In this week’s episode of the MGM+ action adventure series, Robin Hood, the titular protagonist makes a daring visit to the royal court at Westminster to try and mend his relationship with Marian Huntingdon. Soon, Robert, or Robin, as he is now called by most people in England (although I will continue to use both names interchangeably, as the show does), also has to deal with the arrest of his uncle, whom the Sheriff of Nottingham had brought to his castle at the end of the previous episode. Episode 8 features the most action in the series so far, as Robin has a fierce swordfight with his archnemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham, while he also gets to learn about a betrayal close to home.
Spoiler Alert
Why did the sheriff take the Saxons hostage?
Robin Hood episode 8 begins with the five Saxon hostages being brought out of their cell at Nottingham Castle for a meeting with the Sheriff, who has hatched a new plan. Since Robin Hood still eludes the authorities and continues to unleash terror on the Normans meanwhile, the Sheriff now wants to make use of the hostages to bait him out. Crucially, one of these hostages is Gamewell, the uncle of Robin, who had helped him significantly after the death of his parents. The sheriff expects that the outlaw will try to save his people, especially his uncle, and so he decides to let one of the prisoners go so that he can return to Sherwood and spread the message of the law. Before letting the man leave, the sheriff feeds him his message clearly—Robin Hood must surrender within a week’s time, or else the Saxon hostages will be executed, with further repercussions to be faced by the foresters along the way.
Interestingly, while the hostage is allowed to leave on horseback, one of the sheriff’s aides asks him whether he actually believes that Robin will surrender, to which the man simply states that it will only mar his original plan if something like this actually happens. This is because the Sheriff’s real scheme is different, although he does free one of the hostages in order to send a direct message to the outlaw. But unlike what his message suggests, he does not expect Robin Hood to surrender, but intends to prepare for an attack by the outlaws on his castle instead. It is definitely a cunning plan, as the Sheriff seems to have learned to predict his opponent’s actions and toughened up, especially since he has already learned and admitted that the outlaw will come to kill him.
Some time later, Gamewell has a feisty conversation with the sheriff when he asks to speak to the man with a certain proposal in his mind. Gamewell states that if the Sheriff wants to persecute all Saxons for the crimes of a single outlaw among them, then he is ready to sacrifice his own life in order to pay for the sins of Robin Hood and protect the lives of the innocent Saxons in return. The Sheriff does not agree to the deal, as he harps on the need to maintain order and adhere to the laws of the land, suggesting that his warning he will hurt every Saxon forester if Robin does not surrender is intended only to make the outlaw give himself up. The discussion soon jumps to the execution of Hugh Locksley, the incident that had started this whole fiasco, with Gamewell questioning how the hanging of an innocent man had been lawful. The sheriff exclaims how he had tried his best to save Hugh from danger by allowing him to have a hand in the Norman rule despite knowing how much he wanted to revolt against the Norman king. He further states that Hugh Locksley had brought about his own downfall and reveals how the Saxon forester, Alwin, was the one to testify against him, because of which Hugh was arrested in the first place.
Will Marian accept Robert’s love ever again?
On the other side, Robert prepares for a daring visit to the royal palace at Westminster, both to leave a message for Queen Eleanor and also, perhaps more importantly, to try and mend his relationship with Marian. The last time the two had met, Marian had confronted Robert about all the horribly violent choices he’d made, which had caused the death of numerous people, including her brother, Aronne. She had also broken off their relationship and stated that she did not want to see Robert ever again. Now, the protagonist meets with a man named Ibrahim Al-Rashid, a friend of Little John’s, in order to arrange for a secret visit to the palace, which he enters in the disguise of a royal guard.
Robert tracks down Marian and approaches her while she is seemingly lost in some perhaps romantic thoughts, and hands her a coin that he wants to send to Queen Eleanor. This coin is a symbol that Robert, or his alter ego, Robin Hood, is ready to work with her by creating more trouble in the Midlands through his rebellion. But Marian is irked that he has chosen her to be the messenger between the two, despite her having taken the responsibility herself a few episodes back, although she did not know of her lover’s true identity at the time. Once the official task is done, Robert asks Marian to clearly tell him that she does not still love him, as he believes that her moral judgment is only suppressing her real feelings for him.
Marian deals with the question rather bluntly, though, stating that they are beyond the stage of questioning each other if they have love between them, for Marian no longer wants to love or be with Robert because of his violent and problematic choices. She reiterates her earlier wish of not seeing Robert ever again, and this time she seems to be even more resolute. This is evident from the fact that she does not hesitate to throw the small dried marigold flower, seemingly from the time when she and Robert had first met, that Robert had left for her at her chamber, into the fire. This marks an end to a chapter in Marian’s romantic life, it seems, as she probably prepares herself to open a new one.
