Oh, this is a fun one! I love this episode. Djaq gets a chance to shine because they finally decide to utilize her and we get some nice Will/Allan interaction too. And Will looks damn sexy in the guard outfit toward the end of the episode. Alright, let's get into it!
Thoughts While Watching:
Will is so unbelievably sexy here in this guard outfit that I literally can't stand it. Hot damn.
Thoughts While Watching:
- LMAO oh my God, Guy is cracking me up in this opening scene. I love how pleased with himself he is when he asks Allan if the letter was from Marian and the way he spits out the word "fool" in such anger.
- Notice how Allan intentionally avoids even wounding this man by hitting his wooden leg? He's still a good man at heart! This dude died from his own stupidity, no one's fault.
- Unlike Robin who has no issue shooting that guard in the chest unnecessarily. Seriously, Robin? Didn't we just cover this topic last episode with Carter? What does it say when the supposed "bad guys" avoid killing people more than the supposed "heroes" do? Honestly, who am I meant to be rooting for here? Because I don't give a damn about the useless king and one of these two men just intentionally avoided trying to kill or even harm someone and the other murdered someone for no reason, so... Sorry, but if this show wants me to believe that Allan is the bad guy and Robin is the hero, they're failing miserably.
- Robin: By the time you get close enough to use those swords, you'll be so full of arrows, you'll look like hedgehogs. *rolling my eyes so hard I give myself a headache*
- This exchange:
- Robin: I couldn't face myself in the morning if I was you.
- Allan: I count my money in the morning.
- Me: Allan should have less trouble facing himself than you, Robin, because he didn't just murder someone for no reason. Shut up, you absolute hypocrite. Also, great comeback, Allan.
- Thank God Marian calls him out for that line.
- Such a funny, overdramatic death scene.
- The Fool's jokes aren't funny at all and he also can't read a room because everyone in that room groaned in fear when he started on Prince John.
- So Robin's only reason for not going back to the Holy Land is because the king doesn't know the facts about the Black Knights? What about the fact that the war is wrong and immoral and he's supposed to be against it? What about the fact that one of his best friends is a Saracen? Fuck the fucking king, honest to God.
- The proposal scene is cute. My husband proposed to me in an equally ridiculous way by comparing life together as a married couple to a quest and asking me if I would accept the quest, but it was sweet because we've always played WoW together. But it was over a nice steak dinner, not a fresh grave, so mine wins.
- Sheriff: *throwing stuff at Guy and Allan continuously throughout this speech* I blame you for this! *crash* You had him on your doorstep! *crash* And you let him escape! *crash* You and your imbeciles! Six legs! *crash* Against one! *crash* And the one got away! *Guy and Allan ducking all the shit being thrown at them and cowering in fear* (I LOVE the sheriff and he ALWAYS gets the best lines in every episode.)
- The sheriff says that "there is always a rational explanation" in response to the Fool's prediction coming true which he then spends the time to figure out. This further supports my theory from the post way back in 1x06 that I think the sheriff is an atheist.
- Okay, seriously? Why the hell would random Locksley villagers know about Lardner's ring? Think before you go around randomly terrorizing people.
