Crossbones, “A Hole in the Head,” was written by Josh Friedman and directed by Deran Sarafian. Friedman has also written for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on television but his most notable writing credit to date is the screenplay for Avatar 2 – and a writing credit for Avatar 3 as well. Sarafian’s credits include Hemlock Grove, CSI:NY, and House MD – leading me to believe again that he was contracted when Hugh Laurie was still attached to the project.
This episode sees the aftermath of Lowe’s (Richard Coyle) visit to Jamaica. We see the fruition of a number of plots, but some of them seem as necessary as a hole in the head – like the episode’s title. For instance, Blackbeard’s (John Malkovich) plan is finally revealed – and to no one’s surprise (I’m pretty sure) – Blackbeard’s target is the Spanish treasure fleet – not Jamaica. As Blackbeard tells Lowe, he has many maps and a map is not a plan.
Basically everyone turns against Lowe in the episode. Kate (Claire Foy) spits on him and declares her loyalty to Blackbeard. I thought it a particularly well done scene when she declares that “Loyalty is a mystifying idea to you.” I suspect that as unsympathetic as Lowe is to everyone at the moment, whatever Jagger (Julian Sands) was using to blackmail Lowe into working for him will soon come out to make Lowe once again a sympathetic figure.
I also quite liked the scene of Lowe’s return to the Island with Fletch (Chris Perfetti) literally gambolling about him like a faithful puppy. Once again, Perfetti was interesting to watch – especially when he’s waiting for Lowe and the pirates show up to take him into custody. Fletch’s loyalty to Lowe remains unwavering, however, and he is simply incredulous – rather than angry - when Lowe reveals that Blackbeard was never dying and the surgery was probably unnecessary.
The trepanning itself was really pretty silly. I can find no historical evidence for plugging the hole with a non-sterile coin, for example! And why would you bore a hole simply to plug it back up immediately? In the end, of course, it would seem that the operation did not stop the hallucinations. Actually, the subplot with Antoinette (Lauren Shaw) is growing rather tedious as well. Are her eyes actually bleeding? Is she performing some kind of witchcraft to project herself to Blackbeard’s psyche? It does seem clear that she is responsible for the death of Blackbeard’s baby, however.
I was pretty shocked when Nenna (Tracy Ifeachor) killed Rose (Natalie Hoflin). I wasn’t as sorry to see the character go as I would have been before she became unsympathetic by blackmailing Nenna. In the first episodes, it seemed she was an advocate for the other women and therefore a more interesting – and sympathetic character. I didn’t much care for this turn in the character.
I quite enjoyed Yasmine Al Massri’s performance in this episode. She finally suspects Blackbeard knows about Charlie (David Hoflin) and her tryst. She warns Charlie to be careful. But then Blackbeard confides his condition to Charlie. Hoflin does a good job in the scene, clearly conveying Charlie’s concern. This was another masterful scene by Malkovich - as he explains that any tool can also be a weapon - cutting his own hand to make his point to Charlie. Lowe can be a weapon or a tool - as a doctor, but more importantly, Charlie is also a tool of sorts to Blackbeard that could in fact be a weapon as well... In the end, after presenting both Selima and Charlie with the no win situation that if they say not to trust Lowe, they must want him dead – so what are they to do if they suspect Lowe’s motives? – he then uses their own lies against them. He forces them to spare Lowe and agree to the surgery or face the consequences of not being spared from their own betrayal of him with each other.
Two scenes were not directed very satisfactorily for me. The first is when James (Peter Stebbings) arrives to tell Selima that Lowe is a spy sent to kill Blackbeard. Selima is practicing her sword fighting – with the wonderful fluid grace of a dancer. Remember, of course, that Al Massri is a professional dancer. Unfortunately, we get only close ups of her upper body – there should have been nice wide shots to allow us to really appreciate the movement. This is exactly the same criticism of the fight scene between Lowe and Blackbeard – give us longer, wider shots! I want to actually see the fight – and don’t speed up the movement so much that I can tell you’ve sped it up from what was filmed! Again – these are some of my pet peeves.
I thought this an interesting episode because Lowe, in particular, is at a crossroads. He has tried to finally tell the truth and declare his love for Claire only to have it completely backfire. Blackbeard is actually the only one to appreciate that Lowe has had a change of heart primarily because he cares for what Blackbeard is building and the people of Santa Campana. With everyone else gunning for him, it seems likely that Lowe is not out of the woods.
What did you think of the episode? Do you think Lowe should have known better than to tell Claire the truth? Did you roll your eyes at the trepanning and the apparent stupidity of Lowe to have completely misjudged Blackbeard’s intentions? What is going on with Antoinette? Who is more mad – Antoinette or Blackbeard – or Jagger? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
