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

The Sheriff surrounds Nottingham Castle with men and unfurls the flag of truce to give his demands. Robin and Gisborne ride out, and the Sheriff's requests are simple:

Sheriff: You have until dawn. Give me Gisborne, release Isabella, and then return Nottingham to myself and Prince John. Otherwise, you and your noisy friends, well, they’ll be wiped off the face of the earth.

To demonstrate, he launches a Byzantine fireball into the market square. Returning to the town, Robin aims to prepare for a siege, delaying tactics until the King's men at Loughborough can be alerted to the situation and summoned. Gisborne asks why Robin didn't end it all by handing him over to the Sheriff:

Robin: This is bigger than you, Gisborne. It always has been. We are fighting for the future of England. You have Isabella behind bars. That’s what you wanted. This isn’t your fight unless you choose it to be.

Gisborne: While the Sheriff lives this is all our fight. I’m with you.

The outlaws hold a funeral for Allan, whilst Gisborne visits Isabella in the cells, and gives her a vial of poison, as he believes the outlaws will show her no mercy now, and he chooses to give her the easy way out. Kate makes her way out of the castle to get word to the King's men.

Archer admits that he was the one who sold the Byzantine fire to the Sheriff; in the resulting confrontation, he accuses Robin of leading the peasants to their death. Robin decides to sabotage the Sheriff's trebuchets, and a short while later infiltrate his camp. However, as they are escaping, the Sheriff prepares to attack; he had no intention of waiting till dawn. The sabotaged trebuchets launch their missiles straight up; what goes up must come down, and the trebuchets are destroyed. Attempting to escape, the outlaws are stopped, but Archer comes to their rescue. Back in Nottingham, he hands Tuck a bottle of Byzantine fire in the hope of making some more. His long-range weapons destroyed, the Sheriff prepares to storm Nottingham.

The Sheriff breaks down the Nottingham gate, but the outlaws are waiting for him with several lines of archers, and they take down many of the Sheriff's men before retreating to the courtyard. In the dungeons, Isabella makes her escape.

In the courtyard, the outlaws prepare to respond as the Sheriff breaks through the gates. However, he has captured Kate, who was making her way back from Loughborough - with the news that King Richard has been captured by Leopold of Austria and is being held to ransom, and that the troops will not fight without Richard to lead them.

Sheriff: So what's it to be, Hood? Surrender or slaughter?

Robin: Neither. You see, I don't trust you, Vaysey. You said you'd take no prisoners.

Sheriff: Oh, yes. Yes, I did say that. Well, that was rather hasty of me. I mean, who’s going to pay tax if the villagers are all dead?

Robin: So you'd release all these people now, only to make slaves of them later?

Sheriff: Why?

Robin: You don't give them much of a choice, do you?

The Sheriff, bored of the usual "game", orders Kate killed, only for Much to drop down and rescue her; the rebels open fire. Beaten back, the Sheriff proclaims "That is the last time Robin Hood makes a fool out of me!" As the Sheriff's men fall back, reality sets in and the troops' morale dies. Tuck tells Robin that the people need him, inspiring him for one last Rousing Speech:

Robin: Loyal comrades... you know the situation. And you know that we are on our own. Now we have already lost friends and loved ones. But England will lose far more if we do not make a stand this day. And yes, some of us may fall, but our ght will live on, in the minds of those that despise injustice, in the hearts of those that cherish freedom. You are the soul of England, standing firm against tyranny for a real future. Now ask yourself, is that not something worth fighting for?! Together... for England!

The troops' morale returns, conveniently just as the Sheriff's men renew their attack. As the fight continues, the Sheriff prepares to enter Nottingham Castle via the secret tunnel, remembering just as they get there that it's blocked by Isabella's trap. He prepares to clear the tunnel with the remaining stocks of Byzantine fire.

