History Series / RobinHood

** At the end of Series 3, Isabella releases a proclamation that announces Allan has been pardoned, leading everyone to believe that he's betrayed them once again. No one stops to wonder -- if he ''was'' Isabella's [[TheMole Mole]] in the outlaw camp -- why she would blow his cover like this.

** Some anachronisms were included to add emotional depth to certain plot points. For example, in "Peace? Off!," Harold is suffering from what Robin and Much call "Crusader's sickness"-- what we nowadays know as PTSD. The earliest account of PTSD symptoms, as recognized in hindsight of course, comes from Shakespeare's ''Henry IV'', written circa 1597, a good 400 years after Richard the Lionheart's reign.

* AudioAdaptation: Creator/BigFinishProductions produced six audio books read by members of the cast featuring original stories (not to be confused with the audiobook adaptations of the four novelisations that were produced by BBC Audiobooks). They can be bought from Amazon.UK but transcripts are available [[http://www.robinhoodwinked.net/forestfun/audiobook.htm here.]]

** The AudioAdaptation [=CDs=] were stories read by one of the cast, and they all mimicked the voices of their co-stars for the other characters. Creator/SamTroughton and Creator/RichardArmitage were quite good at this, but David Harewood [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent didn't even attempt an impersonation of Kate.]]

* CatchPhrase:

* AbortedArc: Throughout the first two-thirds of the second season, Robin and the outlaws are concerned with the accumulation of Black Knights in Nottingham. The Sheriff is getting them to sign the Pact of Nottingham, a document that will set Prince John up as King and which goes on to be a MacGuffin that an important RecurringCharacter actually dies for in order to deliver it to Robin. In episode twelve this entire plot is dropped completely when the Sheriff decides to travel all the way to the Holy Land in order to assassinate King Richard himself. The Black Knights are given some degree of closure in Series 3, when it’s said that they’ve disbanded, but it doesn’t change the fact that a whole season worth of set-up went precisely nowhere.

* EvolvingCredits: Series 3's opening sequence was constantly changing to add and remove actors and images of their characters, to the point that with two exceptions, the credits were never the same two weeks running.[[note]]To wit: "Cause and Effect" adds Joanne Froggatt's name, and cuts down on some of the shots from episodes between the credit screens; since it's still the same title sequence from Series 2 which was designed for nine regular cast members, "Total Eclipse" had more than usual to account for the sequence being two names shorter. "Lost in Translation" and "Sins of the Father" have the same title sequence, which has Richard Armitage's screen blank where his name would usually go and adds a shot of Kate. "Let the Games Commence" reinstates Armitage's name and adds Lara Pulver's, so the shots from episodes are further cut down to match the Series 2 version of the sequence. "Do You Love Me?" adds Toby Stephens' name and a shot of Isabella, but has to cut down on the shots even further and add a new shot of forest scenery for Joe Armstrong's credit screen, since the sequence is now one name longer than it was originally designed for. "Too Hot to Handle" removes Keith Allen's name (bumping everyone below him up one name, so Gordon Kennedy's name appears on what would usually be his credit screen and so on, also returning the shots to the usual amount and changing some of them to ones from later episodes) and all shots of the Sheriff, whilst adding a shot of Prince John; this sequence is also used on "The King is Dead, Long Live the King...". "A Dangerous Deal" removes Toby Stephens and the shot of Prince John, whilst "Bad Blood" uses a unique title sequence with the guest cast billed and all the shots only featuring Robin and Gisborne since they're the only two regular cast members that week. "The Enemy of My Enemy" adds Clive Standen's name and removes some shots but is otherwise the same as "Deal". "Something Worth Fighting For: Part 1" reinstates Keith Allen's name and adds a shot of Archer, and is similar to the sequence for "Love" since the sequence is again one name too long. Finally, "Something Worth Fighting For: Part 2" removes Joe Armstrong and adds a shot of the Sheriff from the episode to the final montage of shots.[[/note]]

* EvolvingCredits: Series 3's opening sequence was constantly changing to add and remove actors and images of their characters, to the point that with two exceptions, the credits were never the same two weeks running.[[note]]To wit: "Cause and Effect" adds Joanne Froggatt's name, and cuts down on some of the shots from episodes between the credit screens; since it's still the same title sequence from Series 2 which was designed for nine regular cast members, "Total Eclipse" had more than usual to account for the sequence being two names shorter. "Lost in Translation" and "Sins of the Father" have the same title sequence, which has Richard Armitage's screen blank where his name would usually go and adds a shot of Kate. "Let the Games Commence" reinstates Armitage's name and adds Lara Pulver's, so the shots from episodes are further cut down to match the Series 2 version of the sequence. "Do You Love Me?" adds Toby Stephens' name and a shot of Isabella, but has to cut down on the shots even further and add a new shot of forest scenery for Joe Armstrong's credit screen, since the sequence is now one name longer than it was originally designed for. "Too Hot to Handle" removes Keith Allen's name (bumping everyone below him up one name, so Gordon Kennedy's name appears on what would usually be his credit screen and so on, and also returning the shots to the usual amount) and all shots of the Sheriff, whilst adding a shot of Prince John; this sequence is also used on "The King is Dead, Long Live the King...". "A Dangerous Deal" removes Toby Stephens and the shot of Prince John (also adding some new shots from later episodes), whilst "Bad Blood" uses a unique title sequence with the guest cast billed and all the shots only featuring Robin and Gisborne since they're the only two regular cast members that week. "The Enemy of My Enemy" adds Clive Standen's name and removes some shots but is otherwise the same as "Deal". "Something Worth Fighting For: Part 1" reinstates Keith Allen's name and adds a shot of Archer, and is similar to the sequence for "Love" since the sequence is again one name too long. Finally, "Something Worth Fighting For: Part 2" removes Joe Armstrong and adds a shot of the Sheriff from the episode to the final montage of shots.[[/note]]

* EvolvingCredits: Series 3, to the point that with two exceptions, the credits were never the same two weeks running.

* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: Level 2. Despite several fatalities, there's only ever BloodlessCarnage involved.

** Marian wears a modern sweater, and invents hand grenades and hand gliders.[[note]] And no, the sweater wasn’t the costume department trying to reimagine a Medieval garment - knitting didn’t hit British Shores until the 14th century, making it highly unlikely that someone in the 12th century would had been wearing something that looked like it was brought from Carnaby Street in the 1960s.

** Kate, being the [[invoked]] CreatorsPet gets ''three'' character-centric episodes -- ''Cause and Effect'', ''Sins of the Father'' and ''Something Worth Fighting For Part I'' all revolve around her.

** Kate, being the [[invoked CreatorsPet]] gets ''three'' character-centric episodes -- ''Cause and Effect'', ''Sins of the Father'' and ''Something Worth Fighting For Part I'' all revolve around her.

* 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 [[DerailingLoveInterest implodes]] and 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.

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: It is amazing how many non-white people apparently lived in 12th century rural England.
** Especially considering that in 12th century England, many people were unaware that anywhere beyond Turkey ''existed''.
** They sort of give a good explanation for Djaq turning up in England (although presumably it would have been easier or cheaper to sell Saracen slaves in Italy or somewhere else on the Mediterranean, as opposed to carting them all the way to England), but barring ''Peace? Off!'' and a few episodes where it is a minor plot point, no one really comments on the fact that she is a Muslim in a time and place where non-Christianity was associated with Devil-worship and/or heresy (Christians at the time thought Muhammad was a Christian heretic).

