Black Sails (2014–2017): Season 2, Episode 6 - XIV. - full transcript

I have committed men and resources

to aid you in retrieving the Urca gold

in exchange for which you assured me

expelling Captain Vane from that fort.

Back from a lengthy journey,

and not one of them has
felt the need to have a go.

Maybe they was told
to stay away from it.

To prevent them from divulging a secret.

Max's share ain't the only
item the men took issue with.

You chose her.

They gave me a choice,
but it was no choice.



Anne? Anne!

Until I know what
you're going to say to the men,

I can't let you say anything to the men.

The girl's name is Abigail Ashe.

You need to obtain
her from Captain Vane.

And when you return her to her father,

you're going to explain what it is
you're trying to accomplish here...

a Nassau that can self-govern.

It's too great of a force to defeat.

We attempt to fight the body of it.

The only way to beat it
is to cut off its head.

Had I two rounds left,

I would shoot both of you
and be done with all of this.

Can't avoid it any longer.
It's time you made a choice.



Enough.

You two will resolve this.

This isn't going to end
the way you want it to.

This ends in this room right now.

He can't let it, and neither can I.

Sit down.

Why the fuck should I sit?

There is a girl in your possession.

Her name is Abigail.

Give her to me and I
will stand down my men.

You can have the fort.

You'd give all this up
for a little money?

She's worth more to me than money.

She's the future of this place.

Send word for your father.

He should hear this as well.

We're through the Twin Pass and
well into the zone on schedule.

- Captain?
- Listen.

Do you hear it?

No women.

Yes, well...

in any event, according to the whore,

the True North should be here.

According to the whore,
the ship is insured

up, down, and sideways,

so they should surrender the
moment they see the black,

netting the men a quick
and painless score,

and you an auspicious debut.

Now it's just a matter of whether or not

the whore's information proves accurate.

And if there's anything you
need assistance with today,

please don't hesitate to ask me.

- Such as?
- Well, I've heard things.

Heard the role you played on the Ranger

was almost entirely a political one.

Heard Captain Vane was
the sailor among you.

It's nothing to be ashamed of.

You certainly would not be the first man

to learn how to captain a ship

after being named captain of a ship.

- I see.
- Look, Jack.

I vouched for you.

We are both invested in this...

experiment working out.

Sails!

Sails!

West, northwest!

It's the True North!

Right where she's supposed to be.

- All right, gents! Let's go get her!
- Come to starboard.

Make a heading west,
nor-west to intercept her.

Chop it off on the braces and
strike the mainsail and foresail.

Today!

Bit of a surprise to them,
that one, wasn't it?

Not to blame them,

seeing as that you just opened a pursuit

where speed will be of the essence

by releasing the sails and
steering us in the wrong direction.

Though I suppose there's a chance

you struck the sails to make us nimbler.

Tack hard to starboard to
alter our angle of approach.

Come up right behind
her and steal her wind.

Sails!

Heard you the first time!

Second set!

West, south-west!

Two prizes.

Not likely.

It's pursuing ours.

Another hunter.

We have competition it would seem.

Fuck this.

Where are you going?

I'll be back in an hour.

Anyone asks, I'm taking a shit.

Who shits for an hour?

I do.

Captain says anyone walks
away from this beach

with this fight looming
don't need to ever come back.

Shut the fuck up.

And what's worse, you're going to go

to the one place on the island
he said we're not allowed to go.

He said the whores there work too hard

taking secrets from men's heads.

Mate, I'm so close, I can smell her.

So either I'm going up
there and fucking Charlotte,

or I'm fucking you down here

imagining I'm fucking
Charlotte up there.

Tell her I said hello.

Right.

Fuck.

Men cannot be kept in this state.

Sooner or later, they must fight

or they must know
there will be no fight.

And now he's nowhere to be found.

Much can be said about Captain,

but shying away from a fight
isn't one of them.

Whatever he's doing up
there in that tavern,

I'm certain it's towards the
end of prevailing in this fight.

At a certain point I'll cease
to care what his ends are

and lead these men up that hill myself.

I don't think that's going
to be an option anytime soon.

What are you talking about?

It will likely start with three ships,

maybe four.

A tactical assault to retake the bay.

Once England decides she
wants this place back,

the resources that she will
commit towards that end

are inexhaustible.