Back in the castle, Tuck finds supplies of boiling oil, which is the base compound of Byzantine fire; with a little adaptation, it is ready for use. At that moment, the situation in the courtyard gets worse, as the Sheriff's men breach the portcullis. Everyone is drawn back into the castle, but Isabella lures Guy (followed by Archer) into the secret tunnel. In the tunnel, Archer notices a grille which leads into the cellars of the castle. At that moment, the Sheriff's Byzantine fire goes off, clearing the tunnel. Gisborne goes on alone as Archer fetches Robin, only to find it is a trap laid by the Sheriff and Isabella. Before the Sheriff can kill Guy, though, Archer returns with Robin. A fight breaks out, during which Archer is disarmed; Gisborne throws his sword to him, then pushes Robin out of the way of Isabella before she can stab him, but that leaves him defenceless as both the Sheriff and Isabella impale him. Isabella still managed to graze Robin with her knife, which is coated with Gisborne's poison. The elated Sheriff and company run off to summon an army to finish off the rebels. Gisborne tells Robin about the extension of the tunnel that leads into the cellars, and admits with his dying breath that he has lived in shame, with not even Marian waiting for him in Heaven, and he is just grateful that he "dies free".

Tuck has now positioned all the Byzantine fire he has made in the Great Hall. The rebels make their way to the cellars, and watch as the Sheriff brings his men through the tunnel to the Great Hall. They make their escape as the last of the men go by; Robin and Archer double back to the castle, and Robin fires a flaming arrow into the castle just as the Sheriff and Isabella arrive, wondering how everyone could have escaped. As Robin and Archer run for it...

[The Sheriff, believing that the flaming arrow has proven an ineffective final attack from Robin, is checking the room and sniffs some of the mixture he has found]

Sheriff: Byzantine fire...

[He looks at the flaming arrow and realises what has just happened...]

The Great Hall explodes; as it collapses, one of the castle towers loses integrity and crashes against the other, bringing the entire castle down and killing the Sheriff, Isabella and all the guards. The outlaws begin to celebrate, but then they learn that Robin has been mortally wounded.

In Sherwood, Robin says his goodbyes to the outlaws, imploring them to continue the fight. He leaves them to wander deeper into the forest; as he crawls up against a tree to die, he has a vision of Marian's spirit coming to fetch him.

Marian: I have waited for you.

Robin: I knew I would find you again.

Marian: It's time. The greatest adventure is yet to come.

[Robin gets to his feet.]

Robin: My wife.

Marian: Now and forever, my love.

[They kiss and embrace. In reality, Robin is still lying against the tree, stretching out for Marian's hand, then he falls back, dead.]

Later, the outlaws are carrying his body through the forest. Pausing for a moment, Tuck assures them that they will continue his work, and carry on in his name; then they carry on, taking the body deeper into the forest.