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Guy of Gisborne is obsessed with Marian, to the point where [[spoiler:he murders her]] when she reveals she loves Robin Hood. {{{Played With}} in Series 3, in which Robin starts relationships with Isabella and then Kate, only for it to become clear that he doesn't really care for either of them: refusing to run away from Nottingham with Isabella, and later acting largely indifferent to Kate even ''after'' entering a romantic relationship with her.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Guy of Gisborne (played by Richard Armitage) has an army of fangirls, and according to the creators, Marian's attraction to him stems from the fact that "women like 'em a little rough." Likewise, Allan-a-Dale gained a mysterious boost in popularity after his [[spoiler: FaceHeelTurn and defection to the Dark Side]] and subsequent upgrade to black leather, though the trope is [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] within the show in that love interests Marian and Djaq ultimately prefer Robin Hood and Will Scarlett, respectfully, over their bad boy counterparts.

** Marian wearing a modern sweater, and inventing hand grenades, and hand gliders.[[note]] And no, the sweater wasn’t the costume department trying to reimagine a Medieval garment - knitting didn’t hit British Shores until the 14th century, making it highly unlikely that someone in the 12th century would had been wearing something that looked like it was brought from Carnaby street in the 1960’s.

** Some anachronisms were included to add emotional depth to certain plot points. For example, in ''Peace? Off!'', Harold is suffering from what Robin and Much call "Crusader's sickness"-- what we nowadays know as PTSD. The earliest account of PTSD symptoms, as recognized in hindsight of course, comes from Shakespeare's ''Henry IV'', written circa 1597, a good 400 years after Richard the Lionheart's reign.

* ApatheticCitizens: Many of the peasants don't really seem to care what's going on around them (in ''Total Eclipse'', nobody has a very strong reaction to the sight of Guy grabbing a child and waving her over a cliff). However, this may be because most of the extras were Hungarian, who presumably had little idea as to what was going on in any particular scene.

* AristocratsAreEvil: Both played straight (Sheriff Vaizey, Guy, [[spoiler:his sister Isabella and the Black Knights]]) and subverted ([[spoiler: Prince Malik and Count Friedrich of Bavaria]]). Also averted with Robin himself, who is a good (if outlawed) aristocrat. Also averted with Marian, Sir Edward and Queen Eleanor.
* ArrowCam: Two examples, one from ''Total Eclipse'' and another from ''The Enemy of My Enemy''.

* BelligerentSexualTension: Robin has this with all three of his LoveInterests: Isabella, Marian and Kate (in that order). The first one [[spoiler:ends up killing him]].

*** Initially it seemed that this was the route the writers were taking with Allan and Kate, but then it...[[AbortedArc went away]].

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: The first character to die in the series (who is not a nameless, faceless {{Mook}}), is De Fortenay, the Sheriff's Master of Arms. Played by a black actor. In 12th century England.
* BloodlessCarnage: Various characters are shot, run through, stabbed, at one point somebody gets decapitated, and not a drop of blood is ever seen. However there are a few exceptions; [[spoiler:blood is seen on Allan's corpse]], Robin is visibly bleeding after he's shot in ''Parent Hood'' and blood is seen on the dagger Gisborne uses to stab Marian in ''The Return of the King''.
* BondVillainStupidity: The snake pit, the lion, the duel over the boiling oil, the sealed overflow chamber that slowly filled with water (which Guy wandered away from before the water was even over Robin's head), the Sheriff's endless refusals to kill Robin because he preferred to torture him slowly...after a while you begin to wonder if Guy and the Sheriff actually ''wanted'' Robin to live for some reason.

* BrickJoke: In the Series 1 episode ''A Thing or Two About Loyalty'', Allan suggests they could use the black powder to blow up the whole castle. Two and a half seasons later...
* BriefAccentImitation: Allan-A-Dale, notably in ''Will You Tolerate This?'' and ''A Dangerous Deal''.

** Actually, in some stories there was a "Kate the Kitchen Maid" who ended up almost ruining the rescue of Alan-a-Dale's love Lucy because she nearly gave the outlaws away by screaming. Much kept her quiet and when they saved Lucy, he brought her along. Depending on the source, she and Much may have eventually married.
** Isabella and Archer may also count, though they are related to one of the main characters, and the former eventually becomes the new [[spoiler:Sheriff of Nottingham]], and the latter [[spoiler:''would'' have presumably been the new Robin had the show not been cancelled]].
* CardboardPrison: Whether Nottingham Castle's dungeons are this varies DependingOnTheWriter; sometimes they manage to break out, but many other escape attempts fail. Played more straight with various other prisons, such as the vault in ''Cause and Effect''

** The outlaws had: '''"We are Robin Hood!"''

** Marian's hair-clip, which also doubles as a dagger.
** Marian's lock-pick, first seen in the late Series 1 episode ''Peace? Off'', turns up again completely unannounced and unmentioned in the Series 3 episode ''Cause and Effect''.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Little John's gang has four members in the first two episodes: John, Roy, Forrest and Hanton. While John and Roy join Robin's outlaws, Forrest and Hanton disappear after episode two with no explanation, and are never mentioned again.

** The episode ''Show Me the Money'' shows that Robin actually has a substantial amount of money kept in reserve (before he manages to lose it all to the Sheriff, a fact which is never mentioned again).

* ConvenientlyPreciseTranslation: In ''Treasure of the Nation'', everybody renders ''thesaurus patriae'' as "treasure of the nation", never (what would have the episode's roots a bit too blatant) "Film/{{national treasure}}".

* DeathBySex: Well, death by ''symbolic'' sex at least. Dominic Minghella is on record as stating that [[spoiler:Marian's death]] was "the consummation of [[spoiler:Guy and Marian]]. The death scene involved [[spoiler:Marian]] in a white dress and with loose hair, getting impaled in the lower abdomen with a sword, which is then pushed further into her as she throws her head back and gasps, before she looks into the eyes of her killer and slides down his body to the ground. In the background, a fountain gushes water from [[spoiler:Guy's]] direction toward her.

** {{Inverted}} in the third season with the arrival of Isabella. Guy and Robin repeatedly man-handle her (choking her, pushing her, slapping her across the face) in ways that are never treated as that big a deal, but whenever Isabella reciprocates, it's meant to demonstrate how she's JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. And when she kills her abusive husband when he is choking her Robin calls her a murderer.

* DressingAsTheEnemy: Constantly. On one occasion the outlaws get their guard uniforms from a group of guards that Gisborne has already reported dead, and yet the castle guards let them in anyway.

