Line #34 YMMV/RobinHood


1	!!YMMV in general:
2	* AluminumChristmasTrees: Contemporary works have now commonly adopted an InTheHood look for Robin Hood, both to play off his name and because RuleOfCool -- a hooded cowl just looks a lot cooler than a dopey little hat, and oftentimes even pair with the idea that he gained the last name "Hood" primarily because of his penchant for wearing one. Though this is often dismissed as anachronistic, hoods were a common item, and the last name "Hood" ''did'' in fact originate as a surname given to people who wore them. In other words, this isn't just an attempt to avoid a ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames style "explanation" for his moniker, but is actually a very plausible origin for him being called that.
3	* AudienceColoringAdaptation:
4	** Naturally, adaptations of Robin Hood have a PopCultureOsmosis effect where most people are only aware of the tale via whichever adaptation(s) they're familiar with, rather than any of the original ballads. This actually lead to a self-referential effect, where subsequent adaptations have taken to adopting ideas first invented ''by'' earlier adaptations, and subsequently made relatively modern ideas (most prominently, the inclusion of a Moor or Saracen Muslim Merry Man) become cemented as part of the canon.
5	** Two-fold affect with Maid Marian. Firstly, her inclusion and role in Robin Hood's ballads are ''far'' more well-known than her original role as the May Queen/Lady May, personification of the May Day festivities, stories ''completely'' unrelated to Robin Hood's ballads. Secondly, her depiction ''in'' the Robin Hood ballads after she joined them, where she was a fiery ActionGirl who could fight Robin to a stand-still, was subsequently displaced by the 19th Century literary version of her, who was more of a passive DesignatedLoveInterest. Even contemporary works which have tried to restore her Action Girl qualities oftentimes still stick her as a DamselInDistress and FauxActionGirl.
6	** Even the ballads themselves ''might'' be a case of this, since it's clear from the way the oldest surviving ones are presented that they are not the ''first'' references, and the folklore of the character is apparently much older. As some mythologists believe that Robin's association with the May Games and May Day holiday derive from an association with older pagan folklore, there's even the possibility that "Robin Hood", the Outlaw bandit of the ballads, is a {{Demythification}} adaptation of Beltane's "Green Man" or "Robin Goodfellow", a pagan nature spirit, with Maid Marian herself descending from "The Maiden", the contemporary of said spirit in this folklore.
7	* AwesomeEgo: Part of Robin Hood's popularity is how his entire character more-or-less runs on RuleOfCool. He's the LovableRogue outlaw leader of a BandOfBrothers, a KarmicThief who uses his unparalleled archery skill and wits to outsmart and defeat the corrupt local authority (be it the Sheriff of Nottingham or Prince/King John), and he does it all while being a dashing, charismatic chap who's completely aware of how awesome he is. Even back in the original ballads to modern contemporary works, Robin tends to be a brash, cocky arsehole - and you just can't help but root for him.
8	* CommonKnowledge: "Maid Marian wasn't in the original ballads" has started to become this, as more people are aware of a (highly simplified) view on this, to the point it's made out that Marian was added centuries later (with some even speculating/accusing it of being to dispel the HoYay implications of the stories). It's true that there are no surviving references to Marian in any ballads or Robin Hood plays, literary appearances, or the like, until at least 1500[[note]]which, it should be noted, is when a literary reference to the two is made, indicating they were already associated with one-another before this time[[/note]], but the oldest surviving ballads date back only to 1450, so it's only a space of 50 years. She's not a "late addition" so much as "wasn't in the first handful of ballads", and this is without getting into ''Le Jeu de Robin et Marion'', the May Day plays, or Robin and Marian's role in the latter descending from traditions that go back to ''Ancient Rome''.[[note]]May Day as a holiday originates in Ancient Rome and Greece as a celebration of Flora/Cloris, a minor goddess of summer, and her lover Zephyr; in medieval England, this evolved into Beltane, where it became about another summer deity, "The Maiden", and ''her'' lover, "the Greenman", who is also oftentimes identified as the figure Pan, or Robin Goodfellow. When May Day plays became about Robin Hood, the Robins got merged and the Maiden became Maid Marian.[[/note]]
9	* DesignatedHero: The concept of "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor," since Robin Hood and his Merry Men basically mugged people who travelled through Sherwood Forest and gave their belongings to those who they thought deserved it more. Of course, in nearly every story they are {{asshole victim}}s (and their wealth is being given away to the people they are keeping in abject poverty), and this keeps it sympathetic. In some versions, Robin doesn't just randomly mug people but instead robs the nobles who are deliberately levying taxes in their own names (illegally) and giving it back to the people who rightfully owned the money in the first place.
10	* EnsembleDarkhorse: The "secondary" Merry Men, particularly Will Scarlet, Much the Miller's Son, and Allan-a-Dale, are quite well liked and popular, despite being nowhere near as well-known as Robin Hood himself, Little John, Friar Tuck, and Maid Marian, and not even always making it into the adaptations.
11	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: While Robin Hood started as a figure of English folklore, he is popular around the world, as are the many adaptations of his stories.
12	* HoYay: Robin and Little John, and really their entire all-male band. Though the term "Merry Man" used to just mean "a willing associate of an outlaw or criminal", nowadays it carries quite a bit of innuendo due to "merry" being synonymous with "gay" [[HaveAGayOldTime which underwent its own shift]], but even in the original ballads, there's a lot of implication about how Robin apparently asked every man he came across to run away with him and join his crew.
13	* MagnificentBastard: Robin Hood himself. See his entry [[YMMV/ChildBallads here]].
14	* OneTruePairing: Robin and Marian across most versions; ever since their stories got entwined, they've steadily became a solid SuperCouple, and the heart of many stories is their love for one another. It's telling that no attempts to give him an alternate love interest have worked out.
15	* SpiritualSuccessor: The source of many. For as many "official" adaptations there are of Robin Hood, there are just as many works that are more-or-less adapting the premise of Robin Hood's folklore but to different settings.
16	* ValuesResonance:
17	** The "Rob from the Rich and give to the Poor" thing, not to mention Robin Hood's LovableRogue and anti-authority leanings, aren't really views one would expect to see in ballads coming from such a conservative time period; but they line up well with modern liberalism and, to a lesser extent, more radical schools of leftist thoughts.
18	** Likewise, Marian's ActionGirl depiction in the original ballads, as well as much of her independence and the depiction of her and Robin's relationship being one of equal dedication and support, is something that is particularly popular with modern feminist views. Some would be surprised that Marian's recent trend of {{Xenafication}} is ''not'' a modern invention, but rather CharacterRerailment.
19	** American right-wingers (Republicans, conservatives and libertarians namely) like Robin Hood too as they view him as a hero fighting back against excessive taxation and an overreaching government.
