#i wonder who gets to be armand on season 3??

[veryintricaterituals]

Okay, I'm putting on my tinfoil hat and my clown makeup. I'm officially jumping on the insane bandwagon: "Alice", Daniel's wife or girlfriend or something is Armand. She was Armand all along. That's gonna be the twist.

As much as I want old!Daniel devil's minion (and oh how I want it) I feel that it's already happened. I mean they are laying the clues pretty heavily.

"You felt free holding her hand in Paris, I wonder why that was"... And taking into account Louis' comment about his sexuality liberation in 1940's Paris in the last episode, I mean it's foreshadowing for sure. And then, the other thing we know is that Daniel proposed and she said no, immediately Armand says: "She wanted to say yes, but she didn't trust you".

I mean It's all a little too convenient. Also how funny would it be for the twist to be some character being Armand all along... Twice

[cocogum]

So I woke up today and chose to cry cuz omg Amalia’s life is shit compared to her friends:

1) Her dad, the only one in her family who let her out to go adventuring and live a free life for a temporary time, is dying and is highly likely that he’ll die in season 4. (Season 3-4)

2) Armand keeps judging her every action and doesn’t take her seriously. (Seasons 1-2-manga-OVAS-season 3)

3) Aurora and Armand keep trying to marry her off by making her interact with princes from other kingdoms. (Season 3)

4) Amalia can’t even talk about anything else other than politics with her family, so she now wants to eat in her room. Alone. (Season 3)

5) Yugo clearly said that he puts his and Amalia’s relationship to the back burner because he has other more important things to worry about, making her think that she’s not as important as she thought she’d be to him. (Season 3)

6) Not getting the respect by the men she started to like and gets used by them (Count Harebourg and Oropo) (But Harebourg did like her tho I mean why else would he obsessively stalk her during her adventures??) She technically gets heartbroken three times because of the conversation she overheard with Yugo and fake Ruel (Sipho). (OVA BOOK 1 - Season 3)

7) Getting rudely told by fake Ruel (Sipho) that she’s not important and that he personally doesn’t understand why Yugo likes her because of the way that ‘she looks’ which makes her now feel self-conscious. (EXCUSE ME BITCH WHO TF ARE YOU?!?!? YOU’RE SO UGLY YOU HAVE TO PRETEND TO BE ANYONE ELSE OTHER THAN YOURSELF. Bitch is blind cuz he can’t see her hourglass figure with that big ass, perfect pretty chocolate brown skin with no wrinkles or acne problems, luscious green hair with no knots perfectly tied up, and a cute face. No wonder Yugo likes her, the dude is into adorable flowers.) (Season 3)

I MEAN JUST LOOK AT HER ‼️‼️‼️‼️

8) Getting told by her own friends that she acts like a spoiled brat when she clearly stopped being too bratty and literally TRIED THROWING AWAY HER LIFE FOR HAREBOURG TO SAVE HER PEOPLE FROM OGREST’S BULLSHIT. (OVA BOOK 1)

9) Is absolutely not even comfortable in her own kingdom to the point that even her own dying father can tell she’s not feeling well. (Season 3)

10) The only thing she has ever genuinely smiled at (besides her kiss with Yugo), was meeting Dathura for the first time. (Season 3)

11) Didn’t get taken seriously when she tried telling Armand about Yugo and Adamaï. (Season 1)

12) Didn’t get taken seriously by Eva when she told her about the dream she had of Sadida telling her to search for Yugo. (Season 1)

13) Got called a ‘salad’ by some guards from a city and by Toross in a sneak peek from Season 4 (Seasons 2-4)

14) Her best friend, Eva, is now too busy with her family to be in touch with her like they used to so Amalia pretty much has to deal with her problems on her own most of the time and can’t rely on a close friend for support. (OVA BOOK 1-2-3 - Season 3)

15) Everyone in the Brotherhood of the Tofu has someone in their life that makes them a duo whether it’s romantic or familial: Dally and Evangelyne, Yugo and Adamai, Elely and Flopin, Ruel and Arpagone. Amalia has no one. (Seasons 1-2-OVAS-3)

16) The queen of the Sadida Kingdom died when Amalia was just a young child. Because of the death of her mother at such a young age, Amalia already had some family trauma from the start. She grew up with two men, with no motherly or feminine presence in her life. With no exemple from any female role model, she became spoiled, bratty, and rude to the people she deems as inferior to her princess status. (Seasons 1-2-manga)

Please I just want season 4 to do her justice cuz at this point, I’m just genuinely impressed that she hasn’t cracked yet.

The fact that season 1 only gave us hints of the beginning of her troubles is wild tho…

[cbrownjc]

hi! i had some questions for you as someone who only got into iwtv post season 1 of the show starting to air. i read from some of your other posts that you've been a fan since the 90s, and you mentioned how DM fans were disappointed post TVA. so i was wondering, what was the fandom like back then? did people mostly write about the chase/human!daniel era, or did people ever try to write fanfics that continued their story with them still together as vampires despite what anne rice decided on? i know what the trends were like on ao3 (i got obsessed with DM before season 1 even finished airing, i read the books that fast) but i was wondering if it looked different at all back then (pre-ao3). secondly, i was also wondering if most people ignored the "no sex" element of canon and included sex scenes in their fanworks, or if most of the work you saw was more at the canon level of erotica/blood drinking level? it's okay if you don't really remember, i'm just curious about fandom trends. the tidbit about the "boss" thing being fanon since the 90s despite it only being said once was very amusing to me (i noticed that myself haha)

Hello! Sorry for just getting to your question today, real-life things, and all that. 🙂

So, from what I remember from back then, (from the mid-90s to the early 2000s), at least from when fanfic was still not banned yet (😉) is that when it came to Devil's Minion, fanfic did have a mix of people writing things were Daniel was still human and people speculating on what Daniel and Armand's relationship was like after Queen of the Damned and Daniel had been turned. But I would say the Devil's Minion era -- when Daniel was still human -- was much more focused on a bit more since, at that point, there were only four books out, and not too much time had passed between book 3 and book 4. And because the Devil's Minion Era lasted 12 years in total there were at least more situations and ideas that were easier to get ideas to write about.

When it came to post-Daniel being turned, before The Vampire Armand came out, there just wasn't much of anything to go on. So it really was just speculation galore on that front, but there wasn't all that much to solidly speculate on.

At least until Armand seemingly killed himself at the end of Memnoch the Devil. Then I remember a lot of angsty Daniel-focus stories during that time after that happened. Or, angry fix-it fic because there was a very vocal group who kept arguing that Armand killing himself over what he did was just wildly OOC in the first place.

As to the "no sex" thing, there were some who very strictly followed it and those who, IIRC, would put a disclaimer at the start of stories stating that the characters would have physical sex in the story. Stories that had physical sex scenes between characters still tended to have the character still do blood drinking too, however.

In remembering things from back then, however, I'd say more people leaned into the "no sex" thing more than they did the characters having physical sex . . . even after The Vampire Armand book came out. Because even with the things that happened of a sexual nature in that book, there was a hot debate about if what went on between Armand and Marius, and Armand/Marius/Bianca really counted as sex or not. And most people fell on the "it wasn't sex" side of things about all of that.

