there is something so considered and intentional in the rhythm of the monologues of black sails, especially flint’s monologues and i think in part it has to do with toby stephens being a theatre actor who has done shakespeare which is why he’s so spectacular at them but the cadence and the inflection and the rhythmic structure of so many lines and speeches are buried somewhere in my hindbrain as if they are pieces of music rather than dialogue. it’s so so so impressive to me both from a writing standpoint and an acting standpoint
@theoreticalwitchcraft god you are so right the “because there is no life here there is no joy here there is no LOVE. HERE.” is so fucking incredible. louise barnes is also absolutely amazing at this its partly why their scenes together just propel the show into the stratosphere. i also think of her final speech to peter ashe where she’s like “you DESTROYED our LIVES” that entire monologue is musical. god
As a Shakespeare actor myself, I think that this is actually something just universally common with Shakespearean monologues and scenes, having that sort of rhythm and musicality to regular lines and dialogue but also particularly in the emotional monologues. Even now, years after shows I’ve done, I’ll still recite my lines from those plays from memory, following the exact same rhythm, cadence, and emotionality as when I performed it because it’s so deeply ingrained in me as though it were a song. It’s really rare that I’ve been able to find this sort of intrinsic musicality to lines in contemporary film and theater, which speaks to just how impressive it is that Steinberg and the other Black Sails writers were able to create that same effect as in Shakespeare’s plays.
john silver refuses to tell us his story. he lies, and lies, and lies about it. when confronted, he refuses to tell the truth. it’s one of my favourite things about the character, but the thing is— he tries to control the narrative, and he really does at first. but, in the end, he gets swallowed up by the stories others have made up— by the lies others have told about him.
jon steinberg said in fathoms deep that silver’s been removed from his own story, that his curse is that he’s stuck in someone else’s, and he can’t get out. he does everything he can to get out in the beginning, and then he physically can’t, and then he gets so entangled in the story he couldn’t possibly leave— it would fall apart without him (in the end, he makes it fall apart).
billy makes a decision that shapes silver’s whole identity. and even though silver does make the story fall apart in a way, he still can’t get out. and this is what survives him, what has reached us— the lie another man made up.
silver doesn’t just get entangled in it. he becomes it. he becomes a legend, a ghost, a story. it isn’t even one he chose to tell.
