#I really thought Lestat was going to die

[madzillus]

Finished IWTV. I will need 3-50 business days to recover. I thank you for your patience

[captain-noir]

the real tragedy is the fact that lestat is, unfortunately, louis’ favourite person on earth. he literally fills the hole paul has left behind in more ways than one

[feedingicetothedog]

also i feel like i'm interpreting the Big Armand Reveal™ differently than a lot of ppl bc i thought the reason louis got angry was bc armand claimed that he wasn't as involved and just let it happen but it turns out he was a very active participant and is finally realizing that he really can never believe anything armand's ever told him. i truly do not think that armand was going to let louis die in the play like i truly don't but i think he did take credit for lestat's big gesture bc it feeds his narrative. daniel's assessment is that armand was gonna let louis die but i think armand's plan was always to get louis out of there. like that's canon from the books and in line w his characterization on the show that he would rehearse the play to perfection w the coven but plan a moment to get louis out but the bigger problem is that there's no reality in which louis will ever believe anything armand says ever again. at this point, louis trusts daniel more than armand and if armand tries to argue that he would never want to kill louis it just won't sound believable after everything else

[cbrownjc]

image credit: c2299cLance on Twitter

The above image is from the Episode 2x05 insider. And boy oh boy do I (did I?) have a question about this.

Because if that really is the book being published in the present day . . . then that pretty much upends the format of the show. Because the book being published means there is absolutely no reason for Daniel to stick around Dubai anymore IMO. Because why would he? His job is done.

And truth be told, I've long thought the interview would be finished in episode 2x08. That Daniel would finish it, and talk about heading home to being writing and editing it.

However, I never really thought he would actually leave. Because Daniel's character basically does leave the story at the end of Interview with the Vampire. And we don't see him again until Queen of the Damned, during the chase. (And we already know Season 3 is The Vampire Lestat).

But I really couldn't work out how the show could ever have that happen -- because that basically means Daniel's character leaving the show for a time. Possibly a long time, as time jumps just to account for the book being published would have to happen. And that, well . . .

See, I very much noticed how much Daniel's Parkinson's was making him shake this episode (2x05). And I in no way think Armand and Daniel are doing the Devil's Minion chase in the current day with Daniel having Parkinson's during a pandemic (which is still going on in the show's timeline). Sorry, no, not happening IMO. Because there is no damn reason for Armand to chase Daniel now, IMO. The reason Armand even did so in the first place was because he found Daniel fascinating/interesting. And well, as we just saw in episode 2x05 that already happened. It makes no sense that Armand would wait 50 freakin' years to follow up on that with a chase around the world.

So the book being published at the end of the interview always meant, to me, that it would mean bye-bye to Eric from the show. Which, I was NOT looking forward to. Because I honestly couldn't see any reason for Daniel's character to stick around, at least in Dubai, never mind the next part of the story. Especially if Lestat isn't going to be in Dubai and we might have to start doing freakin' time jumps to account for the publication of books.

And, once again, Daniel has a degenerative disease. That, once again, I noticed very well how much he was shaking from. So unless Devil's Minion really didn't happen in the past, there really was no way for Daniel to enter or be part of the story going forward. Because yes, I very much think Armand is going to be prepared to let Daniel leave Dubai and not stop him. Right now, Armand is very focused on keeping his life as it is in Dubai, and I think part of that is due to him not thinking Daniel would ever really remember anything of the past anyway.

So yeah, if that prop is for the book actually being published in the modern-day, I was already beginning to mourn Daniel leaving the show. Because from how I looked at it, I couldn't figure out any reason why his character would stay in Dubai, around these vampires anymore. Right now, if Daniel leaves Dubai, he leaves the show IMO. And probably for a good long while, given where the story is going. (With maybe Armand coming to see Daniel later at some point when he's dying to turn him or something, IDK).

And then, I was reminded -- by @nalyra-dreaming -- of this picture that Eric posted on Twitter a few months back:

And it all began to click.

Because for a real time there, for a few weeks at least after Eric first posted this, I seriously thought that Daniel's character was going to, well die.

Between the posting of this picture by Eric as well as a few other things, no joke, I was getting a real vibe about it, that Daniel was going to die this season . . . but not stay dead of course. I just held back on talking about it because it felt so damn early, story-wise, for it to happen.

And then something during the lead-up to the more recent press events made me stop thinking Daniel would die. And that Daniel's turning still wouldn't happen for a few more seasons yet.

But now . . . if the book really is going to be published . . .

I think it's going to be published posthumously. Or, at least, posthumously to the human world.

Because why would Daniel stick around in Dubai if the book is published? As we saw in the preview for next week, he's already saying to Justin Kirk he wants to get out of this alive. The minute he's done with the interview he's leaving, make no mistake about that. So why would Daniel stay?

Well, becoming an undead vampire would do it.

So everyone who wanted Eric's Daniel to become a vampire? You might actually be getting your wish this season. Because if those books above really are real and Daniel really is publishing it in the modern-day . . . then the only reason I can think of for him to not only stay in Dubai/on the show but not visibly age -- or get sicker like Daniel very much would wrt such time jumps that would require not only a publication of such a book but for Lestat to see it, read it, etc -- is this. Daniel becomes a vampire at the end of this season.

Because otherwise, IMO? There is no other reason for his character to stick around. Not from anything else I've thought of so far at least that would make any type of sense.

And what is going to force Armand's hand into turning Daniel? (Because yes, I do still think it's going to be Armand who does it) Well, very likely this . . .

gif credit: @hermit-frog

I already thought Daniel was going to get hurt when it came to this happening. But now I think Daniel getting hurt will be the least of it . . .

[weclassybouquetfun]

We bid a very fond adieu to INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE and the coven Théâtre des Vampires.

Take a bow, luvvies!

Especially Esme Appleton and Suzanne Andrade (who play Estelle and Celeste, respectively) the duo who are co-artistic directors of theatre 1927 which was responsible for the expressionism style of the plays and its projections.

Fans can at least rest easy knowing that there will be a third series.

Until then they and swoon over, swear over, sneer at or salute series two's finale.

SPOILER FILLED THOUGHTS

THE GOOD

-Pretty much everything: Louis avenging Claudia (and Madeleine though IIRC her name wasn't even uttered this episode).

The bad thing about a fantastic villain is losing them and Santiago you had to die.

You did what with Claudia's ashes???

But Ben Daniels, how do I love thee.

-Armand and how he fumbled a bad b*tch part 2. My maître made mistakes, yes. But I'm going to pull a page out of Claudia's playbook of how she asked the coven if she could cry and say she's sorry too. Can't Armand cry like Lestat and be forgiven? What do you mean what he did was unforgiveable?

