Ronja the Robber’s Daughter – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

The Pillory

Episode 3 of Ronja the Robber’s Daughter begins with Ronja having a dream about the shape-shifting ‘underearthers.’ Ironically, the people she sees when she’s awake – her father’s crew – appear as alien to her as the underearthers do. This is because of the events of last episode when she caught sight of their criminal actions for the first time.

Food is running scarce in the village so merchants have raised the price of vegetables. One man breaks into a storehouse to steal something but is caught by Cappa. He is then put in the pillory where people throw rotten food at him.

Back at the fort, Mattis is still upset that Borka and his crew have moved in next door. Together with his men, he plots a way to get rid of them. Meanwhile, Halvert is profiting from Borka’s valuables, under the watchful eye of Smavis. She later reports his actions to Cappa.

In the woods, a fight breaks out between the two clans. Their attacks are from a distance using bow and arrows. The fight doesn’t last long as an arrow hits Chorm in the leg. He is rushed back to the fort for medical attention from Lovis. During his treatment, we see Ronja hold her father’s hand, which is surprising to him as she was resentful towards him previously.

Later, Lovis suggests to Mattis that rather than trying to get Borka out of the fort, he should instead shut him and his men in. Presumably, this is so Mattis and his gang have more supplies to steal for winter, without Borka getting in the way.

At the village, Mattis and his gang plot to steal from the storehouse. They manage to break in, right under Halvert’s nose. Shortly after, Mattis meets the food thief from earlier. He learns his name is Chegge. The man is to be hanged but Mattis offers him a chance to join his crew. It’s a better alternative so he agrees. He is then taken back to the fort where he meets Lovis, Ronja, and the rest of the gang. 

Ronja has another meeting with Birk in the forest, where she sees him trying to catch a horse. They throw stones together, pretend to be one another’s father, and have snail races. The two get along well and end their time with one another amicably. Such friendship does not extend to Mattis and Borka as the former fires burning arrows at his rival’s men and finds a way to enter his side of the fortress. He then uses explosives to seal the entrance.

That night, Mattis and his men celebrate their victory over Borka. However, the next day, we see Borka has found a way to exit the fortress by using a ladder. He and Birk return to his old hideout, which is now in ruins.

Birk finds a toy his father had made for him. It is badly charred so Borka promises to make him a new one. When Birk mentions Ronja, his father tells him to stay away from her. When they return to the fort, Mattis’s men fire a burning arrow at Borka as he climbs the ladder and tell him it is time to move. 

Mattis and his men are looking forward to the day Borka leaves but Ronja isn’t so happy about the situation. As they dance jubilantly, she hides herself away.

The episode ends with Cappa meeting Chegge in the forest. It would appear that he plotted to leave the village with Mattis so he could then feed back information about him to Cappa.

The Episode Review

The dark fantasy aspects of episode 1 aren’t present in this third episode. This might disappoint those hoping to see more harpies and gray elves, but not those more interested in the feud between Mattis and Borka. Their rivalry seems to hold long-buried resentments, but we don’t quite know what these might be at this stage. 

This episode offered much food for thought, which is ironic considering the food shortage subplot. Not only do we have the ongoing fight between Mattis and Borka to think about but we also have the burgeoning friendship between Ronja and Birk to consider too. Will they turn against their parents and join forces as a means to end the clan wars? It seems likely.