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ChristianFictionQueen
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Name: Ruth
Country: United States
State: Tennessee
Birthday: 9/21/1980
Gender: Female
Interests: Reading - Christian Fiction - Writing Reviews - Talk Radio - Being an "Evil Conservative" - Frank Sinatra - MGM Musicals - BBC - Chris Botti - Broadway - World War II History - Jane Austen - Middle Tennessee Christian Writers - Books & Literature Editor for The Bridge
Expertise: Books in general, especially Christian fiction...and I'm considered something of an expert on Frank Sinatra in certain circles.
Occupation: Inventory Associate
Industry: Retail
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
5/9/2005
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Spoilers...
I'll start off by saying this episode is the crowning jewel of this otherwise horribly uneven and spotty season of Robin Hood. If the episode focused entirely on Guy (Richard Armitage) it would've been absolutely perfect, because his storyline here was a freaking dream come true. But, before I talk about the really good stuff, let's get everything else out of the way first. :)
Sometime between this episode and the last, Isabella's (Lara Pulver) been officially appointed Sheriff of Nottingham. Go figure. We are allowed to see some of just how conflicted a woman she is - her marriage has scarred her, but it's not left her entirely without some good impulses. She's got a women empowerment agenda thing brewing, but she barely gets started implementing that by freeing Meg (Holly Grainger) from an unwanted marriage before her much talked of but never seen husband Thornton (Nicholas Gleaves) shows up. Gleaves looked terribly familiar, but in glancing at his IMDB page I didn't recognize any credits. (Oh, and more on Meg later.)
Thornton is a terrible piece of work to say the least, and when you see the fear in Isabella's eyes at his appearance you can't help but have compassion for her situation. She is obviously a victim, but she hasn't lost her ability to use her past circumstances to manipulate Robin. This of course plays right into Robin's biggest weakness - the need to be the hero/savior.
The whole Robin (Jonas Armstrong) - Kate (Joanne Froggatt) - Much (Sam Troughton) thing is so wrong, on so very many levels, and so pathetically executed...well really is there more to say besides that? I felt like the scenes involving that threesome were so junior high it wasn't even funny. And every scene involving poor Much's crushed hopes and dreams were downright painful. Why didn't Kate just cut out Much's heart and stomp it into the ground??? So all of a sudden Kate is the best thing to ever enter Robin's life - even Little John (Gordon Kennedy) talks her up. Yeesh what is wrong with all of these people?! Robin has gotten unforgivably stupid about women, but this has been going on so long, with no promise of correction, that I sort of feel numb to it all by this point. Marian is rolling over in her grave, Robin. Yeesh!!
So by the end of this episode, Isabella's dispatched her evil husband - personally I think they could've milked that storyline a little longer, but oh well. She's got a nice evil queen vibe going on - she is CRAZY, but really her brand of crazy just made me nostalgic for Keith Allen's take on the Sheriff. *sigh*
And now for the best Guy scenes EVER! Guy in prison awaiting execution, and let me tell you, NO ONE can rock the whole dark, brooding, facing death yet unbelievably appealing thing like Richard Armitage. Excuse me while a swoon for a second (AGAIN!). :) He's thrown into the company of Meg, a self-proclaimed man hater who Isabella automatically connected with - but sadly Izzy's plans for her new BFF are going to fall through BIG TIME. Because no one in their right mind can resist the allure of the dark knight that is Guy. :)
Meg and Guy's scenes are fantastic. Because they're both in jail they're on equal footing, and Meg isn't afraid of speaking her mind and calling Guy out on everything from his attitude to his past actions. This is the kind of self-reflective time and turning point moment that I have wanted to see from Guy ever since he snapped and killed Marian in the finale of season two. He's just not supposed to be that guy who can do something like that without consequence. As he tells Meg, (referring to Marian) she believe in the better side of him, believed he could be a good man, and he let her down. When he says death means nothing because he's already in hell, you know that's true, because until he met Meg, he'd destroyed the only other person that believed in him at all. When Meg defies Isabella to try and free Guy, for the first time in ages, if not ever, his first thought is to save her. There's no ulterior motive, no desire to play the system. He's reached a point of selflessness and heroism that I always knew was there, I was just dying to SEE it. So thank you, Richard Armitage, in the midst of the mess that is season three, for giving me this performance.