---

Tropes

• Action Girl: In several blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments, Kate actually acquits herself reasonably well in this episode. She rappels down the castle walls to get reinforcements, throws stones over the battlements to deflect the guards, and manages to kill one of the Sheriff's soldiers all by herself.
• Affectionate Gesture to the Head: A somewhat darker example than usual. When Guy gives Isabella a vial of poison to kill herself with, he gently strokes her hair.
• Alas, Poor Villain: A lot of people cried when Guy died.
• All Love Is Unrequited: As he dies, Guy concedes to Robin that Marian "was always yours." Later, as Robin prepares for his own death, it becomes abundantly clear to Kate that her feelings for him aren't returned.
• Ambiguous Situation: So were Isabella and Vaizey in league with each other all along? Isabella denies it when Guy questions her, and there seems to be no possible way she could have known the old Sheriff was still alive (and certainly no indication of it in any of the preceding episodes) but she also lures Gisborne into the Secret Underground Passage (and Vaizey's hiding place) as though following an agreed-upon plan, and the two act like they're on familiar terms once they're together.
• And the Adventure Continues: A subdued version at the end of season three as the surviving outlaws carry Robin's body deeper into the forest after vowing to fight on in his name.
  • This trope is also invoked between Robin and Marian in their Together in Death scene, wherein Marian tells Robin that: "the greatest adventure is yet to come."
• Arrows on Fire: Robin's final arrow is ignited so that he can shoot it into the castle and set off the explosives.
• Back for the Finale: The (original) Sheriff and Marian.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Prince John, the Greater-Scope Villain of the show, probably would have considered this a good day. Sure he’s lost a couple of incompetent allies, but Robin Hood is dead and his brother Richard is being held hostage in Austria for a substantial ransom.
• Big Badass Battle Sequence: Most of the episode's run-time is taken up with the siege of Nottingham Castle.
• Big Damn Heroes: Nearly all the outlaws are given a moment to shine: Much rescues Kate by rappelling down the parapets of Nottingham Castle, Archer comes to his half-brothers’ rescue when they’re trapped by the trebuchets, Tuck finds the Byzantium powder and readies it for use, Little John uses his strength to yank open the grating to the escape tunnel, and Robin Hood shoots his final flaming arrow, blowing up the Sheriff’s stronghold once and for all.
• Big Damn Kiss: Interestingly, the kiss between Robin and Marian is pretty low-key — it’s the embrace that immediately follows, complete with laughter and a Twirl of Love, that really cements their relief and joy at being together again.
• Big Damn Reunion: It’s one hell of a cathartic moment when Marian steps out from behind the trees in Sherwood Forest to reunite with Robin.
• Bittersweet Ending: For Robin: he's finally reunited with his beloved Marian, but — like her — dies young, never sees the king return to England, and must leave his men to continue the fight without him.
• Bolivian Army Ending: Since the show was cancelled, it can be presumed that the outlaws ultimately fail, King Richard dies in France and Prince John takes the throne. This was unintentional as the producers expected a fourth series, so it is entirely possible that they intended an ending that completely abandoned historical accuracy and killed John off.
• Book Ends: In the first episode of this season, Guy says of Marian: “she should have been mine!” in a fight with Robin. Now as he dies, he tells Robin: “she was always yours”, finally relinquishing his possessive obsession with her.
• Bring News Back: This becomes Kate’s mission after she makes it to Longborough and learns that King Richard has been taken captive and held hostage in Austria. Realizing that The Cavalry isn’t coming, she heads back to Nottingham to inform the other outlaws.
• Call-Back: A notable example because, having been absent all series, several of the catchphrases from seasons one and two make a comeback in the final scenes (Little John's "A good day to die!" and "We are Robin Hood!")
  • There are also several references to the very first episode: Robin making a Rousing Speech on the steps of Nottingham Castle, brushing his hand over the grass as he makes his way to Sherwood (compared to brushing his hand through the grass as he returns to Locksley), and "forgetting the last man", something he warned Much about in the first episode.
  • The musical cue that plays when Tuck realizes he can use the bottle of Byzantine fire to make some more is the same one that was used at the very start of Will You Tolerate This?
• The Cameo: Lucy Griffiths as Marian reappears for a single Together in Death scene with Robin.
