The Journey between Enemies to Partners

To be on the losing side of a war, hatred, and prejudice must sometimes be put aside in the hunt for a way out of what seems like a hellish circumstance. In the Third movie of the original trilogy of the Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain Barbossa and Elizabeth Swann are the least likely to partner up against the judgment of Cutler Beckett, and yet as the movie unfolds you see a sort of kinship spark between the two that were once enemies of the worst sort. Proof that war makes the strangest of alliances, in times of need.

Initially in the Curse of the Black Pearl, Elizabeth was kidnapped by Barbossa and his men, who believed her to be the last descendent of Bootstrap Bill, the last person's blood they need to solve their curse. Of course, the medallion that Elizabeth wears was never hers, but Will's, the last keepsake of his father, whose blood is the key to breaking a curse that has long plagued the Black Pearl.

In the beginning scenes of Worlds End, we see Elizabeth and Barbossa standing united, working together to get Sao Feng on their side of things. It's important to note that Barbossa and Elizabeth unlike most of the pirates that have surrounded them on their journey are both highly educated people. Elizabeth grew up as a proper lady, the Governor's daughter. And from what we've been able to piece together from Barbossa's history, is that prior to being a Pirate he was a respectable man. You can see that displayed, with how he talks and how he walks that he was a high society man, at some point in his life. The way he conducts himself as both a Captain and one of the nine pirate lords he was clearly at one point a military man of some kind. The way Barbossa speaks indeed displays a cultured education of some kind.

In the Curse of the Black Pearl, he was respectful somewhat to Elizabeth when she was in his care. He of course did spook her, with the proof of the Curse, that in reflection to the movie was more to make her understand and keep her safe than anything else.

In the course of the film At World's End, you can see in their many interactions that Barbossa and Elizabeth have a sort of kinship that is born from being thrown into odd situations, in fact, she has even become his second in a way that Will is not. Elizabeth, somehow between meeting Barbossa in Tia Dalma's house, and the journey it took them to be in Singapore has somehow earned Barbossa's respect.

Barbossa allows her to be taken by Sao Feng, even with the realization that Sao Feng has made the mistake of thinking that she is Calypso. He allows her to be taken because unlike Will he has come to the realization that she is in fact a fighter, and know's very well that she will be able to save herself without help from anyone. This is why Barbossa out of everyone was not surprised to see her return as the Captain of Sao Feng's vessel. While he did not care much for her being a Pirate King, that may have had more to do with the fact that Jack was the one to elect her than anything else.

Despite all of that, Elizabeth knew very well that the only one who could steer the Black Pearl during a Maelstrom was Barbossa himself, she even gave him the honor of marrying her and Will in the most unique wedding ceremony you will ever see on film.

Barbossa's treatment of Elizabeth throughout World's End, made him in my eyes the most respectful man in the whole series. No one, throughout the trilogy, has respected Elizabeth not just as a woman, but as a member of the crew. No one else, gave her respect in any form, except for Barbossa. The lack of respect is true to the time period of the film as she was a woman in a time where women were seen as objects instead of people.

The fact that Barbossa gives her respect is both the fact that she earned it with how she fought him and his crew in the last scene of the Black Pearl and the fact of how she must have worked with him in the journey it took them to get to Sao Feng's camp. While unfortunately, Barbossa's story continued, Elizabeth's did not, which was a shame. Elizabeth showed that women in that time period were powerful, and could fight just as well as a man. She fought for the rights of everyone, not just herself, as she proved when she put Jack to face his fate.

Hopefully one day, we will see Keira Knightley yet again grace our screens once again in a period adventure on Disney Plus. Until then, we can watch her as the Epic Pirate King, Elizabeth Turner.