The new action-adventure series MGM+, Robin Hood, has seemingly ruffled the feathers of some of the audience because of the creative liberties taken, especially with regard to historical matters. More than turning things around for the better, this week’s episode 3 is possibly going to make the series even more divisive among audiences, as new characters get introduced to the protagonist’s band of Merry Men, although there is no such group as of yet. Robin Hood episode 3 also deals with Marian and Will’s experiences at the royal court in Westminster, while there are some serious consequences to Robin’s rash murder of Captain Laforce.
Spoiler Alert
What is the Sheriff of Nottingham’s plan with Robin?
Robin Hood episode 3 begins with the castle of Nottingham waking up to the unexpected return of the hunting party, with the captain of the garrison, Laforce, now dead and his dead body carried back to the castle by the other soldiers. The sheriff is informed about the tragic death, and the blame is naturally put on Robin Locksley, as the soldiers claim he had been hiding in the forest and waiting for the hunting party with the sole intention of attacking them. Because of the incidents in the recent past, this lie is immediately believed by everyone, and Robin is believed to have attacked the Sheriff’s soldiers to avenge the execution of his father. The incident leaves everyone stunned, but most affected is Priscilla, who had been engaged in an affair with Laforce and, despite not being romantically inclined towards him, is still saddened and angered by his death.
Priscilla now reveals how the daughter of the Earl of Huntingdon, Marian, had recently told her about her romantic feelings for Robin and how they had sneakily met in the forest to attend a pagan wedding. It is suggested that Priscilla really does not hesitate to throw Marian, who has been a close friend since their childhood, under the bus by revealing how she had been involved with Robin, only to hurt the young man and find him at any cost. Priscilla even goes ahead and advises her father to put a bounty on Robin Locksley’s head so that commoners can also engage in the manhunt. She states that Captain Laforce being killed by Robin is a grave insult to Nottingham and her family, since he was the captain of their garrison, and so having him captured and executed soon is extremely important for the sake of the family’s honor.
The Sheriff of Nottingham is not very impressed by his daughter’s words, though, as he coldly reminds her how she had been the one to first bring shame to her family, revealing that he had actually known about how Priscilla had been regularly getting intimate with the captain. This also confirms that the sheriff must have decided to have a stern word with Laforce about this very matter, which had been put away for a more appropriate time after the hunt. He does not want to take advice on matters of governance from his daughter, who has clearly insulted him with her reckless actions, and tells her that he has already taken action with regard to the murder. As is revealed slightly later, the Sheriff has indeed announced a 200-coin reward for anyone who can bring him Robin Locksley.
But he is also very particular about the young man being brought to Nottingham alive so that he can be hanged in public and made an example of. The sheriff tells Priscilla that he really wants to make use of this situation to teach everyone a lesson and to prove his dominance over the land. With the public execution that he has planned, he wants all Saxons to know that any unlawful act that goes against the law put in place by King Henry II will be severely punished so that nobody else among them can even think of stirring up problems. Through the same act, he also wants to establish himself as the one wielding the most administrative and legal power among all the Norman earls and nobles in order to place House Nottingham in the most superior position. There is definitely an undercurrent of distrust between the Sheriff and the Earl of Huntingdon, which will probably only get worse from here on, since the Sheriff wants to prove his superiority in front of Huntingdon. This distrust is suggested a bit more when the Bishop of Hereford, the main priest residing at Nottingham Castle, is sent to Locksley Estate with a certain proposition.
As it is believed that Robin has turned vengeful against the law only because of how his father had been executed, the Sheriff and the Bishop hold the Earl of Huntingdon responsible for the whole mess. According to them, it was Huntingdon’s plan to have Hugh Locksley arrested and killed, and although his plan had gone sideways, Hugh was ultimately executed, which made Robin vengeful and bloodthirsty. Therefore, the Bishop now announces to Huntingdon that he is to pay half of the bounty amount that has been promised, since this money would not have had to be spent if he had not plotted against Hugh in the first place. However, Huntingdon simply refuses to pay the 100 coins, reminding the Bishop that his extreme greed will soon be exposed to the world someday. Instead, the Earl decides to join the hunt with his two boys and try and earn the bounty himself so that he can no longer be blamed for inaction.
Who does Robin befriend during his escape?
Knowing all too well that his recent actions will make the Sheriff launch an extensive search for him, Robin flees the area and travels to Western Ridge, with the intention of crossing the river Trent, which will allow him to get away from Nottingham. But as night falls, he has to look for shelter, and this is when he comes across three siblings in the forest, who seem quite inexperienced at living in the wild. He approaches them and learns that they are the Miller siblings, who had lost their father at an early age and been banished by their family for a very unusual reason. Robin realizes that they are the children of Widow Miller, whose niece was recently married in the wedding ceremony seen back in episode 1, the niece having been a lover of Robin’s cousin, Will Gamewell.
The youngest of the siblings, Henry, had indecently exposed himself to this young woman, who is his cousin, and the three were therefore forced out of the comforts of their home to go live in the forest. Although Henry is mute since birth and is quite erratic at times, he is quite skilled at whacking moles, which become the siblings’ dinner and also later that of Robin, who joins them. Although the two older siblings, Ralph and Drew, are initially suspicious of Robin, they soon welcome him into their group upon learning that he is a fellow Saxon who does not care about the Norman king’s treacherous rules. They do not yet know why Robin is a fugitive, and Ralph specifically tells him that he does not have to reveal his past crimes later on, which essentially means that the siblings get roped into the conspiracy that is in the works against him.