** In her first episode Kate rats out Robin's location to Guy in exchange for her brother's freedom. Robin is only in the castle in the first place because he tried to ''help'' Kate free her brother, but the outlaws express shock at her betrayal for about two seconds before being completely fine with it. The episode ends with Robin apologising to ''her'' for her brother's death. When Isabella turns up, [[{{Hypocrite}} Kate is the first one to suspect her of treachery]], and nobody points out that Kate is just as culpable.
** Tuck also introduced himself to the gang by leading them into a trap as a motivational tool for Robin to get his mojo back by saving them. At the end of the episode Robin admits Tuck to the gang, barely acknowledging complaints from the rest of them that, oh yeah, HE was the reason why they were almost executed. Tuck's explanation is something along the lines of "You've got to gamble big to win big." Justifiable in that Tuck was very helpful to Robin during the episode, but when Robin is captured in the next episode it's a little surprising that the gang is willing to follow Tuck

** Prince John is a very weird case of this mixed with ItsAllAboutMe, as he believes that ''because'' he is Prince John, everything that he does is inherently good. When Isabella tries to call him out on it, pointing out that burning villagers to death in a church is ''not'' the mark of a benevolent king, his response is: "but I AM being benevolent!" He's an evil character who can't comprehend that he's not good.

* EvilGloating: The Sheriff, Guy, Prince John and [[spoiler:Isabella]] love to do this.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Gisborne's hair throughout the third season; in the first two episodes it's been grown long and greasy to indicate the aftermath of [[spoiler:his murder of Marian.]] When he returns following a two-episode break in episode five it's still long, but he seems to have found the time for a shampoo.
** Likewise, when we first see Isabella her hair is loose and maidenly; after her FaceHeelTurn and elevation to the position of Sheriff she wears it in a severe-looking bun, and finally, when she reverts to AxCrazy mode, her hair becomes wild and loose again.

** Another amusing incident is in ''Sheriff Got Your Tongue?'', in which Robin, Much and Allan are tried to trees by outlaws in the forest. For some reason, they've taken Allan's shirt but left Robin and Much's, [[FridgeLogic even though the latter characters would have been wearing more expensive clothing]]. On the DVDCommentary, [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Lucy Griffiths enlightens us]]: Joe Armstrong was the only one who had been going to the gym.

** The Sheriff leaping out of his bath stark naked in ''Booby and the Beast''.
** Kate's painful attempt at being sultry at the start of ''Enemy of My Enemy.''
** An interesting case is the "courtship" between Guy and Marian. Richard Armitage is on record as saying that he "wanted the audience to squirm" every time Guy got near Marian, what with his leering glances and oily smirks, and the entire relationship played out as an immensely dysfunctional one of threats, deception, intimidation and violence. Many were creeped out by it, particularly since the actress playing Marian was only eighteen years old at the start of the show, however, a large portion of the fanbase found Guy's antics even more of a turn-on.
* FauxActionGirl: Despite being [[InformedAbility shilled as “a good fighter”]] and insisting that [[BlatantLies “I can look after myself”]], Kate is...well, to say "completely useless" is putting it mildly. She appears in eleven episodes, and in that time she is...
** [[DamselInDistress held captive]] ''five'' times (once by Gisborne in ''Cause and Effect'', twice by Rufus in ''Sins of the Father'', once by random guards in ''Too Hot to Handle'', and finally by the Sheriff's men in ''Something Worth Fighting For'')
** [[IdiotBall endangers her own life by wandering into a volatile situation]] and making it worse ''four'' times (in ''Cause and Effect'' she ruins the outlaws' ambush by rushing in prematurely, achieving nothing except to get Robin captured along with her brother, and later abandons the outlaws to sneak into the castle by herself only to be discovered five seconds later, in ''Sins of the Fathers'' she goads Rufus into destroying her pottery kiln and livelihood, and in ''Something Worth Fighting For'' she sabotages Tuck's attempt to stage a peaceful protest by daring the guards to kill her)
** [[AttemptedRape almost raped]] ''three'' times (by Rufus in ''Sins of the Fathers'', Prince John in ''Too Hot to Handle'', and by Sheridan in ''The King is Dead'')
** held in the StandardFemaleGrabArea hold ''twice'' (by Gisborne in ''Cause and Effect'' and by Sheridan in ''The King is Dead'')
** seriously injured in combat ''once'' (a random soldier throws a dagger at her in ''Do You Love Me?''). Every single time she needs a man to extract her from the situation.

* FinaleCredits: Minor example; ''Something Worth Fighting For'' used an alternate version of the closing theme to avoid SoundtrackDissonance.

* FriendshipMoment: After Allan-a-Dale's [[spoiler:brother]] is executed, Djaq takes him aside and comforts him as he weeps, opening up for the first time about her ''own'' brother.
** There are tons of these among the outlaws: Allan and Will's handshake in ''Walkabout'', Robin and Much's hug in ''Get Carter'', Marian's thank you to Djaq in ''The Return of the King'', everyone's reaction to Will in ''The Angel of Death'', even Much holding out his hand to Djaq so that she can balance on something as she crosses the campsite in ''Treasure of the Nation.''
* GenerationXerox: The episode ''Bad Blood'' reveals that the Gisborne/Locksley feud began with a LoveTriangle between Malcolm of Locksley and Roger of Gisborne, both of whom were in love with Ghislaine of Gisborne. However, in the flashback, it is Locksley who is responsible for their mutual love's death rather than Gisborne (and it was accidental, rather than Guy's [[spoiler:deliberate murder of Marian]].)

* GoshDangItToHeck: The strongest swear words we ever hear are "hell" and "damn", and those are confined almost entirely to the third series. Two exceptions: an early Series 1 episode does feature the expression "son of a cur", and in ''Ducking and Diving'', where Matilda calls Vaisey a "whoreson", which was pretty serious in 12th-century swearing.

* GroinAttack: Only used twice; when Marian sends a skittle ball below the belt of Count Frederick and in ''For England!'' when Little John waves the bells on his staff in Guy's face before jabbing him in the groin with them..

* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies]]: Series 2 ends with [[spoiler:Marian's death]], Series 3 ends with [[spoiler:Robin himself being killed]].

** Robin probably wishes that too.

* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Will and Djaq. Though he's not so much "huge" as "really, really tall".
* HotterAndSexier: According to interviews, the costume designer was instructed to dress Lucy Griffiths in "sexier" costumes for Series 2, whereas in Series 1 her outfits were meant to "appeal to young girls". Then [[spoiler:Marian]] was killed off and Isabella was introduced, who was walking FanService.

* [[ItsGoingDown It's Going Down]]: Castle Nottingham, foreshadowed as early as series one (though perhaps accidentally).
* IWantMyMommy: The Sheriff in one or two early episodes when he's in serious peril (such as in ''Dead Man Walking'' when he believes Little John is about to kill him).
* IWantThemAlive: This trope is perhaps the only reason these outlaws manage to survive three whole seasons, particularly since the [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Sheriff and Guy still want them alive]] even ''after'' they've been captured.

** A £500 bounty on Robin's head is mentioned in passing in ''Get Carter!'', but apparently nobody wants to or can be able to try, as the Sheriff needs to explicitly seek out an assassin with a grudge against Robin to take him up on the offer.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Guy dies after he's impaled on the sheriff's sword]], the same way he killed [[spoiler: Marian]] at the end of Series 2. Likewise, Isabella manages to stab him in the back with a dagger dipped in a poison that he himself had given to her as retribution for selling her as a child to a sadistic husband.

** Arguably, there is twisted sense of justice in the deaths of [[spoiler:Robin and Marian]], as both are killed by [[spoiler:the Gisborne siblings]], after having their hearts jerked around one too many times by the OfficialCouple.

