Robin Hood 2x10 "Walkabout"

We're getting down to the last couple of episodes of the show's golden age before it starts spiraling downward and out of control and it's making me sad just thinking about it...but we're not there yet! We still have a couple great episodes to go! In this one we have definitive proof that the sheriff was not lying about his pact with Prince John because all of Nottingham is about to be destroyed when the sheriff decides to go sleepwalking and is missing on the designated check-in day. This is a fun one, so let's get into it.

Thoughts While Watching:

• We open with a confusing but kind of hilarious scene where the sheriff is having a nightmare about Robin stealing the Pact, he keeps mumbling about it in his sleep, and he wakes up in the middle of the forest in his black silk pjs. Guy shows up at the castle and finds Prince John's envoy there who explains that he meets with the sheriff every other Thursday to make sure he's still okay, but today he's gone missing, so we know the sheriff being in the forest wasn't part of the dream. He's already sent the signal to send the troops who will arrive by sunset to burn Nottingham to the ground and kill everyone in it if they don't manage to find the sheriff and prove he's alive.
• The sheriff isn't actually that bad at self defense. He knows how to fight when he needs to.
• Guy seems genuinely concerned about saving Nottingham and it's kind of cute how he relies on Allan and truly did make him his right-hand man.
• If Marian was planning on sending Allan anyway, why weren't they just upfront about that plan with Guy? Why be sneaky about it and make her look suspicious? Unless Guy assumes that Robin really did move the camp after that failed attempt for Allan to lead him there and assumes that Allan would no longer know how to reach him.
• It's kind of disturbing how they're all snuggly with the goose and petting it even though they plan to slaughter and eat it. Poor goose. I'm pretty sure it gets away though.
• I kind of love how Allan's just hiding in the camp waiting for them.
• Much tells the goose to wait there. No, little goose! Run!
• Robin's acting like such a smug little prick in this scene with Guy. It's cute though.
• Keith Allen's performance is excellent.
• So John is already upset that they're not doing their drop-offs to look for the sheriff (he's being ridiculously short-sighted here, they are much bigger fish to fry) and Robin literally throws some coins to a group of beggars which is rude as hell to get John to shut up. Neither of them are looking good here.
• Robin splits up the team and assigns everyone a role: Djaq and John are supposed to go look for the sheriff in the forest and check the regular drop offs to ask the people if they know anything, Much is to go with Robin, and Will is assigned to stay in Nottingham and specifically assigned the task of making sure Marian survives even if Nottingham falls. 
• Oh, this scene is so sad. I don't understand how anyone honestly believes that Much is straight and not in love with Robin. He starts off making a big deal about how he's happy that it's just the two of them on a mission again alone together (does Robin intentionally usually make sure they're not paired off together to not lead him on? hmm...You know, I wonder what exactly went on in the Holy Land...I have theories.) and then takes the first opportunity to bring up the ring that Robin revealed he gave to Marian earlier. He tries to make it sound casual, but its clear that it's been on his mind and worrying him since it was revealed.
• Much: Master, you know that ring? The one Marian gave you? Was it a new code? (Robin's face here looks like he's nervous to have this conversation.)
• Robin: No, I gave it to her when we were in the tree.
• Much: *laughs* What, you giving jewelry? That must've surprised her. She probably thought you were gonna propose. (Much tries to make it sound like that's a ridiculous suggestion, probably because he's hoping it is ridiculous and not the case.)
• Robin: Yeah, I did. (Much's smile literally falls off his face.) And she said yes. (Much looks literally heartbroken like someone just stabbed him right in the heart. Even the music gets sad.) Well, this is when you're supposed to say congratulations.
• Much: Congratulations. (Much hugs Robin, we can see his face behind Robin's back and it doesn't look happy) She said yes?
• Robin: She did. (Much tries to fake being happy with a small smile.)
• Much: That's incredible.
• Robin: Only if we live to enjoy it. (Robin walks ahead.) Come on. He went this way, come on. (Camera focuses on Much's face as Robin's walking away, he looks like he's in shock and there are nearly tears in his eyes. He takes a deep breath like he's steeling himself for having to be around Robin and gives Robin a weird look before following after him. I swear that the look almost seems like he feels betrayed or abandoned. I'm really starting to wonder what happened in the Holy Land.)
• Sam Troughton played that scene so beautifully. Even the people who picked the sad music, the camera choosing to focus in on Much like that instead of on Robin's happiness, everyone's on board here. The crew knew what they were doing. I honestly believe that my interpretation is what they were going for. Much is in love with Robin and his heart just got shattered to pieces. I'm not sure how there's anyone out there who doesn't see it, but apparently there are.
