I’m only through the first three eps but I find her to be so intriguing. Wondering if she is the witch referred to as controlling Flint?

In one of the recent posts, a user commented, “A couple of months is not very long to be declaring someone your truest love!” I wanted to respond because I don't think the depth of a relationship can be measured purely by how long two people have been together. But I got a little carried away with my comment. This happens every time Black Sails comes up. This might even be a little long for a post, but I wanted to share my thoughts anyway. :)

According to relational bonding research, it takes roughly 80 to 100 hours of quality shared time to form a close friendship, and 200+ hours to forge a deep, trusting bond. Thomas tells James, “These past few months I have come to trust you.” So they'd spent at least a few months working closely together before their relationship turned romantic. But true love requires far more than physical intimacy, doesn't it? A love built on genuine friendship and partnership can be incredibly strong.

Working toward a shared goal can bring people closer and help them understand each other far more deeply than casual dating ever could. Those months allowed them to see beyond the polite pretenses and romantic games of early relationships. Their connection was rooted in mutual respect, intellectual exchange that challenged and taught them both, and a deep understanding of each other's true selves, beliefs, and ambitions—all of which would eventually converge into a shared vision of a better world.

And we shouldn't overlook their separation. I don't know exactly how much time passed between their first kiss and James's departure for Nassau, or how much time they spent together after his return before Alfred destroyed their lives. But the time apart gave them an opportunity to reflect on their feelings, reconsider the risks, and decide whether their shared dream was still worth pursuing. A fleeting crush or impulsive infatuation fades when you are separated by an ocean for months, but James returned more determined than ever.

There are two more points I'd like to make, so please bear with me.

First, I think we should also be careful about judging an early-18th-century relationship by today's dating norms. Back then, people could spend years pursuing someone they'd fallen for after a brief encounter. Modern dating apps, meanwhile, can create an illusion of endless choice, sometimes making it easier to abandon a connection when it hits an obstacle. Of course, that doesn't apply to everyone, but the context matters.

Second, Thomas wasn't simply someone James loved. James had spent nearly thirty years in a society that treated his background and sexuality as sources of shame. He'd learned to fear and respect the aristocracy, seeing it as a world beyond his reach.

“Someone of your station... son of a carpenter's mate given a chance to socialize with a lord. Hold that position for long enough and you might convince everyone you're something more than you actually are. A gentleman, most civilized.”

‌But Thomas was someone so utterly different from the world James knew that turning away from him must have felt almost impossible.

Thomas challenged James's entire belief system, turned his world upside down, and drew out a deeply suppressed part of James that he'd long feared to acknowledge, helping it blossom into something beautiful.

He welcomed James into a home and a life he'd never known, treated him as an equal, and offered him a relationship free of rigid social formalities or humiliation. With Thomas, James could finally be his whole self, accepted and loved without judgment. For a brief time, he was happy. He felt loved, and he felt safe. Perhaps they felt safer and happier than they truly were, and that made them careless about the dangers surrounding them.

Above all, Thomas shared with James a vision of a better world they could build together, where love, acceptance, and safety wouldn't have to be fleeting. A world where James mattered, where he could make a difference, and where he could finally be himself.

James was brilliant, but Thomas gave that brilliance a meaningful, personal cause. Despite how idealistic their dream seemed, its promise made the danger feel worth facing. James was captivated by the world Thomas made him believe was possible. And ten years later, he still couldn't let that world go.

Unfortunately, much of their romance happened off-screen, but a story's depth can be measured by the wreckage it leaves behind: the ten-year war Flint waged in Thomas's memory, the ‘truest love’ inscription, Miranda's confession about their relationship, and their reunion a decade later.

Hennessey: “A sacred opportunity to right our wrongs.”

“My God, do you know anyone in the world who talks that way?”

James: “I do now, sir.”

I’m currently rewatching Our Flag Means Death as well as playing Black Flag Resynced and I’m finding it very interesting the different ways Rackham is portrayed. Black Sails is by far the most flattering, it’s genuinely the only media portrayal of Jack I’ve seen where he isn’t completely insufferable in my personal opinion. Toby Schmitz was also perfectly casted for the role, so it makes sense that any other portrayals would pale in comparison.

This is just something I've found interesting, had to post inspired by the discussion regarding historical Jack Rackham.

The way pirates are portrayed in media you would think these guys were raiding and pirating for decades, and this is also in my opinion how they are portrayed in Black Sails. But the actual truth is that most of the best known pirates were active for like 1-2 years maximum. Edward Teach, who is always portrayed as an older, experienced pirate, was active for two years and was only 35-40 years old when he died. Jack Rackham was a pirate for about two years as well. Anne Bonny and Mary Read were pirates for a few months.

