#louis is evil! claudia is evil! and of course lestat is evil!

[licncourt]

I love your blog! Just curious, why do you consider Louis to be gay? Didn’t Anne Rice say that all vampires are bisexual?

Thank you!! I have a lot to say about this because I feel pretty strongly about it.

The first thing I would say is that the vampire compulsory bisexuality is not actually stated in the books (as far as I recall), it was something Anne yapped about on Facebook. If we took all her Facebook commentary as canon, we'd have to accept some darksided bullshit as well. The other part of this is that even the vampires not having human sex is a retcon from Anne's 90s brainworm, or at least not mentioned at all until QotD and then only briefly/ambiguously. I think TotBT is the first time it's explicitly stated, so I feel like saying vampires have real sexual orientations is reasonable. In IWTV, Louis tells Claudia that human sex is a shadow of feeding, but even though it may be secondary to blood, I always got the impression that he said it to make her feel better, knowing that sex isn't something she'd ever experience.

With all that in mind, I think there's very strong evidence in canon to support reading Louis as a gay man, the first one being that he's the only main male vampire besides Nicki (who also reads as gay to me, though less concretely) who doesn't have relationships with both men and women. The only people he pursues in any way are Lestat and Armand, as well as expressing attraction to Daniel. I would argue that the painter in IWTV and Armand's human blood bag even count here.

He says multiple times in IWTV that he didn't have any romantic feelings for Babette in spite of what Lestat believed, and it always felt like a very sad situation to me. His care for Babette was related to his yearning for human life, but I think it was also a yearning for the human life he specifically could have had. She was the personification of the future he wanted to want. Maybe in another life he could have loved her and she could have been his wife, or he could have at least been content with her company, if not in love with/attracted to her if, in his mind, he was a stronger, better man.

Of course there's Merrick but that was just. Assault. The whole situation was gross and sad and it was clearly a violation of his wishes in terms of making another vampire but also his very real human consent considering the romantic element. It would have been violating regardless of sexuality, but it's interesting that his only relationship with the opposite gender was markedly nonconsensual in comparison to the other male vampires with women (barring Lestat with Akasha).

I also think it just makes a lot of sense with the choices he makes and how he perceives himself. I fully believe that if he'd had any attraction to women, he would have been married or pursuing marriage as a human given his religion, sense of duty, and position as the head of his household. It's also strong subtext in Lestat's pitch to him for becoming a vampire regarding freedom and the alleviation of his suffering and burdens of his human life. He felt Louis' attraction to him in the blood and I think they both understood what Lestat was implying beyond just escaping his grief over Paul. Lestat was offering an out in maybe a more important way, as well as being a perfect object of desire, and that’s why Louis was SO susceptible to him.

It also shows up in just how at odds Louis is with his desires in general and how deeply his self-loathing and fear of inadequacy impact him. Louis wants nothing more than to be a good little Catholic, and I think if he had the option to just focus on his attraction to women and shove down any feelings for men, he would be a little less wigged out about his own innate and immutable evil given how good he is at denial. He might have even said no to Lestat. It's clear that these desires he can't ignore are a huge preoccupation for him, and if there was a way he COULD kind of ignore it, I think he absolutely would. Instead, it seems like he has no choice but to acknowledge it because there's no alternative and no options except Lestat's offer if he wants to freely act on these feelings. If there was a path for the romance and sex he obviously wants without the guilt, he would have chosen that.

A huge thing I enjoyed about the show was actually that they seemed to observe and agree with this assessment, so I feel extra vindicated. I was clapping and cheering at that scene. I think this subtext is an important part of the Loustat dynamic in the books too and something that feeds into Louis' insecurity and resentment of Lestat. In his mind, Lestat has options he doesn't, the ability to "be good" and find a female partner, and yet he chooses what Louis sees as evil. This is just a thought on my part, but I've always imagined Louis having a harder time seeing Lestat's relationships with women because it's confirmation that he himself is inherently lesser/at a disadvantage because of his exclusive homosexual attraction, and it reinforces his belief that heterosexual relationships are inherently superior and more real. What if the man he loves eventually chooses to be "normal" permanently, because in Louis' mind, why wouldn't he?

[dreadfuldevotee]

Finally found someone who understands loumand amongst the loumand never loved eachother discourse, feel like I'm going crazy armand loved him (not defending his actions) and i believe louis loved him too in paris and i wanna say after too even if that love was tainted, or faded by the time they're in dubai that doesn't mean they never loved eachother.

They're beautiful and complex! I can't say I'm surprised they aren't a popular dynamic but the unwillingness to engage with their story is what upsets me the most. If you take away the love they share then absolutely nothing either of them do in those 77 years together never meant anything in the first place.

