WRITER: Dominic Minghella DIRECTOR: Matthew Evans
CAST: Jonas Armstrong (Robin), Lucy Grifiths (Marian), Keith Allen (Sheriff), Richard Armitage (Guy Of Gisbourne), Sam Troughton (Much), Gordon Kennedy (Little John), Harry Lloyd (Will Scarlett), Joe Armstrong (Allan-a-Dale) & Anjali Jay (Djak)
News of the King's imminent return has serious repercussions; Allan-A-Dale and Will contemplate going back to their former lives, while Marian faces her marriage to Sir Guy...The end is near. Series creator Dominic Minghella returns to write an episode and the result is a more involving episode than usual, although much of this is because the story promises a major shake-up for the show...
The Return Of The King (that whirring is Professor Tolkien spinning in his grave) is a strange mix of rudimentary subplots that helps the episode become greater than the sum of its parts. I suppose we should just be grateful we don't have to suffer another dungeon rescue, but it's interesting to note that this episode barely utilizes the series greatest assets: Keith Allen's Sheriff and Richard Armitage's Guy Of Gisborne. Sure, it touches on them, but the main thrust of the story is some investigation by Robin into proving Sir Guy tries to kill the King in the Middle East.
King Richard's return provides the impetus for some character development and also seems to be effectively winding up the series. Of course, a second series has been confirmed by the BBC, but part of me feels Robin Hood should have been a mini-series with a definite beginning, middle and end. I've enjoyed the series, for what it's worth, but the thought of another 13 episodes doesn't fill me with joy, just apathy.
Anyway, the saving grace of the episode is with Minghella's sure-handed writing, particularly regarding the Robin and Marian romance. This love story has always been a focus of previous Robin Hood adaptations, but it's been curiously mishandled throughout Minghella's new series. Jonas Armstrong and the delightful Lucy Griffiths work well together and this episode only proves that more should have been done earlier to strengthen the Robin/Marian dynamic.
As it stands, everything is effectively set-up for the series finale and this episode ends on a daring note that I didn't expect (but am 99% certain will be resolved quickly next time!) The finale looks set to bring the whole Robin/Marian/Guy plot to a satisfying conclusion and this episode provides an entertaining preamble with fewer annoyances than most episodes.
Overall, this isn's great -- but it's good. There's enough freshness and developments to ensure you'll stick around to see how the series ends, but there's still that nagging feeling that once this story is resolved... would you still want to go visit Sherwood Forest next year?
