Eleanor grew up in a very privileged position on the island, her father was the Governor and the head of commerce, all power flowed through her family. As she grew up and took on a leadership role she never had to be afraid of the pirates because no one would dare to cross her family. It's only recently that this position has been threatened and she's had to face the reality that the foundation she thought was so secure was actually built on sand.
I like that they add some class dimension to the flashbacks. Even nowadays the UK society could be somewhat more class-conscious that other European countries I lived in (cheat code: be a foreigner, then no one cares which university you went to). And back then it was almost impossible for someone like Flint to become a lieutenant in the Navy, with his working class background and lack of education. Not entirely impossible, sure, but it would've taken someone in a similar situation immense talent and effort since childhood to work his way up, when at the same time someone from the upper class would've been guaranteed a title of an officer. Back when the show was on I remember reading an excellent analysis of this written by someone with much more 18th century history knowledge than I possess, and the gist of it was that to become a lieutenant being good at the job wasn't enough: a successful candidate needed to to know how to speak and behave among their peers, and that knowledge wouldn't be available to anyone with a different background.
All ships would have a variety of flags for signalling. Lots of messages can be sent. If a massive spanish war ship showed up, they would be able to signal to the fort what they were. Also, no one would want to fire first on a ship with significantly more guns than them.
It’s extremely difficult to pick up on first viewing, unless you’re taking notes, but the mention by Silver of the name *"Solomon Little"* in his reminiscing to Flint ( 13:37 ) is the major clue from the writers that makes us suspect later this season that, very likely, most stories from Silver, starting with this one, are utter fabrications. You just have to file away that name in part of your brain and be very attentive to how and when it gets mentioned again.
I think it's ok to feel annoyed at new Dufrense. Most of us do. 😂 Flint just spent the whole episode schooling him so it's fine. I love the scene where the Admiral speaks of fearing what Flint's dark side is capable of because, yep, we're there now. The flashbacks do such a great job of informing the present and giving insight into Flint. I'm the same on Eleanor that her decisions frustrate me because they're the opposite of what I'd do. I see the pitfalls in front of her.
