Black Sails: The Perfect Show You've Never Seen
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2024
- A video essay about how Black Sails, a show about queer pirates and revolutionaries, became the most underrated series of the decade - and Game of Thrones became a mess. Let's talk LGBT representation, battling colonialism, and the problem with adaptations.
Patreon: / rowanellis
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Thanks to Gemma ( / amillionmadmusings ) and Rebecca ( / rebeccashoptaw ) for script editing
And to Daphne at Fathoms Deep for being as obsessed with this show as me (arguably even more so) - check out the podcast if you enjoyed the show, it is brilliant: • Fathoms Deep: Introduc...
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I only know two kinds of people
1. Those who loved Black Sails
2. Those who haven't seen it yet
A like was not enough, you my friend know exactly what is going on
I fall in the category of leaving the first season with a "meh", but I think I'll go back to it now haha
@@CanelaAguila i did too because of that mrs barlow she got too much screen time
@@CanelaAguila TBH, Black Sails is probably my favourite show of all time, but the early episodes WERE kind of weak, and I wasn't very far from dropping it at the very beginning. I'm SO glad that I didn't. But every time I start pestering people to make them watch it (which is very often ^^), I make sure to warn them not to allow themselves to be put off by the first few episodes.
I just finished the first season and it was just ok…
I occasionally find myself wondering whether Black Sails was just a fever dream of mine, since it seems impossible that a show that cohesive and well written could actually get made. Everything about it--the writing, the acting, the dialogue, the set pieces--it's almost like it's too good to actually be a product of the modern media machine. Not to mention the multiple queer characters who frequently end up in different factions within the larger conflict but who still have that shared experience that alters their view and experience of the world in consequential ways. I hope more people realize just what a hidden gem it is.
Stole my comment, but could not have said it better myself.
What gets me is how many people didn’t know about it, such an amazing show went by so many people.
YOOOOO I FINALLY FOUND PEOPLE THAT LOVE BLACK SAILS LET'S GOOOOOOOOO
@@emilia123zz I was thinking of setting up a poll on Reddit to see how many people in the UK and Europe would up for starting a Black Sails Con.
Imagine a weekend in a hotel that is nothing but pure Black Sails.
So true, when I finished it, I was surprised I had only come across it by chance! The quality of the writing, narrative, the depths and the acting honestly have you hooked. Incredible
Going back and watching Flint's speech in season one about how he won't apologize to England after you know the backstory is a surreal experience it's so well done.
LITERALLY
That's one of my favourite quotes of all time. Also the one in season 2 episode 5.
Doesn't he also say England should he the one apologizing to _him?_ And he couldn't be more right. All of those season 1 lines just hit so different after knowing the full story.
@@TheCrazyFreak Yep "This ends when I grant them my forgiveness. Not the other way around." Gives me chills it's so good
@@cknopick491 Yes, that's the line I was thinking of. So good. 😩❤️
I remember reading an interview excerpt from Tom Hopper where he openly said that Black Sails was the best tv show he'd ever seen . . . the interview was part of the advertising for The Umbrella Academy.
Imagine stanning THAT HARD.
wait didn't he also say that 2x05 was the best episode on TV he'd ever seen? xD
other TV shows could never
Not forgetting after black sails wrapped, he had a short stint on GoT so he knows both
I have to agree
All the Black Sails cast stan the show super hard. Toby Schmitz (Rackham) wrote a spin-off comic based around Jack and Anne's adventures, Tom Hopper said it was the best show he'd ever seen or been a part of, and Luke Arnold still actively responds to fan questions and theories and even does TH-cam interviews (like with Blind Wave). It's amazing to see a cast that clearly have so much passion for the project they were a part of.
he was right
Black sails' opening theme is such a banger, too
i'm literally listening to the whole soundtrack on spotify right now - "the wrecks" also goes VERY HARD
@@HeyRowanEllis Bear McCreary used that hurdy gurdy well !!
I have not seen the show I just don't care about spoilers and the fact that Mary Read does make an appearance makes me so extremely happy even if it's at the very very end she's probably my second favorite pirate Anne Bonny is my favorite pirate
Quick question about that prequel comic does it have the I assume real world version of how those two met at least I think those two I assume Jack Rackham is Calico Jack
@@rockassassin64 I haven't read the prequel comic. The show uses some of the elements of the real story of how they met, but shifts them a bit. Do not actually try to line up real world history with the events in the show. (particularly not actual dates.) It doesn't work. But... we're also, both at the beginning, though it's harder to recognize it there, and at the end told that this is a story and that it isn't, perhaps what really happened, but also that that might be the point.
ugh black sails makes me so emo...i think about flint for five seconds and I feel the need to go stare out at the sea
mood tbh
Same
Such a tragic ending. You knew the revolution was going to fail, but god damn it did it still hurt.
@@alb0zfinest at least he got to be with thomas. After losing miranda in that way he was so hurt, recovering thomas saved his life.
"The villain is the British Empire" is one of the most convincing ways I've seen a TV show reccomend
honestly "queer prequel to treasure island where marginalised revolutionaries take on the british empire" is my go to one sentence pitch for the show lol
In fairness for a big chunk of history we (the british) were the bad guys tbf.
@@MalkavDraconic The British Empire were the bad guys yeah, but you can be British and also be anti-empire, like most of the characters in this series are
ofc British national identity can't be fully divorced from it's colonial past without being addressed, but the vast majority of most countries populations have been disenfranchised for most of their history, a 1700s farmer in somerset who's never left his village can't hold the same kind of responsibility for colonial evils as the aristocracy that were the driving force behind it, it's more of a class thing than a nation thing imo, and one thing I love about this show is how it highlights that at certain points, even if it's not always at the forefront
As it should one piece beuing another series that i highly critical with pirates. Every pirate show should deal with it opposing opressive governments and revolutionize. Also good emphasis on stories and teir impact on the world, shown by luffys ripples whe he meets people. The power of stories really seems to make pirate series piratey. Just there are great female characters but many loo alike, but the goods are good.