Sooner or later, we'll be driven inland,

forced to fight as
rebels from the interior

hoping to inflict enough damage

and expense to compel the new governor

to negotiate with what's left of us.

For years I prepared for that fight.

Now it would appear that
there is another way,

a way in which we can control
our futures without that fight.

And as fate would have it,

you are holding the key
to make that possible.

The girl.

Her father is a very powerful,

very influential man.

If I return her to him unharmed,

I believe that I can win him as an ally,

an advocate in London

to argue for a
reconciliation with England

where we keep our assets,
maintain control,

and name a governor of our own choosing.

I believe that there is
an opportunity at hand,

an opportunity where we
control our own futures.

We just all need to agree to take it.

Peter Ashe.

Returning his daughter
might gain his ear,

but there is no man in the Americas

with a more strident
contempt for piracy than he.

No amount of appreciation is
going to make him forget that.

A long time ago, he and I were friends.

Good friends.

We fought alongside each
other towards this very end...

a stable and prosperous Nassau.

We're talking about a man

who took a struggling Carolina colony

and turned it into a commercial success.

And from what I'm told
by friends in London,

is unparalleled in his ability

to maneuver the avenues
of power in Parliament.

If that man could be persuaded,
as you say,

if that man chose to be our advocate,

that would certainly argue
well for our prospects.

What do I get?

If this, if that.

Yet it all relies on an
asset you do not possess.

What do you get?
You get what we all get... a future.

Show it to me.

Hand me my future here in this room.

What? It isn't just your words, is it?

The promise of a thing hard to
define and impossible to deliver...

that is what you're suggesting I get

in exchange for surrendering an asset

worth what that girl is worth?

If you're looking for
something more immediate,

then how about your own survival?

If we cannot agree to do this together,
then I walk out of here

and I lead my men in cutting down

what remains of yours.

This girl is so valuable to you,

and you would risk her death
just to punish me?

You want her? You have two choices.

Try and take her and hope
she survives the fight

or pay me what she's worth.

And what exactly do you
estimate that to be?

One Spanish Man of War.

He can't do that even if he wanted to.

That ship belongs to his men.

Says the woman who managed

to separate me from my last ship

with just a few choice words.

You want to see that girl alive,

I suggest you not try and stop me.

Among the men she is
surrounded by right now,

I am quite certainly
the most reasonable one.

I believe my terms are clear.

You know where to find me
to deliver your response.

Stop.

You can't walk away from this.

Were it anyone else in the world,

you would see right through this.

But that man starts talking
and you'll believe anything.

You have a choice to make.

It's long past due.

Until then, there's nothing
for you and I to say.

What are you doing?

Parsing leads from the girls.

Why? Should I be doing something else?

You're telling me you
haven't heard what happened?

The crew of the Eagle was
recruiting by the beach.

Anne Bonny showed up looking to join.

Quartermaster tells
her if Jack Rackham's

got no appetite for her on his crew,

they for fucking certain don't either.

What did she do?

She grabbed a marling spike
and plunged it in his jaw.

Took out three teeth.

Which brings me to my original question.

What the hell are you doing here?

Why aren't there men at your door?

You are afraid she will come here

and attempt to harm me.

Everyone's heard what happened.

Jack had a choice, pay you or keep her.

He chose you.

She's gone fucking mad over it.

Idelle, how would you feel

if the one man you thought
would never betray you did?

If he purchased for himself a
future through that betrayal?

If you were told by a world full of men

that that betrayal confirmed for them

that they were right to see
you as a monster to be shunned?

She's not mad.

She is adrift.

Alone in the most terrifying way.

What she will do next, I do not know.

But I refuse to proclaim myself

to be yet another one of her enemies

by acting like I have
something to fear from her.

If she returns, if the girls see her,

tell them to allow her a wide berth

and tell me at once.

Logan's come up from the beach.

Mr. Rackham was right.

Flint forbade any of the
Walrus men from coming here.

If the secret they are
hiding is that important,

perhaps this is something
we should let alone.

He has already brought
you into his confidence.

Just show him you are calm.

Let him talk and
everything will be fine.

Hmm?

I assume you're the one
who fetched Eleanor?

Why didn't you just leave me there?

I couldn't.

