I have no idea what I've just seen. The story opens immediately to scenes of battle and slowly introduces the viewers to a whole myriad of characters. I can not make up my mind who is bad, who should I back and who should I despise. What a packed first episode. I am really excited to see what Starz has created here.. I can already tell I am in for some really exciting television. The back story, a messy plot, secret agendas, and this was just the first episode!! Cant wait to see whats in store for us as this progresses!
6 Reviews
Some concerning writing issues.
Methine6 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
When Flint confesses about the treasue, John becomes extremely expressive and also checks his pocket which ruins the element of mystery, showing already what we know. Also the paper with Singleton being empty, makes it ver dumb tho, they could scrible some gibberrish on it so the audience could doubt that the paper was snatched from John somehow. Overall the first episode's writing is too obvious.
I hope it gets better
TheDonaldofDoom21 March 2018
For a pirate show this isn't as entertaining as it should be. That probably isn't helped by the fact that it looks like it was written using a checklist of features a show like this should have, maybe, uh, borrowed by Game of Thrones: the violence, the prostitutes, the lesbian sex scene (because of course there has to be a lesbian sex scene), the political intrigue, a lack of "safe" characters and the duel. Other elements are directly borrowed from the pirate tropes checklist. It does feel like the writers were sticking to a checklist as this pilot episode comes across as too mechanical, using well-worn tropes without putting its own spin on them. The duel, for example. It has some tension as it feels like either dueller could genuinely die. But it's a barebones duel. Nothing is done to make it more memorable than any standard duel we've seen on TV. Compare it to the duel on Game of Thrones between the mountain and the viper and it's clear which one's better, which one's more exciting.
The characters are a mixed bag. Captain Flint is one of the better ones, with sufficient depth to make him someone to care about. John Silver is the opposite of that, the handsome pirate who the show clearly wants us to root for without giving us a reason why. Eleanor Guthrie is the token Strong Female Character whose speech is peppered with as many f words as possible, because hey there's nothing stronger than a female character who swears all the time. Oh and she openly talks about masturbating, the true sign of a confident, liberated woman. Sigh.
The main plot isn't actually half-bad. I mean it's not Game of Thrones, but despite my initial doubts, by the end of the episode I was intrigued. It has to do with a missing page and Bones's final test of loyalty involving it proved this show can do character development. If in future it can focus on the deeper characters it could be great. If John Silver becomes the main character without being fleshed out more that'll be a shame.
One thing I was surprised about was that for a pirate show it didn't do a huge amount to make a pirate's life appear exciting. Hopefully it'll do so in future episodes because I was disappointed not to find it thrilling. The visuals were pretty, although that's kind of expected these days.
For a pilot, it could be better. But maybe it takes some time for Black Sails to find its footing.
The characters are a mixed bag. Captain Flint is one of the better ones, with sufficient depth to make him someone to care about. John Silver is the opposite of that, the handsome pirate who the show clearly wants us to root for without giving us a reason why. Eleanor Guthrie is the token Strong Female Character whose speech is peppered with as many f words as possible, because hey there's nothing stronger than a female character who swears all the time. Oh and she openly talks about masturbating, the true sign of a confident, liberated woman. Sigh.
The main plot isn't actually half-bad. I mean it's not Game of Thrones, but despite my initial doubts, by the end of the episode I was intrigued. It has to do with a missing page and Bones's final test of loyalty involving it proved this show can do character development. If in future it can focus on the deeper characters it could be great. If John Silver becomes the main character without being fleshed out more that'll be a shame.
One thing I was surprised about was that for a pirate show it didn't do a huge amount to make a pirate's life appear exciting. Hopefully it'll do so in future episodes because I was disappointed not to find it thrilling. The visuals were pretty, although that's kind of expected these days.
For a pilot, it could be better. But maybe it takes some time for Black Sails to find its footing.
Episode I
Prismark103 June 2018
The first episode of Black Sails needs to introduce a lot of characters and we are unsure as to who to root for. Black Sails has action in the 18th century high seas and a setting in New Providence, a port in the Bahamas. It was actually run by pirates, where they dropped off their stolen loot and traded their cargo for gunpowder and rum. Once that was done it was off to the whorehouse.
Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) leads the Walrus, whose captaincy is in danger as pickings have been slim but he is looking for the big one. A Spanish galleon with 5 million dollars of treasure, it is just that a page of the map is missing.
The episode opens with action as the Walrus attacks another ship, the sailors try to bravely withstand the pirates but some of them are happy to become pirates, the conditions can be better than with their existing captain. We see John Silver (Luke Arnold) hiding from the action below decks, he notices that the ship's cook is hiding a parchment and kills him for it. The parchment is a map, John Silver pretends to be the cook as he joins the pirate of the Walrus. Silver is a man of mysterious motivations in the first episode.
Being a Starz series and with an eye on the Game of Thrones audience, there is sex, nudity, some lesbian action and profanities. It is grimy but also rather clunky in the way it introduces the characters in the first episode. I doubt we are going to see much naval action, for a start it is expensive to stage but I figure there will be a lot of soap opera style storylines.
Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) leads the Walrus, whose captaincy is in danger as pickings have been slim but he is looking for the big one. A Spanish galleon with 5 million dollars of treasure, it is just that a page of the map is missing.
The episode opens with action as the Walrus attacks another ship, the sailors try to bravely withstand the pirates but some of them are happy to become pirates, the conditions can be better than with their existing captain. We see John Silver (Luke Arnold) hiding from the action below decks, he notices that the ship's cook is hiding a parchment and kills him for it. The parchment is a map, John Silver pretends to be the cook as he joins the pirate of the Walrus. Silver is a man of mysterious motivations in the first episode.
Being a Starz series and with an eye on the Game of Thrones audience, there is sex, nudity, some lesbian action and profanities. It is grimy but also rather clunky in the way it introduces the characters in the first episode. I doubt we are going to see much naval action, for a start it is expensive to stage but I figure there will be a lot of soap opera style storylines.
One and Done.
jamericanbeauty20 March 2020
When this aired, I was into Game of Thrones Penny Dreadful and The Expanse. I always wanted to try Black Sails and finally did last night. What a letdown. Is it 1715 or 2015? 1715 was the Golden Age of piracy. What is this? Typical 21st century showrunners forcing their misplaced wishlist in a period where it doesn't belong. A feisty blonde is the boss on land and orders around a bunch of unruly violent pirate men. A cartoonish-tough brunette wears a captain hook-like hat low over an eye to look dark and menacing as she runs with some bad, bad pirates. A scheming hooker with a distracting accent outsmarts pirates. Her acting is so terrible - you can't ignore it. Captain Flint's buff right-hand man (Tom Hopper) and the new curly-haired "cook" exchange longing glances so cue the man-on-man loving. If not these two, it'll be in the show, I bet. Too much forced women-on-women action with all the hot horny men running around. There's a side plot about a hidden book page (schedule?) and a duel for King Captain. Pirates are lawless seamen who conquer, pillage, trade, and rape. Why are they chilling at this Nassau joint, letting a pretty blonde keep them in line? There's no intriguing storyline. None of it felt like 1715 or authentic pirate life. Besides the opening scene, I was bored and fought off sleep.
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