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| Sins of the Father | |
|---|---|
| Season | |
| Episode |
4 |
| Airdate | |
| Written by | |
| Directed by | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring |
Jonas Armstrong |
| Preceded by | |
| Followed by | |
- "I've come to make Nottingham pay."
- ―Rufus Chauncey
"Sins of the Father" is the fourth episode of Season 3 of Robin Hood and the 30th episode of the series as a whole.
Plot[]
The sheriff is desperate to pay off the thousand-crown tax imposed on him by Prince John, and he feels that Scrope's ideas for collecting money are insufficient. A new tax collector named Rufus and his son Edmund come to Nottingham, to replace Sir Guy. He oppresses the people of Nottingham, viciously searching people and destroying Rebecca's pottery and kiln. Kate lashes out in anger, which results in Rufus taking her back to the castle for his "entertainment". Just as she manages to draw a knife on Rufus, Robin and Much rescue her, and she is reluctantly forced to join the outlaws in the forest. In several of the scenes, it becomes obvious that Edmund objects to hurting innocent people and is only very reluctantly going along with his father.
Robin formulates a plan to kidnap Rufus and get him out of Nottingham for good, but in the process, Allan and Kate are captured, though Tuck and Robin manage to grab Edmund. When Rufus enters the forest looking for his son, Robin proposes an exchange, but Rufus—knowing Robin won't kill Edmund— tells Robin to return his son by midday and he will "be lucky if his friends are still breathing". Tuck stays behind with a bound Edmund while the remaining outlaws set off to find Kate and Allan. Robin goes to tell Rebecca that Kate's been captured, and they realize that Rufus is a former inhabitant of Nottingham, whose father was executed for a crime Rufus committed as a teenager (Rufus stole the collection fund for a young couple's wedding).
Rufus, meanwhile, is out to get revenge on the sheriff, seeing it as Vaisey's fault (and not his own) that his father was executed. He ties up Scrope, steals the money he collected from the villagers and sets off to take his vengeance on Robin Hood by torturing Kate and Allan, who he has hidden in the butcher shop that once belonged to his father.
Back at the outlaws' camp, instead of trying to coax information from the stubborn Edmund, Tuck (having noticed that Edmund's participation in his father's cruelty is halfhearted) encourages him to "think for himself". Edmund sticks up for his father, but eventually admits that he only goes along with his father because he has nowhere else to go. Tuck tells him that "everyone always has a choice"—that includes both Edmund and his father. He unties the boy, and they have a meal and Edmund tells Tuck where Rufus hid his friends. They set off towards Nottingham.
Vaisey finds the bound Scrope, who tells him about Rufus' theft and how it was his plan to convince the sheriff to hire out of all his guards so he would have no men to come after him. In a rage, Vaisey kills Scrope and dashes off to find Rufus on his own. Meanwhile, Robin, little John, and Much find the butcher's shop just in time to save Kate and Allan. As Robin pins Rufus to the ground, confronting him about the crime he committed that got his father killed, Tuck and Edmund turn up—Edmund horrified to learn the truth about his father—and the sheriff shows up just as Kate and Allan find the villagers' stolen money. The sheriff distracts Robin, and Rufus throws him off. Edmund stands up to his father, and a crazed Rufus pulls a knife on him, but Robin shoots him just before he can kill his son. The stolen taxes are returned to the villagers, and Edmund is free to make his own way in the world.
Cast[]
- Robin Hood ... Jonas Armstrong
- Tuck ... David Harewood
- Sheriff ... Keith Allen
- Little John ... Gordon Kennedy
- Much ... Sam Troughton
- Allan A Dale ... Joe Armstrong
- Kate ... Joanne Froggatt
| #01 | "Total Eclipse" | #06 | "Do You Love Me?" | #11 | "The Enemy of My Enemy" |
| #02 | "Cause and Effect" | #07 | "Too Hot to Handle" | #12 | "Something Worth Fighting For (Part 1)" |
| #03 | "Lost in Translation" | #08 | "The King is Dead, Long Live the King..." | #13 | "Something Worth Fighting For (Part 2)" |
| #04 | "Sins of the Father" | #09 | "A Dangerous Deal" | ||
| #05 | "Let The Games Commence" | #10 | "Bad Blood" |