Top 10 Period Drama Villains: #2

2. Sir Guy of Gisborne (Richard Armitage) - Robin Hood

I'll be honest, Sir Guy/Richard Armitage was the only reason why I ever watched the BBC's Robin Hood. The show itself was quite silly, and I found emo-kid Robin a bit irritating. What made it worthwhile for me, however, was the Robin/Marian/Guy love triangle. Especially Guy. (Then the show's writers killed off you-know-who, and all of the romantic suspense was lost - plus they gave Richard that awful hair. I didn't even bother to watch the third series.) But the first two series were alright. Sir Guy was alright. :-)

Sir Guy of Gisborne (as portrayed in this series) is more or less the archetypal romantic/sympathetic baddie: lots of inner conflict, torn between good and evil, in love with the saintly heroine, hoping that she can somehow "redeem" him, etc. etc.

Which brings us to something interesting: girls apparently long to "save" the baddie and "transform" him. (Just look at Twilight. Just look at Erik, or almost any of the other villains who will eventually feature in this series.) In the real world, however, to attempt such a course of action would almost certainly be a recipe for disaster. As a Christian, I believe that only God can truly redeem us and transform us! And in the end, I think most of my favourite love stories are those in which the hero and heroine, both flawed and imperfect, do their best to help each other, and bring out the best in each other - Jane Austen's books are some of the best examples of this.

LOL! Love this picture. These two played off against each other so well. Keith Allen was hilarious as The Sherriff ("La-di-da-di-da!").

However, having said all of that. . . I think there is a reason why stories in which the heroine helps "rescue" the hero (or vice versa) resonate so deeply with us - they remind us of Christ's redemptive love for us.

I'm probably sounding a bit contradictory here. All I'm trying to say is that. . . I love a good story in which the hero saves the damsel in distress, or the heroine helps bring the hero to his redemption - I think most people do. However, girls, just bear in mind that it is almost always always a bad idea to marry or get involved with a murderer/vampire/tyrant/jerk; and try to keep a balanced perspective. ;-)

(Notice that I've packed as many pictures of Richard as possible into this post? :P)

So - have you seen the Robin Hood TV series? Did you enjoy it? Any thoughts on Sir Guy's character?

Robin Hood S3 *finally* coming to Australia. . .

Robin Hood fans (and Richard Armitage fans) Australia-wide will be thrilled to know that the third series of the BBC's Robin Hood is about to go to air here. . . finally. The first episode will be on this Saturday (1st May) at 7:30 pm on ABC2. Hat-tip to my 8-year-old sister, who made this most interesting discovery whilst browsing through the TV guide. 

And if you miss it, you can always catch it on iView - but only if you live in Australia. . .