#barbossa should have killed her in the first movie

[whimsicallywiddershins]

Elizabeth Swann is the daughter of Aphrodite. Aphrodite, who fell in love with the wife of a governor, who was beautiful and joyful and so full of life the goddess could not resist.

Aphrodite, born from the sea. Elizabeth, who loves so deeply it hurts, loves Will, loves the adventure, loves Jack, loves the freedom and chases those things because what else is she supposed to do? Elizabeth, who feels more at home on the sea than on land, who surrounds herself with men who are ruled by their desires. Elizabeth, who is loved by all who meet her, who are captivated by her the moment they lay eyes on her. Elizabeth, who does everything and anything for her love, for her Will, for her freedom. Elizabeth, who is too wild and fierce for a normal life. Who is kind and vicious and spontaneous and cruel because love is all of these things and more. Who refuses to let a man bind her, rule her, because her mother is a goddess so no mortal has that right.

Elizabeth, born of Aphrodite, born of the sea, who loves loves and chases. Who wants and takes and keeps because the whole world is hers for the taking.

[bythenineshards]

What Tamlin retcons are there, exactly?

@worldsnotsaid has excellent and incredibly detailed essays about this topic. I'd advise going to their blog and reading their stuff.

Recently, someone made a post (I don't remember who, but after I get done with this post I'll find it and mention them in a reblog or comment or something. But in it, they mention that any and all of Tamlin's behavior could be classified in the same boat as the behavior of all the Fae Males (cringe) in this series. He's not human and more animalistic. So something like Tamlin losing his temper when Feyre's wellbeing is threatened and threatening violence is pretty on par for the Fae. Cough cough Rhys loses his temper when Feyre's wellbeing (aka the ignorance he placed her under) is threatened by Nesta and he does what? Threatens to fucking kill her. It's all just Maas deciding whatever Tamlin does is bad but if Rhys does the same thing for the same reasons, he's good.

But you asked about recons.

I'll give you one that really grinds my gears. Tamlin's behavior Utm. A lot of people, Feyre included, like to twist what Tamlin did into something that it wasn't. And Maas thinks we're too stupid to notice. In Acotar, when Feyre shows up Utm, Tamlin has no power and is subservient to Amarantha. He is literally the same as everyone else (except Rhys). While Feyre does the trials, Tamlin is emotionless. Right? He gives Amarantha nothing. Thus keeping Amarantha from finding ways to hurt Feyre to get a reaction from Tamlin. He is saving her from torture.

Something like this sorta happens in PotC 3, don't judge me, but it shows what happens when you fail to deceive your opponent. Elisabeth and Barbossa go to Singapore to enlist the help of Sao Feng. While debating the situation, Sao Feng reveals he has Will. Barbossa pretends they don't know him. Sao Feng calls their bluff and goes to kill Will. Elisabeth gasps. This gives Sao Feng the upper hand. One tiny noise and favor falls to Sao Feng.

Tamlin holding this act for three months is actually a super effective action to show the reader that Tamlin cares. He knows this is going to be bad as is. He doesn't want to make it worse for her. In Acomaf, this is twisted as "He did nothing to help me" which is utter bs. The motive was clear in Acotar. No matter how much Maas wants you to believe this new angle she's pulling out of her ass.

The next part of this retcon is the last night before the final trial. Feyre complains in Acomaf that Tamlin did nothing to help her Utm and all he wanted was to fuck her. First off, shut up Feyre. In Acotar, she was down to clown. In fact, it's been a while, but I'm pretty sure she initiated it. He had no power Utm until Feyre solved the riddle. He had no idea what the trial was. And why would he do something as selfish as to leave everyone there to suffer? Why would he start asking a bunch of questions? It would draw attention to Feyre. You know, that person he's trying to protect by pretending not to care? Wouldn't anyone get sus that he's asking about that human he supposedly doesn't care about.

Also, within a book like this, it's pretty common to reiterate to the reader and MC what they are fighting for right before the climax. In Feyre's case, it's freeing the love of her life. So the reminder for Feyre of her goal before the climax is a climax (...sigh... Even I'm not proud of that and I'm an unabashed monster fucker). Having her get one final moment with Tamlin the night before the last trial is a reaffirming of her goal. Was it dumb in that situation? Yes. If this was a was a movie, I'd be sternly saying how stupid they are. Should it be twisted to make Tamlin look bad? No. Realistically speaking, with everything we know about the situation, it's unlikely he had anything to offer her other than to show her how deeply he cares for her. To show that despite pretending not to care, he does love her. I'd also point out that Maas never really has any other...methods of showing love other than sex. Her relationships are as shallow as a kiddie pool in July.

It can also be interpreted that he has faith in her to finish the trials. Which is refreshing and funny, considering if she didn't literally have the answer handed to her in the second trial, she and Lucien would be dead, and the Courts would be trapped forever under Amarantha. Honestly, besides the Wyrm, she's basically handed everything. But I digress.

I hope this was enlightening.

[crowtrobotx]

Give us 3 things you like best about your top 3 blorbos plsnthx

I am going to stick to canon/not OC blorbos bc I feel like I talk too much about Lottie and everyone is annoyed by it

Hector Barbossa - (POTC)

I would be remiss to not first include the OG blorbo. The introductory Old Man. The character that made me realize something was a little Funky™️ about my gender/sexuality.

Okay, first of all, I love how sincerely full of himself this man is. He really thought he could pull Keira Knightley despite being the scrunkliest pirate on earth and you know what - good for him!!! Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars etc etc. We love an unconventionally attractive person who knows they’re hot shit.

The fashion sense/vibes - the fucking ostrich feathers in the hat. The rings. The big ass necklace. The single fang earring. The swagger walk. The matching pet monkey. The bisexuality of it all. In all seriousness, I love the way his outfit and accessories serve to play up his overly dramatic theater kid energy but also are very interesting when you consider that he came from extremely humble beginnings. He’s showing off what he’s fought tooth and nail for and it is working for him, honey.

I really, genuinely love that we got glimpses - in the first movie - of the fact that the character we were seeing wasn’t always like this. Ten years of being a walking corpse had twisted him beyond the recognition of people who knew him (even Jack looks pretty damn horrified a few times despite having been on the receiving end of his bad behavior before) and YET. When he gets resurrected we find out… he still sucks lmao. Like, he’s not outright cruel and isn’t totally insane anymore but he’s still ultimately just a selfish, snarky, conniving geezer who’s only part of the “good guys” because it serves him and his interests. There wasn’t really a redemption arc (the 4th and 5th movies are not canon, fight me) and he, at best, just ended up being the weird unsavory uncle to the main cast. What a king.

Sandor “The Hound” Clegane - ASOIAF/GoT

If you followed me prior to 2021 you know this was my prior HBIC (head blorbo in charge.) I still love him dearly and I hope he’s enjoying his retirement.

Look at him. No, really, look at him. Help??? Aside from me being a thirsty bitch, I have an extreme soft spot for characters who are visibly different and not in a purple eyes/horns/otherwise “sexy” way. Bodies are lived in and should look as such - and, this might be shocking to some people, disabled and/or disfigured people exist and they’re just as cool and hot and worthy as anyone else (I would know 😎.) I actually think the show should have gone a little harder on his burn scars but oh well. Sheesh, I need a cold shower.

His road trip arc with Arya. Need I say more? Y’all know I am WEAK for father/daughter dynamics and it’s even better when they’re both murderous lunatics. I love that she makes him softer but he doesn’t try to restrict or control her. I love that he tries to show that he cares in the only way that he knows how which is by teaching her how to rip/maim/tear/kill. Like, I know everyone enjoyed this part of the story because there were some genuinely hilarious moments and it was absurd, but I think under the surface we got some really fascinating insight into who he actually is and we were robbed of cranky but proud adoptive dad!Sandor in the show. I’ll be mad forever.

Fuck the city. Fuck the kingsguard. Fuck the king. We stan - I am obsessed with his realization that he doesn’t need or want to do anyone’s bidding anymore. I love that he turns heel but also has no idea who he is once he’s not Cersei’s dog - I love that he initially relies on his warped perception of people and the world to survive and slowly but surely begins to realize that maybe he doesn’t need to focus on revenge and violence all the time. I think it’s pretty obvious that GRRM is kind of going for a “a dog’s behavior will reflect its master’s” thing with him and if we ever get another book (lol) I am excited to see what becomes of him. Because he’s pretty clearly not actually dead.

Karl Heisenberg - Resident Evil Village

Literally WHERE have you BEEN if you didn’t see this coming lol. The reigning champion. Completely unchallenged for over a year and a half. I am chewing on him as we speak like a squeaky toy.

Okay, like… obviously I’m very fond of his design. I love that he’s fat. I love that he’s got a super unkempt beard. I love that his hair is grey and that his clothes are dirty and he’s covered in scars. I love that he looks like someone who works (in contrast to Alcina, for example) and isn’t concerned with his appearance. This is such a small and shallow thing maybe but with the tendency for media to just make everyone Extremely Conventionally Attractive, I’m enamored by characters like this. Actually, this has been a thing across all three of these guys, hasn’t it? Hmm.

Completely love that he’s an actual genius with the apparent imagination of a little kid who just downed an entire box of sugary cereal. “What if I stuck this propellor engine onto a dude’s torso.” “Drill arms never hurt nobody.” “JET PACKS!!! I need jet packs!!!” He’s such a fucking nerd, too, like his deranged cackle followed by “…ending recording” on that tape you find is so cute and stupid. Karl what the hell is going on I love you so much. It makes me wonder who he would have or could have been if he hadn’t found himself kidnapped into an abusive cult - I’m getting strong “Bill Nye but make him chaotic neutral” vibes. Eccentric raccoon man. Peepaw is feral and I’m going to fuck him.

If you’ve ever read anything I’ve written with him in it, you know I like to play up the fact that it’s pretty clear (to me, at least) that the swagger and showmanship is a mask for… a lot of shit. And that is extremely compelling to me - even if it’s ultimately just my HC. The stutter, the “sorry about that” after Sturm keeps making noise, the diary entries and comments that seem to indicate he hates his body after what Miranda did to him, his pretty heartbreaking last words. I don’t really see the genuinely confident daddy dom that a lot of the fandom sees - and no hate if you do!!! For me, with the canon fact that he never leaves the factory, he reads to me like someone who is incredibly socially inept and inexperienced, someone who is struggling to accept what he is now, and, perhaps most importantly, someone who really believes he’s the hero of the story and is blind to the fact that his rage and pain have turned him into what he hates most. I feel like he says all these things that make him sound like he’s full of himself but then you see him and he’s… just some guy. Living in a dirty factory with clothes that should have been thrown out a long time ago. And he’s lost it, and he’s furious, and yeah on some level he’s a bit of a selfish jackass but I wonder how much of his posturing is him needing to hear himself say it because he doesn’t really believe it and is terrified he won’t be strong enough to free himself. I just love him, y’all. I’m not sure we’ll ever see him again (in RE canon) but I’m going to keep making content for him for a long time, I hope.

[douglasthealien]

Pirates of the Carribbean, At World’s End: Thoughts

These are my thoughts on this film, just our opinions so take it with a pinch of salt ^^ I used to love this franchise as a child, and recently came back to it. And I have some thoughts on each movie, but I wanted to start on this one.

Out of the original three, I’d say this is my least favourite. Don’t get me wrong, I adore this film. This is still a great film, but there are certain things that make it not as good as the first two in my opinion. And I’ll be getting onto my problems with this film. But first let’s start on some positives.

I really really like Elizabeth’s character development. Watching her over the past three films go from the governor’s daughter who has been kidnapped to literal pirate king was great. I like how this development was done too, she didn’t just suddenly change completely. Even in the first film she was reckless and very spontaneous, and wanting to go on some sort of adventure as a pirate, instead of being a complete damsel in distress.

