My latest television show obsession
is “Robin Hood”, a British show I found on Netflix about you guessed it Robin Hood.
The show isn’t really anything special, the historical accuracy is nil, the
world is obviously fake. Yet I’m addicted. Why?
Maybe it’s the unique group of
characters. Robin Hood, has lost his bloodlust after fighting for the King in
the crusades. He comes home to find the Sheriff he loved has been replaced by
an evil one, who overtaxes, letting people starve, and worse. But we meet Robin
before he knows this. He’s traveling back from the Holly Land with his servant
Much, a fighter who talks too much. (Think donkey in Shrek). Robin knows not to
kiss a young lady while her father stands outside the house but she tempts him
and sure enough Robin has to make a clever escape as the father chases him out.
Robin uses a Saracen bow and has come to appreciate Muslims, even has one, a
young woman as a member of his “outlaws”. Djaq, the Saracen woman, took on her
twin brother’s name. Her father a doctor, she knows about eastern medicine and
has a strong wit and fight to match. Will, the carpenter takes orders well,
while he also improvises with his knowledge of craftsmanship getting them out
of messes or through an obstacle. Little Jon, the giant, has a heart as big as
himself. He fights for home because it’s the home he loves. Much is with them
too, cooking most of the time in the forest as if he’s Robin’s wife. Finally
Allan, the fool who spins a good lie, he knows the ins and outs of being an
outlaw, how to get in and out without getting caught. Yet can he really be
trusted?
Like the traditional story Robin
and his men steel from the rich and give to the poor. But their mission is also
to get word to the King in the Holly land of the Sheriff’s cruelty and later,
his treason. They encounter and stop other cruel plots along the way, getting
caught sometimes, escaping often and losing some. Lady Marion is also part of
the story. Strong willed, she fights against the injustice in her own way
(think secret identity). Robin is head over heels for her but he has to stay
strong especially since Marion considers her love lost since he left for the
holy land, breaking off their engagement, and she’s antagonistic towards him for
disregarding the rules. She helps them anyway with insider information from Guy
Gibson, the right hand man to the Sheriff who cares for Marion in his ill
conceived way caring more for power than what she actually wants.
I think it’s the good against evil
battle I love. The idea that good can prevail, the idea of friendship so strong
you’d go through hell for each other. To have a fight for good, a purpose in
life is invigorating. And we’re let in on all this through Robin’s gang,
friends as tight as any. We even love the Sheriff who’s constantly killing
people we wonder why there’s anyone left or anyone willing to work for him. The
writing is clever always making me laugh out loud in each episode.
(Spoiler; don’t watch the last
12minutest of episode 26, “We are Robin Hood” it ruined the series for me. I’m
still scratching my head as to why the writers did THAT. But the first two
seasons are GREAT! The third still has great writing but a missing element.)
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