Thank you.

What happens in London?

Assume your appeal to
Lord Ashe is persuasive.

Assume you bring him here,

show him that everything necessary

to make Nassau a viable,
permanent colony

is already in place and functioning.

Then he has to make the
case to Parliament, yes?

Yes.

But while he's trying to persuade them

that there are reasonable men
among the pirates of Nassau,

men ready to govern themselves
responsibly and peacefully,

no one will be listening,

because in the next room

the ambassador to the court
of King Philip of Spain

will be shaking his fists with rage,

screaming about how
these same reasonable men

just stole five million Spanish
dollars from the king's treasury.

He'll be demanding
Whitehall denounce the act

or risk losing the hard-won
peace between both nations.

If Lord Ashe is to have
any prayer of succeeding

in what you are asking of him,

not only can you not
retrieve the Urca gold,

no one else here can retrieve it either.

They saw it with their own eyes.

In their minds,
half of it is spent already.

To persuade them to let it go at
this point is an impossibility.

I don't dispute that.

But I would argue it is also
indisputable that these two plans,

courting Lord Ashe and
retrieving the Urca gold,

are working against each other.

Perhaps even mutually
exclude each other.

- I will make it work.
- How could you possibly?

I don't know...

yet.

He agreed.

He agreed?

Abigail Ashe will be surrendered to you

in exchange for which you will agree

to make no further move
against him or the fort.

He lives.

I'm sorry,
but I'm having a difficult time

believing that he agreed.

He agreed, he didn't agree.

What difference does it make?

I am guaranteeing that the exchange

you offered will be honored.

Do you understand?

You want me to go to my men

and deny them a fight

that I have led them
to believe is critical

for the future of this place

and do so based upon your word

that Charles Vane will
compensate them for it?

That is exactly what
I'm asking you to do.

I'll say it again.

I am guaranteeing the
terms of this deal.

If you deliver on your promise,

if you prevent any further
attack on the fort,

I will bring the girl down from the hill

and deliver her to you.

Will you fulfill your
end of this bargain?

Yes or no?

- Do you recognize it?
- No.

Not a Nassau crew.

Let's get this underway, shall we?

Captain Jack Rackham
of the Colonial Dawn.

Never heard of you.

Well, perhaps you should get out more.

Good one.

Captain Linus Harcourt of the Goliath.

Your ship is named after the greatest
disappointment in the history of warfare?

I like how it sounds.

Pleasure to meet you.

Have you ever done one of these before?

Split a baby? No. No, I haven't.

We've had a few.

One of three outcomes, in my experience.

One, crews fight it out.

Seeing our obvious advantage
in strength of numbers,

you're wise enough to forgo that option.

Two, captains fight it out.

Don't know about you,

but this doesn't seem like a
haul worth dying over to me.

Yeah, what's three?

Reasonable men agree.

The first thing I remember
is being in the hold

of that ship, shackled.

Then, um, a man came in.

The Scarborough's captain.

And he just said one thing.

He said,

"Yesterday, you were a free man.

Today you are a thief
condemned to die."

I saw a garrison on Harbour Island.

200 men.

I saw an armory, some barracks.

They weren't passing through.

The navy is, this moment,

fully encamped 40 miles
away from where you stand.

Eventually, the man
who guarded me got careless,

let me get too close...

Billy, we're all relieved
beyond words that you're here,

but the question on all of
our minds in this moment

is how did you end up in the
water in the first place?

Mr. Gates assumed,
I assumed, we all assumed,

the captain had a hand in your fall

to silence your opposition to him.

Do you remember what happened
on the bow of the Walrus that night?

You ought to go.

It'll take me a while to
straighten things out down there,

but when I do, I'll be home...

if you'll have me.

I'm not going anywhere.

What?

Abigail doesn't know you.

She doesn't know Miss Guthrie.

She did know me once.

There's a good chance she
might even recognize me.

I would assume your plan would work best

if she were cooperative in it,
if she felt safe.

There's no better way to ensure that

than having me be a part of it.

Part of it? For how long?

I don't know.

Aren't we all just
figuring this out as we go?

You and Peter weren't the only ones

committed to seeing Nassau set aright.

You weren't the only one who paid
a heavy toll towards that end.

I stood aside too long.

