The episode opens with Robin, apparently dead after being shot in the eye, being robbed by a group of nobles heading to Nottingham castle under the leadership of a mysterious blonde woman. She orders her men to get rid of the body, but Robin suddenly opens his eyes, removes the arrow and reveals an ambush.
The rest of his gang appear and demand money to feed the poor, but the nobles fight back and Robin's gang retreats. The nobles continue on their way to Nottingham Castle, where the Sheriff welcomes the blonde and it is revealed that she is his sister, Davina. Marian, along with Allan and Edward, are kidnapped by Guy, who burns down Knighton hall and takes them to the castle as hostages.
When Robin arrives at the castle, he is prepared to shoot Guy but Marian stops him. At the castle, Guy and Marian talk briefly of their unsuccessful wedding, as Guy reminds her she can't embarrass a man of his power at the altar without consequences. Robin meets a woman called Rose, actually the Sheriff's sister in disguise, tied to a stake in Nottingham market place, taking a punishment for her "children", who are actually actors.
In attempting to save them, Robin is trapped and the deception is revealed. Robin is hung above a pit of snakes and hears the Sheriff and a group of black-cloaked figures discussing "Operation Shah Mat" (a.k.a. Checkmate), a plan to kill King Richard upon his return to English soil. The Sheriff has Robin lowered inch by inch into the pit, until Marian, as the Night Watchman, causes a distraction. Left alone, Robin escapes from the pit, but is stopped by Davina. In the struggle, Davina ends up in the pit and Robin and the sheriff, who has returned, try to save her. They get her out, but she has been fatally bitten and dies in her brother's arms.
The Sheriff vows revenge on Robin. Robin returns to his band, as does Allan, who has been released by Guy on the condition he will be his spy in Robin's camp.
Tropes
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When Guy threatens to burn down Marian's house, he demands that she beg him not to. For the sake of her father and her home, she does so — and he sets it on fire anyway.
- Badass in Distress: Robin, after Gisborne takes him captive and dangles him over a pit.
- The Baroness: Davina, the Sheriff's sister.
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Allan is captured by Guy and tortured in Nottingham Castle's dungeons, after which Guy offers him a deal: to pass on information from Robin's camp in exchange for money. Allan accepts.
- Call-Back: While Allan is being held in the castle dungeons, he tries to insist his name is Tom. Viewers will recall that this is not only his deceased brother's name, but that the tactic is probably inspired by what Djaq divulged to him after Tom's execution — that she's using her dead brother's name as an alias.
- Continuity Nod: Guy brandishes his curved dagger at the Nightwatchman and asks: "remember this?", referencing the near-fatal wound he inflicted with it at the end of Series 1.
- Dramatic Thunder: Lightning flashes and thunder rolls when Robin identifies the Sheriff's insignia on Davina's ring.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Vaizey is genuinely devastated when his sister dies — though that doesn't stop her from becoming a Forgotten Fallen Friend, never to be mentioned in any of the following episodes.
- House Fire: Guy deliberately sets fire to Marian house, in revenge for her having abandoned him at the altar.
- One-Man Army: The Nightwatchman fights off dozens of castle guards in her bid to distract them from Robin's escape.
- Playing Possum: The very first scene of the episode is Robin lying on the ground with (seemingly) an arrow in his eye. It's a ploy to make potentially rich travellers stop on the road through Sherwood.
- Snake Pit: After being captured, Robin is dangled over a pit of venomous snakes, which Davina later falls into.
- Whip of Dominance: Davina carries a whip and cracks it a couple of times to assert her authority.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: At the conclusion of the episode Robin aims an arrow at the Sheriff and asks this very question. However, moving on from previous reasons, such as Robin's distaste for bloodshed or his belief that killing the Sheriff would just result in a new (potentially worse) one being installed, Davina tells him that Prince John has placed an insurance policy on Vaizey's life. Should he die of unnatural causes, then all of Nottingham will be razed to the ground and all its people slaughtered.
- Women Are Wiser: Judging by her Reaction Shot to Allan's excuse as to why he has a black eye, Djaq realizes before any of the other outlaws that something suspicious is going on with him.