A small criticism I’ll have with her in this film, is her relationship with Will. The entire time they either barely talked or fought, even in the previous film they just barely interacted, which made it feel a little forced when suddenly out of nowhere Will asked Elizabeth to marry him. Granted, yes they might die and it was probably the only time they would be able to get married, and I do really like the way they got married in the middle of battle, that was done well. But, it did just feel completely out of the blue. There should have been at least something between them before this scene. Other than that, love this couple. And the way their chapter in the franchise ended was really brilliant. Especially that scene at the end 10 years later.

Alright let’s get into some criticism.

He, did not deserve this. James has been a favourite of mine, so this may be a little biased. But I think it was a bad decision to kill him off. From a writers perspective too, he had a LOT of potential after siding with the pirates. Watching him develop from an Admiral to literally the thing he hates most would have been brilliant. Yes we did see pirate James in the second film, but at least this time it’s out of choice. He sees the side he’s on is wrong, and decides that it is best to stick with Elizabeth’s crew. Only for him to be killed off literally minutes after this development, it’s a little frustrating. I will say, he went out like a hero. And I like that, it’s in character for him to die the way he did. But, it just would have been so much better for him to have a larger role later, as a pirate. It would have been really cool to see that, and I think they just didn’t know what to do with him so decided to kill him off. And that’s quite sad, I think his character deserved better.

Alright now this is the reason why this film ranks lower than the other two.

What, happened. Did they just forget how to write him? Jack’s character is so weak in this film it’s pretty sad. There was one scene with Barbossa, the conversation when they saw the Kraken, which was brilliant. And seemed more like Jack, but that was literally one of the only moments where he seemed like himself.

I dislike Jack’s character in this because the entire time he’s written off as some comedic relief character with no anger or any emotion outside of not taking things seriously. The entire time he’s either in the background or “haha many Jacks this is funny right?” I will say that I do acknowledge that he has just gotten out of being alone in Davey Jones’ locker, and as a result might have lost the plot a bit. And he isn’t the main character. But, I really hate what they did to him. He can feel a wide range of emotions, such as anger, and such but the writers seem to have forgotten that. There are probably only two scenes where Jack shows any form of emotion outside of being goofy. The only scenes I really remember of him is where he’s having those weird hallucinations of himself as comedic relief. And it’s just, not that clever or funny. He’s framed to be just plain dumb and even pretty calm in this film, even though he’s probably one of the smartest characters. Jack was only carried by Johnny Depp’s incredible performance throughout that.

My gf had a good point, saying that this should have been some sort of fake Jack. It feels like some imitation of him, and exaggerating all his traits and being so off because of it. It also bothers me a little that the title of the film is “At worlds End”, and they literally spent less than a quarter of the film at worlds end. It felt like it was resolved too quickly. It goes on about how deadly and terrible of a place it is but you barely really saw that outside of the characters being cold and falling down a waterfall. The locker is under explained, and Calypso is “Jack is suffering a worse fate than death!!” And you barely saw that. You just go straight into multiple Jacks *after* he’s lost his marbles. Its all so under explained, and you barely see anything. It’s just resolved so easily. It would have been better to see at least a beforehand, of Jack actually suffering. That sounds very bad but, it just doesn’t make any sense the way they’ve portrayed it in this film.

Also another thing that confuses me.

What was, the point in these people? They were talked up to be important the entire film, only to just put some shit in a hat and just, sit there the entire time during the huge battle at the end. They added almost nothing to the film, when there should have been at least some sort of action with them outside of them cheering at the end. That’s another thing with this film, there’s so many characters that just add absolutely nothing, Jack himself included.

My girlfriend said something that I felt was very true that sums up how I also feel. “the entire film felt like different scenes out of context that hardly tied up together. it was overly complicated and hard to keep track of whats going on. what keeps the appeal of it is definitely the characters and their actors,, and the ideas behind what is going on, the message of freedom prevailing over colonization is something that is more and more needed like each year. but its entirely like butchered up in a way that its all tangled up in figuring out what it wants to do. so pretty much the only people who will enjoy it are people who are either fans of the series that like the extra content or people who like cool sequences like the ship going down the waterfall or the big fight scene around the whirlpool. cinematically its a strange one to pick apart, because the sequences are both extremely cool and well done, but also really weird and you wonder sometimes why they've gone for a certain angle or frame because it feels really weird. the type of style that they've gone for works really really well for big and grand action scenes, which is really the meat of this film, but it makes the smaller scenes feel confusing and weird”

Alright we’ve done a lot of criticising, let’s go over some of the high points again.

Absolutely the best character in this film. Bringing him back was a brilliant decision, I don’t think I’d like this film half as much without him. I always love the villain becoming one of the protagonists tropes. They expanded on his character whilst also keeping his best traits from the first film. He’s one of the only characters with a purpose and role outside of cheap laughs. Any scene with him in it was perfect. And his dynamic with Jack was definitely one of the best things about this film, I really like that he was the one to convince Jack to stop running, and having some genuine conversations, after being at each other’s throats for years. He was also the funniest without a doubt, and the reason is because the film didn’t try too hard with him, unlike Jack. Just him being himself gets a good chuckle out of me.

Will’s plot line was probably my favourite. His motives are clear, and the conflict within himself about whether to choose Elizabeth or his father was shown well. It would have been better if their relationship was actually shown in a good light but I’ve already talked about that. Once again, a character who actually plays a part in the plot for once. People seem to see Will as bland, but I disagree. Yes he’s quiet which doesn’t exactly make him stand out, but he’s pretty street smart, awkward, cunning, and probably one of the only morally good characters in this show. And he’s definitely learnt from Jack, you can see that when he goes back to see Becket. He’s just overshadowed a lot by the more outspoken characters like Jack and Elizabeth. His plot line really tied into the ending nice and smoothly, and that was nice to see in this film considering a lot of other plot lines and characters barely played a part. Him and his plot line with his father carried the film a lot.

I’d like to talk about both Davy Jones and Calypso in this bit. I thought Davy Jones was very well written villain, his story is really interesting. He has a lot of character in this film, it’s nice to see a villain with depth unlike Becket who was just evil because he’s, just evil. You can see he’s a monster, and he’s done pretty much unforgivable things and probably won’t ever stop, but you’ve also got to feel bad for him and the reason he became like that. And we get onto calypso.

I like her dynamic with Jones, and the reason she abandoned him. But, the way she explained it made her extremely unlikable. “I’m just like that 🤷‍♀️” I think it needed more explaining, it was pretty rushed. Another slight criticism, she took up too much of the plot line for no reason. Almost all of the film was built up towards freeing her, only for it to just, not pay off. She just created a storm whirlpool that just added dramatic effect, and left forever. Like the whole point of getting Jack back and having the pirate lords appear and literally most of everything they did in this film was for freeing calypso, and there was literally just no point. There was no point in having the other pirates there because they literally did nothing, calypso did nothing. It bugs me a bit that the film is called “at worlds end” but most of it was spent on useless plot lines that have nothing to do with the title.

Now we get onto this asshole. Honestly, I don’t think it’s bad that he’s a 2 dimensional evil bad guy. In fact it’s a little relieving that he doesn’t have some backstory that overcomplicates the plot more. He adds a lot to the story just for being the evil bad guy that everyone wants to die. And his death made me “:)”. His actor does a very good job of making him seem like a pathetic little man, and does such a good job of making him so hateable yet not unbearable to watch. He’s surprisingly a little entertaining, and just the character you love to hate.

My final thoughts, I feel like this film was mainly carried by Elizabeth, Barbossa and Davey Jones. Most of the other characters were pretty weak, especially Jack Sparrow which was the biggest disappointment. They just had absolutely no purpose or reason to be there. This is a kids film, and works very well as a kids film. But I still feel like they could have put more effort into terms of making it make sense.

But other than that, I still like this film, it’s a very good film. Even if there were only a few high points they’re high enough to outshine the bad parts most of the time. Mainly the acting and characters that carried the film made this a very enjoyable film. There are some very good scenes, and the ending was almost perfect in my opinion. Will and Elizabeth’s relationship was concluded brilliantly, and Will becoming captain of the Flying Dutchman was the best part of the ending for me. I did really like the overall plot, and Barbossa coming back was the best decision in the entire series. He shone the most throughout it and was the most enjoyable character.

I rate this film a 6.5/10.

[zalrb]

What’s your opinion on Elizabeth Swann? Personally I feel like her titles were completely undeserved. Her becoming captain was only because Sao Feng thought she was Calypso, & her becoming king was only because Jack voted for her. He could have voted for anyone. She’s been a captain for 5 minutes & now she’s the king, why would anyone listen to her? According to some lazy research done by yours truly, the third movie is only like 2 months after the second. When did she learn to fight?

OK! So. Elizabeth being named captain annoyed me because I didn’t like how it was done, specifically I thought it was super tacky that this white woman comes aboard and becomes captain basically because she’s a white woman he’s attracted to -- like when Barbossa tells Sao Feng that they have Calypso, Tia Dalma is right there but Sao Feng doesn’t even consider her a possibility because he’s not attracted to her. Added to that, when he does have Elizabeth in his quarters and she says she isn’t going to sleep with him he basically says that he’ll just rape her and he’s killed right before he’s about to attack her and gives her captaincy as, like, penance. So I always had a lot of issues around that in AWE. 

But for the rest of it, I wasn’t really bothered by it, because really, what does it take to earn being Pirate King? Like is it matter of time? Because otherwise, Elizabeth has proven herself a pirate throughout the first two movies.

Firstly, Will taught Elizabeth how to fight, she tells Jack that in DMC, it’s just loaded in innuendo about penises

In COTBP, we see that Elizabeth is actually quite resourceful 

Jack disappoints her and kind of gives up when they’re on the island

so she manipulates him into passing out drunk so she can take matters into her own hands

She’s quick on her feet when the pirates invade, ready to fight, and we see her strategize when she stabs Barbossa, the fact that neither of those things work actually isn’t her fault, the sword she tries to wield is decorative so it’s useless and Barbossa is undead.

She also knows the pirate code

She also knows the power of leverage

these are makings of a good pirate and then in DMC she’s not constrained by civility anymore, she’s becoming realized and builds upon what we’ve already seen in COTBP

it should also be noted that she stands up and faces danger when others run, which also starts in COTBP

she becomes fully realized when she strikes a balance between saving the crew and doing something selfish for her own interests by leaving Jack to the Kraken 

which is why we get

and when we get to Shipwreck Cove and the Brethren Court in AWE it’s made clear that the pirates are a mess, they’re broke, they’re fighting, nothing gets done and that’s part of the joke since it sounds so esteemed and in reality, it’s just chaos

so her becoming king is like well ... yeah, particularly since she’s king for a very pirate reason which is that Jack agrees with her and so put his vote with her to get what he wants.

So I think it works personally, except the captain part, which just has me like, it could’ve been ANYTHING else.

[jurijurijurious]

Rambles on watching PotC in reverse...

So I finished my "watching Pirates of the Carribean films in reverse order" thing. Had a blast, tbh, not seen them for so long it was almost like seeing some of it fresh and all the feels came back! The music is stunning, particularly in number 2 and 3; Hans Zimmer and co. knocking it out the ballpark. Gave me goosebumps!

Anyway, ramble ho!

