Black Pete brags about his alleged time on Blackbeard's crew, claiming to have personally saved Blackbeard's life, which no one believes except for Stede. The crew is so distracted by Pete's story that no one is left steering the ship, causing it to run aground on an island. Stede, who is still suffering from the guilt of accidentally causing Nigel Badminton's death, tells the crew to treat their time on the island as a vacation. Unbeknownst to them, they are being watched by a trio of men dressed in black, who express disbelief that a crew incompetent enough to run their own ship aground could manage to take English officers hostage. Jim sneaks away from the rest of the crew to bathe in the ocean, but Lucius stumbles upon them by accident and discovers that Jim is not a man. Although he promises not to tell anyone, Jim decides to kill Lucius in order to protect their secret.
The captive English officers escape into the jungle, forcing Stede, Oluwande, and Black Pete to go looking for them. The three are captured by the native tribe that lives on the island, who have also captured the officers. The tribe is friendly to Oluwande, but puts the four light-skinned men on trial to determine if they pose a threat. During the trial, Stede breaks down from guilt, causing the trial to be put on hold. Oluwande explains to the tribe's chief that Stede is not a murderer. Stede talks to a tribal elder, who helps him realize that his guilt is not actually about Nigel's death, but about abandoning his family. The chief decides that Stede and Black Pete are no threat to the tribe and lets them go, while the officers are sold to the men in black. Stede, Oluwande, and Black Pete track down the men in black, whose leader introduces himself as Izzy Hands. Izzy proves to be a talented swordsman and shrewd negotiator, but Stede is able to get the upper hand and convince him to return one of the hostages.
The natives help Stede and his crew push the Revenge back into the water. The tribal elder advises Stede that he is "more gentleman than pirate" and offers Oluwande a place among the tribe, as staying on Stede's crew will likely get him killed. Oluwande refuses, which the elder deduces is because he's in love with Jim, although Oluwande denies this. Stede accepts his role in Nigel's death and christens himself "the Gentleman Pirate." Jim ambushes Lucius and locks him in a trunk. On their own ship, Izzy informs his compatriots Fang and Ivan that they are to follow the Revenge on the orders of their captain, Blackbeard.
This episode provides examples of:
- Freudian Couch: Minus the couch. Stede lays on the ground with a tribal elder sitting beside him, talking about his guilty conscience.
- Hollywood Natives: Averted with a vengeance. The native tribe that captures Stede, Pete, and their naval hostages turn out to be reasonable people acting on an entirely justified suspicion of white people landing on their island after how many times they've been backstabbed and nearly wiped out by said colonizers. Stede and Pete concede that they've got a point almost immediately, despite the fact that they still would very much prefer to not die.
- Maurice Chevalier Accent: Invoked when Black Pete tells an extravagant story of how he used to work with Blackbeard. The sailors he makes up are stereotypically French, right down to the striped shirts and baguettes.
- No Party Like a Donner Party: When the ship is beached, Buttons immediately suggests to Stede that they'll have to start eating the crew.
- Queer Establishing Moment: Lucius is established as gay when he tells Jim, "I'm fantastic at keeping secrets. My mum thought I liked girls for years!"
- Standard Snippet: The episode ends with Verdi's "Dies Irae" being used to underscore Blackbeard's terrifying reputation.
