Robin and his men saves the life of a knight who greatly impresses them. When he turns out to be none other than King Richard Lionheart, released from captivity abroad, the outlaws' dreams seem to come true. He's the True King, he pardons them, and they can walk freely into town and stay at Nottingham Castle under his protection. He promises them power and land. Can they really trust him, though?
This is my second favorite episode (after The Greatest Enemy). It's less black-and-white when it comes to good and bad guys. I love that they dare to depart from the usual portrayal of Richard as the noble and just King who makes everything right, in favour of a more historically correct one.
Robin also shows weaknesses as he taken in by the promises of a King who really only sees the men as the 13th century version of cannon fodder. It's not hard to understand at all - which hunted outlaw wouldn't be intoxicated in a situation like this? Okay. Scarlet, that's who. Robin's men - not exposed to quite as much flattery - realize the real deal quicker. Their leader has become the King's Fool, so they leave him: Scarlet, Nasir, Little John, and...a blonde guy (Martin?)
When Robin finally stands up to the King, the latter simply orders Gisburne to kill him, effectively leaving the rest of the Merries trapped.
Gisburne is able to sneak up on them in their sleep. He brings a spear, as would be logical, and that's it, sadly, for our friends.
Nooo. They have plot armour, of course.
Gisburne insists on waking them up to be properly taken prisoner (and presumably killed somewhere.. else?) This enables them to get away, and leads to a nice fight scene in a burning barn.
There's a neat dramatic symmetry in that Marion shoots Gisburne in the back with a crossbow - then later, he manages to do the same to her. That's something you learn from this show, btw: If you're two on a horse when escaping, you don't want to be the one sitting in the back.
Et voila! We've reached the episode's increasingly surreal ending, which takes place at their Stonehenge-like sacred place (I can never make out what they call it). Questions arise, like Was the editor high? Did Ian Sharp at one point put vaseline on the lense?
It's undeniably beautiful, though, and personally I love it when scenes make do without much dialogue and without explaining everything.
Marion's mortally wounded, which makes for some great acting by Michael Praed. Compare him to the others in that scene. The guy was more than a pretty face.
When Marion finds out where they are, she wants them to pull the arrow out. They look at her like "WTH woman, can't you just realize you're dying? We're grieving here!" However, Herne appears, to confirm the order and perform his magic.
Robin pulling out the arrow does not immediately help (is she supposed to be dead at this point? No idea), but then Robin's estranged men suddenly arrive - Nasir, Little John, Scarlet, The Blonde Guy - wordlessly approaching in slow motion. Dreamlike, poetic almost, and those shots are some of my favorites of the whole show.
Robin greets them with great affection, and only then is Marion...what? Resurrected? (Guess she was dead, then.) The implication being that to get Marion back, Robin first had to reconcile with and/or show appreciation for his men...maybe? Who knows.
Anyway, everyone's back together, and so the season can end.
Best thing: Slow motion Merries, with the color grading and sound design.
Worst thing: Not a big deal, but I wish it was Robin's own thoughts and observations only that led him to see through King Richard, and not a sign from his god, Herne.
8/10
Hm? What happened to Gisburne, you ask? Didn't he get an arrow in the back just like Marion did? Only at a closer range, so probably even worse a wound? And Marion needed frickin' *resurrection* by Herne ex machina, really hitting home the point that this isn't something you just survive. Right? So what consequences did it have for Gisburne?
Well, none. In the next episode, they simply act like it never happened.
What, were they hoping enough time had passed between the seasons to make people forget it? They didn't have DVDs and streaming back then..
Now, this is more than plot armour. I can accept plot armour, and I can accept unlikely stuff like Gisburne - on fire - surviving long enough to shoot Marion. But not this. A huge continuity error, is what this is.
However, that's a criticism of the show, more than this episode.
This is my second favorite episode (after The Greatest Enemy). It's less black-and-white when it comes to good and bad guys. I love that they dare to depart from the usual portrayal of Richard as the noble and just King who makes everything right, in favour of a more historically correct one.
Robin also shows weaknesses as he taken in by the promises of a King who really only sees the men as the 13th century version of cannon fodder. It's not hard to understand at all - which hunted outlaw wouldn't be intoxicated in a situation like this? Okay. Scarlet, that's who. Robin's men - not exposed to quite as much flattery - realize the real deal quicker. Their leader has become the King's Fool, so they leave him: Scarlet, Nasir, Little John, and...a blonde guy (Martin?)
When Robin finally stands up to the King, the latter simply orders Gisburne to kill him, effectively leaving the rest of the Merries trapped.
Gisburne is able to sneak up on them in their sleep. He brings a spear, as would be logical, and that's it, sadly, for our friends.
Nooo. They have plot armour, of course.
Gisburne insists on waking them up to be properly taken prisoner (and presumably killed somewhere.. else?) This enables them to get away, and leads to a nice fight scene in a burning barn.
There's a neat dramatic symmetry in that Marion shoots Gisburne in the back with a crossbow - then later, he manages to do the same to her. That's something you learn from this show, btw: If you're two on a horse when escaping, you don't want to be the one sitting in the back.
Et voila! We've reached the episode's increasingly surreal ending, which takes place at their Stonehenge-like sacred place (I can never make out what they call it). Questions arise, like Was the editor high? Did Ian Sharp at one point put vaseline on the lense?
It's undeniably beautiful, though, and personally I love it when scenes make do without much dialogue and without explaining everything.
Marion's mortally wounded, which makes for some great acting by Michael Praed. Compare him to the others in that scene. The guy was more than a pretty face.
When Marion finds out where they are, she wants them to pull the arrow out. They look at her like "WTH woman, can't you just realize you're dying? We're grieving here!" However, Herne appears, to confirm the order and perform his magic.
Robin pulling out the arrow does not immediately help (is she supposed to be dead at this point? No idea), but then Robin's estranged men suddenly arrive - Nasir, Little John, Scarlet, The Blonde Guy - wordlessly approaching in slow motion. Dreamlike, poetic almost, and those shots are some of my favorites of the whole show.
Robin greets them with great affection, and only then is Marion...what? Resurrected? (Guess she was dead, then.) The implication being that to get Marion back, Robin first had to reconcile with and/or show appreciation for his men...maybe? Who knows.
Anyway, everyone's back together, and so the season can end.
Best thing: Slow motion Merries, with the color grading and sound design.
Worst thing: Not a big deal, but I wish it was Robin's own thoughts and observations only that led him to see through King Richard, and not a sign from his god, Herne.
8/10
Hm? What happened to Gisburne, you ask? Didn't he get an arrow in the back just like Marion did? Only at a closer range, so probably even worse a wound? And Marion needed frickin' *resurrection* by Herne ex machina, really hitting home the point that this isn't something you just survive. Right? So what consequences did it have for Gisburne?
Well, none. In the next episode, they simply act like it never happened.
What, were they hoping enough time had passed between the seasons to make people forget it? They didn't have DVDs and streaming back then..
Now, this is more than plot armour. I can accept plot armour, and I can accept unlikely stuff like Gisburne - on fire - surviving long enough to shoot Marion. But not this. A huge continuity error, is what this is.
However, that's a criticism of the show, more than this episode.