Robin Hood 1x01 "Will You Tolerate This?"

Alright, here we go! One of my all time favorite shows, probably tied with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel or just slightly below them in the list (but definitely in my Top 3). I've been a Robin Hood fan since the very first episode first aired on BBC America when I was sixteen years old. For reference, I'll be turning thirty this month. I've rewatched this show, especially the first two seasons, more times than I can count. Plenty has changed in my life since I first saw this episode, so this will be fun! Let's get into it.

Thoughts While Watching:

• I love that Allan is the first character we see. Joe Armstrong is such a cutie. Heartbreaking, in hindsight, how this scene sort of mirrors Allan's last scene though.
• "My wife expects a baby!" Oh, Allan... 
• These guards are way too excited about being able to mutilate people. Sadistic creeps.
• How long did it take Robin and Much to set up this string tied to the branches system? It's not like Allan was in danger for that long and there really wasn't any reason for them to have it set up in advance. 
• Much is so adorable. Much and Allan are my favorite male characters on the show (but Djaq is my favorite character overall). I still love Much's ridiculous sweater. 
• Aww, Robin. Let Much sing!
• This guy doesn't look old enough to be the blonde girl's dad (Sarah, I guess her name is). Sarah is so over the top too. Her hair and makeup are way overdone for the year 1192.
• I wonder how many times Much has dealt with this crap from Robin.
• Oh my God...this whole scene is so ridiculous. The drums, the weird camera stuff with the sword fighting, the slow motion, the unnecessary double take when he backflips away, the "one last kiss" with Sarah, I just can't...I can't even.
• So...why exactly do all the villagers run and hide? They seem old enough to remember him like Dan did.
• When Dan says that Guy of Gisborne runs the estate now, Robin says "Does he?" He doesn't ask who he is or anything like that and doesn't even seem that surprised. This adds some validity to the season three retcon.
• Luke is super cute, but I love how suspicious Will is. He's so protective over his little brother and doesn't seem to trust any nobles at all at this point. I can relate.
• Well, never mind about my earlier point. Robin just introduces himself to Guy. Except maybe it was for the benefit of the rest of the people watching and the guard who clearly didn't know him or maybe it was because Guy hasn't seen him since they were kids.
• Much really WOULD know where the servants' quarters are, seeing as he was Robin's servant for years, even though this is sort of played like he doesn't. So maybe he just still views himself as a servant which is why he was headed that way, which I think he does. I don't like how they try to make it seem like he's stupid.
• This tense conversation between Robin and Guy is pretty interesting. There's nothing in it that directly confirms or denies that they knew each other as children. 
• I love this line: "Show me an argument ever settled with bloodshed and then I'll call it winning." I love how anti-war Robin was in season one, especially early season one. I wish they would've kept that part of his character. I wasn't a big fan of how much he kissed King Richard's ass in season two.
• "War is for men. You would be upset, little one." Oh my God, Much... Love that this girl doesn't take his crap though.
• Aww, my poor little Much! My sweet baby has PTSD. 
• I love how many scenes they have in the first episode alone that set up Much as being food obsessed. I wonder how often he went hungry during the war and how related it is to his PTSD or if he was always like this.
• Marian's first scene is fantastic. I love how bitchy she is and pointing an arrow right at Robin's face. Good work, Marian!
• Much's fake laugh followed by, "That man is a show off. If there are no eggs left, I'm going after him." I love it. I love Much.
• Oh, no. The Locksley boys are in trouble! We have the set up for the episode's plot and Robin's first rescue in Nottingham.
• The sheriff's introduction is great. Keith Allen really did a fantastic job with this role. He will always be MY Sheriff of Nottingham. No one else has ever done a better job. And yes, I know Alan Rickman played him too, and I said what I said and I stand by it.
•  "Is it our Holy War or is it Pope Gregory's?" YES. I LOVE this version of Robin. Why couldn't we have had more of this during the entire series?
• I love this scene:
