As this episode of Sherwood begins, Julie Jackson (Lesley Manville) moves out of her house now that it’s under offer. She tells the agent she’s going to stay with her sister for a bit. Ian St Clair (David Morrissey) almost calls Julie but doesn’t. Ian and Harry Summers (Michael Balogun) tell Daphne (Lorraine Ashbourne), Rachel (Christine Bottomley), and the others that their statements aren’t going to be enough. Ian wants them to record the Bransons confessing to the murders. Mickey (Philip Jackson) complains that the police want them to do the job for them. Daphne asks to speak to everyone in private so the detectives leave. Then, Daphne tells Rory (Perry Fitzpatrick) and the others that they won’t be safe until the Bransons are gone.
Rory argues they can take them out their way. Mickey says they’d put two-and-two together and know it was them. Rory reminds them that the one rule is to never grass. He decides to leave because he’s not going to do it. Daphne asks Ian how it’d work if she did it. She is adamant she’s going to do it alone. Ian says the Bransons are under special protection so they’ll know when they move. Daphne leaves with Ian. Sandy Waters (Aisling Loftus) drops off Stephie (Bethany Asher) at home with the men who will be watching her. Sandy offers to take Stephie elsewhere. Jordan (Tyrese Eaton-Dyce) interrupts and says there’s nowhere better for Stephie than her own home. Jordan learns that Sandy lives nearby with the Sheriff of Nottingham, Lisa Waters (Ria Zmitrowicz).
Once they’re alone, Stephie tells Jordan that Ryan (Oliver Huntingdon) said he has to look after her. Jordan agrees Ryan is still the boss. Meanwhile, Ryan speaks to Scott (Adam Hugill) about retrieving his treasure. Ryan reminds him he’s not getting interest on the money and he could get out. Scott thinks he’ll get out since he got manslaughter, but he doubts Ryan ever will. Ryan explains he wants the money for his sister. When Scott laughs, Ryan slaps him and they begin fighting. Lisa finds graffiti on her home saying, “vote for the pit or end up in one”. She sits down and reads the threatening email. Franklin (Robert Lindsay) tells Samuel (Robert Emms) they need to see the sheriff. He wants to tell her the truth and put an end to it. Sam can’t get the truth from his father.
Lisa tells Sandy about the threatening email, but she doesn’t want to tell the police. Sandy urges her to run it by Ian. Daphne tells Ian she wants to make sure they’re square. Ian confirms he never told anyone, but Daphne says Julie knows. Ronan found out because he heard. Ian points out that she never told Mickey. Daphne is confident Rory won’t get in the way. Mickey speaks to Rachel about meeting previously. Rachel understands if he didn’t want to raise someone else’s baby. Mickey told Daphne he was up for it back then. Rachel says Daphne hasn’t spoken about the reasons. Ryan checks in with Scott and admits he won’t get out. He doesn’t even know why he did it. Ryan says his sister is the only family he has. He promises Scott will double and possibly triple his money. Scott tells him about a ghost town in America that’s been burning ever since.
He always thought it’d be nice to go there and start again. Scott writes something on Ryan’s hand. Jordan and his pals go to the spot to see if they can find the money. They find it. Harry learns multiple guns have been seized by officers in the last six weeks. They usually expect to see that amount over six months. Stephie watches a press conference in which Kyre’s death is made public. Rory gets upset and leaves home with an ax. Franklin and Samuel visit Lisa with gifts. Franklin wonders who sent that information to her. He says he was going to deny the allegations but that would mean shame. In reality, Franklin is ashamed of nothing. He says he was a fixer. Franklin worked on behalf of the government and the security services. Lisa confirms her father was a miner who decided to work. Franklin talks about the abuse dished out by the NMU.
He says he did nothing illegal and it was all public service. Franklin isn’t worried about the dodgy rumors. He says they’re only a few days away from the vote on the proposed mine and that would look like a last attempt to slander an opponent. A shocked Samuel leaves with his father. Ian goes to the pub to say he rented the old function room. He lets Harry in so they can set up the equipment. Lisa calls Ian to tell him about the death threats. He offers to come over later and get the emails traced. Rory visits Stephie’s place and breaks the window. He tells Jordan he’s a little boy playing a big boy. Rory says there are two stories being told. One says his family is running scared. The other says Rory just turned up and they’re back up in the running. Since the Bransons are on their way out, Rory wants to stake his family’s claim.