20
21	!!YMMV for the [[WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973 1973 Disney film]]:
22
23	Now has [[YMMV/RobinHood1973 its own page]].
24
25
26	!!YMMV for the [[Series/RobinHood 2006 BBC version]] of ''Robin Hood'':
27
28	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
29	** Guy of Gisborne's perceived characterization can range from anything between misunderstood [[TheWoobie woobie]] to sadistic killer.
30	** This even happens within the show itself to some degree. After three series of snapping from one characterization to the other like a light switch, most of the fandom just shrugged and picked whatever interpretation they liked best.
31	* AluminumChristmasTrees: In a show with this many {{anachronism\|Stew}}s, the average viewer might be forgiven for rolling their eyes when Prince John appoints Isabella as the Sheriff of Nottingham. However, Prince John (after he was crowned King) ''was'' actually responsible for appointing a woman in the position of Sheriff in Lincolnshire.
32	* AngstDissonance: Throughout Series 1 Robin is haunted by his memories of war in the Holy Land, struggling with nightmares, post-traumatic stress, and survivor's guilt. At the end of Series 2, his beloved Marian is stabbed through the stomach and dies in his arms, something that is only intermittently referenced in Series 3 - even though she dies in the ''Holy Land'', the source of his entire first-season angst.
33	* AngstWhatAngst:
34	** After [[spoiler: Marian's murder,]] Robin goes on a vengeance-fuelled rampage. Then... he gets over it. He's back to his cheerful old self by the next episode, in which he meets his new LoveInterest.
35	** As it turns out, he's ''always'' been this way. In the WholeEpisodeFlashback, he's shown as a child, smiling and laughing amidst a group of cheering peasants... approximately five minutes after [[spoiler: his father's [[NotQuiteDead apparent]] death]].
36	* AntiClimaxBoss: Although Prince John was played by Creator/TobyStephens, which automatically makes his entire performance a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment\|s}}, it was also true that John was less menacing than the Sheriff of Nottingham and just as easily bested by the outlaws. Foppish and cowardly, Prince John is eventually run out of Nottingham with his tail between his legs.
37	* AssPull:
38	** The canopies (sun visors?) on the parapets of Nottingham Castle that never existed until Robin needed one to use as a hang glider.
39	** The writers needed a conduit to narrate the WholeEpisodeFlashback that introduced the existence of a shared half-brother between Robin and Guy. Their solution was to usher out Robin's never-before-mentioned father, who was living as a hermit in Sherwood Forest ''for the entire duration of the show'' without anyone noticing. He conveniently pops up to explain Robin and Guy's backstory to them, and then disappears just as abruptly, never to be seen or spoken of again.
40	* BaseBreakingCharacter: There was always some of this in play regarding Robin (and the show's ProtagonistCentredMorality that justified pretty much everything he did) but it took on new dimensions in [[SeasonalRot Series 3]]. Plenty of people were left furious that he moved on so quickly from [[KilledOffForReal Marian]] and initiated not one but ''two'' romantic relationships with other women. Was he horribly shallow, or just grieving in his own flawed way? Others pointed out that as soon as either Isabella or Kate asked for a serious commitment from him, he immediately ran cold (refusing to run away with Isabella, and not responding when Kate asks him to say he needs her). He notably can't bring himself to [[LastKiss kiss Kate goodbye]] after he's been poisoned, and on seeing Marian's spirit coming to fetch him, the first thing he says is "I knew I'd find you again," in a tone of profound relief, suggesting that he was only ever marking off time before he could be with her again, and never felt particularly invested in his interim {{Love Interest}}s. The way he then calls her "my wife" in a tone of complete adoration seems to confirm this. Much came in for some of this as well, with some finding him interminably annoying and whiny, and others appreciating [[WordOfSaintPaul Sam Troughton's explanation]] that he was playing the character as "an innocent who has lost his innocence" -- in other words, a {{Manchild}} who is also a ShellShockedVeteran. It also helped that the whininess was toned down after Series 1.
41	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Robin invents hang gliding. Kate invents CPR and then successfully administers it to a person whose injuries don't actually require it.
42	* CargoShip: In Series 1, the Sheriff asks Guy if he's jealous of Marian's horse. The two men are watching her from a window as she grooms it.
43	* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler:Guy's death]]. If you hated him, he dies regretting pretty much every decision he made in his life. If you loved him, he dies with a sense of pride and peace that he finally did the right thing.
44	* CompleteMonster: Season 3: [[UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland Prince John]], the [[CainAndAbel younger brother]] of King Richard, [[TheEvilPrince took control of the throne]] in his brother's absence and [[TheCaligula plunged England into tyranny]]. When Prince John visits Nottingham, he individually orders Sheriff Vaizey and Guy of Gisbourne to kill the other to prove their loyalty to him. When asked by peasants to bless a wedding, he follows up by burning down the church where the wedding is held, while peasants are still inside. In a bid to make the people love him, Prince John cuts off the people's water supply during a drought, so that he could supply them with barrels of water for them to purchase. He orders Gisbourne to kill his own sister Isabella for being a traitor, and when Gisbourne [[YouHaveFailedMe fails]], Prince John has him fired and branded an outlaw. In a final scheme to be crowned king, Prince John uses a wax replica to fake Richard's death so he can be coronated. Callous and cruel, while deluding himself into believing he is benevolent, Prince John proves himself to be the vilest character on the show.
45	* CreatorsPet: Kate managed to be this even ''before'' her introduction in Series 3, when promotional materials put her [[http://farfarawaysite.com/section/robinhood/gallery3/hires/31.jpg front]][[http://farfarawaysite.com/section/robinhood/gallery3/hires/34.jpg -and]][[http://farfarawaysite.com/section/robinhood/gallery3/hires/28.jpg -centre]] of all the cast photos, [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2009/02/27/new_friar_tuck_feature.shtml describing her as an "indispensable" member of the team]], with [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/robinhood/characters/kate.shtml a profile that inexplicably listed "her imagination" as her weapon of choice]] and stating that "[[SingleGirlSeeksMostPopularGuy she has her sights set on Robin]]". Once she appeared in the show itself, she was given an insane amount of [[SpotlightStealingSquad focus]] and [[CharacterShilling shilling]] by the writers, with at [[InformedAttractiveness least three villains and four outlaws being overtly attracted to her]]; she was the centre of no less than three {{Love Triangle}}s, EasilyForgiven after selling out Robin to save her brother, always proven to be irrefutably correct in her judgment calls, and generally treated as the most amazing person to walk the earth, despite the on-screen depiction of a [[TooDumbToLive dim-witted]], [[{{Jerkass}} unpleasant]] and [[TrappedByMountainLions narratively pointless]] village girl. The actress even got the AndStarring billing at the end of the credits!
46	* CryForTheDevil: Guy and Isabella in the WholeEpisodeFlashback are portrayed as socially awkward and ostracized kids. In the finale, Guy strokes his sister's hair, and later Isabella casts a regretful glance over her brother's body, reminding the audience that (as Isabella said earlier) they loved each other once.