I appreciate watching a series backwards is a bit odd. It certainly opens your eyes to the nuances (or weirdness) of character development that occurs, but instead of you seeing it flow naturally from origin to conclusion, you end up picking up on where all the little seeds were originally planted long after you've witnessed what the final "bloom" is going to be; a "reverse order" watching also highlights some gaping plot-holes and even the odd awkward and utterly retconned plot point (Jack's compass story, for example, appears to be completely re-written in the fifth film when it is clearly stated in the second that he bartered it from Tia Dalma. There could be a convoluted explanation but it certainly looks like a writing fuck-up, or a case of "we give no shits any more". I'm wondering if the team behind the fifth film even re-watched the other movies?)

I feel like I have much more respect for Elizabeth's character than I once did; I don't think I paid her nearly enough attention back in the day, and watching her story backwards made me recognise how, from the start, she was always more pirate than Will; she was brave, a total geek about pirate lore (her child-self was super excited at the very prospect of pirates!), and she was brave enough right at the start of her adventure to be asked to be taken to parley with the dread Captain Barbossa — just in her nightgown. (Christ, she even tries to kill him! Gutsy lass.) It is only natural therefore that she continues to use her wiles, cunning, and to a degree her sex, to trick and deceive whenever the need calls; in "Dead Man's Chest", she even uses this guile to sacrifice Jack to the locker!

She also, right from the start, learns a lot from ol' Barbossa, and this runs on into the third film; Hector Barbossa is no spring chicken but he has managed to remain captain of a ship of unruly thugs for nigh on ten years following his own mutiny of the original captain, Jack Sparrow. He would never have been able to hold onto that position without a measure of competence, skill and bravery. Elizabeth recognises this and, whether consciously or not, begins to both emulate and acquire knowledge from him, becoming something of a willing student to his ways.

Now this is something I should probably have taken on board more before as I used to write and read "Barbossabeth" fanfiction regularly (probably the most far-fetched alternate pairing in the saga; in reality, Hector is probably the only central male figure Elizabeth doesn't kiss/have a fling with/get engaged to at some point). In truth, as aforementioned, Elizabeth proves from the start to be a match for Barbossa, who is certainly no fool himself, but even in the first film, she starts to learn from him — his line about the pirate code being"guidelines" which he throws at her early on, she literally parrots nearly word-for-word when it suits her later on in the film; and in "At World's End", she works well with him in a team and soaks up how he holds a crew together and the way he rouses loyalty and action through skilled oration; his speech at the Brethren Court, for example, she again regurgitates later on in the film to galvanise her crew for battle. As a pair they banter and tease and argue, but push each other in the right direction when they need to be pushed, and, by the end of the third film, they have both respect and admiration for one-another. It's one of the most subtle but fulfilling character-and-relationship arcs across the original trilogy and deserves more attention.

On the ol' "Barbossabeth" note, to be frank, there's little sign in the films that they would or could be a romantic item; Barbossa teases her in the first film and seems like he might have an idea to make her a"pirate bride", but there seems little chance of him being able to subdue her spirit. There is that wonderful jokey moment in "At World's End" however, designed to trick us all, when Will asks Elizabeth to make her choice regarding his proposal of marriage to her (in the midst of battle) and Elizabeth shouts out in return "Barbossa!"

And just when we all think, along with poor Will, "what the Hell, when did he come into the equation?" she finally finishes her sentence and we realise she is asking Barbossa, in his capacity as the ship's captain, to wed her to Will. (I still remember seeing the film in the cinema and my heart popped at that moment — I'd take Barbossa any day.) But those of us who take a shine to Rush's scarred old sea dog can dream, I suppose.

I think when all's said and done, standing back and looking at these characters and what they go through, Barbossa comes out best at the end. Even though we are introduced to him as a black-hearted brigand who pillages and plunders with his cursed crew, and is allegedly "so evil Hell spat him back out", we finish up with a rogue who has aimed to live his best life, and whose dedication to his ship is unshakeable. When the Pearl is threatened by the Kraken in "Dead Man's Chest", Jack's first thought is to save himself and he sneaks off in a longboat; irrespective of the fact he does have a change of heart and comes back to save the day, we should contrast this with Barbossa's tale of the Pearl being attacked by Blackbeard: the ship is possessed and turns on him and his crew, the rigging coming alive like snakes, wrapping itself round and round his leg. In his head, Hector knows he has to escape to be able to live so he can plot to retrieve his beloved ship and save it from this dark magic; in order to do so, he cuts his own leg off to get away. There is no universe in which Jack Sparrow would have cut his own limb off to free himself, but Barbossa does; there's a steel and strength to this character I don't think is always fully appreciated; he sails the ship like a boss, will hold up in the darkest of battles, and ultimately in the final film gives his own life when he knows his time has come and he owes it to the child he has left behind. There's your hero; Jack Sparrow is your comic relief and nearly always goes in for self preservation.

The other behemoth of these movies which I can not fail to mention is Davy Jones. Though Captain Salazar is a force to behold as the creepy-ass, psychotic undead captain in the final film, the best real menace of the saga is Bill Nighy's captain of the Flying Dutchman. Hans Zimmer composes him a musical theme unlike anything we've heard before, a theme full of deep organ blasts which hits you with clout, and though Jones is entirely CGI, he is still utterly Nighy. To be honest, he's perhaps one of the most incredible CGI movie characters ever created; he looks utterly convincing as the rain pours down his face or his eyes flash at his crew. Considering he first appeared on our screens 14 years ago, this is one Hell of a feat; there have been few better CGI characters on the big screen since. He's extravagant and perhaps hams it up too much for some people to appreciate, but it's a pirates film, you expect extravagance; I never get tired of watching Davy Jones. A piece of artistic wizardry, a cinematic masterpiece.

I will probably think of more to wax lyrical about some time soon. I currently have a plan in my head for a storyboard I would love to get down, at least in sketches, though part of me would love to make a video to mock a scene up, all based on Barbossa's tale about how he lost his leg and the Pearl to Blackbeard. It'd make a cracking scene, I've no doubt, but it'll be a job and a half to realise

[imnxtsorry]

probably an unpopular opinion:

I’m not sure of how much involved in piracy she’d be after the movies, how much she could be called a pirate, and how much, instead, given the chance in my universe in which she’s not pregnant and can do whatever she wants, she wouldn’t pick specific adventures that only have to do with exploring or helping Jack in little harmless adventures that don’t involved harming innocents or doing anything that disgusts her. Even coordinating other pirates can be difficult because let’s be honest, most of them are horrible people, charming or not, and I can’t imagine Elizabeth having a chat with a pirate captain who is like: ‘I want to invade this port, kill all the sailors, take all the women’ and, not being able to say no to everyone if she doesn’t want them to turn against her, having to answer  ‘maybe don’t touch the women but okay, kill all the sailors, have fun’ and sleeping well that after. Or being happy after killing someone like Norrington herself.

Elizabeth wants freedom from limitations, freedom to explore, to have exciting adventures, but not freedom from morality/all rules, and I’m not sure of how comfortable she’d be with anything related to a real pirate-life?

It’s one thing to have very specific adventures that involve fighting a bad guy, few days sailing, having food and water guaranteed already and a target, funny talks with Jack and protection from other pirates, and then going home for a while, like in the movies. That’s more like being a swordman/fighting heroine who happens to be on ships and due to circumstances needed help from people who could sail than being into piracy. It’s another thing to live on ships or places like Tortuga, stealing for fun or to eat, which she has no reason to enjoy, murdering navy men who are trying to uphold the law and aren’t necessarily evil, attacking other pirates and killing them, staying in Tortuga or similar places surrounded by dangerous drunk men and people who are basically having sex all over the place, having to stay away from less rule-breaking lands or she’ll be arrested, no freedom to settle down anymore, depending on what she steals and her crew to survive, constant betrayals, a code that says she should leave people behind, let alone dealing with all the other darker actions pirates commit and that she was almost a victim of even when Barbossa captured her again in the first movie, had not Will showed up and told them to be the Turner they were looking for. 

[astridthevalkyrie]

Not gonna lie, I mainly got into POTC thanks to Barbossa's crusty, snark-loaded, Moar-Stereotypically-Pirate-Than-Sparrow schtick, but the turn(s) Swann & Turner's dynamic took in World's End were something else. Plus, much as I'm not a fan of the Royal Navy lately, couldn't help but pity Norrington.

- I do love that Barbossa serves as the more “typical” pirate than Jack does! His entrance in the second movie was amazing, and it’s all thanks to him that we get that hilarious standoff in the third one.

- I’m always weak for tragedy. Frankly, I do agree that Elizabeth should have continued on as the pirate king and you can interpret that she did if you just stick with the trilogy, but even still, her and Will’s separation is tragic, and it’s such a change from the hero/damsel-ish vibe you get in the first movie. I do wish they’d had an actual conversation pre their marriage (and I might fic that).

- N O R R I N G T O N. Okay, so my heart already belonged to Jack Davenport because of Why Women Kill,, but his character is so underappreciated and he’s got a really good redemption arc, in my opinion, I love him.

[lostanachronism]

 “And what the enemy will see is the flash of our cannons. They will hear the ring of our swords, and they will know what we can do! By the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs…and the courage of our hearts! Gentlemen! Hoist the colors." — At World’s End

notes —

• my portrayal of elizabeth is NOT compliant with the at world’s end epilogue. that straight up just did not happen; it felt ooc for her to abandon the life of piracy she dreamed of since she was a child and came to love to have a baby and wait at port royal for a decade for her husband to come on land for a day. especially not when there were so many other options ! likewise, in my current canon for this blog henry does NOT exist, but if someone should want to play him at some point i’m happy to have the conversation and make some adjustments !

• yes, she’s double-barrelled her surname —  it was something i thought would be neat as a tribute to weatherby while i was making other adjustments — because i think the movies really showed us how much she does love her father, if not the life his position afforded.

• finally, i would like to say the biggest of thank yous to this post for massively inspiring this portrayal. it just seems so right to me where the epilogue wasn’t, and i’m happy to pick up upon this indeed missed opportunity !

• the bio is paraphrased, so sorry if it’s a little bit on the less great side. it was better when i first wrote it but i lost it when it was practically finished !

INFORMATION —

NAME: elizabeth swann-turner

NICKNAMES / TITLES: lizzie / pirate lord of the south china sea / king of the brethren court

GENDER: cis female

BIRTHDATE: 18th november, 1708 — london, england

DATE OF DISPLACEMENT: 3rd may, 1741

AGE: thirty-two

NATIONALITY: british

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: married to will turner

ORIENTATIONS: pansexual, panromantic

MBTI: esfp-a

HOGWARTS HOUSE: slytherin

FC: keira knightley

BRIEF BIO —

elizabeth swann — born in london, destined to attain the very life she desired ( despite her father’s attempts to dissuade her infatuation with a life of piracy ) — is perhaps best known as the king of the brethren court; and perhaps it should be no surprise, given that the most pivotal changing moments of her life are associated with the sea. when elizabeth was a young girl, the swanns sailed from london to port royal, and her mother did not survive the journey, permanently changing both her own life and her father’s, who would have to raise her alone, even when he took the title of governor.

the crew of that very ship, the hms dauntless, saved a boy in a moment of fate: william turner, who she saved by stealing his medallion and who would eventually become her husband. for several years elizabeth kept it, until after a close shave with drowning ( and a corset ) she was kidnapped by the crew of the black pearl in the bizarre beginnings of an equally bizarre life of adventure. will turner, alongside captain jack sparrow ( the infamous pirate who saved her from drowning ) rescued elizabeth from hector barbossa and his crew, and she left her then-betrothed commodore james norrington to pursue her heart’s true path.

she did, however, rescue captain jack sparrow from almost certain death — and this came with consequences when both she and will were arrested for assisting him; it would lead will and elizabeth both to quests to rescue one another, landing will in peril and causing elizabeth to betray jack to rescue both will and other members of jack’s crew. however, unlike others might have done she could not escape the burden of guilt, so as such she was taken on another dangerous venture: to rescue jack from davy jones’ locker.

with success came grief, however. elizabeth’s father weatherby was killed by the very man who arrested her and will, driving her to join the quest to stop him and his acquired power by finding the nine pirate lords — including sao feng, who would die, but not before passing onto her his title of lord of the south china sea; a title she would surpass when she was elected pirate king at the meeting of the fourth brethren court. during the battle against beckett, she was married to her husband, william turner; however, their victory came at great cost, as by piercing davy jones’ heart he bound himself as the new captain of the flying dutchman, meaning he would be able to come on land only once every ten years.

elizabeth hid his heart, locked in the dead man’s chest, and protected it vehemently; without the aid of the compass, no one would find the most precious of things. she continued to sail the seas she so loved as the captain of her own ship, crossing paths as frequently with her husband as they could manage, and such ignited the fervent legend of the feared pirate king who married death and could at her whim call upon his help, the myth of those who helped the dying at sea to be at peace, and go beyond. 

such was her life still, when she was so suddenly displaced, with no idea where she had gotten to and no way to protect her title, and her husband’s heart.

