Robin Hood Season 1 episode 2 ending explained: Did Robin kill Captain Lefors deliberately?

Robin Hood Season 1 returns with episode 2, A Heinous Devil, which premiered on November 2, 2025, on MGM+. The hour tracks Rob’s slide from grieving son to wanted man while setting up a class and crown conflict that powers Robin Hood Season 1 going forward. Jack Patten leads as Rob, Lauren McQueen plays Marian, and Sean Bean anchors the Norman side as the Sheriff of Nottingham, with Steven Waddington as the Earl of Huntingdon and Lydia Peckham as Priscilla.

The plot moves from burial grounds to court corridors, then into Sherwood, where one rigged wager turns Rob into an outlaw. Robin Hood Season 1 keeps the history clear, the motives simple, and the pressure steady. The episode frames the hunt, the archery training, and Marian’s departure to Queen Eleanor’s court as steps that push Rob to a single decision.

Did Robin kill Captain Lefors deliberately in Robin Hood Season 1 episode 2?

The ending plays out in Sherwood after a rough day of losses and near escapes. Rob is heading for an archery contest that could shift his status. Captain Lefors and his men stop him and press a wager. The deal starts fair, then swerves into a trap. Rob is told to hit any mark for ten pennies. Lefors then names a royal deer at more than five score yards.

Under forest law, a king’s deer is protected, which flips the shot into a crime the moment the arrow lands. Robin Hood Season 1 shows Rob protest and then take the shot, which he makes. The guards instantly shout poacher and move to seize him. One arrow flies back from Rob during the scramble, and Lefors drops with a chest wound.

The cut to Rob running tells you the series will now treat him as a killer, but the setup frames the act as panic under duress. The trap was the crime, the kill was the fallout. TechRadar’s interview with creator Jonathan English underscores why this cliffhanger drives the season, as per TechRadar's report dated November 3, 2025, English stated,

“They’re not just cheap writer tricks....Each cliffhanger is about moving Rob's character to the next level of what we know about Robin Hood.”

As the wager tightens, the script shows the pressure in plain words. Lefors stated,

“Ten pennies, or are you too afraid.”

A beat later, Rob answers the distance, and a soldier notes,

“No, they’re the king’s deer.”

When Rob hits, the same men pivot,

“You just shot a king’s deer.”

Those lines explain why the ending brands him an outlaw within minutes.

What happens in Episode 2: A Heinous Devil?

The hour opens with Rob found at the burial pits after Hugh Locksley’s execution. Gamewell and Will pull him home. Joan’s health fails, and her last counsel tries to arrest the spiral. Joan said,

“choose love over hate.”

That plea sets a moral line that Robin Hood Season 1 keeps testing as Rob grieves, trains, and reaches for a clean path. Marian returns to Nottingham with her father and learns the price of the Locksley deed. Priscilla drifts closer to Lefors in ways that will matter later. The Sheriff keeps his household tight while watching the Earl consolidate power.

Rob and Marian meet once more. Bernard allows a private goodbye before Marian departs for court. Rob then commits to the bow, and A Heinous Devil moves him toward the contest at Lichfield. In the forest he crosses Lefors, takes the bet, hits the deer, and the chase ends with a single arrow back at the captain. The edit leaves the man fallen and Rob in flight.

Who holds leverage after the cliffhanger?

The chessboard resets fast in Robin Hood Season 1. Marian is now at Queen Eleanor’s court, which gives her access, a shield of protocol, and distance from Nottingham, yet also limits contact with Rob. Priscilla’s link to Lefors becomes a liability and a lever at the same time, since the Sheriff can punish or protect depending on what helps order. The Sheriff gains public authority but loses a useful enforcer, which exposes gaps in the garrison that the Earl can exploit.

The Earl, newly raised, controls land and optics, and can point to the poaching to demand harsher action in Sherwood. Rob gains skill and a name, but no safe ground. The script hints at how thin his choices are. Joan stated,

“You must choose love over hate. One day you'll be faced with that decision. We all are, sooner or later. Do not let the Sheriff decide who you become.”

The episode counters with the wager that makes the choice feel like a trap. Seen through that lens, the kill does not read as a plan. It reads as a snapshot in a rigged field, which Robin Hood Season 1 then uses to lock the outlaw story into place for episode 3.

Stay tuned for more updates.