TURN Season 3 Premiere Review

A Dagger of the Mind

Rogers quotes Macbeth to Abe as he ruminates on the “tangled web” of deception that’s been weaved around them both.  He claims that he is not seeking vengeance against Andre, merely justice for the wrongs that have been heaped upon the once-loyal Ranger.  “All men are created equal” is a line from America’s Declaration of Independence that rankles Rogers in particular, since none of the commissioned officers, like Gage or Andre, had viewed him as such:  “All those…who looked down on me, who spat on me, who took credit for my scalps, cursed me with half pay…they refused to see me as an equal, just as Britain refuses America.”

Similarly, Benedict Arnold is determined to get what he desires.  He rides his carriage through the streets of Philadelphia, nodding and waving to the cheers and greetings, as if he were in a parade.  However, the wealthy elders of the city have their cockles up at the activities of their new Military Commandant.  They accuse Arnold of using his position for personal gain, at the expense of their interests.

Arnold, though, feels quite entitled to take whatever he wishes, such as the furniture shipment brought to his mansion, since he has yet to be reimbursed for the large sum of his own money he has spent on the war effort.  This he screams in the face of the seizure commissioner who dares to object, physically tossing him to the ground and sending him fleeing.  Hence, none of the rich old men seem willing to stick their necks out publicly; lucky for them, Peggy happens to be walking nearby and overhears their complaints.  The next scene has her sweet talk a young boy into dropping a note in the Congressional meeting house; while we don’t know its contents, it is likely no coincidence that a few scenes later, Arnold is served a warrant signed by Congress, alleging “corruption, impropriety, and perhaps worse.”  When a furious Benedict decries slander due to an absence of evidence, Joseph Reed (an old rival) holds aloft an anonymous letter “from a concerned patriot” that substantiates the claims.  Arnold vows to fight the charges to the bitter end, to which Reed counters, “I’ll see you there.”

The dangerous concoction that is scorned ambition and a lust for glory is one that, like Macbeth, infects Rogers and Arnold.  It is said that a wounded animal is most dangerous, but when that wound is to his pride, a man becomes a force of destruction, to himself and all around him.