• Cavalry Refusal: The troops in Longborough refuse to come to Nottingham’s aid without the leadership of King Richard.
• Character Check: John, Robin and Much are arguably much closer in characterization to how they were in Series 1 and 2.
• Cheated Death, Died Anyway: Robin was rescued by Archer from the limestone-filled tunnel at the end of the previous episode, but succumbs to poison at the conclusion of this one. The trope is even invoked when he tells Much:
  "We have cheated death so many times."
• Death by Irony: Gisborne ends up being indirectly responsible for Robin's death, except not only did he not even mean to, by this point he no longer wanted Robin dead and is deeply regretful for inadvertently giving Isabella the means to kill him.
• Death by Woman Scorned: Although Isabella's motivation in killing Robin is a lot more complex than merely this trope, comments made by her in the last episode indicate that at least part of her grudge against him is that a. he broke up with her, and b. went on to start a relationship with someone she considered her class inferior.
• Delaying Action: The outlaws and their allies hold Nottingham Castle in the hopes that King Richard will arrive with his armies to tip the balance in their favour. When this falls through, they call for an evacuation.
• Despair Event Horizon: The news that King Richard has been captured and no aid is coming is (understandably) this for Robin and the rebels, although they bounce back before long.
• Died Happily Ever After: Robin dies peacefully and on his own terms, having said goodbye to his men and venturing into Sherwood Forest, where he's reunited with the spirit of Marian, who promises him an eternity together.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the body of legends, Robin is usually described as dying at Kirklees Abbey after the treacherous Prioress either poisons him or secretly submits him to too much bloodletting. Here, he's killed when Isabella nicks him with a dagger coated in poison, though in both cases he dies a. at the hands of a woman, and b. with poison.
• Do Not Go Gentle: With Nottingham surrounded by Vaizey's soldiers, all of whom are under orders to slaughter everyone in the city, and no prospect of reinforcement from troops loyal to King Richard, Robin and company decide if they're going to go down, they'll go down fighting.
  Robin: Loyal comrades, you know the situation...and you know we are on our own. Now we have already lost friends and loved ones, but England will lose far more if we do not make a stand this day. And yes, some of us may fall, but our fight will live on in the minds of those that despise injustice, in the hearts of those that cherish freedom! You are the soul of England, standing firm against tyranny for a real future! Now ask yourself, is that not something worth fighting for?!!
• Downer Ending: Pretty much, though there is a Bittersweet Ending for Robin and Marian, who (if you believe in the show’s depiction of an afterlife) are at least Together in Death. But the outlaws have lost their leader and now face the daunting challenge of raising the funds for King Richard’s ransom. Worse, if you look ahead into how history panned out, they ultimately fail: King Richard does return to England, but then promptly heads away to war in France where he is killed in combat, opening the throne back up to Prince John, who reigns as the undisputed king for the next seventeen years.
• Due to the Dead: The outlaws cremate Allan's body. Subverted with Guy, as they simply don't have time to remove his body from the castle before making their escape.
• Dying Dream: A possible interpretation of Marian's visitation to Robin in the final moments of the episode, brought on by the poison coursing through his system.
• Dying to Be Replaced: Robin dies, and the mantle of leadership responsibility falls to Archer. (Though the show itself was cancelled before viewers could see this trope play out in its entirety).
• Dying Wish: As he says his goodbyes, Robin tells Archer: "don't let it end here", the request being that his half-brother continue fighting for the good of the people and King Richard.
• Ethereal Choir: This starts up just before Marian's spirit appears in Sherwood Forest.
• Face Death with Dignity: Whatever else might be said of him throughout the series, Gisborne does this; he apologizes for all the wrongs he's done, provides the outlaws with a means to escape Nottingham, acknowledges without bitterness that Marian's heart always belonged to Robin and thanks Robin for allowing him to die with a sense of pride in himself, having lived a shameful life.
  Gisborne: Is this the end?
  Robin: For you and me both, my friend.
  Gisborne: I'm sorry... but at least you have someone waiting for you. Marian. The love of my life, but she was always yours. I've lived in shame...but because of you, I die proud. I am free. [dies]
