Episode 7: Too Hot To Handle

A wave of intense heat has swept over Nottinghamshire. The gang is doing all they can to alleviate the suffering of the villagers, while Robin himself pays secret house calls on Isabella. He stops by to bring her some fresh strawberries, coincidentally during one of Prince John's visits. Despite their secrecy, the Prince spies their clandestine meeting, begins making his plans of revenge.

After Robin leaves, Prince John asks Isabella to accompany him to the castle, where he takes her down to the dungeons to show her how his new plan will work. Underneath Nottingham castle is the spring which feeds the wells of the whole area. He has ordered his soldiers to block it up, depriving every village in the area of water. He will then take his personal supply of water to the villages, and quench their thirst, in an effort to win their loyalty and love.

Unfortunately for him, the outlaws, desperate to get water for the thirsty people, decide to take matters into their own hands by stealing a few barrels of Prince John's water supply. As they are giving out the water to Locksely village, Robin receives a message from Isabella telling him to meet her in the meadow. When Robin leaves to meet her, Prince John happens to ride into town to benevolently supply the villagers with water. When he discovers that the outlaws have gotten there first, with one of his own water barrels, he is enrages, and decides that he will no longer give out the water, he will charge for it.

Robin, meanwhile, is meeting with Isabella who tells him of Prince John's plan. They set off for Nottingham to release the water, before all of the villages die of thirst. They are not alone, though. Prince John told Gisbourne of the secret meeting he saw between Robin and Isabella, and told him to follow Isabella when she left the castle. He sneaks up behind them as they walk through the forest, and quickly locks a chain around each of their wrists'. Instead of killing them both, as he had been told, he offers Isabella one last chance to right her wrongs by killing Robin Hood. If she does, he will lie to Prince John, telling him that he was wrong about what he saw, but if she doesn't...

The Good:

Very well written episode! Izzy's character proved to share many of the same faults with her brother. Her character grows more complex each week, and I may be able to fully enjoy her now that her relationship with Robin seems to be over.

Prince John was excellent again, and Toby Stevens did a great job adding a few new angles to the Prince's character. Not only his he arrogant and obsessed with being loved, but he is also very insecure. I thought this was very well brought out this episode. Just how he said the line, "If you won't love me, then by God, you'll fear me!" was very stirring, and I even felt a little bit of compassion for him at the time.

There were several very well choreographed fights this episode, where you were never quite sure who was fighting whom, as well as some nice dialog between Much and Robin. This episode definitely struck a good balance between action, character tension, and emotion. The next few episodes should hold some very interesting developments, regarding the fallout between Robin and Izzy, and Izzy, PJ, and Gizzy. On the baddie side of things, any trust they might have had in each other has been shattered, and the story could go any number of directions from here.

Last but most importantly, Marian was mentioned multiple times this episode. Jonas did a spectacular job backing up the dialog with facial expressions that could be interpreted many different ways, depending upon your perspective watching the show. We got to see into Robin's head a little bit, when he told Isabella that he 'just wants to forget'. The relationship between Robin and Izzy was IMHO (on Robin's side) just an attempt to forget Marian. I think that what Robin realized today is that he can't forget her. A realization which I am very thankful for. All of this episode, even though Marian was not discussed constantly, Jonas was able to convey with his face, a certain sadness that he has been hiding the last few episodes. It was good to see. They even played Marian's tune a few times. Ahhh...

The Bad:

The gang didn't have much to do again, this episode. After the next episode, Prince John will be leaving, and then maybe they'll have some more to do.

They are hinting at a romance between Robin and Kate again. Ugg. Robin doesn't need a relationship right now, he needs to be focused on what he's trying to accomplish. Especially with so many twists still left to come this season.

The Ugly:

It's two weeks till the next episode. *crying*

In Summary:

The more I reflect on this episode, the more things I remember liking about it. There were some very good moments, and I hope to see the intricacies of these relationships further explored in later episodes. I'm also looking forward to what the Sheriff has up his sleeve when he returns.

We are Robin Hood!

~Paige