S2 Episode Guide - The Enchantment (Episode 4)

Robin of Sherwood: Series 2, Episode 4

The Enchantment

Original Transmission Date: 30th March 1985
Written by Richard Carpenter

Story
A woman who names herself as Lilith is casting a spell to make Robin obsessed with her and love no other, using a pair of dolls dressed as herself and Robin.

At the outlaws’ camp John is trying to repair his trousers. He has just managed to get a needle threaded when the others decide to play a trick on him. Tuck persuades him to prove how strong he is by playing a game with Scarlet where they put spoons in their mouths and hit one another over the head with them. However, Much is standing behind John, and hitting him twice as hard every time Scarlet does.
Lilith is completing her spell; binding the dolls together she tells Robin to “Come to me!”. Robin’s eyes go blank and he suddenly runs away from the others, pushing Marion aside as she tries to follow him.



He runs through the forest and meets Lilith. She takes him to her hut. Inside it now appears to be a magical grotto, strewn with beautiful objects and containing a pool. Lilith no longer appears to be wearing her drab clothes but is clad in silks and a jewelled headdress. She offers Robin a goblet, which he drinks from.

In Nottingham Castle the Sheriff is discussing Baron de Belleme and his practice of exchanging valuable Saracen captives for jewels. He tells Gisburne and another knight, Ralph of Huntingdon, that Belleme returned to England with a fortune. They have captured one of Belleme’s women (the other being Lilith) and Gisburne assures the Sheriff that he will make her talk. The Sheriff is not convinced, stating, “She and the witch Lilith worshipped the late Baron and would do anything he asked of them, however vile.”
He tells the knights that the women hid the jewels after the Baron’s death, and he is very keen to find them. Ralph takes up the challenge, clearly trying to get one up on Guy.

Marion has been trying to follow Robin but has lost him. She doesn’t know what is wrong with him but she is sure he is in danger. Much thinks it might be Herne that has called him, but she knows it isn’t. Nasir tries to follow Robin’s tracks.

Lilith tells Robin that he must prove his love for her. She asks him to bring her the Silver Arrow. Even in his enchanted state he feels that this might be wrong, but she insists and so he agrees.



Guy, trying to beat Ralph to it, decides to torture the location of the jewels out of the young witch, and tells the torturer to get his implements ready.

Nasir sees tracks showing that Robin met someone, but he is reluctant to tell Marion that it was a woman. He points out the direction that they went, when suddenly Robin appears. He is wary of them and runs away. He stops at a tree then, when Scarlet catches up with him, he elbows him viciously in the face and runs on. The rest follow him and John manages to bring him down. He is like a captured animal and doesn’t recognise them. Marion realises that he has been bewitched and Scarlet is determined to find whoever has done this to him.



Around the fire that night Marion says that they must go to Herne and the others agree. Much goes to talk to Robin, who pleads with him to let him go, saying he will die if he is not released. Much protests that he can’t, and he knows he shouldn’t, but in the end he can’t stop himself. He cuts the ropes and Robin slips away; the others noticing too late to recapture him.

The Sheriff is furious that Guy has questioned and killed the witch without his permission. Guy had hoped to surprise him with the whereabouts of the jewels. “I don’t like surprises, Gisburne. I never have. Especially not when you’re involved.”
Guy tells him that they didn’t get much out of her, but it has all been written down. As he speaks it is clear that there is a lot of rivalry and jealousy between Guy and Ralph. The Sheriff coldly reads out the transcript of the interrogation but it doesn’t appear to make any sense. Then Ralph works out that her final words referred to the “Eye of Satan” a one-eyed gargoyle on the wall of Castle Belleme. The Sheriff is pleased, “My dear Ralph. Something tells me that you will go far.” Guy is not happy.



Marion goes by water to see Herne alone. Robin follows through the woods and sneaks down into Herne’s cave. Herne tells Marion that he knows why she has come. Robin is hidden from him and he knows he is enslaved to another through sorcery. He tells her that she must find him. He gives her a small flask and some instructions, but at the same time Robin is stealing the arrow. He takes it to Lilith who says she still needs his help.

The wolfsheads continue to search for Robin but without any luck. Marion is getting desperate; she starts to cry and Scarlet tries to comfort her.

Lilith takes Robin to Castle Belleme; he recognises it and remembers what happened when he was there before. It is now ruined - Lilith says that people came from miles around on the night of Belleme’s death to plunder the castle and then set it ablaze.
When she takes him to Belleme’s tomb Robin remembers killing him with Herne’s arrow. The witch tells him that Belleme’s body lies within a circle of power that he prepared. Robin opens the tomb to find Belleme lying there as if asleep.



Guy and Ralph arrive at the castle and Ralph points out the gargoyle high up on the wall above the river.

Lilith tells Robin that she has waited until everything was right - the day of Belleme’s death, the man who killed him and the means by which he died. Robin gives her the arrow which she places in Belleme’s hands whilst intoning a spell. The Baron’s pulse quickens and his eyes open.

