Sherwood (2022) - Season 2

It also counts for season 2, Sherwood (2022) is an intelligent detective series that combines social themes and strong acting. Two years ago, Sherwood (2022) made a strong debut with a season that incorporated elements of the Robin Hood legend into a contemporary murder mystery with a socially critical layer. The murder of an old union leader by an archer was linked to the miners' strikes of the 1980s. Although the mystery was largely solved, some questions still remained. And the second season manages to delve further into those questions with a completely new case.

This season is mainly about a conflict between two criminal families in Nottingham. They are trying to kill each other and the violence between them begins to claim lives. Detective Ian St. Claire (David Morrissey, The Walking Dead) gets involved in the case, but this puts him in a difficult position. He knows a dangerous secret about one of the family members and if this leaks out, many more lives are at stake. What also doesn't help is that the municipality has plans for a new coal mine and this brings back a lot of painful memories.

Sherwood (2022) makes a nuanced indictment of the gap between rich and poor

This second season presents a storyline that meets exactly what you can expect from a second season. On the one hand, it does something completely new and presents a whole host of new characters and new conflicts. At the same time, it builds on the events of the first season, both in terms of characters and themes.

Once again a sharp indictment is presented against the gap between rich and poor. At the same time, it also shows a lot of nuance. This is strongly evident, for example, in the storyline about the new coal mine. Yes, you could strike in the 1980s, but some miners chose to continue working. Sherwood (2022) already showed in season one that there was no easy choice. There is something to be said for both sides. The series repeats this again with the plan for the new coal mine. Even though this theme also came up last season, it is not done in a way that is disturbing.

This series has a lot of top actors

We already knew that David Morrissey is a good actor. But just like last season, he is now supported by plenty of other strong actors. I mention names like David Harewood (Homeland), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones) and Lesley Manville (The Crown). But the two highlights for me are Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton) and Monica Dolan (W1A) as the heads of the rival families Sparrow and Branson. They play their roles with verve and succeed in creating three-dimensional characters. A confrontation between the two women in the final episode is lifted to a higher level partly by the acting.

The storyline is once again well put together. It takes a while to get going, but after a few episodes the pace picks up again. However, the end of the season is fairly open. Although the conflict between the two families is over, it is not a real conclusion to the story. Actually, all the questions from the end of the first season are still unanswered and that is a shame. But perhaps this is all set up for a possible third season and we'll just have to wait for it.

Although the unique link to Robin Hood is less apparent this season of Sherwood (2022), there is still more than enough to enjoy. Once again we see an excellent cast led by David Morrissey, an exciting story and strong social criticism. I really hope that the BBC decides to give this a third season, because there is still plenty to tell.