#We're getting Louis' POV of it in Season 2

[cbrownjc]

Exactly. I also said here what I think Louis will specifically see from Lestat at the moment that I think the bloodied Lestat image is from, which, IMO will be when they reach the upstairs area.

But yes, the way that fight went, there was no way Lestat didn't get any blood on him before they reached the upstairs area. One thing we are for sure going to see is that, before they got upstairs, the fight was evenly matched. We can even hear Lestat say before they get to the upstairs area, that he is trying to hold back.

So no, IMO, it was always clear that, before they reached the upstairs area, it wasn't just a one-sided beatdown that was going on. You could tell that by what was being said between them before that.

Again, when it came to the actual main parts of the fight, we didn't see anything of it because Claudia didn't see anything of it. The whole thing was told from her POV. So she never would have actually seen Lestat in this state, particularly when they went upstairs.

And what she did see of them both at the end of the fight probably would have had her more focused on Louis' condition than Lestat's. And her not even noticing (or caring really) if Lestat wasn't actually as pristine-looking by the end of it.

But yes, I agree that Lestat got bruised and bloodied in that fight too because yes, it doesn't make any sense that he wouldn't have been, particularly because we know he was holding back in that fight up to a point.

And that point was specifically before they reached the upstairs area.

It was when they reached upstairs that everything switched. And, again, I think this season, showing things from Louis' POV, is when we'll see what caused that switch to happen.

This fight was always a planned thing by the writers/showrunners, not something just done for shock value. That was clear to me, at least, back when it first happened because the majority of it was shot and shown from only Claudia's POV in Season 1. They were purposefully not showing us Lois and Lestat's POV of it. Because they were always planning to revisit it in Season 2 from Louis' POV. And I feel rather confident we'll revisit it once again in Season 3 from Lestat's POV.

And the POV shifts are all about revealing things we didn't know (or notice) beforehand. It was never about revealing that the fight didn't happen or that Louis or Claudia were lying about it (just like the writers said they weren't). It's just revealing more contextual things such as this, that the fight wasn't as one-sided at first. A switch happened at some point, upstairs, when it became that. But at first no, Lestat was holding back, trying to restrain himself, just as we heard him say he was. Hence, the blood.

So lestat with a bloodied fresh face. do you think that is paris during the trail cuz he looks pissed as f?

No I think that is Louis‘ POV of episode 5.

There are many discrepancies in the “fight“ in episode 5, and I‘m not getting into the details now. But Lestat floating after, pristinely, not a hair out of place, was definitely one of them.

[blackgirlsuperherorants]

IWTV rant incoming, spoilers for both seasons, be forewarned!

I've been seeing far too much Louis hate online recently, and while I'm of the opinion that none of these vamps are completely innocent by nature, I can't help but notice the disproportionate hate on my boy.

Honestly, it feels a little like fandom racism. And I think AMC IWTV fans have convinced themselves that they're beyond such things because of Jacob and Assad, but idk, everyone turning on the Black one at once seems... yucky?

First, I've seen a lot of "Louis is an abuser". Which... is a wild take on a show where most of the main characters hurt everyone around them?

I think some of it is coming from those who saw the episode in season 2 in which it is revealed that the big fight that Louis and Lestat had in S1 was more even than just Lestat beating up Louis, but y'all... we're not supposed to take S1 as a complete fabrication. A lot of y'all keep saying "oh, we haven't met the real Lestat." Sure, not in person and not from his POV until that ending, but we're not supposed to take it as Louis just lying outright. In the series, different from the books, OUR Louis calls Daniel back in 2022 to give him a more accurate version of the story. In the 1970s, he was just trash-talking Lestat. In 2022, he is remembering Lestat fondly while also remembering all the pain Lestat caused him. He only learns at the end of the season that Armand manipulated some of his memories. And only SOME. We're not supposed to think Armand made Louis misremember everything he and Lestat ever did together. So, we can take S1 as a version of the truth, even if it has some holes or misremembered parts... and in S1, Lestat is a scary guy. When Louis fought him, he was fighting a scary monster. You can't talk about it like he was a human man fighting his human partner because he got a little angry. He was a vampire fighting an even stronger vampire who, as far as Louis knew, was capable of awful things. And Lestat stalked Louis when he was still a human, fed on him without consent, killed the priests Louis turned to in fear... none of that was healthy courtship of a lover. To then turn around and call LOUIS the abuser? That's nuts.

And then there's Armand.

Armand is capable of great physical violence without even lifting a finger. You cannot look at me in the face and tell me that Louis slamming him into a wall was *abuse* after finding out that Armand mindfucked him for 70 years. After y'all saw what Armand did to Daniel. After Armand plotted Louis' death while manipulating Louis into thinking he was loved.

"Louis is an abuser" is a wild take after watching both of those seasons. Louis isn't an innocent princess, either, but compared to the two older vampires, he is the main victim of the story. Both Lestat and Armand emotionally abused him, manipulated him, and physically hurt him, and after all of it, he just ends up alone.

Now, believe me, I love Armand and Lestat. I think they're wonderfully awful people, and so much fun to watch, so fun to love, so fun to hate. But I think so many people left season 2 on their sides completely, just because Louis stood up for himself AND admitted that he was wrong about a lot of what he thought he remembered. And in all honesty, I think a lot of y'all like Sam and Assad because they're hot and... Jacob, while hot, is still Black. With Assad, you can give yourselves the benefit of the doubt because he's still a person of color, but he's a non-black person of color...

And Black people are not afforded softness or innocence, the way non-black people are. So, Louis doing something that's not good makes him not good, even if it's in the context of being a vampire. But Lestat and Armand get "brat prince" and "baby girl" even when they're cruel.

And also, it's not great to put the "abuser" label on someone standing up to their abuser. I dunno. Feels kinda yucky, in that sense, too.

Personally, I try to keep these people's vampire incarnations out of human morality, because being a vampire is inherently immoral because you need to kill to stay alive. So, like, when they physically fight, I can excuse it because they know they can't actually do much harm for the most part, because vampires heal fast and can't be easily hurt. But when... idk, you drop your fledgling from an extreme height, or cut someone's ankles and have them buried in rocks and locked away in a mausoleum... that's actually trying to hurt them (as Lestat admitted.)