If you and I are to be partners...

then we ought to be partners.

Very well.

Captain.

There's been a development.

I'm on my way down to the
beach to inform the men.

Before you do that,

there is something you need to know.

There's been a development
down there, too.

Where the fuck are you going?

You got Flint's man up there,
is what I hear.

I'm looking for Max.

- I'm really not supposed to...
- Get him to talk?

Are you fucking serious?

You going to play games with me?

What did he say to you?

He said the gold is still out there.

He said that Flint still
plans to go get it.

Out there? Where the fuck is it?

He wouldn't say.

But he's coming back later tonight.

Tonight.

They cut me loose.

But something this
important needs doing,

leave a fucking whore to do it.

I can go get it. I'm just being careful.

Wait!

Charlotte, I can't find my belt anywhere.

You know who I am?

I sure as shit know who you are.

Fuck's the gold?

Please don't.

God damn it, Charlotte.

Where the fuck is the gold?

I'm getting Max.

Don't move. I won't say it again.

You want me to believe
you won't betray your men?

Your friends?

All men betray when it suits them.

And right now I'd say
it'd fucking suit you.

Fuck you.

You won't fucking touch me.

You know who my captain is?
Who my brothers are?

Who the fuck are you?

Some skinny little cunt without a crew.

Not a fucking soul...

What did you do?

You fucking lunatic!

What the fuck is wrong with you?

First day as captain, is it?

What makes you say that?

Little things.

A few looks from your men.

They're curious how you'll handle this.

Your banner.

Something in the way
your men reacted to...

The banner?
What's the matter with the banner?

Well, it's new. Lightly traveled.

Why? What do you think is wrong with it?

It's fine.

There. What do you think?

Is this supposed to be a joke?

What do you mean?

This isn't remotely an even split.

You get almost half the total tonnage.

Yeah.

The shit half.

You get the tobacco and
sugar and I get what?

Blankets, pots and pans.

Your half of the tonnage

is worth nine-tenths the value.

It's closer to four-fifths.

We agreed we would reach a
reasonable settlement here.

As in an equitable result.

As in a result based on reason.

Had we come to blows over this prize,

there's no doubt my men
would have won it whole.

I'm offering you a meaningful share

just for having got here first.

It's the most I can spare

without losing my men's faith in me.

I know we have the advantage here.

I can see your numbers.
I can see you.

Did Billy say what happened?

He was fished from the
water by the Scarborough,

tortured, escaped.

Did he say how he went into the water?

Said he lost his footing. Said he fell.

He said you tried to save him.

And how did the crew
react to hearing that?

Stunned surprise, I would say.

Before the captain gets here,
there are some things

I would like to discuss in private.

It's good to have you back again.

Captain!

107 men have been standing on
this beach awaiting your return,

waiting to complete the task to
which we've all bound ourselves.

Waiting.

Perhaps now that you are here,

we might at long last reclaim my fort.

Farad, take this to Hassan.

I should go get the doorman.

No. Stay there until I come out.

You can't be in there alone.

I think you know who that is.

And who his friends are,
who his captain is.

I think you know what this will provoke.

I think you know how dangerous

the consequences promise to be,

and I think you knew that
before you took up the knife.

I think I know why you did it,

and I don't think it had anything to do

with him or with her or with gold.

I think it had to do with
something entirely different...

and I understand.

So I will not let those
consequences touch you.

I will stand in between you and them,

and I will protect you.

So Vane stays in the fort.

A fort with no ability

to threaten the bay for weeks,
if not months.

And therefore no ability

to stop us bringing back
the Urca gold safely.

As for Vane, I don't like leaving
him up there any more than you do.

It's an awful compromise to be sure,

but one well worth making given
what is being offered in return

and what it promises for
the future of this place.

How unsurprising that you
cast aside our arrangement

the first moment it suited your whim.

My priority has always
been and will always be

the welfare of my men.

And your good word being no
priority at all it would seem.

A hard choice, sir,

but one that any responsible
captain must make

given the changing circumstances.

I'm only sorry that you cannot see
past your own pride to join me.

My pride?

I've been a captain of men at sea
going on three decades,

survived a war with Spain,

an insurrection against a queen,

a decade as an outlaw in a place

where the weak and the
dead are one and the same.

