Turn: Valley Forging it's Way Ahead

Spoilers: I think the Americans win.
"Two faced fuck. To sell your friends out and save your own ass. It's despicable." - Raymond Curto, The Sopranos, S03E10


We are now 8 episodes into the second season of AMC's Turn: Washington's Spies. In eight episodes, I truly believe that the show has gone from good to great. It's not to Breaking Bad/Mad Men levels quite yet, but god damn has this show upped its game. From the creation of a more ensemble-esq cast to the more layered and thought through plot of recent, the Monday night time slot should be dominated by our Revolutionary War period drama.

Let's start off on the subject of the ensemble cast. One of my chief complaints with the first season of this show was Abe Woodhull, the main character, played by Jamie Bell. The character was whiney, uninteresting compared to many of the other lesser players, and though Bell was fine, he didn't bring so much charisma to the lead role of the show. It seems this complaint was shared by more than just myself, as the second season has expanded its horizons a lot more. Not only have many new characters been added, but the role of Abraham has been downsized, while characters like Major Hewlett, Robert Rogers, Anna Strong, George Washington, and others have been hugely increased. This has led to more diversified storytelling, and even an increase in intrigue when it comes to Woodhull himself. No longer is he the center of the show sapping time from people we'd rather watch, but now just another piece of storytelling aiding the general pace of the series.

As a result of the ensemble cast, characters I wrote about last time, Robert Rogers, John Graves Simcoe, and others flourish. Robert Rogers is perhaps the most interesting character of the series thus far. A brutal and dangerous man, after being betrayed by his country at the end of the most recent episode, Rogers's storyline is completely open-ended. While an enemy of the United States, we have seen through flashbacks that perhaps there is more to the story than meets the eye. Likely Rogers could turn face, joining the United States side of the conflict as a kind of undercover agent. Yet another level of spying would be added into the equation, and the layers of the show would continue to pile on.

I repeat: Eggs Benedict Arnold
Speaking of spying, another of the highlights of this season has been the increase in actual spy missions. In the first season, we saw Abe spy on rare occasion, but for the most part, we only saw men discussing how to leak information to each other. Additionally, since the majority of the show took place in Setauket, the amount of spy locations were rather limited. This has all changed in the second season. Now, we have Abe frequenting New York, Caleb Brewster infiltrating jails by dressing up as British officers, and of course, Benedict Arnold. As one of the most famous stories of betrayal in American history, it seems fitting that Arnold is now implemented into the show. After having his leg busted, he is out of action for a long time, having his position in the world drop a bit. Thus, we begin to see his decent. Without a proper military position to claim his honor and glory, Arnold feels cast out of the Colonist lines, undervalued by Washington. Though it has not happened as of yet, Arnold, more and more, is looking to join the British. Coerced by their spies and angered at Washington, it's only a matter of time before Arnold snaps, becoming a chief antagonist of the story.

On that topic of antagonism, let's move on to Mr. John Graves Simcoe, the high voiced terror. Once he had taken over Robert Rogers's old position of ranger general, Simcoe has been purely good TV. He is single-minded in his pursuit for chaos and violence, and with a calm demeanor, comes off as not a man, but an animal. Fitting for his new position. One of the highlights of the show thus far has been his conflict with Major Hewlett. The two have been at odds with how to rule and manage since they were introduced, but as the show has progressed, we see more and more that Hewlett is a not a bad man. In fact, he is more interested in the arts and sciences than he is the ways of war and death. Upon his re-entrance to Setauket, this conflict is completely resumed, as Simcoe immediately begins to butt-heads with the music-loving Major. He tries to frame Hewlett as a traitor, almost shoots him, and then suffers a stab wound courtesy of his enemy before he can finish the job. Now, they are both armed, wounded, yet ready for their climactic conflict. Setauket may have suffered a battle between the Colonists and the British last season finale, but expect a civil war this time around.

Caught in the middle of said war is Judge Richard Woodhull and Anna Strong, the spy-mistress of Abraham Woodhull. Both of these characters have been well-explored over the last eight episodes. Woodhull has learned of what his son does to spy, trying to find it within himself to forgive him, while Anna is stuck between a rock and a hard place, trying to juggle Simcoe's attraction to her, her relationship with Abe, and the seemingly romantic ideas that Hewlett has as well. All of this is of course caught in the middle of her spying, leaving a plethora of open plot for Anna to go down. Ms. Strong has always been a strong character, but her role in the love quadrangle and spy however-many-sided-shape has only grown throughout this season.

Soon to be a Civil War
While everything seems to be going swimmingly, the only misstep I find in Turn's second season has been John Andre and Peggy Shippen. The British major and the new sex-symbol of the show have had significant screentime throughout the season, yet the plot that accompanies them is rather mundane. It's essentially a straight forward love story, disapproving father and all. At this point in the story, things have moved along to which their relationship actually begins to tie in to the main plot, but eight episodes in, it feels a bit too little too late. After so long of watching playful courtship, I'd prefer it if one of them died, just to give more screentime to plotlines that are more deserving. For every Peggy and John flirting with each other scene I watch, another scene of Washington's meetings with Ben Tallmadge could be included, upping the interest in the show as a whole.

But, with only two episodes left in the season, even with the rather drab Shippen plot, Turn: Washington's Spies has made elephant-sized strides in the last two months. Where once it was another decent historical drama to follow, Turn is now must-watch TV. Let's hope all goes well for the last episodes!

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