• Even the sheriff seemed disturbed when this crazy, horrible mother suggested chopping one of her own kids' arms off. He's like, "Damn, she's more evil than I am. Should I be impressed or horrified?"
• Djaq is absolutely beautiful in this scene with John. This scene also reveals a lot about their characters so I'm going to take a deeper look.
• John: It's not enough.
• Djaq: That's all there is.
• John: There's not enough to feed all the villagers.
• Djaq: Then we'll give it to the families with young children first.
• John: No, we need more food.
• Djaq: No, we need to find the sheriff.
• John: I don't care about the sheriff.
• Djaq: Alright, then you don't care about Nottingham.
• John: That's not what I meant.
• Djaq: John, if the sheriff isn't found, Nottingham will be destroyed.
• John: Everyone, everyone else is out looking for the sheriff.
• Djaq: Yes, and that's what we should be doing too.
• John: I can't let people starve.
• Djaq: And I won't go against Robin's orders.
• John: Why?
• Djaq: Because he's right. And he's our leader.
• John: Leaders can be wrong. *Djaq sighs*
• So what does it reveal?
• Djaq is the more logical and practical of the two while John is the more emotional/reactive one. 
• Djaq is thinking of the big picture: How do they save the most amount of people? What issue requires more immediate attention/which is the more urgent problem at the moment? How can we still make sure to take care of the weakest and most vulnerable of the people we help, despite the pressing time concern and lack of resources? 
• John is thinking with his heart instead of his head: He's thinking of the people he saw starving in Nottingham. He's likely thinking of the faces of the people at their usual drop offs and how disappointed and panicked they're going to be when they realize the gang doesn't have enough for them. He's imagining have to tell the ones who don't have young children that they can't get anything today. He's picturing starving families and probably seeing his own wife and son's faces when he looks at the peasants who need their help. He's not seeing big picture or long term, because if he was, he could always tell the people at the drop offs what's going on so they understand and reschedule another drop off for the next day (if they all survive that long).
• Djaq is more of a follower while John is more of a leader (building off of my theory from a previous post).
• Djaq agrees with Robin's orders anyway here, which makes them much easier to follow. She's the type of person who naturally is more logical and practical, so of course she's going to recognize the wisdom of Robin's decision to focus on the sheriff. However, the fact that she believes he's right isn't the only reason she gives. She also says, "because he's our leader." This means something to her. When she joined the gang, she viewed it as an agreement that she would follow Robin's leadership and respect his authority, even when she doesn't necessarily agree with his decisions entirely. She likely had to do the same thing when she joined the army. She chose a cause she believed in and a leader that she trusted and now she's putting her faith in him to make the right calls. She still speaks up when she disagrees, but she almost always goes along with his decision anyway (other than the ledger, her one act of rebellion, which she kept hidden from him so he would still trust her, even though he secretly knows). 
• John, on the other hand, used to be the leader of his own gang and never fully accepts having a leader over him. We've seen this on several occasions when he knocks Robin out and now he's refusing to follow Robin's orders behind his back. He also seems to expect to be viewed as the second in command or has at least become accustomed to that role since the others tend to view him that way and look to him to make the final decision on things when Robin's not around or when they've decided not to listen to Robin for whatever reason. When he disagrees with Robin, he has no intention of just blindly following anyway. He's in this gang because he believes in the cause and when he thinks that Robin's straying from that (not wanting to rescue Djaq in 1x08 or not focusing on feeding the poor here), he believes that he knows best and loyalty to the cause is more important than loyalty to a leader.
• Jasper (I think that's his name?) is still accusing Guy of murdering the sheriff and lying about it and he also reveals his own special interest in not bending the rules for the special circumstances. If Nottingham or any other city whose sheriff is under John's protection gets destroyed, his cousin is the one with the contract to rebuild it. If the city's destroyed, he profits. Not only can this man not be bought off with money to look away and forge the stamp, but he actually has a vested interest in seeing Nottingham burn. He's actually expecting this to happen to a city eventually and hoping that it does so he can get rich off of it, making him one of the most genuinely evil people in the series. 
• Guy seems genuinely horrified by him. He's always been evil too, but not to this extent. The idea of an entire city or possibly an entire shire of people being slaughtered for no reason seems to actually deeply bother him, which is a revealing bit of character development. We're making progress! Although, I think at this point he also still thinks his own life is in danger.