Honestly, the biggest crime of Anti-Loumand readings is that they are wildly boring. Like okay, Louis has absolutely no agency whatsoever, or he's staying with Armand for Claudia but he can't even do that right because he refuses to stand up for her where it actually matters, but also stays with Armand even when he tells him to get out of Paris to....spite Lestat??? And Armand is just....what? Blanket evil with no real motive but to keep Louis like a pathetic goldfish in an gallon tank. Why would you want that, when the story being written is much more interesting? Louis who is troubled yet still wanting, drawn to Armand and despite his reservations and self-doubt finding himself loving Armand despite it all. In each-other they both see something they want and believe they can obtain it if they can possess the other. Armand is dazzled continuously by Louis zest for life, even if he often times doesn't understand the forms it takes. I adore how they each have these pivotal moments where they are disarmed by the others vulnerability. Armand hearing Louis advocate for Claudia in the sewers and deciding not to kill him. Louis hearing Armand talk about his past and choosing to stay in Paris, despite the imminent dangers.

Like of course, they are far far far from perfect, and by Dubai they are both such shells of the people they actually are. And why I keep hope alive about Trinity Gate or really any loumand reunion. The two of them getting to meet again when they have both rediscovered themselves, and seeing each other in new lights would be everything to me. But yeah, truly nothing could make me hate them. I could sit here and wax poetic about them forever, frankly. And I absolutely will continue to on this blog lmaooo.

[duriens]

i know everybody has their opinions on why armand 'couldnt/could prevent it' and it is very interesting to read the various interpretations. the way i see it, there are three possibilities (and i'm for the third, spoiler alert):

one, armand couldnt prevent it because, even as a centuries-old vampire, he genuinely doesn't have the power to stop 13 vampires from eventually coming after him/him+louis if he didn't accept their ultimatum. he can make them faint, he can freeze time, he can sway the mind of the audience (with some difficulty...? true or false?) but how long can he keep these powers up and can he do it forever, for however long vampires' grudges last? he might have thought it was possible for him and louis to run away, but that eventually the coven would've found a way to manage to kill him. there's power in numbers? how powerful are centuries-old vampires, exactly? is the combined power of 13 angry vampires enough? armand himself says at some point 'they might've killed me' or smth along the line, meaning he at least believes them capable of trying to kill him. is he that afraid of confronting the coven, of doing battle with them, of failing and dying? (this is the blandest possibility)

second, armand couldnt prevent it because he didnt want to prevent it. armand is a master manipulator and he likes to manipulate others into destroying the things he's bored of/he's lost control over (the children of darkness, the theatre des vampires... his relationship with louis?) cause he doesn't want to take on the responsibilities that come with that destruction, and the eventual guilt/sorrow. armand is minimizing his role in deceiving louis and claudia and is portraying himself as helpless, a centuries-old vampire with limits to his powers, so much so that even the act of making the audience say one thing over the other takes a toll on him, cause it was so hard to just do that one thing, owwie, of course he saved it to when it came to louis' turn for the sentencing.

this is the armand we think of when we see the memes about his inaction, thinking he's smirking to himself bc he knows he could end it with a snap of his fingers.

now we all know that armand is manipulative and that he likes to be in control even when he cedes control, but is he always and in constant awareness of the degrees of his own manipulation and scheming? is he in control of all that, all the time?? does he do it purposefully, with evil intent, consciously selling out louis and claudia and agreeing to a plan involving lestat to get rid of the coven/santiago and consciously pretending to be weaker than he is to get rid of claudia? so this leads inevitably to

third, armand couldnt prevent it because he convinced himself long ago that he is completely helpless and no word or action of his could ever, ever, change a thing. this state of mind he's fallen into has obvious ties to his past, his slavery, his submissive tendencies, his inability to act and decide for himself. he's created this image of himself of someone weaker and powerless that he fully believes to be true, he manipulates others the same way he manipulates himself. his many expressions of grief, of sorrow, of guilt throughout the episodes are genuine because, at some level, he genuinely believes he 'could not prevent it', because he decided long ago he's the kind of person who simply can't on his own--that can't ever, ever be accused of serious stuff because in this narrative he created for himself he can never be a hundred percent at fault, he doesn't bear all the responsibilities. (he's still a manipulative and controlling individual here, just not as shrewd and consciously cunning as in option 2). in this light, the memes about armand doing nothing when he has the power to act become tragic in their own way, because it's tragic that he truly thinks of himself, a centuries-old vampire leader of the paris coven, as powerless and helpless as he had been when he was still alive.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Can I ask is it true do you think that Lestat’s rockstar Lestat is to take the heat off of Louis following last season? I’m aware he is interested in music but how much of it is his interest in music and performance versus purposely having attention from fans the public etc to protect Louis from vampires he fears will come after Louis? He will be touring and busy so unless Louis is there with him which I don’t really see in the first half of the season he must be extremely worried since he isn’t around Louis. He is aware that Louis doesn’t need a protector but he still worries right? They already lost Claudia so if he potentially lost Louis too it would break him. I don’t see them back together but maybe talking and in contact and taking things slow. Louis is off doing his thing and Lestat does his music but I can see an air of ‘I’m patient and I’m giving you space but I love you and eventually there will be a point when I think we can try again’ with the two of them next season