Killjoys was pretty good too, and i love he subversion of one trope there.
@@MalkavDraconic In which chunk were the British not the bad guys. WWII if you pretend India doesn’t exist?
We did NOT deserve this show. The Flint speech from season one about taking your oar and walking so far inland that it is mistaken for a shovel?????? CHEF KISS PERFECTION
I wish when 20 years of the ending have passed, they would make a treasure island adaptation that is loyal to the novel, with the same actors.
A beautiful take on The Winnowing Oar
Hey that's what Tiresias tells Odysseus the last thing he'll do before he dies is in the Odyssey
@@kyliehubbard5062 it's based off of that, but the way the soliloquy happens in the show is a paraphrase of that part of the Odyssey, woven into this GORGEOUS monologue from Flint planting the seeds of this ideal that he thinks he's fighting for
I yelled OH MY GODDDD when Rowan pointed out the callback in the final episode, going inland to find Thomas holding a shovel. I don’t know how i missed that
Edit after a full series rewatch: it’s not a shovel that Thomas holds in that reunion scene, but a hoe/chopper implement. The parallel still works but it’s not a direct reference
Also kudos to black sails starting out as a wanna-be-GoT-with-pirates to becoming the best written show of all time and doing it 1000x better than GoT ever could
I think my favorite example of a character death that could have easily been one-note, shock value fodder, and easily forgotten was Charlotte. Her death doesn't only come up and add tension in the immediate aftermath, but Idelle confronts Anne in season 4, long after the audience has probably forgotten about it.
These women are treated like very few sex worker characters are in shows like this: they're written as people with full and complex internal lives, whose bonds with one another are important to them. Charlotte is actually the one who designed Rackham's flag- the very lynchpin that his ending monologue hinges on! It's incredible.
i adore Idelle''s speech about Charlotte!! Such a great way to flesh out an already great character. Really happy that the secondary characters were all so well taken care of by the writers
yes!!! her death made me so sad! none of them felt like "minor" characters.
I wish Black Sails had the attention/praise Game of Thrones received. It's such a great show
If it ever comes to Netflix it is going to be a bigger hit than Lucifer
@@morgumal I hope it comes to Netflix.
Black sails is on Netflix
@@georgen.524 Not when I checked here in the US
@@morgumal Its on Netflix here in India
You mentioned Jack Rackham with the perfect amount of lead time for me to say "ah my favorite himbo" at the exact same moment you said he was a very smart character... we are both right
TRUTH
not sure about the real Rackam's intelligence, but the Calico in the show struck me as probably the smartest man alive in that setting. with all the myths and legends around pirates, we often forget that whole another aspect of characters
Another reason why Black Sails stories+art+truth speech at the end works better than GoT: it's capped with Jack Rackham looking down at the most iconic image of piracy ever created and saying in a defeated tone, "It's fine. It's fine." It's almost like the writers are fully aware that they'll never really know the impact of the story they've made, and instead of patting themselves on the back for how groundbreaking they are, are just like "Welp, there it is I guess." Self-deprecating, clever, AND fully in line with the themes of the show.
It was very polite of Rowan to calmly explain to us why we need to watch this show instead of (rightfully) screaming at us for being fools for having not seen it.
The keel-hauling scene was so viscerally horrible; I could not look away for a second. The stretching spaces between Teach being pulled out of the water and his first breaths felt like ages. It felt like something that was really happening, something both the audience and characters had an obligation to watch out of respect for the man going through it. Despite its violence, it was not even slightly gratuitous. Truly a masterpiece of visual storytelling.
exactly what I was thinking when watching that scene. I was horrified, but also could not look away. I felt like if I was watching it all through Jack or Anne's eyes. The terrible reality and devastation of seeing the epitome of what piracy itself is, being so brutally maimed. Jack especially... the actor really managed to show us the terror of seeing someone like Blackbeard so defeated but also so defiant. We could see Jack in that moment first loosing hope for all the pirates for people like him and regaining it again when Teach refused to be killed like this. We could see the character's priorities changing on screen and it was horrifying. I must say that as a person who never much cared for Charles Vane or Edward Teach, their deaths were probably the best I've ever seen in a TV show or film.
I was struck by the writers’ having him keelhauled three times before finally being dispatched with a bullet. The real Blackbeard was killed in a battle with a colonial American pirate hunter off the coast of North Carolina. After his death, he was beheaded, with the head being kept as proof of death by the pirate hunter and his body thrown overboard, upon which - according to legend - the headless body swam around the pirate hunter’s ship three times before sinking into the depths. I saw his survival of the three keelhaulings as a nod to that legend.
A Black Sails vide essay? Now there's a nice start to the year.
1 hour long.
I definitely died and got to paradise
Ok, maybe it's not as serious as this essay, but I just wanted to share: I started watching Black Sails as it was airing in season 1, and I still remember the collective butthurt of the straight macho fanbase at James & Thomas reveal. It was really satisfying imagining these boys fall in love with Flint's character and then watch their ideas about it crumble because of internalized homophobia
It's really interesting because, for me, that made me appreciate, sympathize with, and grow onto the character of James even more... And the ending made me shed a tear or two, it just felt so right and so good. And I am a heterosexual guy. :) I feel like it just goes hand in hand with "Men should be strong yet soft and women should be soft, yet strong." Though the truth is, in my eyes, this made James even stronger in a sense, as he didn't hide his feelings and even, later on, shared them with John. Taken into an account his position, reputation, and time period, this was indeed very brave.