And Louis' attempt to kill Lestat was because he and Claudia feared him. None of them disagree with that fact.

Anyway, have the same grace for the Black man that you do for your brat prince. Idk why y'all are trying to make Louis the bad guy. He never even asked to be a vampire. Lestat just wanted to keep him.

[ca-suffit]

No offense to Sam but the way he's been talking about Lestat lately is ... troubling, to say the least. He did an interview with Screenrant and he legit said that Lestat's abuse of Louis was "probably not as violent an act as Louis made it out to be in season 1." That's a direct quote, by the way. I understand that a lot of Lestat fans have their rose-colored glasses on and they're not the only ones, sure. However, when you have the actor saying things like this, are we really surprised Lestat fans are just as willing to turn a blind eye and act as if he's this innocent beacon of sunshine whose word is the gospel truth? I can't include links but you can search up Sam Reid and Screenrant on Google and the article should pop up.

ya, I've seen that quote (article and text at the bottom of this post).

if this fandom was full of critical thinkers the way ppl always luv to claim, we'd be able to discuss these things and even say maybe these actors say dumb, harmful shit sometimes. assigning sam reid the new role of anne rice stand in, coming from ppl who already have an unhealthy relationship with her, usually going back decades, is why trying to do anything here is p useless.

this fandom will never know peace bcuz instead of focusing on the fact harm was done, racist fandom has to keep digging and victim blaming black characters bcuz how could the white character do this, it's ooc, it's bad writing, it's not what anne rice would have done (except she did lol but there's always an excuse for why that doesn't count).

there's a lot of things the fandom could be talking about but instead it's gonna be tossing this quote up forever as "the truth" and it's gonna be like 50 year olds in the fandom doing it too. embarrassing tbh.

One of my favorite moments in the episode is Lestat apologizing over the cloud gift move from last season. It's powerful and moving, and yet so frustrating because the trial carries on like nothing after. Can you talk about playing that scene with Jacob?

Sam Reid: Yeah, I think we kind of had to make sure it [landed]. I don't want it to be like, "Yeah, but actually, it's not such a big deal. He apologized, and it's over now," which is what Claudia said. It's probably not as violent an act as Louis made it out to be in season 1, but I think the fact that Lestat did something to him that is so out of his nature was driven by the extent to which they love each other.

Lestat was driven to the point that he didn't fully even recognize himself, and he saw from his own hands an action that was unforgivable. You've physically hurt the person that you love so much that you no longer feel like you deserve to be with them. He knew that, and I think the thing is that he realized that as soon as he's done that, he also has to die.

In terms of working on that scene with Jacob, I think it's important for us to acknowledge that this is not the end. Do you know what I mean? This is not the finality of that beat. Louis doesn't forgive him at that moment, and Lestat sees that. He can't look at him that much during the trial, but there's another moment when Lestat looks at him and all he sees is pure hate in Louis' gaze. "He's never going to forgive me." But he doesn't flip back to just doing the trial — he still wants to save him, you know what I mean? He's got to just hurry the proceedings up, get through the f--king thing, and stick to his script.

That definitely is also when I feel like we get into that silhouetted, mirage version of the trial. I think that's when we're in full-blown POV bulls--t of how it actually went.

[avelera]

I saw the IWTV finale early thanks to a kind soul sharing it with me!

A few (spoiler-y) thoughts:

Really interesting how they reimagined and framed the ending of this take on IWTV with Louis and Lestat mourning Claudia together. It feels like Justice For Claudia in many ways, it feels like a fitting homage to the origins of Claudia's character (the dead of Anne Rice's daughter from leukemia as a child), and in general was just a really interesting way to sort of give this closure the book never did and also use it to realistically allow them both to push forward past their toxic and abuse past into a somewhat plausible healed future.

It was also a decent reminder, to me, that these are vampires. These characters live forever. I would not condone Louis/Lestat in real life because life is too short to keep going back to an abusive ex. But these guys are vampires. Do not do as they do. But genuinely 70 years, a human lifetime, is realistically long enough to say, "Hey, we're new people now, we've learned and suffered a lot, we lost our daughter and it was fucked up. Maybe all we have is each other." And make peace with each other on that front.

BUT NOW I'M WONDERING HOW WE GET ROCKSTAR LESTAT - ok because Louis kind of got Lestat's book motivation for becoming a rockstar? The "Fuck you, come find me," to all the other vampires. Lestat I believe only speculates that as Louis' motivation, but they made it canon (or I could be wrong).

But that was Lestat's motivation for HIS book, making Louis and the others come find him. Since that's been solved with Louis coming to find him (lovely little homage to the IWTV movie with him playing the harpsichord) now I'm wondering if Louis is the one who encourages Lestat to become a rockstar and write down his book.

Thing is, it's not totally contradicted by the book. (SPOILERS) TVL does end with a beat where Louis and Lestat reunite and Louis is kind of his groupie for a bit. Moving that up so Louis is part of Lestat's rise is actually a really lovely touch, it gives them a bit more time together before shit goes down, and I could totally see this version of Louis as Lestat's agent since he's shown to have that business acumen.

Now that Daniel is a vampire (OMG OMG OMG MORE ON THAT IN A SECOND) the risk is no longer so bad for him to come interview Lestat and I'm sure he's salivating to do so and Louis would definitely invite Vampire Daniel to do the interview for Lestat's book, since there's no fear for his safety (or at least, not as much) anymore. And Daniel would jump at the chance. It would be a fabulous framing device, Rockstar Lestat with his agent, Louis, inviting Daniel to interview Lestat for his next book AND it means we get Daniel's snark throughout Lestat's story.

OK SO DANIEL BEING A VAMPIRE. Definitely leaves the door open for past AND present Devil's Minion WITH THE ADDED BONUS of Daniel not going insane after he's turned (likely owed to not being turned while still a drug addled young man so, hey, if there was past Devil's Minion where Armand said no, kudos to him for reading the situation correctly that vampirism would drive young Daniel insane but not Old Man Daniel).

