I give special credit to Stephen Root, one of our most enjoyable character actors (NewsRadio; Office Space; Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?; King of the Hill; Pushing Daisies; and a stage production of Driving Miss Daisy I saw years ago). He enters the series as Nathaniel Sackett, a new Continental spymaster. We know little about the real Sackett (1737-1805) aside from how he came recommended to Washington as “a Person of Intrigue, and Secrecy,” and that let the show’s writers create an oversized personality for Root to deliver. He provides a fine complement to Ian Kahn’s portrayal of George Washington as quietly charismatic yet also full of secrets. Meanwhile, in the Continental Army camp, Capt. Benjamin Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) wrangles over intelligence-gathering methods with his commanding officer, Gen. Charles Scott (Seth Gaston); Sackett; and ultimately Washington. Scott plays the necessary role of stick-in-the-mud, refusing to approve Tallmadge’s idea for a “chain of agents” involving his childhood friends on Long Island. As for Sackett, he’s thinking so far ahead that he talks about the need for a “dead drop”—a twentieth-century term. Sackett judges the system Tallmadge has already set up to be primitive. “Please tell me you’re using encryption,” he says, like any modern security expert. “My god. I was told you were a graduate of Yale.” Capt. John Graves Simcoe (Samuel Roukin) returns to the British Army, released with other officers in a prisoner exchange. (For some reason only he wears a white wig.) After debriefing, Simcoe manages to get on the bad side of Maj. John Andre (JJ Feild) in the worst way. That major shows his good side to his new servant Abigail (Idara Victor), promising to convey a birthday present to her son back in Setauket. But does Andre actually have a nefarious plan? Of course! Andre always has a nefarious plan. Overall, the relationship of Turn’s version of the Revolutionary War to actual history is rather like that of the Marvel movies to the Marvel Comics continuity. The major characters play the same basic roles, but some people and most costumes look different, the timing of events is entirely reworked, and you can’t be sure that facts from the earlier universe apply in the new one. Just like those Marvel movies, every so often the show drops in a familiar name for buffs. Pvt. John Herring of the commander-in-chief’s guard really was hanged for looting (albeit in October 1778, not January 1777). The black member of the Queen’s Rangers who might seem unbelievable was likely inspired by a real Loyalist of African descent who became known as “Colonel Tye” for his prowess in leading military raids in New Jersey. And Benjamin Tallmadge did have a younger brother named Samuel, though he was never on the Jersey prison ship. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!