The very morning after their first meeting, Robin finds out that Ralph is actually a woman who has only disguised herself as a man so that she can travel with her brothers and keep them safe. Soon, Ralph expresses a keen interest in learning archery so that she can defend against any dangers, and Robin helps her pick up the skill. But when Ralph is spotted by two of the Sheriff’s soldiers, carrying the arrows that are usually used by the Locksley family, they mistake her for Robin and try to capture her. In response, Robin fires a single arrow, which is enough to fatally injure one of the soldiers, meaning that he has now killed two Norman soldiers. He has to obviously make an escape with his new friends, but the intense moments spent with the Millers now make him a close friend of theirs as well. By the end of the episode, Ralph, Drew, and Henry become loyal comrades of Robin as they get into even more trouble, confirming that this friendship will continue throughout the season.
What happens at the royal court in Westminster?
Thousands of miles away, in London, Marian begins life at the royal court in Westminster, where she has been sent to serve Queen Eleanor. Her first introduction is to a woman named Celine, who is responsible for the goings-on at the palace and is essentially in control of all the maids and pages who serve at the palace. Celine is quite harsh on Marian, trying to make her feel like a lowly maid who should feel extremely lucky to have been selected for this honorable responsibility of making the queen’s bed every day. This is clearly because Celine has no idea that Marian has a different and specific purpose behind her having been selected, which we do not know much about either yet, and there are only some suggestions in Robin Hood episode 3.
Marian learns that the king and queen are not really in a romantically exclusive relationship, as she had believed all her life, but are known to sleep around with countless women and men, respectively. Robin’s cousin, Will Gamewell, is not too surprised by these reports of adultery, as he himself starts having intimate affairs with maids right after taking his position as an intern page at the court. When the two meet on a chance encounter, Will suggests that Marian forget her old life and Robin and simply move on with the new developments around her, but she expresses how it is now impossible for her to forget the protagonist, whom she has fallen in love with.
But more pressing, new developments do come Marian’s way, as Queen Eleanor makes an entry into the palace and asks to speak with her alone. The Queen admits that she has chosen Marian for a very particular job but does not reveal anything about it yet, stating that all will be revealed when the time is right. But it clearly has something to do with the Sheriff of Nottingham, who is King Henry II’s cousin and whom Queen Eleanor seemingly does not like much It is probable that the Sheriff’s increasing power and stronghold over parts of the kingdom is not liked by the Queen, and so she has selected Marian to be closer to her, not just because of the young woman’s ability to speak and read different languages, but also because of her proximity to the Sheriff, and particularly his daughter, Priscilla.
Who is John Naylor?
Robin Hood episode 3 also introduces a new character in John Naylor, a man whose exact profession is unclear, but he actively indulges in bounty hunting, and therefore enters the scene when a bounty is placed on Robin. Upon hearing of the fugitive having traveled to Western Ridge, John figures out that he must be trying to cross Trent and so goes searching in the forests around the river, accompanied by his trusted hunting dog. Without much effort, he is able to track down Robin and the Miller siblings and also manages to get hold of the fugitive without any significant struggle. John’s superior strength and daring attitude are clear from this very introduction, but what follows is simply unexpected. While crossing a stream in the forest with the captive Robin, he suddenly sees the divine spirit Godda appear in front of him, clearly telling him to not take Robin, who is now like the Son of the Forest, back to Nottingham.
John receives the message quite clearly, as he admits to having received such divine signals earlier as well, as Godda had appeared to him when he was just a boy. Although he was loved and adored by his mother, who called him Little John, his father was a violent drunkard who had a habit of abusing his wife and even killing his children, having murdered his own children on two previous occasions. One day, Little John had received a message from Godda to be brave and courageous about his situation, and this was when he had killed his father, only to put a stop to his treacherous ways. He admits that the habit of killing has gripped him tightly since then, as he has taken the lives of 10 people so far, but he also states how it is a terrible crime to kill, and makes it evident that he regrets his actions quite a lot.
Ultimately, Little John decides to give up his profession as a bounty hunter and to let go of his greed for money, for he realizes that there is a nobler task for him at hand, which is to fight alongside Robin and protect him from the Sheriff’s soldiers. Thus, he too becomes an integral part of the group that Robin suddenly has around him, of loyal friends who would brave any danger to help him. It is this very group that will soon evolve into the Merry Men, and how Robin Hood shows this development will be interesting to watch.
How does Aaron Huntingdon die?
When the Huntingdons set up camp near the River Trent, the Earl does follow the order he had been given by the Sheriff to not cross the river by himself, as that could be dangerous. However, one of the Earl’s sons, Aaron, gets inspired by his father’s reckless call to action, which essentially gives him the idea of going into the forest all alone to find and kill Robin Locksley, who had insulted his family recently. Thus, Aaron sneaks off at night and is able to find Robin and his friends as well, and he kills John’s dog before attacking one of the Miller siblings. In a desperate attempt to save her brother, Ralph takes advantage of the skill of archery, which she had recently learned from Robin, and ends up killing Aaron in the process.
This sudden tragedy breaks the Earl of Huntingdon’s heart, for despite his harsh attitude towards his children, and especially his sons, he did genuinely love them in his own twisted way. But more importantly, he is outraged by Robin’s audacity to have hurt his family once again, this time in an irreparable manner, and he takes an oath to kill the protagonist at any cost, marking him as the main antagonist of the season. The situation could also create a rift between the Earl and the Sheriff as well, as Huntingdon will now venture into the forest with his men to seek revenge, disobeying the Sheriff’s orders, which could make the latter grow cautious and disgruntled very soon.
