As the second episode of Sherwood begins, Andy Fisher (Adeel Akhtar) rides at the front of the train as it approaches Newstead Station. When something hits and breaks the window, she immediately stops the train. Andy tells the patients before going outside to look around. He finds an arrow on the ground while Scott (Adam Hugill) walks through the woods with his bow in his hand. DI Kevin Salisbury (Robert Glenister) joins DCS Ian St Clair (David Morrissey) and the others for the daily meeting. Ian admits he was surprised when he heard Kevin was coming up. They only needed restricted information from a victim file and could’ve sent the question online. Kevin says his commissioner wanted to offer actual assistance and not just words.

Ian shows him down to the kitchen, but Kevin thinks he’ll sit in on the meeting. He tells the group that the arrow was from a crossbow. The light source on his skull shows a butt that was likely produced by the same weapon. Sargent Cleaver (Terence Maynard) describes Gary as a loving husband, dad, and grandad. He was a retired miner who remained politically active as a member of the NUM mainly with ex-miners north of the border. He was unpopular with some swathes of the community here for staying out throughout ’84. PC Kirsty Dove (Chloe Harris) tells them about the pool ball being thrown at the club after Gary said scab. Neighbors confirm that Gary has been calling him that for years although nothing has ever happened before.

She has been called worse. Ian asks about the Sparrows and their archery range. DI Taylor says she is still working her way through the list. When she says scabs, Ian makes it clear that the word is still loaded and painful around here. Most of the miners here didn’t join the strike while most of the miners in the UK did. Gary was an exception here. Ian encourages them to be mindful. He wants word out about the dog. As for the powder found, the lab found traces of ketamine. They learn about the train being attacked by an arrow and head there immediately. Kevin decides to go with them. Fred Rowley (Kevin Doyle) wonders if Scott is in his room and just not answering. When Cathy (Claire Rushbrook) reminds him that his sentencing is this afternoon, Fred says he’ll be back since he is just having one last night of freedom.

Cathy complains about Fred not telling the police about Scott’s weapons. She doesn’t know what to write on a card to Julie. Fred argues that you don’t write to your sister and instead you go around, but Cathy doesn’t think she’d want that. Fred begins looking for his toolbox. Ronan (Bill Jones) texts Cinderella (Safia Oakley-Green) who says she is just in shock. Rory (Perry Fitzpatrick) is asked to clean out the outhouse because Daphne (Lorraine Ashbourne) doesn’t want the police finding his stuff. Ronan is told to give him a hand. Before they leave, Mickey (Philip Jackson) nods at Rory. At the train, Ian and Kevin are told that the arrow likely came from 50 to 75 yards away. Ian asks the man to check for prints while Kevin questions whether a laser pointer would help determine the trajectory.

The man isn’t sure it’d help since you’d have to consider the wind, kill of the shooter, and speed of the train. Ian calls to ask NPAS to send up a helicopter. Kevin and Cleaver discuss whether it was a repeat or someone imitating the killer. Cleaver tells him that the train heads to the city in one direction and the villages in the other. Kevin claims they could’ve been aiming at anyone on the train or no one. When Kevin asks about it being called Robin Hood, Cleaver tells him that Ian hates that kind of thing. He asks Clever about Ian’s notepad only to learn he uses it to keep notes. Kevin and Ian talk to Andy who confirms this is her route every day. Andy wonders if they were aiming at him although he can’t think of anyone who would want to do that.

As Fred tries to get into Scott’s room, Cathy walks outside to deliver the card to Julie who is crying while looking at Gary’s things. The card only seems to make Julie angry. Once she returns home, Cathy enters Scott’s room to tell Fred she’ll get his suit ready just in case. Kevin tells Ian that they must’ve fired from that direction before fleeing into the woods. Ian reveals it is the Annesley Woods and part of the old Sherwood Forest. As the helicopter flies overhead, Mickey sees it from his property. Ronan tells Rory that he could do it instead of the phones. He could like stuff and whatever else they do. Rory tells him that the automation software runs thousands of clicks an hour and it is only pocket money. He is only trying to make them more protected although not everyone gets it.