- Djaq is so pretty in this scene. I mean, she's pretty in the whole second season, but especially here. Her voice is so pretty sounding too when she's whispering to Will, so much softer and more feminine than in season one. Is she wearing makeup? Does she always in the second season? Does she just have a makeup bag out in the forest and waste time in the morning putting it on? I have questions lmao
- Okay...this honey scene. I have things to say. First of all, nothing is ever going to be cuter or funnier than Much thinking that "burying a corpse in the forest" is a euphemism for sex. But secondly, this Will/Djaq nonsense...This whole episode is probably the biggest reason for being anti-Will/Djaq for reasons that we'll get to in a bit, but it also contains this scene which is supposed to be the writers' one sole attempt at leading up to Will/Djaq that doesn't even include either of them in it. It's pathetic really how little effort they put into building this up and making it believable. But let's look at it though since it's here. Much says that the two of them went off alone to gather honey and that he thinks gathering honey is a euphemism for an excuse to be romantic together, but it's obviously not since there's nothing going on between them at this point. I guess he could mean that they just have a crush on each other and wanted a chance to flirt and be alone together, but we never see any evidence of this either. Like ever. We never see them flirt with each other ever in this show pre-2x12 nor do we ever see Djaq show any special attention or care to Will that she doesn't/wouldn't show to the rest of them. But she does with Allan. We never even see Will and Djaq going off alone together as she's usually paired off with Much if she's paired off with anybody. I want to say that Much is reading too much into it because he knows that Will has a crush on her and he's assuming that them going off alone means that she returns it. However, I don't want the fact that I ship Allan/Djaq instead to blind me to evidence for Will/Djaq, so looking at it objectively, I suppose that the fact that Much usually is the one who is paired off with Djaq and how close the two of them are would lead him to probably having a better idea of Djaq's feelings than the rest of them would have. Which means that if anyone in the gang was going to pick up on the fact that Djaq had feelings for Will pre-2x12, it really would likely be Much just because of how close Much and Djaq are and how much time they spend together. Also worth nothing that the rest of the gang doesn't seem shocked at Much's claim here, which could mean they all suspect Will and Djaq share mutual feelings for each other, but it could also be because they all know how Will feels about Djaq or because they think Much is just full of it and being his usual ridiculous self and they're amused by him and not taking it seriously. Basically what I'm saying is that if this was the writers' attempt at making us think that Will and Djaq have been getting closer off screen and a mutual crush might be developing, it didn't work for me. I haven't actually seen the evidence myself, I'm not taking Much's word here as gospel, and the evidence that I do see in this episode shows me that Djaq must not care that much about Will because of what happens in the rest of the episode. So basically, I think this was just the writers being lazy and including this scene where Much talks about his theory that Djaq and Will might like each other instead of actually taking the time to show us Will and Djaq getting closer before the big 2x12 reveal. It's bad writing. I mean, this scene in and of itself is comedy gold, but using this scene as the only lead up to the 2x12 reveal is shit writing. If you want me to find Will/Djaq believable and you want me to ship it, you gotta show me, not tell me. As it stands, the only person I ever actually see Djaq flirting with or being extra concerned about is Allan, he's the only one she has deep and meaningful scenes with, and I don't actually get to see any of this "honey" going on for myself with Will, so I don't ship it and 2x12-2x13 end up just feeling really out of character. It's the writers' fault that this ship never sailed for me. They put all this time and effort into building up Allan/Djaq and then just flipped it at the last minute to do Will/Djaq instead and I almost wonder if it was because they originally intended to do more of a love triangle, or go with Allan/Djaq instead, or at least spend more time on building up to Will/Djaq, but maybe those actors wanted out and they needed a good way to write them out last minute (that's just a theory, I have no idea why they wrote out Will and Djaq so don't take my words as proof of anything). The whole thing just seems majorly unbelievable to me because of the way they presented it to us.
- Right before they decide to get in the middle of this, Will says that he'll "take them the long way around, lead them away from camp." So he would get back later than her no matter what, but not that much later.
- Guy says, "You're in Robin Hood's gang, aren't ya?" as if it wasn't totally obvious. Why even phrase it as a question? You don't know them by now? You don't recognize Djaq, at the very least, at this point?
- Djaq gets away but Will gets caught. It was obvious he was struggling though, how could she not notice?
- Djaq gets back to camp, out of breath from running and tells them Guy is terrorizing the villagers, and no one asks where Will is, nor does she tell them.
- "Gisborne the gullible." I do love the sheriff.
- So here we have a split scene and it's going to jump back and forth between the camp and Locksley Manor. At Locksley, Will and the Fool have both been caught and Allan is there with Guy and the sheriff. The Fool is going to explain Lardner's ring to them while Djaq, simultaneously, is explaining its relevance to the gang. While I think this was artistically a nice choice, I wish we could have gotten an uninterrupted Djaq scene instead.