• Robin: "Stop all taxes today...If a man can make more than he needs for his family, he can take what remains to market. He can trade and the shire can take its share, but until then we must help every man...provide for his family. Get him trading again!" 
• The Sheriff: "A man who can provide for his family is a comfortable man, a lazy man. Doesn't want to work. What we need are hungry men. Our noble friend seems to forget that hungry men are virtuous."
• Robin: "There is a celebration of my return tonight in the Great Hall...I trust none of those 'virtuous' men will be feasting.
• Marian looking on in the background throughout the whole scene, Robin's smug face as soon as he laid the smackdown, Guy's reaction to that last insult...I love it. I love the whole thing. And of course, the obvious parallels to modern capitalism and how politicians view economic inequality, it's just a great scene.
• Poor little bird. I hate this scene. The sheriff actually seems shocked and horrified at what he just did though, which is interesting. Does he actually give a damn about these birds?
• Robin's attempt at charming Marian doesn't even make sense. He's just rambling. Love that she calls him on it.
• Oh, Allan...you never know when to shut up and stop lying, do you?
• I freaking LOVE Will Scarlett. He's so dead serious and unafraid to speak his mind.
• Robin: "What is your crime?"
• Will: "Living in the wrong place at the wrong time. Living under an evil sheriff. Where do our taxes go? They go to Nottingham, to the sheriff, to his birds."
• Even when Much reveals that the punishment is hanging, Will is obviously afraid, as his eyes give away, but he doesn't say a word. Luke is freaking out, but Will is silent.
• Why couldn't Robin simply tell the guards that Allan wasn't from Locksley? Though I don't suppose it would do much good. The punishment would likely be hanging no matter where he was from or what he did. And now we're officially introduced to him as Allan a Dale from the legends.
• Marian and Edward piss me off so much in this scene. They really do think they're better than the peasants. Don't get me wrong, I know that Marian cares about the peasants and helps them when she can, as she has done for years before Robin came back. But she was really willing to advise Robin to let them die to pass the sheriff's test. Luke and Benedict are still children. They're young teens at most, which I get was viewed as more mature in the Middle Ages, but still. 
• Who yelled Will and Luke's names? It sounds like Dan but it happens as we can clearly see Dan covering his mouth with his hand. 
• Why doesn't Dan do something? Like honestly, I get Will's frustration with him in season two. He's acting like a coward. If that were me, I would kill the sheriff or die trying, even if it was the last thing I ever did in this world. My kids wouldn't die alone, even if I couldn't save them. I wouldn't just stand there and watch and would have no reason to continue living without them. As a mother, fuck Dan Scarlett.
• "Now please don't kill my brother, my little baby, my inbred cousin!" God, I love the sheriff. Best villain ever. "Novice novices? How novel."
• Oh, do you love them, Dan? Do you really? Because I don't fucking think so. 
• Yay! Robin's first big rescue! "Will you tolerate this injustice? I, for one, will not." And here we get the episode title.
• Yeah...I feel like realistically Much would have just been beheaded by Robin's own sword, but okay.
• Good job, Marian! I still don't forgive you for being ready to let them all die, but at least you're willing to support the cause and help Robin escape.
• I love the facial expressions in this getaway scene on the horses.
• Poor Much and his Bonchurch. 
• Oh, the rest of the outlaws! Love it. Little John and Roy's introductions! And so we end on a cliff hanger. Time to watch part two!

Final Thoughts:

Over the years, I have convinced several of my friends to watch this show and let me just say, the opening to this episode makes it a hard sell. That scene with Sarah and her dad is rough. I always have to tell them not to judge the whole show based on the first episode. The episode does get better later on and I still absolutely love it though. I do love the introductions we get to some of our favorite characters from the legends and how this episode so perfectly sets up their relationships to each other and individual personalities and quirks. I love the anti-war sentiments from Robin and his first rescue is such an amazing scene. Overall, I think it's a good way to start the show, even if it has a few ridiculous moments in it. To be honest, the whole show has its fair share of ridiculous moments and that's part of what I love about it. This show will always be my absolute favorite version of Robin Hood!