The King is Dead, Long Live the King - Robin Hood 3x08
Well, my head's spinning a bit from that! I have so many various thoughts, so here's my attempt to get them all down in point form. It starts off with Much- and gang-related issues, and later there's musing about Guy and Isabella and general series stuff.
1) Well, I have to start with a complaint - right at the beginning there was a Treat Much Right moment as Allan deliberately dazzled Much while he was practising his fighting and caused him practically to knock himself out on a tree. Well indeed! Poor poor Much. Come on Allan, we know you have a secret thing about him, so treat Much right!
2) It was initially encouraging to see that Kate rushed to Much's side when he was knocked out, showing concern, but the way she forgot about this quickly and was giggling as she and Allan dragged Much from his feet and out of the clearing. Hmm.
3) But I have to say that I have nothing against Allan leaning against a tree looking especially stunning at the beginning of that scene... Indeed, it's the best bit of tree!porn I've seen in ages!
4) Now then, Kate's causing trouble again. Of course she wants to be seen as competent, but she does end up with a knife at her throat an awful lot of the time, so I don't think Much's (poorly thought out, but completely sincere) attempt to help her deserved that much contempt. And then there's Allan jumping in with his new-found chivalry. So what do we get? A row between Much and Allan, which really isn't what we want to see at all! Poor Much, nothing is going his way at the moment...
5) ... and this was another episode where Robin barely said a word to him!
6) Back to Much's fight with Allan, did anyone else think they looked like they were about to kiss each other when Tuck persuaded them both to shut up? Might just be me ;)
7) And one more Much thing, before I forget: how sweet that he was afraid of the catacombs :)
8) And while in the catacombs, Kate made sure she got as close to Robin as she could, didn't she? But the real question is, how did she know the body was made of wax before she held the candle close to it? Is holding a naked flame close to a dead body a standard test of some sort??
9) I have some stuff to say about Robin while I'm at it. Firstly, in the bit where he was getting the crown from the overly complex puzzle box, the way he had to run back and trigger all the arrows struck me as quite hilarious. I'm not sure why, but I laughed on both watchings. I think it was utterly implausible that none of those arrows hit him though (a bit like in 3x01 where Guy is in the middle of a shower of arrows at the end but remains untouched).
10) I was wondering about Robin and Isabella too. When Tuck commented that he didn't know what he'd seen in her, he just gave a sort of enigmatic smile and got on with things, and didn't answer. I wonder whether his feelings were never sincere in the first place? Maybe she was always just a way to get at Guy for him? Just a thought. But I do wonder whether Robin has hatched a scheme with the Sheriff (the *real* Sheriff!) and we'll find out all sorts of things we didn't know later, when he comes back to life (as I assume he will, but I have no spoilers and don't want any!).
11) I've also noticed that these days Robin seems very happy killing people whether or not he has a choice in the matter. On the way into the catacombs he shot one of the guards at fairly close range, probably killing him. He shot the guard in the dungeons in the back, and clearly killed him. I guess he got over his phobia then?
12) I was a bit miffed that Guy was hardly in this one... but when he was, he looked lovely, didn't he? I really wanted to be Isabella running her fingers through his hair, even if it did look a bit greasy :)
13) That guard uniform was a surprisingly good disguise for him, wasn't it? I did know it was him, but I wouldn't be surprised if people who had spent less time studying his lips didn't ;)
14) I'm a bit disappointed in Isabella, who doesn't seem in the least bit inclined to have any touching scenes with her brother (which is what I've been hoping for for ages!), but at least I got to see Guy tied to a bed. I wonder whether that maid was intending to jump on him like I would have done if I'd come across him tied to a bed. He clearly was tied to it as well, so I wonder how he managed to persuade her to take his place? A mixture of brute force and being too gorgeous to say not to, I think.
15) Now then, Guy and Isabella's background. I was having this fascinating conversation with karen747 this week on the very subject, and now here we have a very juicy snippet of information! Guy explicitly said that when they were younger they lived in a 'Godforsaken corner of France'. Presumably this was immediately before he sold Isabella to Squire Thornton, since he implied that that act was what got them away from France. I'm not sure why he expected Isabella to be grateful for this, though, since all she got out of it was an abusive marriage.