WANTED CONNECTIONS —

for plotting, my discord is litoreus#9796. please note that this blog is only open to members of the displacedhqs roleplay group.

• enemies / rivals — i really want her to have to deal with that in a seemingly hopeless situation, just to get inside what she’d do and how she’d weigh that up with her Morals and proven tendency for guilt. that’d just be really nice.

• found family — i say this for all my characters but ESPECIALLY elizabeth please. she’s so loyal to the people she cares for and it’s probably one of my favourite things about her... if she loves you she’d go to hell and back for you, and it’s a beautiful thing. maybe almost a maternal dynamic would be heckin NICE i would cry.

• idk how to put this one but someone who would just be really invested in her stories of life upon the sea? who just thinks she’s Really Cool? like that kind of awesome friendship dynamic where they’re always asking her for more stories of her exploits. blease.

[ck-the-overanalyzer]

I Overanalyze: Can A Good Pirate Be A Good Man?

**Please note: this post contains spoilers for all the first 3 Pirates of the Caribbean films: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, and At World’s End. If you don’t want spoilers, don’t read.**

**A second note: this post is very long, as is my love for Pirates.**

I grew up watching Pirates of the Caribbean. When I was very little my dad and I would have movie nights while my mom went out with friends. We’d pull out the TV trays and watch movies while eating dinner (something my family doesn’t normally do). Then after dinner my dad would lay across the couch and my little four or five year old self would lay on top of him while we watched. You can see why I associate Pirates with fond memories.

As I got older and began to better appreciate films from a creative standpoint, my love for these movies grew. They feature a fun story line, a well built world, and multifaceted, strong characters. But I think that perhaps having grown up with these movies has made it so that I don’t recognize the novelty of them.

The concept behind the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie is certainly a novel one. I think this can be demonstrated by a line Captain Jack Sparrow says in The Curse of the Black Pearl. The line is given just after Will and Jack set off together and Will asks Jack about his father. Jack admits to having known “Bootstrap” Bill Turner and then adds “good man - good pirate.”

I don’t even remember the first time I saw this scene. Whenever I watch it and see Will get upset, insisting his father was not a pirate, I know he will end up discovering that his father was both a good pirate and a good man. But I wonder how people in the theaters must have felt the first time they heard it. How could a pirate possibly be a good man? By definition, a pirate plunders, steals, and kills. These traits are the opposite of those of a good person. I wonder if there were overprotective parents wondering if they should have let their kids watch this. Or maybe there were many that didn’t allow their kids to see it. What was Disney doing making a movie where pirates were the good guys anyways?

“Good man - good pirate.”

I’d like to take a moment to further break down and analyze this phrase. Let’s start with what it means to be a good pirate.

One potential meaning of the label “good pirate” is that they are good at pirating. They are good at plundering, stealing, and killing. This definition seems to directly contrast the “good man” label. And, given what we know about ol’ Bootstrap, isn’t what I think Jack intended by this statement.

Another possible definition is that maybe one is a good pirate when they keep to the pirating rules - The Pirate Code. This seems to fit what we know of Bootstrap. It didn’t sit right with him that they mutaneed against Jack and left him on an island to die. He seemed to have better respect for the captain and for the code. This is contrasted by Barbossa, who states “the code is more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.”

Alright, so if this is what Jack intended by “good pirate,” let’s move on to “good man.” A good man is generally considered to follow the rules. As we’ve discussed, the Pirate Code is the rules that the pirates are to follow, and Bootstrap seems to adhere to this. He also seems to have a sense of right and wrong (he feels that betraying and abandoning Jack was wrong) and justice (he claims that they deserve to be cursed to pay for their crimes). So perhaps by general, law-abiding standards, one could not fully consider him a good man. But by these standards, he definitely seems to fit the bill. Furthermore, he does seem to know that pirating is bad, as it was why he left Will and his mother and stated that it wasn’t a life he wanted for Will.

Now, we don’t really get to see Bootstrap until Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End, but The Curse of the Black Pearl had to adequately support the theme of a good pirate being a good man in order for it to be successful and for more movies to follow. While Bootstrap is the one Jack was talking about when he gave the statement and theme of the movie, the story follows Jack himself, using him to show the example of a good pirate and a good man.

Our good old favorite Captain Jack Sparrow also fits the bill of a good pirate, good man, though perhaps not as well as Bootstrap Bill. He, like Bootstrap, follows and respects the Pirate Code. (Perhaps he gets this from his father, Captain Teague, being the keeper of the code.) He keeps to the code, following the pirate rules, but more than that, he has a basic respect and care for human life. These traits are what make it so that we can consider him a good man.

Captain Jack is contrasted against Captain Barbossa, who I argue fits the bill of a good pirate but bad man. He is a good pirate in the sense that Bootstrap and Jack were not; he is good at pirating; good at plundering, stealing, and killing. He has no respect for the code and, more importantly, no respect for basic human life. He is more than willing to take life when the opportunity arises.

Let’s walk through some scenes in the The Curse of the Black Pearl in order to explore the contrast between these two characters and better establish a good pirate, good man vs a good pirate, bad man.

The scene that allows our dear main characters, Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann, to first meet begins to define Jack as a good man. He is in the midst of attempting to commandeer a ship when Elizabeth passes out and falls over the edge of a high wall, sinking into the depths. Now, Jack is a criminal. He does not belong in this town. He is currently in the process of committing a crime, trying to steal from right under the guards’ noses. And yet, he hands off his beloved items and dives into the water to go after some sinking woman that he doesn’t even know. He didn’t even get a good look at her, so his motivation couldn’t possibly be related to her being attractive or of high standing. It is just simply: someone is in trouble and he is able to help. He saves her life, but wounds up being caught and chained because of it. Elizabeth, recognizing the selfless act of a good man as what it is, protests his arrest. Commodore Norrington’s statement may at this point reflect the thoughts of the audience: “One good deed is not enough to rid a man of a lifetime of wickedness.”

As we know, Jack ends up escaping from his captors, hiding out in the blacksmith’s shop. Which brings us to the meeting of our next dear main character, as well as our next scene that shows Jack’s character as a good man.

When Will Turner returns to the blacksmith’s shop, he notices that some things are the way he left them but others are not, and then meets the infamous Captain Jack. Armed with what he knows of pirates - that they are vile, evil people, and that this one in particular threatened his secret crush - he is ready for a fight. Jack, however, does everything he can to not fight (and more importantly: not kill) Will. He has a short sword fight with Will, treating it as a lesson, and then turns to leave. But Will blocks him. A longer and very cinematically pleasing sword fight breaks out, but it ends with Will having sand blown in his face. Jack then pleads for Will to move out of the way: “Move. Please move.” It is only when Will refuses that he draws his pistol, though he doesn’t want to shoot it. (We know he intends this shot to be for Barbossa, but everything about his mannerisms suggest that he also doesn’t want to kill Will.)

Well, Jack indeed ends up getting captured. Our next character showing scene comes at the introduction of the movie’s antagonist and Jack’s foil character: Captain Barbossa.

The Black Pearl responds to the call of the cursed Aztec gold and appears at Port Royal with cannons blazing. This alone shows Barbossa’s character; he is going to get that gold, and he doesn’t care who dies in the process. His men raid the beach, attacking and killing many of the port’s inhabitants, not to mention the vast property damage. Their arrival is loud and unmissable. Elizabeth ends up going to the ship with Pintel and Ragetti under the protection of parlay, and this is when we first see the dread pirate “so evil that hell itself spat him back out.” Barbossa follows the code this time and negotiates with Elizabeth, ultimately kidnapping her and delivering the line about the code being more like guidelines and not applying to her anyways.

We will now jump forward to Will and Jack’s escape from Port Royal. They board The Dauntless and force the crew off of it, and it should be noted that they do so without harming or killing any of the crew. Perhaps the crew is willing to disembark because, as Lieutenant Gillette states, “two men cannot man The Dauntless.” When Norrington comes on The Interceptor to catch them, Will and Jack pull the ol’ switcheroo and steal The Interceptor instead, leaving The Dauntless in such shape that it can’t pursue. Thus they stole a ship and escaped without killing a single person, all thanks to Captain Jack’s ingenious.

While they begin sailing in pursuit, Barbossa blackmails Elizabeth into having dinner with him and then shows her the nightmares of their curse before ultimately locking her up for the rest of the trip. You know, a real gentleman.

Eventually they arrive at the Isla de Muerta and they take Elizabeth to try and break the curse. Now, to his credit, Barbossa does choose to cut Elizabeth’s palm rather than kill her, saying “waste not.” However, I posit that his intentions here were not pure. He wasn’t done with Elizabeth. He had mentioned that, as part of the curse, they couldn’t “feel the warmth of a woman’s skin” and that they had an “insatiable lust.” His demeanor towards Elizabeth up to this point doesn’t suggest gentlemanly intentions. The lack of gentlemanly intentions are added to after he catches up to and sinks The Interceptor, throwing Elizabeth to his crew in order to repay her “taking advantage of his hospitality.” When making Elizabeth walk the plank, he asks for the dress back, his crew hooting and hollering as she undresses into her dressing gown. He sends Jack off with just the one shot in the pistol even though he is banishing both of them, encouraging him to “be the gentleman and shoot the lady, then starve yourself.”

Taking a step back to before he sinks The Interceptor, Jack tries to negotiate going over and getting Barbossa what he needs, to which Barbossa replies “That’s exactly the thinking that lost you the Pearl. People are easy to search when they’re dead.” Jack had such a reputation for not wanting to unnecessarily spill blood that it had upset Barbossa, and apparently other crew members, enough that they wanted to overthrow him. 

This time when Barbossa and his crew take Will, the true Turner child, to Isla de Muerta, they say they will kill him and spill all of his blood. It could just be as the second mate says: they are just doing it to be sure. But as far as Barbossa is concerned, there is no real reason to keep this kid alive after using his blood. He serves no purpose and his life is meaningless to him.

Now, it is often difficult to follow dear Captain Jack Sparrow’s plans. In the original plan, he spoke of leverage, and it seemed that he was going to use Will in order to regain The Black Pearl, perhaps throwing Will away and letting him die. However, in his adjusted plan following he and Elizabeth being saved by Norrington, it seems he has accounted for saving both Elizabeth and Will. We cannot know for sure, but I would be willing to bet that Jack had planned on finding a way to ultimately save them both in his original plan, as well.