Or it's just something I didn't expect to see in an 18th century set show...
I saw this show years ago, but as far as I remember, Flint being homosexual did nothing for me. It was something unexpected, and a nice touch to show how dedicated and passionate he is, but that was already quite apparent. That whole plot was kind of moot to me, but great show overall.
@@nikosspyris are you saying that homosexuality didn't exist in the 18th century?
@@steelplatedheart Absolutely not, just that is is not a plot point I would expect to be brought up in that setting. The idea that the British Empire is evil for supressing Flint's sexuality is overly contrived in my opinion, the British Empire did a while lot more to deserve our distaste. It's not just them that were homophobic back then, homophobia was smth very common back then. Just felt bizarre and unexpected to see it made into a plot point in a pirate show is my point.
@@nikosspyris homophobia actually wasn't common back then, that's us reading our own perceptions back onto the past.
Praising Black Sails (a.k.a. one of my favorite shows of all time that also iconically pulled out the Unbury Your Gays trope at the last minute) and dunking on Game of Thrones all in one video? Sign me up.
I sometimes can't believe Black Sails was even real. Surely, a show can't be that cohesive, that well thought out from start to finish without some hiccup along the way. The way these characters are written, how fleshed out they are (even the ones who "don't matter" in the grand scheme of things) is on another level.
Black Sails is my favourite show of all time because it paced itself like a novel instead of a TV show. It breathed, and was never in a rush to get anywhere, so felt natural compared to 99% of shit we watch today.
Black Sails is the most underrated show I have ever seen. The writing is SO. GOOD. It examines such fascinating ideas about the nature of civilization and explores the darkest depths of love. I love this show. I have found sometimes that I need to explain the ending to people who aren't familiar with the lie-spinning John Silver of Treasure Island.
I’ve got to rewatch this show. It is on another level and I don’t think I appreciated it enough while watching.
Praising black sails and dragging game of thrones are my two favorite things in the world and this video TRULY delivers! Real talk, though, what an incredible in depth look into this show! I've watched it in its entirety four times now and it's incredible how I'm always noticing new things, this story is so good I always take something away from it even when I know exactly how it's gonna play out. And great addition about the cast reactions because whenever I see any of the actors talking about it it's always with such a genuine reaction and appreciation! It's very wholesome and tbh WHAT THIS SHOW DESERVES!
Can’t believe you’re talking about Black Sails, it’s such an incredible show. 🏴☠️
I’ve recommended it to hundreds of people by now in random conversations lmao. I was lucky enough to start watching it while it first aired, and the fandom was probably some of the most friendly of any show.
I know, and is kinda underrated, it never became as popular as it should have been with how good it is
I finished watching black sails about a week ago and have not stopped thinking about it since. I’m so glad you’re talking about it because I feel like I’ve been in a constant state of processing how incredible this show was
Welcome to the fold. You'll never stop talking about this incredible show.
I've been in this state for 3 years already. Welcome aboard
I can only confirm what the above commenters said. It's been 5 years sincey first watch and i haven't stopped thinking about this show for more than a day at a time
I‘m so happy that you are talking about black sails it’s sooo good, like flints storyline and how they kind of straight-baited viewers in the first season!!!
Like when are people ever straight baited in a show, excellence
I’ll come back once I’ve seen black sails, I’ve never even heard of it
We'll see you soon. Welcome aboard.
You lucky, lucky person. It is truly an amazing piece of writing and acting and set design and costuming. (There is at least one blog which does an in depth analysis of the artwork shown in the show and the symbolic meaning behind it. There are elements of the costuming, if you know what you're looking for, which reveal plot points that show up a season later.)
Congratulations on your new favourite show.
I’m sorry, there’s a tv series with gay pirates and amazing women of colour that I didn’t know about?!?
I now know what I’m doing this lockdown
It’s one of the best written shows I’ve ever seen. It’s as close to being perfect as a show can be. Enjoy!!
It is so so good. You will not regret it. It's one of two (the other being Orphan Black) that having perfect plot and characterization from start to finish
You won't regret it. Black Sails is amazing.
Just to pile on, it's an amazing show. Riveting, well acted, and just a joy. Having found this I'm going to go and watch it again!
Well if you're like me it'll last you a week, tops.
The funniest thing about me binge-watching Black Sails was that i didnt realize that it was a Treasure Island prequel until like... two seasons in. I had read the book!! I grew up with that story! But I didnt have subtitles so i couldnt actually read any of the names of the characters so I probably didnt make the connection because of that but its just so funny... But its truly an amazing show, just like you say!
omg i love that 😂
I mean, i kinda realized something was going on when i heard "jhon silver" which is the name i most remembered from treasure island.but i was so confused at first because i was like "but he is young...and with two legs"
I didn't realize until after I finished lol
Black Sails has always that show I meant to watch and never got around to, but then I started hearing more and more about it on your channel and I was like "hold up it's also queer??!" which piqued my interest, and then when I saw you had uploaded a whole video essay on it, I was like "okay it's go time" and I watched four seasons in as many days and just WOW. W O W. It was honestly fucking breathtaking, I haven't been that astounded by the quality of a television show in YEARS. There were scenes that were just CONVERSATIONS and I was holding my breath, just absolutely arrested by how insanely gorgeous every line was written. And now I finally got to watch this video (which was incredible btw) and now I'm just even FURTHER convinced of how incredible this show was. THANK YOU ROWAN
omg I'm so happy you enjoyed it!!
@@HeyRowanEllis I really did, thanks so much for the extra kick I needed! I’m utterly bereft now that I’m done, but I take comfort in the knowledge that there will be many a rewatch in my future 😂
Same!!!