16) So if they were living in France up to the time when Isabella turned 13 (and let's say Guy was somewhere in his later teens at the time), this raises all sorts of questions (and forces me to abandon many of my ideas about their history!). I assume their father died before Isabella was 13, because otherwise it would not have been Guy who sold her, would it? But beyond that, I suppose we can't really speculate until we get our flashback episode to tell us more! But honestly, I did hear Richard Armitage saying in a recent interview that Guy has known Robin all his life (or words to that effect), I'm sure I did... so where does that fit in? We'll see!
17) While I'm talking about timings of things, there weren't any dates mentioned in this episode, were there? I forgot to listen out for them, and I need to know for my timeline, so if you did hear anything like that in the episode I'd be grateful to know!
18) I have to say that, much as I'm a little ambivalent about Prince John (he's interesting, but he's not as good a baddie as the Sheriff!), I thought his game of Pin the Flag in the City was great :)
19) Isabella really did do her best to get some innuendo in with her question about where Prince John would like to stick his pin, but he turned this round to make a remark about his own relationship with Guy. Didn't he? I'm sure I'm not imagining this: he practically likened Isabella's 'services' to Robin to Guy's services to him. That surely implies that Guy was giving him a bit more than loyalty??
20) And finally, just to say that I think we've had some really impressive cinematography this series. The bit where Prince John pranced into his coronation was particularly nicely shot. I'm less sure about the mirrored shields though! And how did Robin know they were going to have a convenient bit of blinding sun to dazzle everyone with? (Also, why did Robin address this part of the plan to Allan in the first place??) That sudden cloud cover didn't help at all, did it? But the fight in the church was pretty classic, and I liked the bit where the Archbishp told them they couldn't spill blood (NB, both Guy and Robin managed to damn their souls to hell with their shooting!) and they put their weapons down and had a fist-fight instead :)
ETA:
21) And how could I forget to mention this? In this episode, we actually got an overt reference to the Medieval economy, with the Archbishp complaining about Prince John's extravagance! Quite right too :)
22) Oh, and must also complain that this was another episode where John hardly had anything to do - he just seems to have catchphrases these days, as in his 'Roses, mate' (which refers back to 2x06 'For England...' when Will made everyone fancy musician-weapons but John just had bells to put on his staff, and when he went in he said 'Bells, mate').
1) Well, I have to start with a complaint - right at the beginning there was a Treat Much Right moment as Allan deliberately dazzled Much while he was practising his fighting and caused him practically to knock himself out on a tree. Well indeed! Poor poor Much. Come on Allan, we know you have a secret thing about him, so treat Much right!
2) It was initially encouraging to see that Kate rushed to Much's side when he was knocked out, showing concern, but the way she forgot about this quickly and was giggling as she and Allan dragged Much from his feet and out of the clearing. Hmm.
3) But I have to say that I have nothing against Allan leaning against a tree looking especially stunning at the beginning of that scene... Indeed, it's the best bit of tree!porn I've seen in ages!
4) Now then, Kate's causing trouble again. Of course she wants to be seen as competent, but she does end up with a knife at her throat an awful lot of the time, so I don't think Much's (poorly thought out, but completely sincere) attempt to help her deserved that much contempt. And then there's Allan jumping in with his new-found chivalry. So what do we get? A row between Much and Allan, which really isn't what we want to see at all! Poor Much, nothing is going his way at the moment...
5) ... and this was another episode where Robin barely said a word to him!
6) Back to Much's fight with Allan, did anyone else think they looked like they were about to kiss each other when Tuck persuaded them both to shut up? Might just be me ;)
7) And one more Much thing, before I forget: how sweet that he was afraid of the catacombs :)
8) And while in the catacombs, Kate made sure she got as close to Robin as she could, didn't she? But the real question is, how did she know the body was made of wax before she held the candle close to it? Is holding a naked flame close to a dead body a standard test of some sort??
9) I have some stuff to say about Robin while I'm at it. Firstly, in the bit where he was getting the crown from the overly complex puzzle box, the way he had to run back and trigger all the arrows struck me as quite hilarious. I'm not sure why, but I laughed on both watchings. I think it was utterly implausible that none of those arrows hit him though (a bit like in 3x01 where Guy is in the middle of a shower of arrows at the end but remains untouched).
