Post by Dennis of Ravenscar on May 15, 2014 16:38:36 GMT
Robin of Sherwood: Series 1, Episode 6
The King's Fool
Original Transmission Date 26th May 1984
Written by Richard Carpenter
Story
A knight is coming through Sherwood on horseback and outlaws can be seen following him through the undergrowth. They attack him, pulling him off his horse. However, before their leader can kill him, the leader is shot by Robin, and all the other unknown outlaws are killed or chased away.
The knight queries the outlaws fighting amongst themselves, but Robin tells him that his men are not cut-throats and that he had been after the other outlaws for killing and robbing his people, the people of Sherwood.
Knight: “You talk as if they belong to you.”
Robin: “No man belongs to another.”
Knight: “I can buy four Saracens in the slave markets of Narbonne with my horse. You’re talking gibberish my friend.”
Robin (indicating Nasir): “Well, here’s a Saracen for you. Try buying him with a thousand horses.”
That evening they all sit around the campfire, eating and drinking. As they pass round a cup, the outlaws all ask for Herne’s protection, but the knight lifts up the cup and says, “King Richard”, which is echoed by Robin and to which the others nod approvingly.
When asked his name the knight says he is the Chevalier Deguise. Scarlet dismissively calls him a fancy Frenchman, but the knight replies that he is English.
Scarlet: “With a name like that?”
Knight: “Names tell you nothing.”
Scarlet: “They tell me who my masters are. If they’re English, why don’t they speak it?”
The knight states that they have made the country what it is, and the outlaws start to argue with him, saying that the nobles just drain the country of money and fight among themselves. The knight says that things will get better when King Richard returns, but the others doubt that the ransom which was raised has even been paid, considering that his brother and half of the nobles don’t want him back. As Scarlet says, pigs will fly when the King returns. A fight nearly starts between the knight and Will, but Robin calms things down and they all carry on with their meal. The knight queries whether he is, in fact, their prisoner, but Robin assures him that he is their guest.
In the forest foreign-looking soldiers are making their way on foot and come across the dead outlaws.
Scarlet and Tuck are playing a game where they are both blindfolded, with bells on their wrists, and they have to hit each other with sticks which have bundles of rags at the end of a piece of string. Tuck is much better at it so Scarlet resorts to cheating and lifts up his blindfold, then they grab hold of one another and start rolling around on the ground. The game then continues with Much and Martin, and Robin explains to the knight that it teaches them how to move without a sound.
Robin then asks the knight for payment for his meal. When he protests Robin explains that all their ‘guests’ get charged. The knight says that he doesn’t carry money when he goes hunting, so they suggest his horse as payment. He doesn’t think this is fair exchange for a meal, but they point out that the piece of venison he had could have them all killed, and since his horse is worth four men, the venison is worth twice that. The knight then suggests a bargain: single combat, and the winner keeps the horse. Scarlet pulls out his sword in anticipation, but the knight says there should be no bloodshed, that it should be a wrestling match, so John takes up the challenge.
As the soldiers are still moving through the wood and splitting up, the knight knocks John to the ground and holds him there, getting first fall. John does the same to him and gets second fall. Martin, who is watching the fight from a little distance away gets grabbed by the soldiers, just as the knight lifts John into the air and then throws him heavily onto the ground. He defiantly shouts, “I ride to Nottingham.”
When Robin asks him who he is, he punches Robin in the face and says, “Lionheart.”. As the outlaws realise what he means, they fall to their knees. The soldiers appear, but King Richard tells Mercadier, the leader of the mercenaries, that he wants them alive.
“So, still in Germany, am I? Still in prison. The nobles kept the ransom, did they? Pigs will fly when I return. Well, where are they? Nesting?”
He tells them that he’d been hunting for them, after stories about them reached him as far away as Germany, and that he’d heard enough to hang them each a dozen times. However, he now has reason to pardon them. “God’s legs, you’re a wild lad Robin. But you saved the life of your king, and that wipes the slate clean.” He holds out his hand to Robin, who kisses it. He then walks over to Nasir and speaks to him in Arabic, and Nasir calls him Lord King Richard. He invites them all to dine with him in Nottingham that night, then leaves on his horse.