Ronan suggests the land who came up to train on the archery range got it. He remembers them coming down here sometimes to talk tech and stuff. Rory calls him a little man with his beady eyes everywhere. He warns Ronan that the pigs are going to be looking at them after the killing. They were here Sunday, but Ronan was out. Rory thinks it’d be a good idea if everyone said he was there having a kickabout before they came back here. When Andy returns home, he finds workers taking down his fence. Neel (Bally Gill) reminds him they always said they waited until after the wedding. Sarah (Joanne Froggatt) thinks it was a good idea to use the momentum. She explains that the fence was nearly rotten so they’ll cover the cost and it’ll be better for everyone.

Andy hopes they will still have a gate between them since that was important to Neel’s mom. After they argue about an occasional chair, Neel admits he has to leave straight away to Manchester for work. Then, they have their trip to Yorkshire for his steam train ride. Andy tells him that the man on the news was at his reception. Neel knows since his wife works for him at the building society. Andy tells him about someone aiming something at his train this morning. After Neel hugs him, he thanks him for the speech and the money. Neel tries to show him the new Bluetooth speaker they got, but Andy isn’t eager to play along and leaves instead. As they ride together, Ian tells Kevin that he lives on the outskirts of the village and is married now without kids. Once Kevin asks about his brother, Ian says they shouldn’t. Kevin isn’t sure how much use he is going to be.

He spots a black dog that matches the description of Gary’s dog. Back at the meeting, Taylor is asked to get the collar and lead checked for DNA and prints. He also wants a list of wedding guests since Andy and Gary were there. Kevin wants to suggest something since he might’ve investigated a larger sample sum of murders. He says there were 293 in total before explaining you might get a human profile by swabbing the dog’s mouth. The dog might’ve bitten the murderer. Cleaver confirms they found a match on the prints from the bag in the Jackson backyard. Aside from the victim’s prints, there were two other sets belonging to Michael and Rory Sparrow. Since Cleaver is working on a warrant, Ian thinks they should go immediately. Kevin is told not to flash his badge around because the Met still provokes a lot of reaction around here.

Kevin changes into a suit before they head out. Mickey tells them that they’re just a taxi firm and he doesn’t recall handling any class A drugs in the last couple of weeks. He denies having contact with Gary even though they found the bag with his prints on it in Gary’s garden. Mickey says they’ve been trying to get this family for years. There is plenty they could do them for if they had half a brain. Rory mentions picking up Ian’s wife at a lovely little place off Derby Road. When Cleaver enters with the arrow and says it has the same fletching pattern, Mickey claims they sell them to visitors. Ian arrests Michael and Rory on suspicion of murder. Helen (Clare Holman) calls Ian to tell him someone is firing arrows around town. He promises he is now before telling her that they’ve got someone now.

Scott is shown shooting arrows in the woods. Cathy tells Fred that the judge has issued a warrant for Scott’s arrest for missing his sentencing. They wonder what will happen next. When Kevin and Ian visit Julie, she admits she is drinking with her 16-year-old underaged granddaughter. She offers them a drink too. Ian says not at first, but quickly changes his mind. Ian asks about her relationship with the Sparrow family as Julie quickly says oh God. She insists they don’t have any dealings with them until she remembers the allotment. She takes them to the allotment. Julie shows them Gary’s and the Sparrow’s allotment which is adjacent to it. While Ian asks the officers to try to get access to the allotment, Kevin remembers being there as a younger PC and holding hands with a woman.

Julie tells them that Gary had a fancy camera that sent pictures to a computer or something. Cindy calls Ronan to ask whether his family killed her granddad. She reminds him that he was with her. Cindy wants him to come and tells her that they wouldn’t do it. She tells Ronan to just leave her alone because her nan would be upset if she found out they were hanging out. When Mickey is interviewed, he is told the camera shows Gary entering his allotment and taking something. The next day, he and his son searched Gary’s plot. Ian asks whether he was looking to take revenge on Gary for taking his gear, but Mickey says he isn’t the vengeful type. Rory is interviewed as well and insists he was with Ronan and his mate. Mickey refuses to comment when asked about the train. Ian asks Rory about his archery skills.