• Oh, fuck...I forgot about this. I know that they're faking this and there is no dead child, but scenes like this still hit me hard. They're not even faking it well, this woman is a horrible actress (the character is I mean, the actress playing her is fine but the character is supposed to be doing it over the top), but it still doesn't matter. I cannot handle anything that deals with dead babies or small children. I try to avoid the entire topic in general if at all possible.
• The sheriff is doing a good job with the acting here, but does he say, "instead of me only grandson?" Because there are clearly other supposed "grandsons" of his sitting all around.
• Djaq is obviously deeply moved and horrified by this scene, but it's still not enough to convince her to stray from the mission. But for John, who actually is a parent and is watching what he believes to be another parent burying their dead child, it's absolutely the last straw. I think the fact that John is a parent has a lot to do with this, even though he's already been shown to care more about feeding the poor than finding the sheriff. As a parent myself, which is why I have such a hard time with these kinds of scene, I know I would've reacted emotionally too rather than logically. I would still probably work on finding the sheriff, only because I'd be thinking about all the other children at risk, but I'd probably have a complete breakdown first.
• John brushes off Djaq's attempts to keep him focused on the mission with a simple, "Robin is not here, we are." As far as he's concerned, when Robin's not around or not making sense, he's the leader and he knows best. Djaq disagrees with him, but she still follows him and goes along with his decision in Robin's absence. She's such a follower that she doesn't even stick to her guns on following one leader when another leader pops up to contradict him. She tries to stick to her guns initially and convince John to be a good follower too, but when he refuses and slides into a leadership role, she follows. She disagrees with his decision to stray from the mission and from his decision to disobey Robin's orders, but she still goes along with it. It's revealing for her character.
• This Marian/Guy scene is pretty important too. It's a great scene.
• Guy: Jasper will not be swayed.
• Marian: There's still time.
• Guy: No, there's still time for you to get away.
• Marian: No. You did not run when I was being held hostage. I'm not leaving you in trouble. *Guy looks absolutely stunned and I think in this moment he actually believes that she loves him*
• Guy: Well then, we must prepare to defend ourselves.
• Alright, what's going on in that scene? 
• Figuring out Guy is pretty straightforward. His main concern is getting Marian out alive, even if he doesn't make it and even if the rest of the town doesn't make it. He wants to save the whole town and himself, of course, but his priority is Marian. Robin and Guy have this in common. However, despite his desire to get Marian to safety, he's absolutely taken aback but what she says and I think him believing that she finally, genuinely returns his feelings is enough for him to just appreciate her wanting to stay with him rather than continuing to insist that she go.
• Figuring out what's going on with Marian is more difficult. How much of what she said was true? Is she really staying because she doesn't want to leave Guy to face death alone or is she staying because she doesn't want to abandon Nottingham to die without a fight? If she doesn't want to abandon Nottingham, why doesn't she just say that? Is it because she wants to let Guy hear what he wants to hear in what might be their last hours as a form of comfort? Does she think about how this might lead him on while she knows she's engaged to someone else? Does she actually have some feelings for him? Is she staying out of loyalty to him just as a sort-of friend rather than because of any feelings? Is she staying to fight in Nottingham because she doesn't believe that she deserves to live while the rest of them die? Is she just not ready to give up hope yet because she still wants to believe that Robin will find the sheriff and leaving will admit that she's giving up? I honestly cannot figure out what's going through her mind in this scene and there are so many possibilities.
• This Will/Allan scene is important too. They find themselves standing next to each other, though it's important to note that Allan is the one who approaches Will, and they're looking off into the distance to check for the approaching army.
• Allan: I don't think we're gonna get out of this one. *Will doesn't respond* If we do, do you...do you reckon I could come back to the lads?
• Will: *scoffs* It's too late, Allan. Miles too late.
• Allan: Come on. I made a few mistakes, yeah, but the point is-
• Will: *talking over Allan and getting angry/starting to yell* Mistakes? You deliberately betrayed us!
• Allan: Alright, strictly speaking, that's true.
• Will: Yeah.
• Allan: Yeah, but it's not that simple, Will. Alright? I never told Gisborne where the camp is. I saved your life, didn't I? Well? I know a lot about how this place works now. That's gonna help Robin, alright? *Will stares at him* Come on, what do ya reckon? The old team back together?
• Will: *shakes his head no* You're with Gisborne now. There's no coming back from there. *Will walks away from Allan who looks heartbroken*
• Alright, so, what does this scene tell us about the characters?
• Will still views the world as black and white and refuses to recognize the shades of gray. I've mentioned before how this is in stark contrast to how Djaq views the world and how I think it will ultimately be a huge problem for them and makes them inherently incompatible and I still hold that view. The way the two of them treat this Allan situation is very telling about who they are as people. 