- I'm taking notes here just so that we're all clear. When she mentions the sultan's official pigeon handler she doesn't actually name Bassam here, but we know who she's talking about because we meet him in 2x13. She says he's her "uncle's friend," which I think is important to note because on so many forums and in so many fanfictions people get that wrong. They always think Bassam's her uncle, but he's not. He's her uncle's friend. We never actually meet any of her family, so it's probably safe to assume that all or most of them are dead. That being said, they certainly seem very close in 2x13, which is odd for someone who's her "uncle's friend." I can honestly only name one friend of each of my uncles and one friend of my aunt and I'm not close to any of them. But her relationship with Bassam in 2x13 gives off major father-figure/mentor vibes and she mentions spending time with him growing up and wanting to raise pigeons like him as a child. Point is, even though the gang doesn't know it yet (because they likely wouldn't assume it based on the description of "uncle's friend" alone), she is talking about someone she's very close to, which is relevant for the end of the scene when she breaks down.
- Djaq gets super offended and defensive of Bassam when Much insults his job. I don't think that's just because she thinks being a pigeon handler is important, I think she's upset because he made fun of Bassam specifically.
- This doesn't seem legit. I think I remember looking it up before and it's not and the pigeons aren't actually looking for their mate, but I don't have a source right now to back that up and I don't know or care enough about pigeons to go find it again. Honestly, when I even hear the word "pigeon" now after that heinous Barn Scene of Ick, I cringe. Doesn't matter the context. I cringe hard. I even see a pigeon out on the street somewhere and I feel ill. I'm sorry, but even most of the hardcore Will/Djaq shippers don't like that scene. It's horrid.
- A pigeon can carry a message to the Holy Land in a matter of days, but according to this show, so can humans apparently. They never leave enough travel time. People are constantly bouncing back and forth in no time.
- Anjali Jay's acting here is wonderful and my heart is absolutely breaking for Djaq. I want to take a closer look at the end of this scene. Keep in mind that she's tearful and near her breaking point through this whole scene:
- Djaq: My question is, why is the sultan's best pigeon being used by King Richard?
- Robin: Well, maybe they formed an alliance or something.
- Djaq: Or maybe King Richard and his army have helped themselves. If they've got Lardner, they've got the sultan. And if they've got the sultan, they've got everyone.
- Honestly, that scene packs a bigger emotional punch than anything has since Roy died. First of all, Robin knows he's lying. He knows he's lying to her and he's intentionally lying to her. He knows that letter was the king asking for more reinforcements. Why would the king need more reinforcements if they formed an alliance? So why does he lie? Is it so that she won't realize that her assumption is likely true and worry? Is it to keep her from being upset? Is it to keep her loyalty to him since he's loyal to King Richard? To me, personally, I take this as a huge sign that he doesn't respect her. He says he's all peace loving and respects the Muslims and is against the war, but it all sounds like empty words to me because he still kisses King Richard's ass every chance he gets and outright lies to her here and brushes off her valid concerns about her people and her homeland. He also disrespects her feelings by going to kill Allan after she begs him not to, she's the only one he ever outright refuses to even try to rescue when she got caught, and he's shown signs of sexism throughout the whole show. He doesn't respect her and he isn't worth the loyalty and devotion that she shows him. I kind of hate Robin. Actually, I'm really upset with all of them here. None of them seem to know what to say to her and none of them even try. Worthless friends, all of them. When it's something that actually matters, they fail her. The fact that we know later on that she is so close to Bassam makes this even worse. This isn't just about her people or her side losing, this is about her finding out that someone she loves is most likely either captured or dead.
- Which actually brings me to my next point...we see Bassam in 2x13 and he's fine. He's not captured or killed or any of it. He speaks English, he knows where King Richard's camp is, and he's wary of them but agrees to help them at Djaq's word that they're peace loving people, which implies that he's still loyal to the Saracens since he doesn't trust them without her word. So why does King Richard have access to his pigeon to ask for more reinforcements? Is this ever explained or is it a plot hole? Because the way I see it, if King Richard had access to Lardner then either Bassam should have switched sides or he should have been captured and neither seem to be the case when we see him in 2x13. It makes no sense.
