The suppressed love of Abe and Anna has been the big secret hanging over Turn’s scenes in Setauket—even more than the secret that they’re both spying for the American cause. But by the end of this episode, that secret is out. Abe’s wife Mary (Meegan Warner) and Anna’s creepy suitor Capt. Simcoe (Samuel Roukin) each force the truth from Ens. Baker (Thomas Keegan). A duel with pistols between Abe and Simcoe provides the climax for this episode. Looking back, it’s hard to read Abe’s thinking when he agrees to that challenge. So far he seems to be driven, or torn, by three major motivations. He acts to protect Anna or her interests, to stand apart from his father, and to look after his family. If, along the way, Abe could squeeze in some spying for the Patriots, he’s done that, too. Yet when Abe accepts Simcoe’s invitation to an encounter that no one thinks he’ll survive, that doesn’t appear to serve any of his purposes. He just seems to be a man at the end of his rope, and perhaps at the mercy of writers seeking a dramatic set piece. This seems like an appropriate moment to discuss the historic Abraham Woodhull and Anna Strong. In real life, Anna Smith was born a decade before Abraham Woodhull, so they didn’t grow up together. He was only ten years old when she married Selah Strong in 1760, a decade and a half before the Revolutionary War began. Woodhull didn’t marry until 1781, so when the Culper Ring began he was neither a husband nor a father. Thus, the romantic tensions in Turn between Abe and Anna and their spouses and suitors are entirely fictional. The show’s creators have made that relationship one of the main engines of their plot, and would seem to have an open road to drive on. Unfortunately, so far that has turned out to be one of the less compelling elements of the series. This episode showed little of the Continental Army spies and nothing of their entertaining commanders. But we know something will happen to them soon. Caleb Brewster (Daniel Henshall) has volunteered to pick up the brother of Ben Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) on his release from a British prison. However, this week’s first scene told us that brother has already died in captivity. It would appear that Lt. Col. Robert Rogers (Angus Macfadyen) has set a trap.
