The Big Picture

• Black Sails shifted from being a character killer to a traditional adventure story.
• Billy Bones' death in Season 1 is pivotal, defining Flint's character as it sets the mutiny into motion.
• Billy's return in Season 2 changes everything, making him Flint's ally and altering the dynamics.

When Black Sails first reached our screens in 2014, it was operating on that Game of Thrones logic that many shows of its time were trying to emulate, for better or worse. Episode 1, in which there was no shortage of bloody deaths, made it clear that the series wanted viewers to get into that "anyone can die" mindset that made the HBO medieval fantasy show so popular. And, indeed, by downright drowning a fan-favorite and crew-favorite character in its final moments, Season 1 seemed like it was about to fulfill that very promise. However, because Black Sails eventually changed its course or was never meant to be a main character killer, audiences soon found themselves watching a much more traditional adventure story. One in which protagonists always live to see another day, no matter what kind of horrors befall them. Sure, Black Sails has its fair share of traumatizing deaths, from Charles Vane's (Zach McGowan) to Eleanor Guthrie's (Hannah New), but the four-season-long show is far from being the trigger-happy romp that it first seemed.

Perhaps precisely because of this, the Season 1 death of first-mate-turned-quartermaster Billy Bones (Tom Hopper) is the most impactful. Sure, it might not be as violent and horrifying as Blackbeard's (Ray Stevenson) death by keelhauling, but it is definitely a moment that lives on throughout the rest of the show. For starters, it is a scene that defines our relationship with Captain Flint (Toby Stephens), forcing us to pick a side. From that point on, we are either in the face of a tyrant who will do anything to achieve his goals or of a hero receiving unfair treatment from his mates. Thus, Billy's death is also deeply connected to Black Sails' overall theme about what stories we choose to believe in. Finally, Billy's death is also relevant in a way that no other death show is: Bones' character isn't just important because he is now gone, but he also matters because he comes back.

What Happens to Billy Bones in the First Season of 'Black Sails'?

Now, of course, those who know Black Sails' background are immediately aware that Billy Bones cannot die falling off the Walrus, as he appears to in the first season. After all, Black Sails is, first and foremost, a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure novel Treasure Island, in which Bones is a pivotal character, one that warns its young protagonist to beware of a pirate with just one leg. Said pirate is none other than Long John Silver (Luke Arnold). Thus, both Billy and John must survive the events of Black Sails. Not just that, they must also reach the end of the story as enemies. But while the bad blood between Bones and Silver isn't hard to notice in Season 1 of Black Sails, picturing both characters surviving to see the end of the story might be a little harder. Billy's death changes so much aboard the Walrus, Captain Flint's ship at the start of the series, that it is nearly impossible to guess that it is nothing more than a fake-out when it first takes place.

Billy starts Black Sails as one of Flint's most trusted men. Sure, Flint is a little on the fence about his loyalty when the story first kicks in, but it all changes when Billy stands by the captain's side in the whole Singleton (Anthony Bishop) affair. In the first few episodes, Singleton is a man in Flint's crew who is unhappy with how things are handled on the ship. So, he challenges Flint's captaincy. Sensing that he might lose control of the Walrus, Flint lies to the crew about Singleton having stolen the schedule of the Urca de Lima, the mythical storeship that the pirates are all up in arms about throughout most of Black Sails. To prove that Singleton is a thief, Flint shows the crew a piece of paper that he claims to have taken from the man's body. He also claims that the paper contains the missing schedule. To corroborate his story, he hands the paper to Billy. Faced with a choice between exposing Flint and avoiding a mutiny, Billy goes with the latter.

Billy is far from being at ease with his choice, which he makes pretty clear to Mr. Gates (Mark Ryan). Having heard Flint's spiel about an impending war against civilization, he begins to ask questions around the ship and eventually learns of the existence of someone called Mrs. Barlow (Louise Barnes). Barlow is, of course, Miranda, Flint's friend, sort of lover, and oldest ally in the fight to create something out of Nassau, but Billy doesn't know that. Thus, what begins as a rumor, a story about Captain Flint doing the deeds of the "Barlow woman," soon gains new weight as Billy finds a letter written by Miranda asking for a Royal Pardon for Flint. This leads Billy to believe that Flint is deceiving all of his men, which, in turn, prompts him to confront the captain.

