Robin Hood 3x10 Review: Bad Blood

[corrielle]

For the first time that I can remember, I have a fandom opinion that makes me really nervous when I think about airing it in public.  In fact, if I didn't have such faith in the maturity of the people in the Robin Hood community, I'd heading over to fandomsecrets right now to post a secret containing this next statement rather than writing it in my journal.

My big secret? I loved this episode.

Before you start taking my temperature and wondering if I haven't contracted some sort of rare, aggressive, degenerative brain disease, let me explain why.


The name of today's performance: A Terrible Idea, Well Executed, or, It Could Have Been So Much Worse.

Most of the fandom outrage seems to center around the fact that it is very difficult, nigh on impossible, even, to reconcile "Bad Blood" with everything we thought we knew about the history between these characters (though railise makes some really interesting points in attempting to do so here).  Back when I first heard about the flashback episode, I was angry as well.  I heard rumors there was going to be a flashback episode several months before series three started to air, and I even saw pictures of the actor supposedly chosen to play Young!Guy. I suspected/knew even then that he was going to be meeting Robin in the flashback and wreaking havoc with previously established canon.  That means I had months to adjust to the possibility of this episode, and a week from the time I saw the actual trailer to adjust to its reality.  Therefore, I had largely dealt with my "THEY'RE SCREWING OVER SERIES 1 AND 2 CANON!" rage before the episode ever aired.  (Though I understand and sympathize with those who felt it anew or for the first time as they watched.) 

It goes without saying that I have some problems with the direction that this show is going. I think the show runners have approved some terrible ideas in terms of character development and story arcs.  And as terrible ideas go, the idea of having an episode with a love triangle involving Robin and Guy's parents where they find out from Robin's long lost father that they have a half brother is REALLY bad.  It's right up there with, "The audience will love a feisty village girl named Kate!" and "Personality?  Allan doesn't need a personality!" and even possibly "You know what would be cool?  If we killed Marian off."  Yeah.  It's that bad.

However,  my options at this point seem to be these:  I can stop watching completely.  This is not very likely.  I'm dying to see what Richard does with Redeemable Guy.  Or, I can set aside the over-arching wrongness and try to enjoy the little things.  And when I did that, I realized that for what it was, "Bad Blood" was really well-executed (rays of sun and magically appearing bows aside).  We got to meet some sympathetic, believable new people (Roger, Ghislaine, and Malcom) who made bad choices and good choices and generally acted like human beings, and it managed not to mangle either Robin or Guy's characters, which is a huge feat.

Some Thoughts on The Present.

I am very curious as to how long Guy has been roaming around the forest.  He's still wearing the same clothing he was the last time we saw him, but I don't suppose he'd be able to find spare shirts and trousers lying around Sherwood. My guess is that it's been a couple of days, though I suppose it could be as early as the day after Meg's death. However long it's been, Guy has obviously had time to arm himself.  He's got a bow and a sword now, and I have a theory as to where he got them.  Guy must have known that at some point, he might need to leave Nottingham in haste, either with Vasey or without him, so, he's stashed weapons in various hiding places in outlying areas of Nottingham, and he simply went and retrieved some of them.  That being said, he still looks terrible... jumpy and tired and desperate.

I actually really enjoyed the interaction between Guy and Robin at the beginning.  Robin could easily have killed Guy here.  He's been following Guy for miles, and though Robin taunts him a little about it not being so easy in the forest, he doesn't seem eager to kill him or chase him off.  It's almost like Robin was just waiting to see what Guy would do.  Perhaps seeing Guy have a moment of selfless compassion made Robin think twice about passing judgment on him.  Of course, Guy is running on nothing but anger and adrenaline at this point, so it's not too surprising that he doesn't want to talk and draws his sword on Robin.  And even then, Robin doesn't seem to want to fight.  It would be an easy victory for him, and yet he is reluctant.  This very easily could have been an awful, cocky, "I don't want to fight you when you're weak because that would be too easy" moment, but it isn't.  Robin just seems weary of it all.  I think there is something of pity there, as well, and I think I might even hear a little bit of concern in Robin's voice when Guy falls.  It wouldn't be unreasonable for Robin to be thinking Guy had collapsed from hunger and exhaustion. And he actually looked worried about it. Of course, he's probably also (rightly) worried that whatever got Guy might be about to get him, so his concern could be completely out of self preservation.  I like to think it's a little of both.   

