Jack Rackham (Toby Schmitz) and Anne Bonny (Clara Paget) aren’t exactly on top of the world on the second season of Black Sails. They’re both shamefully without a crew and barely clinging to a brothel they don’t have much business running. So how do these two underdog pirates manage to rake in the biggest prize of all: the Urca gold? A lot of it is luck, and then there’s Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy), who becomes almost a guardian angel for the duo. Rackham and Bonny have changed things in Nassau, and “the balance of power is spinning” (TS Rhodes, DenofGeek.us). They’re undermining and challenging the whole operation, and many won’t see it coming until it’s too late. The only thing that remains certain is that they’ll have to fight to maintain their new positions, as Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and Captain Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) have their eyes on the Spanish prize and will do what is necessary to get their hands on it.

Watching Rackham and Bonny attempt to run a brothel is a pitiful display. Rackham is utterly clueless that prostitutes aren’t divvying their earnings fairly, and is even less aware that certain special requests are priced differently than a prostitute’s usual services. Fortunately, Max points out the inconsistencies and money scams, quickly earning herself the position of madame. Once they’re finally earning a profit, Max continues to help Rackham and Bonny, and in a way they probably never anticipated. “As a madam, [Max knows everyone], and a lot about [them]” (TS Rhodes, DenofGeek.us). And by knowing Flint’s quartermaster John Silver (Luke Arnold), she’s able to set up Rackham and his new crew with the location of the Spanish gold, allowing them to be the first ones to take the prize back to Nassau. Max has proven to be more than a useful ally for these two and “a powerful force. She’s bought out other interests on the island, and she has the smarts to run things very, very well while not making a big deal out of her gender” (TS Rhodes, DenofGeek.us).

As Charlestown is demolished, two unlikely allies rise from its screams and ashes: Flint and Vane. The trials at Charlestown reminded both men that their rivalry is of little importance when their freedom is at stake. Flint and his crew have been on an obsessive quest to obtain the Urca gold for some time, only encountering obstacles and delays at every turn, which Silver has both contributed to and helped with. They’re not going to be pleased once they learn the gold is not only gone, but at the hands of one of their own. And Vane, while not directly in pursuit or interested in the Urca gold, will still want his share and won’t be willing to accept Rackham and Bonny as newly-minted power players of Nassau. This could spell “a profound shift in the politics of Nassau, as Vane and Flint team up for the first time, ready to take on the newly-rich Rackham-Bonny combo” (TS Rhodes, DenofGeek.us). It also spells danger for Rackham, Bonny, Max and Silver.

So, it’s Rackham, Bonny, and Max vs. Vane and Flint. This could get ugly and interesting very fast. Vane and Flint are two very determined pirate captains with a lot of muscle behind them; they’ve both cheated death and overcome impossible odds. On the other end, Rackham, Bonny, and Max have been countlessly underestimated by those around them, and they’re the ones who managed to capture the biggest prize the island has ever seen. They’ve risen from rock bottom with the potential to acquire even more power and influence. But are they rising too fast and will they end up falling just as quickly? If they manage to maintain their position, Nassau may end up looking and operating a lot differently. But they’re not considering the one thing that Vane and Flint are all too aware of from Charlestown’s events: English law is coming to Nassau, and pirate life may not be able to fight it off, at least not without a little help.