* LadyInRed: Isabella quite often, usually when she's at her most seductive; and Marian on a couple of occasions, most notably when the sheriff tells her to wear something to "stimulate the imagination."

* LegacyCharacter: Robin ''would'' have become this, but for the show's cancellation.

* LettingHerHairDown: Marian does this when she joins the outlaws in the forest; as does Kate. Subverted with Isabella: she is first seen with her hair down and then starts wearing it up after her FaceHeelTurn.

** {{Invoked}} by Robin in ''Show Me the Money''.

** Used best in the episode ''Brothers In Arms'' in which Guy takes a necklace off a young peasant girl to give to Marian. Throughout the course of the episode, the necklace exchanges hands between ''eight'' different characters. It has particular significance to each of them, and they all get a turn to steal, find, return or give it away, until finally its whereabouts lead to Marian being forced to agree to Guy's marriage proposal.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In the GrandFinale Robin and Marian get a TogetherInDeath scene -- but did it really happen? On the one hand Robin has been fatally poisoned and is possibly hallucinating, especially since the last we see of him is his hand reaching for Marian before he succumbs to death. On the other, Marian is wearing a dress that we've never seen her in before (surely Robin would have imagined her in an outfit he was familiar with) and as they embrace, Marian's laughter can be heard echoing through the trees in a way that suggests it's audible ''beyond'' just the two of them. It's ultimately left up to the viewer to decide whether it was a dying vision or a real visitation.

** Robin chooses to murder all the Black Knights - including the Sheriff and Gisborne - for no clear reason in ''For England!''.
* MutualKill: The four main players in the battle of Nottingham Castle (Robin, Guy, Vaisey and Isabella) all manage to take each other out; Robin is poisoned by Isabella and Guy is stabbed by Vaisey, but Robin has already set in motion a plan that ends up incinerating them both.

** In ''Too Hot to Handle'', the outlaws steal Prince John's water to give to villagers in a drought. When Prince John arrives with water to give them, he realises that the villagers have taken his water from Robin Hood, destroys it, adds an unaffordable price to his own supplies and drowns a villager to boot.
** Everyone treats the mentally-unhinged Isabella like crap, and then they look surprised when she goes mad and starts killing everyone. Just about the only person to show her any consideration and respect is the megalomaniacal Prince John, explaining her loyalty to him.

* OhCrap: Vaizey gets an epic one in the series finale when he realizes what's in the barrels he's standing next to.

* OperationBlank: Operation Shah Mat, for Vaizey's plot to kill Richard I. Which is a MeaningfulName as "Shah Mat" is Persian for "The King is Dead" and is the origin of the word [[TabletopGame/{{Chess}} checkmate]].

** Lampshaded at one point in Series 2 when Much attacks Little John for accidentally letting the Sheriff into the camp, and he responds "I was trying to help the poor! Remember, like we USED TO DO?"

** Especially considering that in 12th century England many people were unaware that anywhere beyond Turkey ''existed''.

* PutOnABus: At the end of Series 2 Will and Djaq opted to stay in the Holy Land for reasons that are never specified.
* RagTagBunchOfMisfits: Robin Hood's team included his [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass long-suffering manservant]], his noble-born girlfriend, a [[BadassLongcoat woodsman]], [[HeartbrokenBadass a carpenter]], a [[BadassAdorable Saracen prisoner of war]], a thief/poacher/con-artist, a [[BadassPreacher warrior monk]], and...uh...[[TheLoad a girl who made pots]].

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: In the Series 2 finale Guy tells the Sheriff that he will: "take Marian by force." Whether he was bluffing or not probably depends on your shipping preferences, but it's clear that this line [[spoiler:and the murder that follows]] was behind why Richard Armitage described this episode as "the point of no return" for Guy.

* ResetButton: Richard Armitage himself expressed frustration in interviews regarding the relationship between himself and Marian. No matter how many awful things he did to her (burning her house down, punching her father, coercing her into marriage, etc) the writers kept "resetting" the relationship so that the two of them could [[ShipTease have tender moments together]]. Any sane female would flat-out refuse to have anything to do with him, and the fact that Marian kept crawling back for more made her look like an abuse victim. Eventually Richard Armitage decided that Guy was legitimately in love with Marian, only to learn that [[spoiler:Guy would stab Marian to death]].

* SamusIsAGirl: [[spoiler:Will and Djaq, ticking off nearly every part of the trope.]]

* SassyBlackWoman: The Abbess of Rufford [[spoiler:who turns out to be a con-artist]].

* SecondLove: {{Played with}} and {{Deconstructed}} in rather awkward ways in Series 3. After Marian's death, the showrunners enthusiastically discussed how this was an opportunity to see how Robin copes without the love of his life. Turns out, he does surprisingly well, with the introduction of ''two'' new [[LoveInterest Love Interests]] in the following season, and barely a mention of Marian outside the first episode. However, there is some nuance here and there. One suspects that Robin was LovingAShadow when it came to Isabella, given her resemblance to Marian in both position and appearance, and the relationship quickly implodes when he refuses to run away from Nottingham with her. From there, Kate is presented as the ''true'' SecondLove, with plenty of CharacterShilling designed to make her seem like a perfect and natural partner to him. Yet towards the end of the season, after their RelationshipUpgrade, Robin only seems tepidly interested in his new girlfriend (he's practically [[ShipperOnDeck talked into the relationship by Little John]]) and after he's fatally poisoned in the GrandFinale, he has very little to say to Kate and can't even bring himself to give her a LastKiss. Seconds later, [[TogetherInDeath he's reunited with Marian's spirit in Sherwood Forest]]. So all that time and energy that was spent on building up Isabella and Kate as potential [[SecondLove Second Loves]] for Robin is eventually rendered meaningless, with the final word being that for Robin, there was ''never'' going to be a SecondLove after Marian.
* ScarsAreForever: Robin and Marian both sustain wounds from Gisborne, and the scars are relevant plot-points.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: In "A Clue: No" the Sheriff comes up with a brilliant method to figure out who among the nobles of Nottingham is plotting against him. He takes advantage of the fact that none of these men have ever actually seen King Richard to have an imposter come to court. The "king" has the Sheriff arrested for treason and encourages lords to testify against him. Those who enter a room to do so pay the price. Marian's father is close to testifying but Robin (who has met the real Richard) is able to warn him this is an imposter so he can act "loyal" to the Sheriff.

* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler: Allan-a-Dale. Where to begin? His only brother betrays him and is then purposefully hanged long before the outlaws arrive to rescue him. He's captured, tortured and coerced by Guy of Gisborne into becoming TheMole. He looses his first love interest to Will, and his second love interest to Robin. His two best friends abandon him right after his HeelFaceTurn, deciding to stay in the Holy Land together. He's framed by Isabella, resulting in the gang instantly turning on him without giving him a chance to defend himself. On his way to warn Robin that Prince John's army is on the march, he's shot repeatedly with arrows ''in the back'' and dies believing that his friends consider him a traitor]].

** The episode title ''Lardner's Ring'' is a reference to screenwriter Ring Lardner Jr., who was a writer on ''Series/{{The Adventures of Robin Hood}}'' (among other notable but not Hood-related credits).

** The fact that Isabella's husband is called "Thornton" is presumably a ShoutOut to the character that Creator/RichardArmitage played in ''Literature/NorthAndSouth''.

