review of Black Sails 2.3 

Black Sails 2.3: "I Angered Charles Vane"

"I Angered Charles Vane" - that was the sign hung around Ned Low\'s head, on a pole, in the altogether excellent

Low was a tough customer, in real history and his brief tenure is this series. He put up a strong fight, and nearly got the better of Vane, who we knew all along was the better man - both mentally (he\'s pretty sane) and apparently physically, as well.

Vane\'s sweet compensation for this is Eleanor jumping into his arms and bed.   Even though he tells her he didn\'t kill Low for her, her gratitude is understandably boundless.   So now we know why Vane stood by last week as Low got his run of Eleanor\'s bar: it was to set the stage for this week\'s action.

But all of this is prelude to the real story for this season, which will be none other than Flint versus Vane, with Eleanor for now at least on Vane\'s side.   Flint, for his part, realizes that Nassau is a better prize then the Orca, and maybe a good stepping stone towards that bounty, too.

The back story is fitting in nicely as well, as we see Flint before he became a pirate edging ever closer to breaking the rules of his polite society.   In many ways, this historic character is the most interesting on the show.  Because although we know where he\'ll end up, we have no idea specifically how he gets there.

Rackham had a good night, too, finally invited to join Max and Anne to make an honest menage a trois out of it.   He\'s still intent on getting his own ship.   Whom will he support in the upcoming battle between Flint and Vane?  Likely Flint, but we\'ll have to see, and, while we\'re at it, I can\'t quite see Eleanor staying with Vane to the end in this battle, much as she enjoyed his killing of the mad Low and her time in bed with Vane.

See also Black Sails 2.1: Good Combo, Back Story, New Blood ... Black Sails 2.2: A Fine Lesson in Captaining

And see also Black Sails: Literate and Raunchy Piracy ... Black Sails 1.3: John Milton and Marcus Aurelius ... Black Sails 1.4: The Masts of Wall Street ...Black Sails 1.6: Rising Up ... Black Sails 1.7: Fictions and History ... Black Sails 1.8: Money

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Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.  His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003),  Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).  His short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.  Paul Levinson appears on "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"  “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),  “Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

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