Robin Hood: A Little Thing or Two About Loyalty

(S01E09) Robin Hood has come a long way since the opening episode with its Matrix-style action sequences and corny dialogue, but it's still lacking an overall premise.

Sure, we have the will-they-won't-they Robin and Marian relationship, compounded by the nefarious Guy of Gisborne's pledge to marry the only significant female character in the series (apart from Djaq) and the Sheriff's continuing efforts to out-do Robin and round up his gang.

However, none of this points towards an overall endgame, and while the quality of the episodes has continued to improve over the past five or six weeks, the plots have remained bog-standard switch-and-bait, back and forth, pursuit-escape scenarios.

This week's episode was really no different.

The basis for this week's plot surrounded a man who could create "Greek Fire" (ie. gunpowder), having been commissioned by Sir Guy to create a batch for the Sheriff from a secret mixture stored in a ledger.

When the Sheriff witnessed the power of the black dust, he inevitably wanted it within his control, even if it meant reneging on the deal with its creator, Lambert, not to use it as a weapon.

But Lambert refused to give the formula to the Sheriff and soon found himself a tortured prisoner in Nottingham Castle. Then, when Mutch attempted a break-in to rescue the scientist, the Sheriff decided to take advantage of the situation and made poor Mutch an Earl, in the hope that it would draw Robin Hood out from the forest and put and end to the outlaw's activities.

And so, a standard Robin Hood setup ensued; the Sheriff had something Robin wanted (the key to the whereabouts of the Greek Fire ledger), and Robin set about developing an elaborate ruse to draw Gisborne and the Sheriff to reveal the whereabouts of their stash of gunpowder.

The key development in this week's episode was the apparent disappointment suffered by Marion when her attempts to persuade Gisborne to free Lambert were derailed by the Sheriff's killing of Lambert, and she challenged Guy's loyalty to her -- which seemed to go against the notion that she's even remotely interested in spending time in his company, never mind marrying him.

We also saw a more caring side to the already wimpy Mutch, when he was duped by a maiden who was working for the Sheriff, and promptly fell in love with her, while simultaneously managing to convince her to betray her master and construct a deception regarding the whereabouts of the Greek Fire ledger.

Oh, and there was a moderately interesting twist at the end of the episode, when Robin decided to burn the ledger in accordance with Lambert's wishes, only to spot Djaq plucking it from the fire, unaware that she was being watched.

If it interests anyone, I've managed a sneek peek ahead to some of the episodes listed in the remaining four, and spotted one called 'Return of the King', which could prove to be a key moment in the series if King Richard is to make an appearance and validate Robin's activities against the Sheriff of Nottingham.

All will be revealed, as they say.