June 22, 2008

Get Carter

Robin Hood (BBC America) — So when Robin comes up against the most powerful enemy he’s ever faced—he turns out to be a Crusades fighter who allies with Robin at the drop of a hat? Okay, maybe not the drop of a hat, but after a big fight, Carter acted far too willing to say, “Gosh, Robin, I was mistaken. I guess you didn’t kill my brother.” Yet, at the same time, I never felt like he’d turn around and betray them (as much did). It wasn’t a bad episode, but every time the show tries to raise the stakes, they end up fumbling without giving a real sense of danger or suspense.

And they’re back writing Guy of Gisborne as a clueless meathead. I do admire the occasional glimpses into Gisborne’s psyche the writers have tried to give us, but they still write him as too dumb/gullible/naïve. I’d accept this behavior from a character lower on the totem pole that Gisborne, but he’s the Sheriff’s second in command. He should be tough, smart and ruthless, to complement the Sheriff’s raging stupidity and quick, emotional decision-making. I have a feeling writing Gisborne this way will only get worse now that Marian’s all but joined the band.

Which, of course, brings us to Robin and Marian’s squabbling. Look, Jonas Armstrong and Lucy Griffiths are fine, but they aren’t exactly Nick and Nora Charles. I’m happy they’ve elected to make Marian independent-minded, but in this episode she didn’t come across as independent so much as stubborn, to an annoying degree. Their fighting made an unnatural escalation from “witty banter” to “seething bitterness.” Why couldn’t she be at odds with the rest of the group, too? She doesn’t fit in, and they know she’ll get preferential treatment because she’s his love thang. That would cause some resentment, yet everybody seems cool with her except Robin. As a result, Robin comes across as petty and insecure.

I wasn’t hugely fond of the “Robin fakes his death to get into the castle” strategy, either. This isn’t an example of fitting contemporary ideas into an older setting (something the show usually does quite well) so much as relying on a cheap, ancient gimmick that doesn’t amount to much. Also, I know they didn’t forget because they mentioned it, but Marian’s father died last week. Isn’t it too soon to use death-faking drugs in your ploy? If she felt anything regarding the plan, the writers didn’t let Marian show it—a huge missed opportunity to integrate her grief organically.

On the plus side, they gave Allan a decent subplot in which he tries to help out Marian by lying to Gisborne. It blows up in his face, but all’s well that ends well.

D. B. Bates is a film critic and television viewer who has often shouted at fictional characters who probably wouldn’t listen to him even if they could hear him and existed in reality. Interested in explaining to D. B. the many ways he got it wrong? E-mail him.

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