Move over Hamilton because American History has never been sexier.
AMC’s Turn: Washington’s Spies has it all: powdered wigs, great performances, and an 81 percent average on Rotten Tomatoes. The Daughters of the American Revolution even awarded the series with the Media & Entertainment Award back in 2014, which makes it seem as if it must be a perfect reenactment of the spy organization, Culper Ring, during the Revolutionary War.
So, is it historically accurate? No, of course not. Is it a whole lot of fun? Bloody hell, yes.
The show opens on the small loyalist town of Setauket, New York. Local homes have been invaded and forced to provide lodging for the British militia, and the home of our series’ hero is no exception. Abraham Woodhull (Jamie Bell) is a beanie-wearing cabbage farmer, son of the town’s magistrate, and a douche, (although he is married to the best character in the series, Mary). Despite being a married man, however, he is also in love with his childhood sweetheart, Anna Strong (Heather Lind), who is the only character in Setauket that is vaguely Scottish.
One day, Abe just happens to run across some of his old buddies, Lieutenant Caleb Brewster (Daniel Henshall) and Captain Benjamin Tallmadge (Seth Numrich). They ask him for a favor: serve the Continental Army as a spy and entertain those rebel instincts he had been suppressing while masquerading as a loyalist. With the partnership of Anna, who hangs petticoats to signal new information, the Culper Ring commences. Who knew that the American Revolution owed so much to female fashion? They never talk about George Washington crossing the Delaware in high heels, but I’m sure it happened.
Through the use of Abraham Woodhull and the rest of his spy ring, George Washington (Ian Kahn) and his troops outsmart the British and win the war. (I don’t really think this is a spoiler when it’s history.)
One of the best things about the series is the cinematography; the filming locations really highlight how beautiful 1770s America is (if you can forget about slavery, colonialism, smallpox, dysentery, and malaria). I first found out about the show when I was working at the Sir Christopher Wren Building at William & Mary, which was used as King George’s throne room. A guest visited, told me how the show just finished its final season, and then requested some time alone in the Great Hall to say goodbye, and I knew I had to watch this show. The show may raise questions like, “why are Benedict Arnold (Owain Yeoman) and Peggy Shippen (Ksenia Solo) sharing a kiss in front of William & Mary’s Swem Library?”, and “woah, wait a second – why is Colonial Williamsburg suddenly Philadelphia?” But that’s just part of the fun.
But how much of it is accurate? Well, the Culper Spy Ring did exist and so much of their spy gear, like code books and invisible ink, was portrayed accurately. This ring did provide essential intel on the British – some of which led to the discovery that Benedict Arnold was a traitor. And the ring was genuinely kept a secret until the 1930s when old letters were found and analyzed by historian Morton Pennypacker (what a name!).
Still, there are glaring inaccuracies: the timeline was heavily manipulated to go along with the fictional plot. The maniac British soldier, Captain John Graves Simcoe (Samuel Roukin) was probably not the tyrant that Turn portrays him as. (After all, he sent the very first Valentine’s Day letter in America and helped found Canada, which is a country of kindness and maple syrup.) And the show’s Anna Strong likely played a much bigger role on TV than she did in real life. Plus, there was probably no adultery between her and Abraham Woodhull.
On a serious note, another huge difference is the depiction of slavery – I want to be completely clear about that. To not give anything away, one couple’s enslaved people are liberated due to the Dunmore Proclamation, which was a real proclamation in Virginia that granted freedom to enslaved people if they left their enslavers and came to fight for the British. What they really meant was for able-bodied men to join the war, but they ended up getting women and children, and they didn’t know what to do with them. Regardless, this show is set in New York, so the proclamation should not have meant anything for this couple and these particular enslaved people. Also, we get a bizarre friendship between an enslaver and her past enslaved person. We go from the enslaver thinking of the enslaved person as a person, instead of ‘property’ too fast for it to be realistic. And then on the flip side, we have a now-liberated enslaved person accepting an enslaver’s apology. I suppose this makes sense because TV writers don’t want a TV show in which viewers have to support an enslaver, but it changed the whole dynamics of the enslaver/enslaved relationship. The idea that an enslaved person and their enslaver could be friends is a complete fantasy, and I in no way support their decision to depict this in this way.
I guess on a lighter note – another big difference between reality and television is that on Turn, the characters are just so sexualized.
In this case, that’s not the worst thing ever. Now, I would never say this about any other series, but the sex scenes make this show. They are incredible to watch simply because there are so many layers of clothes that people have to get through in order to get it on. And in one episode, Abe Woodhull removes Anna Strong’s bonnet and everyone freaks out. Can you imagine a colonial strip club? It would take forever.
All in all, Turn: Washington’s Spies is a fun show. Other than its glaringly wrong depiction of slavery, I don’t think its historical inaccuracy is a problem because it does not present itself to be a documentary. Unlike other historical fiction, like the American Girls series that literally presents itself as an educational tool for children, Turn is just here to drink some madeira and have a good time.
Of course, if you’re looking for the true story, pick up Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring. But if you’re just looking to fall madly in love with their super attractive version of the Head of British Secret Service, John Andre (JJ Field, who looks remarkably like Tom Hiddleston) and then get upset because someone that hot was hung in 1780, then I would definitely recommend.
Turn: Washington’s Spies can be found streaming on Netflix. For more viewing, I would 100% recommend this adorable thread of Turn dolls that you can find on Twitter.
Commentaires