TURN: Washington's Spies (2014–2017): Season 1, Episode 4 - Eternity How Long - full transcript

I thought I would read a verse
from Proverbs, his favorite.

He preferred the one from Galatians.

You knew him better.

Before I met Thomas,

I was uncertain about being
engaged to a stranger.

But the first thing he told me about
was his family

and how you would welcome me.

He seemed a very good son.

And a better brother.

I remember at Mother's funeral...

her casket.



To me, it was like a wooden seed.

I remember asking Thomas,

"Am I to grow a new mother?"

"No," he said.

But he told me...

"Whatever sprouts from the dirt

is a sign she'll always be with you."

As will he.

In truth, I too prefer Galatians.

All of this because of one rebel.

Hewlett suspects a plot.

Face forward, Baker.

Looking in the wrong direction
is what landed you here.

I have a mind to have you
flogged, too, Appleton.



These men let the spy escape.
You let him in.

Your defenses are lacking.

How are we to thwart an attack
if we can't stop one man?

Ready to be happy?

- Woody came through.

Fresh from New York.

The scout was a harbinger.

A strike is imminent.

And now they know
we lack the manpower to resist.

This barricade is pathetic.

Perhaps if the cannons were placed
somewhere less ceremonial,

atop the earthworks,
they would be lethal, no?

Yes, but, sir, the gunners would be
completely exposed.

Unless, of course,
we devise some way of shielding them.

Indeed.

Our stones?

You mean to use
our graveyard as a quarry?

Yes, I fear there's not enough time
for a better solution.

This is..

There are many who will see this
as a desecration.

Mm, we're not going to exhume
the bodies, Richard.

I should hope not.

And I shall replace the stones
as soon as I'm sure

that this garrison
has been made safe.

You do understand
the need for fortifications?

I've not received reinforcements

to replace the men that I lost
at Connecticut.

Major, with all due respect,

Setauket is a small town.

These gravestones
represent our forebearers,

our history, our legacy.

My wife and son are buried here.

I understand.

You know this town
and these people

far better than I ever could.

I now see why you,

not I, nor my engineer,

should be the one to select the stones
which are to be used.

Naturally, your family
will be exempt.

Ripped By mstoll

No, I--

I'm sorry, I can't.

Very well. Appleton.

I've completed my survey, sir.

147 stones in total.

What is the minimum amount of stones
that you could use?

Mm, two-cannon complement,

six men each, five if the sergeant
fires the piece...

10.

You shall use no more than 10.

Which are the strongest?

Granite is hardest,
though there's but a few of those.

What about slate?

Slate will stop one ball

but it won't stop two.

I'll examine the limestone.

The ones least weathered,
we'll unearth right away.

Unfortunately,
that means those not long deceased.

I'll do it. I'll do it.

I can help you choose the names

that will cause the least...

protest.

If you insist.

How long to secure the cannons?

Two days to raise them,
another to make them fast.

You have three days.

Godspeed, Richard.

♪ Hush, hush ♪

♪ There's snakes in the garden... ♪

♪ Soul for sale... ♪

♪ Blood on the rise ♪

♪ Hush, hush ♪

- ♪ I can't wait anymore ♪
- ♪ Soul for sale... ♪

♪ I can't wait anymore ♪

♪ Hush, hush. ♪

Court-martial, huh? Busy boy.

General Scott's relegated me
to secretary in the meantime.

I just hope he'll heed this.

It's too long.
If the scout has anything to say,

he keeps it brief.
Otherwise he rambles

or, at worst, gives an opinion.

Sir, I grant you
I care little for sauerkraut

or Hessians, for that matter.

But if German mercenaries
are in Trenton,

then the British are surely not.

Now, don't you think General Washington
should want to know that?

This is unsigned.

Who spoke to these Hessians?

You?

We swore he would
remain nameless, sir.

Captain Tallmadge?

The source is true,
sir, and trustworthy,

but we swore his name
would be kept secret.

If you cannot trust me,
your superior officer,

then I cannot trust you.

And I certainly
will not trust this.

Burn it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

This'll end in violence.

Violence is what began it.

It was one scout.
Not even a scout.

It was more likely a boat thief--

- hungry and desperate.
- You don't know that.

I don't see why the rebels
would attack Setauket.

By all reports,
they're on retreat

and we're well behind
British lines here.

This town has always been
loyal to the Crown

- and they hate us for that.
- They don't hate us. They hate--

- Why do you defend them?
- I'm not defending them.

I'm defending you.

Look, I'm telling you,
if you write that list,

the town will turn against you.

Not Hewlett, you.

Hewlett will take the stones
whether I counsel him or not.

Well, then, let him.

To tear a gravestone,
any gravestone,

from where it sits is an act of evil.

No amount of wisdom
can make that just.

