Saturday, November 28, 2009

Robin Hood 3.11: The Enemy of My Enemy


Spoilers...

"The Enemy of My Enemy" is the beginning of the end for Robin Hood - only two episodes left after this, SOB!! There was a lot to like about this episode, starting and ending with the fact that Guy (Richard Armitage) is front and center. If the showrunners would have learned that lesson a long time ago, maybe the show would've survived cancellation...just sayin'. *sigh* Anyway, the show opens with Guy and Robin, together again, haha. I loved all of the scenes that show them working through the kinks in their new "partnership." You of course start out with a knock down, drag out fight, which leads to lots of sarcasm and hilarious quips flying back and forth. My favorite moment of the first phase (LOL) in their partnership is when Guy exclaims that he can never ask Robin's (Jonas Armstrong) forgiveness for killing Marian because he can never forgive himself. I confess, I swooned. ;-) That moment was superb & very much longed for.

We get to see a little more of the gang in this episode, sadly though most of those moments are either annoying or forgettable. Of course Kate (Joanne Froggatt) is so head over heels in love with Robin that she'll put up with Guy. But Little John (Gordon Kennedy) throws some sort of childish hissy fit when Robin brings Guy back to the gang's hideout, claiming he now trusts him. Seriously, what is it with Little John and acting like a stupid fool? VERY annoying. However, this did lead to a nice moment for Allan (Joe Armstrong), FINALLY, who's been criminally under-used this season. Allan had such a great story arc last season it's been extremely disappointing to see how they didn't do anything with his character this year, especially since the show's ended. However, it was nice to see him go after Little John and help him escape Sheriff Isabella's (Lara Pulver). Instead of the overused battle cry of "We are Robin Hood" this episode brought out the family side of the gang - a bit sappy but nice to see nonetheless.

So Robin and Guy's brother, Archer (Clive Standen) is a bit of a rake and a ladies' man, who apparently all of a sudden has knowledge of "powerful weapons from the East." That was a little lame, but whatever. The point here is that Archer is Errol Flynn reincarnated, and I'm now in luv with Clive Standen. The way he talks, the inflection of his voice, the gleam in his eye - it's Errol Flynn all over again, and in my little world that's a very good thing. :) If you've never seen The Sea Hawk or Captain Blood, check them out immediately - I could see Standen easily playing those roles. It's interesting to see, just in this introduction, how the Archer character is a sort of mash-up of Robin and Guy. He definitely has a LONG way to go in the self-sacrificing/altruism department, but I have no doubt that if the show had continued he would have come around, in the best Errol Flynn hero tradition. (Incidentally, I just realized that Standen appeared in 3 episodes of season 4 of Doctor Who.)

Guy and Robin have decided that Archer's mysterious weapons knowledge is necessary for them to defeat Isabella (who BARELY has a handle on this whole sheriffing thing), so they head to York to spring their errant brother from prison. I LOVED the little "planning" session they had in the pub, that was hilarious. They sort of trust each other, but they still have to fight over who's half-baked plan is the better option for freeing Archer. Boys, boys, boys. ;-) When Guy is the one who gets hauled off to jail to play the "inside man," the look on his face was priceless. As always Richard Armitage played Guy's scenes beautifully. He's got a long way to go but he's finally, FINALLY, acting more like the hero all of us Guy fans have been wanting to see since the beginning of the show.

Since Archer grew up dirt poor, he's developed this "must have money" fixation, which leads to a poorly thought out attempt to betray Guy and Robin even though they're the ones who just rescued him. Silly boy. He's foolishness only leads to all three brothers waiting to be hung, but of course by this time the gang has arrived in York setting up a big final showdown. I absolutely LOVED the "money shot" moment - when Robin and Archer set up arrows at the same time to break Guy's rope and free him, and the arrows hit the exact same mark. The look on Robin's face was priceless, absolutely hilarious to see. Archer, of course, is going to more than live up to his name. It also really warmed my heart to see Guy stepping up to rescue Little John from certain death and destruction. Beneath that black exterior beats a heart of gold. I always knew this but I suppose it's to be expected that Little John would be a little slow on the uptake. *sigh*

Part one of the two-part series finale airs tonight.

7 comments:

Heidenkind said...

Poor Ruth! What will you do without Robin Hood to watch?

Unknown said...

@heidenkind - Oh, I'm sure I'll manage to survive. :) I never thought I'd say this, but moments of Richard Armitage-related brilliance notwithstanding, RH kinda deserved to be canceled. It's all gotten too painfully messed up!

However, there is plenty of British television goodness coming out in the next few months (MI-5 season 7, Lark Rise to Candleford season 2, Emma, Return to Cranford, The 39 Steps, and THREE Doctor Who specials!).

Nat at RA FanBlog said...

I liked when Gisborne & Robin duked it out at the beginning. Archer isn't one of my favorite RH characters because he's a punk. I wish we could've seen more of the gang in the 3rd season.

Unknown said...

@Nat - Losing the gang was just so silly and stupid and unnecessary. They were such a vital part of making the first two seasons a success, I have NO idea what the writers must've been thinking. Such a waste of talent and potential!

I think the only reason I'm predisposed to like Archer is because he's Errol Flynn's clone. ;-)

Nat at RA FanBlog said...

I warmed up to Archer later in the series... but it seems like it was all too short-lived. I missed Djac and Will in S3, let alone the other gang members. (Sorry, Kate was never truely a member of the gang in my mind... Tuck I could tolerate, but not so much.)
I have actually only seen S3 on YT and will be checking it out from Netflix in Jan. when it comes to the states. (Don't know if I want to spend money buying it, although I would like to see it on a larger screen with a higher quality image.) Have you been watching DVD's?

Oh, and thanks for the Spooks link! :)

Unknown said...

@Nat - Oh goodness, Kate was and never will be a "real" member of the gang in my mind. What a horribly misconceived character. Ugh!! I miss Will and Djaq as well, but most of all, I miss Allan, Little John, and Much actually DOING something worth watching instead of just whining about Robin's antics or something.

I've been watching S3 on BBC America. And I didn't preorder the DVDs, because I have S1 and S2 on DVD already & I'm a completist (and after all, I HAVE to own episode 9!!!).

And you're welcome. :)

Unknown said...

Whoops, I meant I DID preorder the DVDs... :)