Regan and John return for a truly remarkable episode of TV, The Young Pope episode nine. A long conversation about Gutierrez and Kurtweil discusses how the show is using but reworking conventional TV genres and tropes, Gutierrez's ministry, how the superb one-episode characters of David, Rose (the fan 'kiss'!), Freddy, and Pete shed light on Bernardo and on the show as a whole. There's much more to think and feel (so many feelings about this ep) through: the Spencer-Lenny abortion debate, Young Lenny's literal miracle, beautiful camerawork in the final Lenny-Spencer scene, and, of course, the revelation of Young Lenny's love letters. The show's ability to pull all these together and run tried and oft-melodramtic tropes through its weirdness gives us Regan and John a chance to talk about their emotional responses to the show and praise its abilities.  Phew. Still plenty of time for multiple confirmation name proffers, bonus Hot Priest Rating, discussion of the music in the episode, Regan's finale predictions, and some extra-shipping of multiple forms! CW for this episode for discussions of abuse.  This podcast was recorded during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the show being covered here wouldn’t exist.  Music by Lesfm from Pixabay