Turn: Washington's Spies S2E2 - "Hard Boiled" Recap

Abe's back in the swing of things, keeping a small notepad hidden in order to document the British military conditioning he's observing in Manhattan. Abe checks into a motel and finds that his rather clumsy attempts at small talk only serve to attract unwanted attention. The people at this less-than-ideal establishment aren't looking to make friends.

Captain Simcoe's being bullied by some officers that are above him in position and making him fill out forms. But when word comes from Major André that he should come post haste, he turns a knife on the leader of the pack to inflict a bit of fear before heading on his way. André has a great deal of respect and admiration for Benjamin Franklin, whose old home he is now staying in. André reveals to his superior that General Charles Lee is a mole for him, a fact the housekeeper Abigail overhears. André is now planning on turning Benedict Arnold next. This plan is scoffed at by his superior, Clinton. André remains convinced that once Arnold's leg wound heals, he will harbour a grudge over not being recognised by Congress for his bravery and achievements on the battlefield. There's also an implication made that André and Clinton have been "involved" with each other, as they share a lingering brush of the fingers.

Simcoe arrives at André's place and learns that he wants Simcoe for that same savagery he displayed when he stabbed a patriot in the neck over dinner. Simcoe is just as unhinged as ever, and it's revealed that he had been writing love letters to Anna that were never sent along. Abigail manages to get a message sent along to Anna that General Lee is a traitor but fail to mention that Simcoe has leveraged something to his advantage in his deal with André, that he will be heading back to Setauket.


Abe observes that the British have reduced their strength in troops, the presence of Hessian mercenaries, and puts together the estimate that approximately 5,000 soldiers might be enough to retake the city. Abe is using the hard-boiled egg trick Ben taught him to hide the information but he is interrupted one night during the process of putting some together, by the innkeeper Townsend.

Hewlett has developed a bit of an infatuation for Anna and if it's half as exhausting watching Anna be incessantly lusted after by men then I don't envy her for receiving all this attention. Hewlett clumsily tries to suggest that Anna divorce her husband so as to not be tied down by his tarnished reputation. It's obvious he just wants a shot at her himself but he's nowhere near as over-the-top about it as Simcoe. He does however, deliver the gift Abigail sent along which has the information concealed in it.

André heads to party to welcome the British, taking place at the home of the Shippens, Philadelphia's richest family. The family's teenage daughter, Peggy, is a highly sought-after beauty. When Peggy tries to make eyes at André and he seemingly ignores her, she assumes the slight to be that he's gay. But after a few moments, he comes over after all to ask one of the other ladies at the table to dance. It's presumably a ploy to get Peggy further interested since she doesn't respond well to men who are so blunt in fawning all over her. So the two end up dancing with other partners all while making narrowed eyes at each other on the dance floor. But André being interested in her may very well just be because it's been said that Benedict Arnold had been involved with Peggy before the British entered the city. But it would appear that Peggy develops a bit of an interest with André so we'll see just what sort of whirlwind these two embark on.

Abe gets into a bit of trouble when he finds that Townsend has snatched up Abe's coded eggs and fried them into breakfast. Townsend proceed to banish Abe from the boarding house and Abe is left with his mission in shambles.

The Queen's Rangers, one of whom is the the former slave of the Strongs named Jordan, have a run-in with Simcoe in the woods and he's all done up in his new uniform. Simcoe introduces himself with an inflated sense of self-importance, declaring himself their new commander by André's orders. They don't much care to obey him and they don't. One of the Rangers challenges Simcoe and the two get into a fight, if you can even call it that. It last mere seconds before Simcoe snaps the man's arm and scalps a chunk off the top of his head. The wounded man tries to reach for his gun but Simcoe stops him before shooting him in the head. After that, the men are quite quick to fall in line behind Simcoe.

Turn: Washington's Spies airs on Mondays on AMC at 9PM.