Robin and Guy both react characteristically to Malcom's story, Robin in his naive, slightly preachy way, Guy with mistrust and anger.  However, I think that the way the episode unfolds, with the characters putting pieces of information together slowly, coming to at least understand what the other has gone through, worked really well.  For instance, the moment Guy realized that his mother had been in labor is really nice.  There's this strange mixture of regret and hope on his face as it dawns on him that he might have other family out there.  On Robin's side, I tend to take his "It made me a better man" speech in regards to lying about whose arrow had brought down the fire as classic Robin, but what's new is that when Guy calls him on it, Robin seems to listen.  (He doesn't have much of a choice, being all tied up and all... It seems that on this show, to make characters have any sort of meaningful interaction with each other, they have to be tied up or in prison to prevent them storming off or trying to kill each other.  Does anyone else notice this trend?)  I really do think that it's significant that Robin apologizes to Guy here, though it's a case of too little, too late.

The big thing for Guy this episode, I think, was the revelation that his parents' death wasn't his fault.  Everything else, the stuff about his brother, the fact that Robin's dad is alive... that's all insignificant in comparison.  We all knew he was walking around carrying guilt about Marian this whole season, and I've been saying since the first series that Guy seems... uncomfortable with some of the more horrid things the Sheriff does, but for him to carry around the "I killed my parents" kind of guilt for all those years... that has to leave a mark on a man.  And Guy knows it. That's why he's so angry at Robin's dad for letting him think it for so long... but behind that anger, you can see a tremendous amount of relief, and he's different after this.  More... balanced, somehow.

As for the reappearance of Robin's father... yes, it's contrived, yes, it raises questions like, "What the heck has Malcom been doing all these years?  Why didn't he come to Robin before now?" but the reactions that Guy and Robin have to this unlikely turn of events work for me. I liked that Robin didn't immediately forgive his father.  In fact, I like that he tells Malcom he's lost the right to call him "son."  That was a powerful, well-delivered line.  Of course, he forgives Malcom eventually, but that is in character for Robin too, I think.  As for Guy... Malcom seems to know how to play to Guy's humanity.  He emphasizes conscience, which is a big deal for Guy right now, and he reminds Guy that he would be saving Archer for Ghislaine's sake, and think what he might of her for her affair with Malcom, Guy loved his mother.  It was exactly the right thing for Malcom to say to get Guy's attention.

In an episode filled with brain-shattering revelations, I think it's worth mentioning that Robin seems genuinely stunned that Guy killed Vasey.  You can almost see Robin's entire conception of the world rearranging itself when Guy tells him that he was the one who held the knife and rid Robin of his worst enemy. In that same vein, a lot has been made of the fact that Robin is mad at Guy for not showing remorse for killing Marian, but he also mentions the fact that Guy served Vasey and did horrible things in his name for years... in a way, I don't think Robin thought Guy capable of standing up to the Sheriff, and Robin reads the fact that Guy did as a show or remorse, or some sort of attempt to atone for all of the things he did in Vasey's name. 

The purpose of this episode was to bring Guy and Robin together, and for me, the moment that was really achieved is when Robin asks his father, "And you expect us to forgive you?"  Ladies and gentlemen, that would be Robin referring to himself and Guy as us without batting an eyelash.  I think it is so important here that Robin uses "us" instead of "me."  It shows that on some level, he recognizes Guy's feelings, Guy's reasons for not wanting to forgive Malcom, as equally valid and worthy of outrage.  The deal is sealed, of course, when Guy offers Robin his hand.  I love that Robin, at first, assumes that Guy still wants to fight here, but when he sees that Guy is on board with helping their brother, he takes it with no grimaces or reservations.

For all that I don't think I'm going to be able to stand Archer, I'm glad that Guy has something to do at this point other than kill Isabella.  Guy needs purpose. He's got it now, and it's a purpose that involves saving a life instead of killing someone.  It makes sense that, having lost both of his parents and his baby sister hating him, he'd like to meet some family with whom he can have a fresh start.  Also, I don't think Guy would want to let anyone who had his mother's blood die unjustly. (Though he's perfectly ok with killing Isabella, who is also his mother's child, after what she did to Meg, and I'm not going to call him on that on account of extreme Meg-bias.)


