This week’s Black Sails – the penultimate episode of Season 3 -- was a huge one, as two characters we’d known since the beginning both died.

Zach McGowan as Charles Vane in Black Sails.

(L-R) Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz and Clara Paget in Black Sails.

The death of Mr. Scott (Hakeem Kae-Kazim) wasn’t a surprise, as the character had been on his deathbed for several episodes. But fans may be shocked that Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) also didn’t make it out alive, as he was hung after his capture in the last episode – reflecting the way the otherwise much-different, real life Vane died.I spoke to McGowan about saying goodbye to Vane, why he was excited by his final episodes, the way things ended with Eleanor (Hannah New) and more, including Vane making the big decision to signal Billy Bones (Tom Hopper) to not try and rescue him right before his execution.Well, I always knew he was going to die. My only hope was that he was going to die as the person I wanted him to be and not the person that he was introduced as. I thought for sure he was going to die at the end of Season 1 or maybe the end of Season 2 or something like that. So I feel like I ended up getting a little more out of it than I ever expected. Very similar to how Charles I think got more out of life than he ever expected, meaning the way we presented him I think was that he's kind of like, "How do I keep living through these situations? I don't even know!" It's kind of like that archetypal thing... "All these battles happen, and I end up living. How did that work?" So it was bittersweet, and the only thing I asked was that he didn't plead. I was like, "Hopefully you guys don't write that he pleads for his life or anything like that. I would really just love to say, 'Let's get on with it, mother**ker.'" So they gave me that.Yeah! I think I reacted very similar to how Charles reacted. I was just like, "Alright, well, cool. Let's do it right?" And I was like, "And you're not going to try to double me in the hanging, are you? Can we just like do that and have some fun and make it just awful?" It was actually really great because all the extras were not in on it, and they were expecting this save, you know? Seeing their reaction was like, "We're doing this the right way. Yeah, we're doing this right. This is going to be really memorable. This is going to be something that's very artistically strong." So yeah, that was basically my reaction.The hardest thing for me about it is abandoning my friends down there in South Africa, but hopefully they keep it all with them -- and I get to see them when we're all in LA and stuff, so they'll be lifelong friends. So as sad as it is, I don't think you've seen the last of Zach McGowan playing a Charles Vane [type]. He might just have a different name or a different accent. [Laughs] But like I say to everyone -- I mean, I'm in a hotel room right now, and I can just look in the mirror and be like, "Hello, Charles. Good seeing you again." He's always with me. I've actually been joking with my brother about starting a YouTube channel where I just do like joking videos as him. Like, "Charles Vane Eats a Chicken!" They never let me eat anything on that show! You know, "Charles Vane Wears Clothing!" [Laughs] "Charles Vane Loses a Fight!" If I ever have enough time, I will, but we'll see.I think he sees the tragedy in it that hopefully the audience sees. They could have had a very uninteresting -- you know, uninteresting for a television show -- but they could have had a good life together and that it was her choice that other things were more important to her than a life with him. So I think he's very sad that she has chosen ambition or whatever instead of the love for him, which he felt like she felt at some point and that he felt towards her. So yeah, I think it was very bitter for him in that way. What I love about that scene is that she beats up a defenseless, chained man and calls him an animal. I think that speaks for itself.Oh God, when I read the last couple episodes, I called Jon [Steinberg]. I was just like, "Thank you, man. Thanks, bro." I couldn't have envisioned it any better than it was, and I think we got it in the can the way I hoped it would happen. So yeah, I think it was done the way it should have been done. I was just glad that we were all on the same page and that we could justify him in some way and that… I feel like his death was greater than anything he could have done living, you know what I mean?

Continue to Page 2 as McGowan discusses Vane getting to unite with other characters, how Vane was underestimated and his relationship with Teach.