• Djaq sees the world in shades of gray, not black and white. She understands that people make mistakes and don't always make the right decisions, but that they can learn from it, grow from it, change their ways, and still be good people despite that. If she didn't hold this view, there is no way she would be able to be friends with Robin and Much who have both slaughtered her people in the past. I'm just gonna say it because I don't think the show makes this clear, but Robin and Much have done far more evil in their past than the sheriff or Guy have ever done. Their motivations weren't as evil and they certainly don't get the sadistic joy out of doing evil deeds that the sheriff does, but it's true. That might be an unpopular opinion, but it's one I won't budge on. I was a history major and have done way too much research on the Crusades and what really happened there to ever budge on this position. For me, this is a redemption story for them and I think they (or at least Robin) views it the same way. They both seem to know and understand that what they did was wrong. Robin followed the king because it was his duty and he trusted him and Much followed Robin because it was his duty and he trusted him and loves him, and both of them were following the Pope because they've been brainwashed since birth to do so, but the actions they ultimately took as a result of this was undeniably morally wrong. Now they're not exactly making up for it, but they're changing their ways. Instead of killing people, they've dedicated their lives to helping people and they're both willing to risk their lives, their comfort, and their happiness every day to that end. They've changed their outlook on Islam and Muslims, they've changed their outlook on the war itself, and their goals have changed. Now they want the king to stop fighting and come home and take care of his own people, which protects both the people in England and the people in the Holy Land. Djaq sees this change in them from day one when they're willing to risk their lives to help the Saracen captives, the way they treat her, the way they put helping people above everything else, and in their mission to bring the king home. Do you think Will would ever be as understanding of people who slaughtered English/Christian people from Nottingham who then decided to turn a new leaf? Ever? I don't. He's way too black and white for that. This situation with Allan is the same thing. Djaq views this as her friend who she knows is a good man underneath it all is making some very serious mistakes which becomes a situation where he feels trapped and ends up digging a deeper hole for himself. She never gives up on him, she never stops believing that he's a good man, she's sympathetic to the situation he's found himself in, and I think she's already forgiven him for it. She's not excusing it and she's certainly hurt by it, but she's not holding a grudge or giving up on him. She knows life isn't that simple. She understands that good people can sometimes do really bad things and still find their way back from it. Will, however, is viewing this as "Robin's side is the good side, Guy's side is the evil side, and Allan betrayed them and switched sides, therefore Allan is a bad guy." I think deep down he knows it's not that simple, but even when he sees glimpses of the old Allan and knows that Allan's not all bad and still cares about them, he still can't let it go. Maybe some of it is out of feeling hurt and betrayed because he was so close to Allan and not all of it is necessarily out of his worldview, but I think most of it is his black and white worldview.
• Will is also being hypocritical about this. He sees the world in black and white, unless it's him who made the mistake. When he nearly abandoned the gang in 1x12, he clearly knows the action was morally wrong, but he doesn't take responsibility for it. It became clear in 2x05 that he puts the blame on Allan for persuading him to do it and shifts the blame away from himself. When he poisoned the sheriff in 2x04, he nearly put Nottingham into the same situation that they're in right now and almost got hundreds of people killed, but he doesn't view that as a betrayal either. He knows it was wrong, but he justifies it to himself because he did the right thing in the end and was acting out of guilt. We know this because in 2x13 Much will ask for a show of hands for who has never betrayed the gang as a way to taunt Allan and Will raises his hand even though, strictly speaking, he's betrayed them twice. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Will's betrayals are on the same level as Allan's because they're not. But what I am saying is that, unlike Allan, Will never owns up to them. Will shifts the blame when he's the one who messes up and views everything as black and white when someone else messes up. Also, both times Will betrayed them he was immediately given another chance to make things right and he took it. Allan wasn't given that chance even though he begged for it and is still begging for it right now. Will doesn't see how he was able to prove himself to be a good man because he was given another chance to do so and that Allan could do the same if someone was just willing to give him a chance. Will specifically thinks that Allan shouldn't be given the same chances that Will himself was given.