Young!Guy and Young!Robin

First of all, let me just say that I adore the casting in this episode.  The kids who they got to play Guy and Robin were perfect. I wonder if they got to spend time with their older counterparts, because they both had mannerisms and expressions down really well.

Now, let's talk about Robin.  Does he act like a spoiled brat on several occasions? Yes.  Yes he does.  Is that perfectly understandable? I think it is.  Robin is (to his knowledge, at least...) the only son of a very wealthy, well-respected member of the land-owning nobility.  He's obviously got some natural talent in the archery department, and he knows it. However... I also found myself really feeling for the kid. Not that I never wanted to smack him around for being a prat and terribly mean to Guy, but... his actions are understandable.  Take lying about who shot the arrow, for instance.  I don't think that was a pre-meditated lie.  In the shock of what's just happened, Robin denies doing something that he thinks has just killed a man.  I don't even think it crossed his mind that Guy would be blamed for it when he denied shooting the arrow.  Then, when Guy is accused, Robin looks horribly guilty.  Could he have spoken up?  Yes, but I don't know many nine year olds (that seems to be the age I've settled on for Robin...) who would be so mature and brave as to own up to doing something really dangerous and then lying about it, especially when he sees how angry the crowd is getting at Guy.  He's obviously terrified, and though I think that he feels bad about Guy getting the blame, he can't quite bring himself to speak up.

In a way, Guy is right.  Robin was naive and sheltered.  Malcom didn't help this by hiding things, like the fact that he was going to marry Ghislaine, from his son because he's "too young" to handle it. So, while Young Robin is immature and a bit bratty, he shows promise.  First of all, he does run in and tell his father that they're about to hang Guy outside.  Not a terribly impressive moral act, but better than letting Guy die for a crime he didn't commit.  Second, I am incredibly impressed that Robin tells his father whose fault it was later.  He didn't have to do that.  The priest had lived, and no one was talking about hanging any more. He could have let his father continue to assume that Guy had shot the arrow.  But he owns up to it.  I also really like the advice his father gives him here, because I think that when Robin is at his best, you can see this sentiment, the idea that fear shouldn't keep you from doing the right thing, shining through.  Robin could have kept his lands when he returned from the Holy Land... all he would have had to do was let Will, Luke, and Allan die. But he doesn't. And I think the memory of this speech is a big reason why. (And that is all I'm going to say about 1x01 and this episode. Any more and I'm going to start thinking too hard about it and foaming at the mouth.)

I also like the scene where Robin is being bratty about going to a "leper's house" and Malcom takes him aside and reminds Robin of what Guy has lost.  This inability to put himself into the position of someone he already doesn't like is a trait that Robin still struggles with, and it was good to see that his father was starting to work on that with him.  However, Malcom doesn't stay around long enough to help him completely grow out of it.  I think that just as much as Guy, Robin needed his father around, because I would imagine that none of his "advisers" that helped him run his estate were as hard on him as they should have been. 

And now, for younger Guy.  I loved the kid they got to play him.  He had Guy's broodiness, his black and white view of the world, and his sarcasm, but there was also a vulnerability that we only get to see in very rare occasions in older Guy.  The scene with the two boys standing side by side with their bows says a lot about how they relate to each other.  Guy... almost acts like an older, more responsible brother here, old enough to know Robin's out of line, but young enough not to be able to correct him in any sort of useful way.  So instead, he's fed up with younger Robin's ego and making brilliantly snide remarks about how everyone only thinks Robin's the best because Robin keeps telling them he is.  *snerk*  I knew I was going to love younger Guy in that moment.   But underneath the sarcasm, Guy really doesn't want Robin to hurt anyone. He may be a bit mean and overbearing about it, but that's how older kids are when they're fed up with younger ones.  And Robin is certainly being a prat here.

