Anti-Kate? A Character Study

Let's talk for a minute, about the male characters in Robin Hood. Just hang with me. You'll see where I'm going with this in a minute.

First, you have Robin. He's cocky, and a bit of a lady charmer. At the moment he's ticked off, and when that happens, people die. Next you have Much. Good dependable Much. He loves to eat, and generally complains about any discomfort. Allan is the storyteller of the bunch. He likes to twist his words around and half the things he says are half lies. He has a wry sense of humor and will try to talk himself out of anything. Little John, on the other hand, says very little, and generally likes to let his fist do the talking. However, he had a strong sense of right and wrong, as well as a dedication to help the poor.

You're probably wondering why I'm pointing all of this out. You all know this stuff already! However, I'm trying to make a point. Looking at these male characters, you see quite a diversity of personalities. And we all love that! Each of the outlaws bring something different to the table. They're not all exactly the same.

But, if you look at the female characters in this show, they are much more similar. The writers are obviously trying to avoid writing stereotypical, damsel in distress, type women. As they are trying to avoid that though, they have simply made their own stereotype.

The similarities have never been more striking than with Kate and Marian.

How can I know this? Or even have an impression of this? She hasn't even been in an episode yet!

I believe it is because of the way this character has been marketed in all of the promotional appearances and articles. She is supposed to be a 'feisty village girl' from Locksley who, like Marian, seems to have an amazing ability for self defense. Even though most women were not trained in hand to hand combat back then.

After the finale last season, the BBC sent out an official statement to all of the outraged fans who had complained about Marian's death. Among other things, they mentioned the fact that Marian would never be replaced. However, they seem to have forgotten their own memo. Either that or their marketing department has made a major blunder.

Obviously the show needs female characters. But they should have at least come up with some original character traits that would make her seem like a new character. Not just a love interest, or female place-holder. Instead they decided to stick with the Marian mold. The traits that they've highlighted so far are all shared with Marian. Kate can fight. Kate is feisty and likes to take care of herself. Kate and Robin don't get along.

As this character is introduced tomorrow, I'm truly hoping that I'm wrong. Surely the people in charge of the press releases and trailers are simply forgetting to show the original side of Kate. The side that has nothing to do with the guy's mouths dropping as they watch the blonde girl take out Sherrif's men.

Not all girls are like that. And a girl could be independent without being 'feisty'.

I'll reserve my judgement until I've seen the episode, and try to keep a positive spin on things. It's just a little hard.
I really hope there is something more to her then they are showing us now...