I was SLIGHTLY, SLIGHTLY bummed to see Daniel as a vampire without getting to see the whole Daniel/Armand situation but only slightly. There wasn't enough room in the season, it would have been a distraction, and IMO we can now save it properly for its place in either TVL or QOTD, which I bet are going to be Seasons 3-4 or as many as 3-6 if we stick to 2 seasons per book.

A take on Devil's Minion where past and present Devil's Minion are intertwined would be AMAZING and I've got my fingers crossed that's how they do it. Maybe interweave a bit of Vampire Armand.

I don't think/know if we're going to get a full Vampire Armand season BUT I do believe the show is going to pivot its POV lens to say, hey, everyone's got a point of view, everyone's got a reason. At some point, we're going to get more of Armand's POV and why he did what he did because I imagine his version will be different from Louis', just as Lestat's is, that's the whole basis of the show. And in there maybe we'll get some past Daniel/Armand.

Ok this already got away from me but ANYWAY, those are my thoughts for now.

[savagewildnerness]

“Sam Reid: Yeah, I think we kind of had to make sure it [landed]. I don't want it to be like, "Yeah, but actually, it's not such a big deal. He apologized, and it's over now," which is what Claudia said. It's probably not as violent an act as Louis made it out to be in season 1, but I think the fact that Lestat did something to him that is so out of his nature was driven by the extent to which they love each other.

Lestat was driven to the point that he didn't fully even recognize himself, and he saw from his own hands an action that was unforgivable. You've physically hurt the person that you love so much that you no longer feel like you deserve to be with them. He knew that, and I think the thing is that he realized that as soon as he's done that, he also has to die.

In terms of working on that scene with Jacob, I think it's important for us to acknowledge that this is not the end. Do you know what I mean? This is not the finality of that beat. Louis doesn't forgive him at that moment, and Lestat sees that. He can't look at him that much during the trial, but there's another moment when Lestat looks at him and all he sees is pure hate in Louis' gaze. "He's never going to forgive me." But he doesn't flip back to just doing the trial — he still wants to save him, you know what I mean? He's got to just hurry the proceedings up, get through the f--king thing, and stick to his script.

That definitely is also when I feel like we get into that silhouetted, mirage version of the trial. I think that's when we're in full-blown POV bulls--t of how it actually went.”

What I’ve taken from this interview is that at least by the time “the books start to open in these really chaotic ways” we will have to have memories all sorted…! 🤞

[cbrownjc]

Could you explain why you are ok with ep 5? I hated seeing, yet again, the battered body of a black character beaten to a pulp by his white partner, especially since such violence never happened between Louis and Lestat in the books. While I know white people can't understand and probably couldn't care less, I'm genuinely curious about your take on this.

Hi Anon!

Okay, first I'm sorry this reply back took the long time it did for me to answer it but, aside from wanting to think on it, RL things got in the way too. And then I also got caught up with some other writing I'm doing. And, as I said, I wanted to think this out before I wrote on it.

Now, first of all, it's actually not true wrt the books that Lestat and Louis never fought before. Someone other than myself has taken screenshots of passages in the book ITWV where such fights have happened. So I do not believe that it was out of character at all for them to have even had a fight in such a way, as such things did happen in the books. (And honestly, I didn't think it was OOC for Lestat at the time it happened before people started posting screenshots of the passages in the book that showed them fighting).

What has upset people is how visceral and beaten Louis looked by the end of that fight. (And no one is wrong for feeling that way if they do/did). It is disturbing to see a black man beaten in such a way by his white partner. And I actually don't think the writers were completely unaware of that imagery when they did this either. Not when you take into account the other pointed underlying racial dynamics the show did and highlighted throughout the season, before and after that episode. (From basically all of EP3, to Claudia mocking Louis telepathically with the "massa" talk in EP6.) So no, I do not think they were at all ignorant of the loaded racial imagery in EP5 after that fight.

And whether some views can forgive Lestat for it will be an individual thing, at the end of it all IMO. Some views may never forgive it, and I think that is completely okay. However, for me - and why I not only wasn't that shocked by the fight itself but feel I understand what is going on with it is - is 1.) as said, they did have knock-down fights in the first book, 2.) knowing Lestat does have that level of violence-ability in him as I noted when the episode first aired and 3.) and this is the main point - that there, strategically, some clear missing context going on here wrt that fight.

Because the entirety of that fight never once was told from Louis' POV. Until that moment when Lestat took Louis out into the courtyard and then up into the air, the actual fight itself was all told from Claudia's POV.

And that was clearly a deliberate choice. Not just to highlight what it must have been like for Claudia to witness this but because there is clearly something about that fight that Louis is holding back about. And no, not because he's lying about the fight having happened at all, and him being beaten in such a way. The fight did happen, and Louis did get beaten in the way we saw at the end. Because, again, what we saw of the actual fight was all from Claudia's POV, and Claudia would have no reason to lie about such a thing in her diary, where the account of the fight was clearly taken from.

No, it's because I strongly feel that something was going on during it that I don't think Louis can - even now - really process. And I have a huge suspicion about what it is.

We're now headed into book spoiler territory and I don't know how much you might want those, so I'm going to stop with that here. All I will say is that the pauses in the fight when we heard Lestat's voice talking are very, very important, particularly when it comes to what he's saying.

Part of this, and that fight, has to do with the very nature of what Lestat and Louis, and Claudia all are as vampires. Again, I'm really trying not to spoil anything here, because I suspect the show might reveal some of this in Season 2, particularly wrt Paris and the Theater Coven.

Though I don't think the majority of it will be talked about until Season 3 when we finally get Lestat's POV. And it might even be something that carries on over into multiple seasons.

I understand the POV of people who will never be okay with the fight and the imagery it left wrt Louis. But I really do feel the writers didn't do it without one, knowing how it would look, and two, that there is a larger, overall, story arc point going on here which ties into the fact that we are not dealing with human beings here.

This isn't a story about vampires seeking redemption or a way back to humanity. With Rice's vampires, the longer they live, the more apart from humanity they become. That is, overall, one of the things the VC explores here. And they are all going to continue to do some really inhuman things, at least during these earlier parts of the story, towards people they love.

