Black Sails XXXIV (Starz 5 Mar 2017, with David Butler)

In Black Sails XXXIV things are looking dire for the pirates and slaves on Nassau, Rogers leads the Spanish ships safely into the harbour and it very quickly turns into a rout.

Flint, Eleanor and Madi (along with a few of Eleanor and Madi’s men) need to get back to the fort quickly, before they can get there they are cut off by a group of Spanish regulars. They do make it to a settlement but are soon under fire from a small platoon – they manage to beat them off but Flint and some of the men head off after a trio of stragglers. They can’t afford for the main force to discover where they are.

Silver and his men have taken refuge with the slaves at the Underhill plantation, they need to persuade slave army leader Julius to join them. If they do they can hopefully keep the Spanish at bay. A tense meeting sees Julius leave without giving Silver an answer.

Featherstone, Idelle and a number of crewmen manage to get the Walrus around to the other side of the the island and rendezvous with Rackham who is waiting to pick up survivors.

With Flint’s and several of the men having gone to track down the Spanish stragglers a lone Spaniard, who hadn’t actually been killed in the initial skirmish, kills the men who were left to guard Eleanor and Madi and breaks into the house. The girls try to overcome him but he is too strong, Madi is knocked unconscious to the floor and Eleanor is badly beaten and takes a bad sword wound to her side. When it looks like all is lost she grabs a piece of wood from the fire and sets the soldier on fire.

When Flint and his men eventually return the settlement is ablaze and Eleanor is on the verge of death of outside, it’s too late to save her. It’s a death we weren’t expecting to be honest, the death of Madi is no real surprise but we kind of expected Eleanor to be around at the end. Which of course makes her death all the more shocking.

Just when it looks like Silver and his men are also about to overrun Julius and his large slave army turns up to save the day, sending the Spanish running into a retreat. Flint is not long in arriving and has to break the news to Silver that Madi, who has become his lover and confidante, is dead. Silver is devastated.

Flint and Silver know it is over and they need to get their men off the island. The Walrus and Rackham’s sloop are still waiting for them. The plan being to head to Maroon, regroup and then think about their next move.

Rackham has also picked up Max who very quickly realised which way the tide was turning. When she discovers that Eleanor is dead she tells Rackham that instead of heading to Maroon with Flint they need to go to Philadelphia and Eleanor’s grandfather. Back on the Maroon though, word has got out about the sacking of Nassau and both slaves and pirates from all corners are arriving….

Billy clearly still has a role to play in the remaining episode. He was locked in one of the outbuilding have been injured by Israel and badly beaten by the slaves. However he is released by one of his former crewmates who, knowing that the Spanish are likely to overrun them, lets him go.

production details
USA / Starz / 1×60 minute episode / Broadcast 5 March 2017

Writers: Robert Levine Jonathan E. Steinberg / Director: Steve Boyum

Series: Black Sails Season 4 Episode 6

cast
Toby Stephens as Captain Flint
Hannah New as Eleanor Guthrie
Luke Arnold as John Silver
Jessica Parker Kennedy as Max
Tom Hopper as Billy Bones
Toby Schmitz as Rackham
Clara Paget as Anne Bonny
Luke Roberts as Woodes Rogers
David Wilmot as Israel Hands
Zethu Dlomo as Madi
Andre Jacobs as De Groot
Craig Jackson as Featherstone
Lise Slabber as Idelle
Laudo Liebenberg as Dooley
Chris Fisher as Ben Gunn
Moshidi Motshegwa as The Maroon Queen
Winston Chong as Joji
Dale Jackson as Lieutenant Utley
Adam Neill as Mr. Soames
David Butler as Frasier
Andrian Mazive as Kofi
Tinah Mnumzana as Ruth
Ilay Kurelovic as Governor Raja
Jorge Suquet as Grandal
Sizo Mahlangu as Obi
Tony Kgoroge as Julius
Apolinhalo Antonio as Zaki
Wojtek Lipinski as Redcoat #1
Frans Steyn as Redcoat #2
Scott George as Spanish Advisor
Gavin Gomes as Spanish Soldier #1
Brandon Amronski as Senior Spanish Officer