In fact, I remember a long email chain post in my mailing list after that book came out arguing about this and someone even adding it to the FAQ for the mailing list that no, it did NOT count as sex because as a vampire, Marius wouldn't have/didn't get aroused or use his genitalia during the moment between himself and Armand in the bath; and then again with Bianca neither Armand nor Marius could have gotten aroused in that way because they were vampires, despite Bianca getting pleasure during that encounter because she was still human at the time; so it didn't matter that Marius used his finger on her and whatever, vampires still couldn't have sex.

No there were not a lot of human AU stories back then, not even to get around the "no sex" thing wrt canon back then either. People either stuck to the blood-drinking as erotic or, again, put disclaimers at the start to say the characters were having physical sex. That was it.

[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.

[wutheringheightsfilm]

interview with the vampire art history lesson part 2:

Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, Francis Bacon, c. 1944. Held at the Tate Britain in London. Here is its catalog listing.

So! This is the painting that has been on the wall of Louis and Armand's apartment, and that Season 2 makes a point to emphasize that they're selling. Full disclosure, modern British art history is not my forte, but I have covered this in a British art history survey class, and this is arguably one of Bacon's most famous works, so there's a lot of literature you can find on this. Let's discuss!!!

Now, one claim that you can try to make here about the relationship of this painting with Armand specifically is that Armand is now connected to two 'Christian' artworks (see my post on The Adoration of the Shepherds with a Donor here): one that marks the beginning of Christ's (semi)mortal life, and one that marks the end of it, which is definitely interesting, but the thing is with this Three Studies piece is that Francis Bacon put a lot of emphasis on the fact that this is a crucifixion, not the Crucifixion. Francis Bacon was an atheist, however, a lot of his work does revolve around either critiquing or dealing with Christianity (this is not his only work to reference/allude to or show the Crucifixion, as well as his other very famous work, Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X). It was a very nuanced, complex topic for him that is way beyond the scope of this post.

Interestingly, though, Bacon has made a point to say that "faith is a fantasy" [1]----which is definitely something interesting in relation to Armand...

What Three Studies is definitely associated with, though, is World War II and Greek tragedy.

The catalog entry from the Tate spends a while discussing the process of this painting, and how Bacon may have drawn from his various experiences during World War II (he was in the ARP during the London Blitz), as well as other works made around this time (namely, Figure Getting Out of a Car and Man in a Cap) referencing various Nazi imagery that Bacon had seen impacting his process for creating this triptych. Various scholars have cited Bacon as interested in the dynamics of power and violence, and the imagery of the triptych can be interpreted as either the perpetrator and/or the victim [2]. Bacon has also confirmed that this painting references the Eumenides (the Furies who are responsible for enacting revenge in Greek mythology) [3 + 4].

Now that we've covered the very basics of this work, let's discuss how this might relate to Louis and Armand. This work being present in the show has raised some interesting points for me, and some questions:

The show makes a point of emphasizing that they're selling this work. Since this work is so closely related to World War II, and Louis and Armand are currently trying to relay their experiences during World War II, is the selling of it symbolic of either 1) 'selling' their story to Daniel or 2) finally closing out that chapter in their lives?

It is interesting that in their apartment, there is only modern and post-modern artwork and architecture. I wonder how deeply this ties to Armand's trauma, since he himself was modeled (whitewashed as he was) in Late Renaissance/Mannerism artwork from the 1500s. How much of that experience drives his taste in art?

Bacon's juxtaposition and struggle with violence, power, and the dynamic of the perpetrator/victim is extremely interesting... the thoughts are still cooking about this one.

What do u guys think.... i've been microwaving this in my head all day along with the other painting!

Works Cited + Referenced:

[1] D. Farson, The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon, London, 1994, p. 134. [Taken from this JSTOR article, further cited below] [2] Referencing the catalogue here, which cites: Ziva Amishai-Maissels, Depiction and Interpretation: The Influence of the Holocaust on the Visual Arts, Oxford, New York, Seoul and Tokyo 1993, pp.189-90, 225-6, 354. [3] M[ichael] C[ompton], letter to Francis Bacon, 6 Jan. 1959, Tate Gallery cataloguing files. [4] Francis Bacon, letter to Tate Gallery, [9 Jan. 1959], Tate Gallery cataloguing files. [5] Arya, Rina. “The Primal Cry of Horror: The A-Theology of Francis Bacon.” Artibus et Historiae 32, no. 63 (2011): 275–83. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41479747.

[camaelczarka]

I don’t understand the type of fandom person who hates speculation, especially with IWTV

I’ve had multiple ‘arguments’ with people (mostly on reddit tbf which is probably the issue) over them taking issue with my speculations over season 3/Lestat’s version of events. I don’t think anything I’ve been saying it wildly out there or anything and they’re mostly just talking to other people like oh, I wonder if we’ll find out Lestat was trying to talk telepathically to Madeleine, I wonder if Armand really did push Lestat out of the tower or not, I wonder if Lestat killed Bruce, etc. Like I’m not taking a hard stance about anything I’m just talking to other fans

Anyway occasionally there will be someone who obsessively repeats to me all the quotes from whatever scene to tell me that whatever I’m saying is impossible. And I’m like ???? But they’ve already shown us multiple times that Louis was straight up wrong, misremembering, having his memories altered, that Claudia lied in her diaries, that she has pages missing from them at very deliberate moments. But then these people will get super belligerent about it because they refuse to speculate on whatever we haven’t been shown yet. I think they literally just don’t enjoy doing it? And I’m like that’s fine but like the rest of us are just having a good time, we don’t have to be right or wrong, and the show us fiction and they can literally say ‘oops we lied, this is actually what happened!’

Anyway tldr people when the unreliable narrator is unreliable

[goodtoembrace]

Reacting to The Vampire Lestat - Part V (with a bit of spoilers and maybe important quotes?)

Armand!

YAY!

Okay, what the hell is happening?

??????

Seriously, WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?

Am I lost because I'm reading the Brazilian Portuguese version and maybe it's not properly translated?

*Downloads an English PDF copy* Yeah, this isn't much better and it looks like it was poorly transcript.

I'm still not sure I'm following...

Well

Whatever

I still like this anyway?

Also, I can see I'll have to read at least this book twice anyway. Maybe more or even the whole chronicles.

Because since Armand showed up I'm DEVOURING this and I can see myself maybe missing a few details... I'll need to read it slower and savor it in the future. I also assume that knowing more of the lore will give me perspective on a future read.

Armand is never boring.

Still my favorite character. :) Let's hope nothing ever ruins that. :) /hj

Not one Lesmand/Armandstat interaction is wasted tbh, I don't care if they're vibing or hating each other's guts, they're always A MOMENT��.

Let's hope nothing ever ruins that. :) /hj

They also have some pretty valid and intriguing conversations, really.

The impression I get is that they want to stay close, but deep down know it's better not to because they're so messed-up and would be even more messed-up as friends or else (and maybe it's the or at least one of the reasons why they attract each other?), but there's some frustration in that acknowledgement too. Like, doing something because you should is not the same as doing it because you want to and... Well.