It's terrible that Claudia was used as a pawn in Louis, Lestat and Armand's relationships. Louis needed her for salvation, Lestat had to turn her for the man she loved then resented her for the space she took in their relationship and then Armand, whether he was adhering to the Great Laws or not, went along with her murder IMO because he was fed up with Louis performing an affectation of love while Armand's neck was on the line.

Louis knew how to use Armand's vulnerabilities to keep him compliant and would turn cold when Armand wouldn't do what was being asked of him. Whether Santiago and the coven were gunning for Armand or not because of him letting the de Pointe du Lac de Lioncourts slide, Armand was ready to kill them because he hated that he was used and willingly let himself be used out of a need for love.

He was so angry that he workshopped his hurt with the coven. I absolutely loved that he gave Sam a note about how the script didn't go deep enough into Louis' hoarding. Armand sat there listening to Louis talk about his Grey Gardens years like,

Armand was fine with killing them in this protracted show trial, but had Louis burned, it would be a relatively quick death. I think when Armand heard Louis' screaming and knew he was approaching death, he had a change of heart and freed him.

And LOUIS STILL WOULDN'T LEAVE TOWN WHEN ASKED!

These three led their relationships as poorly as their joint hand hearts.

-That leads to the reveal that Lestat made the choice to save Louis over Claudia and Madeleine. Which I don't think was even much of a choice to him. Yes, he would rather not Claudia die, but he figured it was fait accompli because he knew these vampires (as he warned Claudia in S1) and knew their ruthlessness. But there was no way he was going to let Louis die.

He brags about having Akasha blood in him, but he's still bleeding from the ear when using that mind control power. You still need to level up after Akasha?? A booster from a more powerful vamp?

Claudia's death hurt him much more than he thought it would. He probably figured there would be feelings - she is his fledgling - but the horror and the finality of it devastated him. His daughter (and how great was it that Louis kept pushing that fact. She was their daughter.)

Which leads hovel Lestat.

Candlelit, ramshackled dwelling, with a wooden "piano", but practising with an iPad?

Lestat, if you don't get on Amazon and order one of these!

Lestat, know who you should bring on your tour? The grandson of Tom Anderson, Sidney.

The Louis and Lestat reunion was beautiful and perfect in every way. But then again, I love when characters have a powerful moment while chaos is around them.

And Louis chose himself! He didn't need to get back with Lestat, they both just really needed closure and forgiveness. The rest can come later.

And even though we will likely never know what Louis says to Lestat, I think he says "I love you" at the end because that would be the last bit of healing Louis needs because kept himself from saying those words to Lestat their entire relationship.

THE BAD

FIle Not Found

THE REST

-Sam isn't author Samuel Beckett, but Sam the Talamasca informant and helmet wearing DJ, possibly Deadmau5?

-At first I wondered why Louis' -whose family had a legacy in New Orleans- name would be lost to history, yet Lestat's alias is known. That Tom's and the Alderman's rep was still known, Louis' would as well and not just call him a Creole businessman. Then I wondered if it was because Grace "buried" Louis but her getting that crypt was symbolic. Even if their deed and other paperwork was under Lestat's aliases, the town knew who they were by name and I would think their names would be bandied about as much as Tom's as Louis and his "child bride" and Lestat went missing the same night as Tom, et al. But then I told myself I'm not Neil DeGrasse Tyson so I'm going to just enjoy and not logic police.

-In post-episode featurette Rollin says Daniel's vampire reveal happens when Daniel take off his sunglasses, meanwhile he's flashing almond shape nails throughout his interview. We know this man has been turned immediately.

-The limo driver talking about his wife wanting to see New Edition at Essence Fest - N.E actually did play Essence Fest in 2022 so hat tip to the writers for putting that in.

-Louis returning home albeit briefly. I love that this episode addresses his family. This is completion. He has put down everything he was carrying and is ready to move into his new life. This was what he wanted to do when he and Claudia first left, but he couldn't move on because of "killing" Lestat. He's exorcised his ghosts.

-A Reddit user pointed out that the name above the crypt Louis uses to store his fresh kills is "Mapothier" and posits if it is a nod to Tom Cruise as his real surname is "Mapother".

-Louis is still an AmEx holder, but now a black card haver.

-Louis was the knight and now he owns it.

Talk your sh*t, LDPDL!

-Not from the episode, but I love how Jacob does the excited smack and it doesn't jar Sam at all.

[nalyra-dreaming]

My gosh, what a finale. I I am a little confused about some thing though. So in the books is Armand‘s plan always from the start to have the coven kill Claudia and Madeline and for him to save Louis? If so, I definitely think it’s quite a change to have Armand be fully prepared to let Louie die, but then later on take credit for saving him. I think it’s really interesting because then even book readers don’t know exactly where things are going. What are your thoughts on this change? Also when do you think Arman changed that memory for Louis? I think it might’ve happened before he woke up, but I’m not sure.

Armand… is a bit fatalistic I would say.

He… follows the rules, is a stickler for them even later on (at least some of them) and I think that is why he would have let the trial unfold as initially planned. It is unclear if Armand always planned to save Louis in the book, he claims to have used to Louis to get rid of his coven afterwards.

In the show - supposing what we saw when Daniel called him out was finally the truth - I think he saw Lestat intervening. And that - I hesitate to say “gave him the idea“ bc of course Armand is not stupid, but I just think he did not really think about it - to do the same.

I think Lestat paved the way so to say, and Armand followed (once more).

That is why he saved Louis from the entombment. And of course he loves Louis, too(!)

And I think Armand wasn’t there when Louis woke up bc he was ashamed. Upon… reconsideration.

As per the memories… I think Armand started to edit Louis‘ memories after SF. I think up till then… he tried to atone “only“. But there he realized the pain of it all would cost him the only thing he had left.

And so he did what he did. Fine-tuning ever more, until Louis became a shell of a being, caught in the “prison of empathy“ as Armand called it himself.

It was done from love and despair. Borne from one act of cowardice.

[nightcolorz]

Something I can't stop thinking about when it comes to book vs show is that in the book Louis doesn't really blame Armand for Claudia's death, sure he killed her but he was just upholding The Rules™

The Rules™ say a vampire shouldn't kill their maker and it was Claudia's idea to kill Lestat

The Rules™ say children shouldn't be made vampires and Claudia was made very young

Therefore according to The Rules™ Claudia should die

Armand was just following The Rules™ (and the specific kind of trauma he has doesn't allow him to even consider bending The Rules™ even for someone who wasn't aware of them, if anything Claudia's ignorance is another reason she has to die, someone who is ignorant of The Rules ™ will sure put them all in danger)

So Book Louis doesn't hate Armand, but he does hate The Rules™

The Rules™ cost him Claudia, The Rules™ are awful and unjust, The Rules™ just suck

So when he finds Daniel and the opportunity to tell his story, her story, to have it all published, that's just the opportunity he was looking for to get back at The Rules™

He can't bring Claudia back to life but he can expose all vampires and The Rules™ which say he shouldn't can go to hell

So it's a bit disappointing to me that the show has decided to remove those layers of complexity and made Louis blame Armand instead and simplified Armand's reasons to kill Claudia too

(Also what are Louis reasons to tell the story in this version?)