Well, I mean... Lestat doing that is literally book canon:

The Vampire Lestat

I wondered how many of our kind had "noticed " the book. Never mind for the moment the mortals who thought it was fiction. What about other vampires? Because if there is one law that all vampires hold sacred it is that you do not tell mortals about us. You never pass on our "secrets " to humans unless you mean to bequeath the Dark Gift of our powers to them. You never name other immortals. You never tell where their lairs might be. My beloved Louis, the narrator of Interview with the Vampire, had done all this. He had gone far beyond my secret little disclosure to my rock singers. He had told hundreds of thousands of readers. He had all but drawn them a map and placed an X on the very spot in New Orleans where I slumbered, though what he really knew about that, and what his intentions were, was not clear. Regardless, for what he'd done, others would surely hunt him down. And there are very simple ways to destroy vampires, especially now. If he was still in existence, he was an outcast and lived in a danger from our kind that no mortal could ever pose. All the more reason far me to bring the book and the band called The Vampire Lestat to fame as quickly as possible. I had to find Louis. I had to talk to him. In fact, after reading his account of things, I ached for him, ached for his romantic illusions, and even his dishonesty. I ached even for his gentlemanly malice and his physical presence, the deceptively soft sound of his voice. Of course I hated him for the lies he told about me. But the love was far greater than the hate. He had shared the dark and romantic years of the nineteenth century with me, he was my companion as no other immortal had ever been. And I ached to write my story for him, not an answer to his malice in Interview with the Vampire, but the tale of all the things I'd seen and learned before I came to him, the story I could not tell him before. Old rules didn't matter to me now, either. I wanted to break every one of them. And I wanted my band and my book to draw out not only Louis but all the other demons that I had ever known and loved. I wanted to find my lost ones, awaken those who slept as I had slept. Fledglings and ancient ones, beautiful and evil and mad and heartless-they'd all come after me when they saw those video clips and heard those records, when they saw the book in the windows of the bookstores, and they'd know exactly where to find me. I'd be Lestat, the rock superstar.

Canonically Lestat does not know where Louis is when he wakes and sees the book. We'll see if he will know in the show. But I can see a similar setup, with Louis maybe off somewhere in the vaults of the Talamasca trying to regain his true memories. Or he and Lestat meet from time to time during the tour. We'll see :)

But in any case the reason for Lestat to become rockstar in the first place will stay, I would bet real money on it :)

[gremlinsminion]

Louis and Claudia's journey was hijacked by Armand and his coven; and considering his powerful mind gift, he had the upper hand since the beginning in the ability to see his memories and plan how to snare him. While Armand was relatively serious, Louis only wanted something casual, so Armand should've backed off at the start. Now if he had a problem with 'Arun', why not say so? Because he didn't! Because he wanted Louis to have that false sense of power, the power he didn't have with Lestat, in order to lure him to be his companion because he's so lonely. Louis should have walked away too, but he stayed in Paris for Claudia's safety, and Armand had knowledge of Lestat's murder as blackmail. So he continued the fling under duress. I was sympathetic to Armand until the last episode which is damning and we haven't even seen the full story. I don't believe he loved Louis, because how can you love someone and let them die? His past is no excuse. Armand had the agency not to threaten before humiliating Claudia in the theatre(to drive her away from Louis), not to plan the trial-play behind Louis' back, to warn Louis ahead of time to give them a chance of survival - or even leave Paris with Louis. These were all with intent! He was never serious about Louis before the trial, and Louis could probably sense his manipulations which is why he didn't take him seriously. Armand may not be 'evil', but compared to Louis' mistakes, many of his actions are unforgivable. Armand abused Louis 10x worse than Lestat ever did, and he ruined his life. Trying to turn Louis into his abuser is disgusting and delusional. The huge power imbalance is key here. The producers have said that we haven't seen the worst of him yet - it'll be interesting seeing apologists defend him then.

