Sunday 7 August 2011

Robin Hood BBC Profiles: Robin of Locksley



Character name:  Robin of Locksley (also referred to as "Robin Hood", "Master" and the"Earl of Huntingdon")

Portrayed by: Jonas Armstrong

Age: Mid-twenties
Physical description:

Hair: Light Brown; styled differently according to season. Season 1, it is rather short whereas in Season 2 it is longer, especially in the fringe has a 'windswept' appearance. Season 3 is again shorter (alike S1) and has a more of a harsher look.

Eyes: Blue

Body type: thin and agile

Clothing: Differs during each season. S1 and S2 are very similar in style but S3 exhibits a definite change and an overall darker tone.


Character Overview:

Jonas' Robin Hood is a modernised version of the classic legendary character. He is a thrill seeker, who is not afraid of danger, or to fight for what he believes in. A natural leader, people are inspired by his actions and will follow him to the ends of the earth. He is a bold and charismatic character who is perhaps a little bit too arrogant for his own good. He is well renown for his usage of a bow and is also well skilled in the arts of the sword, and training in the King's guard has made him a tough adversary.

Robin is quite the ladies man, with his dashing good looks and a smile which could melt the hardest of hearts, he uses his natural charm (which of course he is well aware of) to capture the hearts of any woman who may come his way. Although, he soon realises that all along his heart has only ever belonged to one woman.

Despite his human flaws, Robin is indeed a hero, he is a self-sacrificing character who gives up everything to defend the lower classes, and quickly becomes a beacon of light in the very dark of England. He embodies the hope of the people and endeavours to be worthy of all he stands for. He steals from the rich to give to the poor and fights for justice and the restoration of the England he once knew and loved. A land which was free of greed, excessive taxes, where neighbour helped neighbour and the Lords of the land cared for their tenants.



Robin; A series breakdown

As the characters in this series change throughout the three seasons I have also included a breakdown of the character, according to season. A character's personality, characteristics, hopes and desires often alter due to events during or at the end of a particular season. These changes or focus information which is specific to a season will be detailed in the section below.

Season One: At the beginning of the first season Robin returns to England after having fought for five years in the crusades as part of the Kings guard. He returns hoping to come back to the happy home he had always known however much has changed and Robin is quickly forced to make a decision - Will he tolerate the injustice?
His non-compliance with the new sheriff finds Robin, exiled, stripped of his title and living in Sherwood Forest as an outlaw.

On a personal level this season for Robin is one of great change where he almost has to re-invent his identity. And although his loss of title/status doesn't really play much  out in an emotional way at first but we do get to see the effects as the series runs its course. Particularly as Robin seeks fulfillment in his new role, and despite giving the impression that he is all in it for the glory, Much (Robin's best friend) kindly reminds us that Robin "just wants to be loved". Showing that maybe his ostracism from his "old life" has left him feeling a little empty.



Season Two: (See Note below)

Season Three: (See Note below)












Quotes:

"When the King returns, he will have his comeuppance. Until then we will scope out his sadistic punishments. We will stop his insane taxes and give them back to the poor, where they belong! We will rob him! And if you dead men had had spines in your backs, that's what you would've been doing for the last five years." (S_01 Ep_02)

"For every man there is a purpose which he sets up in his life. Let yours be the doing of all good deeds. That's us, lads." (S_01 Ep_04)

"We have many problems. Most of them guard-shaped." (S_01 Ep_07)

"I should have never gone to war. It was a mistake, and you were right, I wanted glory and believe me the battlefield is the last place you’ll find it." (S_01 Ep_12)

"I think it's fair to say that an audience with the king has been suspended!" (S_01 Ep_13)


* NOTE: Due to this being part of the Robin Hood post series I am doing The Season Two & Season Three character breakdowns have been left blank until I reach those Seasons. Once I have finished posting about Season 1, I will move on to Season Two at which time I will re-post this character profile with updated information and so forth.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I see I have found a fellow Northanger Abbey fan :) Catherine Morland is one of my favorite Jane Austen heroines :)

Can't wait to see your posts for this Jane Austen's Week!

Oh goodness...and I STILL need to see the BBC version of Robin Hood!! I have heard that it's SO good! I just can't find it anywhere - to rent. :P

Elizabeth said...

I like how this Robin Hood has some faults and it not perfect. perfect Heroes drive me nuts. I really like this Robin He is exactly what I would picture Robin Hood to be. :) I can't wait to see what you will say for seasons 2 and 3! :)
~Elizabeth

Mel said...

Miss Raquel:
Thankyou for taking the time to look at and comment on my blog!
I do LOVE Northanger Abbey! Im glad that you do too- there are not all that many of us around so we must stick together :)

This BBC version of Robin Hood is the best! I hope that one day you will be able to see it, it really is great!

Elizabeth:
I couldn't agree more! Perfect heroes just aren't real, and Jonas played him perfectly :)

Mel

Mal said...

Yeah!!!!!! I found someone who is as obsessed with the BBC Robin Hood as I am!!!! Haha there are sooo many good Robin quotes, I don't know how you could only pick 5! Be expecting many more Robin-related comments from me :)
-mal