And let's be honest shows/books that make you want to gouge your eyes and your brain out once you're done watching/reading them so you can experience them again for the first time are the true gems
@@eleonora1 oh totally! I actually unfortunately went into it knowing about Flint and Thomas bc I’d seen it somewhere. On one hand, it was cool to understand those vague conversations throughout s1 and the beginning of s2, but I soooo wish I could have had that organic twist 😄
I've always said Black Sails is basically Game of Thrones but with a good ending and pirates instead of dragons lol. Brilliant video, gonna go listen to Fathoms Deep now!
The ships are the dragons. I cared about the Walrus.
"Silver then stomps his skull in"
At that scene i was like, "look at him, he used to be a sneaky little shit and now he is smashing skulls around"
The matter-of-fact delivery there cracked me up.
Can you just imagine a world where Black Sails got the same amount of attention as GOT? So many people are missing out and the need to share it hurts.
Who wants jhon snow when you have jhon silver?who needs jaimie lanister when you have james flint?
When I watched the Game of Thrones finale and saw Tyrion's story speech, I actually laughed out loud in my room because of how bad it was and how much Black Sails did its finale story speech SO much better.
Ironically the comment from Black Sails "Everyone is someone's monster" in a way echoes George RR Martin's quote "Everyone is the hero in their own story."
It seems that the writers of Black Sails understood the message of A Song of Ice and Fire more than the writers of Game of Thrones.
I saw some of the interviews and these actors are seem to be so genuinely enthusiastic. The only other show I can think of that does that right now, might be The Expanse.
I need to catch up on The Expanse! I had to stop when it left Netflix but I used to love it!
@@HeyRowanEllis It is on Amazon Prime now! At least in Germany.
@@miarose1117 I saw the other day - I'm so excited I might rewatch right from the start!
I was so endeared by an interview with Dominique the other day in which she said acting with the guy who plays her son made her develop maternal feelings for him and urge him to put his coat on and stuff haha, they're all so sweet and nice
@@HeyRowanEllis do you plan on doing a video about it? It reminds me of Black Sails in how realistic both are, with well written characters and factions. And it's very underrated too! btw, Amos reminds me of Billy sometimes (they're 'brutes' but actually quite smart and with a good heart)
i cried at the actors talking about their love for this show, i love them
Black sails also has the actual best theme tune ever. Right in there with the hurdy gurdy
A video essay on Black Sails in 2021?!?!?! Can't thank you enough for this.
I watched this show because I like pirates, expecting it to be complete and utter garbage, and didn't just stumble onto several poly relationships and superb aesthetics, but also a character as thoughtfully written as Captain Flint. His anger and frustration and longing felt so similar to mine.
I try to recommend Black Sails to everyone I know but they all brush it off because of its lack of mainstream popularity, and it always makes me feel sad because they don't know the masterpiece that they're missing out on. Honestly, one of the best endings I have ever seen from a tv series that I've watched and easily one of my favourite ever shows. Its been a long time since I last watched it and I still find myself just imagining bits of dialogue, especially the scenes involving Flint and Silver, and just feeling nostalgic about how incredible they were. More people need to experience Black Sails.
Absolutely
same...my friends actually make fun of me now ...they start cracking up "yeah Black Sails" hahaha
Black Sails is genius, and to this day I can't understand why the same people who loved GoT at its best aren't also obseesed with Black Sails. My guess is that they just haven't discovered it yet, because I haven't met anyone who has watched the show and isn't nuts about it.
Black Sails and Breaking Bad are the only *complete* series. Twin Peaks could be considered one of the greats too, had the network not screwed up. I think the Expanse is heading for similar fame, but as it has not concluded yet its hard to say.
I think its cuz of it being on Starz and not having enough advertising.Its definitely one of the less popular streaming/paid networks. I only had Starz because of a deal with my phone provider and it was only temporary. The only reason I found black sails was because one day I decided to see what Starz had to offer because I was bored of hbo and netflix. I dont think I know anyone who pays for starz. Makes it less accessible in today's streaming world. I know I'm guilty of wanting to see something then realizing I have to subscribe to another service or buy it and deciding not too.
Im Watching this after finding out that the writers for Black Sails are doing the Percy Jackson tv show. I’ve never seen it but this review of the show is filling me with confidence that we will finally have an on screen Percy Jackson that does justice to the book.
Oh! and one of the actors, the one who plays Flint, is going to be Poseidon in it! Yay!
I watched Black Sails as it came out on Starz and have always been seriously baffled by how under-the-radar it has been. From beginning to end, it is my favorite series of all time with amazing resolution of it's story while also setting the stage for Treasure Island.
this was a really good video breaking down what makes good tv writing! however i'd actually argue against the point of "flint is ultimately [fighting] for himself and his own personal vendetta".
- the mere similarities of flint and madi regarding their belligerent attitudes toward the war become strengthened toward the end of s4, especially when silver realizes that madi and flint have become intertwined in their struggle, with madi smiling at flint upon her rescue from woodes rogers. silver also notes that madi is now sounding just like flint in her arguments about the revolution.
- both madi and flint recognize that it is only through violent revolution that they might free not just themselves, but everyone from colonial rule. flint recognizes his previous contradiction of disregarding black slaves, as it is not enough for him to simply be a "pirate king," a la s1, or to consider reform, as with s2, but to work in community with marginalized peoples for a violent revolution.
