My recap of “Insurrection” is up at Tor.com.

Additional notes:

- This entire Biblical narrative is derailed if you don’t have Jonathan and David in league against the King. As this is just as compelling as any other antagonist/protagonist situation, the obvious conclusion is that NBC just can’t handle the dude love.

Let me tell you something, NBC: 1 Samuel is pretty rampant with Jonathan and David hanging out together in fields and caves and sharing clothing and loving each other like their own souls and shit. It’s canon. Ignore it as much as you want; I will still, eventually, just use all their declarations of love as pullquotes for the David and Michelle kissy parts. So there.

- I love the relationship between Queen Rose and King Silas. I am always a sucker for mature adults, and while this marriage is clearly political, there is a level of respect and affection there that makes their scenes really compelling. The fact that Rose knows about and accepts the mistress as a part of his life is really refreshing – and that she’s not pining about him is double refreshing. It’s not Self-Sacrificing-Spouse Syndrome (SSSS). It’s, “Shut up, go get laid, and come back here and govern like a normal human.” Nice.

- Re: above, the little scene where he says his valet should be “hung” for spilling coffee on him and she says, “Shirts are hung, valets are hanged” is my favorite bit in the episode – it references his temper, her protectiveness of her staff, her correcting his soldier’s grammar. (After she says, “Valets are hanged,” he mumbles “So are wives who correct their husbands,” clearly not meaning it, and I just want to smoosh their Barbies together.)

- Yay, the Reverend had a scene without the King in it!

- Yay, Wes Studi had a scene without the King in it!

- Yay, Thomasina had a scene without the King in it! Bonus: it was with a chick! Double bonus: neither of them is talking about romantic woes.

- Katrina Ghent. The actress doesn’t impress me so far, but that makes three women in this show who are over thirty and in positions of influence/power, which doesn’t happen much. LADIES, NOBODY DIE.

- Please never let that security guard subplot go anywhere romantic. She’s a mile out of his league and everyone knows it. (They are, however, growing on me, so long as you keep them to thirty seconds an episode.

- Seriously, does EVERYONE in David’s family have a concussion all the time?