• This also reveals a lot about Allan. Allan has wanted to stay in the gang the whole time. He wanted a second chance from the moment his betrayal was discovered and it was denied to him. He might've made that comment to Robin about how he counts his money in the morning because he was upset at how Robin was treating him, but it's obvious he didn't mean it. Allan has learned the hard way that money doesn't matter as much as having people you care about that care about you in return. I don't think Allan's motivation for being in the gang is the cause or else he wouldn't have been so easily swayed and he wouldn't still be working for Guy. I think his main motivation was the people in the gang. He cares about them, he meant it when he told Robin he loves all of them, and he regrets betraying them because he hurt them and he lost them because of his actions. Allan now has everything he thought he wanted. He has money, a prestigious job, security for the future, he's made a life for himself in civilized society, he's on the fast track to an even more powerful position, he might technically be the third most powerful person in the town of Nottingham, but none of that matters without the people you love. I also think that Allan makes a great case for himself here. He points out that while, yes, he did make the mistake of betraying him, he never put any of them specifically in danger. He used his position to save Will's life, he's never revealed the location of the camp, and though he doesn't say it here he's also protected Marian's secret, helped protect Robin and Marian when they were stuck in the tree, and his position in the castle is what allowed them to get the message to Robin today. He's done a lot of good in his time at the castle specifically because he has this job. He also doesn't say it, but he's intentionally avoided killing or hurting people unnecessarily and works to minimize the impact of Guy and the sheriff's cruelty on other people (as seen last episode). And he's right about the fact that his insider knowledge could be a huge help to Robin. He points out how not only has he continued to help them or reduced the amount of harm the sheriff wanted him to do to them, but how he could specifically be an asset to them because of what he's learned from his mistake. And he makes it clear how badly he still cares about them and wants to go home to them. Yet Will won't listen to any of it. 
• Finally, one final thing I want to say here about Will and Robin and to some extent the rest of the gang except Djaq: If you refuse to forgive someone for something or give them another chance when they're desperately trying to change, if you constantly tell someone that they can't change or will never be able to redeem themselves no matter what they do, then what you are doing is encouraging them to continue to commit evil deeds because you are sending the message of "You're too far gone now anyway, so what's the point?" By Will telling Allan that there's no coming back from working with Guy, he's essentially actively encouraging Allan to continue working for Guy, because he's telling Allan that nothing he can do at this point will ever redeem him from that one mistake. This is such a dangerous message to send. When someone shows growth and a desire to change for the better you should always encourage them to continue on that path. You don't have to necessarily personally forgive them or trust them again or even have them as part of your life, but don't make them feel like redemption is impossible and there's no use in even trying to be a good person anymore because if you do then they'll give up trying. And then what do you get? Just someone who is continuing to do the bad things that you don't want them to do in the first place. (Although I will say that I have a few exceptions to this rule. There are a few very rare cases in which I truly believe people do not even deserve the chance to redeem themselves and should be locked up forever with the key thrown away, but this doesn't even come close.)
• Allan looks so sad, it breaks my heart!
• John wants to take the con artist family and the disguised sheriff back to the camp which Djaq immediately recognizes is a bad idea but he talks her into it anyway. Djaq, stand up for yourself! You've been right this whole time about like literally everything, just grow a pair and take charge for once! Put your foot down.
• I like the scene where Allan is talking up Guy's good points to Jasper. I think he genuinely means it. I think, just like Djaq, Allan sees people in shades of gray and has come to realize that Guy may not be pure evil after all and actually does have some redeeming qualities (although I think Allan and Marian both give him more credit than he deserves and more credit than I do because I'm still forever angry about Seth) and I think he's being genuinely helpful to Guy and not really self-serving when he does this.
• So Jasper says that as a Black Knight, Guy is allowed to go free...even though he suspects that Guy killed the sheriff? How does that make any sense? Why let the one person you think is responsible go free while the whole town suffers? Now, I know he doesn't care about the town suffering, but shouldn't he care about the one person he suspects is responsible going down too? Or does Prince John only care about saving the people loyal to him no matter what they do and even if they kill other people loyal to him? I suppose for him it's a numbers game and the more people loyal to him, the better chance he has.
• GUY, THINK! Why admit you have no family? Just claim Allan's your cousin and Marian's your wife and be done with it. What does Jasper know? Forge something if you have to.
• Guy says here, "but I do have friends." He used the plural of friends. I think his original intent was to save both Marian and Allan, even if Marian is his main priority. He does say "one person in particular," but I think it's because he was losing ground and as I said, she was his priority. I don't think saving Allan was high on his list of priorities, but I do think it made the list.
• Marian tries to at least make a case for letting the women and children go free, but Prince John's orders are for every single person to die because, as much as I hate King Richard, Prince John is definitely worse for England. King Richard has still killed more children overall and is a worse human being, but Prince John is the worst person for the role of king of England for sure. King Richard is a bad king, but Prince John is batshit crazy.