47	* DamselScrappy: Kate. Kate. A hundred times Kate! She's pushy, loud and generally useless, where in contrast Marian was an ActionGirl who at least had the dignity to be right when she was pushy, and was never louder than was needed. And yes, true to the trope, all of Kate's numerous kidnappings were due to her inability to keep up, defend herself, or know when to keep her mouth shut. In her capacity as a "damsel" scrappy, she was captured by guards more times in one season than any of the other outlaws were in three. The words "Where's Kate?" could be a drinking game.
48	* DesignatedHero:
49	** Robin got worse as the seasons went on. His "[[ThouShaltNotKill no-kill]]" policy was chucked in Series 2 when it became apparent that he was prepared to kill in the name of King Richard (even if it meant shooting unarmed priests and mentally-deranged spies), and by Series 3 he was shooting guards in the back whilst ''still'' insisting that he only killed when he needed to. He also treats his outlaws like crap (especially poor Much), starts a relationship with a girl he was barely interested in despite knowing that his best friend likes her, attacks a frightened woman in her own bedroom after she's had to kill a man in self-defense, and shoots dead an executioner who was just doing his job (and ''then'' having the gall to tell the aforementioned woman that not only is ''she'' "a murderer" for killing a man who was threatening to rape/strangle her, but that ''he'' only kills when he absolutely must).
50	** Series 3 also introduced Kate, who was shilled as brave, compassionate, and altogether wonderful even though she was never anything but rude, nasty, and shrill to everyone around her, and once demanded that a terrified woman be left to be raped and strangled by her sadistic husband, stating that "she doesn't deserve our help."
51	* DieForOurShip:
52	** Whether Marian was better off with Guy or with Robin is a debate that still rages in forums to this day, despite the fact that [[spoiler:all three characters are now dead. And that Guy murdered Marian]].
53	** There was also some squabbling over the Will/Djaq/Allan LoveTriangle, and who was the best partner (if any) for Kate.
54	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
55	** Guest star Carter, a crusader looking for vengeance... then redemption ([[spoiler:which unfortunately came in the form of RedemptionEqualsDeath]]).
56	** Also Meg. Also [[spoiler:killed]].
57	** Will and Djaq managed to survive the carnage by being PutOnABus.
58	*** In fact, many - if not most - of the one-shot guest stars ended up being more popular than many of the main characters, including Matilda, the German Count, Meg, Carter, Queen Eleanor, the Fool, Benjamin Palmer, Davina, Eve, and Sir Jasper.
59	* EpilepticTrees: Believe it or not, there was actually serious speculation within fandom that [[TheScrappy Kate]] was badly written ''on purpose'' as a silent protest against how Marian had been treated in the season two finale, the logic being that the writers collectively decided “we’re going to make sure nobody ever measures up to Marian”. This is deeply unlikely since all but one of the Series 3 writers were completely new to the show and so would have had no emotional investment in Marian, and probably weren’t in the business of deliberately endangering their jobs by driving away audiences. Apparently she was written [[DamselScrappy that atrociously entirely by accident]], though it’s interesting to note that Kate’s introductory episode (which establishes most of her odious character traits) and the GrandFinale (which is filled with TakeThatScrappy moments aimed directly at her) was written by Simon J. Ashford, the only writer who ''did'' write for the show previously.
60	* EstrogenBrigade: A lot of female viewers in the fandom were very open about the fact that they were only watching for Richard Armitage as Guy of Gisborne.
61	* FanonDiscontinuity: Many ignore everything after Series 1 which is a fairly self-contained story due to Series 2 ending with [[spoiler:Marian being brutally stabbed to death by Gisborne]] and Series 3 [[SeasonalRot being even worse]] due to introducing new love interest [[ReplacementScrappy Kate]], having Robin begin a relationship with Gisborne's married sister, revealing that Robin and Guy share a half-brother called Archer, and turning Allan-a-Dale's character arc into a ShootTheShaggyDogStory.
62	* FanNickname:
63	** Robin Who? - Robin, in reference to fans who tend to overlook/ignore him in favour of Guy of Gisborne.
64	** Robin Hoodie - also Robin, a dig at his modern-style "hoodie" jacket (and the many other anachronisms in the show).
65	** Bobbin - Robin again, this time an affectionate nickname.
66	** Maz or Mazza - Marian.
67	** Will Harlot - jokey nickname for Will Scarlet, who's something of a LauncherOfAThousandShips in the fandom.
68	** Team Leather - Sheriff/Guy. Also included [[spoiler:Allan and Isabella]] at different points of the show.
69	** Gisabella - The Gisborne siblings, Guy and Isabella. Sometimes used as a name just for Isabella herself.
70	** Braid-Face - Kate, referring to her silly [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5300000/Cause-and-Effect-3x02-robin-hood-5392489-1280-720.jpg hairstyles]]. As TheScrappy, she was also known as "the Scofula Skank" (long story), "faux-Marian", and S.U.K. (Stupid Useless Kate).
71	** Preachy and Screechy - the combined force of Tuck and Kate.
72	* {{Fanon}}: As per a lot of adaptations, Marian is often given the name "Fitzwalter" throughout fandom, while Kate often given the last name of "Potter" (pertaining to her livelihood). Very little is known about Djaq's past, but due to her bearing, education, and personality, a lot of fans assumed she was SecretlyWealthy and write her as such in their fics.
73	* FightSceneFailure: When Marian punches out Guy of Gisborne at the altar, her fist ''clearly'' doesn't connect with his face. Other fight scenes amongst the outlaws were rather clumsy, particularly whenever Robin blocked a sword-blow from an opponent with his bow. ''It's made of wood, people!'' And the fight between Robin and Guy in "Tattoo, What Tattoo?" involves both actors obligingly lining themselves up for the other one to more easily punch them.
74	* FranchiseOriginalSin: The moment that the writers became more interested in Guy of Gisborne (and specifically, his volatile relationship with Maid Marian) than with every single other character on the show. This led to more and more screen-time being devoted to Guy and Marian as a potential couple, until the point where the writers (presumably) realized that they'd gone too far with it, and needed to derail it pronto. Their solution was for Guy to [[spoiler:stab Marian to death in a jealous rage at the end of Series 2]]. There are plenty of reasons why Series 3 is considered terrible, but it's mainly that without [[spoiler:Marian]], the story had absolutely no emotional center. There was simply nothing left to care about, or to look forward to.
75	* GrowingTheBeard: Series 2 is generally considered to be of a much higher standard than the first, with a more consistent tone between episodes and better character development.
76	* HarsherInHindsight:
77	** In an early Series 1 episode, reluctant hero Allan-a-Dale asks: "What is the point of all of us dying?" as a way of getting out of a rescue mission. In Series 3 [[spoiler:he dies the [[DroppedABridgeOnHim most pointless, meaningless death imaginable]].]]
78	** Foz Allen and Dominic Minghella are on record for stating that Friar Tuck was omitted in Series 1 and 2 because they "didn't want a comic relief character". When Tuck is finally introduced, he ends up being utterly humorless.