Since we already know that Robin Hood's been cancelled, it's a bit pointless I guess to wish for what might have been. But I can't help but wish that the showrunners had wanted to develop the Meg/Guy relationship a bit further. Granted, her death scene was gut-wrenching, and having Guy actually break down and cry was a fanastic moment. I'm going to pretend to read Richard Armitage's mind here, but who cares?  I felt like he wanted to convey that Guy was crying for more than just Meg's death - it was for all of his character's lost opportunities. So tragic, yet so loverly to see. :) I thought Grainger and Armitage had great chemistry together, and I loved how Meg was not a character who was going to give Guy and inch. She was quite a spitfire, and their relationship would've been a lot of fun to watch (much more rewarding than the Robin/Kate debacle). I look forward to seeing Grainger in more shows (she's appeared in an episode of Merlin, to name one recent credit).
This was a beautiful, fantastic Guy-centric episode and it's definitely a highlight of the season - one ep that will be getting rewatched a lot in the future.
Check out this link for some great Guy wallpapers! | | |
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Spoilers...
For episode eight of this season, the writers of Robin Hood drag out the ol' is the king dead or is he not plot, and can the usuper successfully stage a coup/fake coronation (any guesses as to how that always turns out? ). The episode opened with an assassin/knight called Lord Sheridan (who just happened to train Robin back in the day) played by Robert Pugh. He looked very familiar so I checked out his IMDB page - turns out he's appeared in Marple, Poirot, Bleak House, The Virgin Queen, and Torchwood, to name a few appearances. The fact that Sheridan's joined John's camp is a textbook chance for Robin (Jonas Armstrong) to act all brooding and angsty. Why oh why doesn't the whole world see things Robin's way? Poor guy. *sigh* Two things about this first segment of the episode - did anyone think it was weird/odd that such skillful wax artisans were around in King Richard's day? Maybe I am just not up on my history in that era. Also, is it weird that Isabella (Lara Pulver) would be making a play for the position of sheriff? Also - three things, I lied - part of me really loved how over-the-top hammy Prince John's (Toby Stephens) response to the news of his brother's "demise was - Stephens seems like he's really had a heckuva lot of fun with this role and it shows. He's in on the joke - I only wish Prince John had been able to make an appearance in season two, which for my money was the most consistent and well-scripted run of episodes.
The Gisborne siblings sure are messed up, aren't they? Despite the fact that Isabella jumped the shark and became completely unhinged in episode seven, I loved the nuance that Richard Armitage gave Guy's character in their first scene together. Sure, Isabella ends up smooth-talking her way out of imminent danger by offering reconciliation and promising to speak to the prince on Guy's behalf. But for a few brief moments, it seems like Guy hesitates killing Izzy because he's changed, because he can't quite make himself cross that line and kill family. The Marian thing still haunts my favorite dark and brooding anti-hero. He's still got a LONG way to go though, as he walked right into that whole drugging and betrayal scenario, didn't he?
You know I've got to say, it cracks me up that Robin & Co.'s bright idea for stopping Prince John is stealing the crown so there can't be a coronation. Seems flimsier than usual, even by this show's standards, but what do I know? *rolls eyes* I do have to say, though, that I got a kick out of Robin navigating the obstacles in the booby-trapped strongroom. Just like the good ol' days of Indiana Jones-style action in season two. Speaking of crowns and coronations, I have to call out the actor playing the archbishop - Ian Gelder. He was most recently seen as Mr. Dekker in Torchwood: Children of Earth.
