Turn is getting closer to being the show is it has the potential to be: a taut espionage thriller in the guise of a historical drama. “Who By Fire” doesn’t move things forward much, though. If this were a procedural, “Who By Fire” is what would be called a “case of the week” episode – but most of it was a procedural anyway, so I guess the term applies.
At the episode’s beginning, Abe’s shed is torched, the one that held the remainder of his cabbage crop. He then enters something of a web of intrigue, but not before having a very nice scene with this father, where he confesses to lying to Major Hewlett, but denies any involvement in Captain Joyce’s death. William doesn’t suspect his son, but he does suspect Anna Strong.
Now it’s Abe’s job to dissuade not only his father, but also the fearsome Robert Rogers (the bearded mercenary we saw glimpses of during last week’s episode). Rogers is a better, more interesting villain than Captain Simcoe, who is more or less a slight variation on Jason Isaacs in The Patriot. Abe and Anna learn that Joyce had been having an affair with John Robeson, who killed the Captain. John also burned Abe’s shed, so he’s kind of a dick. It looks like Rogers is going to kill John, but he goes even further instead – he makes John his spy, and orders him to report to Abe. See what I mean about a web of intrigue? Now Abe is a spy himself, as well as a handler.
Elsewhere, Ben and Caleb are playing good cop-bad cop with Captain Simcoe. Ben plies him with food and wine, whereas Caleb decides to go more of a Zero Dark Thirty approach. Neither method works; Simcoe has a surprising amount of steel in him, unlike most bullies. A general releases him, while he sneers all the time. He knows there are people in his region who share Ben’s last name, and I don’t think he’s going to be very nice to them. Simcoe is someone I need to see more dimension from; if he’s going to be Turn‘s primary villain, and it looks like he is, he can’t be so one-sided.
A Few Thoughts
– “Who By Fire” was directed by Deadwood veteran Ed Bianchi, and I think his involvement is a big reason that the town felt so vibrant and alive, and peoples’ paths seemed to cross more naturally
– I wrote this note while watching the episode: “Dads always be telling secrets to babies.” It happened on Dexter and Breaking Bad, and I think it’s time to retire this trope before it becomes tired
– Lastly, here is the beautiful Leonard Cohen from which the episode gets its title
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