Writer: Julian Unthank
Director: Matthew EvansCast: Jonas Armstrong (Robin), Lucy Griffiths (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), Ralf Little (Joseph), Michael Elwyn (Sir Edward), Jonathan Readwin (Luke Scarlett), Sean Murray (Dan Scarlett) & Bethany Turner (Sarah)
Pestilence descends on Nottingham, so part of the town is quarantined by the Sheriff. Meanwhile, Will Scarlett's father and brother arrive in Sherwood Forest, and aren't quite so convinced a pestilence is to blame...One criticism of Robin Hood last year was its bright, sunny atmosphere and cheery disposition -- something which hasn't quite vanished in season 2, but there are more slithers of darkness to in the mix. Here, The Angel Of Death focuses on that staple of Middle Age life: plague.
The plague is grisly stuff for tea-time family viewing, so it's predictably watered-down for family consumption. Instead of frightening horror, it's the kind of plague that can be treated in seconds by rubbing antidote on your lips and always has a comically-delayed reaction time if you're one of the main characters.
As is customary on the show, family members of the "gang" arrive to signal another adventure -- this time in the shape of Will Scarlett's father Dan (Sean Murray) and brother Luke (Jonathan Readwin.) Dan's not keen on his son being an outlaw, not when the family carpentry business awaits him in Scarborough(!), but Will's adamant he wants to stay fighting alongside Robin (Jonas Armstrong)...
In one of the show's more surprising moments, Dan is quickly murdered by the Sheriff's men after speaking out about the supposed pestilence that has struck Nottingham. It appears the pestilence is actually a chemical weapons test, meant for King Richard upon his return from the Crusades. The master poisoner behind everything is Joseph, a religious nut hired by the Sheriff, played by the nonthreatening Ralf Little -- whose performance is more wooden than Nottingham's gallows. Joseph has been posing as the Nightwatchman and delivering "poison pies" to the residents of Pine Street -- the rotter!
The Sheriff (Keith Allen) quarantines Pine Street with make-shift wooden fences -- trapping Robin, Djak (Anjali Jay) and Little John (Gordon Kennedy) inside to die with the infected. Meanwhile, Will goes rogue to avenge his father's death, and traitorous Alan-a-Dale (Joe Armstrong), entrusted with delivering a message from Robin to Roger of Stoke, lets slimy Guy (Richard Armitage) in on his secret mission...
I still don't believe Alan would help Guy just for monetary gain, particularly after witnessing the Sheriff and Guy's evil schemes first hand, but having a mole in Robin's camp has certainly added a good recurring undertone to season 2.
It's also nice to see Will (Harry Lloyd) get something to do, as Lloyd is a particularly strong actor who's never been given much to do. You could say the same for most of the gang, truth be told. Will's particularly fun to watch in avenging mode later on, singlehandedly doing a damned sight better job than he does as part of a team!
For the second week running, Marian (Lucy Griffiths) is kept in the background, without being shoehorned into the story if she's not needed. She instead has a few minor scenes, highlighting the fact her father is being starved as punishment for her actions last week, and enjoys a brief flirtation with Robin.
For about half the episode, The Angel Of Death was surprisingly strong for an episode of Robin Hood; its plots were swiftly deployed, tackled darker themes, and provided a few surprises along the way. Unlike most episodes, it wasn't always clear where everything was headed, which made it the most watchable storyline thus far...
However, the good work was undone by Robin Hood's usual ability to shoot itself in the foot with frustrating and stupid scenes. The Sheriff yet again can't see Robin and his gang in Nottingham's courtyard, even when they're stood in plain sight not 20 metres away! Robin continues his preternatural archery skills -- here shooting 3 whooshing arrows faster than you can blink. It doesn't highlight his amazing skill, it just makes him look like a cartoon...
Much (Sam Troughton) pretends to be dead by pulling the most obviously-fake bug-eyed, slack-jawed face this side of panto. Then, the finale's protracted death throes of the Sheriff and Joseph, poisoned by vengeful Alan, was played so much for laughs it sapped any hint of danger... and the denouement -- where Alan is shown an optical illusion of his dead father's face on a rock in the forest -- didn't tug on the heartstrings as intended, it just left you confused such an effect could be achieved in the Middle Ages. What next; will someone make a hologram out of a carved piece of amber you hold in front of a camp fire?
Still, while it was ultimately undone by silliness, the meat of Julian Unthank's script was very palatable. In terms of production alone, the wonderful sets have never looked better, and some special effects sequences of people climbing up a castle tower were fantastic. It was great to see some ambition in the series, in terms of scale and stunts.
Overall, The Angel Of Death was very good. I can safely declare season 2 is superior to the first, but it's extremely annoying when solid episodes like this are dragged down by bad creative decisions. Children like darkness and television that treats them with some credibility -- just look at Doctor Who! While I'm glad a few death scenes made it through the censor, I wish Robin Hood would show more courage when it comes to depicting the Middle Ages. The show still has the sniff of modern adults playing around in a giant "Medieval World" theme park.
Still, at least those villagers finally showed their appreciation for all the good work Robin and his outlaws do every week. It was about time!
27 October 2007
BBC1, 7.15 pm