Over time, even as many of them, especially Lestat, learn better how to deal with that nature, particularly towards those they care about and love, those inhuman things about their nature will still be there.

So I think also having that view, understanding that about these characters, as well as everything else I talked about, (including something I strongly feel they are setting up as to why Lestat acted the way he did), goes into my few of that fight and why, when it happened, I honestly wasn't either surprised by it and am okay and want to see where they go from here with it. This is just all, personally, where I'm coming from it with it of course.

[brsb4hls]

Slightly negative iwtv season 2 (so far) reaction, don't read if you're full on positive:

Ok, so I did start watching iwtv season 2 even though 1 was kinda meh to me (apart from some highlights).

I mean I did make an effort, had to get a new streaming service, watch on my tablet cause tv's not compatable, and so on, so I am clearly interested and not entirely negative.

But I still don't get the huge hype. It's an ok show. But not a masterpiece.

Same goes for the books btw and I have the same feeling now while watching, that I had back when reading.

Louis' pov was kinda exhausting due to his depressed nature. It felt like a relief when the second book switched to Lestat's pov, he's fun at least.

I do like tv Louis more than book Louis, he takes way more control of his life, but his various internal struggles still do not captivate me.

And I feel the show is kinda dragging on.

Also it's way less gory then the first season.

Kinda tame.

Right now I'm only in for Armand (and hopefully Daniel, but yeah, there's clearly shared history and altered memories, so I'm positive). In the books those two were my fave dynamic.

And I want original Lestat, not Louis pov Lestat.

(I edited smth out here, I actually messed up the book timeline, been a long time since I read that. Still feels awfully long to dedicate more than a season to one book. Well, it is called 'iwtv', but still)

So more about Armand and Daniel please and if Lestat could get his ass out of the dumpster and be a rockstar finally that would be great.

(Guess we're skipping his life story, since the show wouldn't work that way now and go straight to that part of 'Queen of the damned').

I do hope we get a bit more action soon, right now I'm dependent on Daniel's bitching to keep me awake.

(Also kinda intrigued what they do with Claudia. She still doesn't have her own person (the one she sired to not feel so alone and disconnected) and if we're going by the book, she should be dead 2 eps from now, but she's still missing a vital part of her development. So yeah, everythings way to slow and simultaniously kinda crammed.)

We'll see, maybe it gets better.

[nalyra-dreaming]

hello, I am in a deep spiral about the drop/the dv.

you are so right that so many things, such as the dragging/biting don't even add up with the clean Lestat landing in s1. And his clean face definietly doesn't add up with the beat and bloody face and clothes he has in 2x07. We have the coffin dent, but we have a clean faced Lestat in the whole scene in the sky??

We all knew since s1 that the fight was a bad choice, but we all still love the show. I guess a lot of us are trying to deal with this ooc thing in a show we otherwise really enjoy. It's nice to hear that Sam doesn't really like that choice either, from what I understand? With the revisiting in s2 during the trial, so many things still don't add up, so will we revisit the fight again? How do you think they could 'redeem' that whole shitshow in s3? Posession? Armand's meddling? (since it's almost a parallel to Armand and Lestat)

Idk, I just wish the writers understood that for a lot of us, the fight doesn't make sense and we need clear explanation bc it's a pretty heavy topic. They need to be consistent with this, maybe have a genuine talk with Louis and Lestat about this. Make us understand what really happened without any more twists. I love the portrayal of Loustat in this show, aside from this. Please give me some hope bc I am so deeply obsessed with this show it rekindled my VC era and I am thinking about this day and night

Oh yeah, the show did the same for me *laughs* Sam has stated that he did not like the DV added in episode 5 and he had hoped that AMC would at least add trigger warnings, which they didn't. He also obviously was not satisfied with how 1x06 wanted to set up Lestat's turning, so he added a line.

I do think they will revisit the fight again, yes. And the trial. There are a lot of hooks set up already, especially since they used the fight in the trial. They added deliberate hints and reactions, too.

I am not sure there is "redemption", or that there needs to be redemption. I think the show won't go for "redemption", not really. They expect us to "get it" when the tale shifts again I bet - given that the shifts in the tale right now have been missed by a surprisingly lot of people I am not particularly hopeful... but I don't think Rolin & co care much for that, because emotional uproar is... engagement. And engagement is always good.

Lestat as a fictional character does not need redemption either, not really. And, as a note, the "fight" portion of episode 5 is not the problem, imho. Louis and Lestat fought, canonically. Lestat had anger problems. That's in the book. All good. But to frame it as DV with a clear power discrepancy, and then use very charged racial dynamics on top of it is what made it so irredeemable.

And I don't know how they want to dig themselves out of this, not really. I mean, fandom != general audience. Watching reactions was a bit of a reality check here, because the general audience doesn't have that big of a problem with it all. Fandom does.

And the fandom got big white abuser™ Lestat for (almost) two seasons, in more than 2 years, with a big twist at the end that a lot seem to have missed. With a lot of insinuated meddling and mental influence of the tale. And in s3 they will go to his POV and leave the memory part a bit, by Rolin's words.

I think s3 will give us Lestat telling us of a kind of "black out" during the fight (outside)... and some kind of influence. Maybe he will know what it is, maybe he won't yet (namely Amel). I think he won't know yet. And I think s3 will show us the key scenes between Armand and Lestat... and Nicki. And if we're lucky they will make the echo/parallel there clear, namely Armand telling Lestat he waited for him, and then throwing Lestat off a height, in the book the tower.

We will see.

Given season 2 and the reveals they chose there and how they chose them there... I am not too hopeful they will spell things out.

I don't think they will care to spell them out, outside the episode insiders that is (they have been much more clear in those this season, granted). For them, it's irrelevant of the majority of the audience "gets" the hinted at parallels or reveals. The story will work "enough" with the basic reveals.

Still. Given who Lestat is for the chronicles? Given who Louis is? Given who they are?

Season 3 needs to land. Stick. Hit. And leave this ugly business behind.

And therefore... I hope it will be done then.

Whatever way.

I do think there will be more twists incoming... but I hope that we will be done with the shit pertaining to Louis and Lestat themselves. Given the structure of the books - and the show's - I have a careful hope that we might be soon.

