"If I should fail, one of you shall take my place, and Herne shall choose him."
A confession, dear readers: I watched the wrong bloody episode. I saw the first episode a couple of months ago, ahem, somewhere, but stopped there as the second episode didn't have subtitles. Now Robin of Sherwood is on Britbox, though. I can carry on. Hooray. But I forgot I hadn't seen this second part so yesterday I watched the episode after this. Today I've finally seen this second part and I can blog them both in order. Bloody annoying, though. Grr.
Anyway, there's so much to fascinate here. I'm loving the direction, the lived-in mediaeval look, yet contrasting with a very '80s mystical paganism that goes beyong the Clannad soundtrack. Herne the Hunter is fascinating. The legend isn't as old as you think, with no evidence beyond Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. But here he champions the English against the Normans, their ancient protector, his muythical arrow kept by Robin's father. Ironically, the Normans mention Gildas. Gildas, of course, was no friend of Angles or Saxons.
The vaguely pagan/devil-worshipping baron is fascinating; it doesn't feel as though this series is going to be heavily fantasy-based, but this is a world where dark magic exists. Yet so does hope, humanity and a genuinely Robin Hood feel, this time including that famous and almost cliched archery contest.
Nazir is interesting, too- a friend? He is, I believe, the accidental beginning of a new tradition of including a Muslim man from the Levant among the Merry Men. The romance between Robin and Marian is already going at full pelt, and the chemistry is great. Interestingly, Michael Praed is far from a conventional hero, but it works.
This is a strong start and, it seems so far, a strong foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment