Treasure Island Episode 2 Officially Reveals Aaron Graham’s Secret Mission

MGM+’s Treasure Island continues Robert Murphy’s six-part take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic with its second episode, titled Great Britain. Directed by William McGregor, the hour moves the story fully onto the Hispaniola, where Tom Sweet’s Jim Hawkins and his mother Bess, played by Hayley Atwell, are stuck at sea with the man who poses the biggest danger to them.

As covered in our Episode 1 recap, Bess burned the treasure map, so Jim’s sharp memory is now the only copy. That makes mother and son the most valuable passengers on board, and David Oyelowo’s Long John Silver knows it. Jack Huston’s Aaron Graham has his own reasons for keeping them close.

The episode brings more threats, a dead cat, and a pirate attack. By the time the smoke clears, it is clear that Silver’s real plan was never just about scaring the Hawkinses. It was about winning Jim over.

Long John Silver Keeps Threatening Jim and Bess Hawkins

David Oyelowo as Long John Silver in Treasure Island | Credits: MGM+

The episode opens with Jim trying to redraw the map from memory, and Silver walks in before the two can make sense of it. Bess burns the new copy, so Silver holds a knife to Jim’s throat while she swears they know nothing about the treasure. He leaves, but makes it clear he is not done with them.

From there, his tactics get nastier. He tells the crew that ‘the widow’ on board is a curse that brings sickness and storms, and he aims the story at Khan as bad weather rolls in. When Silver corners Bess again, she shoves him into the sea. The crew pulls him out, and he blames the “widow’s curse.” But when Captain Smollett asks, Silver calls it his own fault and names Bess as his witness.

The menace peaks when Silver hangs a dead cat in the Hawkins’ cabin. Graham later exposes his harassment of Bess in front of the crew, and Silver is locked up. Before that, though, he tells Khan that Bess holds the map to Flint’s £700,000 fortune. It is a sharp change from the novel, where Silver keeps his friendly mask on for most of the voyage.

Aaron Graham Plays a Clever Game With Bess in Treasure Island

Jack Huston as Aaron Graham in Treasure Island | Credits: MGM+

Bess knows she cannot fight Long John Silver alone, so she turns to Aaron Graham. When he checks on her and Jim after they stay below deck, she pretends to be interested in him. Graham opens up about his wife, who died just six weeks before the voyage, and Bess sees her chance. If she wins him over, his Marines could keep Silver away.

She gets Graham to teach Jim the commercial side of trade, and asks her son to speak well of her. After the overboard incident, Graham reveals he saw everything. Bess claims Silver threatened her honor and says she lied to Smollett because she had forgiven him. She asks Graham to keep it quiet, and he promises that his men will watch Silver.

But Graham is not the easy mark Bess thinks he is. The episode reveals that he boarded the ship after Squire Livesey’s letter from the premiere reached the right hands. He sees through Bess completely. His real target is the map locked in Jim’s head, and Flint’s treasure is his mission.

Graham has no match in Stevenson’s book, which makes him the show’s biggest wild card. Everyone on the Hispaniola now wants the same boy.

Jim Bonds With Long John Silver Against His Mother’s Wishes

Hayley Atwell as Bess Hawkins and Tom Sweet as Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island | Credits: MGM+

Despite all the threats, Long John Silver works on Jim Hawkins the way he works on everyone else. When Jim shows off the dance steps Billy Bones taught him, Silver approaches him and insists he never meant to kill Bones. He also mentions “Seis Majri A Chrysos,” the line from the map the Hawkinses could not figure out.

It turns out to be the name of the dance Bones taught him. Bess is furious when she finds out her son has been talking to Silver. When Bess later pushes Silver overboard, Jim goes to help the crew to pull him back into the ship. He isn’t exactly happy to learn that his mother pushed Silver into the water.

In the final moments of the episode, the strange ship Graham and Smollett had been tracking returns. With Silver in custody, it attacks the Hispaniola and turns out to be a Spanish vessel. When a raider goes after Jim, Silver comes to his rescue, then asks the boy to free him so he can save the ship. Jim does it. The two jump into the sea, take the fight to the attackers, and set their ship on fire.

That was Silver’s plan all along. Threatening Jim never got him the map, but earning the boy’s trust just might. Like the book’s Jim, he falls under the spell of the one-legged cook. The difference is that this Jim knows exactly how dangerous Silver is and chooses him anyway.

What are your thoughts on this latest episode? Let us know in the comments below!

Treasure Island airs weekly on MGM+ in the US, with new episodes landing on Paramount+ in the UK and Ireland a day later.