Fingers crossed.

[thelioncourts]

would love to hear your thoughts on the trailer :) I don't know what thoughts I'm looking for, I guess just general ones, but also the thigns you're excited for and all that

I have to admit, I've only actually watched through the trailer about three times, it makes me feel genuinely insane. we're getting this piece of art this year !!!!

In all seriousness, my thoughts are all over the place (in an overall good way). I'm curious and excited and terrified and crying at all the Louis and Armand things. The part at the beginning where Daniel asks if they're going to finish each other's sentences the whole time, how they've been sitting on the couch in all the clips we've gotten so far, the 'We've been together for 77 years,' the kiss (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), the cheek kiss (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), the strange scene we've seen once or twice where it looks like a kiss might have happened but Louis seems to faint afterward, etc. etc. It's all so much and I have known since s1 ended that Louis and Armand's love story was going to leave me fulfilled and devastated all at once and it feels utterly confirmed in this trailer. I think they're still so in love, in so many ways, and I think it can't, won't, shouldn't work out and it makes me so sad, I can't wait to be heartbroken and destroyed watching it. I will say, though, seeing all the clips of them does make me curious about the future of Loumand. Louis leaves Lestat for Armand again at one point and I have thoughts and ideas on potentiality for that in the future of the show, depending on how long it goes on. Regarding Louis himself, I'm just -- so in awe of Jacob Anderson, as per usual. Louis is the most interesting, beautiful, enrapturing thing on the screen and everything is better when it comes back to him, always. The 'It's you and me' clip, with all the flashes of Louis and other people, all returning to Louis, just !!! it's him. He's everything. It's all so much better when it comes back to him, we're so lucky. In terms of Claudia, Delainey seems to have this grasp/concept of Claudia that has me shaking. Her Claudia is everything to me already. I know lots of people have talked about it, but Claudia's ghost being a part of some later stories feels so much more doable with Delainey and I hope, in some capacity, that comes true. The 1700s stuff scares me a little, but only because it appears we're getting a lot more of it than I was anticipating this season. I expected some, absolutely, and when we got Nicki casting confirmation I was like, "Oh, we're getting the 1700s for real," but the trailer is a lot of 1700s and it scares me for a couple of reasons, namely that -- once again -- we're not getting Lestat's POV of it so there is the toss-up of 'how did he see this play out though' that will somehow have to be addressed in later seasons. It also scares me a little because Gabrielle has to be there, right??? Did they cast Gabrielle and manage to keep it a secret???????????? That's wild. But in reality, it scares me too because I hope we're not living too far in the 1700s this season. I know it's important and I know Armand was there so it makes total sense, but I feel like we're already treading a lot of waters with 1) The life in New Orleans that can only be told by Louis 2) the life in New Orleans after the arrival of Lestat 3) the life in New Orleans once Claudia was brought into the family 4) all the time spent getting to Europe/exploring Eastern Europe (basically, anything pre-Paris) 5) early Paris 6) Paris once Louis and Claudia and the future of their being together starts to play out 7) the trial 6) San Fransisco from what Daniel will inevitably start to remember 7) San Fran from what Louis remembers 8) San Fran from Armand, who might be our most aware of that entire time 9) Dubai pre-Armand knowledge 10) Dubai now. Like, I know a lot of those are paired up (You could categorize it simply as 1) New Orleans 2) Pre-Paris 3) Paris 4) San Fran 5) Dubai) and that cuts it in half, but given all the POV bits we get, that's just not the case. Adding yet another time period in here is just. So much. (It also scares me because I think some fans have expectations of several different things in 1700s that I don't think will happen/can happen/at least definitely not this season happen and I'm readying for the 'WAIT BUT' and the bitching etc.)

The Loustat stuff will utterly ruin me this season. It's going to be gut-wrenching. The hallucinations, the possible reunion that it appears we see, the modern New Orleans skyline, the way that Louis seemingly will talk about Lestat in a way that makes Armand seem to feel not as loved (this is a speculation based solely on the "Lestat, Lestat, Lestat, Lestat, Lestat" scene, I have SO many thoughts on that and of Armand there, god, I'm nauseous with it). I need to find my post about it, but I made a post either during s1 airing or immediately after (definitely by Nov. 2022) about how I think we'll get some kind of complete Loustat confirmation of sorts this season and by s3, they will be back together and will stay together. I have lots of reasons and thoughts on that as well. Anyway, I will cry endlessly about them this season, I know it.

I LOVE the hallucinations. I mean, when we knew that was definitely happening while s2 filming was going on, I was already excited, but seeing it just !!!!!!!!!!! it's so good. I can't even put into words how excited I am about the hallucinations of Lestat. Oh my god. Louis. The theatre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Santiago looks fucking insane, god bless Ben Daniels, and I'm excited to get to actually know some characters from the theatre. It's something that doesn't really happen at all in the movie, and it's definitely not a focus or anything in the IwtV book. But I love side characters, I think they'll fill in some space that the Azalea had in s1 and I love that.

If Justin Kirk is David, that's the one thing that is going to piss me off this season. I honestly, truly 100%, thought we might not get David and I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo more than okay with that. I hate David so much and don't think he serves any kind of plot purpose and he remains to be a shitty replacement for Louis that never worked out and was completely insignificant by the end of the series. Now, if they don't do some of the wild shit with him and make him solely some kind of tie-in/draw to the new Talamasca show they're doing, then fine. But if they start attempting to make him a love interest, I might legit tap out, I can't stand that man. At least Marius is vital to the stories, we truly can't get Akasha or Lestat or Armand without Marius. David................oh my god, die already. San Fran SCARES ME. It's one of those things that, sure, obviously we know how it goes in the book, but they have flipped it so heavily on its head, I can't predict anything and it's exciting and horrifying. Armand being there, the seemingly-more-than-one-night interview, the interview ending by the time Louis was only halfway done with the story, the brief scene that appears to be Armand looking worried at something (maybe Daniel) while Louis is floating/levitating (!!!!!!!!?) in the back, etc. Oh my god. I think we're in the wildest ride there. Um. Louis and Claudia turning Madeline together........

