The ‘Sherwood’ Series 2 Ending Explained: Things Can Grow Here
If you’ve been holding your breath for the last six weeks – especially whenever Ann Branson has been on screen – then you can finally let go. It’s all over now.
The culmination of series two of Sherwood was more spectacular than anyone could have been hoped for: mysteries were solved, bent coppers were unmasked, the villains got their comeuppance. We even had the hint of a budding romance too.
But where did all our favourite characters end up? Here’s a breakdown of that final, dramatic Sherwood episode, and what it meant for the familiar faces of the Nottinghamshire village:
The subplots were all tied up neatly: DCS Harry Summers (Michael Balogun) was left reeling after being told by Roy Branson (Stephen Dillane) that his late wife, Chloe, had actually been having an affair with the now dead Kyre – and that he had not, in fact, become a police informant. However, Roy let something slip that allowed Harry to realise who the snitch in the force was: Marcus Clarke (Jorden Myrie). How did he know? Well, taking cues from the great Wagatha Christie scandal, Harry had also been telling select people false stories. It was Roy saying that Harry drank real ale, when he was actually a whiskey man, that did Marcus in.
After a little trip to Sherwood forest to rough up Marcus, Harry hauled him back to the station, where Marcus confessed: the Bransons paid for his degree and he was indebted to the nefarious family for the rest of his life.
The Sheriff’s potential killer was also unveiled by Stephie (Bethany Asher) who told Sandy that it was the gang member, Jordan (Tyrese Eaton-Dyce), who drugged her. He had wanted revenge for the death of his brother inside prison. This let spy-cop-turned-millionaire scumbag Franklin Warner (Robert Lindsay) off the hook, and his smarmy speech to the press complained of the “corruption plain and simple at the heart of our British institutions”. However, this all fell apart when he was told that the bid for the pit had fallen flat, and his true colours were unmasked.
“You fucking people,” he sneered. “You won’t be saved, will you?” In an awkward car ride home, his son also informs him that his services in the business are no longer required.
The drugs gang had been busted. Ian St Clair (David Morrissey) – who had became upset when the force tried to arrest a 12-year-old who had clearly been groomed – went to talk to Ryan (Oliver Huntingdon) in prison again, letting him know that he was likely to be moved far away from his sister Stephie, unless he could gain any intel about on-the-run Ann Branson (Monica Dolan). Only half the way through the episode and there was still an almighty showdown ahead…
Matriarch vs. Matriarch showdown
Rory (Perry Fitzpatrick) and Ronan Sparrow managed to get a tip off as to where Ann was hiding out: a nearby reservoir, not a Portuguese villa. Rory called his mum, Daphne (Lorraine Ashbourne) to give her a location, and the good news was that she was even closer than Rory to the location. It turns out that she was about to avenge her husband Mickey’s death.
On another murderous road trip with her long-lost mum, poor Rachel (Christine Bottomley) begs Daphne not to continue the cycle of violence. It's to no avail, but when Daphne arrives with her ancient looking pistol she duly receives a bullet in the arm from Ann.
Ann edges Daphne at gunpoint towards the water and boasts about all the bodies they’ve dropped in the reservoir over the years. Then Rachel finally proves she really is a Sparrow and comes in brandishing a gun at Ann. There’s a tussle and Ann’s gun ends up in the water. Ann's arm is broken and Daphne has a clear shot to rid her life of this menace.
But, just as Daphne’s past lies on the floor in front of her, there is hope for a better future with her daughter. She’s not going to give that up by killing her and suffering a jail sentence, and isn’t going to wait for the police either (so that Ann can wind up in prison as “the big I am”). She tells Ann to run, taunting her in the process.
Perry arrives, and Ann takes her opportunity to charge at Daphne, falling into the water. She's unable to swim with her broken arm, and they watch on as Ann struggles and drowns, refusing to help her as she fittingly joins all the bodies she and her evil husband have dumped over the years.
Ian turns up, and nobody says anything. The Sparrows will never cooperate with the police again, and there’s the sense that the disillusioned Ian is unlikely to say anything either. The scene ends with a moody shot of him looking out at the water and the industrial factory, chugging out thick smoke in the background.
What happens next?
Well, the good news is that there’s hope for a romance between Ian and Julie (Leslie Manville). As ever-so-gently implied in a previous scene, Julie told him about the importance of letting go of the past (“the bloody guilt and the shame… you can’t fix everything” – something also reflected by Daphne’s actions). She also reiterated how it’s vital to live in hope, to not focus on what “we wish we had, but what we could have”. Cue a large smile from Ian.
We cut to a scene of the Sheriff Lisa giving a speech about hope, and how in their community things can grow, though she probably wasn't referring to the money Stephie is seen planting for Ryan back in Sherwood Forest again.
Jordan is seen being sent to prison. He clocks eyes with the guard Ryan was paying off in a special arrangement, suggesting this gang member could be in for a cushty time in prison.
Harry heads back to the support group to try and process the last few hideous months of his life, and happily, we see the Sparrow family – minus Mickey of course, RIP, but happily including Rachel – finally head off on that much-talked about road trip, hopefully without any murdering this time. Can things really change for the better?
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