79	* HesJustHiding: There were quite a few "Marian's not dead" theories floated following the Series 2 finale.
80	* HilariousInHindsight: Anyone who has seen ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'' will know that this is ''not'' the first time Creator/RichardArmitage has been punched in the face at the altar on his wedding day.
81	** The audiobook ''The Siege'' has one of these, when Robin gets drunk. [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/8691796.stm Consider what happened to Jonas Armstrong a year later.]]
82	** Many of the actors featured in this show have gone on to work together in other projects, though in rather amusing circumstances. For instance, Anjali Jay and David Harewood never interacted with each other in ''Robin Hood'', one having left the show before the other arrived. Coincidentally, they both ended up on ''Series/Supergirl2015'': Harewood as cast regular Martian Manhunter, and Anjali Jay as recurring villain Selena -- only to never interact ''there'' either.
83	** Likewise, both Lucy Griffiths (Marian) and Lara Pulver (Isabella) became semi-regulars on ''Series/TrueBlood'', having never interacted on ''Robin Hood''. Again, one had left the show before the other arrived, but they never ended up interacting on ''True Blood'' either.
84	** Richard Armitage (Guy), Lara Pulver (Isabella), David Harewood (Tuck) all ended up as major characters on ''Series/{{Spooks}}'', where their characters -- you guessed it -- never interacted at all. In fact, Armitage's character is [[spoiler:killed off]] in the episode ''just'' before Pulver's is introduced.
85	* HoYay:
86	** There's quite a bit of homosexual subtext between the Sheriff and Guy of Gisborne. By Series 2, they must have known, as it features the Sheriff rolling onto Guy in bed, offering to kiss him, bathing in front of him, and so on. And if you think it's coincidence, his first line of the season is, with his arms spread wide, "Tell me you'd rather have a woman than all this!" He's actually referring to a map showing a large parcel of ill-gotten land, but still.
87	** And Robin and Much in the new series are a bickering married couple, most notably when Robin cradles a sobbing AntiVillain, after he realizes his personal reasons to want Robin dead are based on a lie, and Much complains, "You've never held ''me'' like that!"
88	** Then there's Allan/Will, who were extremely close during Series 1 and almost [[strike:eloped]] ran away together in the finale. Technically, both of them had crushes on [[SweetPollyOliver Djaq]], but the fact that she spent the entire season disguised as a boy certainly muddied the water a little bit...
89	** Not to mention Guy/Allan. After a bout of torture (in which Guy throws a bucket of water over a [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] Allan), Allan agrees to [[FaceHeelTurn provide inside information]] on Robin and the outlaws. Guy then proceeds to change his clothing in front of Allan, dress him up in matching black leather, and have an erotic dream about him. Even the Sheriff catches on, referring to Allan as "Gisborne's boy" and remarking, "Kissing in the moonlight?" when he walks in on them together in the dark.
90	** In Series 3, Allan (who by this stage is well and truly the fandom's LittleBlackDress) is often paired with Much. Again, there was something of a LoveTriangle between the two of them and [[CreatorsPet Kate]], but the two of them seemed far more interested in each other, and half the fandom speculated that if it didn't work out with Kate, they were more than likely to start making out with each other instead.
91	** Finally, there's Robin/Guy. They're all the other ever talks about, Robin ditches his new girlfriend Kate in order to go on a field trip with Guy, and eventually Guy [[spoiler:dies in Robin's arms]]. For a second there, it honestly looks like Robin is going to kiss him goodbye.
92	* InferredHolocaust: The series ends with [[spoiler:both Robin Hood and Maid Marian (and a couple of Merry Men) dead]], and the remaining outlaws promising to fight on in his name and defeat Prince John. The show was cancelled after this, but since history tells people that in a few years' time the prince becomes King John, they obviously failed utterly (and may well have been killed in the attempt).
93	* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler: Gisborne kills Marian.]]
94	* JerkassWoobie: Guy of Gisborne stabs unarmed women, leaves babies in the woods to die, burns down houses, and sells his sister to a rapist. He's also arrogant, selfish, and has a vicious temper that causes mass suffering to him and everyone around him. And yet, whenever anyone shows him a shred of kindness, he blossoms like a delicate little flower in the sun... the fact that he's a DracoInLeatherPants doesn't hurt either.
95	* JerksAreWorseThanVillains:
96	** The Sheriff of Nottingham, Prince John, and Guy and Isabella of Gisborne each have a pretty extensive body count, and during their lifetimes uphold a tyrannical and unjust social regime that raises taxes, outlaws poaching, and leaves the poor to starve. At least one of them left a baby in the forest to die of exposure and lied to the mother about its whereabouts. Yet they were all popular characters due to their [[FreudianExcuse complexity]], [[LargeHam entertainment value]], [[StartOfDarkness tragic backstories]], and/or obvious attractiveness.
97	** Kate, on the other hand, despite not murdering anyone and technically being [[DesignatedHero one of the show's heroes]], was universally despised by audiences on account of having a snide and obnoxious personality, [[HateAtFirstSight being unnecessarily rude and hostile to everyone that came into her orbit]], and nursing an ItsAllAboutMe attitude in her [[ClingyJealousGirl relentless pursuit of Robin]] that ran slipshod over the feelings of several other characters. It's something of an accidental example, since the writers appeared to be under the impression that they'd written Kate as nicer than she was (after appearing to ''consciously'' write her with an abrasive personality in earlier episodes), but this led to excessive CharacterShilling that naturally only made her even ''more'' unpopular with viewers.
98	*** Regarding Guy of Gisborne, Kate actually had a completely justified InUniverse reason to hate him given that he stabbed her brother to death right in front of her; but pitting a whiny {{Jerkass}} against the EnsembleDarkhorse [[ByronicHero Byronic Anti-Hero]] at the tail-end of his RedemptionQuest predictably did ''not'' pan out for her in the eyes of the fanbase.
99	* MemeticMutation: Has magnified a lot of Kate's negative traits. It's particularly the case for the forehead braid (which she only had for three episodes) and the "e keeled mah bruvvah!" line (which she only said a couple of times).
100	* MisaimedFandom:
101	** A large portion (though not all) of the Guy/Marian shippers. Despite capitalizing on the actors' chemistry with some ShipTease between Guy and Marian, the writers were very careful to ensure that Robin and Marian had a respectful and reciprocal relationship, whilst Guy's and Marian's was riddled with [[ArsonMurderAndJayWalking violence, threats, blackmail, intimidation, betrayals and hurt feelings]]. However, there is still a portion of the fandom that argue that Marian should have ended up with Guy, an opinion that can be divided into two distinct arguments: those that believe Guy was an accurate portrayal of a socially-awkward 12th century knight, who was therefore justified in everything he did regarding Marian (a view that [[JustIgnoreIt requires steadfast denial]] of the show's AnachronismStew), and those that paint him as a DracoInLeatherPants, who acted the way he did thanks to his FreudianExcuse, [[RonTheDeathEater with Marian regarded as an ungrateful bitch for not appreciating him.]]
