Sea lord

Leaving aside for a moment the pretzel the finale left of my emotions and my heart, can we talk about that fucking ocean battle for a hot minute?

Rogers was set up as a match for Flint.  He predicted the fire ships Vane and Teach sent and got ships moving to prevent more damage.  He defeated Teach.  He’s clearly a master tactician and understands the sea and using ships in battle in a way few other captains on the show have done. He uses unconventional tactics–scuttled ships in a harbor, ramming, surprise and positioning–to disarm and confuse.

And Flint FUCKED HIM UP. He took in at one glance how the ships were tied together and the best way to use the current to push his own frozen ship into an advantage.  He climbed the rigging and cut the tangled forestay that was locking them in place and boom.  He wasn’t disarmed, he wasn’t confused.  He moved himself into the winning position without hesitation, and then reaped the victory.

Not once, over the whole of this show, has a single person been shown as a better military mind than James Flint.  His understanding of battle tactics, land and sea, is flawless.  He knows the men and their capabilities and how to drive them to win. He, most importantly, understands his enemy.  He can move on any field with the freedom of someone who sees in four dimensions and can calculate all outcomes and can point his side down the best path to victory.  That’s insane, and awesome, and holy fucking shit, England was at WAR and they threw away a goddamn TREASURE.