Black Sails: Season 2 (DVD) – Series Review
Follow Genre: Drama, Adventure
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Episodes: 10
Duration: approx. 53 min. (per episode)

Black Sails: Season 2 (DVD) – Series Review

Site Score
8.2
Good: Captivating, Slightly more political than one would think
Bad: Perhaps a bit too slow for some
User Score
9.0
(1 votes)
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)

It has been a while since we last saw some pirates on the site and today we are able to offer you a glimpse of the life of actual pirates, albeit those who have been adapted ever so slightly in order to make them more appealing on the little screen. Season one of Black Sails ended with captain Flint and John Silver stumbling upon the shipwreck of the Spanish Urca de Lima which held a gold treasure of legendary proportions. While it’s up for grabs, if you disregard the many Spanish soldiers guarding the treasure, Flint and Silver currently have bigger fish to fry, as their fellow pirates are currently deciding how to punish them for their alleged crimes.

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Captain James Flint (Toby Stephens), John Silver (Luke Arnold) and the rest of the crew of the Walrus have finally tracked down the treasure of the Urca de Lima, but they are vastly outnumbered, as the shipwreck is still being guarded by many Spanish soldiers. Nonetheless, they are in a pickle of their own as the rest of the crew found out that Flint disposed of Mr. Gates and might have something to do with Billy Bones (Tom Hopper) tumbling overboard, while Silver was aware of these events. Due to this they are currently facing judgment from the crew, but Flint does not intend to take it lying down. He is determined to regain his status as captain on their way back, as they will have to leave the gold behind, commandeer a new ship and get the necessary resources in order to claim the gold.

In Nassau things aren’t going much smoother either, as Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New) is receiving little support from captain Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) when it comes to ‘governing’ the lawless city. Nonetheless, she manages to get by and it seems most of the townsfolk respect and fear her, at least until the fearless captain Ned Low (Tadhg Murphy) shows up, who seemingly has it out for her. Even though Vane acts as if it’s not his problem, it’s clear that he cares, in his own special way. While those two have their own set of problems, things are looking rather bright for Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy) and the brothel she runs. The brothel turns out to be a very viable source of information, which she can sell to the highest bidder. That being said, it seems she has taken a liking to Jack Rackham (Toby Schmitz) and Anne Bonny (Clara Paget) who are trying to get a crew of their own to start doing some plundering themselves.

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This second season has a fairly slow pace, even though more than enough is going on. You’ll often go back and forth between different characters, to make sure everyone’s story will evolve throughout the course of every episode. On top of that, we’ll see snippets of Flint’s past life, which was a lot more composed than his current ‘violent’ persona. While there are tendencies to use sex to spice things up, which is seemingly the standard nowadays, it fits the grand scheme of things, as pirates tend to think about wealth and beautiful wenches anyway. With the brothel serving as the central intelligence point, it’s also quite common that sex is a great leeway of obtaining information. Overall it’s a very enjoyable mix of politics, grittiness and storytelling.

Acting performances are simply outstanding, as everyone does an amazing job in portraying a very realistic character, especially those who are based on historical figures. With the glimpse into Flint’s past life, Toby Stephens shows us that he’s capable of playing a character that has gone through a lot of (d)evolution to become the man he is ‘today’. Zach McGowan also shows there is more to his character than meets the eye. To be honest, nearly all of this can be said about all the main actors, as they do a great job in portraying characters that have a lot more to them than you’d initially think.

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The special features of this DVD release are quite pleasant, even though you’ll only get roughly 45 minutes of extra content. You’ll get additional information about the events in season two, which is comparable to a making of, while the other short extras prove to be a bit more amusing and interesting. Outside of the ‘making of’ you’ll be treated to short clips about how the ships were built, how the naval battles and normal fighting scenes were done and a small history lesson about some of the existing pirates this series was based on. Even though the latter is only a short clip, it’s interesting to see the evolution of pirates, as they were originally hired by the government to do their dirty work.

Conclusion

Black Sails: Season 2 offers a very exciting and thrilling experience, where every character proves to be an equally valuable piece of a very large puzzle. If the main story isn’t enough to keep you entertained, the snippets about Flint’s past are surprising to say the least. Overall, you’re in for a very bumpy ride filled with battles, politics, sex and hopefully at the end of that, a bit of treasure. Set sail for the Urca de Lima!

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Black Sails: Season 2 (DVD) - Series Review, 9.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

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