Summary

• Black Sails, a prequel to Treasure Island, blends history and fiction in a gripping tale of pirates and treasure quests.
• The series finale sees Flint and Silver unite against all odds, choosing love over war in a dramatic conclusion.
• Creator Jon Steinberg emphasizes the importance of the unlikely bond between Flint and Silver, driving the story's closure.

Conceived as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island novel, Black Sails ran on the Starz network for four seasons between 2014 and 2017 before concluding on an epic note. Blending historical facts with fictional characters, the story follows Captain James Flint (Toby Stephens) and his pirate crew as they attempt to find lost treasure aboard the sunken Urca de Lima cargo ship. As Flint's search brings him closer to enriching his mates, an all-out war between the Spanish and British Empire takes place to control the Caribbean.

Although four years have passed since the Black Sails series finale, the show has recently been added to Netflix for a whole new audience to enjoy. For new fans confused about the ending and old fans fuzzy on the story details, it's worth breaking down what transpires at the end of the acclaimed historical fantasy drama and what happens to Flint and Long John Silver. In the attempt to restore peace and order in Nassau, here's what occurs at the end of Black Sails.

What Is Black Sails About?

Created by Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine, Black Sails is a fictional drama that combines historical facts with fictional characters from Treasure Island. The acclaimed Starz original TV series begins with sailor Long John Silver joining Captain James Flint on a voyage across the sea to locate buried treasure aboard the Spanish galleon Urca de Lima. Their quest takes them to the Caribbean, where the Spanish fight the British for control over New Providence and the port city of Nassau.

As the story advances, Flint recruits several pirates to aid his mission and find the lost treasure. In Season 2, Flint's English lover, Thomas Hamilton (Rupert Penry-Jones), is introduced after being assumed dead and separated from his wife, Mary Barlow. By the end of Season 2, real-life pirate Jack Rackham (Toby Schmitz) has seized the Spanish treasure and taken it to New Providence.

The final two seasons of Black Sails focus on the intense battle between the Spanish and British for the treasure and rule over the Bahamas. In Season 3, Flint and Silver's main enemy, Woodes Rogers (Luke Roberts), aims to prevent piracy from taking place in Nassau, setting up an intense series finale that bears close examination.

What Happens in Season 4 of Black Sails?

Black Sails' fourth and final season concentrates on the intense war between the Spanish and British for control of Nassau. The epic showdown occurs on Skeleton Island. Woodes Rogers has become the Governor of Nassau, with plans to prevent the pirates from seizing the land, including the terrifying Blackbeard (Ray Stevenson). As Flint and Silver fight Blackbeard and his men, the series finale focuses on the former's attempt to rescue Silver's lover Madi (Zethu Dlomo) while locating the Urca de Lima treasure.

Once Flint and Silver follow Rogers to Skeleton Island, Flint hides the loot as Silver sends backup. As soon as Flint and Silver reach land, their ship is set ablaze in an ambush ordered by Rogers. Nearly lost in the wreckage, Jack Rackham returns from England and rescues Flint and Silver before pursuing Rogers on his ship, Eurydice. With one final battle on the brink, the series finale is less about the intense showdown for treasure than it is about the relationship between Flint and Silver.

What Happens at the End of Black Sails?

The end of Black Sails kicks off with Flint, Silver, and Jack seizing Eurydice defeating Rogers' men, and rescuing Madi. They capture the Spanish treasure on Skeleton Island and Flint sets sail for Savannah. With order in Nassau and New Providence temporarily restored, the must-watch historical drama shifts focus to tie up Flint and Silver's relationship. The finale begins with Silver locating Flint's long-lost lover, Thomas, imprisoned at a nearby plantation. Silver informs Flint and sends him to reunite with Thomas, who is believed to be dead.

Before sending Flint to meet Thomas in Savannah, a crucial conversation between Flint and Silver takes place in the woods. Many fans believe this to be the moment where Silver kills Flint, but it has been refuted by show creator Jon Steinberg via The Hollywood Reporter. Steinberg claims that there is no intentional ambiguity regarding the ending and that Flint's time on the plantation is not a metaphor for heaven as some have suggested.

At the end of Black Sails, Flint and Silver choose love over perpetual war. Flint happily reunites with Thomas and Silver reunites with Madi after rescuing her from Rogers. The gold from the Urca De Lima is divided among Flint's crew, with Rackham using some of the money to pay for repairs and bolster his crew. With Nassau and New Providence temporarily stable, the story dovetails into Stevenson's classic Treasure Island.

Why Does Black Sails End The Way It Does?

According to Steinberg (via THR), the reason Black Sails ends the way it does was a deliberate choice to focus on Flint and Silver's unlikely bond. Rather than concentrating on the epic battle between the warring pirates in the action-packed TV show, it was important for Steinberg to achieve closure with the main characters.

"The thing we wanted the audience to feel at the end and what we wanted the story to be about is the idea that this was really a story about Flint and Silver and their very unlikely relationship. They got so close and then there’s this tragic ending to it. All of the notes we wanted to play lined up as we got to the end."

Further explaining the dynamic between Flint and Silver, Steinberg added:

"These are two guys who are the least likely allies on page one of the series and certainly the least likely best of friends, who have reached this point. The tragedy doesn’t work if you don’t care about the two of them. They couldn’t be more different and yet somehow found some common ground that made them against all odds the only two people who understood each other. We relied on the audience a lot to fill in those blanks and go on the ride with us."

Steinberg also explains the importance of coming full circle to end the story where it began, adding:

"It’s largely the ending we were hoping for when we started at the very beginning of the series, so to be able to bring it back to a place that felt complete and right and like we told a whole, full story, that’s rare. This was a good, healthy organic end to the story and everyone was reaching that point roughly at the same time, and the idea of forcing them to go past that point felt like it was unlikely to yield anything that would stand up to what we had done before."

Although Black Sails combined historical facts with fictional characters, the stellar 2017 series finale leaves enough wiggle room for a potential Treasure Island spin-off. When asked about a potential sequel, Steinberg stated, "I guess never say never always feels like the right answer. At the moment, I feel like we’re pretty happy with where it ended."