YMMV / Robin Hood S 03 E 13 Something Worth Fighting For Part Two

• Catharsis Factor: All over the place. The third and final series was not considered very good, but the show does manage to go out on an emotional high:
  • Robin gets a Character Check and is allowed to die a true hero, making his final shot to destroy Nottingham Castle and finally reuniting with Marian in the afterlife.
  • Speaking of whom, you could almost hear the sigh of relief ripple across fandom back in 2009 when Marian reappeared. After her horrific death scene, the two-year hiatus since her last appearance, and all the tedious Romantic Plot Tumors the audience had been subjected to throughout series three, she finally returned to reunite the legendary Super Couple and promise them more adventures together.
  • Guy fans were pleased he died with a measure of dignity and redemption. Guy haters appreciated that he acknowledged his multitude of sins and that Marian would be waiting for Robin, not him, in the afterlife.
  • The Sheriff is finally Killed Off for Real, in a magnificent explosion while he’s standing in what has been the seat of his tyrannical power for the last three series.
  • Much finally gets the validation he’s always wanted from Robin, being told: “You are already more of a man than I will ever be. And you’re my best friend.”
  • For those that had Sympathy for the Devil, it's fitting that after being treated so terribly by the two of them all series, Isabella wins a Posthumous Villain Victory over Robin and Kate, killing the former and bereaving the latter.
  • The last scripted line of the show fittingly goes to Little John: "For Robin..."
• Esoteric Happy Ending: The destruction of Nottingham Castle is seen as a triumphal moment for the outlaws and villagers, who clap and cheer as they watch it crumble. Though its destruction has symbolic value and the explosion finally ends the Sheriff once and for all, it fails to take into account that with the loss of the castle, many ordinary people (cooks, servants, stablers, grooms, entertainers) have just lost their livelihoods. Also, looking at the sheer size of the fallout zone, it’s obvious that the explosion has destroyed plenty of other homes and businesses as well.
• Most Wonderful Sound: Marian's laughter as Robin gives her a Twirl of Love.
• Narm: The otherwise moving scene in which Robin’s body is carried through the forest by the other outlaws is somewhat undermined by the massive white lily that’s been placed in his hands, which looks all the more ridiculous by the fact it’s so large that it actually bounces up and down on his chest. (Unsurprisingly, the fandom consensus is that Kate put it there).
• One-Scene Wonder: It almost goes without saying that Lucy Griffiths as Marian is the most memorable part of the episode, in what is considered the best scene of the entire third series.
• Take That, Scrappy!: Robin’s final goodbye to Kate is excruciatingly awkward: he clearly has no idea what to say to her, and when Kate angles for a Last Kiss he deliberately turns away with a grimace. His final words to her are: “I have to do this alone,” before he abruptly pulls out of her embrace and heads off into the depths of Sherwood Forest without so much as a backwards glance. It couldn’t be more obvious that he cared very little for her – and judging by the look on her face, she's finally realized this for herself.