I was expecting Armand to double down on his reasoning for doing it (she had to die, I was just the executor not the reason she had to die, she wasn't going to make it anyway, all vampires made that young go crazy and are a risk that can expose us all, she would have killed herself soon anyway, she broke The Rules™) I thought that was what Armand's "I could not prevent it" was getting to and was disappointed when he showed to be apologetic to Louis instead

ooooo yes this is so interesting I totally agree with this. In the books Armand and Louis make it very clear that Claudia’s death was the consequence of an abusive fucked up institution (vampirism) that Louis and Armand r bound to + victims of, and the show def misses that. What I like about the vampire chronicles is how vampirism is portrayed as this abusive cycle in a way that binds all characters to the same loops of inescapable abusive patterns, and what’s interesting about that also is how all the characters r aware of this and forgiving of each other in ways humans would never be bcus they know “vampirism just does that to u”. It’s such a unique premise, and it’s unfortunate that the show seems uninterested i. exploring the “vampire culture” aspects of Anne rice world that I’ve always really loved. Sometimes I get the impression that they’d rather make the characters have more generic human responses to their problems so that it can appeal to a broader audience (which is disappointing for a tv show adaptation of a book series that is iconic for how it’s shaped what being a vampire is in pop culture)

[avelera]

Gif courtesy of @apaethy

I just finished re-watching the first season of Interview with the Vampire because in light of what's going on as of 2.6 of S2, I felt I needed to, because this moment above is driving me crazy.

Why is Armand staring straight at Daniel during Louis' declaration? And why is it that, to me, he almost seems to plead with his eyes for Daniel to get him away from Louis?

My thoughts on the matter:

Doylist reasons (aka, out of universe, production, practical reasons): this is a big reveal that "Rashid" is actually Armand. It makes sense, from that angle, as an acting choice that Armand-no-longer-Rashid would look straight at the camera so we could get a good look at him.

Thing is, it's certainly a choice.

Because I would argue the more logical choice when having one character declare the other is the love of their life is for those characters to look at each other. Even a passing glance, a faint smile, a little bit of heart eyes.

Louis just gave a pretty romantic declaration. Actually, even more haunting as of 2.6, Louis just said out loud that he loves Armand in this straightforward, unambiguous, but frighteningly passive way that he refused to do back in Paris, what Madeleine had to cajole him into saying. Now Louis drops the L word all casual, almost as a challenge, right in Daniel's face??

Daniel Molloy voice: Nuh uh, I don't buy it, not for a second.

Ok, let's get into a meta reason this is a really freakin' weird moment and scene that they chose to use as the final note of Season 1, and therefore I think it's meant to be important and, as of Season 2, I think we're seeing the crux of why it's the end of one season and the set up of the next.

Metatextual reason: Armand is not the fucking love of Louis's life in the books. He's barely a footnote, unless that footnote is labeled, "THE VAMPIRE WHO KILLED CLAUDIA". Louis and Armand's relationship, such as it was, soured immediately after her death. They didn't stick together for decades, from the text they barely stuck together a few years after that. Armand wasn't at the Interview with Daniel (but he did pick up Daniel later, when kidnapping him when Daniel went to investigate Lestat's house and look for evidence to corroborate Louis' story).

So as a book fan, I sat up in my chair and audibly shouted, "What the fuck?" at that line. Because as I'm sure anyone who has read this far knows by now, in the books Louis is not the love of Armand's life.

Daniel is the love of Armand's life.

Daniel is Armand's only fledgling, ever.

So not only is there a weird declarative quality to the almost nonsensical (to book readers) statement that Armand is the love of Louis's life-- I don't know how else to explain it except it's like having a revival of Romeo and Juliet where they didn't die and Romeo's early girlfriend Rosaline show up to say that Romeo is the love of her life in Juliet's face. Do you see what I mean? Daniel/Armand is Romeo and Juliet, Louis the temporary fling. Having Rosaline tell Juliet that Romeo is her love would give a similar level of dissonance as I got hearing Louis/Armand was a thing over and above Daniel/Armand.

So to go back to Armand's creepy eye contact here (as if he has any other kind).

Watsonian Reason (aka, in-universe, what the story is going for): We are setting up the plot that becomes much more apparent in S2: Daniel was invited to Dubai to be the wrecking ball in Louis/Armand's relationship.

Which means the big canon divergence moments from the book are:

1. Louis and Armand didn't break up right after Paris, but stayed a couple for several decades longer.

2. Regardless of whether or not the Devil's Minion happened already (or if it's going to happen later in this story), Armand didn't turn Daniel into a vampire soon after meeting him a few years post-Interview with the Vampire. That event got pushed back.

My money is on Armand and Daniel had their fling but Armand refused to turn him. It's a fairly logical canon divergence beat because Armand didn't want to turn Daniel in the books either so in this universe, he just actually followed through and did the responsible thing.

But, I think Armand pined. And pined. And pined.

Whether or not Armand is Alice turning down Daniel's proposal (I at this point disagree with the theory) or if he was just stalking Daniel closely enough to read Alice's thoughts in that moment, he clearly has been keeping tabs on Daniel.

In my opinion, Armand is finally done with the relationship with Louis.

The interview is meant to passively accomplish these things:

Remind Louis how much he loves Lestat.

Remind Louis how much he loves Claudia and by extension if/when it "slips out" just how culpable Armand actually was (as the mastermind, not a bystander) for her death, it will give Louis the impetus to finally leave.

Bring Daniel back into their life. Because whether or not he'll admit it to himself, Armand has been pining for him over Louis for a while now.

I've kind of already explored this in another post but the more I watch of S2 and re-watch of S1, the more certain I am that this is Armand's actual goal. The pining looks he keeps shooting Daniel's way, the way Daniel seems to lose his train of thought whenever he looks at Armand, the palpable tension between them...

Basically, Romeo and Juliet are getting back together soon. We just need to get Rosaline out of the picture first, and that's why Romeo is having an interview that digs up what a shitty boyfriend he was to Rosaline so that Rosaline will break up with him first so he can get back with Juliet.

[hekateinhell]

In some of the earlier drafts of Memnoch the Devil, David Talbot was supposed to die, NOT Armand:

From what I saw, a lot of Anne's drafts and notes at Tulane for MtD where more heavily focused on developing the whole religious aspect and the lore that she wanted to follow, but this really caught my attention in a big way for obvious reasons. In an another world, David would've self-immolated instead of Armand, and the book would've ended with Armand and Lestat walking together in Central Park!