• Faking the Dead: After the skirmish in the tunnel, Blamire plays dead. He pops up again after the outlaws have left and the Sheriff’s men returned, only to presumably be killed in the explosion a few moments later.
• Final Speech: Both Guy and Robin get the chance to do this; Guy thanks Robin for giving him the chance at redemption, while Robin gives individual goodbyes to each of the remaining outlaws.
• Grand Finale: There was a fourth series planned, but this ended up being the show's final episode.
• The Guards Must Be Crazy: All it takes is a flirty smile and some innuendoes from Isabella, and the hapless guard is eagerly unlocking her cell door.
• The Hero Dies: Succumbing to poison in his system, Robin dies in Sherwood Forest.
• Heroic Resolve: Despite having poison coursing through his system and physically struggling with the effort, Robin manages to shoot one last flaming arrow to light the explosives and bring down Nottingham Castle.
• Heroic Sacrifice: It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but when Archer is knocked down by Blamire in the tunnel, Guy throws his half-brother his sword, leaving himself unarmed (which proves fatal a few seconds later).
• Hope Spot: The remaining outlaws make it out of Nottingham Castle alive and begin to celebrate... then Tuck breaks the news that Robin has been fatally poisoned. It's a unique example in that it's only the characters that experience the Hope Spot — the audience is already aware that Robin is on borrowed time.
• Hope Springs Eternal: The return of the phrase "we are Robin Hood", as reiterated by the characters in the final scene, demonstrates that the remaining outlaws aren't going to give up. Furthermore, Archer participating in the Team Hand-Stack shows that he plans to join the fight, presumably as their new leader.
• I Lied: Vaizey tells the outlaws they have until daybreak to hand Nottingham back to him before his army attacks. While infiltrating his camp, they hear Vaizey ordering his men onto the attack in the middle of the night and realize he had no intention of keeping his word.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Gisborne. Isabella stabs him in the back at the same time Vaizey runs him through.
• In the Hood: Amusingly, not the outlaws, but Marian when she appears for her Together in Death scene with Robin, wearing a silvery hood. Subverted in that she's not wearing it to disguise herself.
• Instant Death Stab: Isabella’s guard dies immediately after she stabs him with his own dagger. It’s somewhat ironic, since Guy is killed with a sword thrust to the stomach, yet still has time for a lengthy Final Speech. Chalk it down to main character privileges.
• Internal Reveal: The audience knows about Robin’s fatal poisoning before the other outlaws do, albeit only for a few minutes.
• I Will Wait for You: A variation; when Marian's spirit appears to Robin in Sherwood Forest, she tells him: "I have waited for you."
• Join or Die: Vaizey offers a variant of this to Isabella, commanding her to surrender the title of Sheriff of Nottingham back to him in exchange for her life and a place at his side.
• Karmic Death: Guy is run-through with a large sword, the same way he killed Marian. He's also stabbed in the back by Isabella, the little sister he sold to a psychotic Abusive Spouse for money.
• The Last Dance: A truncated example. After learning that he's been infected with poison, Robin focuses on getting his people to safety and taking the final shot to destroy Nottingham Castle once and for all.
• Last Kiss: Subverted between Kate and Robin. Kate clearly lines herself up to get one, but at this point Robin can't make himself go through with it and simply hugs her instead.
• Last Stand: The heroes mentally and physically prepare to go down fighting, only to realize that they've got enough Byzantium fire to blow up the entire castle. At that point the plan changes from a Last Stand to a secret evacuation, in which they escape through a secret tunnel and blow up their enemies behind them.
• Laugh of Love: In their Together in Death scene, Robin gives Marian a Twirl of Love, and her happy laughter echoes up through the trees — the last thing we hear of them.
• Leave Behind a Pistol: Or rather, a vial of poison. Guy gives this to Isabella, telling her that the outlaws will show no mercy and that her best option is to take her own way out.
• Left Hanging: The show ends with the outlaws reaffirming their commitment to the cause and vowing to fight on in Robin's name, starting by raising the ransom money to free King Richard from Austria and end Prince John's reign once and for all. Despite Passing the Torch of leadership onto Robin's half-brother Archer, the show's cancellation put a stop to all this.