man you went into all this trouble of writing this, so i guess i’ll post, even tho i don’t have much to add to what i’ve already said. armand was more into louis than louis was into him, and louis’ affection was conditional. “if he had an issue with […] why not say so” — you’ve probably never been in a relationship, or maybe your relationship was super healthy, which is great of course, but in most relationships you keep certain things to yourself, esp if your partner’s moods and feelings depend on that.

so far everything they showed us about armand makes sense, and i can see myself doing the exact same thing and maybe regretting it later (or not). so, if in his worst he’s still human and believable with all the steps of how he got from a to b traceable, yeah, i will still love him and wish him best, and maybe learn from his mistakes a little

[three--rings]

I'm really disturbed by the fact that I'm seeing people post S2ep8 of IWTV still talking about Lestat as an abuser and Louis as a victim, period end of conversation.

Because I feel like we are explicitly told in ep7 and 8 that that is not the case but some people haven't adjusted their thoughts yet.

Now this is a show explicitly about the unreliability of personal accounts and what we see on screen is often proven not to be how things happen. So, obviously things are always up for debate. But.

We are shown the extended scene of what happened before Lestat flew Louis up into the sky to drop him. In S1 we saw that scene from Claudia's perspective, and she just heard crashing and shouting, and then saw Louis thrown through a wall by Lestat before the whole flight thing.

Ep 7 we are shown Lestat's version of events which are Louis physically and verbally attacking him over and over, slamming Lestat into things, while Lestat begs him to stop, warning him that he will fight back and he's afraid of hurting Louis, and Louis merely eggs him on. Then we get Lestat turning the tables and throwing Louis through a wall.

Now, obviously this is Lestat's version and probably a bit biased to be sympathetic to him. But Louis admits Lestat's version of Claudia's turning is the more correct one than his account and he admits to portraying Lestat intentionally as a villain in the interview, so...well I think the show is telling us that our impression from S1 is at least not the whole story.

Ep 8 underlines this with the scene with Louis and Lestat when Louis apologizes for the way he acted to Lestat in the past, saying "I tried to make nights awful with you. I wanted you to suffer."

We also see him throw Armand into the wall in this episode, which I get people feel Armand deserved, but I feel like the conversation around that has been weird as well. Like, people talk about that being a sign that Louis is stronger than Armand, as if physical violence is impossible from someone who is weaker than their victim. But this is also another instance of Louis using physical violence against his partner when (justifiably) angry.

Look, abusive relationships are complicated. Mutually toxic ones even more so. Reactive abuse is a thing, when an initial victim becomes violent or abusive in response to abuse they've received. It's complicated, and I speak from personal experience.

But I very much feel like the show is SCREAMING at the audience that things are not simple and that no one in this scenario is blameless, ESPECIALLY not Louis. He's not blameless in the case of Claudia. He's not blameless in the destruction of his relationship with Lestat. He's not blameless in his relationship with Armand, for all it's built on a lie, because he entered it to fucking make Lestat mad for god's sake and that's a terrible foundation for a relationship.

Raglan James says Louis is the one to really be afraid of. Louis at the end of the season with his "I own the night" speech. Much of the second half of S2 is ABOUT this.

The entire heartbreaking scene with Lestat at the end is Louis owning his part of the responsibility, and that's huge. Lestat accepted his responsibility and apologized on stage in Paris, and now Louis is as well.

So yeah, I think some people need to rethink their attitudes when they call Lestat Louis's abuser and Louis a battered wife. I read that and I go wait, we're not gonna interrogate that at all?

I of course feel at this point I have to put in a bunch of disclaimers about how this is not an anti-Louis post or trying to excuse the violence done by Lestat, blah blah but honestly some people who can only see things in terms of Good and Evil and Guilty and Innocent are never going to appreciate that kind of thing anyway. I just don't know why those people are watching this show, which is entirely about nuance and complicated interpersonal relations that are messy and resist easy analysis, BY DESIGN.

[savagewilderness]

At some point I am going to write more fully about this scene. But, for now I just want to articulate that this moment, right here is both exquisitely beautiful & simultaneously is my personal problem with S1E5 The Drop.

Lestat is a monstrous vampire, capable of extreme violence and intentional evil. He often tries to kill the evildoer, but he enjoys killing good people too - he enjoys taking life, in love. And when he is threatened, he can lash out. He can even hurt those he loves, though he feels deep shame afterwards.

But Louis... Louis. Lestat would die before he watched Louis die. It's important because it's part of the tension in the books: from the moment he first sees Louis, Lestat would die before he watched Louis die and he would die if Louis died. He would die to save Louis.

