I do too. It's one of the many things that turned me off in the Pilot. But there are some people who like that stuff. I remember reading a post from a viewer on TWOP in reaction to 1.2 who said that she found Bash more interesting than Francis because he was connected to the pagan stuff. I too find it all vapid, but there are people who do like it.

I'm a big fan of challenging your viewers to think even when they're being entertained. For me, political and family intrigue are far more interesting and relatable when well-written and there's so much to mine from the times in which Mary and Francis' actually lived. That's why Torrance should have played one of Mary's uncles instead of some fabricated son of Henri's. He would actually have some kind of significance. Your suggestions would have worked just as well. But they went this route instead.