The Right Honourable Fanboy

Imagine, if you will, that you are Abel is such a universe. Your family consists of:

Your father, who was a boorish, virulently sexist, lecherous, mass murdering egomaniac who committed unspeakable crimes against the denizens of Hell and whose respect and affection you desperately craved but never received and now never will.

Your mother, who you’ve been separated from for thousands upon thousands of years only to learn that she is the embodiment of evil itself.

Your older brother, who bashed your head open with a rock in jealous rage, becoming the first murder and being cursed by God (and who you, remarkably, have an inferiority complex towards if the “Too bad I’m not your braver son” is any indication).

That is, safe to say, quite a lot! It’s frankly a miracle that Abel is as half-put together as he is given everything, any one of these would have been crushing for anybody, let alone three. Abel doesn’t think too highly of his courage or fortitude but I don’t think I would have the stuff to take so many blows.

I've been reading a lot of theories/analyses recently, and a funny thought came to me.

Specifically, a lot of them involved the theory that Rosie is Eve. I'm personally not 100% sold on it, to be honest, but if it is true that creates a funny parallel between Rosie/Eve and her former husband, Adam.

Let's think back to Season 1 and how both characters are introduced. First, we've got Adam in 'Overture' chowing down on ribs both during and before the meeting with Charlie.

The symbolism speaks for itself, really. As we all know, Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs. So, his favourite food being ribs is not only a fun reference to his origin in Eden, but also summarises his relationship with women in general and, most likely, his relationship with Eve (Rosie) in particular. To him, they primarily exist for his own satisfaction and 'consumption'. Since part of the reason Lilith left was his desire to control her, it's likely that he treated Eve, Lilith's replacement, the same way.

Then we go to 'Hello Rosie!' where the first thing we hear (she's seen in 'Scrambled Eggs' but doesn't talk) from the titular Rosie (Eve) is this colourful bit of reassurance:

Well, who hasn't thought about eating their first husband? I certainly would have if he didn't taste so bad!

This is a comedic line, based on a) her cannibalistic tendencies (pinky fingers, anyone?), b) her propensity to give relationship advice (relevant for her conversation with Charlie later), and c) the fact that she's probably been through multiple husbands by now (if you accept the most common fandom interpretation that ol' Franklin was Rosie's former husband).

This is definitely not the first time that this has happened.

Now, if we accept the Rosie/Eve theory, this adds a further element to this line, hinting at her former relationship with Adam (her "first husband"). Since Adam is the "first human soul in Heaven", it's likely that he died early in this universe and, thus, Eve (Rosie) outlived him, whether because of natural causes or Eve killing him (with all the cannibalistic overtones I don't think they ended on good terms).

Since Rosie says she "would have" and not "had" eaten her first husband, but still knows what he tasted like, I think she attempted to consume Adam's dead body but couldn't bring herself to eat the whole thing. That probably has something to do with the fact that Adam tasted "so bad". Adam, who even in Heaven didn't take good care of himself, probably literally tasted bad, but it's not too much of a stress to imagine that the foulness of his meat symbolised his inner moral and spiritual rot (like the many folk beliefs about how the emotional state of an animal before you kill it determines how its meat tastes).

So if Eve (Rosie) killed Adam, she may have attempted to consume him in death just like he 'consumed' her (like the ribs) in life as a form of revenge and got confirmation of his foulness by how bad his flesh tasted. Alternatively, Eve, who is meant to be the more submissive/devoted wife of Adam, attempted to consume Adam's corpse in a warped sense of devotion ("we'll always be together" or some such thing), and the vileness of his meat and her inability to finish it was the wake-up call to Eve (Rosie) to finally acknowledge Adam's true nature.

We simply don't know enough about Eve and her relationship to Adam to know exactly what this line is alluding to, unlike Adam and his ribs, but if Rosie is Eve, this line is almost certainly telling us something about how she thought of and acted towards Adam.

Again, if we accept the theory, I think it's significant that the first time we're introduced (or properly introduced in the case of Rosie/Eve), there are allusions to each eating the other, both literally and figuratively, and that this indicates what their relationship was like.

Vox May Work At The Hotel Now, But Old Habits Die Hard.

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Corporal Alastor Duhart (1896-1933)

Like millions of his fellow countrymen, Duhart was drafted following the United States’ declaration of war against the German Empire in April 1917, assigned to the 92nd Infantry Division on account of his mixed-race heritage. Arriving in France with the rest of his regiment in June 1918, Duhart was assigned to the Champagne sector in the northeast of the country, where his regiment would spend the majority of the war.

By all accounts, Duhart was well-liked both by his fellow servicemen and the French soldiers, colonial troops, and civilians he encountered during his service. The qualities that would make him a star in the inter-war years-his charisma, affability, musical talent, and showmanship-were on full display in France. Whenever his regiment was rotated out of the frontlines, Duhart, foreshadowing his later radio show, would stage informal shows combining musical performance, commentary on trench life, and various acts performed by fellow soldiers that he MCed for. Recalling their war experiences years later, the other men of Duhart's regiment would near unanimously agree that his performances were the highlight of their service.

It surely also helped that Duhart had the seemingly preternatural ability to produce additional meat rations, which he happily cooked and shared with his fellow soldiers in the trenches, providing a much-needed boost to morale during the heavy fighting his regiment endured on the front and earning him the nickname "le chef" (the chef).

Of course, Duhart was not spared the horrors of war that all combatants faced. He was wounded several times and only narrowly avoided being killed by artillery fire during the Meuse-Argonne campaign, saved at the last second by a fellow soldier pulling him out of harm's way. Engaged in combat all the way up to the Armistice of 11th November, Duhart fought with distinction, earning several awards for his actions during the Meuse–Argonne offensive.

Departing Europe in 1919, Duhart returned to his native Louisiana. While initially feted as a war hero, any feelings of goodwill engendered by victory were soon dispelled by the economic recession and heightened racial and ideological tensions that gripped the country. Undeterred, Duhart reestablished himself in New Orleans and, with a newfound sense of confidence, threw himself into becoming one of the greatest media stars of the age.

-Louisiana Radio Demon: The Life of Alastor Duhart by Robert S. Kotkin (1998)

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