Now, Flint is indeed deceiving his men at least a bit: he wants to take part of the Urca de Lima's gold to fund his fight for an independent Nassau. But he never asked anyone for any pardons. That was all Miranda's doing. Still, when he learns that Billy has read Miranda's letter, he goes to him and asks him what he knows. It is unclear whether Flint is trying to explain himself or neutralize the threat, and it all gets even muddier due to the moment the captain chooses to have this conversation. Having just raided the Andromache, the men of the Walrus find themselves in a bit of a pickle, stuck in place but under attack from a British Navy ship called the Scarborough. Shots are fired, and ropes are being cut left and right when Billy suddenly falls overboard. Unable to turn around to rescue their mate, the men of the Walrus are forced to accept his death.

Does Captain Flint Actually Kill Billy Bones?

The questions about Billy's death begin popping up as soon as his body hits the water. Since Flint was the only one with Billy the moment he fell off the ship, and since it had already become clear to some of the crew that Silver was the one that stole the Urca's schedule, not Singleton, men like Dufresne (Jannes Eiselen) and Mr. De Groot (Andre Jacobs) start to demand an answer. More specifically, they demand an answer from Mr. Gates, who might be Flint's right-hand man but also saw Billy as a son. Feeling that Flint might not have his crew's best interests at heart anymore while trying to keep the men from revolting in full, Gates tries to confront the captain. In a traumatizing moment that defines Flint's character for good, he strangles Gates to ensure that the search for the Urca gold will remain exactly as he planned. The mutiny that Mr. Gates was trying to keep under control explodes, and one of the main accusations against Flint is that he murdered Billy. But did he?

Well, that is something that the viewers must decide for themselves. On one hand, we have now seen that Flint is perfectly capable of murdering his own if they stand in his way. Sure, Singleton was just some poor sob that Charles Vane had enticed into challenging Flint to undermine the captain's power. We were all kind of rooting against him and glad that he died when he did. However, things are a bit different when it comes to Mr. Gates. An aging pirate who had seen a lot and still managed to have a soft spot, Mr. Gates was beloved by everyone, including Flint. He was not a pawn in a villain's scheme, but someone trying to do what's right. And, yet, he got murdered by Flint. His death makes it obvious that Flint has what it takes to push someone like Billy off the ship for knowing too much and then hide it from the crew.

However, what would Flint accomplish by murdering Billy? Wouldn't he be better off explaining his situation with Miranda to him since he had already let him in on his whole war against civilization? Certainly, avoiding a mutiny would've been easier with Billy still alive, as Flint would have him and Mr. Gates at his side. Furthermore, no one would be asking questions about his character. Add to that the fact that Flint does indeed seem to suffer after killing Mr. Gates, which may suggest that he would not have such an easy time offing someone like Billy, and you start to wonder if the man didn't simply fall to his death.

What we have here is a perfect encapsulation of everything Black Sails' is about. "A story is true, a story is untrue," Jack Rackham (Toby Schmitz) states at one point in the show, putting into words the series' whole message about the fine line that separates what actually happened from the fiction we create. Billy's controversial death is that same message now in the form of an event instead of a sentence. Does it really matter if Flint did try to kill Billy? Or is the only thing that matters what the men of the Walrus choose to believe? The same goes for viewers. After Billy's death, Captain Flint becomes either a tyrant or a misunderstood hero. It depends on what we believe.

Billy's Return Changes Everything in 'Black Sails'

For a split second, this controversy seems about to end in Season 2, when it is revealed that Billy is actually alive. Tortured by the men of the Scarborough, he is offered pardons for himself and eight men of his choosing in exchange for Flint. Though he initially convinces Mr. Dufresne that he means business and gets him to out potential traitors aboard the ship, he has no intention of honoring this agreement. Torture has changed him drastically, and he now understands what Captain Flint's war against civilization truly means. By the end of the show, Billy Bones will have a falling out with Flint and Silver, a necessary setup for the story that is to come, but, in Season 2, his return is instrumental to bringing Flint back to power and in quelling any opposition to the captain.

Billy's "death" and subsequent return, thus, make him one of Flint's staunchest allies. In a way, Billy has traveled to the world of the dead. He has seen hell and now wants nothing more than to fight for the living. It is a poetic development but also one that changes everything in how it makes Flint nearly unstoppable. And considering how mad with power he gets by Seasons 3 and 4, that sure is something to accomplish.

But, in the end, did Flint push Billy off the Walrus? What does Billy have to say about it? Well, that is an answer that we never get. To his crew mates, Billy says that Flint tried to save him. However, to Flint, he admits that he may never know for sure. For a second, Billy felt Flint's hand against him, but then he felt it slip. Even Flint doesn't know whether he let go on purpose or by accident. Even with Billy alive and kicking, what's true and what's fiction is still up for debate.

Black Sails is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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