"Almost Claudia, but not"... Ouch.

I will say that I understand why ultimately Anne decided to go the route that she did with Armand in actual canon (aka what's literally on the page)—I think it does make sense for his arc given his background and religious trauma. I understand it, but also as a reader and an Armand girlie, I would have been much more satisfied by this ending 🥲 (no surprise there!). Alas, I am not Anne Rice, and I'm just so grateful that she thought ahead to make her notes, drafts, and diaries accessible to us after her passing so we can have fun trying to understand her creative process and considering all the possibilities!

Lastly:

"I do think David has go to to go. Maybe he should go instead of Armand." just takes me right out.

ANNE.

[whatshehassaid]

The fact that they keep bringing in characters that are from later in the books (Bruce, Dr. Fareed, Raglan James) makes me think Dubai is farther along in the books than we realize. I feel like some stuff (akasha) hasn’t happened yet… but finding Claudia’s diary in New Orleans, and Louis being suicidal etc are from later in the book series. Has parts of Merrick already happened? Louis said in season 1 that he hadn’t killed since the year 2000. The book Merrick was released in 2000. Armand (as Rashid) “You’re chronicling a suicide.” The fact that they even HAVE Claudia’s diaries in the first place is farther along in the books.

Now why bring Raglan James in so early? I already have a feeling they aren’t bringing David in (they didn’t for Mayfair Witches and he was a big part of that) so why Raglan James SPECIFICALLY? Why not just some random Talamasca member? They’re trying to hint at what’s to come. Daniel being in his 70s and not having David in Mayfair Witches (or IWTV I’m assuming cause it wouldn’t make sense to have David in one but not the other) makes me think they’ve merged Daniel and David into one character.

If you know anything about what happens to David in Tale of the Body Thief you’ll understand where I’m going with this - I’ll put a spoiler warning for the books here.

At the end of Tale of the Body Thief, David gets a new body and Lestat changes him into a vampire without his consent.

If Daniel and David ARE being merged into one character (which makes sense considering David is the one who listens to Armand’s story in The Vampire Armand and the fact David was a main character in the Mayfair Witches book series but was merged with Rowan’s love interest to make Ciprien in the TV adaptation) then that means that something similar could happen to Daniel.

Armand in the books (after 10-12 years of a romantic - albeit it started off fucked up - relationship which includes Daniel being addicted to Armand’s blood and a mutual obsession between the two of them and then they fall in love) turns Daniel in 1985 I think the same night of Lestat’s concert and the awakening of Akasha if I’m remembering correctly. In the TV adaptation since the San Fransisco interview already happened that also means (quite obviously from the new promo) that Devils Minion already happened. Which means young Daniel tried everything on Earth to get Armand to change him into a Vampire. Probably bringing himself super close to death because he wanted to be with Armand forever. Armand has a major trauma from Marius (grooming, child slavery, sex slavery- but also Marius telling him over and over that every fledgling grows to hate their maker- lol ok dude, you literally groomed your first two fledglings from childhood and abandoned them both but yeah, that must be a every maker and fledgling thing). It affects Armand to the point that he vows never to turn ANYONE into a Vampire EVER. But then he meets Daniel and falls in love with him and can’t stand the thought of existing without him. So he turns him.

It seems like Armand in the show didn’t truly believe Daniel loved him. (They have a really wild relationship where Daniel will run away and come back begging for him back and Armand welcoming him with open arms over and over until Daniel finally accepts that he’s in love with Armand too). But Daniel DID love him. Just as much as Armand loved (and STILL loves- because he always will) Daniel. So instead of watching him be chronically suicidal and trying everything to get Armand to turn him he wiped Daniel’s memories thinking they wouldn’t come back. Thinking Daniel could live a normal human life without him.

From what I can see of the preview it seems like Armand and Louis had broken up long ago. Most likely after the first interview in the 70s (I’m pretty sure it’s similar in the book - Louis ends up leaving Armand once Armand tells him Lestat is still alive and he didn’t die in the theatre fire). Hence, Armand saying “I know where he is.” in the promo for 2x05.

That’s when Daniel and Armand fully happen. But in the show instead of turning Daniel he wipes his memories and tries to let him live a normal life because he loves him.

Now Lestat and Louis break up and get back together like ten fucking times in the books and Louis when he isn’t with Lestat always goes off alone or he goes to Armand. Lestat and Armand eventually come to love each other and have a mutual understanding and respect for one another - it takes a while, believe me. Lestat KNOWS he can trust Armand with Louis. That Armand loves Louis too.

What I’m thinking is going on… is some of the events of Merrick have already happened where Louis seeks out Claudia’s diaries and her spirit to try to bring peace to himself. Instead it makes it MUCH MUCH worse. To the point that Louis goes forward with killing himself by burning himself to ashes (Lestat does bring him back don’t worry). But since I think the full Akasha storyline hasn’t happened yet I feel like humans would’ve noticed that (hence the great conversion cause she ends up killing like 90% of the Vamp population…) I think what is actually happening is Louis is trying to kill himself. He’s actively trying by getting Daniel to write this book for vampires to come after him and kill him (hence the “you’re chronicling a suicide”). His depression and despair is getting worse and worse as season 2 goes on, outwardly crying to Daniel thanking him for helping him remember.

I’m not sure if Louis in Dubai knows that Lestat is alive… he certainly doesn’t during the first interview.

Armand is a complicated character and he means well (yes he does do some fucked up shit in the books- some to do with Claudia- I don’t know if they’ll have THAT part in the show). But Armand does love Louis. He feels guilt for what happened with Claudia and he will do ANYTHING to make it up to Louis. To the point of letting Louis walk all over him (he’s had a fucked up human life and vampire life, let my boy live). I have a feeling, since Lestat’s lawyer in Paris mentioned it to Louis that Lestat has gone to sleep. They do that sometimes. Bury themselves underground and sleep- sometimes for decades. If that is the case I’m not exactly sure what happened between them for Lestat to do that but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

What I think happened after the first interview? Armand was trying to protect Louis from himself. There are obvious signs of schizophrenia in Louis and they’ve been hinting at it since season one with the Paul/Bird symbolism. Louis has blackouts. He’s had them even before he and Claudia tried to kill Lestat- that’s why I think we’re getting a revisit to the fight in 1x05 and to Claudia’s turning into a vampire. Either that or we are going to get it from Lestat himself at the trial in Paris (cause yes, the real Lestat is there).

