Turn: Spies, Lies, and British Guys

Don't turn your back to Turn season two! Ha!
"Scrambled eggs? I would have thought you'd make Eggs Benedict Arnold." - Peter Griffin, Family Guy, S04E14




 Turn: Washington's Spies is back!
AMC has officially begun a highly successful Monday night time slot, continuing the trend from last season's Monday show; Better Call Saul. Before we even get into Turn, let me just commend AMC's tricky strategy. By putting Mad Men on at 10 on Sunday and Turn on Monday, lovers of good drama never have a scheduling conflict. HBO's Game of Thrones is on from 9-10 on Sunday, and as long as you're fine with watching Veep and Silicon after they air, one can simply flip to AMC at 10 and get both of the best Spring dramas in one evening. The following night, Turn is right there for you.
Nice job, AMC.

Alright, let's get to the actual show at hand! Thus far, four episodes of the revolutionary drama have aired. And, as I've hoped since the first season went off the air, Turn has stepped up its game, going from pretty good to quite solid. No, the show's writing doesn't match Mad Men and the intrigue isn't to Game of Throne's level, but Turn consistently delivers and, occasionally, truly wows us.

A younger, more British Thor Gundersen.
In season two, several guest stars are made regulars, and a couple completely new and significant characters are added. Ian Kahn, portraying a rather unknown historical figure named George Washington is made star, Ksenia Solo is added to the cast as Peggy Shippen, and Owain Yeoman is added as the infamous Benedict Arnold.
What's interesting about the dynamic of the show is that we all know the end. The Americans must win the revolutionary war, lest this become a Phillip K. Dick novel. Benedict Arnold must betray the patriots. While historically, characters like Ben Tallmadge, Robert Rogers, and John Graves Simcoe survived, it wouldn't be such a travesty to alter history just a little bit for dramatic reasons. It's a testament to the show however, to make what we already know as an end interesting.
Let's start with what is great about Turn before moving on to the not-so-good. The stars of this show are Simcoe, Rogers, and Richard Woodhull. Far and away the most intriguing characters.

John Graves Simcoe, portrayed by Samuel Roukin, reminds me a lot of Christopher Heyerdahl's Thor Gundersen in Hell on Wheels. He's tall, soft-spoken, and above all, threatening. As the major villain of the show, Simcoe brings a level of mystery to every action he does. Though a British loyalist and redcoat, Simcoe's lust for violence leaves one to wonder exactly where he stands. Sure, he hates our lead, Abraham Woodhull with a passion, but had Simcoe been born in America, he would probably be just as villainous on the opposite side of the war. In season two, Simcoe has been reassigned to Robert Roger's old job: captain of the British rangers, a group of deadly Scots. In the best scene of the season thus far, we see Simcoe kill one of the tougher rangers in a dominant fashion to prove his leadership and skills to the rest of the men who didn't take him seriously at first. As mentioned, Simcoe historically makes it out of the war alive, but in the course of the show, building him up to be a prime antagonist for Abe, it would make sense to drag out this conflict as the major hero/villain plot of the show. In the same way that we long await the day that Cullen Bohannon stands off against The Swede, Turn can make us die to see Simcoe v. Woodhull.

Hopefully a fan of Jethro Tull.
Speaking of Robert Rogers, let's talk about the villainous Scottish sharpshooter, portrayed by, and this is his real name, Angus MacFadyen, the most authentic actor of the show to his character. Used as both a villain and a rather unique character for the show, Rogers is the former captain of the British rangers, and current major for them. What makes Rogers an interesting character is different from the ruthless, bloodthirsty aspirations of Simcoe. Rogers is willing to kill, but he's not a natural born killer. Rogers is more of a pragmatic thrill-seeker. He cares about position and rank, but cares more about exactly what he himself will gain out of doing the bidding of the king. He's not a psychopath like Simcoe; rather just a self-interested, capable, dangerous man. It doesn't seem like Rogers to be stuck in red uniform and clean-shaven, but as he has a special mission to carry out in season two, it'll be interesting to see exactly where the character travels as things develop.

Finally, there's Judge Richard Woodhull, father of the main character, Abraham. His reasoning for fascination is quite different from the other two. Unlike Rogers and Simcoe, Woodhull is a protagonist to a T. Sure, he's on the British side of things, but Woodhull is exactly the kind of character that adds layers to a show. Unlike most of the Loyalists on the show, Woodhull supports Britain because he believes it is best for his family, himself, and his compatriots. He wants to reduce violence and generally build a working civilization. To do this, Woodhull will support the crown, who he has more confidence can actually maintain peace. Played by Kevin R. McNally, Richard is one of the men that humanizes the show and adds layers to who exactly is right or wrong in the scheme of things. His own son, Abraham, is going against him to support the Brits, something viewers believe to be "the right thing to do." However, with men like Abe's father around, is it truly best to be one who sparks violence even if it is for a good cause?

As good as these characters are, and I'd also tip my hat to Anna Strong (Heather Lind) and Major Hewlett (Burn Gorman,) some of the shows plots and characters really fall flat. Most namely among these is the lead himself, Abraham Woodhull, portrayed by Jamie Bell.

Supporting star? Please!
Lead? Oy.
The biggest problem with Turn is the leading man. Should Abe fade into the background as a supporting star and let the show be more of an ensemble, kind of like what they did with McNulty in later seasons of The Wire, the show would benefit. The character of Abraham is the first problem. We understand that his aspiration is to do what he believes is right and help his childhood friends win the war, but his reasoning behind it is sketchy. He girlfriend Anna Strong makes sense, as the Brits ostensibly took everything from her, but why is Abraham, a married man with a child, going off the rails so much? His father has coached him against it, and he was highly skeptical from the start. However, as things get going, Abe gets more and more vehement toward his cause, almost out of nowhere. It doesn't help that the man is nearly insufferable. Abe whines and complains like a hormonal teenager constantly. It almost makes us root for Simcoe to just dispose of Abe and let the real men battle out the war.
Speaking of Abe's women, there's Meegan Warner's Mary Woodhull, Abe's wife. Though he constantly cheats on her with Anna Strong, for some reason she's still in love with Abraham, even after finding out he bangs Anna and spies for Washington. Abraham also seems split on this. He obviously likes Anna better due to her spunk and good looks, but he still stays committed to Mary, seemingly also without reason. The love triangle makes little sense, as do the emotions of Abe and Mary for the most part.
Finally, there's Jamie Bell himself. Overall, not a terrible actor. I thoroughly enjoyed his role in Snowpiercer as a supporting character killed off to add aspiration to the lead. However, this seems to be the best outlet for him. Jamie Bell doesn't seem to be able to hack being a leading man. He's not dangerous and intriguing like Anson Mount, not conflicted and untethered like Andrew Lincoln, or layered and full of character depth like Bryan Cranston or Jon Hamm. Instead, what he have is a rather un-compelling actor in an un-compelling role at the forefront of the show.

As a whole, I'm excited to see what the second season of AMC's Turn has in store. Maybe it's not up to par with the other great AMC shows, but as a period piece, an excellent outlet for some villains, and an occasional fantastic episode, the show is well worth watching. If it turns into more of an ensemble and broadens itself a bit more, it could eventually work its way into the realm of true greatness. Whether it does or not, I'll be watching along, enjoying the good and tuning out the ehh.

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