#lucy griffiths

[gothicacetheatrekid]

OH MY GOD!

@sherwoodknights @wheretheworldisfree @buildarocketboys @ all my bbc robin hood people, thought you'd like to see this!

[lyledebeast]

Women, Misogyny, and Male Characters' Arcs in the BBC's Robin Hood

As many problems as I have with the BBC Robin Hood, one thing I'll always be thankful for about my time in this fandom is what it taught me about how writers' misogyny can hurt all the characters, not just the women. What is unique about this show is that it starts off so well in this regard and gets progressively worse as it approached the end.

Season One introduces us to only two female main characters, but what characters they are! Lucy Griffiths' Marian of Knighton is a total badass and a nuanced, beli!evable woman: a rare combination even today. Anjali Jay plays Djaq, a Saracen woman passing as a man whose knowledge and medical skill continues to be valued after Robin and his gang learn she is a woman. Marian and Djaq are problem-solvers, not passive love interests in need of rescue. Marian is helping people in her community while Robin is off slaughtering Saracens in King Richard's name. I would have happily watched a show called The Nightwatchman set during that time and ending upon Robin's return (and probably enjoyed it more than the show we got!) But instead of recognizing the appeal of smart, strong women for female fans and leaning into it, showrunners Foz Allan and Dominic Minghella chose to downplay and even undermine these characteristics, supposedly to benefit the male characters.

Over the course of Season Two, Marian becomes more and more defined by her relationships with Robin and Guy; her primary form of agency is her influence over the latter. When she does try to act on her own, the narrative frames it as evidence of her heedlessness, and she is disciplined either indirectly by the outcome of her choices or directly by Robin. The final consequence of her taking matters into her own hands (instead of waiting for Robin like she SHOULD have done) is her death. Djaq fares a little better. She is more consistently written than any other woman on the show, but I find myself struggling to remember any scenes or exchanges with other characters in Season Two that stand out as brightly as in Season One. Once she and Will Scarlet become an established couple, she starts to fade into the background. Although she continues to treat ailments, she takes on the role of peace-keeper within the gang, a more traditionally feminine one than that of a learned doctor. The episode in which Marian dies is also her final episode, as though she could read the writing on the wall and wanted no part of what was to come in Season 3. I don't think anyone can blame her!

The showrunners appeared to think they could do more interesting things with Robin and Guy's rivalry without Marian at the center of it. One of the few things a majority of BBC RH fans can agree on is that they did not. It becomes clear very quickly that it is the men's relationships with Marian that make them interesting, not the other way around. Take away Robin's frustration and petty jealousy regarding Marian, and he's just a cookie cutter hero with a savior complex and a thirst for revenge. Take away the tension between Guy's desire for Marian and his obedience to the sheriff, and he's just a one-dimensional greedy, ambitious villain, now with crippling guilt and depression! Their grief over Marian does not make them more sympathetic towards women who are still alive; if anything they treat them worse for not being her! Isabella Thornton and Kate are two of the most criticized characters in Season Three, largely because they're given the narrative prominence of Marian without any of her nuance. Isabella goes from victim to villain so fast it will give you whiplash. Kate is the object of attraction to one man in Robin's gang after another while only being interested in him. Robin's dalliances with these two women only serve to confirm how strong his commitment to Marian is. Marian, Marian, Marian!

The Marian we meet in Season One was doing alright before Robin came home. Djaq would likely have used her medical knowledge to make herself indispensable even if Robin and his gang had not liberated her. They are presented to use as confident characters with the ability to navigate Medieval society even with all its prejudice against their gender and, in Djaq's case, race. Over the course of the last two seasons, the showrunners shrink them, subordinating them to the male characters without realizing that this shrinks those characters as well. Robin and Guy are more interesting with Marian around than they could ever be in her absence. The gang dynamics are more interesting when they give Djaq the credit she is due. I don't know the reasons behind these writers' choices, but watching this show has left me much more willing to interrogate writers' choices regarding women. Some of the questions I will ask of a female character, what are her goals, and if she has none, whose goals is she advancing? Is she skilled in any particular way, and how are her skills utilized? What role does she play in the male protagonist's arc? Is she there to support and inspire him, or does she challenge him as well? When she disagrees with men, is she ever in the right?

[louk419]

As evidenced by Suzy Bloom's recent post, Richard's professional relationships often morph into personal ones and sometimes last for decades. The reason? Rich is gracious, considerate, and always generous in his praise of others. On this 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, here are four other co-workers (clockwise from top right) he can count as friends:

Annabel Capper, his LAMDA classmate (1996-8) stepped in as last-minute Q&A moderator for The Boy in the Woods US premiere, July 2024.

Amy Ryan played Rich's wife in the 2016 play Love, Love, Love, and lent her support in 2019 for The Lodge premiere at Sundance.

Rich has collaborated with Harlan Coben since 2020. Now old friends, they've moved far beyond "Stay in your lane Armitage!".

Lucy Griffiths came to support Rich on The Cut book tour this year, two decades after they starred as Marian and Guy in Robin Hood.

[richardsgisborne]

Lucy Griffith talks about how funny Richard Armitage was during the filming of Robin Hood and his book The Cut

[beautyinsteadofashes]

I'm heading to Budapest this week does anyone know if there are still filming locations you can visit for Robin Hood BBC?

[mygangtome]

My Gang to Me Day Call for Participation 2026

26 April marks Robin’s rescue of the Locksley Four as depicted in the BBC series’ first episode.

2026 will mark TWENTY YEARS since BBC Robin Hood debuted.

[As we do] We shall celebrate like it’s 1192!

We will again be activating our ONE-DAY-ONLY posting blog at mygangtome.tumblr.com, where we will REBLOG anything you post to the tumblr tag #my gang to me 2026 on your own blog, and you can SUBMIT your content to us in advance to be posted on the day (if you’d rather).

This blog will post and reblog posts submitted, or in the tag, ONLY on Sunday, 26 April, 2026.

Since tracking tags has long ago been de-simplified by tumblr, you can FOLLOW the blog at mygangtome.tumblr.com to get all the day’s celebration posts on your dash.

Wondering what to do/post? Check out the blog’s archive, which spans multiple years of celebration.

It is our preference that, if possible, you post to your own blog first under the tag #my gang to me 2026, as your posts will reach more and varied people (and perhaps birth new viewers), and we will reblog from there. But we are also happy to accept your submissions and schedule them to post from the event’s official blog if you’d rather.

The official My Gang to Me blog will remain viewable and able to be re-blogged from following 26 April into whatever amounts to tumblr perpetuity.

POST to #my gang to me 2026 SUBMIT to mygangtome.tumblr.com/submit FOLLOW mygangtome.tumblr.com

*mygangtome is set to Eastern Time (NYC), though we do schedule posts to begin earlier than midnight (ET) 4/26 in acknowledgement of our international followers

[evenstaredits]

Love that caption. 💖

Instagram : richardcarmitage.

[heaven-and-earth17]

{Robin Hood BBC} Sisterhood - 2x1