102	** Though there are exceptions, the former group's fanfiction usually follows the basic "rape fantasy" scenario, in which Marian is forced to marry Guy against her will and then discovers that he's quite an acrobat in the bedroom; whilst the latter group either has Marian apologize for to him for ''her'' behaviour, then treat him to some [[RedemptionEqualsSex Redemptive Sex]], or cuts out Marian and pairs Guy with a self-insert character.
103	*** As for the show itself, it turned out that what the writers were ''actually'' trying to do was [[{{deconstruction}} deconstruct]] the notion that the love of a good woman can redeem a CuteButTroubled [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys Bad Boy]]. When Marian finally refuses to play along with Guy's demands and tells him that she's in love with Robin Hood, he [[spoiler:stabs her to death]], effectively [[ShipSinking sending the Guy/Marian ship to the bottom of the bright blue sea]].
104	* MoralEventHorizon: Guy [[spoiler:killing Marian]]. 'nuff said.
105	* {{Narm}}:
106	** Oh. So. Much. Actually, much of the Narm in the first two series (both of which were rather tongue-in-cheek) would probably be considered NarmCharm; but after the intense MoodWhiplash of the Series 2 finale in which [[spoiler:Marian is brutally impaled on a sword]], the fact that many subsequent episodes ''still'' include ridiculous scenarios results in a veritable onslaught of {{Narm}}tastic scenes.
107	** Special mention must go to Guy's "secret weapon" that he plans to use to kill Robin Hood. He's carting around a sinister-looking box, as Prince John's elite team of soldiers surround the outlaws. The box opens... [[spoiler:and out comes the oldest, tiniest, mangiest, most worn-out lion you've ever seen in your life. The outlaws react with terror as the decrepit beast ''waddles'' toward them at a snail's pace, looking like it just wants to find a quiet place to lie down and die.]]
108	** Robin hang gliding from the castle parapets. It's played for laughs, but it still destroys brain cells.
109	** Whenever Kate has an emotional scene, especially if she has the forehead braid at the time.
110	** The cringeworthy sight of Isabella and Kate, two grown women, getting into a CatFight (complete with hair-pulling and eye-scratching) over a man who doesn't really care about ''either'' of them.
111	* NarmCharm:
112	** In Series 2, during the death scene of [[spoiler:Marian]]. On the one hand, the build-up involves a confusing and contrived sequence of events, and the death scene itself is drawn out to an utterly ridiculous extent in which [[spoiler:Marian]] has a sword in her stomach and yet is able to carry on a completely coherent conversation for several minutes. On the other hand, [[spoiler:''Maid freaking Marian'']] is dying and the EmotionalTorque is OverNineThousand and [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt no one can believe it's really happening]] and it's the most horrible, devastating thing that's ever happened in any Robin Hood retelling ''ever''.
113	--> [[spoiler:'''Robin:''']] We have forever, my love.\
114	[[spoiler:'''Marian:''']] I hope we have forever in heaven, because we didn't get enough time on earth.
115	** Topped only by their [[spoiler:TogetherInDeath]] scene at the very end of the series, which echoes their parting words:
116	--> '''Robin:''' My wife...\
117	'''Marian''': Now and forever, my love.
118	* NeverLiveItDown: Kate only wore the infamous forehead braid for her first three episodes, but [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5300000/Cause-and-Effect-3x02-robin-hood-5392489-1280-720.jpg the hairdo was so appallingly ugly]] that she was stuck with the FanNickname "Braid-face" for the rest of the show. It remained her [[MemeticHair most memorable physical trait]] long after it was gone.
119	* NightmareRetardant: The lion. Seriously, if the outlaws had wanted to kill it, all they would've had to do was kick it over. Gently.
120	* OlderThanTheyThink:
121	** The idea of Gisborne murdering Marian was one of the ideas for the cancelled fourth series of ''Series/RobinOfSherwood''.
122	** ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'' had Guy and Robin (actually [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute the second one]]) as half-brothers. And the idea of a Middle Eastern outlaw started with that show.
123	** This Marian likes to dress up in disguise and go gallivanting around the countryside; in one of the very earliest [[http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/maid.htm ballads]] that featured Marian, she dresses up in disguise and fights Robin to a standstill in Sherwood Forest.
124	%%* OneSceneWonder: Or rather, one episode wonder; [[MeaningfulName Legrande]].
125	* OneTruePairing: Guy and Marian may have been the FanPreferredCouple, but not even [[TogetherInDeath death was going to prevent Robin Hood and Marian]] from taking this crown.
126	* QuestionableCasting:
127	** Creator/CharlieBrooker felt that the 24-year-old Jonas Armstrong was too young-looking to have fought in the Crusade.
128	--->This Robin is so young-looking, I kept excepting him to whip out his camera phone during the battle scenes to take pictures for his [=MySpace=] page.
129	** This was largely avoided with Creator/DavidHarewood as Brother Tuck, considering that other black actors had already appeared on the show as minor guest stars without much comment. However, there was considerable confusion at the casting of Joanne Froggatt as Kate, who was a thirty-year-old woman playing the part of a character that was seemingly written for a much younger actress. Though the actual age of Kate is never stated, there are various indications that she was meant to be a teenager (the casting of a mother who didn't look much older than she did, the way Robin refers to her as "young lady" when they first meet, the rather childish behavior she exhibits throughout), leading to the fandom theory that the character ''was'' originally conceived as a TagalongKid, only for the show to cast Joanne Froggatt (she being an already-established actress and perhaps considered something of a drawcard) and not bother to modify the scripts to suit her more mature age. This only added to the unpopularity of the character, who (on [[ReplacementGoldfish top]] [[TheLoad of]] [[FauxActionGirl everything]] [[ClingyJealousGirl else!]]) now came across as an odd WomanChild that the outlaws really had no reason to keep around.
130	* ReplacementScrappy:
131	** In the leadup to Series 3, it was announced that a "feisty village girl" called Kate would be joining the outlaws, and fandom's hackles immediately went up. It soon became apparent that she was replacing not only Marian (as Robin's LoveInterest), but also Will Scarlett (as a representative of the common folk) and Djaq (as the TokenGirl of the gang, though with none of her predecessor's combat training or medical skills). And because Much immediately falls for her, she was technically ''also'' a replacement for Eve, a season one GirlOfTheWeek that shared a sweet romance with Much after her HighHeelFaceTurn, and whom he promised to find once the fighting was over.
132	** It was hard not to feel a ''little'' sorry for someone who had to fill the shoes of FOUR very popular and deeply missed characters, but then Kate debuted and... well, see TheScrappy entry below. Let's face it, any [[CanonForeigner original female character]] who is brought in for the [[SatelliteLoveInterest sole purpose]] of replacing the legendary Maid Marian as Robin Hood's love interest is '''doomed''' to be despised for the crime of not being Marian. Why did the writers even ''try''?
