Hornblower and the other officers of the Renown face a court martial for supposed mutiny.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's never quite conclusively revealed who actually pushed Sawyer into the hold. Sawyer declares that he remembers who it was in his final moments when he has regained lucidity, but never actually reveals it before his death; Buckland claims it was Hornblower on the stand, but this is at least partly out of wounded ego, jealousy and spite; and while Archie officially takes full responsibility it's implied that this is largely because he's dying and is willing to perform a Heroic Sacrifice on behalf of the real culprit(s). While Hornblower is a prime suspect, there's enough ambiguity around the issue to keep it open-ended.
- Bittersweet Ending: Archie dies, but Hornblower is acquitted and promoted.
- Dying as Yourself: Sawyer regains enough lucidity in his final moments to instruct Wellard how to properly shoot a pistol, displaying father-like pride before they're both shot.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Archie claims full responsibility for pushing Sawyer into the hold, as he was already dying. He doesn't sacrifice his life, but his good name and honour, which at that time meant everything.
- Large Ham: Sawyer tries to annoy the lieutenants as much as possible by loudly singing sea shanties.
- Oh, Crap!: Bush screams "I CAN'T SWIM!!!" before jumping off a cliff with Hornblower and Archie.
- Poor Communication Kills: Hornblower and his squad take off as soon as he realizes the fort must have an underground passage, to all appearances leaving Bush and his men to fend for themselves. He returns for the rescue seconds before Bush is about to surrender under the heavy fire. The judges at the court-martial later castigate him for this.
- Rank Up: Hornblower is promoted to commander.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: 33 crew desert upon seeing how incompetent Buckland is.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Hornblower does not show any pleasure or satisfaction in Sawyer's confinement. Instead, he sees him as a man who has "paid the price for his courage", broken after years of fighting brutal battles on England's behalf with no relief from the mental and emotional toll.
- Too Dumb to Live: During a tense stand-off with the freed Spanish slaves, Buckland says the word "fire?" as a question when asked if he wishes to open fire, causing the marines to shoot at the captors and make the situation worse.
