char7:

Ugh, don’t get me started on folks dissing Black Sails over “queerbaiting” or “bury your gays”, etc. This is the LEAST queerbaiting and “bury your gays troupe” show you will ever see. And Eleanor’s death had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with her being bi-sexual. Obviously, no character should be killed because they’re queer. But a character should also not be exempt from death because they’re queer. Not if the death makes sense and works storyline wise, which I feel like was the case here. Eleanor’s death was entirely about her and Rogers’ actions. He may have led the Spanish there but she set so much of this into action herself, going back to last season when she killed Vane.

Speaking of, I saw a lot of people calling for her head back then. I think if Jack had shot her and said “Revenge for Chaz”, you’d be getting a different reaction from some fans. Eleanor has always been a polarizing character. That she died this way, in such a violent manner by a stranger with no actual grudge against her, gave a much bigger impact to viewers than if she’d been killed by someone the fans knew for reasons viewers understood (even if they didn’t approve of).

Eleanor has done alot over the course of the show. Lied, killed, stole, double-crossed, betrayed, etc. She did the same things that every other character – male and female – have done. And she died, as many of those characters have before her (Vane, Teach, Gates, Miranda, Scott, Hornigold, Dufrense, etc.). Like those deaths, it had nothing to do with gender or sexuality, just the price of the world they chose to be a part of.

I trust these writers to not kill for shock value. Steinberg said that every character death must create more storyline than it ends and I feel like we will see that. We already are. Max is now aiming to take down Rogers and united with Jack in this cause. Eleanor’s family in Boston will become involved. And Rogers/Spain storyline will expand because of this. And I have a theory/speculation of how this will entangle Billy going forward. The fallout from her death will be huge, as it should be.