Can you imagine how good of a song "Happy Xmas" would have been without Yoko ruining the chorus?

Goodness, your taste in things is questionable. There are a lot of ways one can sing in an interesting, non-"ooh baby" way, and also carry a tune.

I think the problem with this take on it is that it removes Lennon's agency (and indeed, his personality defects) from the equation. Lennon was a brilliant, brilliant man who wrote some of the most amazing songs of the 20th century, and I do really believe that he had a good heart. But all that said, he could be an…

I do my best to correct people who are under the misimpression that Yoko broke up the Beatles, because let's face it, they carried the seeds of their own destruction from the get-go.

Yeah, I think it's pretty clear that he wants Alfred not to learn the "wrong" lesson (as he sees it) from this, ie: that Christianity does not serve Wessex anymore. Which, of course, would never be on the table for Alfred anyway; the last thing Wessex needs at this point is to be cut off from the rest of Europe.

The impression I actually get from the historical Alfred is that he was sort of a Teddy Roosevelt of his time: sickly when he was younger, but he put his mind to getting stronger, and managed to become a badass when he reached his prime. I expect we'll see some of this on the show.

PFT and Marc Evan Jackson are, like, seriously the two nicest men I've ever met in my life. Yes, I'm dropping those names, fuck you.

The character's been on Superego since the real guy died, so I think/hope he's not gone from the podcast universe.

Wait wait wait WAIT…something that Ryan Murphy wrote…was terrible?!

That's…not that different from what he wrote, dude. You're just putting a weird left/right lens on it.

"Oh…I am sufferings." CBB badly needs a visit from ol' Hey, Really Giger.

I have to object a bit to the overall grade of this episode. While I didn't LOVE it either, I'm not seeing how an episode with Ruxin, that uses Ruxin at least decently, gets a lower grade than an episode totally sans-Ruxin. That's like missing a mandatory ingredient on "Chopped." …I mean, I assume. From what my wife…

You forgot to kick the episode up half a grade, because Gourley was in it. And it's the law. Because it's Gourley.

I know, right? The fact that Garrison is off Trumping it up and hasn't been seen since the second episode is ominous. I can't wait to see how that and the other major long-running threads come together by the end of the season.

He's clearly very good at compartmentalizing the horrific craziness he witnesses routinely, which, I must confess, I envy. I can't compartmentalize worth shit, and I have a pretty easy life.

My money's on the "unhinged, cartoonishly narcissistic" option. I don't think he's gay - there's no one he could possibly be more attracted to than himself.

Oh, also, how in God's name has no one done a historical epic show on Charlemagne yet?

It's interesting, I didn't actually see this episode as a slow-down in terms of pace. I think that's because I'm an English history fan, so I knew Alfred was going to shove his nephew aside once his brother died, and it was exciting to watch. Brida leaving was a let-down, and while I haven't read the books, I have…

I think he means James Urbaniak.

Oh! I am sufferings…