Robin Hood (TV series)/Recap/S03/E13 Something Worth Fighting for Part Two

The Sheriff surrounds Nottingham Castle with men and unfurls the flag of truce to give his demands. Robin and Gisborne ride out, and the Sheriff's requests are simple:

Sheriff: You have until dawn. Give me Gisborne, release Isabella, and then return Nottingham to myself and Prince John. Otherwise, you and your noisy friends, well, they’ll be wiped off the face of the earth.

To demonstrate, he launches a Byzantine fireball into the market square. Returning to the town, Robin aims to prepare for a siege, delaying tactics until the King's men at Loughborough can be alerted to the situation and summoned. Gisborne asks why Robin didn't end it all by handing him over to the Sheriff:

Robin: This is bigger than you, Gisborne. It always has been. We are fighting for the future of England. You have Isabella behind bars. That’s what you wanted. This isn’t your fight unless you choose it to be.
Gisborne: While the Sheriff lives this is all our fight. I’m with you.

The outlaws hold a funeral for Allan, whilst Gisborne visits Isabella in the cells, and gives her a vial of poison, as he believes the outlaws will show her no mercy now, and he chooses to give her the easy way out. Kate makes her way out of the castle to get word to the King's men.

Archer admits that he was the one who sold the Byzantine fire to the Sheriff; in the resulting confrontation, he accuses Robin of leading the peasants to their death. Robin decides to sabotage the Sheriff's trebuchets, and a short while later infiltrate his camp. However, as they are escaping, the Sheriff prepares to attack; he had no intention of waiting till dawn. The sabotaged trebuchets launch their missiles straight up; what goes up must come down, and the trebuchets are destroyed. Attempting to escape, the outlaws are stopped, but Archer comes to their rescue. Back in Nottingham, he hands Tuck a bottle of Byzantine fire in the hope of making some more. His long-range weapons destroyed, the Sheriff prepares to storm Nottingham.

The Sheriff breaks down the Nottingham gate, but the outlaws are waiting for him with several lines of archers, and they take down many of the Sheriff's men before retreating to the courtyard. In the dungeons, Isabella makes her escape.

In the courtyard, the outlaws prepare to respond as the Sheriff breaks through the gates. However, he has captured Kate, who was making her way back from Loughborough - with the news that King Richard has been captured by Leopold of Austria and is being held to ransom, and that the troops will not fight without Richard to lead them.

Sheriff: So what's it to be, Hood? Surrender or slaughter?
Robin: Neither. You see, I don't trust you, Vaysey. You said you'd take no prisoners.
Sheriff: Oh, yes. Yes, I did say that. Well, that was rather hasty of me. I mean, who’s going to pay tax if the villagers are all dead?
Robin: So you'd release all these people now, only to make slaves of them later?
Sheriff: Why?
Robin: You don't give them much of a choice, do you?

The Sheriff, bored of the usual "game", orders Kate killed, only for Much to drop down and rescue her; the rebels open fire. Beaten back, the Sheriff proclaims "That is the last time Robin Hood makes a fool out of me!" As the Sheriff's men fall back, reality sets in and the troops' morale dies. Tuck tells Robin that the people need him, inspiring him for one last Rousing Speech:

Robin: Loyal comrades... you know the situation. And you know that we are on our own. Now we have already lost friends and loved ones. But England will lose far more if we do not make a stand this day. And yes, some of us may fall, but our ght will live on, in the minds of those that despise injustice, in the hearts of those that cherish freedom. You are the soul of England, standing firm against tyranny for a real future. Now ask yourself, is that not something worth fighting for?! Together... for England!

The troops' morale returns, conveniently just as the Sheriff's men renew their attack. As the fight continues, the Sheriff prepares to enter Nottingham Castle via the secret tunnel, remembering just as they get there that it's blocked by Isabella's trap. He prepares to clear the tunnel with the remaining stocks of Byzantine fire.

