Another week, another episode of the AMC period spy drama Turn. While the story is sometimes slow to develop, every moment of the show has a wonderful dramatic climax, coupled with some of the best acting on television today.
This week on Turn: Washington’s Spies: Abraham, Anna, and Ben meet to discuss new methods in intelligence. Abraham attempts to recruit the innkeeper to their cause. Ben further develops his relationship with Benedict Arnold, who is being discredited around camp. Anna continues her relationship with Major Hewlett. Judge Woodhull has Abraham followed when he returns to the city, but it does not end well. Caleb and Rogers both make a play for the statue with the letter inside. Simcoe’s men strike. John Andre is insulted by Peggy Shippen’s father, but it doesn’t damper their budding romance.
As you can see, there was plenty going on in this episode. A common problem for Turn is that many of the show’s episodes are overstuffed with material. I agree that it is hard to leave things out, but I feel perhaps there is a better way to structure the episodes. A lot goes into creating a show, and this complaint of mine is minor at best. What I care about is the story, and we get plenty of that on this show. I LOVE the way that the series can use history and create such intricate and well-crafted stories about all of it. It’s just so fascinating.
I’ve mentioned this aspect in plenty of my previous reviews (dating back to Season 1, even), but one of my favorite parts of this show is the acting. Turn is bursting at the seams with talent. Heather Lind and Jamie Bell are always impressive. Samuel Roukin is delightfully creepy. Burn Gorman, Kevin McNally, and Owain Yeoman, among others, create a strong presence of veteran actors. But this week, I have to give a tip of my cap to JJ Feild, who plays Major John Andre. Andre is such a complex, fascinating character, but Feild plays him with such ease. I can feel every emotion that Andre feels. As an American, it’s hard to sympathize with the British Army, but Feild brings such a human element to Andre. The romance between him and Peggy Shippen is a fascinating layer (considering she marries Benedict Arnold), and both are crucial elements to the turning of Arnold. I’m captivated by this story the most because Ksenia Solo (Shippen), Feild, and Yeoman are three of the strongest actors on the show.
Perhaps the thing that upsets me most about the sometimes convoluted but still fascinating story is that it doesn’t devote enough time to the characters I want to know more about. Benedict Arnold has been getting a decent amount of screen time, but I’d probably watch a whole show about him. Abraham is a great lead character that I feel like I don’t see enough of. One of the best scenes of the season so far was when Abraham, Anna, and Ben reunited, but it was frustratingly brief. Wouldn’t mind seeing a little more of Simcoe pinning down men’s tongues. And have I said lately that we need more Washington? Because we do.
All in all, though, the storytelling on Turn is masterful. Each of the actors could put on a clinic, the slightly revisionist history is still accurate and convincing, and every episode leaves you wanting just a little bit more.
What did you guys think of this week’s episode? Let us know in the comments!
Turn: Washington’s Spies airs Mondays at 10/9c on AMC.
[Photo via AMC]
Thanks for your recaps and reviews of the show! TURN just seems to get stronger with each episode. I do understand, though, what you mean about so many storylines and characters crowding the show — if only there were more minutes per show, or episodes per season!
Thank YOU for reading them. I very much like TURN, but I can get distracted with all the shifting of stories. A longer show could solve it, or I like to think they could divide the stories better. Rather than getting 4-5 minutes of each character, we could get 20 minutes of each divided over 2 episodes. You know what I mean? For the most part, it’s a minor complaint.