Whatever the case, his second plan ends up succeeding, at least on his end. He warned Norrington that he may want to defend The Dauntless, but Norrington ignored him, which ultimately lead to some loss of life on the ship. (It would have perhaps been less had he listened, showing Jack again seems to be thinking about how to preserve life.) Will and Elizabeth both end up surviving, Jack kills Barbossa with the single shot he’s been holding onto to repay his backstabbing old friend, and the curse is broken, allowing the rest of the crew to be killed or taken into custody. After selecting a fair bit of his enemies’ treasure, he requests that Will and Elizabeth drop him off at The Black Pearl.

However, when they leave the cave, they find that The Pearl is gone, as Gibbs and the others escaped on it. Elizabeth tells him that she’s sorry, to which Jack only replies “They’ve done what’s right by them.” Afterall, when leaving the first time, he had told them to keep to the code: “anyone who falls behind is left behind.”

Later, after Will frees Jack from the gallows and The Black Pearl rounds the bend, coming to retrieve her captain, Jack tells Gibbs “You were supposed to keep to the code.” Gibbs replies “We figured they were more actual guidelines,” echoing what Barbossa had told Elizabeth and what she, in turn, had told Gibbs and the rest of the crew. Jack then gives a very quiet, very sincere “thank you.”

Now Captain Jack Sparrow, the good pirate and good man, sails off with his crew after having reclaimed his beloved ship. The movie does a wonderful job of showing its theme and bringing across its point. Besides seeing it in the contrast between Jack and Barbossa, you can also see it in the changes in opinion of Elizabeth and Will throughout the movie.

When Will first meets Jack in the blacksmith’s shop, he tells of his distaste for pirates with lines like “I make a point not to get acquainted with pirates” and “I practice so that when I meet a pirate, I can kill it.” He refers to the pirate as “it,” showing that he doesn’t even truly consider a pirate to be fully human.

As mentioned at the top of this post, when Will and Jack are sailing away on The Interceptor, Will becomes offended at the possibility that his father could have been a pirate, though Jack states that he was a good pirate and a good man. (Here too, it should be noted, Jack is not eager to fight Will, finding it unnecessary to do so. Also, I guess, he needs another man to help him man the ship and bring it into Tortuga.)

After Will rescues Elizabeth and leaves Jack behind, the two are below deck in The Black Pearl and Elizabeth returns Will’s medallion. When he asks why she took it, she replies “Because I was afraid you were a pirate - that would have been awful.” This shows that, despite her obsession with pirates, she considers them to be awful people. This is perhaps fueled by her recent interaction with said pirates, but even as a young girl she considered them to be awful, thus taking the medallion from young, unconscious Will.

You can see Will’s expression change when she says “that would have been awful.” You can see him look at the medallion and think it through before he says “It wasn’t your blood they needed. It was mine. The blood of a pirate.” He slams the medallion down on the table, the realization hitting him: the filthy blood of the foul creatures he so despised flowed through his veins. You can just imagine what he’s questioning. Does that make him filthy like them? Does Elizabeth, the woman he loves, view him as awful, given his heritage?

These scenes are greatly contrasted with those that accompany Jack’s hanging at the end of the movie. As Jack’s crimes are being read out, Elizabeth states “This is wrong.” The man up there, though a pirate, had saved her life multiple times over the past few days. While not the most upright of gentlemen, she knows him to be a good man.

Her father’s response is interesting. “Commander Norrington is bound by the law, as are we all.” He doesn’t deny that this is wrong. He doesn’t point out the wrongdoings and foul deeds Captain Jack has committed. He just states that this is what they must do. Their hands are tied. (Norrington, it should be noted, looks somewhat displeased with this exchange.)

Will then saves Jack from the gallows, but the two are surrounded by guards. Norrington, Elizabeth, and Governor Swann come over. Governor Swann expresses his disbelief at Will’s attempt, stating “He’s a pirate.” Will’s reply shows how truly full circle he has come.

“And a good man.”

He then adds “If all that I have achieved today is that the hangman will claim two pairs of boots instead of one, so be it. At least my conscious will be clear.”

Will has found that Captain Jack Sparrow, a good pirate, is also a good man, and he is willing to die to stand by that. Elizabeth joins him, showing that so is she (though it is doubtful that the Governor would allow his daughter to be killed here, and she didn’t directly participate in the rescue attempt other than feigning passing out, so she’s at less risk).

After Jack falls into the water and is rescued by the crew of The Black Pearl, the Governor states “Perhaps, on the rare occasion, pursuing the right course requires and act of piracy. Piracy itself can be the right course.” This statement seems to follow a sort of “Robin Hood,” vigilante mentality. Maybe you must occasionally bend, or even break, the rules to do the right thing. Governor Swann also thinks that Jack is a good man, even if a foul one he’d rather his daughter not associate with.

After Norrington leaves, the Governor turns to his daughter and Will, asking if this is truly the man she wishes to marry. While he will acknowledge that a man of filth such as a pirate can be a good man and do the right thing, he is still a man of high standing and wishes that for his daughter. He states “After all, he is a blacksmith.” I propose that Elizabeth’s reply, “No. He’s a pirate,” has a deeper meaning. Given the theme of the movie, and how the two’s view as changed over the course of it, I posit that it could be replaced with:

“He’s a good man.”

Evidence of Jack being a good man while Barbossa is a bad man can be found throughout the rest of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, as well. Will and Elizabeth’s perspectives of pirates continue to evolve. While the theme becomes less of a major focus in the later movies, The Curse of the Black Pearl’s defining theme: “Good pirate, good man” is still a key part of the series.

If you’d like to see more evidence through out the following movies, here’s part 2.

[ai-adler-blog]

My thoughts on the 5th POTC movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales:

Shouldn’t Jack be around 60? He certainly doesn’t look 60. But then again, this is Johnny Depp we’re talking about.

Why is Will all fishy? Has he not been doing his job? In the “10 years later” scene from At World's End he looked normal...

How come this is the first time we hear about the Trident? I know it was just made up for this movie, but still...

So, On Stranger Tides happened fifteen years after At World's End!?

Who the hell is that witch? How come everyone knows her but she completely disappears from the movie after her introduction?

That's not how buildings work. And Jack must have burned off his pants and legs now.

Carina, reputed science woman, believes in the Trident.

What the hell is that red moon?

Jack has officially become a cartoon version of the character he used to be. Whatever happened to cunning Jack from the first movie?

How the hell does the compass free the ghosts?

Tia Dalma was the one who gave Jack the compass, not some other guy.

"Well, I wonder what epic tavern fight scene they'll engage in to get the compass back" "Oh doesn't matter the witch got it back right after he gave it away, somehow."

Seriously, Jack. What happened to you, man? Is it senile dementia+alcoholism? He's being getting dumber through the series.

The crew is just there to make sex jokes, isn't it?

If this was the Jack we all know and love, he would be trying to flirt with Carina, not tease Henry about liking her.

If that guy is the one that named Jack captain, shouldn't he also be the one to give him his nine piece of eight?

If every member of the crew gives him something for his outfit, it ruins the whole mystery of it.

Just because you throw a random piece of clothing to distract the sharks, doesn't mean they're not going to be distracted from it by you two going into the water.

The only moment we see the voodoo sword come into play is when they restore the Black Pearl. One would've thought it would become an important item to outrun or battle the ghosts.

Also, that's it? That's how you get the Pearl back? I hoped the adventure would center around it, being the fastest ship on the sea, as it could be the only one to face the ghosts, kind of how Will wanted the Pearl to get his father back... but nope.

Besides, it seems as if every ship now is as fast as the Pearl.

Of course Carina would turn out to be Barbossa's daughter... but when was she even conceived? She's around Henry's age, so she must've been conceived around At World's End, but at the end of it Jack and Barbossa parted ways and didn't meet again for many years... so how did Jack know Carina's mother?

So, Barbossa left his daughter a map leading to a treasure because he didn't think it was that important, and just wanted her to have the ruby?

If they let us know now that he has a daughter, is because they're gonna kill him in the end, isn't it?

That guy who's always with Salazar seems like he's just there for exposition.

I would've enjoyed the fight between Salazar and Sparrow a lot more if it wasn't so dark I couldn't distinguish between them.

How come Jack started going by Sparrow if Salazar gave him that nickname just before he died? How did he learn about it?

That magic island was kind of silly. What's the story behind it? We'll never know.

Carina and Henry flirting slightly is going to mean they're totally head over heels in love with each other at the end, isn't it? sigh.

Their legs should be bleeding after sliding on those rocks.

"Oh no, Henry's possessed!" "Oh wait now he's not."

That's a bit of a leap of faith to take, believing that by "dividing" the Trident every curse will be lifted.

I wonder what sort of epic fight will take place between the ghosts and the living... oh wait no Salazar just splashed Jack with water and Carina and Henry broke the Trident in two... that'll do it.

Of course Barbossa had to die. Once you're a parent in a Disney movie there's no escaping.

"Oh my God, you're my father. Oh my God, you're dead."

Weren't there other ways to get rid of Salazar? Jack we've seen you fight in the middle of a maelstrom, I'm sure you can fight on an anchor. You could've given us the epic battle this movie lacked of.

She says she's a Barbossa like she's all proud of it. BITCH YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HIM.

Seriously, Carina and Barbossa barely talked in this movie. There was no bonding between them.

If ghosts can possess humans, why didn't they possess someone to kill Jack while they were on that island? Was it because they can only possess at sea?

Jack could've told Henry more about his parents and their adventures. I guess Elizabeth already told him most things, but c'mon: "well, there's that one time your mother killed me..." "Wait, what!?"; "and also your father betrayed me..." "Wait, what!?"; "Aye, I married your parents" "Wait, what!?" The comparisons between Henry and his parents is a wasted oportunity. They didn't even say anything when Jack pulled out his gun when Henry drew his sword at him in what was a clear parallel to the first movie.

Who's going to tell Carina now that her father used to be an undead creature? And literally dead once before? And killed by Jack?

Uh... that slap...

Finally, Will! Where were you when the ghosts were about to kill your son? I need an explaination...

Will's not going to acknoledge Jack, who's on a ship next to his, after everything they've been through and helping save him from his curse?

Where's Bootstrap Bill?

"The Dutchman must always have a captain", but not anymore, I guess. After all the time they spent reminding us in the original trilogy...

What happened to Will's heart? Did he grow a new one? What happened to the one in the chest? Did it die? Did it turn to dust? Seaweed? Is his old one still beating in the chest and keeping him alive? Did it return to Will's chest somehow? Is Will a different kind of zombie now? If that bit at the end means Davy Jones is back, is his heart the one in the chest at the moment?

Will and Elizabeth made me cry. It's been ten years for me but TWENTY ONE FOR THEM. They were the only thing I enjoyed about this movie, aside from the slapstick from the guillotine.

Didn't Elizabeth use to be blonde?

You're not even going to wave farewell at Jack?

Davy Jones is back... somehow.

[thekimthinks]

So I rewatched the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy again.

I say trilogy well aware that there are more movies by now but I feel like removing the main charachters and keeping one side charachter counts more as a spinoff. So before we begin I did watch these before once pretty much before they came out. I remember really enjoying the first one and the sequels overall being mediocre. Then over time I forgot why the sequels were bad and remembered a really cool story about magic pirates with a badass female lead. And now I have watched them again and they are bad. But like bad in their own special way. And the fact that they are bad doesn’t mean they don’t tell a cool story about magical pirates. So what I am going to do is go trough each movie in a semi structured way and tell you why they are bad but still tell a cool magical story about pirates with a badass female lead.

