I think...that I like thinking of the whole thing as two different series. One where the finale does happen and one where it doesn't.
Where it does happen is incredible tragic and heartbreaking and that's only because of what's happened before. Guy and Marian were always doomed because of the legend, but somehow this is better than the way it might have gone - Robin killing Guy and living happily ever after with Marian would be sort of a "traditional" way; Guy getting killed saving Marian would have been the only kind of happy way it would have ended.
This ending is glorious and heartbreaking tragedy in a kind of Romeo and Juliet vein. Interestingly, Marian and Juliet share some of the same kind of strengths - they're both pretty decisive young women and are stronger than the men in the story plus to an extent both are stuck in a particular position in society that is very difficult for them to move away from.
Guy shares a certain indecisiveness with Romeo and another shared weakness is a tendency to act with blind passion - Guy kills Marian, Romeo kills Tybalt.
And again... there's another parallel in that if circumstances had been slightly different? It could have worked out. If Marian hadn't tried to kill the Sheriff, yeah they would still have been doomed and Guy would have killed the King but they'd both be alive. If Romeo took up Tybalt's challenge, well. He would probably be dead. But everyone else (Juliet, Mercutio, Tybalt, Romeo's mother, Paris...) would still be alive. Or if he hadn't interfere with the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio, then maybe it would have been Tybalt that died or someone could have come along in a better position to stop the fight.
But I do like my Robin/Marian shipping to have the same kind of R&J tragedy levels, so in my favourite stories of them either Robin dies, Marian dies or everyone dies.
Yeah. I know. It's weird.
BUT THEN, if you take the series without this finale? It's still this wonderful story about the growth of the whole relationship between Guy and Marian and Guy revealing the depths he would go to for Marian and Marian sticking to her guns and not taking the easy way out for them.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-01-01 11:26 am (UTC)Where it does happen is incredible tragic and heartbreaking and that's only because of what's happened before. Guy and Marian were always doomed because of the legend, but somehow this is better than the way it might have gone - Robin killing Guy and living happily ever after with Marian would be sort of a "traditional" way; Guy getting killed saving Marian would have been the only kind of happy way it would have ended.
This ending is glorious and heartbreaking tragedy in a kind of Romeo and Juliet vein. Interestingly, Marian and Juliet share some of the same kind of strengths - they're both pretty decisive young women and are stronger than the men in the story plus to an extent both are stuck in a particular position in society that is very difficult for them to move away from.
Guy shares a certain indecisiveness with Romeo and another shared weakness is a tendency to act with blind passion - Guy kills Marian, Romeo kills Tybalt.
And again... there's another parallel in that if circumstances had been slightly different? It could have worked out. If Marian hadn't tried to kill the Sheriff, yeah they would still have been doomed and Guy would have killed the King but they'd both be alive. If Romeo took up Tybalt's challenge, well. He would probably be dead. But everyone else (Juliet, Mercutio, Tybalt, Romeo's mother, Paris...) would still be alive. Or if he hadn't interfere with the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio, then maybe it would have been Tybalt that died or someone could have come along in a better position to stop the fight.
But I do like my Robin/Marian shipping to have the same kind of R&J tragedy levels, so in my favourite stories of them either Robin dies, Marian dies or everyone dies.
Yeah. I know. It's weird.
BUT THEN, if you take the series without this finale? It's still this wonderful story about the growth of the whole relationship between Guy and Marian and Guy revealing the depths he would go to for Marian and Marian sticking to her guns and not taking the easy way out for them.