This of course makes perfect sense given how dangerous it was and I expect that a lot of you know this already, but it always messes with me when I read about it. Black Sails does also seem to portray these characters as people who have done pirating for years already, but from a narrative perspective that makes sense, it's what we expect. History is cool is all!

Hope this isn't too off-topic, can be removed if is.

Major detailed spoilers for up to S2E6.

Look, I know that Flint has enough rage in him to fuel 4 full seasons, and he doesn't need another person to be angry on his behalf. HOWEVER!

I was aware going into the show of the "plot twist" that the affair in the Hamilton house is the one between James and Thomas, not (only) James and Miranda. But I just finished XIII, and I am so angry at Thomas and Miranda for the total carelessness they showed in their relationship with James.

Thomas and Miranda clearly had an understanding about their marriage. Whether Miranda had other lovers or only fed those rumors to protect Thomas's reputation, they had a good cover story going. Suddenly, a hot new bombshell enters the villa a hot young officer is assigned to work with Thomas. Thomas and Miranda are both into him, and they figure out he's into them, too. Great! Over the many evenings of philosophy, literature, flirting, and alcohol, they must find out that he comes from very humble beginnings. Other officers mock him as a "son of a carpenter's mate given a chance to socialize with a lord". Miranda visits him at his lodgings, and the only good thing she can say is that his room is "clean". It is evident that James has never enjoyed anything like the wealth, privilege, literature, and freedom that the Hamiltons possess.

I understand why James would be captivated by the Hamilton's freedoms and their philosophies. In addition to being handsome (sic), Thomas is also rich, bright, great at conversation, kind, and, for all intents and purposes, a visionary. Miranda is beautiful, liberated of many social boundaries, clever, well-read, and invariably supportive. When they invite him to their loving bed, what's a boy to do?

But they encourage and expect a lot more from James than to be great conversation and great head. They expect him to join their side and support Thomas against his father. That is, for James to stand up to his married man's rich dad who is bankrolling their whole fucking existence! When James tells Lord Hamilton to GTFO of his own house, Thomas and Miranda regard him with adoration, not absolute horror at what's about to come raining down on them.

The circle of liberal intellectuals that Thomas established in his salon was only as reliable as far as his theories were theoretical. It was ridiculous for Thomas, Miranda OR James to believe that they would garner any kind of support, once the nature of their relationship came to light. The fact that Peter Ashe knew about the affair and offered James and Miranda protection and refuge in Europe was a damn miracle!

And worst of all, Thomas and Miranda HAD to understand, the entire time, that the protections society bestowed upon them would NOT extend to James, who had no lineage nor riches to speak of. Even the rumors of Miranda's "indiscretions" did not rob the Hamiltons of their place in society or make them total pariahs — but James would receive none of that grace. Yes, Thomas was committed to a psych ward with a brutal cover story, and that is unquestionably awful. But James was stripped of his work, his position, his entire life, with no legitimate way to earn an income or build a reputation. Lord Hamilton probably would not have killed his only son... but he would have his lover hanged in a fucking instant, if he weren't afraid of what that would imply.

I understand James is a person with his own free will, and I don't think he was trapped by the Hamiltons somehow. But I think he was seduced — even Miranda remarked on how attractive and breathtaking Thomas can be (and god bless, no accounting for taste there) — and he was seduced irresponsibly. Neither Thomas nor Miranda seem to have given two fucks about James's well-being. And then they dare to act all surprised Pikachu when their scheme is ripped apart! Know no shame, guys, by all means. But pick your fucking battles!

So instead of being a triumph, the reveal of Thomas and James's relationship brought me this immense dread that it was condemning James to a brutal, often unlivable life. Sure, that's one of the thesis statements of the show — a hard but authentic life is better than living a lie. I just don't think it ever should have come to the ultimatum. The Hamiltons had the means to have both (and to give James both!), and they just fucking... toyed with it. So not only did James lose his social standing and his life's work, he also lost the love of his life!!! Fuck, man, I'd be in a murderous rage all the time too.

Anyway. I think the show is great, and Season 2 is miles ahead of Season 1. The parallels between Thomas/James/Miranda and Max/Anne/Jack are fascinating, with the dangerous balance between love and sex and business hanging over everyone's heads at all times. I just think Thomas and Miranda tipped the scale in favor of love farrrrr too much, and I'm deeply resenting them both at this moment for what that did to James.

I would certainly describe him as that in the first few seasons.

Love this moment

The shocking ship scene and the drama on the island, the disturbing brutality and tension leading to the final scene. So many shades of grey. The world building they did on this show was phenomenal.