• AWW, THE WILL/ALLAN BROTHERS IN ARMS SCENE! So sweet! Will does still care to some degree underneath all his bitterness.
• Will: *sees Allan and shouts* Where's Marian?
• Allan: Will. *hands him a sword, doesn't actually answer his question*
• Will: Well, it looks like we're brothers in arms again after all.
• Allan: *laughs* Not exactly what I had in mind. *offers his hand out to Will who accepts it and shakes it*
• Much is so clearly bothered by Robin's engagement even more than the thought of Nottingham being destroyed. He brings up the uncertainty of his future in every scene he's in. The last time he was talking about how life would be after the king returns and now he says that he was thinking he might stay in the forest after Robin and Marian get married. He's anxious, he's upset, and he's rambling. I think he's in stress overload. The fear of Nottingham being destroyed and everyone dying is bad enough, but to add this proposal on top of it just breaks him. Literally, how does anyone not see the Robin/Much? How is there a single person out there who doesn't see it? Much's life is in danger and so is everyone else's lives and he's still just absolutely fixated on the engagement.
• LMAO "I could be a lone outlaw. The Sherwood Avenger." Oh, my God, Much...Robin's engagement just snapped the last shred of his sanity that was left.
• Guy explains that Jasper is allowing him and his family to escape and Marian immediately assumes that he's abandoning them and obviously feels really betrayed. Then he explains that she can go too if she marries him. When she says that it's not that simple because she doesn't feel that she can abandon the rest of the town, I believe her. I don't even think it was about loyalty to Robin at that point so much as it was loyalty to Nottingham. I don't think she could live with herself knowing that she got to live while all the children in the town were slaughtered. That's what I'd be thinking in her shoes.
• Aww, Robin telling Much he likes worrying about him. So sweet!
• I like this Will/Marian scene but I think that Will, Robin, and Guy are all misunderstanding Marian here and I think my interpretation was right. It's not about marrying Guy or betraying Robin, it's about the people. She may not be able to save them, but she'll die trying before she abandons them.
• Will: There's no other way.
• Marian: There has to be.
• Will: Marian, there is a ring of steel around Nottingham. Even if we got beyond the walls, we'd be cut down.
• Marian: Then we will have to fight as best we can.
• Will: Marian, you can't save these...you can't save these people. Look, much as I hate Gisborne, you have to marry him.
• Marian: No!
• Will: Wherever you go, wherever you go, Robin will move heaven and earth, he will find you. Just stay alive.
• Robin, Guy, and Will are all concerned about keeping Marian alive at all costs even if everyone else dies but she's not the type to run away from a fight and abandon a whole city of women and children to die. I respect that about her.
• Interesting that Much's main concern here is going to Nottingham to save Marian and Will and anyone else they can. He cares about Nottingham as a whole, but his main concern is getting his own out alive.
• What kind of a mother hides behind her own children? Holy shit.
• Guy: And without her, my world may as well turn to ash. (This is a very significant turning point in his character development. He's always wanted to protect her, but he's never been willing to take a serious risk to himself before.)
• The scene where he comes back:
• *Guy bursts through the doors*
• Marian: You came back! (She sounds so proud of him!)
• Guy: If I'm going to die, I'm going to die by your side.
• Oh, my God! Allan stayed outside on the front lines until the last minute, I forgot about that.
• Marian and Guy are literally right at the door to the room, ready to fight and die first before the rest of the people. That's not surprising for Marian, but impressive for Guy. I guess at this point he figures he's done for anyway, best to look courageous in his last moments. And it is courageous, it doesn't just "look" that way. I'm impressed. He's come a long way. I think Marian holding his arm like that is genuine too. She has a newfound deep appreciation and respect for him and cares for him to some degree. I don't think it's to the level a lot of fans think it is, but it's something and it's definitely there.
• Okay, so, stupid story time. Guy tells Marian, "Marry me now and make it the last thing we do. Let's steal that from them at least." Which, first of all, shows that Guy wants to be married to her anyway even if it never results in sex or a happy ending, which is huge. However, this scene will always remind me of the first time I watched it. I was with two of my friends and none of us could understand what he said when he said the words "let's steal that from them at least" and we all misheard it and thought he said, "I stole that from the movies." Now obviously, we knew that couldn't possibly be the real line, but we cracked up about it anyway. We were like, "No, no, it's impossible. I know this show is historically inaccurate, but it wouldn't go that far." We rewatched it several times and still couldn't understand, but that's probably partially because we were making fun of it and laughing so hard while it was playing. I had no idea what he said there for literally years until someone else typed up the dialogue for this scene on a forum. Now that I know what it's supposed to be, I can hear it clear as day, but I literally couldn't make it out originally and that's honestly what it sounded like to me. Alright, stupid story time is over. But honestly, if it weren't for the medieval setting, the movie line would totally fit there. That is exactly the kind of cheesy, romantic line that someone would steal from the movies and then bashfully admit to doing.