133	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Meta example. Joanne Froggatt was never given the chance to rescue Kate from the Scrappy Heap, but she went on to portray the immensely popular Anna in ''Series/DowntonAbbey'', a character that bears several passing similarities to Kate.
134	* RetroactiveRecognition:
135	** Ironically, many of the regular actors from the widely-derided Series 3 are the ones that went on to greater success in other projects: David Harewood is now better known as Martian Manhunter on ''Series/Supergirl2015'', Lara Pulver played Irene Adler in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', Joanne Froggatt is Anna on ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' and Clive Standen is better recognized now as Rollo on ''Series/{{Vikings}}''. Toby Stephens was already fairly well-established as an actor, though his best known genre roles have since become Captain Flint in ''Series/BlackSails'' and John Robinson in ''Series/LostInSpace2018'', and Richard Armitage went on to greater fame as Thorin Oakenshield in ''Film/TheHobbit.''
136	** Among the multitude of guest stars that appeared on the show, most recognizable is Creator/HollidayGrainger as Meg, who is perhaps best known now for playing Lucrezia Borgia on ''Series/TheBorgias'' and Robin in ''Series/Strike2017'', though she’s appeared in dozens of British period dramas over the years.
137	** Series 1 also features an early appearance from Nikki Amuka-Bird, now a well-established character actress.
138	* RomanticPlotTumour:
139	** Despite the [[StrangledByTheRedString abrupt nature]] of the Robin/Isabella hook-up, it at least served a purpose in providing Isabella with [[WomanScorned motivation]] to eventually turn on Robin and become the BigBad of Series 3. But as for Robin and Kate...? Kate spends the greater part of Series 3 aggressively pursuing Robin, becoming a ClingyJealousGirl whenever Isabella is around, and eventually interrupting missions in order to make her interest known. [[ShipperOnDeck Little John urges Robin to hook up with her]], [[RomanticRunnerUp Much gives his blessing despite liking Kate himself]], and most of the penultimate episode is once again spent on the Isabella/Robin/Kate LoveTriangle, with Isabella trying to trick Kate into believing Robin is still romantically attached to her. The writers seemed ''desperate'' for the audience to root for Robin and Kate, taking every available opportunity to [[CharacterShilling shill her]] as the perfect match for him - and yet three episodes after their RelationshipUpgrade, Robin is fatally poisoned, can barely even ''look'' at Kate when she angles for a LastKiss, and promptly goes on to get a DiedHappilyEverAfter scene with Marian. It's impossible to grasp just what the ''point'' of Robin/Kate was, especially given the vast amount of narrative space that was spent on trying to make it feel relevant.
140	** Likewise, poor Much is instantly besotted with Kate, does little else in Series 3 but try to win her over, takes a TenMinuteRetirement when it becomes apparent she's interested in Robin, and then sadly accepts the Robin/Kate pairing with no further ado. Again... what was the ''point''?
141	* RonTheDeathEater:
142	** What usually happens to Robin in Guy/Marian fanfic. Amusingly enough, by making Robin a jealous, self-centred, possessive, egotistical, violent man in order to consolidate Guy/Marian, Robin ends up being indistinguishable from canon!Guy.
143	** Due to her nature as TheLoad, TheMillstone, and a FauxActionGirl, and general [[TheScrappy Scrappiness]], fandom tends to blame Kate for several things that aren't really her fault. The shibboleth that she joins the outlaws "despite never actually being outlawed" was a popular one even though, despite the episode where she gets outlawed being arguably a little unclear, she ''is''; she is blamed for ruining Tuck's peaceful protest in "Something Worth Fighting For" even though Isabella had already opened fire on them before she turned up; and King Richard's reinforcements not coming to the siege on Nottingham Castle tends to be painted as somehow being her fault, since she was the one who went to get them (and got captured on her return), when it was hardly her fault that Richard was kidnapped, and the fact that no help was coming was, even if not what they wanted to hear, important information the outlaws really needed to know.
144	* RootingForTheEmpire: A lot of people enjoyed the antics of Team Castle over those of Robin and the outlaws.
145	* TheScrappy:
146	** The woefully misconceived Kate. Already pegged as an unworthy ReplacementScrappy to Marian before her debut, she was ultimately a perfect storm of terrible characterization that earned her the seething ire and resentment of the fanbase: a FauxActionGirl, DamselScrappy, SatelliteLoveInterest, TerritorialSmurfette, ClingyJealousGirl, CreatorsPet and TheLoad (often veering into TheMillstone), who was TooDumbToLive and constantly [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike Complaining About Rescues She Didn't Like]], [[SpoiledBrat with an abrasive]], [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed personality]] and a firm grip on the DistressBall. Bestowed with MoralLuck that justified her IrrationalHatred for the show’s only other female character, InformedAttractiveness that made her the object of desire to almost the entire male cast, and [[SpotlightStealingSquad shoehorned into various storylines whether or not it made any sense]], she had no real narrative purpose beyond being the TokenGirl, VictimOfTheWeek, and the focus of several pointless [[LoveTriangle Love Triangles]] – including a RomanticPlotTumour with Robin. Plus [[http://farfarawaysite.com/section/robinhood/gallery3/hires/125.jpg a ridiculous hairstyle]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking that nobody could take seriously]].
147	** [[FridgeLogic Some things about her character just didn't make sense]], [[NewNeighboursAsThePlotDemands like how Robin couldn’t recognize her as one of his own serfs]] despite being on a FirstNameBasis with every other Locksley villager, or how she was seemingly written as a BrattyTeenageDaughter despite being played by an actress nearing thirty, or the insane levels of CharacterShilling that were lavished upon her. Neither did the writers bother to give her any useful skills to contribute to the team dynamic, writing her as the DesignatedVictim in nearly every episode, undergoing endless kidnappings, injuries and hostage situations just to give her something to do. Often the attempts to make her less of a DamselInDistress backfired just as badly, with ludicrous scenes in which she spontaneously invents CPR to save Robin's life, [[CharacterShilling gets wildly overpraised for completing simple tasks]], or overpowers an armored man on horseback by pushing him with her bare hands. [[WTHCostumingDepartment Even her costume made no sense!]] If nothing else, she exists as the perfect case study of what NOT to do with a female character.
148	*** Tuck wasn't that popular either. Though he had least had the advantage over Kate of actually ''being'' in the legends upon which the show was based, it was abundantly clear that the writers introduced him without really knowing what they planned to do with him. After the first episode of Series 3 (in which he convinces Robin to return to the fight against injustice), he really doesn't do anything substantial. It might not have been so bad except that the writers would often focus on Kate and Tuck at the expense of the other outlaws (Much, Allan, John) who had been around since the beginning of the show and were now being [[SpotlightStealingSquad shoved aside in order to accommodate the newcomers]]. Thus Kate and Tuck not only got two character-centric episodes revolving around them, but were made out to be the two most important and trusted members of Robin's gang (Tuck taking John's place as TheLancer, and Kate nudging out Much as Robin's {{Sidekick}}, as well as his new LoveInterest) with no justification whatsoever.