To shoulder a burden is my way,
to run from it yours.

Look, I'm not running anywhere, all right?
I'm trying to help you.

Then why don't you help me
in the way you seem to find hardest--

being a loyal son?

When the town hears about this,
my opinion won't matter.

The town won't hear of anything

until I am prepared to present the names.

Do it again.

Tell me your name.

I am Miss Iris Endicott,

native to Basking Ridge,
New Jersey.

Tavern wench of the Traveler's Rest.

Mm, well done.

You've taken
your character to heart.

Well, it's easy to play
the trollop with you, Major.

As for my next partner,

I fear I'll be less convincing.

I promise you,
if you play the Wench,

he will play the fool.

Such intrigue for a man
who's already one of your spies.

One who I've never met before
and have reason to doubt,

and yet the advantage is ours.

He's never seen me.

And he will never suspect you.

Where's my Iris?

Mm, I can smell my flower.

Reporting for duty, General.

I catch the scent.

Give me a taste.

If you can find me.

Marco.

Polo.

Marco.

Polo.

Marco.

Polo.

Marco.

Polo.

Evening, General.

We just got him off to sleep.

We'll be silent as Quakers.

Hearing you talk
about your brother,

how much you loved him,
how much you miss him...

I don't want Thomas to be alone.

I want to give him a brother.

Tell me what you want.

I can be what you want.

If you have something to tell,
tell it.

There should be
no secrets between us.

If there's another
in your thoughts, then...

Mary...

if I tell you what troubles me...

you'll have to promise me
you'll keep it quiet.

Promise me.

You can only imagine what a blacksmiths
house looks like

without a woman around.

So Mrs. Hallock has loaned him
her slave Zipporah

to cook and clean
until he finds a wife.

Mr. Shelton's not the only man
who could use a wife, I'd say.

Your father-in-law,
for instance.

Judge Woodhull always says
he's married to the town.

I'm not sure the town
will stay married to him.

What do you mean, dear?

Nothing.

It's not nothing.
It's a real shame what he's doing.

Very serious, indeed.

I feel the same way you do.

You've-- you've heard about it?

We hear all the rumors.

It's a terrible position
that he's put himself in.

Yes.

Why don't you tell us
how you came upon it,

in your own words?

I am an officer
of the Continental Army.

No, you are a deserter
from His Majesty's Royal Militia.

I demand an audience
with General Howe.

Oh, we can't take you to New York.

All the trees have been cut down.

I'll have to hang you right here.

And the girl?

The King's Army will make
use of her, I assure you.

- Take her away.
- No, no please.

- Let her be. Let her be!
- No! No, no, please!

No, no, let me go!
General, help me!

No! Ow, you're hurting me!

No!

General, help!

A man in your position is privy
to a great deal of intelligence.

Were you to provide it,

I might reconsider
what I intend to do.

No!

I've already provided
your side with information.

Oh, you did, did you?

As a gesture of good faith.

The destination
of a Connecticut dragoon patrol.

I also provided
the location of a safe house

for small arms and powder.

A safe house?

The men who raided that safe house
were led into an ambush.

You sold them out.

I assure you, I had no idea.

And now you're playing me falsely.

I give you my word
as an officer and a gentleman.

No, you are a traitor and a spy.

If not for my sake, then hers.

No, stop!

No!

What was the name of the officer
you corresponded with?

- His name was Major John--
- Andre?

It's a pleasure to meet
you in person, General.

I do apologize for all this,

but I had to be sure you
were telling the truth.

"Let us love good boys
and play with none

that lie or swear or steal

for fear we will learn their ways
and be as bad as them.

Amen."

Amen.

It's not right!

These are hallowed grounds.

What is it?

It's half the town,
by the looks of it.

What are they doing headed
up the road at this hour?

I think I know.

They're going to your father's.

What?

- How did they find out?
- I let it slip.

Abraham, I'm sorry.

You there, halt!
Stand fast!

Wait, wait, wait.

They've come to see me,
not the major.

This is too many people.
Disperse at once!

- We demand an audience.
- They just want to talk.

I invited them.

Gentlemen, glad you could come.

Is it true you mean to rip out
all our gravestones?

- Sir, should I--
- Shh, shh.

No, no.
Where did you hear that?

Everyone knows, Judge.

Slip out the back.

Take Bucephalus
from the barn, quietly.

Ride to the church

and inform Lieutenant Wakefield
to muster the troop.

10 stones.

- Go.
- Yes, sir.

They are necessary
for the defense of the town.

You mean defense of the garrison.

The garrison shields us from attack.

Listen, this is being done
for you, for us.

Just as our town fathers shielded us

from the Nesaquake
and from the Dutch.

But they never used
our dead to do it.

We--

The stones of the founders
will not be touched,

I can promise you that.