The outlaws have mixed feelings about all of this. Little John is impressed that he wrestled the King. Much doesn’t understand why he didn’t wear his crown, so they’d recognise him. Scarlet is dubious about going to Nottingham, despite Robin’s reassurances, and refuses to go.
The rest of them go openly into Nottingham but are surrounded by Gisburne and his men and arrested.
Celebrations to welcome the King are going on in Nottingham Castle. The King is discussing the territories that his ‘little brother’ has given away with Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury, when Gisburne strides in, announcing that he has a gift for him. He leads in the outlaws, their hands tied. He states that he ambushed them while they were creeping towards the castle, at which the King replies sarcastically, “Were they about to scale the walls and put us all to the sword? Or merely surround the castle and lay siege to us?” He then tells Gisburne that he sent for them.
Gisburne: “But why should they come?”
Richard: “Because I am the King of England!”
He orders Gisburne to untie them, then tells the hall that he had hunted Robin Hood as the ‘knight disguised’, but that Robin had saved his life.
Richard: “I tell you, with two hundred men like this, I could have taken Jerusalem!”
Everyone cheers and the King orders someone to get food for them. The celebrations continue noisily while Robin tries to justify their actions and point out the terrible poverty of the ordinary people. Richard praises what he says but then turns it to his own use, talking about injustice and treachery, clearly referring to those who have supported John. While they sit down to eat, Tuck discusses the politics of the situation with the others. All the people who have supported John, like the former Sheriff, will have to buy themselves back into favour, and King Richard will let them because he needs the money.
The outlaws eat, and drink a great deal, except Nasir, who just watches them with amusement as they get more and more drunk.
Robert de Rainault talks to his brother Hugo, and says that he knows the King is purposely humiliating him by inviting the outlaws into his castle.
The drinking continues, Marion falls asleep and Much falls under the table.
The next morning the outlaws are asleep in a barn. Marion is awake and she fetches a bucket of water which she pours over Robin, telling him that the King is asking for him. Robin clearly has a hangover. He wonders how they got to the barn and is delighted to hear that the soldiers had to carry them in.
While Nasir, who was also awake, watches with interest, Robin pours the rest of the water in the bucket over a snoring Tuck, who merely says, “Mornin’!”.
The King is discussing tactics with his counsellors when Robin arrives. He asks him if he will fight with him in Normandy and Robin, honoured, agrees. He goes and tell the others, adding that the King has promised that Marion will get her lands back and that they will all be made wardens in Sherwood when they return from Normandy. He tells Much to go and find Scarlet and to tell him that they are now free and that they are fighting for the King.
Scarlet is sitting in Sherwood sharpening his sword when somebody shoots an arrow into the tree he is leaning against. He quickly rolls out of the way and grabs his bow and an arrow, but when he looks up he sees that it was Herne who shot the arrow. Herne walks away and Scarlet looks at the arrow, which has writing on it.
In Nottingham Castle all the gathered nobles are pledging allegiance to the King, while the outlaws look on dubiously. Richard tells the nobles that he has summoned them to sit in judgment on his brother, who has allowed Philip of France to take over most of Normandy. He then says that he has forgiven all those who have opposed him, but that, “Mercy must be paid for. So must power. So must privilege.” He says that the appointments he bestowed at his crowning were merely on lease, and de Rainault mutters, “This isn’t a council, it’s an auction!”
Much finds Scarlet and tells him they’ve been given a pardon. Will tells him not to trust the King, but to take the arrow to Robin and tell him the same thing.
In the great hall of the castle, Little John is giving a display with the quarter staff against two soldiers. After he beats them the King announces that they will be fighting for him in Normandy. Robin then does a display of his skill with the longbow, hitting the bull’s-eye twice. On the third shot the bowstring breaks and everyone laughs. Marion quickly passes him another bow and he gets another bull’s-eye. Marion says that the snapped string was an omen but he dismisses the thought.