Rory says Jordan has the manpower and he has the contacts. He tells Jordan not to worry about the neighbors because everyone has their heads down. Jordan accepts Rory’s offer. Daphne arrives at the pub. Ian and Harry listen to her from the other room. Outside, Roy (Stephen Dillane) tells Ann (Monica Dolan) that he doesn’t care for rolling over on Kyre. Ann claims they just made his death useful. Roy wonders who killed him. Ann goes inside to meet Daphne who apologizes about Kyre. Ann suggests the Sparrows betrayed them. Daphne tries to get her to talk about it. She says they were innocent. Ann argues parents are responsible for their kids and she took responsibility for hers. At the station, Marcus Clarke (Jorden Myrie) tries to find out what’s going on with Harry Summers. A coworker, PC Crystal Brown (Jessica Whitehurst) tells him that a Sparrow in the hand might be worth two Bransons in the clink.
He learns they’re wearing a wire. Daphne keeps Ann talking. Marcus goes outside to call Ann who receives his call. She doesn’t answer it. Daphne goes to the bar for another drink. Ann calls Marcus who says she’s with a friend of theirs at the moment and she’s wearing a wire. Daphne returns and asks Ann about being questioned by the police. Ann mentions Ronan (Bill Jones) and all the illegal things Daphne has done over the years. Ann says they’re tethered together now in a strange sort of way. Ann threatens her that they’ll go down together. As Ann leaves, Daphne realizes that she knows. Daphne gets in touch with Ian and says someone from his place has told her. Ian insists no one knows. Daphne curses them and hangs up. Rory brings Jordan supplies. Jordan explains they’re going to smuggle synthetic drugs into the prison where an ounce can go for as much as a grand.
The prison has a new library scheme and they’re looking for donations. Jordan says they’ll take the treasure and make it grow. They’ll also need more runners. Ryan gets in touch with his sister. He might need her to pop around Sandy’s house. Ian calls Daphne to say she’s not in any danger. Daphne is convinced there’s something wrong though. Harry and Ian argue about whether they should just charge the Bransons. Ian yells at Harry to just shut up before apologizing. Ian worries he’s put his other job at risk. Harry leaves with Marcus. He tells Marcus that Ian was around when Chloe happened. They met when Chloe was a student. She got a job working as a secretary for a guy who did the books for many of the gangs, including the Bransons. One day, Kyre walked in and Harry thought there was an opportunity to turn him through Chloe.
It all went wrong and Chloe happened to be there in the way. Harry always thought Kyre knew who killed her. Jordan and Stephie encounter Lisa outside and ask about Sandy. Ian goes to the boxing gym to speak to Denise (Dena Smiles) with Marco (Mark Oliver) nearby. He wants to know if they’ve heard anything about the gangs recruiting. Denise accuses him of betraying them. Marco tells him he made his choice ages ago and he’ll have to live with it. Denise tells Ian he can’t be part of the work here as long as he’s with the police. Jordan and Stephie wait for Sandy with Lisa. Stephie wants to help Ryan with the books. Lisa confirms they’re taking in donations for it. Lisa agrees to put up a poster in the clubbie and a box for people to drop off old books. She thinks it’d be straightforward to get them into the prison.
Stephie tells Lisa that everything is fine at home. Ian goes to Julie’s residence and realizes it’s empty. He hears sirens. Jordan and the gang sprays the drugs into the pages of the books. Ian rushes to Lisa’s house and finds her passed out. Jordan tells the others it always has to be page fifty. Ryan learns about Lisa on the news. Samuel looks at Franklin as the episode ends.
Sherwood Review
The fourth episode of Sherwood’s second series didn’t have as many logical hiccups although it was a little slower and less exciting. At this point, the series would be much more enjoyable if it dropped the “true story” gimmick, threw the logic out the window, eliminated the politics, and just went full throttle with the crimes and gang wars.
The performances remain strong with Robert Lindsay really shining for the short time he was on screen. It’s unfortunate that his side of the story feels like a blip on the radar compared to a possible gang war but it’s fairly boring for the most part. There are still many things that don’t sit right logically.
For instance, the police are far too inept refusing to even question if someone is leaking information. That should’ve been the first question after the murders of people in police protection. It was also odd to hear Mickey worry about being held responsible for killing the Bransons when Rory mentioned it.
Wouldn’t the same thing happen when they roll over on them with the police? Marcus pretty much does nothing at work besides snooping on everything for the Bransons. Wouldn’t Ann’s phone be monitored as a person of interest and now a person in protection? If so, the call from Marcus at that specific time would be a great sign of guilt.
There are so many characters here and side stories that it’d be hard to keep up with everyone just watching along regularly. After all, there are similar names like Marcus and Marco and Roy and Rory. It was also humorous that Scott and Ryan got into a fight, yet they were given the freedom to see each other moments later.
The series is okay overall, but it certainly doesn’t live up to the universal hype. The first series came close while the second one is a big step backward in terms of believability. If it’s renewed for a third series, it should just drop the “true story” gimmick and fully lean into the idea that Nottinghamshire is Detroit on steroids with Barney Fife detectives. The episode scores a 5 out of 10.
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Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