• The Living Dead: Don't look too hard at Robin's corpse in the final scene. You can clearly see Jonas Armstrong's chest rising and falling.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": Vaizey, Isabella and their men's reaction to realizing the barrels Robin just set alight contain Byzantine fire thirty seconds before they explode...
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Whether Marian appearing to Robin was a hallucination or a real visitation is left up to the viewer to decide, and there’s evidence to support either theory.
• Messy Hair: To match Isabella's state of mind.
• Mood Whiplash: The outlaws go from exuberantly celebrating their victory to learning about Robin's imminent death within the space of a few seconds.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: Strange example when Robin Passes the Torch of leadership to Archer and tells him: "these men are your brothers now", a heavily-gendered comment that twice over neglects to include Kate, The Smurfette. Regarding the "and Zoidberg" part of the trope, in what is either an acknowledgement of the latent sexism of this comment, a invoked Take That, Scrappy! visual gag regarding her role as The Load, or a subtle Ship Tease moment meant to set up Kate/Archer as a potential pairing, Kate is prominently (and presumably deliberately) placed in the background between Robin and Archer as this exchange between the men takes place. What they were attempting here, we'll never know...
• My God, What Have I Done?: Subverted: Isabella briefly looks guilty when she sees Guy's corpse, but suppresses it when Vaizey tells her there is no time for sentiment.
• Negated Moment of Awesome: Kate sneaks herself out of the besieged castle, intending to find King Richard's camp and promising that she'll be "back with an army". Turns out that Richard is currently being held hostage in Austria, and on returning to Nottingham to share this news with the outlaws, she's captured by the Sheriff's men and held hostage for the umpteenth time.
• No Endor Holocaust: The explosion that takes out Nottingham Castle is enormous, and the fallout zone extends far beyond the castle itself, destroying a fair portion of the township in every direction. However, nobody seems to have been hurt (beyond those that the explosion was targeting) and everyone leaps about cheering with joy at the destruction.
• Not Afraid to Die: Robin is remarkably zen about his imminent death by poison. As Tuck breaks the news to the other outlaws, Robin wanders away through the grass, smiling to himself.
• Not Quite Dead: Vaizey taunts Gisborne with this, sneering that Guy should have made sure to check he'd done the job properly.
  Vaizey: Surprise! You thought I was dead...but you didn't check, did you?!
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: However you might feel about Kate, she does manage to run, by herself, throughout the night, all the way to Loughborough (over fifteen miles away) to get news of King Richard – then, on realizing he’s not there, run all the way back to Nottingham to Bring News Back. Unfortunately, it all takes place off-screen and is somewhat undermined when she’s captured for what feels like the dozenth time on returning.
• Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending: A strange example in that Robin and Marian are both dead and yet get a Together in Death scene that (if you assume it’s real and not just a dying vision) promises them an eternity of adventures in Heaven. Everyone else? The Gisborne siblings are killed after suffering lifetimes of misery and abuse, Allan died believing his friends considered him a traitor, there’s no way of knowing whether Will and Djaq are happy, safe or even ALIVE at this point since they’ve not been mentioned once since their departure, Archer discovered the existence of three half-siblings and lost them all in a single day, and the remaining outlaws are facing an uncertain future with untested leadership and a dangerous mission to free the king – and are still saddled with Kate’s continued presence.
• Out of Focus: After an entire season of being a one-woman Spotlight-Stealing Squad, Kate (in what is perhaps a concession to how deeply unpopular she was as a character) is wisely kept on the margins of this episode, spending a significant chunk of it off-screen in her failed attempt to bring King Richard's troops to the battle. She gets little dialogue, manages at least one more stint as a Damsel in Distress, is the only outlaw not to get an overt Big Damn Heroes moment, and is treated as little more than an afterthought by Robin, who isn't that concerned on learning she's sneaked out of the castle.
• "Pan Up to the Sky" Ending: Almost. The second-to-last scene is Robin reaching out, slumping against a tree in death, and the camera panning away from him up to the sky.
• Perfect Poison: A tiny scratch to Robin’s neck is enough to fatally wound him after Isabella nicks him with a blade coated in poison.