Louis' men not being shitttttttttttttttttttt. Every time I do see gifs or see clips or something, and I see that quick scene of Lestat walking through the audience (Sam Reid's silhouette is insane, those broad shoulders, that profile????????????? He's so hot I'm feral about him) and Louis is on the stage, next to Claudia and Madeline, and you can see where Lestat's chair is next to Louis, but further away, on the stage.......................bitch, you're really letting them do that to Louis and walking through the crowd, telling your story??? And Armand, bitch?????? You're really letting them do that to Louis, just sitting there watching it play out, having taken Louis and Claudia and Madeline out just before???????????????? They're not SHIT, Louis deserves better, always has. I need to stop rambling, but lastly, the thing I already made a quick post about, but the fact that I do obviously recognize things from the book but none of it is quite how it seems..........I'm obsessed. This show is literally like....okay, like asking someone to summarize the book for you and they say, "The book is about a vampire named Louis de Pointe du Lac who tells his life story to a young reporter in 1970s San Fran. His story details how he became a vampire, how he fell in love with his maker, the Vampire Lestat, how they created and took in the child vampire Claudia, how Louis and Claudia killed Lestat, how they went to Paris and met a theatre group of vampires, and Louis fell in love with the leader Armand. It also details the inevitable and tragic death of Claudia at the hands of this theatre, and how that death left Louis utterly changed." And you're like "Oh okay" but the details aren't all there so they just...............filled in their own, and we get this masterpiece of a story that is the bones of the book, and made what it is by time and care. Idk. I love that we're all on an equilibrium.

OH. I'm also holding out, but not anticipating sadly, some Loustat flashbacks. I need them. I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo in need of it, you have no idea.

[ca-suffit]

Seasons 1 and 2 are such good pieces of vampire media and if people fail to realise that up till SEASON 3 (white man pov), I'm going to climb walls. Already hating how some people on this hellish website (and not only) seem to discredit 3 fucking sources at the same time (Louis, Armand and Claudia) in favour of one (Lestat). Are the first two lying to a degree for an agenda/due to supressing memories? 100%, but Claudia's intimate diaries should be proof enough that 90%-95% of the events narrated by Louis are true.

When it was supposed to be ridiculous and untrue, we were told that via tone (Armand's little backstory with Lestat).

I'm still holding hope that S3 Lestat is not going to be who the rice-a-ronis want but idk. It still is exhausting. This is the stuff ppl need spelled out over and over about why fandom racism is real and hurts ppl. Why not everyone gets to "escape" into fandom because fandom won't let anything exist freely except whiteness.

This place still can't let Louis be a victim after nearly two full seasons of watching him be abused by *numerous* people (not just partners but society and his family too) but we're supposed to feel bad for Lestat for things we haven't even seen yet. When Lestat is mean it's because of "trauma" but when Louis is mean it's because he's just mean (because he's black). All the layers of antiblackness and an inability to understand even when the show is spoonfeeding us scenes, as u mentioned. I haven't been able to even look at it lately, the stupidity has been off the charts.

[crazykuroneko]

Idt we're suddenly going to see a bunch of happy times in s3 when its from Lestat pov like there's a lot of plot from TVL to get through and vampire lore, and its not really great for forward momentum if they're rehashing the same time period. Plus its not like TVL gave us any huge insight or new scenes from their life together, it was just a few paragraphs of retconning.

If anything I think the show's pov is that louis is overcorrecting from his 70s interview by making thing seem happier than they were, thinking of the scene when Daniel plays back the tapes for him but what Daniel says doesn't feel consistent with the vibe I got on screen (it didn't really seem that happy in ep2 even). Everything the show and actors are saying feels like they just have a supernatural inexplicable bond that doesn't make sense i guess.

Not really, if TVL is broken to two seasons as well. Unless suddenly AMC got S3 greenlighted with 15-16 episodes per season, which I doubt very much. They can go with 7 - 8 episodes for two seasons, like IWTV era, or call them both as one season, but still released as two parts ala Better Call Saul S6A and 6B (total 13 ep). Anyway, I can't see TVL will be done as only one season if it'll only have 7 or 8 episodes. Not when they have to tackle the OG TVL plots, ongoing Louis with/without Armand-Daniel plot (depends how involved Louis is with Devil's Minion in the past) and segueing to the concert and QotD. So, amount of content wise, you can no longer compare it to the book.

Yes, Louis is "overcorrecting" his narrative from the '70s interview, but in what way, it's still not clear. To make Claudia the hero? to ease his pain? to make Lestat the big bad? Sometimes I think it's one thing, but then Louis did some things that are contradictory to it. I have my main guess ofc, but now I'll just wait for Season 2.

And as I said, Season 1 (IWTV Part I) is not whole; it's not supposed to stand on its own. The lack of "good times" in S1 makes the writing feels kind of lacking, in terms of convincing the audience the relationship between each character. Because that's what good writing should do. So, I don't think we'll have to wait until the TVL era. S2 aka IWTV Part II probably will give us some crumbs (which is possibly why Rolin said we'll still see a lot of Sam). It's similar to when we're reading the second half of IWTV and go "wow, Louis actually has deep feelings for Lestat to the point he's seeing things." The difference is the book deals with how deep the feelings are, while the show may deal with how deep the connection is. Because frankly, so far, it's Sam and Jacob's chemistry that does a heavy-lifting on that part.

(About S3 though, I don't think they'll retell the whole flashback in Lestat's POV, no. But I think they'll still talk about important points in the past. Especially if the interviewer is Daniel again or someone who knows/has heard what Louis has been saying in IWTV era. For me, Lestat knowing what Louis has said about him is very crucial for his character development. So, I assume there must be a way for people or someone outside the Dubai trio to know the content of the interview, no matter if it'll be published or not)

And I don't begrudge actors being vague with the answer because like us, they only know the scripts. They didn't know in detail how the show will tackle certain things in the future. They only know the script says Louis would stay no matter how bad Loustat were with each other and their job is to make it make sense to us despite the script/character being secretive about it. And even if they know, they can't spoil it to us either. (and this is what some of us tend to forget when we're processing actor's answers in interviews)

[cbrownjc]

A LOT of Mayfair Witches people. They really are pushing that show.

