#but the biggest would always be if lestat and louis didn't work

[pynkhues]

fun rpf stuff aside (though I'm totally fine with whatever people believe as long as no one bothers actors in real life), does it seem to you like Jacob and Sam have an unusual friendship? Or am I, as a woman, just not well-versed in guy friendships? But it seems like everyone around them agrees that they have an unusual friendship too? Thinking of Eric talking about them every chance he gets lol, and Rolin saying that he wrote a scene into the script specifically for the two of them that came out of their bond. They just seem to genuinely have so much affection for each other and they express it openly, and they talk about how much time they spend talking, and that all seems so beautifully sincere and the opposite of trying to be macho or whatever. I love it.

Haha, I love it too! It does seem like they've connected on a pretty deep level.

I don't know, I don't know either of them of course, but I think there's probably a lot of factors at play. I think true creative partnerships can often be pretty intense and binding, and that does seem to be the way they've both approached their work on the show and how they've felt about building Louis and Lestat as both individual characters, and as the show's big, beating, bloody heart. It also seems to have influenced how they choose to be leads on set.

Crews will usually say that a culture on set starts from the top of the callsheet, which I imagine would be Jacob at 1, Sam at 2, and they both seem to take that seriously as well. Eric's talked about that, as you said, but Roxane actually talked about how much they look after each other and the energy they bring to set quite a bit in her interview with Autumn too, which was lovely. I've timestamped it here if you haven't seen it:

So yeah, I think how they've chosen to create together plays a role. I also think timing probably had a bit to do with it too. Jacob's joked a few times that he and Sam are trauma bonded, which makes sense given the casting process and filming s1 all happened during the COVID lockdowns, so it was a fractuous time anyway and they were probably in a cast bubble, which I imagine added to the sense of shared experience.

I also think it probably helped that they were in pretty similar places career-wise when they started on the show. They were both fairly established in their local contexts (Jacob in the UK, Sam in Australia), but less so internationally and I think that probably a) put them both on a level footing from the get-go, b) gave them both a shared sense of what this opportunity was, and c) that their professional lives have made this pretty significant change together.

Plus, y'know, they just seem to really like each other, which is a lovely thing. So yeah! I think their friendship is something special, and whether that's a result of their personalities, the context of the last few years, or something else, who knows? I'm just glad we get to watch the result of it, haha.

[femgirlfriend]

i don't know what got triggered in me but ive been thinking about the relationship between lestat and claudia so much, i don't know if I'm just getting older and gay parenting themes start to get to me or what; but I've been thinking that lestat tried his best but it wasn't enough. she calls her an "unforseen joy"- he did want her, he refused her at first because even then he loved her enough to know it was not right, that his and louis' dream of having a child was a selfish one.

he broke the law because deep down having a family with louis and settling down, being loved- it's all he wanted, and the opportunity to have that in a time where it was unthinkable for them to have that life...it was irresistible. he took her in, gave her a huge room, picked out the best clothes just for her, she was the center of attention; they gave her everything she needed. him taking her to hunt together, that was the highest education in his eyes. he wanted her to be ruthless, cold, an alpha predator because he knew the world was cruel and she would get hurt, but he didn't realize he was involuntarily projecting his own trauma on her, traumatizing her in turn. he wanted to control her, because then he wouldn't have to watch her do the same mistakes as him; but then whenever he saw her, all he saw were the mistakes and the fears.

his harsh methods weren't working, and it was turning her against him, which then made him feel more insecure, more unloved, more likely to lash out. he wanted to protect her so much he would have locked her up in a cage. his love for her was so destructive, so motivated by his own trauma and insecurities, that it became a prophecy. claudia was not in the wrong in responding the way she did, but she was wrong in assuming lestat hated her. when they were playing chess, claudia compares their relationship to that of lestat and magnus, and she does it to hurt lestat- magnus tortured him horribly, beat/assaulted him, meanwhile claudia, even though she doesn't admit it, is a spoiled rich child, who lacked nothing. the comparison is beyond cruel; lestat draws a clear distinction between him and his maker, and to be compared to him was devastating to him.

