The betrayal of Benedict Arnold is one of the low points of the American Revolution. It is one of the most infamous betrayals in history. While some may know that documents from Benedict Arnold were found in the boot of British major John Andre, not many know the full story of the man who exposed Arnold. That would be Benjamin Tallmadge, the spymaster for George Washington. Being the history buff I am, I wanted to learn more. Enter this series. Turn: Washington’s Spies, is a four season series that is streaming now on Netflix, based loosely on the events leading up to Arnold’s betrayal. 

First, let me stress that this series is fictional. That’s one of the great things about it. Despite its fictitious characters, it’s so historically accurate and full of heart that you want everything within it to have happened. Every character, every letter, and every secret code? I wanted them all to be true in some shape or form. I even googled a couple of these names that I wasn’t sure were real. They sadly weren’t, but this caused me to enjoy the series even more. 

The series itself was really well done. And I’m not just saying that as a history buff. The series was genuinely fun to watch. The typical “all business” characters are contrasted nicely by a few funny and more “off the hook” characters. And you don’t have to sit through long histories of each character. Even in the first episode, there is already conflict. 

One downside is that the show can be very hard to follow if you don’t have a bit of knowledge about the American Revolution. That being said you can still enjoy this series because it is fictional. And, at the end of the day, there isn’t much else to do while in quarantine, so I urge you to give this compelling and heartfelt series a go.