Black Sails: Season 3 (DVD) – Series Review
Follow Genre: Drama, Adventure
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Episodes: 10
Duration: approx. 53 min. (per episode)

Black Sails: Season 3 (DVD) – Series Review

Site Score
8.4
Good: Story, Character development
Bad: Perhaps too slow for some
User Score
9.0
(1 votes)
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Almost like clockwork, a year ago we reviewed the second season of Black Sails, which jumped aboard the same hype-train as Game of Thrones and other more adult series that sprouted all around the globe. Nonetheless, unlike the fantasy sensation GoT, Black Sails is a rather realistic experience, where pirates, plundering and gold prove to be the key focus of the series, even though many of these outlaws are just trying to be free of the yoke of England, and are trying to make Nassau a place they can call home. Sadly, this makeshift home is under fire once again.

Black Sails Season 3

The gold of the Urca de Lima still is one of the most important items of the series, thus things start off with that train of thought in the middle. The gold has finally been hidden away in the rundown fort of Nassau, but actually getting it to an even more secure location, or being able to move it in its entirety without losing too much, will become an even trickier task. Nassau is currently being managed by Jack Rackham (Toby Schmitz), Anne Bonny (Clara Paget) and from the shadows by Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy) but sadly it seems their current reign will not last long, as the British empire is pretty much sending an entire fleet to take Nassau back. Nonetheless, the British do not want to shed any blood if they are able to prevent it, or at least that it what the newly appointed governor of the crown, Woodes Rogers (Luke Roberts) wishes. He wants to pardon every pirate on the island, except for one, namely Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) and the latter is mainly the doing of Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New) as a result of her being imprisoned and having it out for Vane. All of this makes the entire situation complicated, as a pardon would certainly make things easier for the island filled with outlaws, but they wouldn’t be truly free anymore either. To make matters even worse, the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ray Stevenson) returns to Nassau, and he is determined to take Vane with him.

Black Sails Season 3 1

In the meantime, captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and the one-legged John Silver (Luke Arnold) find themselves back on open seas, but there is one thing they hadn’t accounted for, namely the reappearance of the treacherous captain Hornigold (Patrick Lyster) who all of a sudden is a privateer for the British empire, and when he offers the entire crew of the Walrus a pardon, Flint has to make a split-second decision to sail the Walrus into the eye of a storm, that is considered a ship-killer. Nonetheless, they go for it, knowing the outcome may not be a favorable one.

Just like the previous season, the flow of Black Sails remains the same, which results in a fairly slow moving series, even within the span of ten episodes. That being said, how the series unravels is pretty much perfect for the story being told, and there’s still a sufficient amount of action to keep things interesting at all times. A few romances on the side, scheming and plotting and of course a hefty treasure that has friend and foe coming to Nassau, is what makes this series very appealing.

This is one of those series that is driven by the acting performances of the cast, and just like the previous seasons everyone does a superb job. While this part of the review may not only be about the acting per se, the characters show a lot of development this season, as everyone is placed in a different scenario that was once their ‘main truth’. Flint’s persona is dwindled down due to a certain desperation, while Vane shows a lot more camaraderie then he used to. We don’t really want to spoil too much, but every single actor and actress portray their new positions as if they have never played their characters differently.

Black Sails Season 3 2

The special features on the DVD release of the third season are rather short in terms of duration, but you’ll still be able to expand your Black Sails adventure for a bit longer by looking at the final speech of one of the leading characters, a small history lesson about Blackbeard, Woodes Rogers and Nassau. If this still doesn’t float your boat, you can take a look at some making of content, and a small sequence that revolves around the storm in which Flint’s boat, the Walrus found itself.

Conclusion

Black Sails: Season 3 is an interesting season that shows yet another transition transpiring in Nassau, but it also shows that the fourth, and last, season will certainly not go down without a fight. Things have gone from a rather stable pirate life, to a more emotional experience, quickly turning things into a battle for life and death, not only for the main characters but for everyone on either side of the fence, and that’s what’s the biggest drive of this season.

Black Sails Season 3 3

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Black Sails: Season 3 (DVD) – Series Review, 9.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

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