‘Black Sails’ season 3 finale review: Did Captain Flint carry the day?

On this past episode of “Black Sails,” we saw what may be one of the most dramatic (and also harrowing) moments of the show as Vane ended up dying by hanging, the result in part of some manipulation on the part of Eleanor. He was a key part in the series, but we knew at the moment the scene played out that his death in many ways could end up mobilizing some of those around him.

So where did we go in the season 3 finale Saturday? It’s interesting that in some ways, the larger moment of the season actually was the death the week beforehand. This finale did still have plenty of its moments, including an elaborate action set-piece, but served just as much as a launching pad to season 4 as it did an ending to season 3 … and we’re not going to complain, since it was by and large fantastic.

Inevitably, Flint was able to get the better of some of Hornigold’s men, but it took a wide array of planning between him and Silver to get it all the work. The show utilized time jumps to better show the strategy that was involved here, and it was an effective change-up so that the action felt like it lasted longer, and you had little breaks interspersed throughout. Do we think that things between Flint and Silver will stay cordial next season? It’s not likely, but there’s no denying that they were invaluable to each other at times here.

Also, thanks to Bones back at Nassau, the name Long John Silver seems to be more or less born! The story there was interesting due to his actions, and also the dynamic between Woodes and Eleanor in the aftermath of what happened with Vane. You can argue that perhaps things here could have been tied together even more than they were, but it was fairly clear from the jump with this series that we were not getting a one-season story.

From Blackbeard and Jack’s role in the conflict to Flint’s final strike, this particular “Black Sails” finale was more than entertaining. It reminded us of why we love the genre so much, and while we of course wanted a little more here and there, we are certainly happen with what we got and the setup for more pirate conflict next year. Grade: A-.