This scene also makes me wonder how much contact the two of them have had with each other... a question we will probably never have answered.  I really don't think Guy has been living near Locksley his whole life, though.  It would make sense for him and Isabella to have been born in France and moved to England when Roger was granted lands there for his bravery in the crusades. (Meaning that it was more of a recent thing?  Who knows... considering there were no crusades going on at the time, for all we know, the writers are going off of the assumption that the Middle Ages were all One Long Crusade, and Roger could have been granted his lands years ago. *sigh*) 

Having done a lot of thinking about Guy's father/son relationship with Vasey, it was good to be able to see him interact with his own father. It is obvious that Guy not only looked up to him and needed him to be around, but he loved him.  A lot.  And he can't understand why Roger would allow himself to be run out of the village without a fight.  It's classic Guy black and white thinking again... if his father loved them, why wouldn't he fight for them?  He can't wrap his mind around the idea that Roger is letting himself be exiled because he loves them, and thinks they'll have a better life without him.  His father telling him to be a man, not a boy about it... wow.  I understand why Roger said it... to keep Guy from making a bad situation worse, but Guy takes it hard.  Guy's reaction when he finds out his mother has been secretly seeing his father is also very telling.  I think Guy sees caring for his sick father as a privilege, and he's angry that his mother took it upon herself and didn't allow him to be part of it.  Also, he might see it as, "If you're strong enough to care for him and watch him die, I am too."

When he finally confronts his father in the leper camp, Guy acts very much like one would expect - hurt and confused and lashing out at his father with the most hurtful words possible.  I think it's very significant that Guy only calls his father a leper after he's decided that Roger could have done more to fight for them.  (That whole scene is brilliant... especially the devastated look on Roger's face when Guy calls him a leper.)  Also, I think it's worth mentioning that Guy tells a pretty big lie here to get under his father's skin.  Robin may be a prat, but Guy is no angel either.  He tells Roger that Malcom is forcing his mother to get married.  This isn't true, and Guy knows it.  His mother has told him it's for the best, and that Malcom is a good man, and he's seen that she cares for him.  Guy has no evidence that Ghislaine is being rushed.  However, that's how Guy sees the situation.  I think he's made up a story for himself about his mother being forced into marriage because he can't deal with the thought of her loving another man when his father is still alive.  So... perhaps Guy isn't lying, but rather presenting things from his point of view because he can't see them from any other. We all know how difficult it is for Guy to step outside of the reality he's built for himself.  Still... not the most honest moment of his young life.  

Lots of defining moments in Guy's life have involved standing by helplessly while Really Bad Things happen to him.  He had to watch his father get exiled.  He had to watch Marian get traded off to another man, once. (Yes, they got her back later, but he didn't know that was going to happen at the time.)  He had to watch Prince John burn down his church in his village.  And now, we learn that he had to stand by and watch his house burn down with his parents in it, thinking it was his fault.  (Though he assures Longthorn it was an accident, I think he's already blaming himself for it here.)  And not only are his parents dead, he's now landless and homeless... and there's nothing he can do about it, no one he can rely on for help.  I think this scene also drives home the fact that even when they were younger, Robin was surrounded by people who were willing to help him, to support him and give him the chance to grow into his responsibilities.  Guy has no one after his parents die.  Longthorn chases them off "his" lands, and no one lifts a finger to stop them from going.  Guy's intense need for position and for land start right here.  If he'd had more power, if he'd been more secure in his position, he could have told Longthron to jump off a cliff and taken his rightful place.  But he didn't, and I think that he's been compensating for it ever since, trying to get to a place of security where no one can take what he values from him or hurt people close to him.


Locksley/Gisborne Love Triangle, version 1.0

Before last Saturday, for all any of us knew, Robin had sprung fully formed from the head of King Richard and Guy had come from somewhere in France.  Maybe.  At least we knew his mother did. So, I was curious as to what they were going to do with Guy and Robin's parents.  I was dubious about the love triangle, but I think it ended up working quite nicely.  Again, this show manages to pull off some excellent casting and make these three one-shot characters real and well-rounded.