I mean, there's more I could say, but this is the short version of how I generally feel about them lol.

Can't wait to see all of this on season 3.

Assad is right, I want Armand to be unhinged too. So glad we're on the same page about all thigs Armand ever and that the spirit of Armand posses Assad on a daily basis so he can play him 100% the way I imagine him. SMILING THROUGH IT ALL, CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS MY LIFE RN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm also ready for more Lestat (Armand's version) and finally some Armand (Lestat's version). Let the battle begin. I wonder who will be more insufferable.

Little bit of Armand's back story. :/ I wanna put him in a bubble.

I don't really think I'll be interested in Marius, tbh.

Anyway... He's not here yet.

Gabrielle jumps from roofs like Cat Woman and Armand quickly and silently vanishes from places like Batman. I hope we keep the Gotham-esque vibes of these scenes. I think it's super cool tbh.

I also love seeing Armand talking to people telepathically? Feels so much deeper and kind of poetic, idk. Not to mention is such a cool concept. I hope the show explores more of that.

Also, when he stops blocking his thoughts and let's someone peek at his thoughts it feels intimate? And not necessarily romantic or anything like that, but just like, "hey, this is a little piece of my soul, I'm sharing it with you". Or maybe I'm too romantic and trying to find the beauty in everything lol.

But then he finally speaks out loud and it feels deeper and more meaningful as well? I don't know. Maybe I'm becoming insane.

Lestat went like 3 pages without mentioning Armand's beauty. I'm proud of him.

Nevermind, now he is mentioning it 50 times per sentence. Even more than he did before. It's like he regretted it and it's making up for lost time lmao.

Some of the words Lestat has used to describe Armand so far: beautiful, sublime, ethereal, exquisite, perfect, soft, saint, angel (there's more, but it's been so many synonyms for beautiful I can't remember... still, you get the point). Not to mention comparing him to a Caravaggio and Da Vinci paintings.

I feel like he'll run out of words to describe him pretty soon.

I guess we all feel pretty (not) normal about Armand.

This is also ruining it for me, because if someone doesn't describe me as "irresistibly beautiful" then what is even the point, really...

And it's not like they're a couple or anything, SO??? STOP!!!

They're not lovers, they're not friends, they're not enemies, they're a fourth and more sinister thing that not even them can classify, let alone my mere mortal self.

Anyway, I hope Lestat will be even more annoying describing Louis. He set the bar too high now.

I wonder if Louis appears (for a significant amount of time) on this book.

I hope so, but I don't know.

"But I was so glad it was finished. So glad that we could go on. Yet I held to the bars for a long time just looking at the distant woods, and the dim glow far beyond that the city made upon the lowering clouds. And the grief I felt was not only for the loss of him, it was for Nicki, and for Paris, and for myself." This is sad...

"So let him be your patron saint if you need it" LMFAOOOOOO.

Is Gabrielle wrong, though?

NO, SHE ISN'T!

Just have fun with your immortality instead of going on an uncertain quest to find Marius? Stop being stupid???

You'll probably just find danger or disappointment. Or both.

LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF REASON, LESTAT!

"And the sense of grief came back to me, the realization that we were really going, that it was finished with Nicolas and finished with the Children of Darkness and their leader, and I wouldn't see Paris again, or anything familiar to me, for years and years. And for all my desire to be free, I wanted to weep." So, he finally starts making a life for himself away from his abusive family. Then, he is forcefully turned into a vampire, has to live this double life with mortals, without ever being able to be completely open, honest and have real, deep relationships with them. Later, he turns Gabrielle, Nicki, meets Armand and the other of his kind, but they're all so troubled or with completely different interests... And it's clear as a day that they can't stay together anymore, he's slowly coming to the realization he's losing everything and everyone he knows and will soon be alone again... I'm (not) fine.

Also, this is so BPD-coded of him. He's had these pretty sad and traumatic moments, but he never allowed himself to feel those emotions for too long, he always found stuff to distract himself with, tried to see the "the good side" of things, embrace them, be positive instead etc, but you can only ignore it so much until it becomes such a big problem you can't possibly avoid anymore. And then the emotion hits 9483958345x harder than it would have if you processed things properly and had better coping mechanisms. Like, I get him, but OMG. Get him some vampire therapist.

Btw, Armand feels pretty BPD-coded too.

I also heard somewhere that Armand is a Scorpio?

And Lestat is another BPD Scorpio...

That would explain A LOT actually lmao.

End of "The Vampire Armand" chapter and they're parting ways.

So I guess I'll just rot and die, then?

Or...

...Armand will return in the worst possible way lmao.

I tried to find a gif of 2x05 saying "everything is fine!" to represent how I'm feeling right now, but failed, so consider it done anyway. Everything is (not) fine!

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

Season 1 episode 7 [The Thing Lay Still] - part 2/3

- AAAAAAH IT'S THE DANCE SCENE EXCUSE ME I'M NOT READY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

[Louis] "So much would be written about that grim night in New Orleans, but not a single mention of our last hour at Latrobe's, as if the only crime unfit to print took place on that dance floor." - and what do we say to homophobia, both "period-typical" and current? FUCK OFF.

It's the way they cannot… Aaah, need to say it in French, sorry. Use your translation tool. Ils ne peuvent pas se quitter des yeux un seul moment, même pas quand leurs pas de danse les forcent à se tourner le dos, Louis fermant les yeux jusqu'à ce qu'il soit de nouveau face à Lestat, ou qu'ils doivent se tenir l'un à côté de l'autre, leurs regards irrémédiablement attirés l'un par l'autre, comme deux aimants, magnétiques et plus fort que tout.

[Louis] "It was my sole duty to distract Lestat, but in his mirrored eyes, the distraction reflected back onto me. And in the dead center of the whispering gallery, I lost the thread to my plotting and fell once more into the well with no bottom. I was his, and he was mine."

I haven't said a word about Jacob's voice acting yet. But the way Louis' voice is so soft and slow. As if Louis is lost in his memories and back there, feeling all the love and the frenzy of that night, but also the pain and grief of the long decades since.

- Oof, I'm barely midway through the episode. I'm pausing it so much to not miss a single line that my player is starting to complain.

- "'Claudia, born 1903, I drank the water in 1917. I'm 36 years old.' 'Louis de Pointe du Lac. Born in 1878.i drank of the water in 1910. I am 61 years old now.' 'Lestat de Lioncourt, born 1760. I drank the waters in 1794. 180 years old… this coming November.'"

Ooooh, canon divergence! Not Louis and Claudia, them, we know, but Lestat. Born 1760 but turned in 1780 at 20 years old in the book. Interesting! I wonder why that change. There's another element given in s2, when Armand's writing his little Lesmand fanfic, but otherwise I guess s3 will give us an answer to why that tiny time change.

Meanwhile Tom fucking Anderson continues to be a nuisance.

- FINALLY. BYE TOM.

Love the music. Love the blood. Love the violence. Love the magnificent entrance of the three, in white and red. Vampires are freaking cool and the werewolf crowd can bite my a… Ahem, sorry, werewolf buddies. I got carried away.

- Aaaand goddamn Antoinette about to make her entrance. Aaaargh. But also I am very bi and she is very hot so I can't entirely hate her.