• Plot Armour: Really the only way to explain how Kate survives this episode. Given that the Sheriff has taken off the gloves by killing Allan and leaving his body at the gates of Nottingham Castle to taunt Robin, there's no reason why he wouldn't also immediately slit Kate's throat in front of Robin after he has her at his mercy at the front gates. He wasn't even trying to negotiate a hostage exchange for Isabella, which could have justified the restraint.
• Posthumous Villain Victory: Isabella is (presumably) killed in the blast that destroys Nottingham Castle, but first manages to nick Robin with a dagger coated with poison. He survives her death by mere minutes.
• Pyrrhic Victory: For the outlaws. They've finally killed the Sheriff and destroyed his base of operations, but they've lost Robin, Allan and Guy in the process — plus Prince John is still alive and kicking, and King Richard is currently being held hostage in Austria.
• Pre-Sacrifice Final Goodbye: Tweaked a little to become a post sacrifice goodbye — Robin makes it out of Nottingham Castle alive, but not before Isabella nicks him with a poisoned dagger. It's slow working enough to give him the chance to say individual goodbyes to all the remaining outlaws before he succumbs to the poison in his bloodstream.
• Railing Kill: A couple of the Sheriff's soldiers go flying over the battlements once they've been hit.
• Redemption Equals Death: Guy makes amends for all the wrongs he has done, but at the cost of his own life.
• Secretly Dying: It’s more truncated than usual, but Robin keeps his death from Much and Kate for as long as possible.
• The Siege: The outlaws try to hold Nottingham Castle as Prince John's men besiege it. This gets inverted later on when Tuck rigs the castle with Byzantium fire, the outlaws escape, and the Sheriff is left inside as the explosives are lit.
• Siege Engines: Battering Rams and trebuchets are both utilized by the Sheriff in The Siege, though an early action sequence has Robin and the outlaws sabotage the latter.
• Significant Name Shift: After they're forced to work together Robin and Guy of Gisborne slowly shift from a Last-Name Basis (Gisborne refers to Robin as "Locksley" or "Hood") to a First-Name Basis; it's not expressly commented upon and neither seems consciously aware that they're doing it.
• Somebody Set Us Up The Bomb: The Sheriff laughs off Robin's flaming arrow... then realizes it's just hit the barrel of Byzantium fire he's standing right next to...
• Stab the Sky: Robin does this with his sword at the end of his Rousing Speech on the steps on Nottingham Castle, and most of those listening return the gesture.
• Take Up My Sword: As Robin says to Archer before his death:
  Robin: You make sure this doesn't finish it. Because this is where you belong. And these men are your brothers now.
• Team Hand-Stack: The remaining outlaws do this over Robin's body in the show's final scene, promising to fight on in his name.
• This Cannot Be!: The gang's reaction to learning Robin is dying.
  • Also Guy's reaction to seeing Vaizey somehow survived their duel.
  Gisborne: I put a dagger in him. I saw him die!
  Robin: Well that ghost has raised an army.
• Title Drop: Robin uses the words "something worth fighting for" in his Rousing Speech to the people of Nottingham.
• Together in Death: Robin and Marian.
  • Obviously averted with Guy and Marian, who makes a point of saying that she's not waiting for him.
• Tragic Hero: Robin, whose Fatal Flaw was underestimating the instability of Isabella's mental and emotional state. Their Destructive Romance ends with Isabella deliberately scratching him with a dagger coated in poison, the culmination of his choice earlier in the series to end their relationship on the basis of being Married to the Job and still being in love with his first wife. In a way, it's his love for Marian that dooms him, just as Marian's love for him doomed her.
• Trash the Set: Nottingham Castle is reduced to rubble.
• Twirl of Love: See page image.
• Uncertain Doom: An interesting case with Isabella. It's almost certain that had the fourth series of the show been commissioned, Lara Pulver would have reprised her role as Isabella — she was signed on for at least two more potential seasons, the show would have needed a new Sheriff of Nottingham, and the writers were already setting up a rivalry between herself and half-brother Archer. However, since the show wasn't renewed for a fourth series, there's no reason to believe she wasn't killed in the explosion that took down Nottingham Castle.
• Unexplained Recovery: Just how did Vaizey manage to survive Guy stabbing him? The show doesn't offer any explanation.
• Unrequited Love: Guy concedes that Marian always loved Robin and that she’ll be waiting for her husband, not him, in the next life.
• Villainous Breakdown: After Robin and the outlaws sabotage his war machines, Vaizey flies completely off the handle and orders his men to show no mercy to the defenders of Nottingham.
  Vaisey: DESTROY EVERYTHING!!!