed how she would throw the blame onto another female character rather than where it actually belongs! I’m not sure where this is going, but I sincerely hope that the writers know where they are heading with this plot and that all is not as it seems at present.


Episode III airs on Starz at 9pm on Saturday 8th February, below are a few dialogue teasers to see you through until then. Don't forget to come back to vote in our poll after the episode and let us know what you think.


“He believes there’s a witch who lives deep inside the island who controls his every move”

“It’s help me or flee to Boston, beg your father and brothers for sanctuary, they might save you from the gallows but they won’t spare you their scorn!”

“Christ almighty, I wish we had a captain 30 years younger”

“This describes a course that ends miles short of the coast, where’s the rest of the course?”

“I have an exceptionally low tolerance for pain, I’ll say anything to make it stop”

“You move, you die”

“One of the whores helped her past the guards, she said Max had a boat waiting, I went to check, it’s no longer there”

“One of my neighbours must have witnessed your arrival last night, they've planted a spy out by the scrub pine”

“Do you know of some people who still harbour some anger towards the captain?”

“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”

About the Author - Sandi

Sandi is part of the Senior Staff at SpoilerTV having been a contributor from back in the Lost days of DarkUFO, and who now writes previews for Banshee, The Musketeers, Atlantis, and other BBC shows. She also enjoys watching and commenting on other shows such as Sons of Anarchy, Hannibal, Game of Thrones and Elementary.

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