10) I was wondering about Robin and Isabella too. When Tuck commented that he didn't know what he'd seen in her, he just gave a sort of enigmatic smile and got on with things, and didn't answer. I wonder whether his feelings were never sincere in the first place? Maybe she was always just a way to get at Guy for him? Just a thought. But I do wonder whether Robin has hatched a scheme with the Sheriff (the *real* Sheriff!) and we'll find out all sorts of things we didn't know later, when he comes back to life (as I assume he will, but I have no spoilers and don't want any!).
11) I've also noticed that these days Robin seems very happy killing people whether or not he has a choice in the matter. On the way into the catacombs he shot one of the guards at fairly close range, probably killing him. He shot the guard in the dungeons in the back, and clearly killed him. I guess he got over his phobia then?
12) I was a bit miffed that Guy was hardly in this one... but when he was, he looked lovely, didn't he? I really wanted to be Isabella running her fingers through his hair, even if it did look a bit greasy :)
13) That guard uniform was a surprisingly good disguise for him, wasn't it? I did know it was him, but I wouldn't be surprised if people who had spent less time studying his lips didn't ;)
14) I'm a bit disappointed in Isabella, who doesn't seem in the least bit inclined to have any touching scenes with her brother (which is what I've been hoping for for ages!), but at least I got to see Guy tied to a bed. I wonder whether that maid was intending to jump on him like I would have done if I'd come across him tied to a bed. He clearly was tied to it as well, so I wonder how he managed to persuade her to take his place? A mixture of brute force and being too gorgeous to say not to, I think.
15) Now then, Guy and Isabella's background. I was having this fascinating conversation with karen747 this week on the very subject, and now here we have a very juicy snippet of information! Guy explicitly said that when they were younger they lived in a 'Godforsaken corner of France'. Presumably this was immediately before he sold Isabella to Squire Thornton, since he implied that that act was what got them away from France. I'm not sure why he expected Isabella to be grateful for this, though, since all she got out of it was an abusive marriage.
16) So if they were living in France up to the time when Isabella turned 13 (and let's say Guy was somewhere in his later teens at the time), this raises all sorts of questions (and forces me to abandon many of my ideas about their history!). I assume their father died before Isabella was 13, because otherwise it would not have been Guy who sold her, would it? But beyond that, I suppose we can't really speculate until we get our flashback episode to tell us more! But honestly, I did hear Richard Armitage saying in a recent interview that Guy has known Robin all his life (or words to that effect), I'm sure I did... so where does that fit in? We'll see!
17) While I'm talking about timings of things, there weren't any dates mentioned in this episode, were there? I forgot to listen out for them, and I need to know for my timeline, so if you did hear anything like that in the episode I'd be grateful to know!
18) I have to say that, much as I'm a little ambivalent about Prince John (he's interesting, but he's not as good a baddie as the Sheriff!), I thought his game of Pin the Flag in the City was great :)
19) Isabella really did do her best to get some innuendo in with her question about where Prince John would like to stick his pin, but he turned this round to make a remark about his own relationship with Guy. Didn't he? I'm sure I'm not imagining this: he practically likened Isabella's 'services' to Robin to Guy's services to him. That surely implies that Guy was giving him a bit more than loyalty??
20) And finally, just to say that I think we've had some really impressive cinematography this series. The bit where Prince John pranced into his coronation was particularly nicely shot. I'm less sure about the mirrored shields though! And how did Robin know they were going to have a convenient bit of blinding sun to dazzle everyone with? (Also, why did Robin address this part of the plan to Allan in the first place??) That sudden cloud cover didn't help at all, did it? But the fight in the church was pretty classic, and I liked the bit where the Archbishp told them they couldn't spill blood (NB, both Guy and Robin managed to damn their souls to hell with their shooting!) and they put their weapons down and had a fist-fight instead :)
ETA:
21) And how could I forget to mention this? In this episode, we actually got an overt reference to the Medieval economy, with the Archbishp complaining about Prince John's extravagance! Quite right too :)
22) Oh, and must also complain that this was another episode where John hardly had anything to do - he just seems to have catchphrases these days, as in his 'Roses, mate' (which refers back to 2x06 'For England...' when Will made everyone fancy musician-weapons but John just had bells to put on his staff, and when he went in he said 'Bells, mate').