- both madi and flint are able to realize that this war is bigger than simply themselves and their immediate interpersonal relationships, with madi's iconic speech decrying imperialism to rogers and flint shouting that no man should be left behind on the shoreline retreat (again, starkly contrasting with his s1 characterization). it's less "flint is primarily motivated by personal vendetta" and more he's able to recognize that individuals are secondary in the greater fight against imperialism. he realizes the legacy worth leaving is not merely in name or notoriety, but for a better future for future generations (his They paint the world full of shadows speech and disgust at the revolution being later warped as just "monsters," as propaganda tools for the purposes of imperial powers). madi echoes this sentiment when billy attempts to kill her, welcoming death as a unifying martyr for the cause.
- i don't think the ending comes off as ultimately positive for the lead trio/flint and the broader narrative about colonial empire (but the ending is well-written in concluding their character arcs!); if anything, it's decidedly bittersweet and even outright tragic. silver removes flint and madi's autonomy, confining flint to a plantation and betraying madi's desire for a new future. If Anything! silver suffers from "fighting for the sake of himself and his personal trauma" at the end of s4. silver is reluctant to share his backstory with flint because he grew up with no one but suddenly found himself attached to a crew and madi; his fear is that he now has something to lose, which causes him to commit these ultimate betrayals. he somewhat understands flint and madi's desire for a future beyond colonial restraints, but he can only bring himself to immediately value what he can tangibly have.
- but both flint and madi's histories with empire inform their forward push toward revolution and beyond. silver's attempt in "saving" both flint and madi destroys their bond, and thus BS sets up his role as villain in treasure island -- he spends the rest of his life looking for the lost urca gold to recapture that moment where they were all together.
we can see that the show never intends for silver to be the villain of BS, despite character squabbles. his motives are understandable through the end, having been manipulated by empire. the overarching evil has always been "civilization".
I love this comment and I love how this show is subject to so many interpretations.
Yes! This is exactly how I saw the end and it left me with a bittersweet taste, not as being a bad ending, but as being really sad. I was rooting for Flint and Madi, and was left really angry at Silver even though he was one of my faves. Also with contradictory feelings at the plantation reunion, as is a "happy" ending for Flint because of Thomas but they're slaves! Of the Empire! Idk. I'm rewatching it w my mom now and I can't wait for her takes, because everyone has such different interpretations of the end, and I think it's a sign of the quality of the show
i want to know that i bounced on my seat both when you started to talk about Billy as someone building up others to their true (and darkest) potentials - an aspect that despite years of discussion about this show i hadn't recognized at all - and then you also talked about Abigail's journal? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Excellent analysis, love it to pieces
"Queer prequel to treasure island where marginalised revolutionaries take on the british empire" is the best description of the show. I've finished it two days ago and I literally couldn't wait to watch your video! Best way to top watching the show is hearing a thoughfull and well-structured reminder of why it is such a blessing for over an hour :3
You know a show is good when the TH-cam video host tells you to mute the video and go watch the show first. ♥ You rock. Black Sails is fantastic.
I didn't realize that I needed a video essay about Black Sails until one actually showed up in my subscription box, but my god... I feel like I've been waiting forever for this love letter to one of the greatest shows of all time. Thank you. You have put into words something I've been subconsciously feeling about Game of Thrones and Black Sails for a while. I love this.
I'll let it play muted for the algorithm and then I'll come back and watch it properly after I watched the show!
my hero
Really love this show, especially the way the women characters were written, I was impressed, Eleanor, Max and Maddy are still embedded in my brain
Apart from me loving Eleanor and Max for being complex and totally badass, I also love how PRESSED a lot of male viewers were about them succeeding. Especially Max had so many male viewers pissed
@@4Tom4lepus4 ^^' and still she rises
@@laureb7697 Exactly!
@@federicoponchiroli3762 max is a cruel traitor? Eleanor sold her out to flint and was willing to let then beat her out if she didn't talk. And literally none of them really good people, all of them do terrible things. I love jack and anne because of how they evolve eventually, but let's be honest, jack saved her and took her in when she was 13 and she felt like she owned him and believed that was why she was with him, depending on jack's age...that was child grooming. Thankfully, anne got to explore her own identity away from jack so she could truly decide to be with him, on her own, without his influence. And about betrayals, everyome betrayed everyone. There is no good vs bad in this show, there is just people surviving.
It might just be me but Jack and Anne ended up being pretty much the best representation of a queerplatonic relationship I've ever seen on TV, all without sacrificing an ounce of Anne's queerness. It's one of my favorite things I remember from watching this show (though I'm definitely in bad need of a rewatch).
One of my favorite moments in the show is when the crew busts in on them in bed (after finding the planted pearls in Anne’s tent) but they aren’t doing anything sexual or even talking, just lying together peacefully and content in each other’s company.
One of my favorite moments in the show is when the crew busts in on them in bed (after finding the planted pearls in Anne’s tent) but they aren’t doing anything sexual or even talking, just lying together peacefully and content in each other’s company.
the dragons and darkness speech quite literally changed my life, it was that final push I needed to come out as gay to my family
Hahahhahahahahahayahahhahaha
I‘ve waited for this video ever since I heard/read on Twitter that Rowan loves Black Sails, too, and literally screamed when I saw it popping up and went in watching it with very high expectations.
And I’m COMPLETELY blown away and amazed! This was just so, SO excellent!
I always love Rowan’s video essays, but I think this is my favourite ever, especially because Black Sails means a whole lot to me.
I have really, really many shows I love, but BS will always be in my Top 3, I’ve rewatched it so far four times and now I really wanna go back and watch it a fifth time.
I had so many things and thoughts in my head about it, before the video I thought “I hope Rowan will mention this theme/topic/issue/quote/parallel/scene/dialogue/aso.” And she delivered on EVERY. SINGLE. THING. AND MORE.