The next morning Nasir leaves the castle, watched by John. Marion asks Robin to stay with her in England, but he says that he has promised to go to Normandy. He tells her that he’ll come back and he kisses her. John comes into the barn and tells them that Nasir has gone, saying that perhaps he sees thing more clearly than Robin. He says that the King is using them to humble the Sheriff and to show that he has tamed them. He argues that Richard doesn’t care about England and that he’s only there long enough to drain the country of money before he goes again. As he leaves with Martin, John says, “I loved you Robin. You were the Hooded Man, Herne's Son. The people’s hope. Now... now you’re the King’s fool.”
As they are leaving Much arrives, but they ignore him. Gisburne is keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the outlaws.
De Rainault presents the King with a chest of money and offers him one hundred soldiers. Richard wants two hundred, and mentions that William de Bracy also wants the sheriffship. Robert gives him two hundred soldiers.
Much finds Robin and tells him that Scarlet told him to say goodbye, and he gives him the arrow. Robin reads it, “Beware the Lion spawned of the Devil’s Brood”. Tuck walks in and Robin asks him if he’s leaving too. Tuck tells them that de Rainault is Sheriff again and that Richard will wring money out of the people until they have nothing left. Robin decides to talk to the King, and even though the others try to persuade him not to, he leaves, determined to make Richard listen to him.
Robin interrupts Hubert, who is talking to the nobles, and the King dismisses him. Robin insists on speaking and tells him that he can’t ask for more money from the people. The King makes fun of him, asking if he would prefer to have a pig’s bladder instead of a sword, like a fool. He says he wants his strength, not his words, and Robin walks off. Richard then asks for the Sheriff to be sent to him that night.
Back with the others Robin has lost his faith in the King. “I was wrong from the beginning. He’s a warrior. Nothing else matters to him.”
The Sheriff goes to see the King who asks him to kill Robin and the others, but secretly, so that he still appears to be merciful. Gisburne is to do it.
Richard: “Tell him there’ll be some land in it for him.”
Sheriff: “Very generous my liege.”
Richard: “Not that generous. It’s in Wales.”
That evening Gisburne and some soldiers go to the barn where the outlaws are sleeping, and catch them unawares. Gisburne knocks Marion to the ground and his men tie up Tuck and Much. Marion recovers and shoots a crossbow into Guy’s back. He falls and drops a lantern, setting fire to the barn. Robin hits one of the soldiers, then fights the others while Marion releases Tuck and Much. They all escape on two horses, but Gisburne staggers out of the barn and manages to shoot a crossbow, hitting Marion in the back, before collapsing.
They ride to a stone circle called Rhiannon’s Wheel, not realising that Marion is mortally wounded. As they stop she nearly falls off the horse and they have to help her down. She tells Robin she loves him and asks him to pull out the arrow. Robin knows this will kill her and calls on Herne, who appears in a shaft of light by the circle. “The powers of light and darkness are with you. Take out the arrow.”
Robin pulls it out and holds Marion in his arms. Then the Wheel turns about him and he sees Will, Nasir, John and Martin walking towards the circle. He goes to greet them, then turns round and sees Marion standing there, completely well. They kiss, and the last thing we see is Herne standing by Rhiannon’s Wheel. 
Comments
I’m surprised that Tuck or Marion didn’t realise what ‘Chevalier Deguise’ meant. They both know Latin (they know what ‘amor vincit omnia’ means in Alan a Dale), so it seems likely that one of them at least would know French.
The novelisation sheds a bit of light on a couple of other points in the episode. King Richard tells Nasir that Saladin is dead, and that he made his peace with him before he died. Also in the book it states that Richard had come to Nottingham Castle two days previously and demanded its surrender, which it did after a matter of hours. The Sheriff was then removed from office as a supporter of Prince John.
The warning about the Lion born of the Devil’s brood refers to Lionheart, obviously, and to the fact that Richard’s family were reputedly descended from the daughter of Satan, a legend that would have been fairly well known at the time. Apparently Richard once said, “What wonder if we lack the natural affections of mankind - we come from the Devil, and must needs go back to the Devil.”
