Things Are Not What They Seem
This episode had some interesting moments and some good twists, but it also suffered from some pretty implausible events and character motivations as well – something the show has suffered from. I do continue to really like the relationship between Selima (Yasmine Al Massri) and Blackbeard. She tries to seduce him to prevent him from suspecting her betrayal with Charlie (David Hoflin), but Blackbeard is having none of it. He accuses her of trying to solve “what’s wrong with her” – which we are still in the dark about – by having sex. I’m hoping we learn more of Selima’s backstory soon. He also tells her that she can’t lie to him – “least of all with her body.” Blackbeard continues to be a fascinating character and Malkovich continues to be a good reason to watch.
Charlie is convinced that Blackbeard knows about their secret, but Selima assures him that the one thing Blackbeard can’t abide is betrayal – so she’s convinced that he doesn’t know. Charlie’s evidence is that Blackbeard seems to consider allowing Begum Sangar’s (Nilanjana Bose) soldier to kill him. This was a great fight scene, nicely filmed to show us most of the action with a beautiful beach backdrop. Malkovich is terrific at playing inscrutable and it’s not clear what his intentions may have been. It’s worth pointing out that there is a difference in being inscrutable – you know the character is thinking something, just not what – and in poorly acted – the character simply has no clear expression. There is always something going on behind Malkovich’s eyes!
Meanwhile, Lowe’s (Richard Coyle) mission becomes even less clear. It would seem that his mission to kill Blackbeard is going to be taken care of by Blackbeard’s illness, which Lowe surmises was brought on by too many blows to the head. I have to pause here to say that it’s nice for a show to finally take into account that that has a cumulative, detrimental effect! Think of how many times other characters on other shows are repeatedly knocked unconscious with seemingly no lasting effects!
Lowe determines – only because he finds a map of Jaimaca – that Blackbeard is planning to attack the colony. He also sends Fletch (Chris Perfetti) to find the Wildman (Henry Hereford) who I’m betting is going to turn out to be one of Jagger’s men. However, it seems clear that Blackbeard’s purpose is not as dark as Lowe suspects – we have the evidence of him giving so many, like James (Peter Stebbings) sanctuary – and that Jagger is much more bloodthirsty. Jagger doesn’t hesitate to threaten Finnegan’s (Kevin Ryan) young nieces before torturing him mercilessly and to death. Kudos to the effects team for some very gruesome body parts! Jagger is a worthy adversary for Blackbeard and detects that the chronometer is a fake because he had his initials carved minutely into the original – well played, Jagger!
Lowe seems genuine in telling James that he thinks he is a real hero, and he begins treating him. He and Kate (Claire Foy) also break off their affair because of their mutual respect for James. It’s important for Lowe to continue being our hero, so making him James’ caretaker instead of an adulterer makes it easier to like him. Interestingly, Blackbeard is willing to continue encouraging James’ drug use in order to get what he wants – multiple chronometers for various uses – including selling to the Spanish. However, given Blackbeard’s longing look at the Spanish treasure, it seems more likely that he’s planning a further attack on them now that he’s had men inside their very stronghold. Blackbeard is clearly meant to be the character we want to like.
The foray into the Spanish stronghold resulted in a surprising new alliance between Nenna (Tracy Ifeachor) and Lowe, and also highlighted the continuing animosity between Lowe and Charlie. Was Blackbeard trying to remind Charlie that he still answers to him by almost letting the fighter kill him? Is Charlie right to worry not only that Blackbeard knows about Selima but that Blackbeard now relies more on Lowe? The actual sneaking about of the three at the Spanish stronghold was silly at best.
The episode does give us more insight into Nenna. Having Rose (Natalie Hoflin) try to steal back the jewel gave Nenna an opportunity to explain why she did it. Once again, characters actions are not what they seem, and the characters are not simply good or evil. Clearly, both women operate outside the law, but what other choices are open to them in this society? Crossbones does offer us some very interesting female characters – it’s nice to see them not be victims or need saving (last week’s episode aside – at least Kate proved braver than Blackbeard gave her credit for!). Rose’s motivation for money is to return to England rich to rub it in the faces of those who have scorned her – not the most noble of goals. Nenna, however, says she needs the money for a higher purpose – for love, and not of a man. Is she trying to free her family, perhaps? This could open up even more interesting storylines. However, Rose’s demand for all of Nenna’s money is a bit ridiculous. Nenna is a bloodthirsty pirate – and has killed before. It would make a lot more sense for her to just kill Rose – though I did think their almost kiss pretty interesting!
In the final scene we see that the woman from Blackbeard’s hallucinations is apparently still alive – is this the mother of the son we see in the hallucinations this week? Will she prove to be Blackbeard’s undoing? I’m curious to see what her return will mean to Selima. Is it possible that Selima had something to do with Antoinette’s “disappearance” in the first place?
While there continue to be some problems with this series, there are enough intriguing mysteries and good performances to make me keep tuning in every week. What did you think of this week’s episode? Do you think that Blackbeard does have a nefarious plot planned? Do you think Jagger is clearly the worst of the two? Do you think Claire and Lowe will be able to remain apart? Do you think Blackbeard knows about Selima and Charlie? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