Sam and Assad being there is great, especially since Season 3 is going to heavily focus on Lestat, with Armand being one of the main antagonists.

No Jacob, which is disappointing, but he might just be busy with something else. Delainey is a nice surprise, though I think we are guaranteed to see her during flashbacks in Season 3 from Lestat's POV of events in New Orleans, so we're not going to lose her fully just yet.

And I think I totally understand why Eric (or Luke) isn't going to be there since we're moving into The Vampire Lestat territory with the show. As I've said repeatedly, Daniel isn't in that book at all. So seeing anything regarding him would just be extra stuff made up for the show, which they do not have to, in any way, spoil or hint at right now if they don't wish to.

Plus, they are being pretty strict in how they are adapting the books, at least so far. So yes, while Daniel was at Lestat's concert, we didn't know about that fact until Queen of the Damned. So even talking about that is rather a spoiler.

And honestly, with the way Eric has been talking about Season 3, (more than once saying "if they want me" about it) it doesn't sound like he's under a long-term contract; not the type of contract Sam Ried is under. I get the impression that Eric was contracted for all of the episodes for Seasons 1 and 2, and that was it. Going forward, we likely won't see him in every episode now, only for the episodes he's needed for. Which, again, given how The Vampire Lestat is set up . . . again yes, Daniel's character appears at the end during Lestat's rock concert but even then we only saw that in the Queen of the Damned book.

Because no, I do NOT think Daniel is going to be interviewing Lestat. With Daniel now being a vampire that makes next to no sense at the moment IMO. (When I thought this scenario would happen, I thought Daniel would still be human and Lestat, Louis, Armand, and Daniel would all still be in Dubai. Oh well.) Yes, I think Daniel will take over the chronicling job that David had in the books, but even David wasn't the writer of Lestat's stories. Lestat did that himself.

And I think the same will now be true for the show.

Anyway, I'm getting off-track. I'm going to be even more interested in seeing what the episode count for Season 3 is going to be now. If we get 10 episodes, then I can see Eric popping up in 3-4 episodes, most likely toward the end of the season, as we head into Lestat's big rock concert. If it's only 7-8 episodes again, however, I say 2 episodes at most, sadly. (With, again, one stand-alone episode within that that flashes back to the 70s wrt Armand and Daniel.)

Comic Con info for Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches

[nalyra-dreaming]

Helloo , I am actually wondering about how close they are adapting the first book into the series because now we all know that the trial scene is going to be a hard one for the Lestat and Louis’s worshippers like myself because somehow I want to see a possible “happy” ending for Lestat and Louis at the trial. Also I couldn’t wrap my head around the possible foreshadowing of the ultimate betrayal of Louis over Claudia, because the whole -you and me- ending of the first episode in season 2 was a lot. But how? Louis will be there on the trial stage, maybe they push Louis with the decision of choosing one over another as a punishment because they are the two most important figures for him. By giving Claudia a life and taking Lestat’s life he broke two rules and this choice is the biggest punishment for him, and also we see a little now that he is not feeling so good for killing Lestat so maybe Lestat’s hold over Louis leads to the ultimate betrayal. I just don’t know how. Daniel interviewing Armand and Louis also is not sitting right with me, where is Lestat to tell his side and also where is he in that time zone? A huge gap to fill for me. I have to see them together in real time if there is going to be a rockstar Les happily living with Louis. I don’t know, I need to see them being together forever. Sorry if there is a confusion with my words, I feel confused. I want to understand why there is no trace of Lestat’s while Louis is there with that snake Armand in Dubai.

Hey!

Well... first off - Armand does love Louis. Just as a note. (And I wouldn't call him snake either, he does what he thinks is best. Which... does not always align with what others think is best.)

Lestat is likely asleep or in a coma in modern Dubai. There are phases where he is "out of commission" in the books, so to speak, and I think this is one of them, because otherwise he would be there, if he knew about Louis' state of mind. Lestat will have time to tell his POV in s3, cast and crew have been very clear about that by now.

The trial... So, first off - s2 won't have a happy ending in Paris. It will be harrowing and brutal instead. There might be a (more) happy ending in Dubai, but I think we're going to get a cliffhanger of epic proportions instead. 😬

The show maybe foreshadowed the show making Louis... choose, maybe even as part of the punishment. Which will be... brutal. We'll see. But I actually think they'll stay close to the book there, and that Louis will be entombed, and Armand will free him and get him out through the catacombs (we saw in the trailers).

Lestat does not have a "hold over" Louis in the sense of the word (or as it may be in other vampire media). They're not ... linked to each other outside the sheer fact that they are maker and fledgling - and that they love each other, and fatally so. (The silver cord is a bit of a different thing and does not influence them like that.)

If that being in love will lead to (a) betrayal on the stage? We'll see. It might.

But, nonny... I personally do not think we will get modern day rockstar Lestat - I think that happened in the 80s. And even in the books Louis does not end up living happily with Lestat right away. There's too much history between them, and they're both not ready on their respective character journeys. That takes time.

Still, I think the dance in s1 foreshadowed the ending which we'll hopefully get, and which is in the books.

As per your confusion why there is no Lestat - that is the (deliberate) mystery at this point. They're building up to the trial and then to what will happen in Dubai.

Just... wait a bit. He isn't much in the second half of (book) IWTV after all, and they already give us much more content than is in the book. This will probably the longest you will have to go without Lestat in the show.^^

The happy ending will come, no worries, nonny.

But not in Paris.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hey Nalyra,(I don't know if I can call you by your name since we don't really know each other?)I started the show and binge watched in a day (at first I thought it would be one of those background noise tv show while I'm on my phone and ended up watching the whole season,I've been obsessed since,and it was only 7 days ago)Long introduction sorry.

I've been wondering about, Lestat was he always that heartless or living as a vampire made him become so cold (with Claudia other humans) I don't mind spoiler,I could read the book,but I'm a slow reader,and I really need to understand why he is like he is?

Hey!

