Turn: Washington's Spies S2E5 - "Sealed Fate" Recap

Begin with a flashback to the eve of the Revolution. Washington and Rogers are surprisingly in the same room. Rogers offers his skills as a killer to Washington and the American army but Washington already knows that Rogers has also offered up his services to the British. So, Washington has him arrested instead. But Rogers ends up escaping on his way to his trial in New Hampshire.

A redcoat named Sutherland has defected to the Patriot side and has brought with him intelligence regarding John André and a conspiracy theory within the Continental camp. Ben brings this news to Nathaniel Sackett so they can determine whether or not this information and this defector will be of use to their intelligence operation. Also, Caleb Brewster has returned to the camp with the documents retrieved from the King George bust. This information was certainly worth all the fuss; it's entirely game-changing. Nathaniel runs to Washington to share what he has learned: that the British Empire is on the verge of going bankrupt from financing all these multi-front wars. Washington and Sackett are quick to share this information with their French contacts in hopes of forging a necessary alliance that will secure their victory against the British. The French want to take the original copy to Versailles to make this happen but they must combat the impending threat of Rogers, who is enormously dangerous. Washington puts a plan together involving a great deal of misdirection to throw Rogers off while Thévenau De Francy will hopefully make it back to France, safely, with the crucial document in hand.

Captain Simcoe and his Rangers, including his second-in-command Jordan, have returned to Setauket. Simcoe is determined to get Anna back but while she offers him lodging at her place, she simultaneously accepts Hewlett's offer to stay at the Woodhulls' instead.

Abe returns to New York to further his quest to recruit Townsend into the Culper spy-ring and it doesn't seem to be going quite so well at first. But Abe is able to meet Robert's father Samuel, a Whiggish Quaker. Robert Townsend's relationship with his father draws parallels to that of Abe with his own father but with reversed political loyalties. Samuel thinks the idea of his son fighting for the Patriot cause is a brilliant idea but Robert sends Abe away, wanting no part of anything.

Sutherland had warned Ben that a man named Shanks would come to the camp who would pose danger and to not trust whatever he says. An unkempt man named Bill Shanks comes into camp in the middle of the night warning that there is a threat to Washington's life that will come from within the camp. Ben must determine whether Shanks or Sutherland is the one to be trusted. Using an old-fashioned lie detector designed by Sackett, Ben interrogates Shanks and decides that the threat against Washington is real so he goes to Washington with this threat. But Washington decides to meet Shanks himself and after a bit of questioning, identifies Shanks as no more than a thief and deserter, and that the threat does not exist. Ben has now further worsened Washington's opinion of him. Washington then assigns Sackett to debrief Sutherland.

As Abe is preparing to make his leave of New York, he is visited by Samuel Townsend, who encourages him to return again and it will get Robert to finally give in and join the Culper spy ring. Abe is forced to forge a message from the Sons of Liberty which he will plant at a secret drop that Hewlett's men can later find so as to substantiate Abe's claims and false information he has been planting. But when planting the message, he is caught by some Redcoats who find the note and are thrilled to have caught themselves a spy.

Ben visits Shanks again, determined to get further information again and learns that a man named Gambell (Sutherland) would be the assassin. Immediately, Ben takes off running and finds a mortally wounded Sackett, who was the intended target all along. His office has been ransacked and his top-secret files has been taken, including information on the Culper ring. Ben is furious with Washington, demanding that he be allowed to do his job, and Washington must now admit that he was wrong to dismiss Ben's suspicions.

De Francy is making his way out of the camp when he is attacked and killed by Rogers and his men. Rogers takes the King's document but it doesn't look as if he'll be giving the document back to the King. Perhaps he has found someone else whom he can better profit from.

Abe is being tortured by Redcoats and tells them to get in touch with Major Hewlett, who will corroborate his loyalty to the British. Unfortunately, Hewlett has bigger problems, as the American officers have come to get revenge for the crimes they believe he committed (but were actually performed by Simcoe).

Turn: Washington's Spies airs on Mondays on AMC at 10PM.