• All of Guy's progress and he just undoes a bunch of it in one line. He promised Robin and gave him his word that he would have safe passage into the castle for the day, but here he's ready to go back on his word and try to catch him now that he got what he wanted out of him. That's low. That's honestly less honor than even the sheriff has showed in the past. Remember back in "Peace? Off!" when they fought alongside each other and then the sheriff let him just walk out with the promise that they would be back to business as usual tomorrow? Now, granted, that was probably in large part due to the fact that most of his guards were dead since he didn't show the same honor in "The Angel of Death" when he's ready to turn on Robin the second his life is saved, but still. I just lost a lot of the respect I had gained for Guy in this episode. He's not quite back to where he started at the beginning of the episode, but not as far as he could have been. He's still made some progress even if not as much as he should. 
• Robin and John share a sweet moment where John admits that he made a mistake and apologizes for disobeying Robin's orders and says he'll never forgive himself if the sheriff finds the camp again and Robin tells him not to apologize for caring about people and showing them compassion. It brings up a good point. What if the sheriff finds the camp again? I know he doesn't, but in theory, he could. Yes, he was unconscious for the trip from the camp to Nottingham, but he wasn't for the trip from the drop point to the camp and he obviously was capable of moving his blindfold. Why don't they even consider moving the camp? Is it just because it would take way too much work and they feel it's worth the risk to just stay?
• That final scene is a little cringey, but then again, this show often is when it tries too hard to be funny. I still kinda like it a little bit just because it's Djaq and it's revealing something about her past, even if it's barely anything at all. I snatch up any little crumb this show throws at me when it comes to Djaq.

Final Thoughts: 

The main thing I want to discuss here is Robin's decision to leave Will in Nottingham with Marian. This is the second time Robin has singled Will out when he needed someone he knew he could really trust (even if I don't think he trusted Will 100% the last time in 2x05) and count on, which I think makes his choice interesting. I want to think about the decision of who to leave in Nottingham and what that would mean for that person.

First of all, I think it's odd that he didn't try to convince Marian to leave Nottingham right away before the army even got there. If she wasn't there, would any of them even have to stay? Will could've been out searching with the rest of them. Did he think that Guy would find it suspicious or did he just know Marian well enough to know she wouldn't want to go? But if that's the case, why even bother trying to get Will to convince her to leave later? Unless he thought that the closer death came, the more likely she'd be to accept a rescue plan. Regardless, Marian chose to stay and help and Robin chose to assign someone the task to watch over her, so why choose Will? Also, while we're at it, why not choose to stay himself and just send his gang out? Is it because he genuinely thought he would be the only one likely to find him? Actually, that's probably it. Guy and Marian seemed to think he was the only one capable of it too and he might've viewed it as too important of a mission to completely leave to other people.

Robin had to have known that whoever he chose had a much higher chance of dying than the rest of them because they'd be caught up in the thick of it. Did he bother weighing the pros and cons of each person before choosing? Here's what I think they are.

• Reasons for leaving John: Strongest and extremely capable in a fight. If he dies, he's the oldest who has already had the most chance at living his life.
• Reasons against leaving John: He wasn't sold on the mission. He cared more about feeding the poor. If he couldn't even focus on the mission while he was there with Robin, he'd likely lose focus and go off on his own at some point during the day.

• Reasons for leaving Djaq: Literally nothing that would be any kind of advantage over anybody else. I guess maybe that she's fought in battle against an army before and so would have some idea of what to expect. This probably isn't the first city she would have seen be completely sacked by an army, unfortunately.
• Reasons against leaving Djaq: As I've said before, I think he views her differently because she's a woman. I don't think he was ready to doom the only woman in his gang to certain death when she could have a chance at survival in the forest instead. Plus, I think he recognizes how loyal she is and thought she could maybe help rein John in a bit with her logical approach to things. She also doesn't really get wrapped up in romantic things (at least not at this point, in 2x12 everything goes to hell and Will and Djaq become unrecognizable) and wouldn't hold with the notion that a woman should be spared just for being the woman someone loves. I think he probably assumes that both Djaq and Marian would just end up being stubborn and deciding to stay together in Nottingham and not escape if they have the chance. He might also be a little concerned about what might happen if she's left in Nottingham with Allan to work and fight alongside him all day since she was the most sympathetic to him already.