149	*** Kate's mother Rebecca was also universally disliked on account of her constant complaining, illogical blaming of Robin for the death of her son Matthew, and her part in a time-wasting subplot in which Robin is MistakenForCheating due to her complicity in one of Isabella's machinations. However, the hate wasn't quite as vitriolic in her case, as she only appeared in four episodes and was obviously ''deliberately'' [[IntendedAudienceReaction being written as an unlikeable scold]].
150	* SeasonalRot: A number of contributing factors ensured that Series 3 not only earned the hatred of the fans, but the cancellation of the show. The new writers apparently didn't bother to watch the previous two seasons, which resulted in multiple sins: the [[AbortedArc dropping of long-term storylines]] from the show; the complete lack of mention of Will Scarlett and Djaq (who were abandoned in the Holy Land); the reimagining of Tuck as a MagicalNegro; the introduction of the horrid Kate as a love interest for Robin; the reduction of the outlaws into bit parts (whose only job was to babysit [[TheLoad Kate]] and [[CreatorsPet talk about how great she was]]); the abandonment of the "rob from the rich/give to the poor" premise; the painful introduction of Guy and Robin's mutual [[LongLostRelative half-brother]] in an attempt to set up Robin Hood as a LegacyCharacter for a proposed Series 4; and finally, the mass exodus of all but two of the original cast members (who were removed via some of the [[DroppedABridgeOnHim worst deaths conceivable]]), who certainly weren't shy about voicing their displeasure at the direction the show had taken.
151	* ShippingBedDeath: Notably {{averted}} since the writers seemed to live in absolute ''terror'' of this trope. The LoveTriangle of Robin, Marian and Guy is resolved when [[spoiler:Guy murders Marian]] after finally learning that she loves (and has married) Robin. Will and Djaq are permanently written out of the show an episode after they become an OfficialCouple. Robin and Isabella are a couple for three episodes before it [[DerailingLoveInterests implodes]]. Robin and Kate's relationship lasts four episodes (which covers approximately three days, tops) before it too ends with [[spoiler:Robin's death]]. The idea of portraying a committed and healthy relationship between two people for a sustained period of time was completely beyond the reach of this show.
152	* SoBadItsGood: To some viewers. According to ''Series/DeadRingers'':
153	--> ''"And now on BBC One with a brand new series of Robin Hood: where we've taken a much-loved classic tale, given it a pithy 20th century makeover, and made it shit."''
154	* SpecialEffectFailure: The lion (although to be absolutely fair, the director does try his best to work around the fact that it's the most harmless, half-dead specimen imaginable).
155	* StrangledByTheRedString: Will and Djaq's relationship is given subtle foreshadowing throughout Series 2, but it leads to a declaration of love that was considered too sudden, too [[{{Narm}} corny]], and completely out of character for both of them in what is widely known as the [[FanNickname Barn Scene of Ick]] .
156	** Robin and Isabella's first meeting is accompanied by a musical cue that's about as subtle as an anvil drop, and the episode concludes in a {{Narm}}tastic scene in which Robin confronts her about the fact that she's Gisborne's sister. He grabs her by the face, pushes her back into a tree, and acts so betrayed and angry that looks as though he's angsting over a woman he's been dating for three months instead of someone he's known for approximately five minutes.
157	*** Much's immediate and inexplicable infatuation with Kate.
158	* TakeThatScrappy:
159	** Robin decides to work with Isabella, resulting in a snide "She always gets what she wants" remark from Kate. Robin irritably snaps, "Just leave it, Kate!" Unfortunately, Kate is eventually proved irrefutably right in her insistence that Isabella can't be trusted, and gets to say "Maybe next time you'll listen to me" and "I told you so," as well as receive an influx of CreatorsPet-shilling when Little John calls her "a treasure" and Robin tells her that she's "brave, compassionate and beautiful" before making out with her. This is ''after'' Kate [[DesignatedHero demands that Isabella be left to get raped and strangled at the hands of her abusive husband.]] Still, Robin's "shut up" was nice while it lasted....
160	** Several episodes later, though, when Guy joins the team, he calmly informs Kate: "You don't have to like me. ''I'' don't like ''you.''"
161	** In the GrandFinale, Robin discovers [[spoiler:that he's been fatally poisoned]]. Kate attempts to give him a LastKiss, but he deliberately turns his face away, and a few moments later [[spoiler:is [[TogetherInDeath reunited with Marian]]]]. Kate has to settle for a one-armed hug, and when Robin leaves to [[spoiler:[[DyingAlone die alone]]]], he ''doesn't even look back''.
162	** In that same scene, there's something of a meta example. During his PreSacrificeFinalGoodbye, Robin exchanges words of thanks and encouragement with each of the remaining outlaws. But when he gets to Kate... she's not given any dialogue. Perhaps the writer didn't want her to [[CuteButCacophonic spoil the moment]] by actually ''saying'' something.
163	*** The scene is also deliberately staged so that Robin farewells the outlaws in order of their importance to him, starting with [[PlatonicLifePartners Much]] and [[TeamDad Little John]], then [[LongLostSibling Archer]] and Tuck. Kate is dead last.
164	* TheWoobie: Guy sometimes, Djaq often, Much always.
165	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Djaq was a SweetPollyOliver who played the {{Gender Flip}}ped role of the Saracen, brought from Jerusalem to England as a slave. She disguises herself as a boy, takes her twin brother's persona, and decides to join Robin and his outlaws as TheMedic. The potential here was breathtaking - not only could it been a great FishOutOfWater story, but Djaq effortlessly took the place as TheHeart of the group, had an intriguing dynamic with all her fellow outlaws (including a LoveTriangle that was vastly more interesting than [[RomanticPlotTumor Robin, Marian and Guy forever whinging at each other]]) and an endearing superiority complex that was completely at odds with the actress's tiny stature. She almost instantly became the show's EnsembleDarkHorse... only for the writers to completely ignore her, throw her into an [[StrangledByTheRedString abrupt relationship]] with Will Scarlett, write her out of the show, and [[ReplacementScrappy replace her]] with a jerk who was [[CreatorsPet hated by all and sundry]], but who got twice as much screen time in one series than Djaq did in two.
166	** Tuck. Prior to the airing of Series 3, actor David Harewood spoke of his character having "a dark backstory" and that a power struggle with Robin for the role of leader would take place. Neither of these stories materialized in the show itself, making you wonder what was left on the editing room floor. It was also pointed out throughout fandom that Tuck would have been in the ''perfect'' position to introduce the character of [[LegacyCharacter Archer]] to the show, if the writers had thought to insert him into the WholeEpisodeFlashback as the Merlin-like figure who hid him away as a baby, then giving him a season-long arc in which he could have easily been nudging Robin and Guy to work together to save their mutual half-brother. Instead this role goes to [[AssPull Robin's father Malcolm]], a one-shot character who up until this point was assumed to be dead for the show's entire run, and [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome who disappears without a trace]] after [[MrExposition he's dumped all his exposition]]. Despite the character's promise, Tuck becomes [[AdvertisedExtra little more than an extra very quickly into the third series]].