But Louis, in the first few books...

He stands by, passively and lets Claudia murder Lestat

He burns Lestat, impulsively, in fear

He leaves Lestat to rot in a swamp

He doesn't stop to listen to what Lestat needs to explain at the trial (Absolutely understandable, this one)

He visits Lestat (this meeting) when he is in such a broken place that Louis perceives it as Lestat suffering a slow, mortal-esque death, akin to old-age. Lestat begs Louis to stay and help him, and though Louis is moved, he leaves him and as he leaves him he lets us know that he thinks Lestat may never go outside again and may die and he may never see him ever again.

When Lestat becomes a human and begs Louis to turn him back into a vampire, Louis refuses - implying he absolutely never would do that, even if it meant watching Lestat die.

The whole tension, as I see it, between Lestat and Louis is centred around the fact that even if Lestat isn't sure how much Louis loves him, and Louis himself at first isn't sure... we, the readers can feel Louis loves Lestat, as Lestat loves Louis.

But, through the first few books, Louis would not sacrifice himself for Lestat as Lestat would for him. In fact he would actively think Lestat was going to die and would not do any thing to try to prevent it. This creates a tension as gradually we the reader and Louis himself begin to feel and Louis begins to know and show the depth of his love for Lestat too.

The Drop occurring (and I 100% believe it did occur on the show now) negates this aching emotion.

I am glad, though, that this scene, in S2E8 conveys this feeling from Lestat towards Louis now though. Lestat could not cope with Louis hurting himself. He could not bear it. No matter how far away he was, he would hold himself accountable for not protecting Louis. He holds himself even more accountable because Lestat knows how dangerous Armand is, of course.

This isn't articulated well, but I'm just reflecting on it and I guess I'm trying to work out my complicated feelings.

Incidentally, I am not saying that Louis ever loves Lestat less than Lestat loves Louis. I think Louis takes longer to know his own love and also it does grow gradually... but a lot of Louis' inaction and stance isn't from a lack of love towards Lestat. Rather it's from a combination of his own personality - Louis has a tendency towards actively desiring his own non-existence so it's sort of like he'd never take that chance away from anyone else. And in some of the above cases, Lestat has wronged him, or Louis thinks he has.

Lestat is an endurer... although he does seek to end himself as often as Louis, if not more often, he dwells less in the imagining of it and appears, at least as much as he shares it to either suddenly leap into it, or to fall into it through a deep depression.

It isn't that they don't have the same leanings, just their timescales and the way they get there are different.

But Lestat would never put Louis in (im)mortal danger: not even in his greatest rage. I cannot believe it. Though, on the TV show, I believe he did it. But book-Lestat would never.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S1 Ep5 Musings - Claudia's POV of Lestat's Injuries

In my She Deserved Better post for S1, I focused on Claudia's POV of her life in NOLA, and how she might've perceived things, regardless of whether she had all the facts/details/nuances or not. One reason we have inconsistencies wrt Louis' injuries looking worse in S1 and Lestat's injuries looking worse in S2 is cuz Claudia's the one describing Loustat's fight in her diaries in S1, and Lestat's describing a version specifically doctored by himself and the coven/Sam/Armand/etc to use Claudia's diaries as evidence AGAINST her & Lou.

The private vs public nature of a diary entry written by a traumatized daughter watching her parents fight; versus one of the perpetrators' court testimony full of leading questions & damning implications MUST be stressed. Claudia doesn't benefit AT ALL from describing the fight in her diary that she NEVER intended ANYONE to read. The ONLY one who benefits is LESTAT, who's busy rewriting history during a PUBLIC Trial to paint himself as the victim & Claudia & Louis as these evil ungrateful children who turned on him for no reason. 🙄 Louis uses her diaries to try setting the whole record straight and own up to where he failed her as a father; but LESTAT bastardizes her diaries to make HER look bad; ain't THAT some ish. 😒 But meanwhile Claudia's POV gets constantly twisted & diminished.

TO CLAUDIA, in her POV, it makes total sense that Lestat looked fine at the end of Ep5.

Think about it: She said in 1x4 that "Daddy Lou's my favorite," because Uncle Les gets "crotchety;" Les is MEAN. She'd already clocked Les' foul temper that he kept using in 1x1 & 2x7 to explain his pisspoor behavior towards Lou & Lou's family, even during the "easy times" when she & Les were actually getting along! Then their relationship goes to utter hell after Lestat burns Charlie, and Claudia's convinced that this dude hates her guts & never wanted her.