So the idea that you could choose
to discard our arrangement,

that I would demur in the face

of your unassailable rhetoric,

either you've overestimated
yourself, sir,

or you've underestimated me.

Mr. Dufresne,

as quartermaster of the
surviving Walrus crew,

consider this notice and
relay to whom you must.

Tonight I will call counsel

and submit myself as captain
of this combined crew.

My argument will be plain.

I intend to lead the men in
retaking the fort as promised.

I intend to hold Charles Vane
to account as promised.

And then I intend
to sail for the Urca gold

having ended your tyranny
over this place for good.

Don't say a fucking word.
Just sit there and listen.

You're right about me,

about what I am.

I am like you,

so I know what you're feeling right now,

that I'm asking you to weaken
yourself for someone else,

for the island's sake, for my sake.

But you're wrong.

We control something so valuable,

the whole of England wants it.

We control Nassau,

and the ransom we are
going to demand for her

is going to be fucking enormous.

More than money. More than land.

Legitimacy.

Legitimacy?

England is going to give that to you?

When they realize it is the only
outcome that makes any sense,

they'll have to.

And the moment they ratify
our control over this place,

no more fighting, no more leads,

no more chasing our fucking meals.

I'm talking about making money
the way London makes money...

collecting it, not hunting it,

and in amounts that mean something.

Give up the girl.

Make this deal.

Do this with me and we can
have a future here together.

Eleanor, when I take
something from a man,

his ship, his money, his life,

I don't hide behind a clerk.

I don't hide behind the law.

I don't hide behind anything.

I look him in his eye

and I give him every chance to deny me.

That is legitimate.

I know what he wants you to believe,
but he's wrong.

England's return isn't inevitable.

England has no more appetite

for taking this place back
today than it did yesterday,

or last month, or last year,

because they know it is inhabited
by too many men like me,

men who would die before being
another man's slave again.

Side with Flint,

beg them to let you keep
what is already yours,

show them that weakness,

and you'll invite the very
outcome you wish to avoid.

Side with me and we will show England

that this place has never been stronger,

and we'll keep our
freedom for another day,

another month, another year, a lifetime.

Hey.

Do you believe me?

You're right.

It's nowhere near an even split.

My God, this is...

really quite disappointing.

I say we take it.

What?

What?

You're not concerned how
the men will receive this?

What other choice do we have?

Start a fight that gets
our whole crew slaughtered?

I suppose you could challenge
him to fight you man to man,

but I think we can both agree

that's not going to end well for anyone.

At the end of the day,
our men can count.

Most of them can count.

They can all see that we're
simply outmatched here.

And they know that... well, you know...

They know what?

That they chose you as a captain
to get access to the whore's leads.

If they're honest with themselves,

they can't really expect you to
be able to do anything about this.

Leads or no, if I accept these terms,

they'll vote me off before
we return to Nassau.

Hmm?

You cannot imagine what I've
sacrificed to gain this captaincy.

I may have lost the only person

in the world I cared for
to gain this captaincy.

I cannot lose it.

Not so soon. Not like this.

You're right.

This is likely the most
reasonable distribution

given our relative strengths.

Then can we consider ourselves
in agreement about our terms?

With one or two small adjustments,

if you wouldn't mind hearing me out.

Of course.

For what little comfort
it may provide right now,

I believe you've made
the right decision.

Your men will see the wisdom...

Thank you for offering us a way forward.

Wait!

Wait, wait, wait.

Wait!

Wait!

I'm sorry, friends.

I had hoped to find an outcome
amenable to both crews.

But it seems that this man

was unable to see any outcome

that saw a single member of
this prize crew to survive.

And that was an outcome that
I could simply not abide.

I can only hope our new
brothers will join us

in the fight for their own survival.

Mr. Haines,
remove their restraints, please.

Remove their restraints now!

Every man from that prize crew.

Unless there is a man amongst this crew

who can sit down with me at
this table and speak reasonably,

honorably,

to reach a resolution more favorable...

in light, of course, of the
overwhelming odds now in our favor...

Anybody?

Come on!

Anyone?

You have heard I'm
supporting Captain Flint

against Captain Hornigold tonight, yeah?

I've heard.

I'm not sure I understand after
everything that's transpired,

but I've heard.

