"except for that one little incident with the shackles ... I don't think he ever saw that coming!"
I didn't think he looked surprised at all.
Not once the shackle clicked shut, he didn't. But, until that moment, I don't think he suspected what she was up to, or might have foreseen what she would do. I see his reaction to "the deed" as being (perhaps) piratical admiration for a gambit well-played by a worthy opponent, just a bit of chagrin that he had let himself fall for her feminine wiles, and a little hint of triumph that he had been right after all, when he had predicted that she'd eventually come over to his side and embrace her pirate nature. In a way, Elizabeth was right in her prediction as well, because Jack (for whatever reasons) did the "good" thing and came back to help them. How could Jack not savour the delicious irony of that ... that fate had turned the tables on them both? :-)
One speaks of her betrayal, but what about his? As captain of the Pearl he had a lot to answer for, and he knew it, of course.
Yes, Jack doesn't come out smelling like a rose either, that's true (and not just due to his lack of "personal hygiene"). ;-)
But one could argue he was only following the precious Pirate Code (which, simply stated, seems to boil down to "every man for himself.") And that's not excusing, as well, all the other things he did: using them all as pawns in his efforts to get out of Jones' debt, and elude his fate.
But, for all his manipulating, and placing friends (as well as enemies) in harm's way in order to further his own personal agendas, one might also argue that Jack never really did so with the express intent that they be killed. That was always a risk, of course, but never a certainty. Elizabeth, when she betrayed Jack, did so with full knowledge and intent that he would be sacrificed to the Kraken; that the price of their freedom, their escape, would be his life. She fully expected him to die as a direct result of her actions; that, indeed, was her intended goal. (Not that she wasn't plagued with guilt afterwards, and worked doggedly to bring him back.) So one could say, in terms of magnitude (and to Jack's point of view), that perhaps Elizabeth's betrayal was "worse" than his own.
(I'm not sure why people tend to forget Jack's execrable conduct as captain.
I don't think they forget it, per se; they just tend to overlook it ...
He is very attractive and charming, of course, which tends to distract one.)
... and for that precise reason! We should all be so lucky to be so ... distracted ... by pretty, witty Jack's charms! ;-)
(Not that I'm disagreeing with anything you said, of course! You're exactly right, and make some excellent points! I'm just playing a bit of "devil's advocate" on Jack's behalf!) ;-)
Again, kudos to you for a brilliant (and very thought-provoking) drabble!
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I didn't think he looked surprised at all.
Not once the shackle clicked shut, he didn't. But, until that moment, I don't think he suspected what she was up to, or might have foreseen what she would do. I see his reaction to "the deed" as being (perhaps) piratical admiration for a gambit well-played by a worthy opponent, just a bit of chagrin that he had let himself fall for her feminine wiles, and a little hint of triumph that he had been right after all, when he had predicted that she'd eventually come over to his side and embrace her pirate nature. In a way, Elizabeth was right in her prediction as well, because Jack (for whatever reasons) did the "good" thing and came back to help them. How could Jack not savour the delicious irony of that ... that fate had turned the tables on them both? :-)
One speaks of her betrayal, but what about his? As captain of the Pearl he had a lot to answer for, and he knew it, of course.
Yes, Jack doesn't come out smelling like a rose either, that's true (and not just due to his lack of "personal hygiene"). ;-)
But one could argue he was only following the precious Pirate Code (which, simply stated, seems to boil down to "every man for himself.") And that's not excusing, as well, all the other things he did: using them all as pawns in his efforts to get out of Jones' debt, and elude his fate.
But, for all his manipulating, and placing friends (as well as enemies) in harm's way in order to further his own personal agendas, one might also argue that Jack never really did so with the express intent that they be killed. That was always a risk, of course, but never a certainty. Elizabeth, when she betrayed Jack, did so with full knowledge and intent that he would be sacrificed to the Kraken; that the price of their freedom, their escape, would be his life. She fully expected him to die as a direct result of her actions; that, indeed, was her intended goal. (Not that she wasn't plagued with guilt afterwards, and worked doggedly to bring him back.) So one could say, in terms of magnitude (and to Jack's point of view), that perhaps Elizabeth's betrayal was "worse" than his own.
(I'm not sure why people tend to forget Jack's execrable conduct as captain.
I don't think they forget it, per se; they just tend to overlook it ...
He is very attractive and charming, of course, which tends to distract one.)
... and for that precise reason! We should all be so lucky to be so ... distracted ... by pretty, witty Jack's charms! ;-)
(Not that I'm disagreeing with anything you said, of course! You're exactly right, and make some excellent points! I'm just playing a bit of "devil's advocate" on Jack's behalf!) ;-)
Again, kudos to you for a brilliant (and very thought-provoking) drabble!
-- Cat