folks, we're back with the 6th and final episode in our series on the Norman Conquest and English Anarchy. we close our the Anarchy in style by talking about the strange course of the conflict, Empress Matilda's high point of power in England, London's rejection of the Empress, the stalemate that followed, the eventual rise of Matilda's son, Henry FitzEmpress, and the eventual collapse of Stephen's rule as the nobles refused to crown his son king and instead opted for Henry. turns out, even if they didn't want Matilda as queen, that doesn't mean anyone actually liked Stephen all that much either. so his rule becomes a 19-year-long aberration that runs the length of the Anarchy before King Henry II takes over, rebuilds the realm, and sets it up for future political strife during his long reign.