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#especially if he'd been willing to show Billy any respect whatsoever - that's what Billy wanted more than anything imo
starbuck · 3 years
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Inspired by @nysscientia​‘s excellent meta, I’m thinking about how the “I am your king,” line from 1x01 was not part of the early draft of the pilot script and instead that whole speech was replaced with the Odysseus monologue from 1x02, because I feel like the way it was ultimately written in the show is a really great case study into the phenomenon the linked post is discussing and it’s long-term negative effect on Flint’s plans.
In the final version of the 1x01 scene, Flint only focuses on rallying Billy against the looming threat of England (“Civilization is coming and it means to exterminate us. If we are to survive, we must unite behind our own king,”) as opposed to explaining his actual plans for Nassau’s future. No indication is given whatsoever that Flint has any end goal other than to be The King in question.
To Eleanor, however, Flint actually DOES open up quite extensively about his vision for a reformed, stable Nassau (“We could build ships to defend our shores and train new men to sail them. We could work the land, grow crops and raise cattle,”) and then adds the Odysseus monologue on top of that which ends with his declaration that all he really wants is just “to walk away from the sea and find some peace.”
Accordingly, throughout seasons 1&2, Eleanor’s support of Flint is centered around achieving something good (a stable, reformed Nassau), whereas Billy’s support of Flint is centered around preventing something bad (England’s return and subjugation). Of course, there’s a whole separate discussion to be had about how their opposite areas of focus reflect Eleanor’s assumption that she was in no danger of being hanged as a pirate vs. Billy being someone with no such luxury, but I’m mainly referring to how they view Flint himself which, although colored by their respective backgrounds, cannot be fully explained by that.
Eleanor views Flint as a trusted partner towards a mutually productive end goal because he repeatedly explains the details of that goal and his intentions to her. Billy views Flint as a necessary evil to defend the people he loves from a more powerful threat because that’s the extent to which Flint opens up to him about why his leadership should be valued.
And this is why Billy, who, considering his history, should have been the easiest person to rally to the cause in s3, is lost before it even begins. The storm and its aftermath lead him to conclude that Flint is not protecting them from anything and that his only real intent is to endlessly force them into fruitless conflict until they’re all dead (thanks, Silver). And so, with Flint making no attempt to convince him that he actually has higher goals than that, a Flint-led war against the British Empire that they were all conscripted into against their will is the last thing Billy is willing to commit himself to by that point.
#black sails#which brings us to the whole other point of Flint's constant insistence on making unilateral decisions#which wouldn't be an issue if his men trusted him which they would if they believed in his vision for the future#but they don't really have much of an opportunity to do that when he's unwilling to explain it#and it's so frustrating to watch bc i swear i could make a whole list of times when someone comes to Flint with a concern on the level that#what he really should have done is said 'I completely understand your concern and why don't we sit down and discuss it further?'#but what he says instead is something extremely dismissive (or that could be perceived that way) and that's the end of the discussion#99% of the examples coming to mind being conversations with Silver and Billy#and i'm over here banging my head against the wall like Flint!!!! My dude!!!!! Please make a fucking effort!!!!!!!#with Silver at least Flint Sort Of Tried... Eventually...#with Billy tho I have no idea what Flint was thinking#I really don’t think he would have been that hard to convince if Flint had properly explained Literally Anything#especially if he'd been willing to show Billy any respect whatsoever - that's what Billy wanted more than anything imo#and the bar was underground so i don't feel like it would have taken much#even just Flint's being willing to talk to him like a human person at all might have done the trick#it would have been So Easy for Flint to prevent all of the problems before they happened#but ig everybody's got a blind spot...#doesn't make it any less depressing tho#failure of communication is the worst kind of tragedy because it's the most preventable in hindsight#but as it stands - the conflict between Flint and Billy is the same in 4x01 as it was in the first episode#Flint is dismissive of Billy because he doesn't respect him and Billy distrusts Flint because he doesn't understand his long-term goals#and it just Didn’t Have To Be Like That...
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