Thus, when Prince John asks her hand for a dance at a ball at the royal palace some time later, Marian does not refuse him, and she rather enjoys herself. She is also directly told to forget about Robert by her close friend, Priscilla, who has also now become a part of the royal court. Priscilla is now in a serious relationship with William Marshal, who has genuine plans of marrying her eventually. For this reason, Priscilla has to face the indirect wrath of Celine De Fitzou, who is understandably irked by the situation, as she had been sleeping with William before his visit to Nottingham. As a result, Celine and Priscilla exchange some really feisty insults in the episode, but the latter is obviously far too accustomed to facing challenges in her path. As of now, Marian does not seem keen on ever accepting Robert’s love again, and both she and Priscilla are seemingly on the path to holding significant positions in the royal court.
Did Robin Hood rescue the Saxon hostages?
When Robin returns to Sherwood, he first learns of what had taken place a few nights ago, when the Sheriff’s men arrested Uncle Gamewell and four other Saxon elders in retaliation to his attack on Lord Warwick. The protagonist almost immediately takes the decision to try and save his uncle and the others from danger, since Gamewell is an innocent man who had no part to play in his illegal activities. As Robin sits with his group to discuss a plan, he realizes that the castle at Nottingham had been built by Saxons after all, since the building has existed from before the Normans took over, meaning that they can easily find out about hidden entrances at the place. Furthermore, Milange shares his knowledge about all the corridors and the exact layout inside the castle, all of which he knows from his years serving the Sheriff. Therefore, a brave plan of attack is hatched, the main and only purpose of which would be to rescue the Saxon hostages.
As Robin and his men sneak into the castle and bring down the guards, they manage to reach the holding cells and open the gate, freeing all the Saxon prisoners. But as they try to make their way out of the place, numerous guards suddenly spring into action, led by the sheriff himself, who had been preparing for such an attack. The Sheriff of Nottingham had predicted that Robin Hood and his Merry Men would surely come to rescue the Saxons, and so he is now ready to fight back. Serious action follows, with many of the Merry Men having to fight their way out of the castle, while Henry Miller finally falls, as he is fatally wounded by a guard. Ultimately, Henry, or rather his dead body, as he dies in the next few minutes, has to be left behind inside the castle as his siblings and the others have to rush out to save themselves.
Meanwhile, Robin Hood is chased by the Sheriff of Nottingham, who wants to put an end to the matter already, and the two have a fierce swordfight on the roof of the building. It is only because of Ralph, or Rosemary, as she has now finally assumed her real identity, that Robin survives, as she intervenes at the right moment and shoots the Sheriff in his arm. She and Robin then manage to escape the castle along with their friends and the Saxon prisoners, but the Sheriff is rather happy about it. He quickly reveals to his aides that he had coerced one of the prisoners into turning into a spy for him, meaning that the authorities will now receive inside information straight from inside Robin Hood’s camp, which will help the Sheriff finally bring the outlaw down.
What will be the repercussions of the attack at Nottingham?
The attack at Nottingham Castle is bound to have severe repercussions, starting with the fact that although Robin and his men manage to free the prisoners, they are unaware of how the Sheriff has now planted a spy among them. One of the freed hostages is clearly seen taking note of things back at Robin Hood’s camp, meaning that he is soon about to send all this information back to the Sheriff. It might also be that the spy will ultimately switch allegiance once again in the near future and help Robin strike back at the Sheriff. At the camp, Robin and his Merry Men hold a solemn funeral for their fallen comrade, Henry Miller, and Rosemary is particularly affected. With tearful eyes, she admits to Robin that she finally understands how he feels about having lost a family member in an unjust manner. Rosemary now vows to walk the same path as Robin, with only one intention—to kill the Sheriff of Nottingham, whom she holds responsible for her brother’s death. Meanwhile, back at Westminster, Queen Eleanor finally writes a letter to Prince Richard, informing him of the tumultuous situation in England and urging him to return to the country and sort the matter out quickly. She is still extremely determined to put Richard on the throne instead of John after her husband’s death, and the race for succession will seemingly heat up in the last two episodes of Robin Hood.
Does Robert kill Alwin out of vengeance?
In Robin Hood episode 8’s ending, Robert finally learns the truth about how his father had been betrayed by one of the Saxon foresters, whom Hugh had trusted as his own kin. Gamewell shares what he has learned from the sheriff about Alwin having provided the crucial testimony on the basis of which Hugh had been arrested. Robert is absolutely livid, and he immediately rides to Sherwood to confront Alwin. The man does not deny the allegations, and rather confirms them by stating that he did not have much choice and had been forced into providing testimony, which is not true. Robert wants to punish him by taking his life, but the elders at the place stop him from doing so and give him better counsel.
Taking revenge in such a brutal manner will only cause people to question Robert’s true intentions, and he will end up losing support for a hasty and wrong decision. Despite his desire to avenge the wrongs against his father, Robert does stop himself in time and starts turning away. But just then, Alwin makes a last-ditch attempt to grab hold of an ax to launch his own attack on the outlaw leader, possibly hoping to get some more money and commendation from the Normans by getting rid of their problem. Robert obviously has faster reflexes, though, as he stops Alwin with a well-placed arrow to his chest, finally killing the deceitful man. Robert leaves after stating that Alwin had deserved such a fate, suggesting both his act of betraying Hugh Locksley and also trying to attack him at present. Whether this act might also have some repercussions on Robin Hood and his group will have to be seen in the last two episodes of this season.