but ultimately lestat's main problem, the one he never managed to grasp is that he can't see claudia as her own person, but as an extension of himself and an extension of his and louis' marriage. he saw her as "his best vampiric self". he's proud of her, he acknowledges her in the way he sees as the highest form: the daughter surpassed the father. but he doesn't understand, he still ties her to him; she's still his daughter, blood of his blood, an inescapable bond turned into a rope around her neck. his apology is deeply sincere, he is deeply regretful but it has one flaw- it's addressed to louis; it's assumed to be for claudia too, because lestat sees her as an attachment to their marriage, but that is the problem, and has always been. that's why she stood up and told them exactly that, right in their faces, so that at last they might understand.

and in the end he's forced to sit there and watch her die, his only baby that he never planned to have, the beautiful, unforseen joy and the disaster that followed, the biggest mistake and regret of his life, the biggest blessing of his life. and it's his fault, and her fault, because he told her so, but it was his fault more than anything, because he's the one that pushed her away with his controlling behavior, he's the one that failed first, the one that brought her into a life she didn't ask for. and claudia looks at him as a dad for the first time in forever, in the end just wanting to be loved by him in a way that wouldn't hurt, a love that he failed to give over and over again. and then i sit there watching, thinking again, where did it all go wrong? how did it come to this?

[brsb4hls]

Kinda ranty iwtv review ahead.

When I finally got the chance to watch iwtv I found it meh. Which was weird to me, I was so excited about it.

Been trying to find out why for over a week.

I think I figured out now what I didn't like.

1. A small thing, the music. It didn' fit the scenes and simply sucked.

2. The atmosphere. The show kept the gore but ditched the gothic part of that horror genre imo.

This might partially be due to the fact that the act of blood drinking is pretty much de-mystified in the show. First, it's not a stand in for sex anymore, since there's actual sex. Not a bad thing per se of course, but different vibes.

Secondly, the "experiencing the whole life of a human via their memories when drinking their blood" part obvi couldn't really be put into the show.

3. Daniel. What the hell. Ok, there's the aged up thing, I could live with that. But due to his newly constructed history with Louis, Daniel is missing the wonder, scepticism and in the end downright horror when confronted with an actual vampire.

He's just sassy, bitchy and judgemental all the time, which kinda shapes how Louis in those scenes is presented to the audience.

There's not even respect, like, basic respect for another being who's guest you are. Feels totally off.

(Also I personally love book-Daniel and Armands relationship, so kinda miffed I wont get that).

4. The biggest point: Lestat's and Louis' relationship. There are multiple factors here.

First, the beginning. In the books Lestat was drawn to a deeply depressed Louis with a death wish.

Show Louis attracted Lestat by being assertive and very clear of his boundaries (if you take the most positive spin on his confrontation with his brother).

That sets off an entirely different dynamic. Also, show Louis pretty much has his shit together given the circumstances. He has to run his buisiness while being surrounded by bigotted racists and he's managing kinda well. (Until he rightfully explodes).

He also seems to turn to drinking animal blood not out of guilt or shame, but reason.

It's more like blood is blood and less clean up that way.

Louis doesn't huddle in the sewers, bawling and hating himself while munching on pest rats.

Which interestingly makes show Louis much more likable, because, ngl, book Louis took my last nerve. I was relieved to get Lestat's perspective in the second book, which was much more entertaining.

So, show Louis is likable and relatable, which changes the dynamic. In addition to to that Claudia becomes his sworn ally, so those two built a front against Lestat.

(Rightfully so, Lestat treats them like shit.)

But it divides Louis and Lestat further.

Plus by making Louis more self confident and assertive, it actually feels worse that they added that horrible scene where Lestat beat him up and dropped him (totally unnecessary btw, he was hovering above the ground in the first or second ep already, it was clear he could do that).

It felt like building the character up to tear him down more if that makes sense.

There are things I did like though:

*Like I said, I actually like Anderson's Louis more than book Louis, just not in that combination.

*Sam Reid does an amazing job as Lestat, everyone already knows that of course, and there's just no arguing here.

*Both actors have crazy good chemistry (which yeah, would be even better if not for the changed dynamics, I mean, they're pretty much end game in the books, they should work well together).

*Armand is perfect. He is ridiculously gorgeous while also appearing very calm and collected with a side of creepy. Which is exactly how Armand should be given the way he is described in the books (he's not 17 in the show, but I still think he's a great choice).

All in all it's not a bad adaption, it has some great scenes and I will keep watching, I'm just not blown away by it.

I would love for people to add to this, since it's probs a more unpoplular opinion, so discussion is always interesting.

Also, full disclosure, I ditched my Anne Rice books years ago, so I might remember stuff wrongly, please point that out to me.