Guy and Ralph have made their way into the castle and to the window above the gargoyle. Guy thinks that it will be impossible to get down to it, but Ralph disagrees.



Belleme is alive and awake. He tells Robin that everything Herne told him was a lie: that he was forced to become Herne’s champion and that Lilith has freed him. Lilith then hears his voice in her mind, “At midnight, bring me his heart.”

Ralph has secured a rope inside the room and makes his way down the wall. He finds the jewels in a bag inside the mouth of the gargoyle, climbs back up and hands the bag to Guy to make it easier to pull himself through the window. Gisburne says, “The Sheriff was right. He said you’d go far.” He then cuts the rope and Ralph falls to his death. Gisburne pours out the jewels and shouts, “I’m free of you now, Sheriff! I’m free of you! I’m free of you now!”

Guy makes his way back through the castle when, to his horror, he comes face to face with Belleme. The Baron tells him that he is not a spirit and that he knows Gisburne has just killed Ralph. He demands his jewels back and Guy, unsurprisingly, complies. Belleme says he will let him live so that he can tell the Sheriff that the Baron demands his presence at the castle.



Lilith takes Robin back to her hut and they are seen, walking hand in hand, by Edward of Wickham.

Guy has returned to Nottingham Castle and bursts into the Sheriff’s chamber whilst he is bathing. The Sheriff is expecting a nice surprise and holds out his hand in anticipation. When nothing happens he demands to know where both Ralph and the jewels are. Gisburne tells him that Ralph is dead, that he fell, but he is unable to speak about the jewels.
Sheriff: “They weren’t there, were they? A wild goose chase. And a dead duck.”
Guy finally manages to tell him that the Baron de Belleme has the jewels.
Sheriff: “He’s dead!”
Gisburne: “I know!”

In Sherwood the outlaws are still trying to find Robin. Marion and John are waiting by a fire, and she wonders why this has happened to Robin.
John: “It’s because he’s Herne’s Son. Robin once said the whole world was a battlefield, not just Sherwood. A never-ending war between the powers of good and evil.”



Edward arrives, and when they tell him they are looking for Robin he tells them they should leave him alone. He says he saw Robin about an hour previously - with a girl. He thinks they should just let him come back to his senses but the outlaws explain that Robin has been bewitched, so Edward offers to take them to where he last saw him.

In Lilith’s hut Robin is saying that he would never leave her. She gives him something to drink when suddenly the outlaws burst in, Much and Nasir grabbing hold of Lilith. We see the interior of the hut as it really is. Marion pours the contents of Herne’s flask over Robin’s face, then unbinds the dolls and throws them into the fire. Lilith screams at them, pulls away from Much and scratches Nasir across the cheek. They let her leave and as she runs out of the hut her nails turn into claws. Belleme knows she has failed as Robin becomes himself again. Marion is slightly reluctant at first, but then she and Robin embrace. Robin tells the others that he stole Herne’s Arrow and that it brought Belleme back to life. He has to get it back.



The Sheriff and Gisburne ride into Castle Belleme with some soldiers. The Sheriff doesn’t believe that the Baron is alive.
The outlaws arrive soon after and Nasir disposes of one of the Sheriff’s guards.
Inside the castle the Sheriff confronts Gisburne, telling him he knows that he killed Ralph and asking what he hopes to gain by bringing him there. He threatens Guy with a knife, but Guy just looks beyond him in horror. The Sheriff slowly turns to see Belleme.
Sheriff: “You’re... dead!”
Belleme: “You speak of things of which you have no knowledge. What is death, de Rainault? When does a man die? When his heart stops? When the last breath has left his body? When he rots? And if he doesn’t rot, de Rainault? If the frozen hours stretch on forever, his blood a silent river of ice. Waiting. Waiting. What then, de Rainault? You cross yourself when you believe in nothing. You doubted my powers and mocked my sorcery, yet something in you feared me. See.”
Belleme shows him the Silver Arrow, and says, “I am the power.”
The outlaws make their way through the ruined castle and start fighting with the Sheriff’s soldiers. Gisburne and the Sheriff run outside.
The Baron then calls up a magical storm: “Oh Lord of Lightning! Great Prince of the Power of Fire, Ruler of tempests, storms and whirlwinds - smite thou thine enemies!”





The fighting ceases as all those outside are pushed back by a powerful wind, and the Sheriff and Gisburne escape the castle. Robin is separated from the others by a collapse of a ceiling in one of the partly ruined passages in the castle. He turns to see Belleme who promptly disappears. He then sees him standing holding Herne’s Arrow in a doorway, and Robin makes his way towards him. Several times he is attacked by the sorcerer’s power and knocked back. Belleme then sends the Arrow flying magically through the air, saying, “Nothing can save you. Herne’s Arrow shall destroy his son.” It flies straight towards him but is suddenly grasped by Herne, inches from Robin’s chest. Herne hands the Arrow to Robin, who leaves to find the others. He then turns and sees Belleme disappear.