** The episode title ''Get Carter'' references a Michael Caine movie of the same name.
** The episode ''Treasure of the Nation'' involves following a needlessly-elaborate series of clues to find a Film/NationalTreasure.

* SiegeEngines: Trebuchets and [[BatteringRam Battering Rams]] both show up when the Sheriff [[StormingTheCastle attempts to reclaim Nottingham]] in the GrandFinale.

** The most astounding example is at the end of the second season finale. Shellshocked viewers have just witnessed [[spoiler:Marian]] get run through with a giant sword at the hands of Gisborne, followed by her burial and a ReallyDeadMontage. We then get a quick goodbye to [[PutOnABus Will and Djaq]] and the severely depleted gang of outlaws heading back home across the desert. The music throughout all this is fairly soft. Once the outlaws are on their way, cut to the triumphant soundtrack over the credits.

** Even Kate is something of this in regards to Robin; always ensuring that she's partnered with him during missions, getting aggravated if he's not paying her enough attention, and turning into a ClingyJealousGirl the very second that she claps eyes on Isabella.

* StandardFemaleGrabArea: {{Subverted}} in the first episode of Series 2 with Djaq. A {{Mook}} grabs her and shouts: "I've got the girl!" Djaq calmly head butts him, retrieves her sword, and marches off, muttering: "A ''woman'' you'll find."
** Played straight with Kate ([[FauxActionGirl who spends a lot of time struggling against them]]) and Isabella, who is caught in one within ten seconds of her first appearance. Though in the latter case this is perhaps {{justified|Trope}} considering she was never toted as being that tough, unlike Kate.
* StayInTheKitchen: Robin {{averted}} this for the most part, except one time when he was really, ''really'' pissed off at a wounded Marian's claim that she did the whole "Rob from the rich, give to the poor" thing [[SmallNameBigEgo with more intelligence.]]

* StockholmSyndrome: Arguably (''very'' arguably) Marian had this in regards to Guy of Gisborne, particularly in the first half of Series 2.

** Subverted for comic effect earlier that season when an arrow meant for Guy is blocked by [[spoiler:an enraged man crying out "I'll kill ye Gisborne!"]]
** Isabella also takes an arrow for Prince John, fired by [[spoiler:Guy]] and as a result is awarded the position of Sheriff.

** At the end of her first episode, Kate tells Robin: "I hope I never see you again." Eleven episodes later, [[TheHeroDies she gets her wish]]...

* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler: Robin and Marian]].
* TonightSomeoneDies: The Series 2 finale's promotional material stated that either Robin, Marian, Guy or the Sheriff would die.

* UnnecessarilyLargeInterior: The escape tunnel designed specifically for the Sheriff's use in ''Something Worth Fighting For''. Heck, it even had ''windows''!

* VillainyDiscretionShot: In the fourth episode of the show, Guy leaves his infant son in the woods to die of exposure, having promised the birth-mother that he would see him safely to a convent. We don't see Guy do this, only ride up on his horse once the deed is done, and after the episode, the fact that he has a son is never brought up again. It's all so vague that many chalk it down to CanonDisContinuity.
* VisualInnuendo: In the episode ''Treasure of the Nation'', Little John meets one of the Queen's bodyguards, who carries [[SimpleStaff a staff]] that's bigger and longer than John's. Little John spends a good part of the episode eyeing it with suspicion, and the two men engage in a fair amount of dick-measuring.
** As noted above, [[spoiler:Marian's death scene was shot with deliberate sexual references as the 'consummation' of Guy's relationship with her, specifically the massive phallic sword he stabs into her abdomen. There's also a fountain gurgling away in the middle of the scene, but that * could* be coincidence.]]

* WhamEpisode: Many in Series 3, including but not limited to ''Do You Love Me?'' (Prince John's introduction), ''Bad Blood'' (the WholeEpisodeFlashback to Robin and Guy's childhood) and the penultimate episode.

** In the episode ''Cause and Effect'', Robin and the gang use two extremely large, automatic-firing, multi-arrowed crossbows in order to make their enemies believe that the woods are full of outlaws. Where on earth did these things come from? And where the hell did they go afterwards?

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: In the Series 3 episode ''Cause and Effect'', some Irish viewers might wonder why one of the Irish brothers has a Northern Irish accent while the other has a Dublin accent...

* {{Yandere}}: Guy practically emobdies this tropes for Marian, even [[spoiler: killing her when he realizes she wants to be with Robin]].

** Robin uses the phrase verbatim in ''For England...!'' when he finds out that the Sheriff's scribe "fell from the battlements" and died.

* MenOfSherwood: Well, yeah! The outlaws are a tight and effective combative team (at least in the first two seasons) that can operate as anything from guerilla fighters to elaborate con-artists.

* TragicOneShotCharacter: Meg, whose narrative purpose is to be a ReplacementGoldfish for Guy in the wake of Marian's murder at his hands. She's also killed, though Guy gets to play the role of savior instead of killer in her case.

He is immediately stripped of his title as Earl of Huntingdon and outlawed, after which he gradually builds a band of fellow outlaws to assist in his quest to alleviate the suffering of Nottingham's poor. Throughout Season One, he and his band of outlaws, assisted by his love interest Lady Marian, take numerous actions against the Sheriff and Gisborne, while in [[GrowingTheBeard the second]] and [[ReTool third seasons]] their efforts are aimed at thwarting organized efforts to overthrow King Richard and conquer England.

The show made some interesting changes to the legend. Friar Tuck was omitted for the first two seasons, and when he appeared in Season Three, he was turned into a Black warrior priest. Marian was not referred to as "Maid" and became something of an SuperHero in her own "Nightwatchman" SecretIdentity. The Merry Men (which included a Saracen woman) were not referred to as such, being only called "the outlaws". Green tights were conspicuous by their absence.

* AbortedArc: Throughout the first two-thirds of the second season, Robin and the outlaws are concerned with the accumulation of Black Knights in Nottingham. The Sheriff is getting them to sign the Pact of Nottingham, a document that will set Prince John up as King and which goes on to be a MacGuffin that an important RecurringCharacter actually dies for in order to deliver it to Robin. In episode twelve this entire plot is dropped completely when the Sheriff decides to travel all the way to the Holy Land in order to assassinate King Richard himself. The Black Knights are given some degree of closure in season three, when it’s said that they’ve disbanded, but it doesn’t change the fact that a whole season worth of set-up went precisely nowhere.
** In season three, the writers seem to be setting Kate and Allan up as a potential couple. After episode eight, Allan loses all interest, and has no reaction whatsoever when Robin hooks up with her instead. Neither is there any closure on the Will/Djaq/Allan LoveTriangle. Much/Kate doesn't go anywhere either, though it's given a bit more attention.

** In the second episode of season two, what appears to be an electric buzz-saw shoots out of the wall of the strongroom.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: A subdued version at the end of season three as the surviving outlaws [[spoiler:carry Robin's body deeper into the forest]] after vowing to fight on in his name.

* BrickJoke: In the season one episode ''A Thing or Two About Loyalty'', Allan suggests they could use the black powder to blow up the whole castle. Two and a half seasons later...