Flint was right.

England is coming.

I've seen them.

I've seen how they see us.

We aren't criminals to them.

We aren't even men.

We're animals.

If Flint can do as he's promised,

protect this place,

protect us from ever
having to face that day,

how can we do anything but support him?

And if he cannot?

Are you suggesting
there's an alternative?

I didn't escape.

From the navy.

I didn't escape.

The captain of the Scarborough

made me an offer.

He offered me and nine men

of my choosing full pardons.

He placed them on the table
right in front of my eyes.

Said I could have them if, in exchange,

I would aid him

in the capture of a
fugitive from justice.

One particular fugitive.

If we doubt

Flint's ability to do as he's promised,

if we doubt he's the man to save us,

then you and I and eight other men

have another option.

We subdue Flint

and we deliver him to Harbour Island.

And then...

we put this whole
fucking mess behind us.

You seem unconcerned.

If I understand correctly,

the stakes of the upcoming
vote are significant.

What exactly are you doing?

I'm seeming unconcerned.

I cannot think of a better way
to aid Captain Hornigold's cause

than to appear panicked about it.

No, that would be my job, I suppose.

What were the numbers of the last count?

I'd say you have at
least a half dozen votes

over Captain Hornigold at the moment.

That isn't nearly enough.

He's a desperate man.
Even with a minority faction,

he might still move on Vane,
in which case the girl dies.

I need him to lose so convincingly

that no sane man would follow
him two yards up that beach.

A margin of 20 would help matters.

Don't stop moving until you have it.

There is one particular vote

I'm having some trouble with.

Perhaps you could help me with it.

Whose vote is that?

Mine.

When we returned here,
you said it would be a week,

maybe two,
before Spanish reinforcements arrived

and that gold was as good as gone.

Yes.

So what happens if we win the vote

and the gold isn't delivered
in a timely fashion?

Vane reneges.

Delays to achieve better terms.
Certainly these are plausible outcomes.

How long do we wait for the
situation to resolve itself?

The gold is still a priority.

There's been no change in that.

You have my word.

That's all I needed to hear.

I should get to work.

I'll keep you apprised of the numbers.

You do that.

Mr. Silver, a moment.

How can I help?

You're doing a nose count
for the captain, yes?

I am.

You're gonna find your
tally a man short.

Why?

Who isn't here?

Where's the madam?

Excuse me,
but I'm going to need your help.

Hello.

Sorry, I was looking for the madam.

You found her.

Somehow, I'm not surprised.

Seems quite a bit has transpired since
last we were in business together.

And I would love to hear all about it,

but at the moment I'm
a bit pressed for time.

So if you could do me a
favor and send Mr. Logan

back to camp, that would be a huge help.

Mr. Logan? I don't believe he's here.

Oh, he's here. And he's not in trouble.

But that could change
quickly if certain people

were to learn he's here.

So please, send him down.

What the fuck happened here?

Does it matter?

A man dies under this roof,
it is my responsibility

whatever the circumstances.

You've lost a valued crew member

and restitution will be made.
I will see to it.

My crewmates were expressly
forbidden from entering this place.

I imagine you noticed.

And I imagine you can guess

it's because there's information
those men are privy to

that we'd just as soon not have
plied out of them by your girls.

Now my armorer is dead on your floor

and I'm forced to wonder if
those two things aren't related.

How exactly did you plan
on covering this up?

I told you, I have every intention
of seeing this made right.

Time is not our friend here.

Please, something resembling the truth.

I don't know.

Something about them falling in love,

running away together.

That's as far as I had got.

He went to Providence.

I'm sorry?

Logan was among a number of
men who deserted this morning.

Unwilling to risk dying in a
bloody fight to retake the fort,

he and his love fled together.

I heard he has a brother in Providence.

Not surprised that's where he went.
Are you following?

- Yes.
- Good.

Clean this up.

If anyone asks if I saw this up here,
I don't intend to lie.

Why would you do that? Help me?

The last thing I need right now
is Flint in the middle of this.

If he or any of the men in his
crew were to learn about it,

my life would get
significantly more complicated.

Any of the men?

Aren't you one of the men on his crew?

Clean this up, please.

Abigail.

My name is Eleanor.

You are no longer a hostage.

I'm gonna get you out of here.