Love, love, loved Guy going off on Isabella and Prince John ("I can't be disfigured for my coronation!!" - HILARIOUS!). This is what I've wanted to see since the beginning of this show, practically - Guy exploring his potential good side and being forced to realize that the corrupt, power-hungry people he's banked on don't care about him, they only care about him as long as he's useful to them. However - in case you haven't figured this out yet, the showrunners really dropped the ball on running the show this season in my opinion, the lack of focus directly leading to the cancellation of the show. Tragically SQUANDERED potential. *sigh*
You know what this episode really made me miss? Storylines that actually made me interested in the various members of the gang. Storylines like Allan's (Joe Armstrong) betrayal in season two, that made me care about his character more than every other one in the show (save Guy, of course). Now all Allan and Much (Sam Troughton) are good for is crushing on Kate (Joanne Froggatt), and all she's good for crushing on Robin and engineering a play for a little upward social mobility. Even when Marian was at her most annoying, she had Kate beaten by a mile.
A few words about the coronation scene. First - the outlaws' play to stop the proceedings by impersonating Richard behind shiny shields? Completely lame. LOVED Guy's appearance and how he and Robin seem to be able to set aside the past to some degree and recognize that for the first time ever, they have common enemies. Also got a chuckle out of the fight turning into a fist fight after the archbishop threatens anyone who draws blood in the church with eternal damnation. Way to work around that little problem. Final verdict: this episode had one or two good moments, but it's one of the weakest of season three so far. | | |
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Spoilers...
A drought's hit Nottingham in episode 7 of Robin Hood - a potentially deadly situation exacerbated by Prince John's need to be loved by the people. Robin (Jonas Armstrong) and Isabella (Lara Pulver) still have a thing for each other. I mean you know its real when Robin waltzes into town to bring his lady luv strawberries. The double entendre in that scene had me rolling, LOL! But I have to say, how freaking stupid do you have to be to stage your little strawberry rendevous in full view of Prince John's (Toby Stephens) window. Yeesh. *rolls eyes*
So Prince John sees Robin and Isabella together and orders Guy (Richard Armitage) to follow the two of them around to determine her where her loyalty lies. At this point like there's any question about that, but whatever, I get it, it's not like there's no precedent on this show for characters being really dense. I loved every single scene Toby Stephens appeared in, the man's portrayal of Prince John is everything I wanted and then some. It could be a bit disturbing to analyze how easily he plays characters that are so in love with themselves, but where would the fun be in that? I also enjoyed Guy's interaction with the Prince - poor Guy, he obviously thought getting rid of the Sheriff would mean great things for him right off, but that dream has not played out according to plan (huuuugggge shocker, right? LOL). And maybe I'm reading too much into Guy's expression, but Armitage gives the performance a layer that almost, almost makes you believe he feels bad about the whole situation with his sister.
I've got to give credit to the fight choreographers for the way they staged the three-way fight between Guy, Robin, and Isabella - with Robin and Isabella shackled together, no less! (Seriously, Robin is losing his touch - to let Guy sneak up on them like that is tremendously pathetic.) But I thought the fight scene was quite entertaining. And once again Richard comes through as the finest actor on the show by making it seem just barely possible that he wants Isabella to choose him over Robin. Does he not want to lose his one remaining family member? Does Izzy remind him of Marian? Am I completely and overly obsessed with every nuance of Richard Armitage's facial expressions? The questions are endless.
So once Robin and Isabella escape Guy (for now), Robin reveals just how seriously deluded he is about the whole Marian/Guy relationship. I cannot believe he actually tells Isabella, with a straight face, that Marian never gave Guy a reason to feel anything for her. What planet was he living on for the last two years?!
Anyways...Robin & Isabella manage to make it to where the water is blocked, followed (of course) by Guy who locks them in and leaves them to drown. Poor Guy is once again missing a critical principle of this show, that is, if you don't kill someone right off they will always find a way to escape. In the ensuing scene Isabella reveals just how badly she's pinned all of her hopes for escape & a new life on Robin, and not-so-shockingly Robin begins to cave under the pressure. He just can't go there because of the whole Marian debacle - as an outlaw, he can't have it all. Poor boy. So after this revelation, Isabella goes all Gisborne on us and turns on Robin, who has never learned the idea that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. As brilliant as he likes to think of himself, Robin is not the brightest star in the sky, is he?