Welcome! And sure, do call me so? :)

So - I come from the books, and my opinion is informed through them. Just as a note. And then:

It's been confirmed by now that certain events of season 1 will be revisited, and that "it will change how we think about everything in s1" - since this is a tale. A tale which broke at the end of season 1. Jacob has said at the TVA panel that "Louis is trying to regain his true memories". That just in real short.

What this means though: No, Lestat was not that heartless or cold, and definitely not as shown. That does NOT mean he wasn't an asshole (at times), or even abusive. The abuse is in the books. The fighting, too. But the tale has been told for a purpose, and that purpose will yet become clear.

We will yet get to see the "real Lestat". In season 2 we will get Armand's POV of his and Lestat's origins. Which will shine an even different light. In s3, we will get Lestat's POV.

Lestat is not cold. He is ... intense. "A lot." He is jaded and he has been lonely for a long time. He was raped into this vampiric life, and heavily abused in his mortal one. He has had run ins with the old covens, and has lost both his fledglings by the time he finds Louis. He has a temper, and he cannot stand being ignored.

In the show, Lestat has been a vampire for much longer, and he has been alone much longer. That did shape him, more than being a vampire did.

But what we saw... was a deliberately painted picture of Louis trying to prove why they had to kill Lestat. He did not really want to continue the tale with Lestat in Paris. He wanted Lestat to stay dead in the tale. But Daniel interfered. And then Armand did. (And that's where we're at, at the end of season 1^^).

There are... a LOT of moving pieces to this show, its characters, and what is to come. We have only seen part of it.

Lestat is caring, and loving, and protective. Funny and a theater kid. He loves music, and art. He is also fierce, and can be a real asshole. I'm sure we will still get to see aaalllll the aspects of him in the show.^^

For now... the tale will shift in season 2 - and our view of the characters - ALL characters - will shift with it.

I can tell you more if you want to, but... Lestat, the canon Lestat and the Lestat we will get to see in upcoming seasons - is not cold^^.

[nalyra-dreaming]

All your anons that think they've ruined Lestat in s1.. :) The fact we've got the romance there at all is a miracle, lol. I haven't felt any when I was rereading it a year ago. Even that longing after they've "killed" him didn't help matters. Louis just straight up hides what they relationship looked like during the New Orleans years. He only talks about what he had with Claudia and opens up about Lestat exclusively when he's the worst. It's dry as a desert. And then he sings heartfelt songs about Armand. The contrast couldn't be more contrasting. Imo, Louis's pov (and that's exactly what we're getting here) suggests that Lestat was an obnoxious nuisance at best and Armand - the great love he had before Claudia's death. If not the first as a vampire. I'm sorry, that's just how iwtv is. And all of it tracks. "The love of my life." etc.

Sam just loves Lestat's fully fledged version that comes later, as we all do. It's no brainer why playing this ugly fraction of him would pain him. But it's not the time yet. Assad had to sit it out for a season. In a way, Sam is doing it for two.

You know, it’s funny, because I watched this video of Assad just earlier, where he talks about what it was like for Armand to finally be himself:

But I think it's not just Sam and Lestat here. I think all the characters in the show are an elevated version of themselves, and they are presented in a certain way right now, for reasons.

But the show is quite obviously building on the later characters already, and I mean, Rolin did spell that out already as well. Lestat in Dubai will be much, much closer to the Prince Lestat arc, just as Louis is not the same as he was in New Orleans. And Armand in Dubai has already loved Daniel, and his past in Paris will show us a very different character there, too.

We have seen facets, so far.

Specific, very deliberate facets. There's always some truth to the tale, but we know, we KNOW that the tale is not the whole truth, has been tinkered with, has been told for a reason, and has been forgotten (in parts at the very least). All that we know already.

And we also know that we will not yet get Lestat's POV, but Armand's!

And I mean... isn't that a cool thing to have as well?! Like, can you imagine, after season 3, when we will likely have all these different views on things, and then... then it will all come together?

I for one am very much looking forward to it all.

The fans who are determined to see Lestat (or Armand, or Louis, or whoever(!)) as one-dimensional whatevers will not enjoy what's to come. Because these characters have sharp edges, and the narrative will cut us all to the core.

Because...

Evil... is a point of view.

[nalyra-dreaming]

(I didn't read the books, so maybe I'm completely wrong on this) People keep saying "wait till Lestat has a chance to present his version of events", and I'm wondering, wouldn't it be too much for S3? I mean, we have his origins story in Auvergne, plus Paris, plus whatever he was doing before crossing the ocean, and fans want him to also cover the NOLA part from his pov. I don't understand how the writers can squeeze all of this into one season, even if they add a lot more episodes (which probably won't happen, it would cost too much). And if they postpone his coverage of NOLA part, I'm 100% sure that fans won't be interested anymore, they would want the story to move forward. Now I'm not even sure if I want to see him tell his side of the story... It was confirmed that a lot of stuff we've already seen would be revisited in S2, does it mean that we're gonna see the same events three times? Overall I'm just very confused :(

Hey nonny!

I'm not sure we'll get any retelling of the events (even in season 2) tbh. I think (I've said it before) we'll get the backstory enough to tie in with what Armand might tell us in season 2, and then probably prepare the way for QotD later. But in regards to the events in IWTV ... I don't think there'll be much retelling.

Lestat in the books doesn't either. He says Louis lied, and that we should read between the lines... I'm not sure how season 2 will be spun, but I doubt that we'll go "back" by season 3.

If they want to segue properly into the Prince Lestat arc later then his upbringing in Auvergene has to be touched on. If they want to do QotD then that has to be... prepared. Marius has to be introduced, Gabrielle. More of Armand's ties to Lestat (something they might hint at in season 2).

I think we are much closer to the books than it may seem. They've spun a web of confusion, with the reset of the setting, and Dubai, and the aged-up Daniel. But a lot of things may still unfold as known.

And even IF things from season 1 get revisited (and that is in season 2 a lot more likely than season 3 imho, since season 1 & 2 were supposed to be one season once upon a time)... I don't think they'll change that much. (I think... the fall might be revisited, because that is something that was very poignant, and very wrong in this setting. But I might be totally wrong about that *laughs*)

Not sure if I could help with the confusion? :))) Just... I don't think we'll get the same story three times. I really don't think that. There's sooooo much stuff to show^^.