- [Lestat]"'Quite drunk this one. Rosemary… And something else. What is it, my love?' [Louis] 'I… I think it's gin.' [Lestat] 'I wasn't talking to you.'"

Bitch how dare you call someone else your love right in front of Louis, I'm offended.

Oh, wait, actually I can perfectly hate Antoinette, GET YOUR HANDS OFF CLAUDIA.

- [Claudia] "'Lestat… You must think me an idiot. 'She was at the ball tonight.' Not just the ball. You shoulda let that train go, Uncle Les.' [Lestat] 'How? Who?' [Claudia] 'He who called you him… Always the petty lights with you, Uncle Les.'"

Ah, I knew I hated Tom Anderson for more than his slimy, racist, homophobic ways. Nice planning, Claudia!

- Ooh, oh, no, baby, not the cane sword, no no no no. I hate (not) when the foreshadowing comes full circle.

- [Lestat] "Louis! We are joined by a cord, by a cord that you cannot see, but it is real. It is real. I have loved you… with all myself. I'm happy it was you… here with me… à la fin."

*cries*

No but can you imagine Lestat's anguish, the pure suffering and desperation he must have felt? Yes, yes, I know he's done plenty of wrongs, he's hurt Louis and Claudia a lot, he made mistakes after mistakes, he was prone to anger and abuse and violence.

But à la fin he's still a little boy who was neglected by his mother, abused by his father, hated by his first love, kidnapped and raped by his maker, hurt and threatened by the first vampires he's met, and was so lonely, afraid and hurt he didn't know how to love honestly even though he was deeply in love.

"Are we the sum of our worst moments", can we not feel pity and sadness for the monster in the woods? Can we not show kindness to the monster even after he's slapped our hand away, isn't kindness what could make the monster accept the hand?

I wrote a thesis about kindness being the true core of the story of Beauty and the Beast last year, about how it's true kindness and not love that Beast relearns how to be human and builds the self-esteem and self-respect needed to truly fall in love with Belle and have her fall in love with him in turn (there's more to my thesis, it's a 100 pages long, but that's the main point I wanted to make), and I can't help but draw parallels with Lestat.

Beauty and the Beast is French and it was first written in 1740, then rewritten and condensed (from 125 pages to barely 30) in 1756. Lestat definitely must have heard the tale, by the 1770s, 1780s, it was quite popular both in noble salons as in lowlier classes.

Do you think he ever fancied himself the Beast, and saw Louis as his Beauty? Do you think he ever thought he was cursed - despite claiming he never saw his condition as a vampire as a curse - and saw Louis as his salvation? Do you think he felt the fairy tale shatter irreparably around him when he realised that this time he could not keep Louis with him? Do you think in 1945 at the trial he saw himself as the Beast freed from his curse finally, heard and avenged, only to then realise that the curse was still there and stronger than ever because he had deeply misunderstood it? Do you think he spent 77 years living off rats in a dilapidated shack in the city that held his heart because his story went from Beauty and the Beast to the Ice Queen, or Koschei the Deathless, heartless and waiting for the one person that could unfroze or unbury his heart?

Ooooh, Lestat versus folktales. I think I can write a whole other thesis with just that idea. Or maybe a series of fics. Too many thoughts.

- [Louis] "The blood poured out of him as it might never pour from a human being… all the blood he had filled himself with. He lay now on his back, his eyes staring wildly at the ceiling, the irises dancing from side to side."

[Louis] "His irises rolled to the top of his head, the white went dim. This horror that had been Lestat… I stared helplessly at it. The thing lay still. There was no point in lingering."

No comment, just… Can you hear in Louis' voice the anguish, still, after so many decades…

- Huh. Bye Antoinette for real I guess, fire doesn't forgive. So no Antoinette at the Court.

- [Louis] "It was as if we'd expected Lestat to disappear in a puff of smoke or get sucked back into hell." - no but see, that's what I'm saying, the fairy tale ended and now you're left facing the very real consequences of the plot you thought you were living. Lestat ain't no fairy tale monster, just a regular (albeit vampiric) one, flesh and blood at the end. This ain't Buffy. Vampires are flesh here, animated flesh and when you kill them by any other means than fire or the sun, you are still left with the painfully visible reminder of the man that was the monster.

[I really like this part because I hadn't thought of the whole Lestat/folktale before and now I'm having a million of ideas knocking around my head.]

ep1 | ep2 | ep3 | ep4 | ep5 | ep6 | part 1 | part 3

[loustat-0]

Your answer about why Louis and Armand stay together brought something that always made me wonder about the show. Louis is jealous in the show so how come he would not be of Armand and Daniel in the 70s? Is it a way to show that Armand is not the love of his life (unlike Lestat)? Did he have his memories changed too? Has the writing just changed from season 1 to 2? What do you think?

This one will be a long one too . So please bear with me 🙏🏻

1. I hope no one attacks me for this but I didn't buy the " love of my life " of Louis at all . And as we can see even after Lestat is supposedly dead Louis can't get over him no matter how much he tries . On the show in Paris it seems like Armand is Louis's way of distraction from Lestat even though it doesn't work all the time . Not that Louis isn't attracted to Armand no , he's gay on the show and he has quite specific taste in men but Armand is also different feeling from Lestat so he's actually looking to any vampires who aren't like Lestat at all because he's trying so hard to forget him so Armand is that person at least that's what Louis thinks . And he thinks he has a common feeling with Armand about getting hurt by Lestat .

2. And in my opinion Louis isn't the love Armand's either he's his way of having new feelings and trying a new kind of love after a century but a century after Lestat . So Armand also want to forget Lestat and he also resents him and he could be after Louis to get revenge from Lestat . For all we know Lestat could have possibly arrived in Paris even before Louis and Claudia . So Armand knows about them . Even if they arrived in Paris earlier than Lestat did Armand still knew about them and I'm sure he suspected them being Lestat's fledglings . It's still love for Louis and Armand they were together a long time but what if they BOTH tried so hard to forget their relationship with Lestat that they quite became performative love to each other ? Both of them showing a part of themselves that they hated in Lestat?

3. I don't know much about Armand and Daniel possible history on the show yet But according to the the devil's minion chapter in the 3rd book Daniel is the love of Armand's life , someone who accepted his as he was adored him for his beauty and evil , although they had a rough start but they remained a couple for years . A relationship Armand cherished more than anyone else and possibly more than even Lestat because at the point of the book Lestat was in danger in the concert but Armand found Daniel and stayed with him and protected him and then turned him . Unfortunately in the books it doesn't last too long though they separated until the prince Lestat book where they became a couple again but Marius was there too .

4. I don't think Louie would be jealous over Armand's relationships because it seems like in the 70s they're in an open relationship even before that Armand and Louis brought out other men to their relationship and Louis had possibly sex with those men and Armand probably did too and then Armand killed them or probably erased their memories of being with them and left them on their own . EXCEPT FOR YOUNG DANIEL . He probably did something to his memories but it seems like both Armand and Louis kept a close watch on Daniel too . But I think Armand is mostly pretending that Daniel was like another men they had fun with and played with him like a pet and left him to be with Louie . Armand might be jealous and possessive of Daniel though , remember when Louis offered to turn Daniel in Ep 4 in season 1 ?

