#your subversion of expectations shouldn't leave people going 'well what was the point then'

[elviriel]

the thing about subverting expectations is that it should never come at the cost of pay-off and this is where i'm going to talk about black sails again and in particular, the season 3 shark date

ok in season 2, silver tricks flint into thinking the gold was gone, then he tricks him again into thinking someone else tricked him. from the moment that happens, as a viewer, you expect that to come into play and have an effect on that dynamic. i'd say you even expect it to have a negative effect on it. you see silver gaining the crew's respect, becoming vaguely closer to flint, and you might be thinking "flint's gonna find out and be so mad! they'll be at odds again!"

but then, that isn't what happens. that particular thing comes into play, but not through some dramatic moment where Flint figures it out. Instead, Silver seizes control of the narrative as is his strength, and uses it to gain ground with Flint. instead of the trick being a reason for flint to turn on silver, it becomes a reason for flint to respect him and see him as an equal. the audience gets pay-off for an important plot point, one the audience has been expecting for a few episodes, but in an unexpected way and while staying true to character. heck, it even propels the narrative forward, because it's a defining moment for silverflint.

that's how you do it, babey