Armand was not lying when he said he protects Louis from himself. That Louis acts out sometimes. The photos of all the men I believe some of them are Louis’ victims from his blackouts. We’ve already seen a glimpse of one incident in season 2 with the man in the park and Louis leaving his dead body there. Armand has suppressed Louis’ memories of what happened in Paris. What happened with Claudia. Probably half because he doesn’t want Louis to run off without Lestat able to care for him and partly because he’s trying to prevent Louis from hurting more people viciously and then going into a guilt spiral.

Louis did know what happened to Claudia at one point… but I think it was making him so suicidal that maybe Armand and Lestat together decided it was best to have his memories suppressed so that he wouldn’t hurt himself. But now? Now Lestat is god knows where and Armand is barely holding onto control. Louis is lashing out at him. He’s lashing out at Daniel. The memories are flooding back and Louis is slowly remembering… not just what happened to Claudia… not just what Armand did… but the probably hundreds or thousands of gruesome deaths he’s caused during his blackout episodes. Including the blackout episode he had with Daniel in 1973.

Now speaking of 1973, Armand was trying even then to keep Louis’ schizophrenia and blackouts at bay. He was suppressing memories that triggered Louis - half because he didn’t want to lose Louis but I also think he genuinely was doing it for Louis’ own sanity. But then Louis goes seeking out someone who will let him speak about it and help bring those memories back - Daniel.

Armand may just think Daniel is another fuck and run, I have a feeling ever since Paris - even though Louis barely remembers it - honestly, probably before then going by the fuckboi tendencies Louis was displaying toward Armand in the last episode, he probably fucks around a lot and Armand lets him. Mostly because he’s trying desperately to make it up to Louis. As I said, he’s desperate to make it up to Louis.

So Armand says okay fine, have your fun. And Louis goes with Daniel. But what Armand DOESN’T know is that Louis isn’t going with Daniel for (or JUST for) sex. He wants him to help him remember. That’s the WHOLE POINT of the interview. Armand doesn’t know about it. The first interview happens…. And then? Daniel pisses Louis off. He triggers him off by asking him to turn him. And Louis blacks out and attacks.

Armand shows up mid attack to find Louis with the boy he spent ALL NIGHT WITH doing GOD KNOWS WHAT and he immediately thinks Louis is trying to replace him with someone else. He gets jealous. Again, he doesn’t know about the interview yet.

Louis blacked out and by that time its morning. Armand probably walked in on him (trying to be like - you’re going to get hurt if you don’t find a safe spot it’s morning!) feeding on Daniel and being burned through the sunlight coming in the window. Armand has jealousy issues. I can’t blame the guy he has a huge amount of abandonment issues and being hurt… so of course he immediately jumps to why is Louis spending all night with this boy? What is so special about this boy that he’ll spend time with him all night but he won’t even look at me the same anymore (since Claudia).

Louis has to hide from the sun… And that’s when Armand jealously curious about this human boy and why Louis is apparently so open with him from what he seen at the bar. He tries to get inside Daniel’s head. “Is that what makes you so FASCINATING?” “Leave him be Armand!”

At some point - with all this mind fuckery which of course is essentially torture and poor Daniel is probably half horny half scared to death - iykyk - Armand sees the tape. He plays it. This isn’t about the boy at all. It’s about LESTAT.

It’s always been about Lestat.

Upset (and rightly so - imagine being with someone for that long thinking they loved you and meanwhile they were still pining for their ex) he has a bit of a meltdown…. And when he calms down enough… he’s defeated and tells Louis the truth. That Lestat is alive and “I know where he is.”

Now… Armand… who is a stickler for the vampire laws… knows he’s tortured this boy… knows this boy can’t living knowing that vampires exist. Because he’s seen into his head he knows there’s pain there. Daniel is an addict for a reason though I don’t think Armand knows the reason at that point… but since he knows the boy MUST DIE because you cannot tell a human about vampires and let them live… he offers him a peaceful death. “I’m the quiet you’ve been longing for”

Daniel agrees. The kid is tired, he probably has childhood trauma hence the drug addiction. He was just attacked by one Vampire and tortured by the other.

Armand starts to drain him… and then?

I think Armand sees himself in Daniel. Whatever it is (I’m not 100% sure - maybe abuse of some kind) stops Armand from killing him. He’s found someone who understands.

He gets Louis (partly burned from the sun) to help him carry Daniel out. Not sure if they take him to a hospital or where they take him but afterwards Louis leaves Armand and goes looking for Lestat.

That’s when Devils Minion happens.

Armand and Daniel somehow fall in love. And a decade later he has to wipe Daniel’s memories because Daniel will not stop until he’s either dead literally or a vampire so he can be with Armand. Or so he says, Armand thinks.

Now fast forward and we have Louis self destructing. Armand trying to hold the pieces together… Louis brings Daniel in not remembering he almost killed the guy and thinking, “Well he can help me get these memories back… i know he’s Armand’s ex and he (Daniel) is missing memories too. maybe if I get his memories back we can help each other”

That’s why Louis keeps bringing things up. Daniel’s mind has filled in a decade of his life with a wife and daughter that probably don’t even exist. (I know, I know Alice is Armand theory… but the farther we get the more it makes sense). Louis is PURPOSEFULLY triggering memories to come back in Daniel so he can help HIM remember too. Armand (until last episode I think) was so focused on keeping Louis together and trying to protect him that he doesn’t even realize that Daniel is remembering him.

Until 2x04.

Daniel brings up the fire.

Armand tries to read his mind to see where he got the information from.

And he sees a flash of himself watching TV in the 70s. And that’s when he realizes Daniel DID love him. If Daniel didn’t why would he be getting flashes of Armand. Not of Louis and the first interview… not of Louis attacking him… no, he’s getting flashes of Armand.

Then he remembers that he suppressed Louis’ memory of everything to do with Claudia’s death (Louis’ main trigger). Louis confused: “the fire?”

As Daniel’s memories come back… so do Louis’. However the more Louis remembers the more unstable he’ll become. I think at a certain point when he remembers everything the suicidal part of him with reach a climax… he’ll snap. Blackout with Daniel in a parallel of what happened in 1973. And Armand is going to have no choice but to save Daniel. I feel like Lestat will sense this happening and I feel like it’ll be the PERFECT segue for present time Lestat. Now will Daniel be hurt badly? I’m not sure. Will Armand have no choice but to change him because Louis hurt him too much, maybe tried to drain him to “get back” at Armand after realizing what was happening?

Is that why Jacob is scared we may hate Louis by the end of the season? I feel like if it was just Louis trying to walk into the sun that comment wouldn’t make sense.

If he tries to hurt Daniel though…..

