The Death of Robin Hood — Ending Explained

Full Plot Breakdown & Twists: The film opens in 1247 England as a young woman (Wainwright) tracks down Robin Hood in a freezing wilderness. When she tries to murder him in his sleep to avenge her family, Robin ruthlessly kills her and buries her in a clearing filled with dozens of graves of previous vengeance-seekers.

Robin's former ally Little John (Bill Skarsgård) arrives, persuading Robin to help him reclaim his farm from a hostile clan. The resulting attack turns into a bloody bloodbath: Little John's wife is slain, and Robin is severely wounded. Little John takes the feverish, dying Robin to the Priory of St. Clement on an isolated island. At the priory, Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer) nurses Robin under the alias "Randolph". Robin interacts with the Leper (Murray Bartlett) and takes an orphaned girl, Little Margaret (Faith Delaney), under his care, teaching her how to shoot a bow to survive.

The Climax & Ending: The central emotional twist occurs when Sister Brigid reveals she knows "Randolph" is Robin Hood and that he murdered her parents years ago. However, rather than seeking revenge, she forgives him, refusing to perpetuate the cycle of hatred.

As Robin’s health deteriorates, Brigid performs a medieval bloodletting treatment. Weakened by blood loss and his injuries, Robin knows his death is at hand. In his final moments, with his bow in hand, Robin fires one last arrow out of the priory window into the surrounding forest, requesting to be buried wherever the arrow lands. He dies quietly in bed, having finally broken his personal cycle of violence by protecting Little Margaret and accepting his mortality.

• The Christian Parable of Grace: One reading views the film as an explicit Christian allegory. Robin represents a sinner burdened by insurmountable guilt, while Sister Brigid represents divine grace that offers salvation regardless of past atrocities.
• The Cynical Meta-Deconstruction: Another interpretation sees the film as a critique of cultural mythmaking, arguing that humanity invents heroic fables to mask the ugly reality of historical violence and exploitation.
• The Psychological Purgatory: A third reading suggests the priory island is a subjective purgatorial state or deathbed fever dream, where Robin's mind forces him to relive and confront his victims before passing away.