• Reasons for leaving Much: He's definitely very good at fighting. He's fought in war-like situations against an army before, same as Djaq.
• Reasons against leaving Much: He'd be way too panicked and anxious to handle the situation. He doesn't do well under that much stress. I also think, despite usually trying to treat everyone equally, he probably didn't want to leave his best friend to an almost certain death. I think he wanted Much to have at least a chance at survival and if they were to die, I think he wanted to be with his best friend on his last day (although I think he would have preferred to be with Marian on his last day if he could) rather than any other gang member. It's also implied that they haven't been paired off much recently or had much alone time, based on Much's comment about it being nice that it's just the two of them again, so this would be especially true if he felt they'd been distant lately. He'd want to make sure Much knew how much he cared about him before they all die.

Now for Will. The main reasons I can think of against leaving Will is that he's essentially dooming the youngest person in the gang to an almost certain death and Will has shown a lack of regard for the sheriff's life before, even if he obviously seems on board here. But what are the reasons for leaving Will, why does he ultimately choose him, and is it connected in some way to his choice to use Will for the decoy plan in 2x05? It could just be a process of elimination thing. He had plenty of reasons for not leaving John, Djaq, and Much so therefore Will gets chosen by default. I've heard a theory from another fan before that he might leave Will because he thinks that Will would take the promise to make sure Marian survives most seriously because he understands the importance in protecting someone you love and is the only other member of the gang that Robin knows is in love with someone (Djaq, at this point still unrequited), so he would understand why it was so important to Robin that she lives. Once I heard this theory I actually started to believe that it might be true. But I can't help but wonder if part of it is that Robin just trusts Will more than the others (except Much who would be ruled out for other reasons in both cases) since he's now picked him specifically for important tasks like this twice. Is Will just the best option in both 2x05 and this episode because of process of elimination or does Robin have more trust in Will, and if so, has Will earned this level of trust? Does he just think Will is the most competent member of the gang? That's something I've been considering for a long time but I can't quite come up with an answer. It definitely seems to me that Robin sort of favors Will over most of the others (although I suppose beating him up in 2x05 and leaving him to most likely die here doesn't seem like favoring him at first glance). I'm not sure what to make of it, so if anyone else has a theory, let me know.

Other than Robin's choice, the only other thing I wonder about is the handshake between Will and Allan and the comment from Will about them being "brothers in arms" again. Is he just willing to make peace with Allan because he's almost certain they're about to die or does he actually come to forgive him in that moment? I'll have to wait until I rewatch the next two episodes, but as far as I can recall, I don't remember anymore open hostility from Will either toward Allan or about Allan when he's talking to the others after this point, though there was plenty before then. I don't think he'll fully forgive him until he rejoins the gang because he's still working for Guy, but I do think there was a major shift in his understanding of Allan in that moment. I think he realized that Allan really wasn't bullshitting him and that he really was sorry, really does still care about the gang, and is still a good person underneath it all. This is definitely a sign of growth for Will.

Wait, I lied. One more thing I want to discuss...couldn't they have just evacuated Nottingham before the army arrived? Jasper couldn't really do anything to stop it at that point. They could've hidden everyone in the forest and had them spread out to stay hidden. The only thing the army could've done at that point is burn down the whole forest (which...I wouldn't necessarily put it past them to start a major forest fire, so maybe that's the logic behind not doing that). If they killed or kidnapped Jasper too, there would be no one to tell the army where the people went. They'd probably assume the forest, but wouldn't be certain. It might at least buy them some extra time.

Overall, this episode had a ton of great character exploration moments where we can study the characters and figure out their motivations, values, and who or what is important to them and there are plenty of moments where I see real development and growth in several of them. I think we can learn a lot about all of the members of the gang, Marian, and especially Guy in this episode and the only person we don't really get much information about is the sheriff, though it is telling in some ways that even he seemed a bit disturbed by the evilness of the mother and that he knew exactly what day it was and still was willing to take his good old time getting back to Nottingham. This is such a great episode and I loved how high the stakes were in this one. It sort of had a "we have to avert the apocalypse" type of a feel to it that reminded me of Buffy and I loved seeing everyone put aside their differences for a day to fight on the same side for once (except the sheriff who's a little shit taking a field trip to the forest on the day he knows there's a check-in for him). I'm a little sad that there's only one more episode that I think can truly be considered one of the great ones left in this series, but I'll catch you next time for that one.