I really felt for Ghislaine.  I don't think that she started her relationship with Malcom until after she thought that Roger was dead, and she seems to genuinely love both men.  That was... well done.  If she had only been using one of them (and on this show, I fear it would have been Guy's father) it would have been taking the Robin/Guy/Marian parallel one step too far.  The circumstances were different enough that it echoes the other story without repeating it.  Also, from what little we see of her, it seems that she was a smart, kind, confident woman.  (And stunningly pretty, as well... I can see where Guy gets his strong features.)  I really love the little moment between her and little Robin when she's asking him to "help" her.  It's... sweet, and idyllic and seems to indicate that she knows Robin well enough to be in his "adult I want to please" category.  Yes, she makes mistakes, like letting Malcom reveal Roger's sickness to everyone. But I think that was a mistake made out of love and a great deal of emotional distress.  She makes some hard, grown-up decisions, like declaring herself a widow for the sake of her children, and I really respect her for that.  That's the pragmatic part of me.  The romantic in my loves her going into the forest to nurse Roger even though she's about to marry someone else.  Sometimes things aren't simple. I think she gets that, and is making the best of a very tangled situation. 

Now, as for Malcom... I have mixed feelings here.  His leaving at the end was ridiculous, but necessary for the plot of the show.  Before that, though, I actually liked him a lot.  He seems to have a sense of fairness, which comes out when he throws his authority around for Guy's sake when Longthorn is about to hang him.  He also seems to be a good father to Robin... reminding his young, somewhat spoiled son that there's more to being a leader than talent and ego. He also tried to do the "right thing" and stay away from Ghislaine after Roger came back.  I think that shows a lot of honor on both of their parts. Finally, He seems to truly love Ghislaine and want what's best for her, and for Guy and Isabella as well.   He does seem to be planning to preserve Guy's inheritance when he talks about the future with Ghislaine... it wouldn't have been difficult for him to take it all back for Robin's sake.  But he doesn't.  Yes, he makes some bad choices, but they were choices based on love and concern.  I don't know much about how the families of lepers were treated historically, but if it's as bad as Malcom is making it out to be, he has every reason to be afraid for her sake and for her children.  Should he have talked to Roger privately first before getting the priest and the bailiff involved? Yes. And I think that together, they could have worked out some way to hide it better until the end.  But I don't think the thought ever crossed Malcom's mind.  So... bad choice, but understandable given the circumstances.  I'm a little angrier at him for throwing the love-child, until then kept secret, in Roger's face there at the end, but I guess I could see this more as a "remember your newborn and get out of the burning building" thing directed at Ghislaine than an attempt to hurt Roger.

That... brings me to Guy's father. Roger of Gisborne is... amazing.  We don't get to know very much about him, but in what we do get to see, he does some things that make him a pretty fantastic human being.  He is a good, kind man who loved his wife, loved his children, and had the maturity to think of their future when he was gone.  I was ready for some anger on his part when he found out about the affair, and the calm, understanding way he took it blew me away.  It also breaks me to think that if he'd been allowed to die in peace, some of that understanding might have rubbed off on Guy. It's blatantly obvious that Guy would have been a better person if he'd gotten to spend more time with him... Anyway.  Roger takes the shame of being exiled upon himself, practically forces his wife to declare herself a widow, and is willing to go die in a leper colony until he thinks that his wife is being taken advantage of.  I don't think one can get much more self sacrificing.  However, the big thing he does that earns him my infinite respect is this:  He has the chance to kill Malcom, and he doesn't do it.  (And did anyone else think that for a man with leprosy, Guy's dad is a kickass swordsman?)  Think about this.  Malcom has fathered a child with his wife.  He's the one who was responsible for revealing the leprosy.  He's just killed Ghislaine, and Roger has him at the point of his sword and lets him go.  He doesn't want revenge. He wants to mourn his wife.  (I know I talk about things that break me all the time... but the continuity of Roger holding Ghislaine and Guy holding Meg and Marian really did make me feel like I'd been punched in the chest.)

Oh, and on the subject of Ghislaine's death... I think that this moment suffers from the show's reluctance to show real violence/blood.  I've watched that moment a couple of times, and I think that Malcom hit her in the nose with either the pommel of his sword or his elbow, and he hit her hard enough to kill her. I think I remember reading that one can die from that if one gets hit at the right angle with enough force... it was just bad luck that Malcom happened to do it on accident.  There's no way she died from falling straight back like she does.  Also, we have to take into account that she's still recovering from giving birth less than a week earlier at this point... and the show seems to indicate that it wasn't an easy delivery. 

Places where they missed the boat.

