The pirates of Black Sails now have all out war on the horizon.

New players enter the game

Abigail Ashe (Meganne Young) wakes up, and she is now Captain Vane’s (Zach McGowan) prisoner. Her father, the powerful Lord Proprietor of the Carolinas and Bahamas, has history with Flint (Toby Stephens) and Mrs. Barlow (Louise Barnes), but Vane isn’t aware of that. In fact, Abigail may not be aware of it herself. One thing we do know, there’s not a lot of love lost between Abigail and her father as she icily responds to Vane’s question about the likelihood of ransom, “He’ll pay you what you ask.”

Eleanor in the middle

Eleanor (Hannah New) does everything she can to secure a New Providence that survives. She realizes that the only outcome of a war between Vane and Flint is an island that is vulnerable to the Spanish. Apparently, the last time the Spanish occupied the island a decade ago, the residents endured brutality. Aside from playing the emissary, Eleanor even goes as far to visit Mrs. Barlow, who doesn’t seem to consider the level of threat Eleanor is stating an imminent reality, to intercede with Flint.

A tangled past

Flint’s, attraction to Thomas Hamilton’s (Rupert Penry-Jones) wife aside, he actually backed Hamilton’s ideas because he thought they were good, no doubt to the peril of his tenuous career. The only question is how does Lord Ashe figure into their tangled past? Is he an ally, a betrayer, or something in between?

King of the mountain

Neither Flint nor Vane can afford to be seen as backing down, or they’ll have a target on their respective backs. For reasons best know to Flint, he decides to go against the compromise that would allow each faction to save face. With one word, “Fire!” all hell is about to reign down.

Billy Bones lives

While on Flint’s mission to rally the men on the beach to his cause, John Silver (Luke Arnold) stumbles upon Billy Bones (Tom Hopper). Billy, likely unaware of what has happened in the last week, asks for Mr. Gates. Now it’s down to Randall and Silver. How to they use Billy’s reappearance to aid their own survival? Do they turn him over to Flint or Vane, or do they start a new game?

Three’s company

Intrigue makes for strange bedfellows. It’s a never ending triangle of Max manipulating Anne, manipulating Rackham, manipulating Vane, but they know they are being played. It’s very confusing. One thing is certain, Anne asked Jack to watch her back, a back that is horrifically scarred. No matter how much Max may thinks that she knows Anne, she doesn’t. Smart money says Jack is the one Anne trusts long-term.

He’s back

It took four episodes, but Eleanor’s father has made a reappearance. He was last seen hiding out on an inland plantation. Is his sudden arrival due to Mrs. Barlow finally deciding to take action, or is he playing some game of his own?

Who do you think comes out ahead in the oncoming war on ‘Black Sails’?