- Marian seems to feel especially awkward after Djaq's break down but she says nothing and immediately tells Robin they have to go back to the tree. Worthless friend.
- Yay, Allan! He intentionally lets the Fool steal the key from him and Will knows it. This is two times in one episode where Allan avoids killing someone. And he still obviously cares about Will even though Will is going on about how much he hates him and didn't do anything to save his life when Robin wanted to kill him. So far, Allan is proving to be a better person than both Robin and Will this episode.
- Much wants to wait for Will. At least someone remembers that he exists. Shouldn't he be back by now if he wasn't caught? It's been awhile, even for the long way around.
- Marian believes that the Noah's Ark story was real, which is fitting for the time period (and even today many people take it literally). This is a stark difference to the sheriff though.
- Robin should've thrown the pigeon to Marian and she should have run. Both of them getting stuck in this tree is stupid as hell.
- Even Robin's idea of making a run for it so they follow him while Marian escapes with the pigeon is better than her hostage idea.
- Yeah, Marian. He just gave you a better idea. This hostage idea only works because Guy is the world's biggest dumbass and it seems like a reach because she wanted to go back to the castle. I don't think she was a big fan of life in the forest.
- So, Will had time to get captured in Locksley, get questioned in Locksley, get transported to Nottingham, be nearly hung in Nottingham, kill the executioner and escape, change clothes, and make it back to camp, and they all still thought he was going the long way around? No one gave a shit? No one cared? Much made like one comment about how they should wait for Will but that's it. Not one comment from Djaq. She would have seen him getting a slow start because he was fumbling with the rope and she didn't bother looking back to make sure he got out. Not one word about how it's been awhile and maybe they should make sure he's alright? No concern? Not from Djaq, the woman who supposedly loves him in a few episodes? Not from his friends? It's not like he was just out for a stroll, she knew the guards were chasing after him and she was untying her rope quickly right next to him while he was struggling with his own. She didn't think that his long absence was noteworthy? She didn't think about whether he might've been captured? Nothing? Will almost died and would have died if Allan hadn't let them take the key and none of his friends cared one tiny little bit even though they knew that his long absence came immediately after a fight/chase with the guards. They all care more about this damn bird and the fucking king. Will deserves better friends. Djaq doesn't show any worry or concern about him at all during this time, not one word out of her, until he comes back and she says she thought he'd been caught. She actually says, "I thought you'd been caught." So...if you thought he'd been caught and you care about him at all, even if just as a friend, shouldn't you have been trying to convince the others to go rescue him? Or is this message to the king more important than Will's life? May I remind everyone that when she was caught, Will immediately went to go rescue her and wouldn't stop badgering Robin for a rescue even though he was more worried about the king then too. But when Will's caught, no one gives a damn, not even Djaq, who actually did think he was caught and still let the message to the king take priority. Will deserves better. He deserves better friends, he deserves a leader who will put his own people above the king for once, and he deserves a relationship where the other person actually shows concern for him. The fact that he made rescuing her a priority over everything when she was captured and she didn't even think about him when he was captured (even though she may not know for sure that he was captured, she admits that she thought he was, saw the situation he was in when he got captured, and she knows it's been way too long for him to just be going the long way around) all shows me that Will/Djaq is a very one sided ship. He obviously cares about her very deeply, but she obviously cares more about Allan than she does Will. And even taking Allan out of the picture, she still puts this message to the king higher on her list of priorities than her friend that she believes was captured by the sheriff. This is a major friend fail on everyone's part. Good thing Allan is still obviously a good man and obviously cares more about his friends than they care about each other or Will would be dead and he wouldn't have even gotten a rescue mission or an attempt to save his life from these douchebags. Poor Will.
- Seriously...friendship fails all around this episode. The gang wasn't there for Djaq when she was obviously deeply distraught over Bassam and her people likely being captured or killed by King Richard and none of them even think to go check on Will or rescue him even though Djaq knew that it was very likely he'd been captured. What the hell, guys? What the fuck?
