TURN Washington’s Spies Review: AMC’s Spy Drama Returns With Maximum Intrigue

After a long year, Turn: Washington’s Spies  has finally returned to grace our television screens. This underrated gem of a show has flown largely under the radar, but its return for a third season of Revolutionary War era drama and intrigue displayed some of its best work yet.

This week on Turn: Washington’s Spies: Abraham gets help from Robert Rogers in carrying out Mary’s plan to keep John Andre from finding out Abraham’s identity. Simcoe pays Andre a visit. Benedict Arnold, now engaged to Peggy Shippen, struggles with his new life in Philadelphia, while Peggy continues to work him. Hewlett drops a bombshell on Anna. Washington, Tallmadge and Caleb hang traitors. Judge Woodhull makes a confession to Major Hewlett.

As you can see, there was quite a bit of plot involved in this week’s episode. Partially, this is a season premiere curse like Game of Thrones often suffers from. Shows feel the need to check in on every character after a particularly lengthy hiatus. However, this episode did an excellent job of merging those stories together. Nothing felt forced, but all of it naturally flowed back and forth between Abraham, Hewlett, Andre and Peggy, each making plays and employing strategy. Nothing felt out of place, and I was left wanting a little more of each story, which is a huge compliment coming from me.

Benedict Arnold’s journey is fascinating to watch. Rather than the “traitor” that you read about in your history books, Turn illustrates a man who wants to add value to his cause. Owain Yeoman is the perfect choice to play him, as you can see the conflict radiate from him at every turn. We all know Peggy is working him, and we history buffs know exactly how his story ends, but that’s exactly what makes it so compelling to watch.

The acting on this show is always superb, but perhaps the smartest decision they made was to pair Abraham with Robert Rogers. With one being a former Queens Ranger/complete savage, and the other being a meek but strong willed spy, you wouldn’t think they’d have as much in common as they do. But Jamie Bell and Angus Macfayden slayed every moment they had on screen together. The banter was fierce and clever, and the partnership was extraordinarily compelling to watch. Well written, well-acted, and well-received.

Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give the season three premiere is that the pacing has improved immensely. No one but me has ever reviewed this show for this site, and if you read my reviews of Season 1 and Season 2’s early episodes, they all have one thing in common: it was a slog to get through. There were lots of interesting things happening and strong actors to back it up, but the pacing of each season took several (if not almost all) of the episodes to really get cooking. However, Season 3 has wholeheartedly addressed that issue. Screen time was divvied up appropriately, no scenes were uncomfortably long, and the episode went by at a brisk pace. Time will tell if this is a fluke, or if our beloved Turn has finally “turn”ed a corner.

While I hope to see more Washington and the Continental Army as weeks go by, I was more than satisfied with Turn’s third season kick-off. If the pace keeps up, this will be its most exciting season yet.

What did you guys think? Did you enjoy this episode? Let us know in the comments!