Turn Season 1 Finale: Good Turns

Turn turned in its season one finale last night, with still no word on whether it will be returning to AMC.   I hope it does.

The finale was one of the best episodes of the first season, which admittedly was mixed, but managed to create some powerful characters and set in motion some subtle and historically interesting plot lines.   Probably the single most significant of those last night was Robert Rogers' exit from his dressing down by the Crown's man, which I think leaves him wide open for joining up with George Washington and the revolution if there is a second season (even though there is no historical record of the real Rogers doing anything other than serving the British).

But Anna jumping off the boat rather than debarking with her newly re-united husband was also good to see, and a fine testament of her love for Abe.   He had a great night, too, making love to his wife - who turned out to be a savvy ally at the end - and doing his best to defuse the confrontation with the Brits with no loss of American prisoners.   And it was of course satisfying to see Simcoe get his due. I'm glad he wasn't killed, though, as he's too despicable and ruthlessly intelligent a character to be absent from a second season.

What that second season could use is a little more grounding in actual history.  The strongest episodes in the first season, other than the finale, were the ones that featured General Washington.  It's been exciting, the past few episodes, to hear Benedict Arnold mentioned as a strong revolutionary general, when we know that he will switch sides to the British before the war is over, and his name will become synonymous with treason in the United States.

I'm looking forward to some subsequent season of Turn showing us this, because that's what the series is ultimately about - who could be trusted and not trusted in this war, and how that led to victory on our side.   A few more appearances by real generals and statesmen could go a long way towards making his series a total winner.

See also: Turn Premiere: Good Historical Drama in Revolutionary New York ... Turn 1.5: Shot in the Arm ... Turn 1.8: Nice, Instructive Turn

 
a little earlier history in ... The Plot to Save Socrates

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