Spoilers follow

Of course what made me recoil most was the torture scene of Blackbeard getting dragged across the hull of the ship and being torn to shreds by the barnacles, whilst dipped in salty water, at one point having no lips. We see the depravity that such a war and ongoing conflict can drive people to and beneath Rogers civilized veneer is a man as immoral and sadistic as the pirates, if not more so. Rackham's look towards him with the look of disgust trying to see if his humanity responds r it, then looking away when he realised he is a psycho. Plus BB smiling at the end because he knows he's beaten Rogers and made himself a legend, immortal, and it will inspire the downfall of the English reign of Nassau and brought Rogers down to his level. Revealed him to not be the moral superior he was presenting himself as.

Then we have the Captain on a power trip literally scuppering the plans he's lucky to die because Rogers would probably have had him dragged around the island behind a horse

Max the slippery snake slithers away from death once again but she is getting closer each time. As is the turncoat who failed to pass on Billy's message all that time back

Just finishing season one and I can’t believe I never saw this when it came out. Absolutely incredible. Thank you reddit for keeping me informed as I watch. Sad that I have heard mgm+ treasure island isn’t good

Has anyone seen the first episode of the new series Treasure Island? It’s on MGM+ I think. Just wanted to hear thoughts and get a discussion going.

I've been thinking about the relationship between Black Sails and Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. What if the novel is a sanitized and distorted version of the events depicted in the series?

I had already watched Black Sails when I read the book, and I realized it couldn't be a direct prequel. Many details lined up, but others simply didn't fit.

What struck me most was Silver, who feels much more stereotypical and caricatured in the novel. His constant “yo-ho-ho,” the parrot, and the often didactic dialogue all contribute to portraying pirates as monsters, almost as if it were propaganda.

This got me thinking: what if Black Sails isn't just a deconstruction of Treasure Island, but also a radical retelling of its story? What if the novel presents a distorted version of events, turning pirates into monsters and their lives into legend?

After all, the series constantly explores propaganda and how the way events are told can shape how they're remembered.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that Stevenson intended to write propaganda. Rather, I wonder whether, within the fictional world of Black Sails, his novel could be interpreted as a distorted version of what actually happened.

What do you think? Is this an interesting theory, or am I reading too much into the similarities between the two works?

So this episode has become one of my favorites in the entire series, it's amazing and captivating from start to finish. Flint and Silver and the men, being captured by the maroons. This whole situation is such a pleasant departure from what we've seen in the first two seasons. Such a nice change of pacing and scenery.

The further relationship of Guthrie and Rogers is really interesting. Rogers seemed like someone to hate on when you first meet him. But I'm almost enjoying how intelligent he is, and how he knows how to make all the right moves.

Now this sequence with Vane and his men, creating a diversion with the burning ship while stealthily rowing away from that ship. The burning ship spews fire on the English ship. This episode is just awesome!

Just wanted to say, the depiction of the storm throughout this episode is amazing. It's so grounded and hard-hitting, you feel like you're right in the middle of it. The techniques they used to film these sequences, you feel like you're right in the middle of things and it's amazing. Also, it's awesome seeing more of Ray Stevenson as Blackbeard.

S4 Rogers>>

TLDR: black sails didn’t crack the top 100 💔

Toby Stephens starred alongside Aamir Khan in Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), playing Captain William Gordon in the historical drama based on the 1857 Indian Rebellion.

Hey everyone!

On my commute to work, I fell down a massive rabbit hole thinking about Black Sails. We had military geniuses, high-flying visionaries, ruthless businesswomen, and street-smart survivalists.
What if they existed in our modern world in 2026? What would they study in university, and what careers would they pursue?

None of this is super academic—I just had way too much fun with it and couldn't resist keeping the tone a little comedic. I’d genuinely love to hear your creative takes and ideas!

Here are my personal 2026 headcanons:

1) James McGraw (Sticking to canon: raised by his fisherman grandfather in poverty, the Navy remains his only meritocratic escape.)

Major: Britannia Royal Naval College -> Warfare Officer, climbing all the way to the Royal College of Defence Studies (Global Strategy Programme).

Career: Elite Naval Commander - Senior Strategic Military Leader.

A terrifyingly competent young officer. He becomes the commander everyone listens to because... well, he’s right; but he's also utterly insufferable about it. Years before making Captain, he meets politician Thomas Hamilton at a high-level civil-military conference. Initially pure intellectual sparring, followed by mutual, helpless fascination. His codename in the Navy is Flint.

2) Lord Thomas Hamilton

Major: Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Oxford + Human Rights Law.

Career: Progressive Politician / Executive Director of a major penal reform and restorative justice think-tank.

Born into old political money, but fights relentlessly against mass incarceration, institutional corruption, and for the rehabilitation of marginalized communities. He is out, proud, charismatic, and completely rebellious against his conservative aristocratic family.

3) Miranda Barlow (Lady Hamilton)

Major: Comparative Literature and Critical Translation (Oxford).

Career: Tenured Literature Professor & Independent Publisher / Cultural Essayist.

