Little John, knowing of the bounty on Robin's head, takes the outlaws to Locksley; however, he then discovers that his wife, Alice, whom he abandoned when he fled to the forest, is to be the latest victim of the Sheriff's plan. Robin convinces John to free him and promptly rescues Alice, then gives himself up to save the villagers. Robin is interrogated by the Sheriff, who taunts him for choosing to sacrifice himself instead of killing others.
Back in the forest, the outlaws are sceptical about freeing Robin, and Much goes after him alone; once he is gone, Will berates the others for not helping him. Little John learns he has a son, born after he entered the forest, and after speaking to him in Locksley and hearing him praise Robin for feeding the whole village out of his own home, he returns and informs his men, Allan and Will: "We go to Nottingham!"
Just before dawn, an infuriated Marian confronts Robin in the dungeon after he ignored her warnings to not interfere with the Sheriff. Robin defends his actions to protect his villagers, making his sacrifice honorable. Marian rejects this, arguing nobody will remain to protect those people if he's dead. She then belittles him for running off to war in the Holy Lands instead of caring for his own people, which Robin understands to be the reason she is resentful of him. Setting her frustration aside, she offers him an escape plan she has set up, which he objects to, wanting to reassert his position to the Sheriff, which further aggravates Marian.
Little John and company arrive to save Much's floundering rescue attempt; however, they break in just in time to interrupt the seperate rescue attempt Marian has concocted. Robin takes a detour to confront the Sheriff, and with the help of Roy as a decoy guard, persuades the Sheriff that if he ever harms an innocent to get to him again, he will kill him. The band escapes, and so Robin Hood's outlaw group is formed, handing out food and money to their loved ones.
Tropes
- Bullet Dancing: With arrows.
- Carry a Big Stick: How Robin and the others teach the outlaws a lesson. That and a timely recurve bow. Also the favorite of one of the outlaws.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Roy's mother Mary is briefly seen at the end of the episode, in which Roy leaves her a pouch of money. The character returns for a much larger role in episode four.
- Early Instalment Weirdness: This episode establishes that John has a network of people living in the forest who pass on messages and share information with him. They are never again seen or referenced after the single scene in which they appear.
- Robin refers to himself as the "Earl of Huntington" here, a title that's completely forgotten about after this episode. Going forward, he's usually referred to as as "Lord Locksley."
- Faking the Dead: In order to bluff the Sheriff into believing he's capable of killing him if he so choses, Robin shoots a guard dead in front of him. Only it's later revealed that the man was Roy in disguise, wearing a protective block of wood over his torso.
- Fanservice: Allan-a-Dale's shirtless scene (he's the only person whose shirt Little John's band removes, on account of the fact Joe Armstrong was the only one who had been going to the gym).
- Kick the Dog: As if the Sheriff hadn't done enough, he opens the episode by having a man's tongue cut out for being disrespectful... and then one an hour until someone tells them where Robin's gone. Then sits there drinking wine... when he doesn't just dump it as a fuck you to the peasants.
- Not Afraid to Die: Robin willingly surrenders to the Sheriff to protect the villagers from further harm, fully expecting the Sheriff to have him executed. While in jail awaiting his execution the following morning, he defends his position to a taunting Sheriff; "You think of me what you will. If I am to hang tomorrow, it makes no difference."
- Second Episode Introduction: He was briefly glimpsed at the very end of the first episode (as in literally the last scene) but here Little John is properly fleshed out, as an outlaw living rough in the woods, estranged from his wife and completely unaware that he even has a child.
- Slipped the Ropes: Robin, directly after Little John's men abandon him, Much and Allan.
- Telephone Polearm: A favorite among the outlaws.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Little John's men Hanton and Forrest are never again seen or mentioned after this episode.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: This marks the first time the writers attempt to justify why Robin doesn't just solve the problem of the Sheriff by shooting him dead. The real reason, of course, is that they need the character alive in order to write their plots, but the In-Universe justification at this point is that he's simply lost his taste for bloodshed. This motivation changes as the show goes on.