5 . So I don't think Louis cares about monogamous relationships anymore maybe because the show is going to go into poly direction . OR maybe Louis only have that feeling for Lestat . That fire , that burn , that jealousy . Maybe he's not jealous over Armand's and Lestat and Nickolas relationship because he doesn't know how deep they actually were . He thinks they were both a passing thing for Lestat and maybe he's deeply hurt by that what if he was that too ? 😢

6. I'm not sure who do you mean by having his memories changed too . But if you're talking about Louis and Daniel yes their memories are probably changed or I better say tampered with .

[wizardpink]

Hi! I read your post-finale DM meta and I think it's very interesting. The point about Armand turning Daniel because Daniel eviscerated him and made him feel seen for who he truly is (in all his flawed, monstrous glory) felt very true to his character. So I get why Armand would fall for Daniel (eventually) and turn him. But I was wondering (and this is presuming that nothing like the chase or a relationship between them happened in the past), how do you see this Daniel, this vampire who seems to have his shit together and be pretty content with his vampiric life (afawk from the finale, tho this obviously may not be the full truth), falling for Armand eventually? How do you think that will develop?

@destielonfire First of all let me apologize for having no idea when you sent this, I never saw a notification so I hope it hasn't been too long!

I think Daniel's hot girl summer moment we saw a glimpse of in the finale is a ruse by the writers. It added an air of levity to the season finale and gave viewers (and eric!) the gift of swaggering badass vampire Daniel.

But season 3 will have the time to get into it more deeply and well, I don't think anyone ever has a great time after being turned, even if you are rich and famous.

I'm not sure Daniel has ever had his shit together a moment in his life. He says he did when he convinced Alice to marry him, but it must not have lasted long. He was never able to balance his work life with his family. I doubt he'll have an easier time balancing his work life with being a vampire.

I'm also leaning towards the reads on him that this is going to pull him right back down into his addiction issues, now that he's immortal. There are no (well fewer) consequences for substance abuse as a vampire, plus he has a whole new drug, blood, and all that comes with acquiring it. In Dubai we saw that Daniel was squeamish about eating wriggling fish. How is he coping with killing and eating people? I think we only saw one half of the story in the finale. We saw the alcoholic at the bar, buying shots for all his friends while everyone laughs and cheers. We didn't see the next morning's hangover.

In the books, Armand effectively drives Daniel insane to the point the point he falls in love with him, which is hella fucked up (and we love that), so I can see the show taking one of two paths here.

The first is they just adapt that method straight from the books. Lonely and desperate Armand chasing Daniel around the world trying to figure out how to navigate their future as master and fledgling (and understand what drove him to break his vow to never make another vampire for THIS GUY), eventually coming to the conclusion its because he loves him, and Daniel later doing the same. Because they're both trainwrecks impossibly drawn to forms of self harm.

The second is a little less inexplicable and a lot less toxic. Instead of Armand driving Daniel crazy with his psychosexual torture, Daniel does it to himself with his hedonistic desires and lack of self-control. He feeds and kills and feeds and kills, pushes away his family, friends, and collegues, ruins his professional reputation. And he can't understand why he can't stop, why nothing ever makes him feel complete, etc etc. And because he is his maker, because of their invisible cord, Armand takes responsibility for picking him up off the floor and attempting to help him deal with this. Because Armand's the one that gave immortality to a man who can't stop blowing up his life and the lives of everyone around him.

I also think that on a more specific note, Daniel in season 3 will continue to be the plot device that presents the backstory to the audience. I think he'll probably go on tour with Lestat to try to get that second book, and Lestat will share his story, which we know features not only Armand, but Armand's maker Marius, and other places and characters that inform the audience (and Daniel) on Armand's history, motivations, traumas, etc. Daniel has been learning about Armand as a side character and villain in all these other vampires' stories where obviously they're the main characters, the heroes, the victims. But slowly piece by piece he is putting together the Armand puzzle, and now that they're inextricabIy linked he has even more motivation to put the pieces in place. I think those glimpses into Armand's history are going to intrigue him, maybe even endear him to Armand. When they're reunited he wont be able to resist going straight to the source. Which is good because Daniel finding him fascinating is going to melt Armand.

Also I am a romantic. Sometimes there doesn't need to be a reason why two people fall for each other. Season 2 already showed us that these two have an energy. There are strong feelings there already, they can't keep their eyes off each other, can't stop sniping at each other like hissing cats sniffing each other out. Combine that with vampire loneliness and mutual freakitude and you've got a recipe for something.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hey I was wondering since Rolin James has decided season 3 will be Lestat season, his pov and all how do you think they will do it?

I mean personally I was thinking Daniel would interview Lestat, I know I am entirely away from whatever canonically happens in the books but it does seem quite structural to get his perspective with an interview, right?

It would make sense, yes.

I mean, I theorized before that Daniel might actually have interviewed Daniel during Lestat's rockstar career... who knows, maybe that will even be in "modern times". Though I still think the 80s would fit better. But yes, them keeping the basic structure will serve the show well I think. Who knows, maybe I'll get my wish of having Louis, Armand and Lestat on that couch at some point :)))

But... I mean... Rolin Jones didn't "decide"... TVL is Lestat's account of things. It was always going to be that.

"The Vampire Lestat" is the next book, and it is an answer to Louis publishing "IWTV" in-universe.

Since they seem to keep closer to the book than I thought TVL is going to be exactly that I bet.

[cocogum]

Gotta hand it to the Ankama team, in just a few minutes of screentime, they managed to perfectly encapsulate the Osamodas King's personality and how his actions would play out in the webtoon: he's arrogant, stubborn, dishonourable, and refuses to own up to his mistakes and misdeeds.

And this was all established in episodes 10 and 11. In the former, he tried to "advise" Armand about how a king should behave, which in his mind is to stubbornly stand by his choices, even when he's wrong. And in the latter, he was nothing but contemptuous of Amalia and utterly dishonourable, which was especially emphasised when the team didn't even bother trying to make his abandonment of the Sadida vague: no, he outright told his daughter no one would come and to run away.

And this was all shown in the webtoon when he stubbornly doubled down on refusing to apologise for not sending help and potentially dooming the Sadida race. Just like every single interaction he had with Amalia reeked of disdain and disrespect. The whole time he looked down on her and underestimated her, which eventually cost him when she owned him and Aurora in battle.

(Though it is interesting to note he seemed more aware about how crossing her was a bad idea than Aurora, who had known Amalia for about a year. Oh, well, she was never the brightest to begin with).

And we got all this from, like, two scenes. Honestly impressive.

With everything that we’ve seen from this clown “family”, this makes me wonder if Tot purposely just made them horrendous for the sake of hating them.

These two osamodas just look like they’ve been created badly on purpose.

What do I mean by purpose?

Take a look at some of Tot’s other antagonists from the Krosmoz:

You’ve got a crazed Xelor who’s trying to kill and absorb every source of Wakfu so he can turn back in time to get his family back.