One of my favorite Prince John quotes: "Oh please, don't go all enigmatic on me Gisborne. Are they dead?" So Isabella turns on Guy and Robin, and Guy just can't believe the sister he sold would throw him under the bus, but whever. This leads to not only another solidly staged and entertaining fight scene in the dungeon, but some freaking hilarious humor courtesy of Prince John. One of the strongest points of this episode are John's scenes - Stephens gets the chance to throw around some really funny, dry one-liners over and over - LOVED it. Now that Isabella has screwed up Guy's plans for royally-sanctioned power and position, he's got to go rogue...that makes me very happy. Just sayin'. :) I think it could be way healthier for Guy and Robin to bond over being dissed by Isabella (as opposed to the whole Marian mess). Every scene with the rest of the gang bored me to tears - Tuck (David Harewood) comes off as really pompous and annoying to me, and Much (Sam Troughton) is just sad with this hopeless crush he has developed on Kate (Joanne Froggatt). I have to give Kate some credit for annoying me less this episode than she has in all of her previous appearances. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that her hairstyle has changed? I don't know, but don't worry, I'm not about to jump ship and become a Kate fan. | | |
| Not that I'm trying to wish away the holidays or anything, but I am extremely excited about the upcoming Masterpiece Classic season, featuring the premieres of Return to Cranford and a new four-hour version of Emma.
According to this link, Return to Cranford releases on DVD January 19th. There's no Amazon listing yet, in case you were wondering. :) If you've never watched Cranford, be looking for your PBS station to re-air the first miniseries beginning sometime mid-December, or Netflix it asap!
While the new Emma has apparently received very mixed reviews, I'm excited about it (a lot of that has to do with the presence of Jonny Lee Miller, just sayin'...). According to this link, Emma releases on DVD February 9th. No Amazon pre-order link available yet for this release, either. Now if only PBS would release the rest of the Masterpiece Classic schedule, I'd be one happy camper. :) | | |
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Possible spoilers...
The Accidental Husband made a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance in theaters earlier this year, and if I'm being honest here it's not hard to see why. It certainly doesn't break any new ground romantic comedy-wise, but for the novelty factor of seeing Mr. Darcy - I mean Colin Firth - play the thwarted lover, I knew I'd have to check out this movie at some point. And I'm so glad I did - definitely worth the rental. It's silly and implausible but it made me genuinely laugh more than once, and that was needed today, let me tell you.
This movie is sort of an odd cross between The Wedding Planner and Bride and Prejudice. I totally wasn't expecting this movie to try and go all Bollywood as often as it did, considering Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character, Patrick, just lives in an apartment above an Indian restaurant. It got a little random, but I was amused, what can I say? And speaking of Jeffrey Dean Morgan - he's a doll. :) The elevator scene came *thisclose* to reminding me of Rufus Sewell in ShakespeaRe-Told's version of The Taming of the Shrew. If you've seen that little piece of fantastic-ness (Lori!!), you know what I mean...haha!! I sort of feel like making this comparison is heresy, but I have to call it like I see it blog readers. :)
Most of Colin Firth's scenes in this movie are HILARIOUS, especially the moments where his stress eating compulsion kicked into high gear. This was a decent little turn for him as he does a good job balancing being the obsessive-compulsive wrong guy but still being a stand-up character in the end. Shockingly, Uma Thurman didn't get on my nerves at all. She does a good job and has some nice on-screen chemistry with Morgan. I absolutely loved the little scene they share at the very end of the movie. Her character's come a long way and seeing the payoff was nicely done. Oh, and one last acting mention - Ajay Naidu as Patrick's friend Deep - freaking hilarious!!!
I enjoyed An Accidental Husband way more than I expected. It's not destined to become a classic or anything like that, but it was a fun way to while away a couple of hours. I'll definitely watch it again. | | |
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