Robin Hood (2006 TV Series) - Characters

Characters

Further information: Robin Hood (2006 TV series) characters

The majority of the main characters in Robin Hood are based on the English folk tale of the same name. The show's main character is Robin Hood (Jonas Armstrong), who has returned to England after five years fighting in the Third Crusade as part of the King's Guard. He is shocked to find the Sheriff of Nottingham, Vaisey (Keith Allen), running the town with an iron fist upon his return. Robin is soon made an outlaw, and takes it upon himself to steal from the rich to feed the poor along with his gang, which consists of his best friend Much (Sam Troughton); two young men he saved from hanging, Will Scarlett (Harry Lloyd) and Allan A Dale (Joe Armstrong); the ex-leader of another gang, Little John (Gordon Kennedy); and another young man named Roy (short for "Royston White") (William Beck), who is killed in episode 4, and replaced in episode 5 by Djaq (Anjali Jay), a Saracen girl hiding under the alias of her dead brother. Robin is pleased to find that Lady Marian (Lucy Griffiths) is still unmarried. Their relationship becomes romantic on several occasions; however, she is trapped by the hold that the Sheriff's second in command, Sir Guy of Gisborne (Richard Armitage), has over her. Guy often puts Marian in difficult situations where she has to be with him to help the people she loves. The primary villain is the Sheriff, who plots to kill King Richard (played by Steven Waddington in the final episode of series 2) with the help of Gisborne and the Black Knights. He constantly tries to capture or kill Robin and the rest of the outlaws, for continuously interfering in his scheme to take over England. In the second series, Guy of Gisborne kills Marian, and Djaq and Will decide to stay in the Holy Land where they encounter Karim (played by Mark Smith).

The third series staggered the entry of a group of new characters across the series and only Robin appeared in all thirteen episodes. As the series opens, Tuck (David Harewood), a spiritual preacher returning to England, and Kate (Joanne Froggatt), a Locksley villager, are introduced; both soon becoming part of Robin's gang. Isabella (Lara Pulver), Gisborne's younger sister who is running from an abusive husband arrives soon after and starts a secret relationship with Robin. Her link to the castle through Gisborne is used by the gang while she plots revenge against her brother, but her thirst for independence, power and vengeance soon leads her to become a ruthless Sheriff and a sworn enemy of the gang. (Toby Stephens) appears as Prince John in three episodes mid-series, successfully exploiting the rift between Gisborne and Sheriff Vaisey, leading to the latter's supposed death at Gisborne's hand. Gisborne is briefly made Sheriff by the Prince before Isabella uses her influence to replace him, leaving Gisborne without power or influence, and following the death of a young villager with whom he was briefly imprisoned, seeking revenge. This opens the door to a liaison with Robin and sets up the tenth episode of the series, told largely through flashbacks, which revisits Robin and Gisborne's history. It features Dean Lennox Kelly, Sophie Winkleman, Tommy Bastow, Paul Hilton and Ian Reddington as Robin's father, Gisborne's parents and another past Locksley villager respectively, and reveals the existence of Archer (played by Clive Standen from episode 11), the illegitimate child of Robin's father and Gisborne's mother, who Robin's dying father begs them to find. Archer is Robin's equal with a bow and arrow, and this coupled with his biological ties to Robin, Gisborne and Isabella led to speculation that he was set to take over the programme's lead role following Jonas Armstrong's departure. Having found Archer, Gisborne and Robin return to Nottingham with a tentative alliance formed, setting up the two-part series finale. Allan is killed in episode 12, but appears briefly as a corpse (uncredited) in the series final episode. In the final confrontation that ends the series, Gisborne is killed in a sword fight defending the castle, and Robin is poisoned by the blade of Isabella, ultimately leading to his death. After all the villagers are evacuated from Nottingham, Robin fires a flaming arrow into the Byzantine fire stored in the castle. Vaisey and Isabella are caught and killed in the resulting explosion of Nottingham Castle. As the castle burns, Robin returns to Sherwood Forest for the last time. He says goodbye to the remainder of his Merry Men and encourages Archer to take up the defense of the people of England. Robin then heads off by himself. As he dies, Marian briefly appears in a vision to welcome him into the afterlife.