- BUT OMG WILL LOOKS SO HOT IN HIS GUARD OUTFIT!
- Oh, so when it's Robin and Marian in danger everyone goes "immediately," but when it's Will everyone's just like "nah...he'll be fine...and if not, then..." *shrugs* "oh well, I guess."
- Okay, so...Will's outfit is on that guard. I want to pay attention and see if he somehow miraculously gets it back next episode. I think he does, but I'm not sure. *goes to check because I can't wait that long* Yep, he miraculously gets it back. Well, okay then... The crew fails again! Who do I blame this on? Costume department? Director? Maybe the writers for not including an explanation for how he gets it back? Someone's phoning it in.
- There really are several other ways, Marian. And then she goes to the excuse that she can do more good in the castle. Just admit that you hate living in the forest as part of the gang and be done with it.
- Allan looks really uncomfortable and upset about this. Even after everything and Robin trying to kill him, he still doesn't want to do anything to actually hurt Robin and he knows that if this tree comes down like that, Robin's probably dead.
- Guy obviously deeply cares about Marian or at least wants her really badly and thinks that it's love. I don't know that I can honestly say that it is love though. I'm torn on that. Once he keeps protecting her after finding out she's the Nightwatchman in a few episodes, it certainly seems a lot closer to love since he finally knows the real her and still cares about her anyway. But then 2x12 and 2x13 happen and he threatens to force her to marry him/rape her and then he kills her and it's all a hot mess. Overall, I think I come down on the side that he never truly, actually loved her, just had her placed on a pedestal and loved the idea of her and became obsessed with her to an unhealthy, toxic level.
- Allan's still trying to help them both, talking Guy out of the it's-a-siege-just-wait-it-out plan. Allan is the true hero of this episode. He basically saves Will, the Fool, Robin, Marian, and tried to save that guy at the beginning.
- So Will knows how to write. That's interesting. How did he learn when the rest of the peasants usually don't know?
- Marian could have definitely left with Robin, she just chose not to.
- Do you see what I mean about how Djaq and Much are always paired off?
- Djaq is basically watching what she believes to be a bird that used to be like a pet to her die. That's sad. I'd be more upset about Lardner dying than the message failing.
- The Fool sacrificed his pet for this plan. I'm upset about it. That bird probably trusted him, trained with him for his tricks, and he just sacrificed it. I feel bad for the decoy bird.
- I wonder if Lardner remembered Djaq. Do birds remember people like that? Dogs do.
Final Thoughts:
Alright, my thoughts are explained in depth above, so they can be summed up pretty quickly here.
- Will deserves better. His friends suck. Except Allan. Allan doesn't suck.
- Djaq deserves better. Her friends suck. But she also sucks in this episode for straight up abandoning Will and forgetting he exists while he's literally about to hang. (She's still my favorite though.)
- This show is better when they actually use Anjali Jay and Harry Lloyd because they're amazing.
- Will/Djaq is the most poorly developed relationship I've ever seen that actually becomes canon and endgame.
- With all of Djaq's skills, can't she find a way to release Robin's lips from Richard's ass? They've been stuck there for quite a while now.
- Allan is more of a hero than Robin in this episode. Allan is the true hero of the episode. He's the MVP. And there is no doubt about it, he's still a good man.
- Robin sucks. His leadership skills have always been questionable and he's a bad friend to pretty much all his friends, especially Djaq. And he's just a straight up murderer at this point who only faked caring about not killing people last episode to trick Carter into changing, but he won't change himself.
- I want to know if Marian chose to leave the forest and go back to the castle because she actually feels she's more use there or if she just doesn't like being part of a team and following orders. Or does she just feel more comfortable in civilized society? Did she feel that she didn't fit in with the gang? I don't think it's about having feelings for Guy, though I know many fans think that, but it's definitely not because she had to, because she didn't.
- Harry Lloyd is ridiculously sexy.
- The decoy bird deserved better. The Fool sucks. Rest in peace, little birdie.
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