Back in the castle, Tuck finds supplies of boiling oil, which is the base compound of Byzantine fire; with a little adaptation, it is ready for use. At that moment, the situation in the courtyard gets worse, as the Sheriff's men breach the portcullis. Everyone is drawn back into the castle, but Isabella lures Guy (followed by Archer) into the secret tunnel. In the tunnel, Archer notices a grille which leads into the cellars of the castle. At that moment, the Sheriff's Byzantine fire goes off, clearing the tunnel. Gisborne goes on alone as Archer fetches Robin, only to find it is a trap laid by the Sheriff and Isabella. Before the Sheriff can kill Guy, though, Archer returns with Robin. A fight breaks out, during which Archer is disarmed; Gisborne throws his sword to him, then pushes Robin out of the way of Isabella before she can stab him, but that leaves him defenceless as both the Sheriff and Isabella impale him. Isabella still managed to graze Robin with her knife, which is coated with Gisborne's poison. The elated Sheriff and company run off to summon an army to finish off the rebels. Gisborne tells Robin about the extension of the tunnel that leads into the cellars, and admits with his dying breath that he has lived in shame, with not even Marian waiting for him in Heaven, and he is just grateful that he "dies free".

Tuck has now positioned all the Byzantine fire he has made in the Great Hall. The rebels make their way to the cellars, and watch as the Sheriff brings his men through the tunnel to the Great Hall. They make their escape as the last of the men go by; Robin and Archer double back to the castle, and Robin fires a flaming arrow into the castle just as the Sheriff and Isabella arrive, wondering how everyone could have escaped. As Robin and Archer run for it...

[The Sheriff, believing that the flaming arrow has proven an ineffective final attack from Robin, is checking the room and sniffs some of the mixture he has found]
Sheriff: Byzantine fire...
[He looks at the flaming arrow and realises what has just happened...]

The Great Hall explodes; as it collapses, one of the castle towers loses integrity and crashes against the other, bringing the entire castle down and (presumably) killing the Sheriff, Isabella and all the guards. The outlaws begin to celebrate, but then they learn that Robin has been mortally wounded.

In Sherwood, Robin says his goodbyes to the outlaws, imploring them to continue the fight. He leaves them to wander deeper into the forest; as he crawls up against a tree to die, he has a vision of Marian's spirit coming to fetch him.

Marian: I have waited for you.
Robin: I knew I would find you again.
Marian: It's time. The greatest adventure is yet to come.
[Robin gets to his feet.]
Robin: My wife.
Marian: Now and forever, my love.
[They kiss and embrace. In reality, Robin is still lying against the tree, stretching out for Marian's hand, then he falls back, dead.]

Later, the outlaws are carrying his body through the forest. Pausing for a moment, Tuck assures them that they will continue his work, and carry on in his name; then they carry on, taking the body deeper into the forest.

Tropes

Alas, Poor Villain: Love him or hate him, a lot of people cried when Guy died.
Bolivian Army Ending: Since the show was cancelled, it can be presumed that the outlaws ultimately fail, King Richard dies in France and Prince John takes the throne. This was unintentional as the producers expected a fourth series, so it is entirely possible that they intended an ending that completely abandoned historical accuracy and killed John off.
Call Back: A notable example because, having been absent all series, several of the catchphrases from series 1-2 make a comeback in the final scenes (Little John's "A good day to die!" and "We are Robin Hood!")
- There are also several references to the very first episode: Robin brushing his hand over the grass as he makes his way to Sherwood (compared to brushing his hand through the grass as he returns to Locksley), and Robin "forgetting the last man", something he warned Much about in the first episode.
Character Check: John, Robin and Much are arguably much closer to how they were in series 1 and 2.
Despair Event Horizon: The news that King Richard has been captured and no aid is coming is (understandably) this for Robin and the rebels, although they bounce back before long.
Grand Finale
I Will Wait for You: A variation; when Marian's spirit appears to Robin in Sherwood Forest, she tells him: "I have waited for you."
The Siege
Together in Death: Robin and Marian
- Obviously Averted with Guy and Marian, who makes a point of saying that she's not waiting for him.
Trash the Set: Nottingham Castle is reduced to rubble.