I wouldn’t know anything to add, just that, if for whatever reason you watched this video (or rather just read that comment) before watching the show, go and watch it - it’s one of the best pieces of media ever produced!
🏴☠️🌊☠️⚓️⛵️🏝🏳️🌈
And THANK YOU, Rowan, for this video, I’m always so impressed by how you express yourself, put stuff, structure your essays, see the bigger picture/meaning/theme, draw parallels and I think you just made me love one of my fav things ever even more (which I didn’t think would be possible)
Wow I can’t believe you are talking about about Black Sails right now! I just finished watching the series. Very serendipitous
So glad to hear you talking about Black Sails!! It’s honestly the best show I’ve ever watched, I miss it so much.
I've never had a show leave me so emotionally raw as Black Sails had. Every death of every meaningful character I hated left me in tears; none spared me the damage at seeing such a fleshed out person with their own issues, their own stories, and their own relationships die at the hands of a beloved character or otherwise.
I'm typically the type of person to feel vindication at a characters death if I dislike them; however, somehow, this show laid bare the fact that there were still human at their end. The screenwriting, the dialogue, the production quality, the cinematography - everything about this show left me absolutely *reeling.* It is an absolute masterpiece, and it is so, *so* criminally underrated.
I could not recommend it enough to everyone. This is a show that all can enjoy via a critical perspective, and I truly do believe the way that they tackled the political issues that arose was the best way out of every show I've ever seen.
It is raw, emotional, intelligent, and staggeringly beautiful in the way that it is done. You will feel like a new person after watching Black Sails in it's entirety, and it will leave you looking at the world far differently than you did before.
Every single time I manage to forget about Jack's sunglasses, I see a picture of them and it's like "ah yes, those were a thing"
For those who haven't watched Black Sails.. Captain Charles Vane, though casually overlooked in this breakdown, is one of the most influential and integral characters throughout the majority of the series. Not only is he an incredibly complex character on his own, but he's also the writers catalyst for furthering character development and plot progression on so many occasions right through to the end. Though this analysis was over an hour long I still feel there was room to be made to show his character some appreciation.
Just came across this video of yours, and I am so happy that people are still talking about this absolutely astounding show. Brilliant insights in this video and your really not wrong about the cast liking the show, I was at a convention a few years ago and Luke Arnold was there and inbetween panels we had a chat about the show and you could really tell how much he really enjoyed working on the show and was actually a fairly chill guy.
my life's truest regret is not getting into black sails when they had full cast convention appearances. i know luke went to nineworlds in london the ONE YEAR I couldn't go too D':
@@HeyRowanEllis yeah, that’s where I met him. 😄
@@dominictemple OMFG FFS 😂 I legit have done panels at nineworlds every year since like it's second year except that year I'm so mad at myself haha
Me 30 seconds into the video: well, I guess I’m watching all of Black Sails today. 😅
Last I heard all 4 seasons were on Hulu for $15. Good luck and enjoy.
literally me, though i came back to the video essay after episode 1 cuz i was already so excited
I'd advise you to pace yourself after season 1. Sometimes just letting an episode simmer in your head for a bit can really add to the experience. Anyway, enjoy! :)
@@Syurtpiutha thank you!!
Please come back and let us know what you think, and please do not rush it, it is an experience. The second watch is always better than the first too with this show, I have seen it all the way through 4 or 5 times and I still cry everytime I finish it.
What makes "Black sails so good"?
Everything. Literally the greatest series I've ever seen, not to mention the acting quality is 👌👌.
I'll never grow tired of watching black sails.
"If you try and stuff too much plot into a short season, then you end up having to unrealistically speed up character arcs. And then conversely if you try to create character arcs which are too complex for a short season, you end up having to stuff more plot into that season to try and justify their actions."
You just summed up exactly my problem with the first season of Picard.
I watched 80 percent then gave up. Everyone wanted it to be good.
@@hotlanta87 Yeeeeep.
I'm crying. Black Sails getting the love it deserves? Is this a dream?
I just want you to know I watched 30 seconds of this, binged black sails for the last 5ish days and now I'm back
You say someone who watches your videos will probably love Black Sails. I'm gonna reverse logic that and assume that anyone making an over an hour long video on Black Sails is probs someone I should be subscribed to.
Time to watch four seasons of a show I had never heard about real quick.
G shit.
Black Sails is one of my favorite shows ever and especially its portrail of LGBTQ people! Love it so much!!!
I just finished Black Sails and I'm not okay 😭 so beautiful and so poetic and just A MASTERPIECE. It left everything in the right place so that Treasure Island is still in place for the lore. It's now in my top 5 shows EVER for me!
I honestly think if it was on netflix everyone would be talking about it
Yep!
True!
I am back after watching Black Sails. (I did finish the video last time, but now I know what Rowan is talking about) Seriously it is one of my favorite shows now, truly epic!
it’s been 4 years since i watched black sails and i’m SOBBING WATCHING THIS VIDEO. ITS SO ON POINT, GOD. i feel like i’ll never recover from bs, it’s literally The Only Show Ever. thank you, Rowan.
Black Sails deserved - and sadly never received while it was on air - the kind of attention and accolades GOT got for most of its run. The Black Sails writers not only stayed true to their characters, they also stuck the landing. Fabulous video essay for a fabulous show.
I love Black Sails, and I was was lucky enough to start watching it without knowing much about it, not realizing it was a prequel until literally Flint was in the process of burying the treasure ("wait, is this treasure... on an ISLAND??"). What a delight, I recommend it to everyone.
When I watched the confrontation between Silver and Flint in the penultimate episode all I could think was “THIS! This is how you have a confrontation between two men who considered themselves the brother of the other. George Lucas, take notes!”