* BringNewsBack: Throughout season two the Sheriff aims to stop Robin sending a messenger to alert King Richard of Operation Shah Mat.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the first episode Robin and Marian have opposing points of view when it comes to dealing with the Sheriff. Marian is more political, whilst Robin is more personal. By season two, their viewpoints have been switched around.

** Marian's lock-pick, first seen in the late season one episode ''Peace? Off'', turns up again completely unannounced and unmentioned in the season three episode ''Cause and Effect''.

* CoversAlwaysLie: The UK box set for season has a line-up of the outlaws, including Roy and Djaq. In the show, Roy died before Djaq was introduced. The box set for season three has Tuck displayed front-and-centre, even though he's [[AdvertisedExtra relatively minor]].

* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Marian at the end of season one, and Vaizey in series three.]]

* EnemyMine: Happens OnceASeason; the Sheriff briefly teams up with Robin when his life is threatened in ''Peace? Off!'', Gisborne asks Robin to help find the Sheriff in ''Walkabout'' before Prince John's men destroy Nottingham, and Gisborne joins the outlaws near the end of season three.

** [[GoodCostumeSwitch Less-Evil Costume Switch]]: In the first two episodes of season three, Guy wears brown leathers instead of his usual black. It fits with [[HeelRealization how he actually feels guilt and remorse for the first time in his life]], brought on by [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone killing Marian]]. Then he leaves, comes back and has an Eviler Costume Switch, mixing the black leathers with reds and golds.

* EvolvingCredits: Season three, to the point that with two exceptions, the credits were never the same two weeks running.

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Allan in season two, Isabella in season three.]]

* FinalSeasonCasting: To compensate for the loss of three cast members at the end of season two, the writers introduced ''five'' new ones in season three. Had a season four been commissioned, only one original cast member [[spoiler:(Gordon Kennedy)]] would have remained on the show; everyone else having been killed off [[spoiler: (Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Keith Allen, Richard Armitage, Lara Pulver, Joe Armstrong)]], written out [[spoiler: (Harry Lloyd, Anjali Jay)]] or moved on to other projects [[spoiler:(Sam Troughton)]].

* GoshDangItToHeck: The strongest swear words we ever hear are "hell" and "damn", and those are confined almost entirely to the third series. Two exceptions: an early season one episode does feature the expression "son of a cur", and in ''Ducking and Diving'', where Matilda calls Vaisey a "whoreson", which was pretty serious in 12th-century swearing.

* GrandFinale: The final episode of season three, although it ''did'' try to set up for a forth season.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Allan again, at the end of season two. Guy of Gisborne and Archer in season three.]]
* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies]]: Season two ends with [[spoiler:Marian's death]], season three ends with [[spoiler:Robin himself being killed]].

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Apart from King Richard and Prince John, Eleanor of Aquitaine appears in a season two episode and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Walter Archbishop Hubert Walter]] is in season three.

* HopeSpot: The show could be downright sadistic about these at times, particularly in the season two finale.

* HotterAndSexier: According to interviews, the costume designer was instructed to dress Lucy Griffiths in "sexier" costumes for season two, whereas in season one her outfits were meant to "appeal to young girls". Then [[spoiler:Marian]] was killed off and Isabella was introduced, who was walking FanService.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Every episode in season one was named for a line of dialogue taken from that episode. The finale's title was a catchphrase of the Sheriff's that had been prevalent throughout the series.

** The notable exceptions are Will and Djaq. Easily the most intelligent people on the show, the fact that they were PutOnABus at the end of Season Two has lead to fan speculation that they were never given much dialogue (and were absent from important scenes) simply because they could have solved all the outlaw's problems had the others just shut up and listened to what they had to say. Example: Djaq figures out that [[spoiler:Allan]] is TheMole, but Robin tells her to be quiet just as she's in the middle of telling him.
** At the end of Season Three, Isabella releases a proclamation that announces Allan has been pardoned, leading everyone to believe that he's betrayed them once again. No one stops to wonder -- if he ''was'' Isabella's [[TheMole Mole]] in the outlaw camp -- why she would blow his cover like this.

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Firstly, [[spoiler: Guy runs Marian through with his sword]] at the end of season two, and [[spoiler:Guy]] then dies a KarmicDeath at the end of season three, after [[spoiler:the sheriff impales him]].

* InformedAttractiveness: Kate, who gets an incredible amount of male attention across season three. For Much it's LoveAtFirstSight, Allan also pursues her, Robin hooks up with her, and her presence alone is suggested to be a factor in Archer deciding to join the outlaws. Little John says she's "worth more than any treasure" and she's ''constantly'' menaced by villains who demonstrate [[SoBeautifulItsACurse a frank sexual interest]] in her. Yet the fact that Kate is just a dim-witted peasant girl makes all the adulation directed at her come across as rather silly, especially when compared to her predecessors, who were objectively far more beautiful (with personalities and intelligence that would make the average guy actually ''want'' to hang out with them) yet only allowed two love interests each.
* IronicEcho: A possibly unintentional one. In the first episode of the first season, Robin tells Much one of the most important rules of combat is "never forget the last man" when Much breaks his cover before the last of the Sheriff's guards has gone by. Whilst escaping from the castle via the escape tunnel in the final episode of season three, Robin proceeds to break this rule - the Sheriff's guards are coming down the tunnel, and Robin breaks from his hiding before he's out of sight of the last one. Given the completely different writing team for Season Three, it's difficult to tell if this was a deliberate call back or a coincidence, although the episode ''had'' been written by the only season three writer who had also worked on the first two seasons (Simon J Ashford).

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Guy dies after he's impaled on the sheriff's sword]], the same way he killed [[spoiler: Marian]] at the end of season two. Likewise, Isabella manages to stab him in the back with a dagger dipped in a poison that he himself had given to her as retribution for selling her as a child to a sadistic husband.

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Roy in season one, Marian's father Edward and Marian herself in season two, and finally Allan, Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff, Isabella and Robin Hood (in that order) across season three]].

* LateArrivalSpoiler: The back of the season three DVD boxset has written on it: "[[spoiler:Marian's]] death was just the beginning."

* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: In season three, Kate is the Light Feminine to Isabella's Dark.

** Subverted with Marian and Isabella, who get a new outfit each episode (Lucy Griffiths jokes on one of the DVD commentaries that half the show's budget was spend on her clothing). It is especially extraordinary in Marian's case considering her house is burnt down at the start of Season Two, and yet she still manages to have brand new outfits at the ready.

* TheNotLoveInterest: Robin and Guy at the end of season three.

* OneSteveLimit: {{Averted}}; both Robin's manservant Thornton (a recurring character throughout season one) and Isabella's husband share the same name. There are three Kates: a villager in an early season one episode, a regular character in season three, and it's also mentioned that Edward's wife/Marian's mother was named Kate.

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: The outlaws more or less abandon the whole 'rob to the rich to give to the poor' idea in the second half of season three to concentrate on [[spoiler: Robin and Guy's secret half-brother]] and [[spoiler: removing Isabella as Sheriff.]]

** Lampshaded at one point in season two when Much attacks Little John for accidentally letting the Sheriff into the camp, and he responds "I was trying to help the poor! Remember, like we USED TO DO?"