So when we start the second movie we get some exposition setting up the main vilian for both movies, It’s this new trading company dude who is looking to get jacks compass for some reason. Also this dude enjoys being an asshole so he imprisons elizabeth and sends will out to see to look for jack sparrow. What follows is what I like to call shenanigans. The pirates movies are not the only movie that employ the shenanigans trope but the trope can be sumarized as any action/comedy/general scene that doesn’t make much sense and does noting to progress the plot in a meaningfull way. (the defintion of the word meaningfull is subjective here but bear with me). The shenanigans the second pirates movie gets into include a very racist 20 minutes of Jack being a king of native canibals and having to be rescued by his crew and Will who was looking for him. Elizabeth gets her own shenanigans as she escapes jail. makes a deal with our main villian. Then in order to find Jack and Will she dresses like a man to tag along a trading ship. In her infinte cunning and wisdom that apperently dissapears because shenanigans she hides her dress on board of the ship. Wich then leads to her pretending there is a ghost on the ship and leading this ship to Tortuga. Now it can be argued both of these shenanigans progress the plot. Will finds jack and frees him. Elizabeth uses a cunning plan to get where she needs to be. Except both of these points rely on A. Jack got captured by natives that are there for no plot relevant reason. B. Elizabeth hides her dress on board of the ship she is hiding her identity and gender on. But ok half an hour into this movie and nothing has happened, fine. skip forward a few scenes and we get to Jack selling will to davy jones, will meets his daddy this is all pretty good. Refer back to cool magic pirate movie. Will escapes eventually and meets with Jack Elizabeth and suprise james norrington, you know the british navy villian from the first movie. (he is introduced earlier and better than I might suggest but this is already far too long.) So the boys fight over davy jones’ heart untill halfway the fight Norrington steals the heart out of jacks jar of dirt. After which the fight actually continues for quite a while. this entire fight can be summarized as shenanigans. So davy jones is angry because his heart got stolen and he sends the kraken after our heroes and something acutally suprising and interesting happens.

See Elizabeth and Jack have this conversation a bit before this, where Jack suggests that Elizabeth will become a scoundrel like himself because deep inside she is a pirate and wants to know how it feels (also this means they are going to make out). She retorts that she will not but that Jack will become a hero one day because deep inside he is a good man and wants to know how it feels. So the kraken atacks because Jack has Davy Jones’ heart and Davy jones generally wants him dead. This is when Elizabeth does something briliant. She kisses Jack and ties him to the boat making the kraken kill him so she can escape. She lost the argument, she became a scoundrel pirate. However Jack in the eyes of the group became a hero, sacrificing himself to save the team. In a way they are both right. Especially from elizabeth’s perspective as a scoundrel, A heroic man is good for nothing but leverage (this is a huge theme in the first movie.) So Elizabeth killed jack, the movie ends with everyone mourning jack at Tia Dalma’s place. Who reveals that Barbossa is alive, and that Jack can be brought back from Davy Jones’ locker. But only if they are willing to sacrifice everything, everyone agrees with an “Aye!” except for Elizabeth, who reluctantly says yes, which makes sense... she killed Jack.

Now why did I write all this down (other than this being the point of the blog), I wrote it all down because the third movie has some issues that facinate and frustrate me to no end. So Elizabeth is now a murderer, pirate, liar, and overall badass worth a milion of Jack Sparrow. But this is a Disney movie and hollywood can’t have women be competent without also being objectified sooo we start the movie with her singing the pirate antem forcing the pirate lords to gather. In order to make a deal with one of the pirate lords named Sao Feng. So far so good she is being cool. But in order to get in she needs to drop her weapons and clothes and Barbossa is there to take the lead. This actually makes everything confusing, Everything up to this point would make Barbossa and Elizabeth equals if not friends for the fact that Elizabeth achieved what Barbossa would have loved to do. Kill Jack Sparrow. But because the movie won’t allow a woman to be a main charachter entirely she doesn’t tell him. So he treats her like shit. We also get to see her weakness in this scene, namely that she still really loves Will making her actually interesting. (I am not going to debate on tumblr if her weakness being attraction to a dude is sexist or not.) So much of the first half of the movie is spent on saving jack sparrow from davy jones’ locker and one thing relevant to my story here that happens is that Elizabeth finds out her dad is dead, which upsets her inmensly and she needs to be stopped from drowning herself. (I am honestly not sure about this scene it makes sense in charachter but portraying Elizabeth this way is just sooo weirdly out of the badass pirate version of her... Whatever.) She eventually gets kidnapped by Sao Feng who thinks she is the god of the sea Calypso, and Sao Feng wants to release Calypso from her mortal prison. This is the same thing Barbossa is trying to do but he knows who Caplypso actually is. Sao Feng dies before this goes anywhere meaningfull other than making Elizabeth a pirate lord with his last words. So now Elizabeth is actually on the same level as Jack. And now we finally get to the scene where all of this comes together. The pirate council scene. All of the pirate lords have come together to decide what to do against davy jones who is now under control of beckett. They fight amongst each other like pirates are expected to do and Elizabeth scoffs at this. She proposes they go to war against Becket’s fleet, in order to flee the scene and live another day, the most ancient of pirate traditions. Jack wants them to stay holed up because he is a coward. Barbossa wants to go to war and release calypso. They figure out the only way to go to war as the pirate council is for there to be a pirate king But everyone always votes for themselves. So there hasn’t been one in forever. Barbossa pushes the vote and because he wants to go to war he votes for Elizabeth, (Also barbossa is a pirate lord for some reason even though he was Jacks first mate in the first movie, you’d think you’d have to be a captian to be a pirate lord?) So elizabeth is now pirate queen. They go to war, some more stuff happend that should probably get its own post but this is all the information required for me to make my point. 

Elizabeth as a main charachter is written as a badass pirate with clear motivation but isn’t allowed to be competent and as such the movies narrative around her gets really confusing. If elizabeth had known about the pirate council and the full scope of the code in the second movie, (which was largely spend on shenanigans and could have done with telling us more about the world the story takes place in, the pirate lords and clear details about calypso do not exist in movie 2)and barbossa’s motivation early in the third movie (easily obtained by gaining his trust revealing she murdered Jack), we could have seen this movie as a pirate exceeding her mentor (Jack Sparrow) fighting for the power required to survive, and provide her fiance (Will) with the means to save his father whilst manipulating and lying like literally everyone else.I am almost entirely sure this arc existed for her at some point considering this is what she builds to in the first movie, she adores pirates for their rebellion and heroism, is appaled by their lack of morals and manners, ends up learning how to manipulate them into doing what she wants. But thats not what happend, instead we spent a lot of time on shenanigans and flip flopping between pirate Elizabeth and emotional rich lady on a pirate ship Elizabeth. 

If you got this far, thanks for reading. This is one hell of a first post for this blog and I have basicly only written about Elizabeth. I feel like the other big thing i want to talk about is something in more movies and needs its own special post.

[thusspakesophie]

Miscellaneous Meditations Rewatching PotC <3

I’ve been rewatching the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. (no, the ones that came out after my tweens don’t count) I think Curse of the Black Pearl is the purest joy of any viewing experience I know of??? I actually adore every second of it. It’s perfect. Jack is obvs a slytherin. So is Elizabeth, albeit of the borderline-gryffindor bad-tempered and honour-valuing (even if herself lacking) variety. Will is a cinnamon roll gryffindor who sometimes tries to be a slytherin, bless him. His father is even more precious; he might even be a hufflepuff. (Everyone around him is busy turning into eels and sharks and he’s all ‘imma be a beautiful coral reef with sea flowers and starfish~!’) Barbossa is also a textbook slytherin. I didn’t appreciate him enough when I was younger, so here’s some love for Barbossa <3 That Pirate voice tho~ A+++ (Why is Drapple so famous, when ... Barbossapple? Barbapple? Applossa? exists??? Did Draco ever spend an entire movie going on about how miserable he was cursed because he couldn’t eat apples? Did he ever die with one clutched to his heart? Or come back from the dead just to bite apples with RELISH? No. No he did not. Inferior apple romance.) Norrington is another textbook gryffindor who has slytherin moments because who doesn’t in these movies? I mean seriously the number of double crosses in At World’s End (leaving aside the ones in Dead Man’s Chest) is completely out of control. I must’ve seen that movie half a dozen times by now and I still couldn’t tell you the plot.  My favourite piece of reasoning is where Sao Feng decides that the best thing to do to a captured goddess right before releasing her is try to rape her. Like, that will totally make things better for you when she’s all-powerful again??  Tho now that I pride myself on my naval expertise thanks to Patrick O’Brian, Barbossa casually being like ‘loose the cannons!’ to capsize the ship has to be up there, stupid-wise. ‘Loose cannon’ is an expression for a reason dude. All you will get is a ship full of holes and an entire crew with pulverised bone jelly instead of bodyparts.  Elizabeth is like 95% motivated by horniness for the entire second movie Pintel and Ragetti are a brOTP for eternity Also eternal props to the ridiculous fight choreography and brilliant score. These movies are a pretty compelling argument that you literally do not need anything else to be delightful.  Jack and Will in Curse of the Black Pearl are the most precious comedy duo. The latter doesn’t get enough credit for that, imo! CotBP is kind of supposed to be an anti-corset commercial, and somehow totally failed. For me, anyway. I might even have been more excited to wear my first corset because of it. Oops. Go figure. ;) :P Cutler Beckett is a great name. Also speaking of things I missed/didn’t appreciate as a kid, he totally doesn’t have a dick. No wonder Jack is so quick to think of guys being eunuchs. Oh and villainous harpsichord theme A+ Battle of the theme music is an impossible choice. Drunken cello and swashbuckling magnificence? Epic romance? Headbanging (and heartbeat-based - I see you character nod) electrobass + orchestral kraken glory? Tender musicbox turned tormented organ? I LOVE IT ALL Every villain should be required to angstily play the organ. It’s badass. 1000% approve. Kylo Ren take note.  That poor Kraken just got killed off because it was OP. It ate the Pearl once and they were like ‘oh shoot it needs to... not exist in the next movie... or else we can’t have a 40 minute battle in a whirlpool’. Realistically speaking there is absolutely no way Cutler Beckett wouldn’t be like ‘you have a ship that’s nice SET THAT TERRIFYING BEASTIE ON ALL MY ENEMIES STAT’ Actually that’s probably the stupidest decision in the entire thing: keeping Davy Jones’ heart-in-a-box on board his own ship so that its guards can be conveniently slaughtered and leave it available for whoever. Anyone with a particle of sense would hide that thing on the biggest hunk of land possible and be like ‘if I don’t get back from our meeting on time it’s toast’.  Also what is the point of those two armadas at the end? They all assemble for some impressive wide shots and then do *literally nothing* but watch while the flagships battle it out. Like ???  “How can we make our sea battle more epic?” “Maybe it can be during like, a huge storm” “Yeah it’s in a whirlpool” “Oh sweet. Uhm. How about, add a ton of air ballet?” “Perfect!” The progressive absurdity of Jack’s cannon-and-rope acrobatic escapes is beautiful. He literally flies out of a whirlpool and a collapsing sinking ship during the last one, on a seaweed-sail parachute, with a heartbroken bride in his arms. I mean.... OK. XD

I still really fucking appreciate how Elizabeth learned to be an expert swordswoman in the like, few months’ space between the first and second movies. She was a feisty damsel in distress, but still a damsel in distress, so giving her the power to fight back made 12-year-old me *extremely* happy. And her becoming the Pirate King was even better so I completely forgive the nonsensical plot leading up to that~! :3  I love how easy it is to fuck with pirate politics. ‘Nobody ever votes for anyone else so literally anyone has the ability to be kingmaker. And by literally anyone we mean Jack Sparrow, because of course.’ (Jack Sparrow = Winston Peters) Rewatching these movies is very strange because it’s like they contain my past self in them. I hadn’t realised quite how many of Jack’s jokes made it into my friends’ personal collection. I remember a lot of ‘my peanut’ ‘Nobody move! I’ve dropped me brain’ ‘Gentlemen, I wash my hands of this madness’ etc. It’s like a shrine to the mid-2000s cult of raNdOM. “Why is the rum always gone?” - the human condition, a summary. A+++ Existential commentary. 