Longthorn should have been Vasey.  It would have explained the timeline issue from "The Taxman Cometh," and unless they have a better Vasey backstory planned, I will continue to be disappointed.  If he had been Vasey, it would have expalined how he knows what Guys weaknesses are, and he could have used them to scheme to get power back after he was dismissed... *sigh* Such a wasted opportunity.

I want to know what village most of the action took place in. Was it Locksley?  I was under the impression that it was a village attached to Gisborne manor.  Or was Gisborne manner just that... a manor with no village?  Just some land worked by neighboring peasants?  That's not the impression I got from the episode.  I got the impression that the village was under the Gisborne family's control. So, how is Robin the best shot in Guy's village?  Robin doesn't even live there. 

Tell me if I'm wrong, historian types on my f-list, but if I remember correctly, Ghislaine's pregnancy would have been no big deal as long as Malcom acknowledged the child as his own and adopted him as an heir.  Her insane worry about people finding out about the pregnancy seems out of proportion.  Sure, people would have talked, and it would have been shameful, but if Malcom says, "I will be treating this child as legitimate," no one can really do anything about it.  

I am with the rest of the fandom when I say, "WTF, magically appearing recurve bow."  I liked that Robin went to his mother's grave for strength. That was sweet. To have the light from heaven grant him a bow... that was ridiculous.  So... here's what I think happened.  While Robin's eyes were closed, Malcom ran by (still steaming from being burned) and dropped the bow off for him, finally having decided that Robin is "ready" to have it, then ran off into the trees with Robin none the wiser. That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.  (As for the fact that it's a recurve bow and not a longbow... I'm not even going to try.)

Malcom deciding to leave his nine year old son on his own because he's ashamed of an affair Robin wouldn't even know about unless he told him is ridiculous. I know they had to get rid of Malcom to keep up some semblance of continuity, but I could have bought a thousand other stories that would have been less made of FAIL.  That he was so badly wounded that by the time he'd healed, he didn't want to disrupt Robin's life any more. (Still horrible, but better than "I couldn't face the shame in your eyes.") Or maybe that he had forgotten who he was for a long time... they haven't had an amnesia episode for a long time.  Or even that he had tried  to come back later, but no one had believed he was who he said.  ALL OF THESE work better than what really happened. 

With Roger dead, why didn't Guy get Gisborne manor (or what was left of it and the surrounding lands)?  I know that Longthorn had tried to get the deed, but I didn't think anything official had happened yet.  I don't understand how little Robin running Longthorn off makes the village Robin's instead of Guy's.  One would think that anyone with knowledge of the situation would have counseled young Robin to give the village back to its rightful heir (Guy and Isabella couldn't have gotten too far down the road by then...).  I can understand younger Robin not thinking of that, but surely someone would have... It's like as soon as Guy and Isabella left, everyone conveniently forgot about them and their rights.

And to end on a positive note... Random things that were really cool:

The leper's bell! Historical accuracy win! (Though I'm having trouble coming up with a source that confirms the part about wives being allowed to declare themselves widows.  Anyone have more info about this? The information I've found in this school project and in the pages I can see from this book all seem to suggest that spouses were either expected to be celibate or go with their husbands/wives into exile or to the lepers' hospitals.)  There's some more historical accuracy win with the speech the priest gives at the graveside.  Turns out it's something called the "Mass of Separation" and there are two more complete versions of it here.

The leper colony is at the site of the outlaw's camp. I know that configuration of trees, and I know those rocks.  I know this may have been a choice made due to ease-of-filming, but I think it would be cool if the outlaws had chosen the site not knowing that it had once been a leper colony... (And if Will and Robin chose it for its sustainability as a long-term camp, it makes sense that others would have seen its potential too...)

I love it that when the priest says Robin will have help, Longthorn says, "What, from a simpering priest and a few villagers?"  I know it was an obvious anvil of foreshadowing, but it made me grin. That's exactly who he's going to have help from, and they're awesome, thank you very much.

Re: The Next Episode Preview.... *crosses fingers* Archer is good-looking, Guy interacts with the outlaws for the first time all season, and Guy and Robin are on the same side, back to back surrounded by enemies.  This has potential to be awesome, but there are so many ways that they could fail, and with this show's track record, I have every reason to be worried.