A tax collector Robin had promised the people of Nettlestone he would "deal with" is killed by a mystery archer. The Sheriff capitalises on this by ordering his Master-at-Arms, de Fourtney, to carry out the executions of more people to make Robin look like a murderer; Gisborne decides to send packs of dogs into the forest to deal with the problem.
Trying to clear his name, Robin suspects the mysterious Nightwatchman, who has left food and medicine for the poor long before Robin returned from the Holy Land. Several more deaths, including the ones the Sheriff ordered, occur, including the death of a young boy. As the townspeople turn against Robin, he makes a deal to save the Sheriff's life by catching the assassin. The next day, the Sheriff arranges for his double to ride through Nettlestone as a decoy; Robin catches the Nightwatchman, only to discover it is really Marian. Marian's investigations into the deaths have led her to realise the real killer is Joe Lacey, a castle guard who holds a grudge against the Sheriff for the death of his wife. The Sheriff catches Lacey and has him killed; Robin regains the trust of the villagers.
Tropes
- Accidental Murder: Lacey was aiming for the Sheriff when he ends up shooting and killing Matthew.
- Anachronism Stew: De Fourtney wears a beret, a type of hat that wouldn't be invented until the 17th century, in France.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The Sheriff is never made to answer for the deaths of the innocents he ordered so as to make Robin look bad.
- Black Vikings: De Fourtney
- Complete-the-Quote Title: Or "Complete the Song Lyric Title", in which a character cries: "I shot the Sheriff!" only for said Sheriff to respond with a paraphrase of Eric Clapton's lyrics: "No, you shot the deputy!"
- Captain Obvious: Will warns the other outlaws that dogs are hunting them... over the sound of barking dogs, which the others have already commented on.
- Contrived Coincidence: Robin doesn't even know Marian is staying in the castle at the time, but somehow manages to find himself in her room to hide from the guards.
- Crusading Widower: Lacey is motivated by the death of his wife Ruth. The two of them were evicted by the Sheriff's orders, and it's suggested she died of illness not long afterwards.
- Death of a Child: Matthew, the Sheriff's young page boy, leading to a huge outpouring of grief and rage by the people of Nettlestone when they hold Robin responsible.
- Enemy Mine: Robin realizes that in order to catch the assassin he needs to team up with the Sheriff.
- Frame-Up: The Sheriff seizes the opportunity to not only blame Robin for the deaths of the tax collector and his page boy, but orders de Fourtney to commit several more that can also be pinned on Robin.
- Held Gaze: The episode ends with one of these between Robin and Marian.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Inverted. Lacey contrives to somehow miss the Sheriff because "he moves" on each of his assassination attempts.
- Mystery Episode: This episode is essentially a murder mystery, involving several suspects who each have differing motives as to why they might be trying to kill the Sheriff.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: In a conversation with Gisborne, Marian says that even when her father was Sheriff, politics were "beyond me." This is clearly untrue, as it's already been established she's a keen political observer.
- Questioning Title?: Who shot the Sheriff?
- Samus Is a Girl: Everyone assumes that the Nightwatchman is a man, including Robin until the moment he pulls off his hood and mask to reveal it's Marian.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Lacey has the relatively noble goal of shooting the tyrannical Sheriff to avenge his wife's death, only to end up killing an innocent young boy who gets in the way. Then, when he finally finds himself in a good position, Robin and Marian shoot him, he realizes the man he killed wasn't the Sheriff at all, and he's duly Impaled with Extreme Prejudice by Gisborne. He dies knowing that he failed utterly.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Lacey's motivation for trying to kill the Sheriff is to avenge his wife, who died after the two of them were evicted from their home. He's clearly still mourning her, and to make matters worse he's been roped back into active service to protect the Sheriff despite his grief and advanced age.
- Voodoo Shark: To explain why Marian has combat training, she reveals to Robin that her father had her taught to use a sword so that she "would have choices." This does not jive at all with Edward's characterization, who is an anxious conformist who advises his daughter to keep her head down and not create any sort of public stir.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: De Fourtney, knifed by Guy on the Sheriff's orders