So then she runs away from home, comes back after being viciously beaten & assaulted & raped by an evil white man, only to come home where she THINKS shes safe, only to be chokeslammed & dishragged by another evil white man who commences to beating the dog snot out of her favorite, helplessly witnessing Daddy Lou's brutalization by this same mean ole uncle (a la her "mean ole auntie who beat me cuz no one said she couldn't"), and how no one could stop Les from beating the breaks offa Lou--including her.

She then watches Les fly Lou into the effing clouds, and drop him like an egg from an airplane. Claudia could do nothing--she was LIMPING around with a BLEEDING head wound on her frikkin forehead, cuz Lestat had FOUGHT HER, too, as she tried & failed to PROTECT her favorite: Daddy Lou, who's in this mess cuz he stood up to Les to protect her & get Lestat OFF of HER when Les tried to snap her neck first! They're tryna protect EACH OTHER from THIS French a-hole who's lost his effing MIND!

Then she sees is Les floating down from the effing heavens to stare down at her as if SHE'D be next if she tried to square up against this god/demon who just turned Louis to paste, lying there with all his bones broken! SHE has a broken leg, too! Les was bleeding--SO?!

So OF COURSE Les seems uninjured to her. Cuz his injuries don't MATTER in the grand scheme of things. They don't even REGISTER to her. Oh, poor Lestat was bleeding a lot--WHO CARES? Did it take Les months & years on end relearning how to effing SEE and WALK? Did HE have to clean that nasty AF house BY HIMSELF, teaching Lou to hunt goats, all to take care of the parental figure who was supposed to be taking care of HIM, not the other way around? NO!

And yet Claudia's supposed to get the details of Lestat's bloody face correct?! WHAT!? 😂🤣 EFF HIS FACE! Compared to everything he put Louis & Claudia through, YES, to her, Les really was fine! WORSE than fine: he's strong AF, and can FLY, and god knows what else. Same way Les was all busted up in 1x6--no one cares, what OTHER horrible stuff can you do to us? Les shocked the 💩 outta them, yet morons insisted that Claudia & Louis weren't abused cuz they didn't act scared enough--WHAT?! 🤦

Also! Focusing on Claudia's POV to say Les' injuries didn't matter to her isn't the same as Santiago minimizing Lou's abuse and him being CRIPPLED either.

LES was fine, cuz he really was, COMPARED TO HIS YOUNGER & WEAKER & MORE VULNERABLE FLEDGLINGS he'd just assaulted. During the Trial, Lestat says NOTHING about him needing any prolonged period of rehabilitation or convalescence or healing--cuz his injuries are immaterial. Oh, Louis bashed his head into the coffin--AND!? 😂 Lestat focused on LOUIS being "broken," cuz LOUIS was the one whose injuries were the worst. But typical, Les' Ep5 revisit NEVER acknowledged CLAUDIA'S injuries--the injuries HE dealt to HIS OWN DAUGHTER. He mocked her burning herself "for attention," minimizing her grief & pain & misery; yet he makes this big ole hooplah over how much he cared about her in the Ep4 revisit, when HE'S the one who'd BEEN making her miserable, OMG.

We still don't know if AMC's following the book rules about the rate which vampires heal or not, cuz I said in my last rant about Les's Ep5 injuries that I DO think he really was bloodied, but it evaporated or he wiped it off or whatever by the time he was outside--cuz that's what happens in the books/film; injuries heal super quick. But I also said eff Lestat and the Rolls Royce he rode in on, cuz he should've NEVER put his hands on Claudia and IDGAF what excuses anyone vomits up to defend him. Louis' a grown man, but Claudia was LITERALLY defenseless, EFF LESTAT.

The more I think about Ep5, the more I'm like: AMC!Claudia should've been the one to slit Lestat's throat, just like in the books/film. 😒 She went way too easy on him, and yet we're supposed to sit here and GAF about this child abusing wife beater's face being bloody and call LOUIS an abuser, like, PUH-LEASE, omfg. 🙄

[alleyskywalker]

I keep turning over in my head this whole Armand deleting Louis SF memories unilaterally thing and something about it just...doesn't sit well with me. Because…ehh sure Armand is amoral enough that he would do something like that if he really felt it was necessary, but I also do think it’s not something he goes around doing left and right or without feeling truly compelled to. So, he’d do it but I feel like he’d need a good reason. And, given what he does and doesn’t erase, I can’t figure what his goal would have been here, and why, if he was already doing it, wouldn’t he have erased more?