[dykekingofhell]

Season 2x08 Thoughts (pt 1?): Armand

My biggest gripe with the finale (which also had a lot I loved) is the "twist" that it was Lestat who saved Louis at the trial rather than Armand and that Armand intended for Louis to die. I'll preface this by saying that I was not going into this episode deluded into thinking Armand isn't a monstrous creature. Hell, going into season 2 I was really hoping to see the frankenclaudia experiment as described in The Vampire Armand on screen. I also was looking forward to Louis and Armand's divorce; their simple separation after years of them both retreating inwards becoming shells of people, barely speaking to each other but being too cowardly to leave for 70 years is one of the fascinating parts of the book to me.

Yes, Armand always directed the play (in the book's case scripted Lestat in the trial), but his motivations have been greatly altered in the show in a way that feels less compelling and to a degree flattening, of course, though this is impacted by personal taste. In the book(s) Armand's actions during the trial (and beforehand psychically manipulating Louis to turn Madeleine) are done out of a warped perception of love in part based in ownership and isolation. Armand views Claudia as he does most others that he does not love, as an insignificant pawn, in this case, an obstacle for Louis' "growth" and and obstacle in the way of their relationship. He genuinely believes that by enacting the cruelty of Claudia and Madeleine's deaths he can isolate Louis into loving him entirely. He states plainly before the trial (when it's already been set in motion):

"She's an era for you, an era of your life. If and when you break with her, you break with the only one alive who has shared that time with you. You fear that, the isolation of it, the burden, the scope of eternal life." (pg 221)

and after the trial:

"I used to believe you would get over it, that when the pain of all of it left you, you would grow warm again and filled with love, and filled with that wild and insatiable curiosity with which you first came to me, that inveterate conscience, and that hunger for knowledge that brought you all the way to Paris to my cell. I thought it was a part of you that couldn't die. And I thought that when the pain was gone you would forgive me for what part I played in her death. She never loved you know. Not in the way that I loved you, and the way that you loved us both. I knew this! I understood it! And I believed I would gather you to me and hold you. And time would open to us, and we would be the teachers of one another. All the things that gave you happiness would give me happiness; and I would be the protector of your pain. My power would be your power." (pg 260)

Armand is desperate for Louis (bringer of change, embodying the 19th century) to continue to love him past their early infatuation to be Armand's new window into the world and a replacement for Marius (embodiment of the Renaissance) and Lestat (the 18th century which has already rejected him). His longing for that all-consuming companionship characterized by isolation, manipulation, and ownership becomes most implicitly clear I think when Armand speaks nostalgically about Venice, "I wish I had the artist's power to bring alive for you the Venice of the fifteenth century, my master's palace there, the love I felt for him when I was a mortal boy, and the love he felt for me when he made me a vampire. Oh, if I could make those times come alive for either you or me . . .for only an instant!" (pg 222) (in a way the trial and subsequent isolation IS him trying to make those times come alive)

Ultimately Armand's greatest transgression, the murder of Claudia, is born out of selfish and twisted love for a man (who he has incorrectly perceived as full of endless curiosity and wonder) who he has placed the weight of his world onto. Before the trial even begins he says, "No, I've had to wait and watch for you. And now I'll fight for you. Do you see how ruthless I am in love?" (pg 223)

However, in the show, his transgression is the attempted destruction of LOUIS along with Claudia, and Madeleine. Rather than being born out of selfish love and desire, it is instead born out of Armand's passivity to the status quo (which he clearly wavers on and struggles with as seen by the the Lourve scene, his look of regret outside the restaurant following the judas kiss, and his eventual taking Louis from the coffin). But to me, this aspect of Armand is just as well commented on and explored in an ending closer to the novel in that an orchestration of the end of the coven or a seeking for connection with the age can not be done through himself but only through another acting as a savior. Another compounding possible motivation for Armand's actions is the belief that Louis does not love him and never will love him in the way he needs, and this is him cutting his losses by preserving the coven. This would fit well with the look of guilt and regret outside the restaurant as it immediately follows confirmation from Madeleine that Louis does in fact love him but is withholding. His look could be read as a realization of miscalculation. However, frankly, I don't think that this angle is really explored or built up strongly within the season. And I think that's at least in part because I don't think that their dynamic and its strengths and flaws in the Paris era had enough room to breathe this season. In the last few episodes, their relationship in that era felt to some degree sloppily ill-defined. Ultimately I think that not enough was gained in the twist when it caused Armand's ruthless love to be lost.

Also, I HEAVILY dislike that the reveal comes by way of the Talamasca rather than organic probing from Daniel and Louis leading to a confession from Armand. (I honestly haven't loved most of the Talamasca use this season in general and think the organization is better suited to show up in more general investigative work like with Jesse Reeves in the books rather than in the context of interfering with the interview which felt much more intimate and contained without it). I find Armand's admission of his role in the trial to Louis in the book born out of an attempt to bait Louis into feeling SOMETHING even if it was rage at him after decades of them both living in monotonous misery infinitely more interesting than Daniel being given a file with the answers. I don't think that the reveal needed to play out exactly like in the novel, but if they were going to change it, I wish it had been to another equally strong character moment instead of Talamasca bullshit. Part of me wishes that this season had had another episode because the finale just had so much it needed to include and balance that this cop-out almost feels as if it was born out of necessity to keep everything within runtime.

Anyways, I adored the burning the coven segment, I'm happy Daniel's a vampire, and I really liked the Loustat reunion scene even if I don't love how we got there. I didn't originally intend to post any thoughts on the episode until after my second watch later tn with some friends but it was plaguing my mind so this is the initial ramble. Might have more to say late tn or tomorrow.

[onlylove4louis]

Claudia is Schrodinger's Cat...

This post is just a musing, while I wait for permission from one of my favorite Blogs, to link one of their posts within the next one I have planned... But this is something I've thought of before, but have been really thinking about lately.

Claudia is Shrodinger's Cat, and for those of you who don't know what that means, or who or what that is:

So, this was a "thought experiment" (not a literal thing that was done) by/from Erwin Shrodinger, in 1935; this is the best "simple" version of it that I could find, in under 5mins:

A cat, along with a flask containing a poison and a radioactive source, and a radiation counter or detector... is placed in a sealed box shielded against environmentally induced quantum decoherence. When the internal Geiger counter detects radiation, the flask is shattered, releasing the poison that kills the cat. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. Yet, when we look in the box, we see the cat either alive or dead, not both alive and dead.

The parts that are the main takaway(s) or key word/lines or ideas, are;

"A cat, along with a flask and a radioactive source, is placed in a sealed box"

Radiation causes the flask to be shattered, releasing poison, that kills the cat.

So the cat is "simultaneously alive and dead"; it is one or the other, but because it is sealed in a box and the moment that the poison is released is not known, there is no way of confirming whether it is one or the other... until you open the box. And because either are possible, it must be believed that it is both. Until you open the box.