Nor of men who gave their lives
for the Crown.

Nor the stones of women.

Well done, Woodhull.
You've kept the souls

of your wife and child
off the chopping block.

He's protecting your families as well.

Do you think he wants to do this?

Do you think you could
choose any better?

Who has he chosen so far?

The list is not complete.

- What gives you the right?
- I am the magistrate!

How is this law?

- This is a sacrilege.
- You ain't taking my stone, Judge!

No stones will be taken
without consent.

The heads of the families
must agree to give,

and since the giving
will mean they are protecting

their loved ones and their homes,

I expect they will rise to it.

Now, it is very late
and I am tired.

Good night, gentlemen.

You've done the right thing.

No, all I've done
is take a difficult task

and made it impossible.

You know, Ben, there still may be a way
to get Abe's letter to Washington.

- But you've gotta be all for it.
- The letter?

- Scott burned the letter.
- So you rewrite it.

And then we smuggle it in.

- Smuggle it?
- Yeah.

- Oh, right.
- I mean, come on, you saw yourself.

Scott only reads the first page
of a scout's report

- before passing it on, right?
- Yeah.

So we get Abe's letter
and we fold it into a report, yeah?

And then watch it sail
right into Georgia's hands.

I've just finished my interrogation
of the returning scouts.

There's no single report
worthy of passing on.

Right, so we beef it up, huh?

- Add a little excitement.
- You mean falsify it.

Yeah, well, insubordination
is your best quality.

It's been far too long, Richard.

I agree, and I apologize,

but since the arrival of our guests
from the Royal Army,

I've had little time to pay social calls.

Is that what this is?

Lucinda, your family's
strong allegiance to the Crown

has always been
the very anchor of Setauket.

This town looks to the Scudders
for moral guidance,

for leadership,
for inspiration, even.

Were you to donate a gravestone
for the common defense,

I believe it would inspire
the other families to see the light.

Have you gone mad?

The people here aren't against this
because their hearts are hard.

It's a bad idea and they know it,

and I think you know it, too.

I have tried to reason
with Major Hewlett, believe me.

I'm sure you have, Richard.

But you cannot reason with someone
who is being irrational,

whether it be
the rebels or the major.

But once the decision
has been made, surely it is our--

I am not going to bail you out,
Your Honor.

But I will give you some advice,

which I hope inspires some reason.

If you forge ahead with this,

you may as well dig your own grave.

Mr. Woodhull.

I have a little apple
to peel with your father.

Well, he doesn't live here, Mr. DeJong.

Yeah, he likes to hide
behind the major.

But that won't save him
when judgment comes.

Come again?

Our message is thus--

if he tries to take our stones,

we will defend them.

You made that very clear last night.

When my father gives his word,
he means it.

The devil may sound reasonable at first,
but it's always a trick.

Go home, Maarten.

I have family in New York.

They could make it difficult
for the judge's business there.

My father's business is with
the King's Army, so I doubt that.

It's a long way between
Setauket and York City

and there's a lot
of trouble on that road,

a man could get robbed.

Or even killed.

You threaten my father again,
I'll kill you myself...

on this road.

You hear me?

My quarrel was with your father.

Now it is with you as well.

You're both damned.

What do you want me to write?

So, we were burning boats at night--
you were--

uh, so we say that the flames

were spotted by an enemy patrol.

Your move.

How could I see them in the dark?

Don't make me give you
a dowse in the chops, boy.

Write what I say.
I need it to get to Washington.

I need to stay out of the brig.

No, here's what you're going to write.

"I came across a Loyalist militia
on the bank of the river.

I exchanged fire with them,
but was outnumbered

so I dove into the icy water
to avoid their shots,

swam downriver,
hid in the bushes all night,

which is how I caught frostbite.

Finally, they boarded their boats
and withdrew across the Delaware.

From my vantage point,

I could make out five men
and one officer."

King me.

Is that legal?

So, we fold Abe's letter
inside Ezra's report

and we watch it sail away
to Washington like a stowaway.

Stowaways get tossed
overboard, Caleb.

"Swam downstream
and hid in the bushes all night.

That's how I caught frostbite.

Finally, they boarded their boat

and withdrew across the Delaware.

From my vantage point,
I could make out

five men and one officer."

Too small for a foraging party.
Most likely scouts.

Washington fears
that General Howe

will ford the river
to strike at us.

He'll want to ponder this.

This is the kind of intelligence
you should've been bringing me.

Richard, you've hardly
left your study once this day.

Come and join me for dinner.

Major, this task...

has proved more difficult
than I had expected,

owing to the sentiments
of the people.

You've appeased them, Richard.

You have coddled them.

And yet somehow you're surprised
when they act like children.

The stones are for their defense.

If the rebels take the town,
then they will be victims, too,

of murder, of rape, and of pillage.