If he’d just erased the entire night, it would have made sense. Like it’s pretty clear that Daniel, or rather the interview with Daniel – to Armand’s POV anyway – was the linchpin, the root cause of everything spiraling out of control. It’s the interview digging up all of Louis' memories and prying open all the wounds, a lot of which hadn’t even healed over yet (Paris/Claudia). Louis, then having taken a sudden and baffling fascination to Daniel, lashed out at Armand about the whole him being boring thing, which was probably there anyway, but clearly Daniel and drudging up memories of Lestat were what triggered the outburst. And then, of course, all these freshly torn over wounds lead to Louis' attempted suicide. On top of it all, Louis feels so attached to this mortal reporter that he gets Armand to keep him alive. So, from Armand’s POV, Louis was already struggling, and then came Daniel and made it even worse.

But Armand doesn’t erase the interview or Daniel (which…bet he’s kicking himself for that mistake now…). He erases the fight and everything that comes after (up until they’re back home and Louis’ fully recovered I’d assume). But why? Why that part specifically? What does Armand get out of it? Their fight was ugly and possibly the worst one they’d had, but I doubt they hadn’t had bad fights before, given Louis’ destructive behavior at that point in time/the tension in their relationship. If Armand was doing this to be Evil and Manipulative, it would make more sense for him to let Louis have his memory of his attempted suicide while high. It would give Armand’s assertions about protecting Louis from himself more weight. “Remember when you were self-destructive and nearly killed yourself? What would have happened if I wasn’t there?”

And you know…Armand lashes out at Daniel in a really nasty way, which  Louis could have been mad at him for, but I don’t think that’s enough of a reason. Because the way that segment ends, they’ve…not exactly made up but Louis apologizes for having “acted out” re: the attempt, tries to comfort Armand when he’s clearly broken up with jealousy over Lestat, invokes their companionship as a reason to let Daniel live… Like they’re not ok, but they don’t seem to be about to break up or anything. And in Dubai, when Daniel is like "wow your bf is a jerk," Louis defends Armand and empathizes with how he was hurt but couldn't take the rage out on Louis when Louis was already hurt. (If Armand just regretted the bad decision to contact Lestat, he could have just wiped that specific part.) If anything, Armand would probably want Louis to remember talking about the endurance of their companionship.

Just…what exactly about these memories – but not Daniel and the interview – was so harmful/threatening to Armand that he took the pretty big step of unilaterally erasing Louis memories? (And it couldn’t have been easy, either, to do so undetected, if even possible? From what we see with Daniel, it’s kind of a process that requires some participation from the subject.)

[licncourt]

Do you think Claudia loved Louis? I understand her hatred for him(and lestat) but was there any love there? Especially when we find out about the missing diary pages.. it seems any love that was there turned into manipulation. If madeleine and Claudia were about to get away and survive, do you think she would’ve ever came back for Louis? Met up with him or remembered him? I remember you saying that she never though highly of Louis too

I think that she definitely loved him early on, just like with Lestat, but that's pretty obvious. She was still mentally a child and they were her saviors and parents, of course she loved them both. I even think she loves Louis (albeit with a lower opinion of him and perhaps in a less daughterly way) when she finds out what both of their parts were in her turning. She's not just angry in that scene, she's deeply, unfathomably hurt too, and I think it's the beginning of her really hardening towards Louis. She needs him and hates that she needs him.

After all of that, I don't think she loved him, no. She has no real memory of being human and I think innate humanity is needed for forgiveness and loving someone who's hurt you. Five or six years as a human just isn't enough to instill some of the core human experiences she needed to relate to her parents. If she thought Louis was tolerably stupid before, she sees him as completely useless later, largely for the same reason. She can't empathize with the things Louis is going through in any way. In fact, it's everything she hates and sees as the ultimate weakness. He's a necessary evil, but if anything she seems to really loathe him most of the time.

I do think she sees Louis as stupid, sentimental, weak, boring, and definitely inferior to her, but how she feels about him moment to moment can vary a bit depending on the circumstances. If she's getting her way and frolicking around Paris, he's somewhat amusing for her as company. If she's angry at him, she would shank him and leave him for dead in a heartbeat if she was bigger. The most important thing is manipulation though, always. He's a means to her various ends first and foremost.

I feel like the only real caveat to all of this is her reaction to Louis' anger after her murder of Lestat and her emotions when she confronts Louis about wanting to leave her for Armand. Even then though, I think the approximation of love is coming more from the ouroboros nature of their relationship at that point. The two of them are well and truly alone in the world, and he's the ONLY world Claudia has ever known. He's literally her entire life and only option for companionship in the universe, so much so that she begins to see him in a romantic light for lack of anything else in her life.