The outlaws manage to free themselves from the debris and emerge covered in dust. They all leave the castle. After they have gone Belleme reappears and we hear his voice saying, “Did you really believe you could overcome me?”



Comments
Most of the best lines in this episode work best in context, so I have quoted them above. The Sheriff gets a couple of nice scenes; I particularly love the way he reads out the transcript of the witch’s interrogation. He does it so coolly, and with a certain amount of distaste. He also has a lot of fun with the moments before he turns to see Belleme for the first time.
In fact, all the crew seemed to have fun with this episode, as it seems to have created more scenes for the blooper tape than almost any other. Those of you who have seen it will know what I mean, but if you haven’t, let me say that it can be a little difficult to take Belleme seriously after watching it. Amongst other moments, we see Belleme and the Sheriff arguing over who is the power (“I am the power!” “I am the power!” etc), and Belleme doing adverts for Windolene. One of the best out-takes is when Gisburne is emptying out the bag of jewels he has killed Ralph to obtain. “That settles it,” he says, “I will do the third series!”

A few more comments:
I wonder what happens to Lilith after she fails. It looks like her fingernails are turning into claws, so I wonder if Azael turns her into a demon?

I’m sure it’s just coincidence, but I wonder if Ralph of Huntingdon is related to any of the other Huntingdons we see in RoS? Given his manner, I find it quite likely that he could be the son of Edgar of Huntingdon, (Robert’s uncle, who appeared in Rutterkin), if he isn’t too old.

Finally, the wigs in this episode were dreadful. Belleme looks ridiculous, and it’s far too obvious that Gemma Craven has short curly hair with extensions stuck in it.

Review
This is a very good, enjoyable episode, that doesn’t really achieve anything. That doesn’t lessen the enjoyment of watching it, but when thinking about it afterwards, I realised that it didn’t tell us much about the characters that we didn’t already know, and it didn’t introduce any new ideas. Belleme returns, but we don’t learn anything more about him. In the novelisation, he explains himself a little more than he does in the episode: speaking to Robin after he has been brought back to life he says, “Did you really believe you could overthrow me? I who have stood before the bloodstained altars of Babylon? I who worshipped Rhadamanthus in the Temple of the Sun, and conjured the spirits of the dead in the catacombs of Alexandria? Slave - know that I am the messenger of the Lord Azael, Prince of Demons, and that with his aid I shall bring war, famine and pestilence to the world until all men turn to evil and bow down before the Lords of Darkness!” Even worse, his final appearance promises more, but unfortunately, we never got to see him again. At least that was a boon to the writers of fan fiction.

That said, the episode is full of good performances which always make it worth watching. With that delicious voice Anthony Valentine could read out a telephone directory and I’d still listen. Give him Richard Carpenter’s melodramatic prose and he sends a shiver down the back of my neck and he really makes me believe that he is an evil sorcerer brought back to life.

Some Michael Praed/Robin fans don’t like this episode, but I think his performance is spot on. An enchanted Robin is certainly eerie and unsettling, and he carries it off very nicely.

We get to see the camaraderie of the outlaws, both in planning a practical joke on John, then in pulling together to find Robin. It was particularly touching to see that it was Scarlet who hugged Marion when she was feeling upset, showing just how much they all care for each other. Judi Trott’s portrayal of Marion is particularly good in this episode, expressing all her youthful insecurities, especially when Robin is back to himself again. Even though she knows it wasn’t his fault, she still feels angry that he was with another woman. Despite this, and her fear at what has happened, she manages to organise the others and makes the decision to seek Herne’s help.

We also get a bit more development for Gisburne in this episode. It is clear that the Sheriff enjoys causing conflict, and purposely sets Ralph against him. One can certainly feel sorry for Guy, having such a manipulative employer, and with a character as slimy as Ralph it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Guy’s decision to push him off the wall, however wrong it may be.

One of the things that makes this episode interesting to watch, and this is true for a lot of the other episodes, is the separate plot strands and the way they finally merge. It’s just a pity that the ending is ultimately unsatisfying.

Cast in order of appearance
Lilith...Gemma Craven
Little John...Clive Mantle
Marion...Judi Trott
Much...Peter Llewellyn Williams
Robin Hood...Michael Praed
Will Scarlet...Ray Winstone
Friar Tuck...Phil Rose
Nasir...Mark Ryan
Sheriff of Nottingham...Nickolas Grace
Ralph of Huntingdon...Trevor Clarke
Guy of Gisburne...Robert Addie
Young Witch...Maria Macdonall
Herne the Hunter...John Abineri
Simon de Belleme...Anthony Valentine
Edward of Wickham...Jeremy Bulloch

Executive Producer...Patrick Dromgoole
Assistant Producer...Esta Charkham
Producer...Paul Knight
Director...James Allen

Episode Guide written by Lucy of Ravenscar

First appeared in Nothing's Forgotten newsletter issue 9, June 1998