You’ve got a tired indifferent primordial Eliatrope who remembers every single detail of his many thousands and millions of previous lives. He cares for his race, in his own way, and unleashed a war just so he could visit new worlds with his sister.

You’ve got the shushu king who ate his siblings just so he could become the absolute ruler of his dimension.

You’ve got a copy of Yugo who became so uncaring and angry at life itself that he tried manipulating people in order to form a brotherhood and kill gods.

You’ve got a brakmarian mother who got separated from her son and attempted to bring back her husband by sacrificing innocent lives.

You’ve got a god-king from an entirely different planet who attempted to invade and eat another planet just so he could feed his own.

So when we see the osamodas royals, we can immediately confirm that there’s something off here.

You’re telling me these two bozos are supposed to be on the same level as these guys??? You got a chicken who hasn’t done dick shit in Seasons 3-4 besides standing around, not talking at all, wearing an ugly ass dress that doesn’t fit the colors of the kingdom she’s supposed to stay in, lying for no reason, not thinking at all when she breathes, and running away with her dad. And then you’ve got a fat gorilla who just runs away and tries to throw lessons to other kings about how they should stand their ground.

Like what the fuck?

Even Grougalorasalar, who we’ve only seen in legends, some moments in the Dofus movie (if I remember correctly), the third Wakfu ova episode, and some chapters of the great wave, has been shown to have more charisma and mystery than these inferior two insects. Plus, he’s only officially appeared in some places here and there in the past AND YOU’RE TELLING ME HE’S GETTING MORE ATTENTION THAN THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE BIG THREATS IN VOLUME 1?!!??!

But another proof that makes me think Tot just carelessly placed them in the great wave was the fact that these two fought against Amalia and pathetically lost.

And not only did they fight her, but they fought her SIMULTANEOUSLY AND LOST.

How does one become a king for decades only to lose to a princess who became queen a few months ago????

Tot could’ve just made Aurora the weakest one and made Amalia swiftly defeat her so that she could have a real fight with the osamodas king.

But no. That’s not what he did at all.

We knew Aurora was useless because we were able to understand with all the scenes we’ve seen her in that she wasn’t someone who could fight.

But the osamodas king? We had no idea. All we knew was that he hangs out in bat caves while his advisor plays king for him.

And yet, despite having lots of time doing nothing away from his own kingdom, this fucker didn’t even train during his free time CUZ HE LOST TO AMALIA WHILE HAVING HIS DAUGHTER AS HIS BACKUP-

The fight didn’t even last long. It lasted like 20 minutes? And I’m being generous even saying that.

This is why these two should feel meaningless compared to the bigger picture.

How can I believe Tot seriously put some thought into them if they had so many failures and made brain-dead decisions???

How can I believe Tot seriously put some thought into them if their battle barely lasted even 10 minutes????

How can I believe Tot seriously put some thought into them if the only leverage and plot they had going on was Aurora having sex???

All these points, reasons, and facts can only lead to one thing:

Tot only brought them into the picture to be minor challenges for Amalia.

How else would you explain the many stupid decisions they made, their absences for other situations when Amalia wasn’t the main focus, the fact that they always had longer discussions with Amalia and no one else, the fact that Yugo or anyone else was never the major topic of their conversations, and their weak abilities???

Amalia was the only reason.

This cover here is greatly deceiving you 👇

It tries to make you think they’re actually worth something by showing a smirking confident Aurora, and most of all, the osamodas king in the background covering most of the sky, implying his important place in the story while holding up a finger in a quiet gesture like he has a secret he’s keeping.

Because of this cover (and the fact that he told Aurora they should wait until after the marriage), we’ve had plenty of theories about how the osamodas king was responsible for hiring a sadida who happened to be a Yugo and Amalia hater to poison them but, again, THIS WASN’T THE CASE AT ALL.

The culprit ended up being Julith in disguise who had been ordered by Grougalorasalar!!!

AGAIN, IT WAS GROUGALORASALAR WHO ENDED UP BEING MORE MYSTERIOUS AND INTERESTING THAN THESE TWO‼️‼️‼️‼️

I want you to really think about this.

Aurora and her dad were supposed to be the center antagonists for this first volume but it ended up being Grougalorasalar the real enemy. The first chapter already warned us when we saw him in Yugo’s dream. He was the one we should’ve been paying attention to the most.

Aurora and her dad were not only just there to be inconveniences for Amalia, but they were also just pawns to distract you from something bigger and FAR more interesting.

And it worked. These two blue devils were so infuriating and brain-rotting that we got thrown off guard when we found out Grougalorasalar was actually responsible.

This only pushes the fact that the chicken and the gorilla were exactly just that: a chicken and a gorilla.

Nothing interesting or redeemable.

Just things in the way of the main goal.

Tot needed some useless cattle to begin the real plot and so he made Aurora and her constipated dad, who always looks like he’s got something up his ass, to be able to start the story off after season 4.

The signs have been there since season 4.

And season 3 was only an introduction for season 4 when it introduced some blue skank.

[slapjacq]

there’s about to be a slew of thoughts coming from me for this very last episode probably over the next few days, but I’m gonna put them out as such.

For starters:

The funniest part about the ending of this episode was the fact that Louis’ response to everyone talking the most insane amount of shit was truly, in the most American response possible: aight bet pull up then pussy you won’t

A true man after my own heart

Like talk your shit Louis good for you man. I can’t lie wasn’t the smartest thing to do but at least he’s standing on business and I gotta respect that

Generally watching him just plow through the coven and let loose was actually incredible. Like yes girl you didn’t need to leave Paris, you needed to wrong all the mfs that wronged you. Sometimes you just need to open up a can of whoopass and by god did he do that. Santiago’s death was deeply satisfying. I’m happy my blue eyed pretty boy got to use the talents his mama gave him to really read a bitch to filth.

Watching him get back to his roots and rock that post divorce glow was everything, and as someone who has moved from a city to a much different place, the feeling of your city’s air is something that resonated with me so much. I saw someone’s post say something about that already, but I digress. His redecorating of his apartment in Dubai, his “bitch try my me I’m a new man” feel is truly incredible look on him, always and forever routing for Louis DPDL

On top of that Jacob’s work with Sam in the reunion scene is EVERYTHING

Speaking of Sam Reid:

“Siri pause” took me out. I think I was laughing on the floor for twenty minutes. 10/10 comedy gold. I adore Lestat in the modern world and can’t wait to see more of it.The scene in the shack moved me to tears. Lestat better be haunted by Claudia. It would almost be out of character for him not to be. Sam does such an incredible job really giving us Lestat’s guilt. The longing between them, the whole idea of actually seeing Lestat for the first time ever was genuinely wonderful.

Also his scenes in flashback to Paris post trial were also, and I mean dripping with Lestatian emotion.

A part that stuck out to me though, as satisfying as it was, even though I love my doe eyed gremlin, it almost sounded like Armand was regressing back into that scared little kid who was terrified of loosing everyone again, WHICH MIGHT BE A REASKN WHY he turned Daniel, but I’ll hop on my soapbox later about that. Anyways I’m not saying I feel total empathy for the fucker, but it was a little bit sad to hear what I would imagine how some of the conversations/negotiations went with Marius. Genuinely kind of sad but BABY GIRL YOU NEEDED THAT ASS WHOOPING. Like this is all of his fault and by god even though I’m loving every minute of watching his ass get handed to him, I do feel bad for him to an extent. New season wish for Armand: get a therapist, try being single for a decade or two. Like I can’t actually believe that this idiot deluded himself into thinking that the rebound/revenge relationship was gonna be eternal. Like bitch be for real. Idk. Hope my little puppy eyed freak gets his shit together.