The radiation will cause the flask to shatter, the poison will kill the cat; The cat's death is inevitable

Because there is an influx of new fans to the series (Netflix, only S1), I am going to put the rest of this post under the cut, as it contains spoilers. For those of you who haven't yet seen S2, and don't want this spoiled. Which also acts as your warning, S2 SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT:

Now the idea I'm getting at, is: Claudia is the cat, Vampirism/the Dark Gift, is the radiation. Louis, is the radiation counter/detector. Lestat/Armand, are the flask. And love is the poison (or desire if you will, possession, etc). The Rue Royale/Theatre de Vampire is the box... and the inevitability is ultimately her death/destruction... Claudia is brought to them "dead" and through death/Vampirism, Claudia is given "life". She is "locked" in the rue royale, she is locked in the theatre, and her death is inevitable, but it's unknown when the poison will be released. And she'll die... she is both dead and alive.

Louis brings her home -Lestat turns her-/Louis brings her to the theatre -Armand accepts her into his coven- (the box)... Radiation(Vampirism) sets off the counter(Louis), the vial(Lestat/Armand) is shattered and the poison(their love, desire, possession for and of Louis) is released. Claudia dies...

-- Now this is about to hurt for those of you who really love Claudia, as I'm adding gifs. So those of you who are triggered by her abuse, pain, or execution/death please do what's right for you, and skip the rest. (gif spam)

Claudia lives:

Claudia dies

Claudia lives

Claudia dies

Claudia lives

Claudia dies

Claudia lives

Claudia dies

Claudia LIVES

Claudia dies

Claudia lives

Claudia dies

Claudia lives

Claudia dies

God was she ALIVE

But you can't know if the cat is either alive or dead, until you open the box. And...

[dreaming-for-an-escape]

daniel not yet being a vampire wouldn't really work with the book already being out right? like we see him on his book promo tour. i guess it had been a few months already so he could have been turned between the book being released and the tv interview in the finale, but idk what louis said about leaving him alone wouldn't really fit. and i thought the cough sounded fake on purpose so daniel trying to trick lestat could work. or maybe he'd pretending to be sick so he can eventually "die" as a human. could even be used for like promo for his documentary. the last thing renowed journalist daniel molloy did before succumbing to his mystery illness. that would bring in viewers

Louis said Armand turned Daniel out of spite, but that’s simply not true. Anyone who’s read Queen of the Damned and are huge Devil’s Minions fans know Armand wouldn’t have turned Daniel out of hatred. Daniel is his only fledgling, and he made Daniel into a vampire because he simply couldn’t let him die.

I’m hoping we get a flashback scene of the moment Armand turned Daniel. I personally think it happened months after Daniel left Dubai, and after he released his book. Prior to that Armand more than likely made his presence known in Daniel’s regular life, going back to stalking him. Because that’s just Armand’s way of saying, “I love you.”

[wouriqueen]

2x06 thoughts - part 3 - Armand & co

He needed a whole section for himself because he's a freak

Masterclass of playing of the victim

"I can't do anything about the coven." "I'm protecting myself from Daniel Molloy." He's so funny and evil. The audacity the manipulation the lies. It's to the point where I might have to subscribe to the idea that he's got to believe some of what he's saying. Otherwise it's too big.

Armand and Claudia

"Thank you for never treating me like a child" + Claudia apologizing to Armand... Despite her fear of being put aside by Louis for Armand, and her resentment at Louis endangering her for the sake of his relationship with Armand, Claudia has always made sure to show respect for Armand and his position. She did her job. She spoke up respectfully. Stuff she didn't even owe him considering he strangled her and threatened to kill her over literally nothing. She went to him to get approval for turning Madeleine. When they meet again with Madeleine and Louis, she apologizes to him for the conflict he went through with the coven, even though that was mainly about Louis, and even though it started way before she even had any idea of turning anyone or going anywhere.

And right after that apology he lets her get kidnapped and killed. Just like her apology to Lestat was met with ugly mockery and eventually assault :(

"She's worth having" not the objectification.

"You'll come together again" (about Louis and Claudia) I know he believed that and I know that's why he let her die. Because he didn't want that. I know it.

"It's forbidden, Claudia doesn't want his (Lestat's) blood" Says the guy who called her Claudia de Lioncourt!!! And he's so disrespectful, saying that to Louis' face even though Louis was there when he called her that (and I liked that he defended her). Now you respect her wishes to not be associated with Lestat?

There's so many more hypocritical moments in general but I might just list them in another post.

Armand and Louis

Louis sick and tired of "Yes, Maître" My absolute favorite scene is at the park when Louis asks Armand to witness Madeleine turning, Armand tries to turn it into a "Maître" situation, and Louis immediately shuts down. He does kind of play into it with a nonchalant order but he also makes it clear he dislikes it. He just wanted to ask his boyfriend for a favor... He's already tired of having to play that game every time he asks for something that matters to him and they haven't even left Paris! Armand apologizes, but does he truly understand?

Not to mention, given the nasty looks Louis was throwing Madeleine before the bite, I'm sure he felt lonely. Having Armand by his side would have eased the feeling of loss (as Claudia said, "to get something you must lose something" but what he was getting didn't show up).

Armand moving in. I know Claudia herself wasn't really living at the apartment anymore but the way Armand moved in as soon as she left town aghdjshuis

Daniel spelling it out. Too bad that it had to be done that way for people to get it, but I'm glad Daniel pointed out how Armand's submission to Louis was only when it was convenient to him. It was always obvious. Hopefully the bad discourse around it dies down!

Armand, Louis and Daniel

Vampire apologies and dubious alliances. Armand apologizes to Daniel for the memory edit. He has to be prompted to apologize about the attempted murder. He does not apologize for the torture. Daniel is holding onto the shared outrage and the connection he found with Louis earlier, and at first they're kind of a team, but in the end it's not quite going as planned.

Poor Daniel is about to find out what it really feels like to sit on the outskirts of Louis' relationships. He better re-read those diaries for reference...

Vampire hackers and the Talamasca. WHAT is going on with that though? Armand asking about the suddenly encrypted laptop means he regularly snoops around in there, no? And why is he asking Rashid about Daniel's outing as if he can't read both their minds. He knows for sure. But why not just come out with it?

Anyway those were my thoughts, I loved the episode.

2x06 thoughts - part 1 - Madeleine & co

2x06 thoughts - part 2 - Claudia & Louis

[nalyra-dreaming]

'''Never make one as young as Armand''

He absolutely didn't listen to this one and it comes back to bite him.

Okay I need to read those books I thought I could skip and only watch the show but I feel like the show won't go in dept in some stories.

Oh yes, and he knows that he shouldn't have made Claudia! It's why he never blamed her for the attempt on his life either.