According to the writers, the studio actually convinced them to delay the reveal of Flint's backstory to the second season. They had originally planned it to be in season 1 but the studio said that the audience wouldn't care about the backstory at that stage of the story.
I know. It's kinda amazing, because although the studio obviously was behind the shaky sex stuff in the first season, the writers have also said the studio suggested things that were correct. it's kinda refreshing to hear this.
And it's a good thing they went with that because that backstory hits like a freight train once it's revealed.
That's so cool! You rarely hear about studio interference being a good thing!
Spartacus walked so Black Sails could run.
I had the same experience with both Spartacus and Black Sails where I watched for cool badass people doing cool things and then somehow ended up becoming extremely invested in the characters and crying over it in the last episode
OH MY GOD I stumbled across Spartacus via a fan music video and was immediately sucked into all the characters and the story. Yeah sure it starts out as a big blood and sex-fest but it had no right actually being as good as it was. I should honestly rewatch both the shows they are both so underrated.
Black Sails has been my favorite TV show since the first time I watched it, and I have yet to see another show that surpasses it in quality. The writing in this show is unparalleled, but despite that, the show remains criminally underrated and criminally under-watched. I always try to convince people around me to watch it, but so far I've been unsuccessful, which is an shame, because I want more people to talk about the show with :(
One thing that deserves a mention is that the representation in this show was integral to the plot and the characters rather than just tacked on to check diversity boxes. At no point does it feel patronising.
FINALLY A VIDEO ON BLACK SAILS!!!! I'VE BEEN SO DESPERATE FOR CONTENT ABOUT IT'S MAGNIFICENCE I ACTUALLY STARTED WRITING AN ESSAY ON IT ROWAN YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW EXCITED THIS MAKES ME.
my eyes literally start watering when i see flint or silver oh my god this show broke me
holy fucking shit i'm still so pissed at the writers for jamie lannister, my blood starts boilling just thinking about how they butchered him completely. that one line truly does hunt my dreams
Black Sails is easily one of the best TV shows and I can't believe so many people are sleeping on it (Like, I know the first season is a little bit... y'know... but it gets so! much! better!). I just wish everyone would see it and appreciate it for the gem it is!!!
i almost slept on it but luckily one of my favourite youtube channels recommended it and i am glad they did because it is one of my favourite shows ever i am surprised it is not more popular
This is seriously one the best shows out there. It’s very sad that it never received the attention it deserved. I’m a big fan of black sails and I really hope that the show starts to get more attention in the future. If you haven’t seen this show yet, I urge you to go and watch it.
As someone who has listened to every podcast, interview, watched every reaction video (except for that really bad one), read every article, forum on this show, (kinda scary I knew every single BTS reference you made) I want to thank you for making this looong video, because there simply can never be enough Black Sails commentary. I wish there were more! (p.s. I came from your reddit link) And also your commentary was ON POINT, agree with everything. Though I've come to become really convinced that Flint did die....
omg i didn't know someone had posted it on reddit, i feel very exposed haha
Dude, yes. Flint probably died. I still think it’s the greatest ending, though. Even if it *is* kind of «kill your gays». I got the impression that the whole plantation story was invented by Silver to make Madi slightly less disgusted by him. That plus the whole true/untrue speech by Jack sort of undermines the believability of Silver’s story. Also, I agree with the theory some people have posited that the reason the end of Silver and Flints final confrontation was a silent shot of birds taking off and Silver’s men turning to look into the forest is because it’s meant to imply a gunshot we don’t hear, i.e. Silver shooting Flint.
@@draculiya this is my approach to interpreting the finale: the finale is deliberately ambiguous, so there will be enough textual evidence to support either position and cannot be the determining factor. So the implied gunshot is there to suggest possibility and ambiguity but is by no means definitive of Flint's death. I think how we are really meant to come to find our truth about the finale is through our understanding of Silver. Do we ultimately think Silver is someone who would kill Flint or someone who had changed and come to care for Flint enough to want to find another way? And the more I rewatch, the darker my understanding of Silver becomes. He's the ultimate liar and is willing to kill when necessary, and has a bleak enough/nihilistic relation to his past so as to do anything to preserve his happiness.
wha was the really bad reaction?
I loved everything about this. It's beautiful, well structured, and captivating from beginning to end... There's just one thing that I took issue with and that's the regular mention of Captain Flint being gay. He's bisexual, which is super knit picky, but his attraction to Miranda is what incites his romantic and sexual relationship with Thomas.
It's a small thing. But us bi-folk don't get as much representation either.
Black Sails is the most underrated show of all time. An absolute masterpiece.
i finished this show exactly one week ago and it left me in pieces. I haven't stopped thinking about it, the genius of this show is truly amazing. I can't believe i wasted 9 years of my life watching got when black sails was right there. Thank you for this amazing and thorough exposition that is this gem, you said everything i'd been thinking for a week so eloquently!!
i have never heard of black sails! i literaly paused the video and im watching it on hulu right now. i'll come back in a few weeks or so when im done binging it
ok i'm back! wow
Finally! the Black Sails appreciation I've been looking for. Love this show so much but tragically so few of my friends have taken up my recommendation- I'll take this as the hour-long conversation on Black Sails I can't have with them.
Black Sails. How to write a better ending:
1) Hire the guy who did the singing voice of Aladdin.
2) ???
3) Profit!
You should have just named this video "Black sails: how to make a better ending" because there's NO OTHER ending like this one
Couldn’t agree more, Black sails was so underrated and ended absolutely beautifully.
Really appreciated this as someone who watched Black Sails from the very start. That people are still analyzing and breaking down all the ways it succeeded as a story just proves how great it was. Thanks for taking the time to make this!
