Soon, however, he has found a link between himself and his subject. In Franklin pere et fils, he finds a father-son relationship that makes his look cozy. Like a detective, Kornbluth forms and then abandons hypotheses as he unearths more and more facts.
History is elusive.
On his quest, Kornbluth has various adventures, and the show assumes several forms. It's a character study of an eccentric Yale professor. It's a revenge story about Kornbluth getting his own back from the university that wouldn't accept him as a student. Above all, it's a poignant and penetrating father-son story, an attempt at closure and reconciliation, even redemption. Franklin's son broke his heart by insisting on being his own man, and Franklin turned implacably from him.