Tia Dalma is played by Naomi Harris! I guess that’s why she always looked familiar. #mysterysolved Ditto Stellan Skarsgard. Elizabeth’s stunt with her ‘haunted’ wedding dress is wonderful. I love how subtle it is. (TORTUGA in flaming letters) (Also damn they actually do roll with the bad luck, fated tragedy etc thing with that marriage... tho even in the image of that dress sinking into the ocean there’s a nod to how Elizabeth was never suited to the restriction of her old life, symbolised by the suffocating corsetry. So it’s sad but also maybe it kind of suits them to end up Pirate King and Captain of the Flying Dutchman. I’ve always really loved that all the main characters end up in a different important position. Will will make an excellent psychopomp.) I have other thoughts about magic and epic romance in PotC but they were too serious and lengthy to include. I’m putting them in another post <3 Anyway, I still love these movies!

[ljones41]

"PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES" (2011) Review

"PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES" (2011) Review When the Disney Studios and producer Jerry Bruckheimer had first released news of their intention to make sequels to their 2003 hit movie, "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL", I reacted to the news with a great deal of wariness. In fact, I was against the idea. But after seeing 2006's "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST" and 2007's "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END", my opinion had changed. I ended up enjoying the two movies just as much as I had enjoyed "CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL" . . . especially the second film. 

About two years after "AT WORLD’S END" hit the theaters, the Disney people and Bruckheimer had released news of their intention to make a fourth film. Again, I expressed wariness at the idea. I thought the three movies released between 2003 and 2007 made a neat little trilogy. There was no need for a fourth movie. But Disney and Bruckheimer went ahead with their plans and a fourth movie was recently released. But unlike "DEAD MAN’S CHEST" and "AT WORLD’S END", I found it difficult to enjoy "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES". I cannot say that I disliked the film. There were aspects of it that I genuinely enjoyed. Both Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush were in top form as Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hector Barbossa. But I noticed something odd about their characters in this movie. For once, Jack did not have a particular goal to attain in this film. In "CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL", he was after the Black Pearl. He was after the chest that contained Davy Jones' heart in "DEAD MAN’S CHEST" to be used to avoid a debt that he owned. And in "AT WORLD’S END", he was still after Jones' heart in order to gain the opportunity to become master of the Flying Dutchman and immortality. In this fourth movie, Jack seemed to have become swept up in Blackbeard and the British Crown's agendas. And Barbossa seemed out of place as a privateer for His Majesty King George II and the Royal Navy. There was a scene that featured him eating slices of fruit arranged on a plate. He seemed to be doing his best to project the image of an officer and a gentleman . . . only he looked rather odd. However, both actors gave top notch performances and I could find nothing to complain about. I could also say the same about the performances of Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane and Stephen Graham as Angelica, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and a sailor named Scrum, respectively. All three were perfectly cast in their respective roles. Cruz did an excellent job in portraying the complex Angelica, who happened to be the daughter of Blackbeard. Although it is obvious that she is attracted to Jack - a former lover, she seemed to have this . . . need for her father's love that made her into some kind of twisted Daddy's girl wannabe. Unfortunately, McShane's Blackbeard seemed like poor father material. There were times when he conveyed the image of a concerned and loving father. And yet, he proved to be nothing more than an emotional vampire who would easily kill his daughter if she got in the way of his goal - the Fountain of Youth. And I must admit that not only did McShane made a witty and terrifying Blackbeard, he handled his character's twisted relationship with Angelica beautifully. Graham's Scrum almost struck me as a younger version of Jack's old friend, Joshamee Gibbs. And considering that the latter's appearance in this film seemed somewhat limited, it seemed just as well that Graham received more screen time. There were other aspects of "ON STRANGER TIDES" that I enjoyed. Or should I say, scenes? The mermaids' attacks upon Blackbeard's men and upon the H.M.S. Providence were among the most terrifying scenes I have seen in the franchise since the Kracken's attacks in "DEAD MAN’S CHEST". I also enjoyed the scene that featured Jack's mutinous meeting with members of Blackbeard's crew. Personally, I found it very funny and it brought back memories of former characters such as Pintel, Ragetti, Marty and Cotton. Jack's meeting with King George II proved to be somewhat entertaining. And it led to an equally entertaining chase sequence through the streets of mid-18th century London. But my favorite scene featured Jack marooning Angelica on a deserted island, following the death of Blackbeard. The humor not only permeated strongly in their verbal exchange, but also in director Rob Marshall's visual style. And I must admit that I also enjoyed the photography featured in the London scenes and the "island" where the Fountain of Youth was located. Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski did justice to the lush Hawaii jungle that served as one of the movie's settings. So, if I had so much to enjoy about "ON STRANGER TIDES", why did it fail to resonate within me in the end? What went wrong? At least for me? My main problem with the movie is that I felt it tried to repeat many aspects of the first film, "CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL". This is odd, considering that "ON STRANGER TIDES" was allegedly inspired by Tim Powers' 1987 novel, "On Stranger Tides". The fourth film did not come off as a remake or anything of such. But there were too many aspects of the first film that seemed to be repeated in "ON STRANGER TIDES". One, Jack's reunion with Angelica in a London tavern almost seemed like a remake of his first meeting with Will Turner in "CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL". Scrum almost seemed like a remake of Joshamee Gibbs. This is not surprising, since he had more scenes with Jack that Gibbs and the latter (along with actor Kevin McNally) seemed wasted in the movie. Two of Blackbeard's crew turned out to be zombies (if you can call them that). And they seemed like remakes (physical and otherwise) of Barbossa's first mate from the first film, Bo'sun. More importantly, the romance between missionary Philip Swift and the mermaid Syrena almost seemed like a remake of the Will Turner/Elizabeth Swann romance . . . but without the character developments. If I must be honest, Philip and Syrena's romance nearly put me to sleep on several occasions. I feel sorry for actors Sam Claflin and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey. They seemed like two decent actors forced to work with a pair of boring and undeveloped characters. There were other problems I had with "ON STRANGER TIDES". The movie saw the return of Royal Navy officers Theodore Groves (from the first and third film) and Gillette (from the first film). What on earth did Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot did to their roles? Both characters almost seemed lobotomized. Well, Gillette did. Groves seemed to have lost his sense of humor. I recalled that he was a big fan boy of Jack in the first and third films. Yet, when he finally met Jack . . . nothing happened. He was too busy being a rather boring and stiff character. What happened to Jack and Barbossa's own quests for the Fountain of Youth, which was first introduced in "AT WORLD’S END"? After a few years of failure, the audience is led to believe that Jack simply lost interest. And Barbossa's earlier encounter with Blackbeard and the latter's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, led to the loss of one leg and the Black Pearl. And how did Barbossa managed to survive the loss of his leg. Apparently, Barbossa had to cut off his leg to free from Blackbeard's enchanted ship lines. So, how did he manage to keep himself from bleeding to death in the ocean? How did he manage to swim to safety with one leg? And then we come to the mermaids. How did the mermaids manage to destroy Barbossa's ship, the H.M.S. Providence? It was one thing to lure men from small boats or smash said boats. It was another to do the same to a large frigate. I have never heard of such a thing in the mermaid mythology. One last major problem I had with the movie dealt with the presence of the Spanish. Like the British, they were after the Fountain of Youth. Only their leader, known as the Spaniard (portrayed by Óscar Jaenada), called himself destroying the Fountain in the name of his king and the Catholic Church, as some kind of stance against paganism. Worse, he possessed the very chalices that needed to be used to drink the Fountain's water. Yet, he did not bother to smash them, until he was at the Fountain's location. Why? And what in the hell were Elliot and Rossio thinking? Why include such a storyline that proved to be irrelevant, epsecially since Jack was able to use the Fountain's water after its so-called destruction? Following the movie’s release, I heard that Disney Studios and Bruckheimer were planning a fifth movie. I can understand this decision, considering that "ON STRANGER TIDES" raked up a great deal of profit at the box office. Frankly, I had originally wished they would change their minds. I honestly did not care how much money the movie had made. After watching it, I realized that a fourth movie should not have been made . . . at least from an artistic point of view. It featured too much sloppy writing and characterizations for me to truly enjoy.  Ironically, I ended up enjoying the franchise’s fifth entry more than I did this fourth one.  "ON STRANGER TIDES" proved to be the only PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movie that I did not not considered as a personal favorite.

[amandaklwrites]

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (POTC #3) (2007)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy

Rating: 10/10

Movie Review: 

I’m going to be honest here. While I loved this movie as much as the others, I also felt like I was high on drugs the whole time. 

You have to admit. This one was trippy. A ship flipping upside down in the water? A huge waterfall landing them in Davy Jones’s Locker inside the Kraken?? (Like.... how does that work??). Jack seeing multiple versions of himself? And how did they not freeze that frozen tundra? Pirates managing to entrap a goddess in a human form?????

But this one has the most fantasy out of all them, to me. (Though I still need to rewatch Dead Men Tell No Tales, and I remember that one being far out there too). 

This was the first of the POTC movies I saw in theaters (remember how I said these movies scared me when I was young because of the violence? It took me a while to start watching them on the big screen). 

This one has so many great points though, especially when it comes to character arcs. We see Elizabeth Swann develop into the strongest, most badass female character I have ever seen (PIRATE KING!!!!), and she’s fully into the pirate world. She’s become herself, she has figured out that she will make decisions that will be risky, but she has to choose what is best for her. Will Turner saves his father, though he doesn’t 100% realize the sacrifice he’s making because he’s dead, and protects Jack and Elizabeth until his dying breath. Jack discovers that protecting just himself doesn’t make the world turn, so he gives up immortality for Will (though, you know, he still goes searching for the Fountain of Youth). Norrington, with the help of Elizabeth awakening him more, realizes that the system he is a part of doesn’t work, it can be rather cruel, so he protects the people he should be stopping and ends up dying in the process, but he still did the right thing. There are so many finales of character arcs in this movie, that you can tell the screenwriters did a marvelous job at doing an actual trilogy that worked and made sense. 

Let’s talk about Tia Dalma and Davy Jones for a moment. I remember being in the theater and I knew it was the two of them that had been involved (Tia Dalma, or Calypso for that matter, was the one Davy Jones loved). And I love their love story, though I do have questions. Davy Jones was human at one point when they were in love, and I want to know how he had met a goddess and fallen in love with her. But alas, we didn’t get the whole story. But what we did get was wonderful. That scene with them talking was one of the best love stories I had ever seen. Her touching his face and seeing him human broke me nearly in half. We saw the man behind the monster, we saw the man without a heart look at her with such love. For someone who couldn’t feel because of his heart, that scene, I think we saw so much more emotion than we could believe. Remember what I said in the last review about love stories being at the heart of basically every story? Here, we know it. Davy Jones was spurned in love and that’s what led him into the villain we know. And that makes it so interesting and complicated. 

Now, I found it strange that when Calypso was released (and I know who she’s supposed to be, I've read the stories) from her human form, she... just turned into a storm? I know it was supposed to represent her rage, and she’s a goddess that can become anything she wants, but it just felt a little lacking. I wanted to see more of what she could do. However, I do think there was supposed to be some metaphor or symbology or whatever at the end. When Davy Jones died, he said her name, and then the storm stopped. I hope that means their souls are together somewhere, that their love/hate storyline had ended in the human world. They moved on somewhere else, and maybe, the goddess Calypso brought her love back with her in some form. That’s what I would hope for them. 