He admits he is fairly handy. Later, Kevin tells Ian that he has a strong case and all of this is sort of a moot issue now. Ian argues it doesn’t for him because Gary’s arrest file doesn’t add up. Ian says he talked to Gary that night and remembers there was a lot that wasn’t straightforward. He was accused and arrested before new evidence came forward that cleared her. Ian questions why there is so much secrecy. Kevin suggests his superiors sent him here because they’re not granting access to any of this. Ian wants to know if any of them adds to another motivation to Gary’s murder. Ian believes he has the motivation of Gary burning the Sparrows’ drugs. Kevin says he can only tell him what he knows. One evening in October 1984 about six months into the strike, there was a tip-off that implicated Gary and four others as being involved in an attack that caused some serious personal injury and one fatality.

By sheer circumstance, he was able to vouch for Gary that night despite not knowing him from Adam. Kevin believes he has a black mark against his name due to his actions. Ian says they appreciate him coming up and they’ve booked him on a train for tomorrow morning. When Kevin leaves, he goes to the store to buy supplies and ends up running into Jenny (Nadine Marshall). He admits he thought he’d be in and out. He is since he is going back to London tomorrow. As for Jenny, she is the headmistress at a local primary school now. She has a family without kids. After the conversation ends, Kevin leaves. Later that night, Andy wakes up after watching a DVD. He decides to warn lesbian pornography. The audio comes through the Bluetooth speaker next door and ends up waking up Sarah.

She calls Neel who tells her to turn it off. She accuses him of watching porn in his room, but Neel says it wouldn’t reach that far. Neel realizes what is going on so he calls Andy. He insists it isn’t a big deal although he should turn off the Bluetooth settings on his phone. Andy cries after the call. In the morning, Ian thanks the councilors for inviting him and says he wants to keep them up to speed. Sarah looks at Andy as Ian says he knows how something like this can inflame divisions in the community. Although Ian says they have people in custody, a local mentions the rumor that someone is after striking miners. Sarah hopes the elections can still continue since there are certain parties here who tend to benefit from a lower turnout.

She says she is joking because they’re all getting reelected. William tells her she’d be getting newly elected as a Conservative. Sarah claims she has always been a Conservative. That was like saying you had crap on toast, but it turns out they were the silent majority all along. Sarah reminds them of the attacks on her father from the striking miners. Her father ferried the miners that wanted to work and often got eggs or bricks thrown at him. Sarah says her politics from her belief in the right of the individual to choose. Arrows are shot at another man, Vinay Chakarabarti, as he is watering his flowers. When Ian arrives at the scene, Cleaver suggests it can’t be the Sparrows since they’re in custody.

Ian sits down with Vinay (Ace Bhatti) who confirms he was Gary’s solicitor. They were pursuing a new wrongful arrest claim from back in the ‘80s. He can’t understand why Gary would be killed or why someone would come after him. Vinay knows of the Sparrows, but he didn’t have any dealings with them. Cleaver interrupts to say the dog bite got a DNA match to Scott Rowley who was supposed to be sentenced yesterday. The Rowley house is stormed by armed police a few minutes later. When Cathy and Fred are questioned, they are told the police have Scott’s DNA connected to a crime scene and need to talk to him. Cathy blames Fred. Ian asks why Scott would be choosing these targets. Fred insists they had nothing to do with Gary or Julie. Ian mentions that Gary was vocal about his beliefs and Fred was a working miner during the strike.