* PutOnABus: At the end of season two Will and Djaq opted to stay in the Holy Land for reasons that are never specified.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: In the Season Two finale Guy tells the Sheriff that he will: "take Marian by force." Whether he was bluffing or not probably depends on your shipping preferences, but it's clear that this line [[spoiler:and the murder that follows]] was behind why Richard Armitage described this episode as "the point of no return" for Guy.
* RecurringCharacter: Sir Edward (Marian's father) in seasons one and two; Rebecca (Kate's mother) in season three.

* RetCon: The season three WholeEpisodeFlashback rewrote the entire known history of both Robin and Guy.

* SecondLove: {{Played with}} and {{Deconstructed}} in rather awkward ways in season three. After Marian's death, the showrunners enthusiastically discussed how this was an opportunity to see how Robin copes without the love of his life. Turns out, he does surprisingly well, with the introduction of ''two'' new [[LoveInterest Love Interests]] in the following season, and barely a mention of Marian outside the first episode. However, there is some nuance here and there. One suspects that Robin was LovingAShadow when it came to Isabella, given her resemblance to Marian in both position and appearance, and the relationship quickly implodes when he refuses to run away from Nottingham with her. From there, Kate is presented as the ''true'' SecondLove, with plenty of CharacterShilling designed to make her seem like a perfect and natural partner to him. Yet towards the end of the season, after their RelationshipUpgrade, Robin only seems tepidly interested in his new girlfriend (he's practically [[ShipperOnDeck talked into the relationship by Little John]]) and after he's fatally poisoned in the GrandFinale, he has very little to say to Kate and can't even bring himself to give her a LastKiss. Seconds later, [[TogetherInDeath he's reunited with Marian's spirit in Sherwood Forest]]. So all that time and energy that was spent on building up Isabella and Kate as potential [[SecondLove Second Loves]] for Robin is eventually rendered meaningless, with the final word being that for Robin, there was ''never'' going to be a SecondLove after Marian.

*** In fact, there had already been a character called Thornton in season one, which probably was a ShoutOut; the season three writers probably just forgot there'd already been a character called Thornton.

** One of the Saracens in the season two finale is called [[Series/RobinOfSherwood Nasir]].

* SpoilerOpening: He had already been given a FingerTwitchingRevival, but the [[spoiler:Sheriff's return in the penultimate Season Three episode is ruined by the inclusion of Keith Allen's name in the opening titles.]]
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Though some of the new characters are introduced late, or only stay for a few episodes, Season Three is dominated by Isabella, Kate, Prince John, Tuck and Archer, leading to the marginalization of the original outlaws. Even Robin and Guy were short-changed to some extent as a result of [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters the character overload]].

** To a lesser extent, Much in season three, who continues to pursue Kate ''long'' after she's made it clear that she's not interested.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Subverted in season three - after a while it becomes impossible to predict what will happen next episode as everything is switched up so much.
* StandardFemaleGrabArea: {{Subverted}} in the first episode of season two with Djaq. A {{Mook}} grabs her and shouts: "I've got the girl!" Djaq calmly head butts him, retrieves her sword, and marches off, muttering: "A ''woman'' you'll find."

* StockholmSyndrome: Arguably (''very'' arguably) Marian had this in regards to Guy of Gisborne, particularly in the first half of season two.
* StormingTheCastle: The outlaws storm Nottingham Castle and take Isabella hostage in the penultimate episode of season three. The [[spoiler:the real Sheriff turns up having survived from Gisborne's [[NotQuiteDead seemingly successful]] attempt to murder him and surrounds the castle with an army, ''sort of'' turning this into AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs.]]

** [[spoiler:The last four episodes of season three -- if not the whole of season three -- was setting up Archer to use a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for Robin if the series got renewed. It didn't.]]

* TonightSomeoneDies: The season two finale's promotional material stated that either Robin, Marian, Guy or the Sheriff would die.
* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: [[spoiler:Guy killing Lady Marian]] in season two is what leads to many other characters being killed in season three. Also, had [[spoiler:Guy not impulsively kills the woman who could have gotten away with throwing herself between King Richard and Guy's sword by not bringing up her marriage to Robin Hood]], then the deaths wouldn't have happened.
* TragicKeepsake: Marian's ring, presumably her wedding or engagement ring except it looks totally different to both of those, retained by Robin in the first episode of Season Three. He buries it at the end of the episode after deciding he can't dwell on it.

* TheWalrusWasPaul: In the final episode of season two, there's a rather inexplicable scene in which Guy has a dream about Marian massaging his shoulders, who then turns into Allan. On the DVD commentary, the actors turn to writer/director Dominic Mingella for clarification, who admits that he only added the scene in order to make people talk about it, saying: "the internet will be buzzing after this scene!"

* WhamEpisode: Many in season three, including but not limited to ''Do You Love Me?'' (Prince John's introduction), ''Bad Blood'' (the WholeEpisodeFlashback to Robin and Guy's childhood) and the penultimate episode.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In season three, Guy unleashes a lion on the outlaws as his "secret weapon". Last we see of it, it's still roaming Sherwood Forest.

** At the end of Season Two, Allan is seen carrying a pigeon-carrier, presumably with a messenger pigeon inside (the DVD commentary confirms that Djaq gave it to him). He must have dropped it overboard on the voyage back, because it's nowhere to be seen in Season Three.

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: In the season three episode ''Cause and Effect'', some Irish viewers might wonder why one of the Irish brothers has a Northern Irish accent while the other has a Dublin accent...

* YeahShot: The outlaws at the end of season one, one that almost seems to [[BreakingTheFourthWall Break The Fourth Wall]].

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: [[spoiler: Kate, who replaces Djaq as a female gang member and Marian as Robin's potential love interest. Tuck also fills Will Scarlet's spot in the gang, and Gisborne's sister Isabella seemed to be another replacement LoveInterest until her FaceHeelTurn]].

* TechnicalPacifist: Robin. Whilst in series one the only time he actually kills someone is when Marian's seeming death causes him to go berserk, it goes downhill from there; the majority of his kills in series two are only people immediately threatening him or someone else, but in Season Three, his killing policy is completely arbitrary - in episode 8, he shoots a guard in the back without warning, and then next episode he claims to only kill when there is 'no alternative'.

* ThreeMonthOldNewborn: Newborn Archer looks at ''least'' six months old.

* TonightSomeoneDies: The Season Two finale's promotional material stated that either Robin, Marian, Guy or the Sheriff would die.
* TooDumbToLive: Kate, is generally seen as this by fandom. She abandons the outlaws in order to try and rescue her brother on her own. She tries to cut a deal with Guy of Gisborne. She blunders into fights without a weapon. She mouths-off at a tax collector. She refuses to follow Robin's (perfectly reasonable) orders. When an entire room full of outlaws, nobles, and castle guards are searching for Prince John's crown, she grabs it and begins waving it above her head, yelling: "I've got it! I've got it!" She interrupts a peaceful protest in order to scream abuse at the soldiers and dare them to kill her. She joins the outlaws despite having no useful skills whatsoever, and doesn't show much interest in acquiring such skills either. (Like learning self-defense, or at least some medicine.) She wears an ankle-length dress in a forest. ''She's the only female character to survive the show! Gah!!''
* TooHappyToLive: Seconds before she's stabbed to death, Marian simultaneously frees herself from Gisborne's control and declares her intentions to marry Robin Hood, with a look of pure rapture on her face.
* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: [[spoiler:Guy killing Lady Marian]] in Season Two is what leads to many other characters being killed in Season Three. Also, had [[spoiler:Guy not impulsively kills the woman who could have gotten away with throwing herself between King Richard and Guy's sword by not bringing up her marriage to Robin Hood]], then the deaths wouldn't have happened.