Beckett. I would love to slap him in his scrawny face. But I mean, you have to give him credit as a villain. He literally had control of THE powerful villain creature. That makes him an ultimate villain. He used others, he manipulated. He had Elizabeth’s father murdered (Elizabeth’s reaction is so heartbreaking, she literally has no family left, except for the one she creates with the pirates). He was a metaphor for the greed and destruction of the human world. He was literally that representation. He was the entitled bastard that made people want to become pirates (because I guarantee you, so many pirates in history became that way because they didn’t want to follow the British systems any longer-- they even created their own!). He is what is wrong with our world. 

But what I love is how little of importance he is. They literally just blow up his ship, killing him, and that’s it. There’s no great battle with him, no final eulogies of the villain. He literally means nothing to them. While he’s a mastermind at manipulation and power and control, he’s so meaningless that he’s not even worth the fight. They just turn their ships, blow him out of the sea, and wipe their hands clean. 

And that’s because, honestly, he’s one of those men that use other people to get what he wants. He may have the power, he may figure out how to have power over people and control them, but without those people, he’s nothing. He has others do his dirty work, he has a sea captain with power and infamy kill people for him. He’s the epitome of the bastards high in power who do absolutely nothing. He’s the gang leader who sends everyone off to kill people for him, and keeps his hands clean. It’s a weird psychology thing, one that I won’t get into too much depth about, because I could write pages and pages about it. But the best revenge is not giving him the satisfaction of rage or a battle. Just blow him up like the little, worthless man he is. 

Barbossa is still just incredible because he’s there. He doesn’t really have any story arc, which is fine, because he’s the character that represents the pirate’s life. Him and Beckett are on opposite ends, to represent these two different worlds. He has depth, he’s interesting, but he’s also somewhat of a prop for others to bounce off of. He’s there to create humor and tension with Jack. He has the best quips. He’s not necessarily a one-dimensional character, but he’s rather close to it. But we all still love him because he’s just... Barbossa. The battle scene with him marrying Elizabeth and Will is one of my favorites as well, because it’s funny and sweet and monumental. 

Will’s death and transformation is effortlessly done, and I try not to cry every time I watch it. Throughout all the movies, we see Will slowly come out of his shell-- he was so quiet and in his place in the first movie-- and controlling the ships without Jack or Barbossa. He’s constantly proving himself as a leader, and THEN, he becomes the leader of one of the most famous ships on the seven seas. I remember crying in the theaters when Will died, but then seeing him as captain of the Flying Dutchman was quite the gasping moment. But what I noticed this time was that the crew changed-- they were monsters anymore, they were men. Will became the captain and instantly, everything changed. Because he’s a good leader, a good man. And he would treat them fairly and like other men. 

I have to admit, the ending scene of Will and Elizabeth on the beach was rather... hot, let’s just be honest. Especially kissing her leg. Like good lord, I’ve never felt so hot in my life. And it releases some tension-- they’ve been waiting YEARS to finally have sex. Now, they have. And it makes them feel different, which is wonderful to see. Will and Elizabeth have literally gone through hell and death and the ends of the world for each other. It may not be happily ever after because he’s gone for so many years at a time, but they still have each other. And honestly, if they are ever out at sea, he can protect them from afar. 

Jack has come a long way too. It ends with him and Gibbs planning to find the Fountain of Youth, even though Barbossa-- once again!-- has stolen the Black Pearl. Jack may have come rather far-- the many different versions of him was... interesting, and funny-- but we see that he’s still who he is. A pirate who wants to live forever. That will never change. But he has learned some things, and that’s the whole point. 

The trilogy is over. There are more stories to come, but this arc, Elizabeth’s (and even Will’s story) have pretty much concluded. The scene at the very end, of Will returning home to visit Elizabeth and his son, is one to remember. The trilogy started with Elizabeth, and her finding Will, and it ends once again with Elizabeth, and Will coming home. It was always this love story, these two falling in love and being together, despite everything, of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. This is Elizabeth’s story, at the very, very heart, and we watched this world of piracy and adventure unfold with her, watching her grow at the same time. 

[greathammerhead]

The Stars Will Lead Me Home chapter: 1 summary: All she had left of her father was a book of the stars encrusted with a ruby. After years of wondering, she finally sets out on a voyage that she hopes will lead her to her father, not knowing she would find so much more. pairings: Harry Hook x Evie, mentioned Ben x Mal, past Evil Queen x Captain Hector Barbossa inspiration: eviarry’s headcannon of Evie being Barbossa’s daughter style: Multi-chapter; post-canon; Pirates of the Caribbean 5 crossover notes: Mild spoilers for that movie, as Evie’s plot is loosely based on one of the characters rated: T, possibly M for excessive violence (if needed); will feature strong language, violence, and sexual themes. other locations: ao3 | ffnet tumblr chapter listing: x

Tales had been told of the infamous group that had escaped the Isle of the Lost; the only ones to have ever escaped.

Many folks said they were a pirate crew, though Captain Hook told a different story, convinced that if a pirate crew were to ever escape, it would be his.

The details became very blurry over the years for most of the villains…except one.

The Evil Queen knew too well the tale of the men who escaped from the Isle.

They were, in fact, pirates, and probably the worst of all. When the crewmen took to the streets of the Isle a few years after its’ creation, they openly displayed their immortality, using it to garner whatever they wished from the poor masses.

They did stay away from most of the more well-feared villains, such as Maleficent, but tried storming her castle within the second week of their arrival.

She’d been sitting by the fire, looking picturesque and as if she’d been waiting for them all along when they threw her doors open.

“Just because we’re all villains here,” She began, taking an interest in the small chip that had formed in her nail polish, “doesn’t mean we can show up to each other’s houses uninvited. It’s quite rude, don’t you think?”

A portly man sneered. “Haven’t ye heard? Threats don’t work on us, pretty lady. We here are immortal.”

“But your ship isn’t.” Her words gave them pause. “Ships hold some form of sentimentality to pirates, don’t they?”

“Look who’s talkin’, held up ‘ere in yer castle.”

She rose a brow, completely unperturbed. “And so it does. The idea of a castle. And you have the idea of freedom. I wonder who will be wounded more?”

“Listen, wench-”

The man went to take a step forward when the blade of a sword pushed him back.

“Now lads, who are we to talk to such a creature like that?”

The Evil Queen gave as much of a smile as she could, the corner of her lip quirking only slightly for a moment. “Creature, you say? If I were a simple creature I don’t suppose we’d have having this conversation.”

“’Tis but a term, yer Highness.”

“You should expand your vocabulary then.” She lifted her hand, tapping her chin twice. “Why the sudden formality, I wonder? Your men were just trying to terrify me into giving up all my…riches.” She gestured to the room around her, decorated with nothing but mirrors. She had nothing left for them to take.

“We’re naught but humble pirates. My men see a castle and they believe there be gold within its walls.”

“I pity just how little control you have over them.”

The man she assumed was the captain narrowed his eyes.

“We be pirates, we’re all free men. We-”

“Free?” The Queen raised a perfectly arched brow. “Not on this island. That’s what you fail to understand.” She folded her hands on her lap, head held high as if she were addressing her subjects. “Once you and your…“free men” do as they please, there is no escape, nowhere for them to hide. If Auradon is paying any attention, they’ll sentence you as they see fit. If they don’t care, then the Isle will turn against you. Or, if you choose to kill everyone, you’ll end up all alone, trapped on an island with only yourselves, surrounded by a sea you cannot touch.”

A few of the pirates shared looks, as if they’d never even thought of the consequences prior to their pillaging. The captain weighted the options.

“And what do ye suggest?”

“Understanding that none of us wish to be trapped here and acting accordingly.”

Her words left no more room for argument.

The captain bowed before her, lifting his hat off with a flourish.

“I apologize. We will think on yer words. Is there a way I can repay ye for the inconvenience we caused ye?”

“I’m rather fond of apples.” For the second time that day, she felt herself smile, this time more than the last.

“An apple a day it ‘tis, yer Highness.”

The pirates left, many with scowls on their face, but the captain was the last to leave, taking his steps slowly, as if waiting…

“What is your name?” The Queen asked. Her voice was low, not wanting anyone to hear unless they were acutely listening.

And he was. The pirate turned around, trying to hide the smugness he felt.

“Captain Barbossa, at yer service.”

- - -

Captain Barbossa and the crew of The Black Pearl were on the Isle half a year before they were called back through the use of magic unlike the Queen had ever seen.

He’d been with her when he felt the call.

It had pulled at his skin, overpowering all his other sensations as awoke, still tangled her silken sheets.

He didn’t remember when he actually stumbled to her door, only that he was startled when she grabbed his forearm with enough force to hold him in place.

Her gaze was cold, but she no longer frightened him; her dark hair was a knotted mess from his hands and her skin marred from their frequent trysts. A few months had passed since they’d begun…whatever this was, and he was still shocked that such a fair creature let him into her bed.

He’d be reluctant to leave if he’d been called by anyone else but the sea.

Tia Dalma, whom he’d been introduced to by none other than Jack Sparrow, may have been a woman of flesh and bone, but he was one of few her knew her for what she was, the sea herself, bound to human form.

When it came to the sea and those that had a part in it, she held all control over them. He’d been surprised when they’d been captured and taken to Auradon, and she let it happen.

He could only imagine why he was being returned, but it wouldn’t be good.

The small part of himself that had surrendered to his fate, to living on the Isle, didn’t want to leave. After all, who would want to leave such pleasurable company?

But he was a pirate and his first love was the sea.

The Queen, for starters, would flat out refuse such a lifestyle.

Her home was a castle, all high ceilings, four poster beds, and a dining table so long it could fit most of his crew.

She would never choose to go, and he would never expect her.

Still, that didn’t mean it would be a happy goodbye.

“Magic,” His throat was dry, and it broke on his words, “is pulling me back to the sea.”

She immediately let go, body stiffening, as she returned herself back to the Evil Queen he’d met many months ago.

“There is no magic here.”

She watched his back as he left, as he left her. He didn’t even make it to the stairs before his body emitted a strange glow, and then he disappeared altogether.

The Queen rushed to the window, looking as best as she could for where the Pearl was docked. The ship, too, glowed that strange, ghostly light, before it vanished into thin air.

She stared out that window for what felt like hours.

She’d thought he was being cowardly, trying to sneak out on her and lie, but what she’d just witnessed was no less than truly powerful magic if it could break through Fairy Godmother’s barrier.

She didn’t dare go back to sleep, not with his smell still on her sheets, knowing she would fool herself into thinking he’d be there when she woke up, like before.

But, if the light that stole his ship away was any indication, he wouldn’t be returning.

He wouldn’t return to her.

She innocently placed a hand on her stomach, knowing only of the marks left there and not of what grew inside.

Upon being banished to the Isle, the Queen lost hope of marrying a King again. Everyone on the Isle was a ruffian that she would never touch, but that train of thought was broken the day Barbossa and his pirates came to her castle.

He wasn’t a particularly handsome man. He was a bit older than her, or at least looked it from the abuse he’d taken over the years, but he’d charmed her in a way she hadn’t thought possible, and his betrayl — as she came to think of it; she didn’t care he had no choice, or that even if he did, he would have chosen the sea over her — was a knife to her heart.

One didn’t need love. Love was fleeting, love was fickle.

Beauty mattered. Beauty, true beauty, couldn’t be broken, even by time.

It didn’t matter that the sun hadn’t risen yet. The Queen sat at her vanity, taking out the make-up she’d be using that day, and began to apply it.

She covered up every mark he left her with, and soon there was no trace of him left.

If life had been permitting, that would’ve been the end of it. A few washes of the sheets would rid his smell, a few days the marks would fade…

She hadn’t anticipated he, a man cursed with immortality, would leave her with a child.