Most of us came out of Popeye, so turning Popeye into something believable was tricky enough.
Lebanon is restless, Syria got its walking papers, Egypt is scheduling elections with more than one candidate, and even Saudi Arabia, whose rulers are perhaps more terrified of women than rulers anywhere else in the world, allowed limited municipal elections.
Maybe the most that you can expect from a relationship that goes bad is to come out of it with a few good songs.