There’s something to be said about the recreated historical dramas that have risen in popularity over the last few years; Downton Abbey, Poldark, Peaky Blinders, Vikings, Marco Polo, Rome, and Jamestown come to mind. It’s obvious there is a demand and streaming services and traditional channels alike have answered the call with a plethora of semi-accurate historical pieces that introduce actual historical figures, places and events.
Black Sails is no different, a show that takes one of the most infamous periods in history (The Golden age of Piracy) and does its best to tell an enthralling story. Now I tend to have a soft spot for historical pieces, but when a show goes out of its way to make sure what it presents is not only entertaining (Black Sails does a fantastic job showing the intricacies of the pirating world) but also accurate to the time period, it’s worth noting. That right there is what Black Sails does best. When the show strikes a balance between drama and character development, and the real life aspects of 1715 pirating, it is some of the most entertaining television out there. The problem here is that those elements rarely align for those amazing moments we all watch T.V. for.
Season one gets off to a rocky start with characters that, while entertaining to watch, are relatively underdeveloped, and stay blank slates until the end. Part of reason shows hook audiences is because the characters are complex, flawed, difficult, believable, real, and overall likable because of the inward, personal journey they take. Downton Abbey for example, has characters that at surface value look to be little more than pompous rich dealing with seemingly contrived problems. However each person had a deeper story to tell and each story delves into the complexities of living in a setting so dominated by rigid social order. Black Sails’ Captain Flint has little to any personal progression as he hunts for a fabled Spanish treasure. In fact this treasure is really his only driving force. We get no backstory, no history to give his character depth. The story too, throughout the series but specifically in earlier seasons, harms itself with too many lackluster subplots and weighs itself down by getting stuck in historical details. Again I love the accuracy this show brings to the table, but at a point it hinders good story telling.
What is important to note however is that the show cleans up its act, and throughout the seasons, consistently improves its story telling. Side characters start to take a backseat as the main plots come to fruition. There are some really fantastic action sequences I’d be doing you a disservice to spoil, but just know when it’s time to deliver action, Black Sails does not disappoint (Michael Bay is the executive producer).
Its difficult to summaries a show as big as Black Sails accurately within the confines of a single review. To be as accurate as possible I’ll spell out the main points to focus on. The show takes time to get going, with early seasons leaving underdeveloped characters and sometimes a convoluted plot. As the show continues, especially as the main cast begins to bump heads with the British Navy, the show really shines. Still at times the plot gets stuck focusing on too many specific details, as if the creators were bragging that they did their homework. I personally love the additional information, but to someone less patient, this can be a problem. By the end things heat up and it makes for some great fun, the only problem is it takes so much time to finally get going that this may be a big turnoff to those looking for something to jump into easily. That may be the plight of historical dramas, still there are others that do so better, and more efficiently. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a show thats stays faithful to reality, has enticing drama and character development (eventually)and wants to see some sweet pirate action. It takes some time, and not everyone will be willing to sit through to the conclusion, but I’d argue it’s worth it. Seeing Ray Stevenson’s rendition of Blackbeard helps too.
- As always the special features are a nice addition, and offer up a great way to see more of the effort that was put in for the sake of historical accuracy .