Fred says Scott just spent all his time on his computer and didn’t care about any of that. They explain he was going to be sentenced for benefits fraud because he didn’t declare his savings when he was claiming his unemployment. When asked if they know where he could be hiding, Cathy says Fred let him use his garage. As they check it, Cleaver says Scott has been withdrawing his dad’s redundancy in increments. The final amount of the 15 grand was cleared out on Saturday. Once Ian asks Cleaver to close the door, they find a message saying, “you’re all liars”. Scott is shown riding a bike with his bow while Kevin hears about the recent attack on the radio. Scott has a bag full of cash. He buries some of the money in the woods. Andy accepts a delivery for his son and Sarah. Cindy talks to Julie about her mother returning.

Julie gets upset when Cindy asks whether it hurts to die since she is trying to not think about it. They notice something is going on at Cathy’s place so they peek over the fence. Cathy receives a call from Julie and begins worrying that she knows. Later, Taylor says Scott isn’t Edward Snowden because his hacking is self-taught. A lot of what he is looking at centers on Gary at first before it branches out to others. Kevin returns and tells Ian he should probably stick around. Ian agrees to take him to see Vinay who says he mainly deals with family law and tax disputes. He has been helping with some wrongful arrest claims from the strike. Some have been gathering steam thanks to the campaign around Orgreave. Although Gary’s charges were dropped, he always felt blacklisted and pushed out of the job he loved.

He wanted to know more about why he was arrested and who got it wrong. Vinay makes it clear he isn’t a conspiracy theorist before asking if they know what a spy cop is. Kevin says they were undercovers and there is an inquiry into the practices of an old unit from Scotland Yard. It was called the Special Demonstration Squad. While Kevin says the group was disbanded, Vinay says that doesn’t help the people who were spied on for their politics. Vinay claims the government put undercovers in the unions of mining communities to gain the confidence of the locals and feed information back to the Met police, Home Office, and even the security services. Gary’s NUM believes this is plausible and told him about a rumor regarding an undercover spy sent to his community. Vinay wonders if that informant singled out Gary as a militant for arrest.

Kevin says these officers were following orders and buggered off when it all ended, but Vinay claims this undercover officer didn’t bugger off. Gary said this person came here, assumed an identity, and remained here under their fictional persona to this day. Andy takes the package to Sarah’s house only to walk in on her using the toilet. She begins complaining as Andy starts suspecting there isn’t going to be a gate. Sarah says they have a landscape gardener and she’ll make the decisions. Andy thinks she should’ve talked to him about it if that is what she wanted since he isn’t a child. Sarah says she wanted to and told Neel, but they kept putting it off. When he says it feels like everything is changing, Sarah says it is. She doesn’t want him to just come and go as he pleases.

Andy brings up Neel’s mother who died, but Sarah says she killed herself. Everyone pretends otherwise and it isn’t healthy. Andy says she was dying inside because of the disease although Sarah argues otherwise. Andy grabs the shovel and hits her.

 

Sherwood Review

Sherwood has descended into mediocrity after the second episode. The first episode had potential and seemed to be setting up a great story despite some hiccups. The second episode flung everything at the wall hoping something would stick. It is questionable why this was ever linked to the real-life events considering how different the two really are. In many cases, truth is stranger than fiction. It is often more interesting as would be the case here.

With a bloated cast that continues swelling by the minute, it is difficult for anyone to stand out including the lead detectives or the victims. The story clearly has something to say since it regularly touches on politics and social issues, but the message is getting muddled in the messy storytelling. While certain characters are good, others are unbelievably simple-minded, especially Andy and whatever they were trying to do with his softcore porn scene.

At times, it feels like the writers knew little about true crime storytelling. We’ve known about Scott from the beginning so I doubt anyone really thought the Sparrow family was involved in the bow-and-arrow killing of Gary. To go through the motions of arresting, interrogating, and releasing Rory and Mickey on a whim was obviously pointless which is exactly what it felt like.

Even though most people knew the story, the character names were changed so it would’ve made sense to keep the viewer in suspense from the beginning. I also don’t know where they’re going with the undercover cop storyline or the election. These side stories and others add more complexity to the show that makes it feel more like a chore and less like entertainment. The episode scores a 5 out of 10.

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