This is where the pieces all fall into place. Blackbeard played Sam from the moment he initially refused to carry out that same mission. The mystery woman we heard earlier was in fact local girl Rose (Natalie Hoflin), acting on Blackbeard’s orders. Now, the chronometer is on its way to Jamaica. “All that to get what you wanted,” remarks Selima. He smiles. “You were unarmed,” she points out, referring to the assassins. “They could have killed you.” Blackbeard doesn’t think so, and Selima clearly doesn’t either, though she disapproves of the Commodore’s risky gamemanship.
Weary and glad to be alive, Lowe returns to his dwelling, where he finds Kate waiting, ostensibly to thank him for stopping by to see James. “It’s been exhausting,” she says of dealing with her crippled husband. “I know,” he replies, but his eyes are filled with a forbidden sort of passion, one that both of them can sense clearly. “I’m glad you didn’t hang,” she says, stepping closer. “Not half as glad as I,” he says with a small laugh, and that’s enough for Kate, who steps forward to kiss him.
And that’s it for this week on Crossbones. This second episode is definitely a major improvement over the first, but logistical problems remain. Lowe’s status as the surgeon feels somewhat contrived and thinly written, as does the quick romance between him and Kate. The characterization of Fletch and all of Blackbeard’s lackies is half-assed at best. Crossbones has a long way to go before it turns into a compelling series, and it currently has all the markings of a messy NBC time-filler. What’s more, the plot this week seems to come out of nowhere, as if an episode is missing which connects the premiere to “The Covenant.” I was thrown by a lot of this week’s plotting, and the strange suddenness of much of the story makes it seem that the writers are floundering to establish a weekly series. Malkovich is still fun to watch as Blackbeard, but the accent unfortunately obscures entire lines of dialogue and makes it difficult to take him seriously. And there’s just not much else going on besides him.
The writers clearly want viewers to buy into Blackbeard as a charismatic but extremely deadly rogue, but what they’ve given us so far is a nutjob more akin to Jack Sparrow than the actual Blackbeard. And Lowe still feels like too much of a one-note caricature to be a suitable protagonist. I’m watching Crossbones cruise along, and it just about holds itself together, but I still don’t believe that it’s going anywhere interesting. The show dynamics it has established will require regular plot contrivances to remain in place, which is plainly exasperating. If next week’s episode doesn’t grab me either, I’ll be more than ready to set Crossbones adrift.
