In Black Sails season 1, episode 7, it was time for others to claim their right to power after Eleanor and Anne’s coup last week.

Flint on a slippery slope

-Flint still seems to want to give Mrs. Barlow the benefit of the doubt despite all evidence pointing to her betrayal of Flint and his crew.
-Gates finally confronts Flint about the letter Gates and Billy found written by Mrs. Barlow that indicated that Flint would betray his crew.
-Flint, even when confronted by Gates, who is tired of looking the other way, is still in deep denial about Mrs. Barlow.
-Gates finally speaks his mind to Flint, stating that he’s raising the issues now, because Billy Bones was like a son to him, and he can no longer look the other way. He is met with admonishment by Flint.
-Only when Flint finally realizes that Gates will walk out and betray him to the crew does he reveal part of his plan: He fancies himself the savior of his crew with delusions of an ideal life. Gates isn’t buying it. He’ll stay loyal to Flint for the time being, but once the job is done, he’ll leave. Gates eventually comes to realize via Dufresne that the crew will stay with Flint until they are paid, and then they’ll kill him in retribution for Billy.

Rackham and Bonney find they need Max

-Rackham’s talents clearly don’t lie in running a brothel, as the staff is stealing him blind.
-Once Max learns that the girls have been robbing their new employers, she sees an opening and clues in Rackham.
-Something tells us that Max will shortly be the new madame running the joint.

Jon Silver finds someone as sly as he is

-At last the truth catches up with Silver. Randal reveals that he knows Silver was the actual thief of the journal.
-Silver is fairly convincing in his denial. If the truth is known, the crew will kill him, but if Silver truly memorized the schedule, they will lose money.
-Fortunately, Silver knows how to manipulate, and he finally gets Randall to reconsider his charge. Silver comes to realize that Randall is crazy, crazy like a fox!

Eleanor asserts her authority

-Now that she has regained her power, Eleanor is not inclined to be trusting.
-She lets Flint know he is being naive about Mrs. Barlow, and he will have to deal with Vane being re-employed.
-When Eleanor finds a drunken Flint wallowing in doubt, she lets him know she still believes in him and their joint mission to improve Nassau.
-Eleanor lets Mr. Scott know she has not forgiven him, despite him attempting to act in her best interests.
-Mr. Scott does manage to get Eleanor to employ several of the slaves who helped with the shipboard rebellion before telling her he is leaving to work on a ship.

Vane hunts for new followers

-Meanwhile, on another remote island, Captain Vane meets with the man who has been haunting his dreams.
-He runs an independent island with its own mercenary force of former pirates. Apparently Vane grew up on this island and left.
-Vane’s idea is to double-cross Eleanor by stealing Nassau from under her with the help of these men.
-After bargaining to get a crew, instead of just taking the men, Vane engages in a bit of trial-by-combat to kill the island’s leader, hoping to take all the men he wants.
-Vane ends up losing the battle, but winning the war, by slaying his nemesis by rising from the grave.

Mrs. Barlow meets her downfall

-After an argument, it becomes clear that the former allies are no longer on the same page.
-Mrs. Barlow wants to go to Boston to live in peace with the arranging of a pardon.
-Flint doesn’t want a pardon for his crimes because he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong. Rather, it’s England that owes him.