* TragicOneShotCharacter: Meg, whose narrative purpose is to be a ReplacementGoldfish for Guy in the wake of Marian's murder at his hands. She's also killed, though Guy gets to play the role of saviour instead of killer in her case.

* TwoferTokenMinority: Djaq, as the woman and ethnic minority of Robin's gang.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In Season Three Robin attempts to forge an alliance with Isabella, the new Sheriff of Nottingham (also his ex-girlfriend) and the two come to a tenuous agreement. Unfortunately, Robin asks Little John to escort Isabella home, during which John feels the need to tell Isabella that Robin "has eyes for Kate". This achieves nothing except [[GreenEyedMonster pissing Isabella off]], making her question just how much influence she has over Robin, and leading her to turn on him at the next available opportunity. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice job antagonising the valuable ally, John]].

* TheWalrusWasPaul: In the final episode of Season Two, there's a rather inexplicable scene in which Guy has a dream about Marian massaging his shoulders, who then turns into Allan. On the DVD commentary, the actors turn to writer/director Dominic Mingella for clarification, who admits that he only added the scene in order to make people talk about it, saying: "the internet will be buzzing after this scene!"

* WelcomeBackTraitor: see HeelFaceTurn.

* WhamEpisode: Many in series 3, including but not limited to Do You Love Me? (Prince John's introduction), Bad Blood (the WholeEpisodeFlashback to Robin and Guy's childhood) and the penultimate episode.

* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Robin struggles to understand the "qualities" that Marian insists Guy has.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In series 3, Guy unleashes a lion on the outlaws as his "secret weapon". Last we see of it, it's still roaming Sherwood Forest.

** At the end of Season Two, Allan is seen carrying a pigeon-carrier, presumably with a messanger pigeon inside (the DVD commentary confirms that Djaq gave it to him). He must have dropped it overboard on the voyage back, because it's nowhere to be seen in Season Three.

* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Fans are still scratching their heads over why the BBC character profile of Kate lists [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/robinhood/characters/kate.shtml her imagination]] as her weapon. Especially since she never uses it.
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: In the Season 3 episode "Cause and Effect", some Irish viewers might wonder why one of the Irish brothers has a Northern Irish accent while the other has a Dublin accent...

* WomanScorned: [[spoiler:Isabella.]]

* YeahShot: The outlaws at the end of Season One, one that almost seems to [[BreakingTheFourthWall Break The Fourth Wall]].
* YouAreTooLate: Of the sixth kind. When Robin and the outlaws attempt to save Allan-a-Dale's brother from hanging, they find that the Sheriff, in a rare smart moment, has already hung him an hour ago.
* YouExclamation: [[spoiler:Allan-a-Dale's]] last on-screen word.
* YouKilledMyFather: narrowly averted when the gang prevents Will from killing the Sheriff.
* YouGotSpunk: Prince John to Kate. Of course, considering John is played by Toby Stephens, he manages to sound utterly unimpressed by the fact that Kate is "feisty."
* YouDontWantToCatchThis: Turk Flu, in the episode of the same name.

* YouHaveWaitedLongEnough: Between her father's advice, Guy's advances and the Sheriff's snarky commentary, the fact that Marian is still unmarried at the age of twenty-one is enough to invoke this trope.

* ScreamingBirth: When Rosa gives birth to Alice amidst a group of uncomfortable-looking outlaws.

* SecretStabWound: Marian is stabbed as the Night Watchman by Guy in the first season finale and does not reveal her injury until she and Robin have made their escape.

* SheFu: Marian. At one stage she is seen practicing Tai Chi outside her house. In 12th century England.

* SimpleStaff: Little John's quarterstaff.
* SlippedTheRopes: In ''Sheriff Got Your Tongue?'', after Little John's group leaves the tied-up outlaws, Robin instantly frees himself from the tree.
* SmallNameBigEgo: A rare female example is Marian, who would quite often voice her opinion that she was altogether better than Robin. At one stage she tells him that "I do exactly what you do, only with more intelligence." Considering she's saying this whilst lying wounded after breaking into Guy's house, trying and failing to steal his money, getting stabbed and having to be rescued by Robin, this claim is dubious.
** Also played to some extent with Kate (although this may have been unintentional on the part of the writers).
* SmugSnake: Despite what the fan-girls say, Guy of Gisborne is definitely one of these.

* SnakePit: Robin being dangled over a pit of venomous snakes in the first episode of Season Two.

** To a lesser extent, Much in S3, who continues to pursue Kate ''long'' after she's made it clear that she's not interested.

* TheStarscream: Invoked by Prince John, who tells Gisborne that he can become Sheriff if he murders Vaysey.
* StatusQuoIsGod: Subverted in season 3 - after a while it becomes impossible to predict what will happen next episode as everything is switched up so much.
* StandardFemaleGrabArea: {{Subverted}} in the first episode of Season Two with Djaq. A {{Mook}} grabs her and shouts: "I've got the girl!" Djaq calmly head butts him, retrieves her sword, and marches off, muttering: "A ''woman'' you'll find."

* StayInTheKitchen: Robin averted this for the most part, except one time when he was really, ''really'' pissed off at a wounded Marian's claim that she did the whole "Rob from the rich, give to the poor" thing [[SmallNameBigEgo with more intelligence.]]

** Of course, he apologised for saying that a few seconds later.
* StockholmSyndrome: Arguably (''very'' arguably) Marian had this in regards to Guy of Gisborne, particularly in the first half of Season Two.
* StormingTheCastle: The outlaws storm Nottingham Castle and take Isabella hostage in the penultimate episode of series 3. The [[spoiler:the real Sheriff turns up having survived from Gisborne's [[NotQuiteDead seemingly successful]] attempt to murder him and surrounds the castle with an army, ''sort of'' turning this into AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs.]]
* StrawMisogynist: {{Subverted}} by Sheriff Vaizey. Though he makes several disparaging remarks toward women, and often refers to them as "lepers", there was an interesting subtext that suggested that it was all a show for Gisborne, who he didn't want getting too close to any female who could threaten the influence Vaizey held over Guy. The only character Vaizey shows any love for is his sister, and he never underestimates Marian, even when Guy and Robin do. When an Abbess comes to the castle and a guard argues against letting her into a room where the tax money is kept, the Sheriff's response is ''not'' "she's just a woman", but "she's just a nun."
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: [[spoiler: Kate, who replaces Djaq as a female gang member and Marian as Robin's potential love interest. Tuck also fills Will Scarlet's spot in the gang, and Gisborne's sister Isabella seemed to be another replacement LoveInterest until her FaceHeelTurn.]]
** [[spoiler:The last four episodes of series 3--if not the whole of series 3--was setting up Archer to use a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for Robin if the series got renewed. It didn't.]]

* TakeOffYourClothes: Robin instructs Isabella to take off her dress whilst they're floating in a water tank. He combines it with his arrow to make a rope.

** Isabella also takes an arrow for Prince John, fired by [[spoiler:Guy]] and as a result is awarded the postion of Sheriff.