DANIEL. MY MAN, MY DUDE. His questions, pulling Louis from the slowly whirring current of Armand’s manipulation was so fucking masterful and cheeky, like they really showed us first hand the reason as to why the man’s got two Pulitzer. And then his turning???? Like he really showed that twink how fucking fascinating he was within a month, ruined an 80 year marriage, and most likely fucked and was turned by the same dude he was out for blood for. No one is doing it like Daniel Molloy. I’m putting money down now that he looked through the paramours file off screen, and knew the advantage was his. I don’t think we’re gonna get a lot of information on that until season 3, but I’m putting it down now. Also shoutout Daniel, the new vampire, live your best life big dawg, do the crazy shit you’ve always wanted to do. The man almost had a post coital glow with the amount of swagger he carried compared to when he was a jaded human. Just generally, Eric fucking crushed it this season. This man is gonna have so much fun next season. Like idk what god or entity I have to bargain with to ensure Eric Bogosian actually lives forever because his characterization of Daniel is actually so spectacular.

This goes for everyone too by the way: EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, knocked it out of the fucking park this season. Genuinely spectacular. I am going to continue to dickride this show so fucking hard in the coming future because all of this effort and all this show-stopping work should not only be seen by just a decently sized community of little freaks but by everyone because every single person on the cast and crew deserve nothing but love and recognition for what they have done with the franchise so far.

Also shout out Sam, we love to see a bad bitch escape with his life.

Can’t wait to see what bullshit he’s got going in 2026

[confirmeddead]

Here are my ramblings regarding the Interview With The Vampire Season 2 finale

This will be broken down into 3 sections:

Overall episode plot thoughts, character thoughts, and season 3 setup.

The way the episode was set up was fantastic. I went into it thinking I’d know what to expect. Paris Louis destroying the coven, Daniel uncovering Armand’s plotting, Loustat reunion.

I couldn’t be happier with how it all unfolded. The parallels with Louis and Paul, the fight between him and Santiago, Lestat in Magnus’ tower. I was absolutely enthralled with everything in Paris- it was so exciting.

When I tell you my palms were clammy when we go back to Dubai? I was a little confused (due to my excitement), did Daniel bring up those questions or were those planted by the Talamasca? I know the Talamasca gave him the real script but I was hoping Daniel did the extra legwork. This actually made me very excited for the Talamasca show (good job, AMC and IWTV writers) because of Rashid, RJ, and freaking Sam!

I really want to know what happened after Louis left Dubai with Armand and Daniel, but I’ll save those thoughts for later.

The NOLA reunion was everything I could have hoped for. I audibly laughed at Louis’ driver because it reminded me of my NOLA trip in 2023- the people of New Orleans are so charismatic and talkative! And the night tour? I didn’t attend one but I thought it was adorable seeing Louis attend one.

The actual Lestat/Louis reunion was fantastic. The young vampire taking him rats like in the book? Siri? Sam’s acting? I was taken aback with how different Lestat was and I think that was a peek at the “real” Lestat. A little more subtle with his movements, still charming, and brutally honest. This was the only part in the episode that made me cry, specifically when they talked about Claudia. Grief wasn’t something I had to face ‘til last year so I found my brain comparing the two.

The rest of the episode is a blur and I could probably make a whole post regarding that ending. I’m really curious what other DM fans thought… but I’ll say this one thing:

Louis saying Armand turned Daniel out of spite was a punch to the stomach. I actually yelled “Out of spite??” At my tv. Louis’ words, yes, but that paired with Daniel’s “asshole” comments on Armand made me collapse. I need to know more… and am praying those are just Louis’ words, nothing more, and there’s a lot more to the story.

Characters-

Louis: Oh Louis! My gosh, I was hurting for him real bad. Like I said, the Paul correlations were aplenty. The mad ramblings in the mausoleum, the actual acting on Jacob’s part (makes me wonder if he went back to 1x01 and copied Paul), the imaginings. I love how the episode ended with Louis calling for all those vampires to come to him because I totally (think I) know where the writers are going. Lestat’s gonna have that to have that performance ready earlier than expected!

Lestat: Ugh, I could not get enough of him this episode. Definitely Sam’s best episode (for me). The facial acting in Magnus’ tower, Louis pointing out the shackles, etc. Can’t wait for that to be revisited in season 3 both in the 18th century and 40s Paris. Again I really thought Sam’s acting in NOLA was a standout. The subtle changes to his character were so in my face (in the best way). Can’t wait for next season!

Armand: So… lot’s of thoughts. It was very interesting that they changed it that he had intentions of killing Louis. Does it make sense? Technically speaking, yes. I understand the reasoning that he wasn’t going to throw away a coven for someone whose heart was with another. All that being said… how does the viewer, who is already villainizing Armand, come out of this just not hating him completely? Killing his daughter and fledgling AND wanting to kill him?

Look, I know we the book readers have Anne’s writing telling us how she felt- she never saw these vampires as villains. I mean everyone says it, but it does kind of hurt seeing not one but two storylines regarding Armand changed so drastically. But I’ll let the tale seduce me, sorry. (Really, I will!)

Armand wanted and saved Louis out of selfish reasons. Armand turned Daniel out of love. Both changed, from our perspective. But the turning of Daniel is still up in the air, all we have is Louis’ words “out of spite”- oof.

Daniel: Like I said before in the plot analysis, I’m really hoping Daniel did a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to Armand’s plotting because he’s a Pulitzer Prize winner! Anyway, the ending… what to say?

I’ll admit it- I was wrong. So many people guessed it would happen but I didn’t think it made any sense. And can I say it? It didn’t make any sense. Technically speaking, the reveal was fantastic! But otherwise I just can’t help but think it was all a bit too much. “Out of spite” keeps ringing in my head in the worst way. I know they were Louis’ words, I know, but if they change this one thing about Armand I might scream. I want to let the tale seduce me but with them having changed what happened in Paris, it scares me to think of what they might have changed with Armand and Daniel.

So let me take the “tale seducing” out of here for a second, please.

Armand, after 500 years, turning someone out of spite is character assassination. I’m sorry!!! And you know what? Lemme call bullshit. I think he turned him because he really finds him fascinating now and, I don’t know, was seeing his own life flash before him and wanted someone to call his own. And do we think Armand would leave his only fledgling alone? Daniel was thriving! He’s confident, he’s happy, he’s strong! If Daniel resented him for it, truly, he’d be miserable- but he isn’t. And I’ve read a few takes regarding this and I think it can make a lot of sense if we really look at who Armand is as a person.

And since I’m always wrong and hope the writers prove me otherwise, I don’t think the Chase is gonna happen- in the 70s/80s or post-Dubai. I think it’ll be changed to Armand “chasing” Daniel’s love.