The title of this video is just my thoughts 50% of the time, all the time. You're fantastic so I should have known that you also love Black Sails: the best show! So excited to watch this video!
Update: welp, that made me cry. I've been reluctant to look into fan content about Black Sails for so long because the series felt intensely personal, but I will definitely look up Fathoms Deep and revel in all this love and enthusiasm for art and stories well told. Thank you Rowan for another brilliant video!
In addition to the brilliant video above, I love Black Sails because instead of dragging along, they gave us four great seasons and out. More importantly, it's one of those shows where the history is set in a shadowy place where history and tales intersect. While show plays a little fast and loose with some of the history for reasons of compelling narrative, it leaves enjoying the show while simultaneously wanting to read more about what really happened with the historical figures from decent sources. Well done, brilliantly written show, and this is an exemplary breakdown!
never heard of this show before and am now really mad i dont have a way to watch it without pirating it (ha, irony)
Last I heard all 4 seasons were $15 through Hulu.
if you have a vpn it's on the danish netflix and i'm pretty sure lots of other countries probably has it too :)
@@novak4082 spain too
I want to point out two small but important details the writers slipped into Jack Rackham’s “stories” speech which only those (like me) who’ve had a lifelong fascination with the Golden Age of Piracy would’ve noticed. The first comes when Jack delivers the line about the stories which survive bearing little resemblance to the world he (and the other characters) lived in. During that line, we see Mrs. Hudson - Woodes Rogers’ and Eleanor’s chambermaid - reading to her children. If you look closely, you’ll see the book she is reading is “A General History of Pyrates,” which was first published in 1725 written under the pen name of Captain Charles Johnson, who may (or may not) have actually been “Robinson Crusoe” author Daniel Defoe. For much of the past three centuries, this book has been considered the definitive history of the Golden Age pirates, and was cited by Robert Louis Stevenson as a major influence on and inspiration for “Treasure Island.” However, more recent scholarship by authors such as Bennerson Little (who was a consultant on “Black Sails”) has revealed much of “A General History” to be apocryphal - which, of course, fits in perfectly with the line Rackham is speaking when we see Mrs. Hudson reading from it. The second detail concerns the flag revealed at the very end of the show. It was not *just* one of the iconic “Jolly Roger” flags (and, btw, Jack Sparrow’s flag in the POTC movies), it was the *actual flag* under which the real Jack Rackham sailed. So it did, in fact, transcend, despite the “Black Sails” version of Jack’s lukewarm reaction to it - “It’s fine,” before he turns and walks away, repeating, “It’s fine.”
You absolutely sold me on the premise, so I did as you said and tabbed out to watch the first episode - and I'm going to screw up your watch time because I need to see this show without spoilers.
Max and Elenor Guthrie are already everything to me
this video popped up on my friend’s smart tv when i was trying to play black sails for my friends after badgering them to watch it for months and i was like OMG I CANT BELIEVE ROWAN MADE A VIDEO ABOUT BLACK SAILS AND I MISSED IT and then realized you had released it that same day. wild.
remember to say thank you to the fbi agent in your webcam for me
@@HeyRowanEllis if the fbi is devoting resources to delivering me black sails video essays then i will fully support them in their endeavors!
Everybody has to watch Spartacus if they like Black Sails. It’s a Starz television shown with diversity in race and sexuality. The show like Game of thrones has sex and nudity however, unlike Game of Thrones both male and female characters have equal amount of nudity. Also it’s got multiple story lines and really interesting characters.
Spartacus starts off really ropey but once it finds its feet it's really fun, and has some interesting parallels with Black Sails. Especially when it comes to finding yourself cheering on a brutal massacre because the rich bastards had it coming.
@@asamushroomcloud yeah the pilot episode is pretty bad but it gets so good. It’s one of my all time favourite shows
Ah, Spartacus. The anti bury your gays and damsel in distress show.
I only rewatch the last 2 seasons now. Only partially for my bisexual love Saxa
I really enjoyed the first two seasons, haven't watched the rest. One of the main draws was John Hannah as Batiatus. I personally didn't care much for Spartacus himself (he kinda seemed like a bogstandard 'man-who-has-been-wronged'-protagonist archetype). Are the follow-up seasons worth a watch? And if so, why do you feel that way? I'm open to the idea, but it might just be that it just doesn't appeal that much to me (and just saying 'it gets really good' isn't the most helpful answer).
I initially watched Black Sails because it was scenery porn. It aired during the winter and I needed the sunshine of the Caribbean to brighten up my life but it definitely became so much more. I fell in love with the characters and I was in to go wherever the writers took me. I didn’t remember Treasure Island properly when I watched the show and I didn’t want to spoil it by rereading the book so I got to enjoy it without the burden of the epilogue at the back of my mind. I absolutely fell in love with Flint, he was so intense, I couldn’t understand his motivation in season 1 but when I found out why he was so angry in season 2 everything fell into place. The relationships that developed felt authentic the Anne/Jack/Max dynamic that developed didn’t feel forced or shoehorned in for titillating purposes but instead was a relationship that was fraught with uncertainty because of their pasts and a lack of communication among them. I immediately went back to watch Black Sails after the disappointment of the final season of GOT. The show ended in a way that gave the characters an ending that felt right for them and it didn’t forget minor characters and I loved that. I made sure to get to see the cast at NY Comic Con when they were there a few years ago (it was right before season 3 started airing I believe) and the room was packed. I always try to recommend it to people and I always add Toby Stephens wears leather pants. It was enough to get me hooked.
I found this video about a year ago and waited to watch it until I had finished the show. I finished it last week and came back to watch this, absolutely fantastic. Black Sails is probably the most well written and engaging shows I've ever watched and I really appreciate your take on it!