Writers: Robert Kurti & Bev Doyle
Director: Matthew EvansCast: Jonas Armstrong (Robin), Lucy Griffiths (Marian), Keith Allen (Sheriff), Richard Armitage (Guy Of Gisborn), Sam Troughton (Much), Gordon Kennedy (Little John), Harry Lloyd (Will Scarlett), Joe Armstrong (Allan-a-Dale), Anjali Jay (Djak), Charlie Brooks (Ceris) & Lee Ross (Sir Jasper)
After the Sheriff disappears, a messenger from Prince John carries out the threat to raze Nottingham to the ground at sunset...After penning some of season 1's better episodes, writing duo Robert Kurti and Bev Doyle return in this much-improved second year with Walkabout. Their story takes an unusual angle, with the Sheriff (Keith Allen) waking up deep inside Sherwood Forest, having sleepwalked out of his castle...
Unfortunately for the peasants of Nottingham, Sir Jasper (Owen Turner, the second Catherine Tate Show alumni to appear in as many weeks), has arrived for the Sheriff's seal -- which acts as proof all is well in the county. With the Sheriff missing (presumed dead), Jasper makes good on Prince John's threat to raze Nottingham to the ground by sunset, meaning Guy (Richard Armitage) is forced to ask Robin (Jonas Armstrong) for help finding his wayward boss...
To complicate matters, the self-paupered Sheriff is in no hurry to get back to Nottingham, as he hatches a plot to infiltrate the outlaws' camp and steal back the Great Pact. After exchanging his silk pajamas with a peasant, he allies himself with vagabond Ceris (ex-EastEnder Charlie Brooks) and her three scallywag kids. Having disguised himself as a blind man, doing his best for his starving family, Little John (Gordon Kennedy) and Djak (Anjali Jay) have their heartstrings tugged and agree to take the suffering back to camp...
Walkabout is pretty solid, particularly because it plays out the threat made in the premiere, with the destruction of Nottingham the price anyone will pay if the Sheriff is killed "unnaturally". It's fun to see Prince John's enormous private army (erm, 10 people on horseback filmed from different angles) descending on Nottingham, and the ticking clock sunset deadline instills plenty of old-fashioned tension in things. The safety of Nottingham is never really in doubt, of course, but the threat of a town purging is nicely achieved.
Keith Allen finally gets something to do this year, as the Sheriff is generally limited to making grandiose speeches and storming around his castle. It's good to see him more pro-active in the story, particularly once his own cunning and hands-on approach almost succeeds where Guy has failed dismally many times before. Basically, it's nice to see the Sheriff written as less of a bumbling twit and with some intelligence, for once.
Once again, it's Richard Armitage who proves most memorable, as Sir Guy realizes he has immunity from Jasper's men (on account of him being a Black Knight), but can only save Marian (Lucy Griffiths) if she agrees to marry him by sunset. The moment when Guy is forced to abandon his love for his own safety, only to return and accept certain death alongside Marian, is another great example of the nobility and chivalry that lurks beneath Guy's villainous veneer. He remains the best character, purely because he has more texture and depth than the rest of the cast put together...
Robin and Much (Sam Troughton) are pretty much sidelined for this episode, left to bumble along while more interesting events take place with the Sheriff, Guy and Little John. Alan (Joe Armstrong) is similarly superfluous this week, although I liked his fruitless attempt to gain sympathy from Will (Harry Lloyd) in one scene, with the former friends re-teaming to protect Nottingham from the approaching army.
Guest star Charlie Brooks was good value, bringing her soap villainy to bare on the role of Ceris, a mother-of-three whose greed is used against her by the Sheriff. Brooks certainly looks the part of a feisty beggar, and part of me hoped we'd see more of her character -- as Robin Hood could do with a anti-Marian; someone who sides with the Sheriff, and slowly achieves social standing through devious means. But it's probably not to be.
Ultimately, there's little point to this episode, but as an exercise in reminding what the stakes are should Robin simply shoot an arrow through the Sheriff's neck, it works perfectly. Allen is the best he's been on the show, Armitage is again impressive, and the slow-burn tension works well. It's a shame Robin is sidelined so much, and Ceris' role didn't have much pay-off, but Walkabout entertained and, more importantly, it was another episode that got the drama/action/comedy balance just right...
8 December 2007
BBC1, 7.00 pm