They fear damnation
as much as they fear the rebels.

They see this as a reproach against God.

Romans 13-- "The powers that be
are ordained by God."

Our king was ordained by God

and I was appointed
to my duty by our king.

You may well speak for God,
but I do not.

At least, that's not
the way the people see it.

I need more time.

I'm not going to indulge you, Richard.

If I don't have a list of names
by tomorrow morning,

then Appleton will
choose the best ones.

Where are you going?

My father's.

But it's starting to rain.

There's something
I got to tell him.

Something that'll
put a stop to all this.

What could you possibly
say that would--

Something I should have
said three days ago.

- Ready?
- Yes.

Iris.

Oh, General.
Thank God you're alive.

- Iris! Iris!
- Take her away.

Bastard.

We may not be allies,

but we share a common enemy.

"To Mr. John Hancock,

President of the Continental Congress.

Sir, entre nous,

a certain great man
is most damnably deficient.

General Washington is not fit
to command a sergeant's guard."

How did you get that?

You think you're the sole rebel
I correspond with?

You wrote this letter for the same reason
you wrote to me.

You believe you should be commander
instead of Washington.

And I agree.

This capture is my gift to you.

Your gift?

You won't be blamed
when half the army walks out

come the new year.

Which is when General Charles Lee
heroically escapes captivity

and fights his way back
to the Continental lines.

The Congress will
clamor for the hero

who would pull off
such a daring feat.

Come the spring...

you will advise Congress...

to sue for peace.

So I'll be in charge of our surrender?

Then Crown and Colonies are reunited

and this terrible conflict is over.

To the next commander-in-chief
of the Continental Army.

Thanks.

There you are.
Thanks.

Do you think hell exists

in more than one place?

What does the Bible say?

It is silent...

as are these books of law,
books of wisdom.

There are no answers
to my question.

No, there's always
an answer.

Hmm.

Father, if Major Hewlett
were convinced

that there was no immediate threat
to the town,

then there would be no need
to bolster the earthworks.

But he is convinced.

But...

if the rebels were preparing
to attack Setauket,

surely their scout would
do everything he could

to avoid detection.

I mean, what sort of spy
reveals himself?

You think I haven't
considered that?

You try telling that to Hewlett!

Shh, shh, lower your voice.

I don't know which is worse,
his lack of military experience

or his delusions of grandeur.

To fortify the church is rash,
to use the headstones folly.

He's been obstinate, capricious.

You mean he's acted like a king.

You have been compelled
to do something that is unjust,

and when a man
is compelled to do something,

- he either submits or--
- He rebels.

Right, and so you saw
for yourself,

the people are against this.

They will be there tomorrow
and they will outnumber the soldiers.

- So?
- So, then lead them.

Tell Hewlett that it can't be done
or they'll revolt.

Call his bluff
and he will back down.

- I'm not gonna lead a revolt.
- It's not a revolt.

It's just you standing your ground.

You won't be made
to sacrifice your honor.

And what about
the major's honor?

Why would he yield?

Let me ask you...

why is he doing this?

- Above all else?
- He doesn't want to lose the town.

Right.

Uh-huh.

He used to sit there.

Thomas.

I know.

I think that's enough
for one night, huh? Don't you?

Come on.
Come on, then.

- He used to sit there, you know?
- I know.

I used to spy on you both
from that window.

He had such a perceptive mind,

like a-- like a clear lake.

His questions were like answers, too.

Come on. Come on.

There you go.

Thomas.

Well, we'll be heroes
or we'll be hanged.

It ain't treason
if there's good reason.

I just hope Washington reads it.

To the general's attention, sir.

What else has he got to do?

Just the stones, men.

Leave the bodies be.

Thank you.
Thank you, son.

Bless you.

Thank you.

Proceed no further.

This is an illegal assembly.

You may not gather here.

Return to the village.

Stand back.

When Major Hewlett
first proposed this plan,

I was against it.

Now I must disappoint
the major yet again.

I have no stones to give him.

My fault...

was not in asking too much of you,
but too little.

We have failed to consider
what's most important here.

Not what we want
or what the major wants.

But what God wants.

And what He demands
is sacrifice as a test of faith.

For faith without works is dead.

Abraham understood this

when he brought Isaac
to the mountain.

And we must
follow his example...

and offer up that which
we hold most dear,

that which we would
never sacrifice.

Just as God sacrificed
His only son

to save us all.

Please ask your father
to forgive me.

Ask him yourself.

Pay attention, Appleton.

This is why I picked gravestones.

If it was this hard for the Loyalists
to give them up,

imagine how hard it will be

for rebels from the same region
to fire upon them.

This is how you tame a colony.

Not through battle...

but through winning
their hearts and minds.

Ripped By mstoll