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Brainerd Dispatch • June 11 - 17, 2017 •19 By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media A braham Woodhull (Jamie Bell, "Snowpiercer," 2013) and his spy ring cronies are preparing to don their tricorne hats one last time. It's the beginning of the end for "TURN: Washington's Spies," with the fourth and final season of the historical drama set to pre- miere Saturday, June 17, on AMC. The end of the American Revolu- tion is on the horizon, but there are still a lot of loose ends to tie up for Abe and company when the se- ries returns for its final 10 epi- sodes. The period drama is based on Alexander Rose's book "Washing- ton's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring" and gives an ac- count of the activities of the Culp- er Ring, a group of spies formed around four childhood friends that helped turn the tide of the Ameri- can War of Independence. Abe is the nucleus of the group, and over the course of the series we've wit- nessed his transformation from humble cabbage farmer, hesitant to have any involvement in the war, to a hardened double agent and George Washington's (Ian Kahn, "Dawson's Creek") most important spy. As is the case with many histori- cal dramas, the series takes its share of liberties with certain characters and their activities, but the key players are based on actu- al historical figures. Some of these, such as Abe, Anna Strong (Heather Lind, "Mistress America," 2015) and Peggy Shippen (Ksenia Solo, "Lost Girl"), may not be house- hold names today but were still important to the Culper Ring's ac- tivities. The show also features more prominent figures, such as Washington, Benedict Arnold (Owain Yeoman, "The Mentalist") and Gen. Charles Lee (Brian T. Finney, "Reno 911!"). Last season wrapped with a nail-biter: the finale episode, enti- tled "Trial and Execution," in- cludes — you guessed it — a trial and an execution. With the vicious (and decidedly dead-eyed) Capt. Simcoe (Samuel Roukin, "Salem") finally nailing Abe for treason against the Crown, the latter is granted a brief show trial before being sent to the gallows, barely escaping the hangman's noose thanks to the intervention of his father, Judge Richard Woodhull (Kevin McNally, "Pirates of the Ca- ribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," 2003). Sadly, Maj. John André (JJ Feild, "Captain America: The First Aveng- er," 2011) isn't so lucky. The cool head of British intelligence is hanged as a spy for plotting with Arnold — which effectively puts an end to the André-Peggy-Arnold love triangle that was a significant focus of last season. Speaking of Arnold, once his treachery at West Point was discovered, he was forced to flee to New York, and neither side is terribly pleased with him; the patriots denounce him for his betrayal, and his fellow Redcoat officers turn up their nos- es at him for his part in André's capture and subsequent execu- tion. Season 4 sees him rounding up suspected spies with gusto (whether they're guilty or not) and raising the Loyal American Legion to go up against Washington. This season picks up in the fall of 1780, a month or so after sea- son 2 left off, and works its way forward from there. The action is turned towards Yorktown and the critical battle in Virginia that ulti- mately decided the war. Abe is right in the thick of things, orches- trating a raid to deprive the British of essential supplies. His relation- ship with his father has changed in the wake of last season, with the judge finally starting to see what his son has been working towards — and against — all this time. "There's a totally new dynamic between father and son," execu- tive producer Craig Silverstein, who also directs this season, told Entertainment Weekly. "Like a lot of Loyalists did later in the war, Richard has finally come around to seeing — not the light — but the darkness in all the [British] actions taken to police the state. The abus- es piled up. Those were concen- trated in the character of Simcoe, and that's what pushed Richard over the edge." While "TURN" fans will be sad to see the show come to an end, such is the nature of historical dra- mas; there's only so much story to tell. In any case, the series was never the critical or ratings beast that other shows on the network are or were. Last season cleared a little over half a million viewers on average, which is getting towards the bottom of the ratings barrel on AMC. The series did see consistent ratings growth for the last four ep- isodes of season 3, however, so it's safe to say that this final season will still enjoy a respectable audi- ence as it finishes up an important story in America's history. "'TURN: Washington's Spies' has always had a lofty goal — to tell the real story of the American Revolution from the ground up, " said AMC president of original programming Joel Stillerman in a statement. "To capture the truth about the choice regular people had to make to support what has become the United States of America." Get your history fix when the fi- nal season of "TURN: Washing- ton's Spies" kicks off with a two- hour premiere Saturday, June 17, on AMC. Culper curtain call Final season of 'TURN: Washington's Spies' premieres on AMC Feature Story this week Ksenia Solo stars in "TURN: Washington's Spies"

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