Was it inevitable that she who would never have a woman's form would strike out at the demon father who condemned her to the body of a little china doll? I should have listened to Marius's warning. I should have stopped for one moment to reflect on it as I stood on the edge of that grand and intoxicating experiment: to make a vampire of "the least of these. " I should have taken a deep breath. But you know, it was like playing the violin for Akasha. I wanted to do it. I wanted to see what would happen, I mean, with a beautiful little girl like that! Oh, Lestat, you deserve everything that ever happened to you. You'd better not die. You might actually go to hell. But why was it that for purely selfish reasons, I didn't listen to some of the advice given me? Why didn't I learn from any of them-Gabrielle, Armand, Marius? But then, I never have listened to anyone, really. Somehow or other, I never can. And I cannot say even now that I regret Claudia, that I wish I had never seen her, nor held her, nor whispered secrets to her, nor heard her laughter echoing through the shadowy gaslighted rooms of that all too human town house in which we moved amid the lacquered furniture and the darkening oil paintings and the brass flowerpots as living beings should. Claudia was my dark child, my love, evil of my evil. Claudia broke my heart. And on a warm sultry night in the spring of the year 1860, she rose up to settle the score. She enticed me, she trapped me, and she plunged a knife over and over again into my drugged and poisoned body, until almost every drop of the vampiric blood gushed out of me before my wounds had the precious few seconds in which to heal. I don't blame her. It was the sort of thing I might have done myself.

I... think the show will go in depth for some things still - but probably, for Lestat and Claudia for example, in s3. We are on POVs after all - which, btw, the books are as well. Some are Louis', a lot are Lestat's, some switch POVs. I think the show used that beautifully.

If you should sit down to read - enjoy! :) There's... everything and the kitchen sink in those books^^

[dxxtruction]

Another post on Armand's decisions because I need to just write down my incoherant thoughts.

I think Armand didn't care what happened with Claudia and Madeleine in the slightest, they could've ran off together or burned and he wouldn't care. Honestly, it seemed he'd been trying to get Louis to feel the same way. He always saw them as a doomed inevitability, but this can not be said the same with Louis.

Fact is there's a conflation of motivations that doesn't make a lot of sense if Armand had no intention or desire to ever save Louis. Yet maybe the point is Armand couldn't even make complete sense of his own motivations himself. He didn’t want anyone to die I don’t think, his allegiances were everywhere to the point he only really had himself. He couldn't tell Louis no, he couldn't tell the coven no either. Pulled in two directions up to the very end. He needed the coven appeased, the coven he never wanted but wouldn’t wish death upon, what he wanted was Louis, while the coven wanted him and his little family dead. Then it comes to it that he could have Louis, but at a cost that they go through with a trial. The trial he directed. So then it's about how Louis could die after a brief happiness or he could find a way to save him - through being close to the whole thing maybe. He's still directing the trial when it comes time. And to that point he may not have known what to do to save him, so just play into it. But I think he'd have still desired being a savior, cause Louis is what he really chose. He maybe legitimately just didn't know if he could be.

And, I don't think he could.

Him being powerful enough to prevent it all is an assumption we've just taken to heart because he has proven capable of a lot. I think Armand's aware of his power - he kept the coven at bay for as long as he can with it - but I think he's also aware of its limits. If thirteen bloodthirsty vampires all came after him, a lot like what had happened with Marius who was also incredibly powerful and ancient, I think he's in his mind that he couldn't take that on. Especially if he'd never desired killing anyone. It stands to also reason these limits are such that he probably couldn't have controlled the entire audience the way Lestat did. Maybe memory is being wacky and he tried as we saw, but it was Lestat who really succeeded, one upping him. Or maybe he'd just given up the hope for it and so it came as a complete surprise.

You also have to think about how beholden the laws are to the coven. Armand's been at the point where he kind of doesn't care for them, or at least he's become lenient and curious about the alternative when it comes to Louis, but the coven is founded on their principles or it wouldn't hold together. So, it's either to dissolve if Louis and Claudia, and Madeleine were to all show the laws can be broken without consequence. Or be mutiny, which is what did happen, and so if he doesn't let those happen then no one lives not even him. This is something that Armand has in mind when going through with it, I'm sure. Still plotting some way to save Louis, but he isn't powerful enough to sway the inevitable, so he figures he has to go along to at least save himself. If anything happens he wants to end up alive.

This may be the reason he needs the coven to keep existing, even though he hates it, it offers him something that's more written in stone, something guaranteed to last so long as consequences are had. It does pain him to do this but the coven was holding the keys to his very life over his head (Which I'd argue makes this whole thing a lack of a choice) and he'd rather stick to his life being miserable than die along with them. Much as Armand really wants love he'd feel safer in this 'forever' thing. I think he's being truthful when he says this.

I think it's truthful as well he was degraded with Santiago's take over, he wasn't secretly leading anything by the time the play was happening. 'The choice' was something Armand felt building he just didn't know when or how it would happen. Santiago being the one to come up with the plan in secret which included trapping Armand to join them or not seems to fit. 'we can kill you now or you can make yourself useful, your choice.' That could've happened at any moment but I think the night Madeleine is turned is probably when they confronted him. Santiago wanted control from Armand so he gets him where it hurts most, forcing a betrayal he wouldn't be able to refuse. Of course he could've tried to fight back, and he did say he could've, but of course there's just this large part of him who would love to be debased from leadership. It's sort of an easy choice to go along and keep going along, when it does debase him, he does get his love as he always wanted him for even just a short while, and ultimately he will live. I don't think he fought very hard. I don't think he found it in himself to.

I think he rides so hard on the he could not prevent it train because he never actually acted to know whether or not he really could've, adamantly believing at the time he couldn't. Coming only to regret it later that he hadn't done enough. He saw how actually easy it was to take the whole coven out when Louis did it, and knew from then on he probably could've done something. He'd rather say anything until it's true instead of be honest with what he really knows.

It may be true as well though that when this play was first conceived, and through rehearsal, he may have been of the shared opinion Claudia and Madeleine would be better out of the picture. Not for laws but selfish reasons. Which would be just another layer of sway over his choice, maybe even another reason why he took the role in it that he did. It was personal to him, he felt Claudia was a lot to blame for things turning out like this. So if he couldn't say no to it, at least he'll exact his little revenge for how Claudia had to go and ruin everything. But again I don't think he actually cared so long as neither of them were being disruptive to his life. Awful thing is he probably thought up till it was too late that they would be. If he really could've prevented anything it was to not let his own spite rule him so much, maybe then he would've prevented a whole lot more.

Now clearly none of this is justified, there was a heavy amount of coercion but I think Armand is very much to be held responsible for what went on in Paris, and his own actions to take part in this as closely as he had were deplorable. His inaction culpable. He's responsible for all the lies and manipulation that took place as a part of this too. And thereafter.

Anyway stay away from cults.