I just really need something more that will tell me this is all gonna be okay akksdjjd

Others: Superb acting by Ben Daniels my gosh! Rashid totally being body-swapped or working for the Talamasca made me so happy- I’ve loved Bally this season and hope to see him again. Them making Sam’s character a DJ was so funny- will he be performing with Lestat? His opener? LMAO

Season 3 setup-

I’m both excited and a little disappointed for their setups for season 3. Louis calling the vampires to him was badass and I think will lead Lestat to break out of his NOLA “stupor” and burst onto the music scene and draw everyone to him instead.

With Louis’ words to Daniel regarding a second book, I would say I don’t think Daniel would take his advice and not make a second book but that’s not who Daniel is. I think he’ll hear that and say yes to Lestat and interview him for his book.

So who did they leave out in regards to a season 3 setup? Armand. Yes, we know he turned Daniel but we didn’t even see him? Hear from him? Anything? Maybe it’s asking too much but it bothered me that they left it as “he turned Daniel out of spite” and that’s it.

[cosmicjoke]

You know, one of the issues I have with AMC's "Interview with the Vampire" series at this point is how hard they're leaning into the "memory is a monster" theme. I get it. We're supposed to be questioning everything we see happen on screen and wonder whether it's accurate or not, or even if it's an outright lie, and we're supposed to patiently wait until following seasons (which we don't even know if we'll get) to see "the truth" revealed. My issue with this kind of storytelling is that it makes it hard to become invested. It's so baked into the shows DNA at this point, that even when we get "the truth" later on, are we supposed to question that too? If we're meant to be questioning every, little detail of what's being shown to us, then why should we take any of it seriously at all? It's like they've taken Louis' unreliable narration from the first book and expanded it out to become the series defining characteristic. But Louis' unreliable narration wasn't so much based in him being a liar (which it seems like Armand just flatly is in the show), but just on his own, bitter feelings coloring his perception of Lestat, and also him simply lacking certain information about why Lestat acted in the ways that he did.

Armand's characterization of Lestat in episode 3 was so completely contradictory to who Lestat actually is, and the order of events and Lestat's role in those events so completely altered or outright changed, that if he's not just flat out lying, then, again, it's a case of butchering Lestat's character.

I assume Armand is lying. But are we really going to have to wait until season 3 to find out? It just makes it hard to become invested in what's happening on screen when you have to assume everything you're seeing is either an outright lie or so distorted by who's telling it, that you can't trust any of it to be true. How am I supposed to care when we're being told that none of this is how it really happened? I feel like they're just spinning their wheels then in telling this story, instead of actually telling the story. Like this is all build-up until we get to the real story.

That's the difficulty with them taking the unreliable narrator trope to such a far extreme.

I would feel much more invested if they just, you know, followed the linear course the books took, with Louis' first interview, and then with "The Vampire Lestat", getting to see why Louis was wrong about Lestat and the entire situation with him, rather than this mixing up of all the books together and confusing the issue further by having Armand further paint Lestat into the role of villain. I mean, even by the latter half of "Interview with the Vampire", we saw glimpses of Lestat's real character, when Louis saw him again at the trial, and saw what a desperate, pathetic state Lestat was in, and how desperately he wanted Louis to come with him. It didn't feel so much like you couldn't trust Louis in "IWTV",or that he was misremembering things, but just that, in retrospect, with later books, you realized Louis just didn't know everything and Lestat's actions seemed villainous as a result. This just feels like the show is going out of its way to make Lestat seem like the bad guy, while telling you "well, but not really, because none of this is even actually how it happened". It's not really a mystery. It's just the show telling the audience that everything you're watching is fake, and you should keep watching so that, eventually, you'll get to learn the real truth. But if it's all fake, anyway, then why should I care about what I'm seeing right now?

[alex51324]

OK, so I'm now caught up on Interview With the Vampire (TV). I have some observations:

Wow, was that trial ever a master-class in poor-little-meow-meowification! I was legit getting flashbacks from the (season 1-hiatus) Izzy Trenches, with the whole, "Pointing out that he doesn't have to put up with my behavior, and he wouldn't recommend anyone else do so either, is--due to Meow-Meow's personal circumstances--an act of such exquisite cruelty that it excuses pretty much anything he does while he's upset about it," and "sure, yeah, this thing Meow-Meow did sounds bad to you normies, but because we're pirates vampires it's barely anything; a slight loss of temper for which he should be forgiven completely because the other dude said something mean", thing, plus the side of "Oh, but that threatening to leave is the most brutal form of abuse thing applies only to Meow-Meow, and in only one direction; it's fine for decide to part ways with anyone else at any time for any reason, and nobody else has any right to find that at all upsetting."

(To be clear, I genuinely liked this in IWTV; it was interesting seeing an audience falling eagerly into this trap, when the audience is also fictional, and the show itself is winking and nodding to us about it.)

(I do wonder if the show is going to grapple with this at all next season--the reunion suggests that Louis had also fallen into this trap. I'm unconvinced by the fan-theories suggesting that Lestat was an unwilling participant in the trial; there might have been some use of vampire mind-powers to keep him on-script during the proceedings, but I think he genuinely didn't realize he gave a shit about Claudia until it was too late.)

2. The aging-up of Claudia's character (she was a little little girl in the books) puts her at right about the same age as The Vampire Currently Known As Armand was when he was originally sex trafficked as a human, and I wonder about that stirring up some long-buried feelings. Does the grotesque parody of innocence inherent in Baby LuLu have some parallel in his experience as a sexually exploited child? What happened to Arun--or to Amadeo, even--if he failed to play his part with a reasonable facsimile of enthusiasm?*

On the one hand, I'm interested in these potential parallels; on the other hand (glancing back up at point 1), it's a tricky needle to thread, to see these parallels as contextualizing Armand's actions, but not excusing them. I do not entirely trust fandom not to turn this into, "Well, she reminded him of His Worst Trauma, so everything he did to her was basically self-harm, and he pretty much had to kill her in order to achieve closure on that period of his life**."

(*Some of this may be addressed in the books? The Vampire Armand came out on the waning edge of my Anne Rice phase; I'm pretty sure I read it, but I don't remember much about it, and I don't have a copy. The parallels with Claudia wouldn't be, though, because in the books she was 5.)

(**Izzy Trenches flashbacks again.)

3. As someone who read the books back in the day, I appreciated the brief mention in S1 that Louis's grandfather had owned a plantation, worked by men who "shared his complexion but not his circumstances." To me, that line opened up the possibility of reimagining Book!Louis as also being Black.

(To be clear, he canonically could not have been; beyond that fact that It Would Have Come Up, in the first few pages--which I just re-read--he is described as being bone-white. Even if he was mixed and white-passing, it doesn't quite work.

However, Anne Rice did write a book, Feast of All Saints, about a mixed-race protagonist, who was the son of a slave owner and a woman he enslaved. I remember almost nothing about it, except that the white father had promised to free him and send him abroad to be educated, but broke that promise. Porting some of that over onto a book-canon-era Black Louis could be very interesting.

I'd have to re-read both books--and probably TVL, too--to be able to even think about writing it, which is...unlikely, but I put that idea out into the universe.)