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Series finale thoughts - History is made by those who wield the power to write it
posted by hashedSTAFFMOD on April 3, 2017 at 4:09 PM
Final thoughts on the series
I entitled this post "How History Is Made" because it reflects how I would have liked this series to end. We've known since the beginning of this show that all the endeavors and feats of Captain Flint and Long John Silver had to end.
Piracy has to end, and civilization inevitably prevails. But does its legacy survive?
We only know about these larger than life characters from the tales passed down generations. And like Jack says, truth doesn't matter. History is made by those who wield the power to write it. A lesson for modern times as well.
Jack's ultimate punishment for Woodes Rogers was his ultimate reward -- to have a hand in writing his legacy. And that for him was worse than Blackbeard's torture and death. Indeed, we can compare the Wikipedia pages on the actual historical figures.
Overall, great series that deeply explored complex themes like loyalty, truth, sacrifice, family, and legacy. The characters were great, the stories outstanding, and the finale exceptional. I give it an A-.
Full post, with pics, on Hashed.
Reply by D-magic
on April 8, 2017 at 3:28 PM
The show actually ended in the middle of the historic events. They did bring the story line to some ending, but that was far from being over if you consider what happened next. Rogers was shamed and returned to England, he was even imprisoned for debts he owned. But later he was released and was appointed again as governor of Nassau, and he returned and fought pirates once again. He was successful second time too and cleared Nassau from them. And Rackham had another story with the character that was introduced at the end - Mark Read, which was actually disguised woman named Mary Read. Anne and Jack had another love triangle with her as well, before being captured by Spanish. So there was more story to tell for all of the remaining characters, including Flint and Silver that are not real historic characters. But as participants of Treasure Island story I would expect their ending in this series could have been different as well.
I understand that the writers needed to end the show, but they knew it was the last season and they could've prepared better. The story of last season was too slow, too many boring conversations without any point. This slow development was felt already in season 3 and together with the non-satisfying ending hurts the general impression from the show that had 2 first fantastic seasons but then kinda slowed down and became too burdensome and stale.
I do leave with positive impression and feeling about Black Sails. All in all it was great show that had a problem with ratings and writers, and as result it ended too soon.
Reply by perelachaise
on August 21, 2018 at 11:13 AM
For an historical account from the losing ends' perspectives, I could not recommend enough The Many-Headed Hydra : Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic from Markus Rediker and Peter Lindebaugh.
Reply by lmao7
on September 12, 2020 at 2:24 AM
I watched all 4 seasons in 1 week and surprised it's not that popular like Vikings or GOT. Didn't know it was rated poorly, it's such a great show and loved the action & characters.