In Review: Robin Hood (S1 – EP5) Go Back To Them

Synopsis: In Go Back To Them, the Millers are captured, and Rob leads a daring rescue that earns the Sheriff’s wrath; meanwhile in Westminster, Marian’s fragile footing is shaken by the devastating news of her brother’s death.

The Story

The episode begins a short time after the events we saw in last week’s show. The Bishop of Hereford has returned to Nottingham beaten and dishevelled, and he points the finger at a mysterious hooded outlaw. Not completely sure if this hooded figure is Locksley, the Sheriff seeks help from Lord Warwick and other nearby Norman nobles to hunt him down.

Spotting Warwick’s soldiers heading toward Nottingham, Rob and his outlaws split up. Rob tells them it’s the end of the road for them as a group and that there’s less chance of capture if they all go their separate ways. Ralph is against this idea, having formed a close bond with Rob and the others, but they somewhat reluctantly part ways and head off in different directions.

Rob heads deeper into the forest to look for a cave that his late father once told him had deep spiritual significance. When he reaches the cave, he hallucinates a vision of the naked goddess Godda beckoning him inside. While in the cave, Rob has an epiphany and receives a vision of his late father telling him he needs to return to the oak tree where he and the outlaws parted and reform the group — assuring him they will be waiting for him.

While in the cave, Rob also hears a wounded wolf and shares some of his food with it. The next morning, he leaves and heads back to the meeting place.

Meanwhile, Ralph and her brothers have been captured by the Sheriff and tortured, during which Ralph’s real name is revealed to be Marion.

In London, Lady Marian learns of her brother’s death via the Queen’s spies and is allowed some time off to grieve. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine then sends her best man to Nottingham to be her eyes and keep watch over what the Sheriff and his allies are doing. He arrives just in time to witness Rob, Little John, Friar Tuck, and Spragart perform their daring rescue of Ralph and her two brothers.

Acting

Jack Patten puts in another confident performance as we see Rob wrestle with doubts about his leadership and seek a kind of spiritual validation from Godda and the memory of his father. Also strong here is Daniel O’Meara as Lord Warwick, who delights in the capture of Ralph and her brothers and could prove to be an interesting and manipulative presence as the series evolves.

Ryan Gage clearly enjoys himself as Spragart, the most reckless of Rob’s outlaws, who nearly gets captured after flashing stolen silver around in a tavern. Meanwhile, Angus Castle-Doughty gives us a very human Friar Tuck who doesn’t let the dogmas of his religion become a dividing factor when helping Rob and his men.

We also get a great scene in which Lady Marian (Lauren McQueen) receives a lesson in the national politics of England from Henry Rowley’s Will Gamewell.

Overall

This new take on Robin Hood continues to give us a slightly edgier outlaw than we’ve seen in recent years. It feels like a hybrid of the 80s series Robin of Sherwood and the 2010 Ridley Scott Robin Hood movie, but with a slightly lighter touch. The similarity to Robin of Sherwood comes through in the way Rob — or Robin — embraces a pagan god. In Sherwood it was Herne the Hunter, while in this new take it’s Godda, who seems to be a forest goddess and a protector of those who live within it.

This latest episode throws us a bit of a curveball with the reveal that Rob’s friend Ralph — who is a woman — has the real name Marian. But she is not Lady Marian from the original stories… or is she? All we know so far is that Rob has fallen for Lady Marian, who is in London learning statecraft and training to be the Queen’s spy for the county of Nottingham, no doubt to report on what the Sheriff is up to.

Whichever way you look at it, the plot is thickening and some deeper questions are starting to be asked.