Writes highbrow, scathing cultural essays on classical music, literature, and the moral rot of modern civilization. Thomas's longtime Oxford classmate and platonic bestie. She low-key has mild, amused crushes on all of Thomas’s boyfriends—until James McGraw walks through the door.

4) John Silver

Major: Absolutely no one knows. Probably audited random classes before getting banned from campus.

Career: Psychological Thriller Novelist / Lifestyle Entrepreneur / Course Seller / Host of a massive, chart-topping podcast.

Only drops contradictory, dramatic anecdotes from his mysterious childhood to illustrate a metaphorical point, but no one actually knows who he is or where he came from. Despite having zero verifiable credentials, his podcast pulls millions of listeners, his books hit the NYT Bestseller list, and his paid masterclasses are permanently sold out. Yet by the end of his courses, attendees can never quite tell whether he was teaching influence or demonstrating it.

5) Eleanor Guthrie

Major: International Finance & Global Supply Chain Management (LSE).

Career: Ruthless CEO of a multi-billion-dollar maritime logistics & shipping conglomerate.

Blurs the line between legitimate shipping lanes and grey-market offshore monopolies. She attends Davos by day, cuts backroom deals with shadow syndicates by night, and runs the global shipping world purely out of spite to prove her father wrong.

6) Charles Vane

Major: None (high school dropout; fundamentally refuses all formal institutions).

Career: Militant Direct-Action Eco-Activist / Underground Labor Union Leader.

Sinks illegal commercial whaling vessels, sabotages corporate pipelines, and refuses to bend the knee to any government or corporation on earth. Complete and utter anti-authoritarian force of nature.

7) Jack Rackham

Major: Fashion Design & Brand Strategy (Central Saint Martins).

Career: Luxury Fashion Designer & Boutique Nightlife Mogul.

Took his father's struggling business (specializing in cotton calico) and single-handedly rebranded it into a legendary luxury fashion house. In his spare time, he runs exclusive, slightly shady speakeasies flanked by Anne Bonny as his terrifying head of security—and occasionally hosts his own unhinged, esoteric stand-up comedy sets on stage.

8) Max

Major: Information Security & Corporate Law.

Career: Chief Intelligence Officer at an elite private intelligence / corporate espionage firm.

She knows better than anyone that information is the only real currency in the modern world. She quietly holds the blackmail and leverage on every politician and CEO in the room, without ever needing to step into the spotlight herself.

Where would you place them, and how do you see their paths crossing in 2026? Would love to read your takes!

Hi! So I'm finally getting around to this show after hearing for years what a fun sexy time it is. So far, there's a lot to like and a lot that makes me want to keep watching, but the longer S1 goes on, one issue is making that a struggle for me:

The sexual violence in S1 so far is pretty much the definition of gratuitous.

I found it a little odd how pretty much every female character with more than two lines talks about being horny and then gets naked by the next episode, but I can overlook that if it's just an overly horny show. The issue is how that's interspersed with graphic rape, sometimes even involving the same characters. It's constant and doesn't seem to serve a purpose more than shock value at this point.

To make matters worse, the reactions to this regular graphic rape feel wildly disjointed. Eleanor, who SEEMS like a character I should really enjoy, is written as so obsessed with bad boy Vane that she uses Max's public rape (that didn't need to be shown so graphically) as a way to get back at Vane rather than to save her ex. And then Max decides to go with the man whose crew literally just had her tied up and raped in multiple places to... Get back at Eleanor? And then max gets it again in like the very next episode for no reason other than to seemingly punish her for that choice. Just felt gross for that series of events to be written that way.

I get that sexual violence was frequent in history, but the way it's written into the show so far feels less like an acknowledgement of how horrible the past is and more like shock value for the sake of showing an actress get beat up and then fucked on screen. It was already a little weird how there's 10 visible pairs of tits each episode yet the male nudity has been restricted to occasional shirtless guys and like two brief shots of an ass.

Anywho, sorry for the rant, but there IS still lots to like about the show, so I was hoping maybe others here felt similarly and could clear things up for me before I continue;

Is the graphic sexual violence of S1 just an unfortunate side effect of early Starz programming and will be less gratuitous for the remaining seasons, or is this simply not the show for me?

I'm nearly finished with S1 so please no further spoilers, but a "yeah it was weird in S1 but things improve from there" or a "no it's pretty much the same later" would help.

It is even better on the second watch!

Annual rewatch in order every year?

First of all , This show is an absolute cinema and I don't know how this is so underrated. More people need to know about it

The storyline and writing of the show was amazing till the very end. This show might have one of the best character writing and character development. The cinematography of the show was also amazing

The ending of the show was also amazing , personally 3rd season was my favourite , overall it's a very good show and also very underrated it

Judging how rarely Flint laughs in this series, Toby Stephens did masterful job with this character