167	* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: The entire cast in Series 3, bless them. What had been a silly, campy show for its first two seasons (and which somehow managed to pull it off, thanks to the dignity of the actors) was now asking to be taken deadly seriously... whilst still including ridiculous scenarios such as a lion so old that it couldn't even walk in a straight line and Robin hang gliding from the castle parapets. In fact, Allan-a-Dale's WTF reaction to the hang gliding is clearly the moment when the actor decided he was quitting.
168	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: This sets in at the end of season two when [[spoiler:Guy of Gisborne stabs Marian to death]], leading to a Series 3 that is completely devoid of the show's moral/emotional center and which obliterated any chance of a happy ending. Not helping was that Will and Djaq, the youngest and most optimistic of the outlaws, [[PutOnABus were also written out at the same time]]. Series 3 attempted to maintain a light tone; but between Robin's bizarre AngstWhatAngst over [[spoiler:Marian's death]], Guy spiraling into an increasingly violent depression, the [[DemotedToExtra family dynamic of the outlaws]] all but completely absent, and the extremely distasteful decision to make a traumatized woman fleeing from domestic violence the show's BigBad (especially egregious after [[spoiler:Marian's]] brutal murder), audiences struggled to find a reason to care.
169	* TooCoolToLive: Meg, a smart, spunky girl who shows intelligence, compassion, and an endearing sense of entitlement that gets Guy of Gisborne to stop moping and rethink his priorities. Meg's counterpart Kate spends the entire episode sulking and moaning (as per usual) and tops it off by trying to manipulate a dangerous situation so that her romantic rival is killed off. Now, guess who dies and guess who survives the ''entire show''.
170	** Also, Legrande.
171	* TrappedByMountainLions: For two episodes in Series 3 Guy of Gisborne was entirely absent due to Creator/RichardArmitage's commitments with ''Series/{{Spooks}}''. The StoryArc couldn't proceed without him, which led to the writers marking off time with two negligible episodes in his absence, first in which the outlaws try to rescue a copy of [[McGuffin the Bible]] translated into English, and then in rescuing Kate multiple times from an evil tax collector. Excepting the contrivance of Kate joining the outlaws and some minor background for Tuck, neither episode adds anything to the arc of the season and can easily be skipped.
172	** Kate's entire presence is one very long TrappedByMountainLions arc. Her scenes could be exorcised completely from Series 3 with absolutely no impact made on the overarching storyline. Her frequent kidnappings are padding, her love story with Robin is pointless, and the odd occasion in which she ''is'' allowed to be mildly useful involves her doing things that could have just as easily been achieved by another outlaw (like finding a MacGuffin or causing a distraction). There is nothing involving Kate herself (that is, something that ''only'' her character could have done) that in any way shapes the course of the season's StoryArc.
173	* UnintentionallySympathetic: Isabella is clearly meant to be entirely unsympathetic by the end of the show's run, thereby justifying Robin and Guy's (successful) attempt to kill her. In that case, it probably ''wasn't'' such a good idea to have her backstory consist of Guy selling her into an abusive marriage to a sadistic rapist at the age of thirteen, or to have Robin constantly flip-flopping in regards to his attitude and behaviour toward her. Even her ordering the execution of Meg, which is meant to be her MoralEventHorizon, is somewhat understandable, considering that she frees Meg from an arranged marriage only to catch her releasing a prisoner who has already made at least two attempts on Isabella's life. Likewise, the fact that she is one of the few characters on the show to avoid carrying the IdiotBall earned her extra points, and when she's insane she manages to be more competent than anyone around her.
174	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
175	** At the end of Series 2, Guy of Gisborne [[spoiler:stabbed Maid Marian to death]], sending his CharacterDevelopment and [[StoryArc Redemption Arc]] back to square one. Series 3 tried to turn him into a HeartbrokenBadass, ignoring the fact that for a significant portion of the fanbase, he had already crossed the MoralEventHorizon when he ''stabbed Maid Marian to death'' and thus forfeited any right to the goodwill of the audience. Even [[Creator/RichardArmitage the actor]] hated him.
176	** The death of Kate's brother did not carry the emotional weight it should have done thanks to Kate's refusal to utilize common sense in her repeated attempts to rescue him. The writers were going for "headstrong" and "impulsive" in their characterization of Kate -- unfortunately, all they really managed was "stupid." The ridiculous swinging between {{Wangst}} and trying to romance Robin didn't help her either.
177	*** And the cherry on top is the fact that Kate's brother was killed by Guy, resulting in a scene in which the audience has no reason to care about anyone involved.
178	*** And the cherry on top of that cherry is that depending on how you see it, ''Kate'' is at fault as well for the murder. He died because she got captured trying to get him out of the army and he died trying to save ''her''. Some fans wonder if he might have survived had she just left him in the army.
179	* UnnecessaryMakeover: Most viewers preferred Djaq's androgynous Series 1 appearance over her more feminized look in Series 2 (especially since it included what became known as the [[FanNickname outer-bra]]).
180	* ViewersInMourning: The backlash for [[spoiler:Marian and Allan's]] deaths was ''not pretty'', and the writer/co-creator responsible for the former's death left the show under rather murky circumstances once the episode had aired. There was less outcry for [[spoiler:Robin and Guy]], considering that their fates were sealed by the season two finale and were seen coming a mile away.
181	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The explosion that destroys Nottingham Castle in the finale.
182	* WTHCostumingDepartment:
183	** Particular "highlights" of the show's wardrobe include Marian's bright yellow cropped cardigan that looks like it was bought at Top Shop, the Sheriff wearing Birkenstock sandals, a soldier from the Crusades wearing modern camo-print trousers and the "assassins" dressed in halterneck, teal spandex jumpsuits.
184	** On joining the outlaws, Kate opts to wear an ankle-length dress that featured fussy little tassels on the sleeves that could easily snag the undergrowth. The severely impractical length clearly made it difficult for the actress to navigate the terrain, and provided yet another example of her inferiority to Marian, who (despite some of her own dubious fashion choices) was at least intelligent enough to switch to pants on arriving in Sherwood Forest.
185	** It's far less egregious than the trope usually implies (since it is at least a very beautiful costume, and the circumstances in which she wears it could be argued to justify its strange appearance) but many viewers noticed that Marian's otherworldly gown in the GrandFinale seemed to have been borrowed from the ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' set, earning her the FanNickname "Arwen!Marian".
186
187	!! YMMV for appearances in other works.

Context YMMV / RobinHood