Best lines and moments
Scarlet: “I trust very few people, and I’m looking at all of them. I’d die for each one of you, but there’s no way I’m going to Nottingham.”
I find this quite moving, especially the way that Scarlet’s words are at odds with the way he says them. It’s interesting that he can only tell the others how much he cares about them when he’s trying to make a point about not trusting the King.
The scene where the outlaws are getting drunk is very funny (why do I get the feeling that they didn’t have act too hard here?), especially when John is trying to give a drink to a pig’s head, saying, “It won’t talk!” and slapping it on the nose.
John’s argument with Robin when he calls him “the King’s fool” is very well done, and frequently leaves me with a bit of a lump in my throat. Not many men can tell another they love him without sounding cheesy, but he does.
Review
Most versions of the Robin Hood story, including the original ballads, have the King, usually King Richard, appearing at the end of the story, to pardon Robin and to set right the wrongs committed by the Sheriff. The ballads reflected the fact that the ordinary people felt that most of the officials who administered the law, and a great many of those in the Church, were corrupt, and that justice could be bought. However, the King was felt to be above all this as he was appointed by God, so that when Robin Hood administered his own justice, putting the poor and good-hearted above the rich and corrupt, the King would see that this was fair, and pardon the outlaws. Many of the scenes in The King’s Fool mirror those in the ballads, particularly the King meeting the outlaws when in disguise, and fighting with them in a friendly way.
In many of the more modern versions of the Robin Hood legend, especially the films, the appearance of King Richard in the final reel, as it were, dispensing justice and setting the world to rights, serves to close the story off neatly and provide the requisite happy ending. When the Robin portrayed is a nobleman, the King is often shown to know him or Marion, and so give him even more reason to pardon him.
As The King’s Fool came at the end of a series, we might possibly have expected a happy ending, but instead we got something far more realistic. The Richard we are shown, played quite brilliantly by John Rhys Davies, is quite conceivably close to the truth. He is most definitely a king, with all the charisma and authority needed to hold power, and it is quite understandable that all the outlaws apart from Scarlet would willingly accept his invitation to Nottingham. Robin, especially, believes in him. He is the most committed to improving things for ‘his people’, for the peasants and serfs, he knows that the King actually has the power to achieve this, and he trusts that he will want to do so. The others who come to Nottingham are perhaps more in awe of the King and despite being outlaws they do respect him, but they soon see his true motives more clearly than Robin, who is blinded by his faith in the King.
It is soon apparent that Richard has only one priority - winning back the territories in Normandy - and that he knows exactly how to raise the funds to do so. He is so obsessed by this that he has no comprehension of what the people suffer when they are so heavily taxed. He would probably consider that he was doing what the people of England wanted him to do, with no real consideration of the cost.
All in all I find this quite a painful episode to watch, perhaps more so than The Greatest Enemy, because we see Robin being taken in then having his illusions shattered, and he nearly loses Marion and several of his friends. It is quite a sobering story, with the realisation that they can only try to achieve anything as outlaws and that they cannot rely on the King to provide a ‘happy ending’. It is instead Herne who does this, and with the healing of Marion Robin learns to place his trust in the powers of light and darkness within him, and to have faith in his friends.
Cast in order of appearance
King Richard....John Rhys Davies
Robin Hood....Michael Praed
Will Scarlet....Ray Winstone
Martin....Martin West
Nasir....Mark Ryan
Marion....Judi Trott
Little John....Clive Mantle
Much....Peter Llewellyn Williams
Tuck....Phil Rose
Mercadier....Doc O’Brien
Guy of Gisburne....Robert Addie
Sheriff of Nottingham....Nickolas Grace
Abbot Hugo....Philip Jackson
Hubert Walter....Gary Waldhorn
Herne the Hunter....John Abineri
Executive Producer....Patrick Dromgoole
Producer....Paul Knight
Director....Ian Sharp
Episode Guide written by Lucy of Ravenscar
First appeared in Nothing's Forgotten newsletter issue 5, December 1996