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XX.
Walrus storm
Season Three
Number Twenty
Date Aired January 30th, 2016
Writer Jonathan E. Steinberg & Brad Caleb Kane
Director Lukas Ettlin
Previous XIX.
Next XXI.

The Walrus's crew engages with the elements; Teach disagrees with Rackham; Rogers and Eleanor determine terms for their partnership; and Bonny worries about her future with Max.

Synopsis[]

The episode opens with Captain Flint in the middle of a dream. He is chasing several ghostly figures around the ship, including his former lover Miranda Barlow, but before he can catch her he is awoken by Billy Bones, who tells him that Captain Hornigold has began to close the gap between their two ships. Flint reaffirms his command to sail into a terrible storm to escape Hornigold. As usual, Flint’s orders are obsessive and with little regard for others.

Elsewhere on the ship, Quartermaster John Silver tells Bones that they should have taken Hornigold's pardons and then after they were safe to reject those pardons.

On Woodes Rogers's ship, Eleanor Guthrie is summoned to the quarterdeck to speak to Rogers. Rogers shows her his fleet and explains to that the moment he suspects that she is not cooperating, he is sending her back to England to hang aboard their smallest ship. Eleanor is not intimidated and states to Rogers that there is no way that he can accomplish his goals of subjecting Nassau without her intricate knowledge of the personalities on the island.

In Nassau, Rackham's quartermaster, Featherstone, is having to disperse more of a pirate's share after that pirate explains that he misplaced and lost his previous dispersement. They are interrupted by Max, who wishes to speak alone to Rackham. Max tries to persuade Rackham to exchange all of their gold, which sits perilously inside an unprotected fort, for commodities that are easier to transport should they need to abandon the island.

XX 2

Back on the Walrus, the men prepare to head into the storm. Crew members stand ready in the top sails ready to pull them in at Flint's command. Beneath decks, Muldoon and Silver attempt to plug holes that have opened in the hull. Silver explains to Muldoon how useless he feels, but Muldoon explains to Silver how the entire crew is indebted to him. Back up top, Flint orders that the main sails and the topgallants be raised, but the topgallants are stuck.

On Rogers's ship, Eleanor explains to Rogers how she took power in Nassau. She states that to consolidate power, she identified the most dangerous pirate and threw him off the island. This pirate was Edward Teach. She continues by telling Rogers that she also convinced Teach's protégé to switch sides and to join with her. This man was Charles Vane. Eleanor tells him that she had a romantic relationship with Vane, which infuriates Rogers, who thinks that Eleanor is only returning to Nassau to settle a feud with her ex-lover. Eleanor convinces him otherwise, stating that she wants to see Nassau returned to validity, as her father had helped create it.

XX 1

Back in Nassau, Vane is surprised in his tent by Edward Teach. Vane is at first unclear of Teach's intentions, but Teach gives him a hug and tells Vane that he forgives him for betraying him for a girl all those years ago. Teach tells Vane that for years all he wanted to do was return to Nassau and that when he heard that the Guthries had been deposed that it was time for him to return.

Back on the Walrus, the men are still struggling to get the sails either reeled in or cut away when a massive squall approaches and nearly knocks the ship over. As the ship almost tips over, a cannon comes loose below decks and crushes Muldoon's leg against the side of the ship. Unable to free Muldoon's leg, the water below decks begins to rise. Silver holds Muldoon's hand as Muldoon slowly drowns. De Groot tells Flint that the only way that the ship can avoid being sunk is for the topgallants to be cut away. Flint finally grabs an ax and personally cuts them away, leading to the death of several crewmen as they fall into the sea.

In Nassau, Teach and Vane enter the Governor's Mansion  to explain their plans to defend Nassau. Teach is less than impressed at Rackham's status as a partner, because he remembers Rackham as a scrawny crew member. Vane tries to defend Rackham, relating how he rose through the ranks. But, Teach sees it as a sign that Nassau has become weak. He demonstrates his ruthlessness, by having two potential crewmates fight to the death to join his crew. This convinces Rackham that Blackbeard is a volcano building towards its inevitable eruption, and to agree to Max's plan - as long as it's done quietly.

Back on Rogers's ship, Hornigold comes aboard. He is shocked to see Eleanor on the ship, but goes on to explain that he drove Flint's ship into a storm. He found enough wreckage to convince him that Captain Flint is dead.

On the Walrus, Flint wakes from another dream having been knocked out in the storm. On deck, he learns that the ship is badly damaged, and many of the crew injured. They are now becalmed in the Sargasso Sea, their food and fresh water mostly lost, and many miles from land.

Memorable Quotes[]

"We got our share of useless fucks on this crew...you ain't one" - Muldoon to Silver

"Strife is good. Strife makes a man strong. For if a man is capable of confronting death daily, functioning in the face of it, there's no telling what else that man can do, and a man whose limits cannot be known is a very hard man to defeat in battle" - Blackbeard to Vane and Rackham.

"I understand why they would rather do battle with that storm than even consider surrendering to Hornigold. But he had me there too. He had me there. And that is not supposed to happen" - Silver to Billy

"I know Flint is dangerous, but he can be reasoned with. I know Rackham is devious, but all he cares about is his legacy. And because I have history with Charles Vane, I know him most of all. I'm all too aware what he is capable of destroying when he sets his mind on it" - Eleanor to Rogers.

Trivia[]

  • All of the ships that Rogers' names in his fleet were the actual names of the ships that comprised his fleet in his efforts to establish himself as governor in Nassau. The only exception is the Gloucestershire, which takes the place of the real life Samuel. The ships are also much larger with much heavier armaments than most of their real life counterparts.
  • This episode reveals the fate of the Spanish Man O' War. It has been left in Nassau's harbor to serve as a floating battery.
  • Blackbeard mentions having had nine wives. Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates stated that Blackbeard had 14 wives, but there is only documentation that he married Mary.
  • A shot of the Walrus in the midst of the storm transitions to Rogers stirring a teacup. The expression "storm in a teacup" is a common British expression used to describe great outrage or excitement over something trivial.
  • Rogers tells Eleanor that the moment he believes she is no longer useful, she will be sent back to London and "swing over Wapping." Wapping is a dockside neighborhood in London that is home to the famed Execution Dock, where pirates and other nautical criminals were hanged. While not named onscreen, it previously appeared in a flashback in IX., when Flint and Thomas Hamilton attended the execution of "Davey."
  • As Muldoon drowns, his "LIFE" tattoo is prominently displayed as Silver holds onto his arm, the two are literally "hanging on for dear life."
  • The character of Mrs. Hudson is introduced in this episode. She is played by Anna-Louise Plowman, the wife of Toby Stephens (Captain Flint).
  • This episode marks the introduction of Commodore Peter Chamberlain, who historically was lead naval officer accompanying Rogers' expedition.
  • The Sargasso Sea is a large system of rotating ocean currents between Bermuda and the Bahamas, sometimes called the "calms of Cancer". It was well-known historically for incidents of sailing ships being trapped due to the often calm winds. It is also called the “horse latitude” which may originate from Spanish ships transporting horses to their colonies, which often became becalmed mid-ocean in this latitude, causing the horses to die due to water shortage.

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

Characters[]

First[]

  • Commodore Chamberlain
  • Ellers
  • Warren
  • Death (hallucination)

Last[]

  • Muldoon
  • Walrus Helmsman

Deaths[]

Locations[]

Organizations[]

Ships[]

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