She doesn't love Louis or like him or even respect him, but without him there is literally only the void, total nothingness for her forever. That's a terrifying, existentially horrific concept, even for a being as ruthless and cold-blooded as Claudia. Maybe she even felt a flicker of love in that moment, some kind of shadow of what she'd felt so long ago.

If she had successfully run away with Madeleine, I don't think she would have gone back to him though. I can't imagine nearly escaping a terrible death because her dad is an idiot would endear her to him any extra. It's just proof that he's a liability and "lost cause". If their paths somehow ever crossed again, I don't think she would avoid him, probably just give him the cold shoulder and let him grovel at her feet for a second before she left. Maybe she would confront him about the whole debacle, or maybe she would just let him stew in what's left unsaid.

There's that scene in Merrick where the alleged ghost Claudia is saying pretty much this stuff to Louis and blaming him for her death, and while I don't think that was really Claudia, I do unfortunately think that's probably not far off from how she would feel. In this case, Louis' worst fears are likely justified, and I think that's really unusual in a story but also kind of chilling to sit with. Sometimes there isn't redemption. Sometimes there wasn't love. Sometimes a mistake is just a mistake and you can never make it right. In a way I really enjoy that as part of a horror story.

[pynkhues]

I think it does make more sense to cover the trial earlier in season 3 rather than later. In the book vs the show trial, it’s relatively clear that Lestat isn’t fully responsible for Claudia’s death, and Armand takes credit for it by the end of the first book. I think the show will want to clarify that because it’s a lot more complicated than her relatively simple execution in the books. It doesn’t make sense to lead the audience along that way when some viewers won’t know if Lestat really did that or not, unlike the books where you do get that it wasn’t his idea, just not to what extent he was tortured into participating.

(x)

Agreed, anon. I also think it could really hinder the momentum of the season if it feels like we're ultimately building to the same place we were across s1 and s2, where the question of what happened to Claudia really underpins Louis' emotional journey.

I was thinking about this on the train earlier, but in a lot of ways the tragedy of Claudia is actually really different for Louis and Lestat, which is actually where the show left us with the reunion. Louis' story is bookended by the loss of people he loved and who in many ways, defined what he felt was the good in him. Being Paul's brother and Claudia's father were these parts of himself that he never felt ashamed of, he felt a sanctity in their need for, and understanding of him, something that allowed him a lightness he'd deny himself. That feeling of his love for them being something that killed them both is what he's ultimately grappling with, and understanding that their deaths were out of his control and not a reflection of the evil in him is really at the root of his arc.

In that sense, while Lestat's involvement and lack thereof is important narratively and for the audience's understanding of the character, I don't think it's actually that significant to his arc. Him not having wanted to be there doesn't absolve him, he'll always in part blame himself, just like Louis will, but that's not the tragedy of his story, just like it isn't the tragedy of Louis'. The tragedy is that he never let Claudia know him, and that whether through trauma, circumstance (again, interracial relationships and adoptions were illegal in Louisiana) or choice, he could never be father to her in the way that Louis could be. The thematic power in that arc as a result comes not from disentangling who was responsible for what at the trial, but in Lestat telling his story to a stranger now, when it saves nothing and no one, when he could never tell it to his daughter when maybe it could've saved her.

The trial wasn't an isolated incident, it was the culmination of a history he never let his husband or daughter know, and if Louis' role within the family is something he feels defines the best of himself, Lestat's forever left trying to define it at at all because his role within the family unit was beaten and starved out of shape in his boyhood, and as an adult, he's pushing himself into indentations he won't fit into.

To me, one of the questions Louis asks at the start of season 1 is: 'how could I love a man who killed our daughter?' And what the reunion scene to me had Lestat asking was: 'how can I grieve a daughter who I couldn't let be my daughter?'

Which, to me, with my writing hat on, leads ultimately to the question of 'would telling her any of this have saved her?'

Of course, I don't know what the framework might be for s3, but I feel like if the season is asking a question like that, then revisiting the trial earlier rather than later makes a lot of sense.

[konstantick112]

So far, everything can be fixed

My version of the ending of the second season of the series based on the interview with the vampire . Because I love Armand very much.

Louis throws Armand against the wall, his eyes burning with predatory fire. It seems that something like the ceiling or Daniel's psyche is collapsing on the floor below (It's his own fault).

Armand shouts something, but no one listens to him. Of course, who would listen to a five hundred year old vampire? No respect for elders. Unable to stand it, he finally stops time.

— Just don't do any of your tricks, – Louis says, turning black with anger even more, but he can't move, this magic is too strong for him.

— You have to listen to me, Louis! – He hung in the air like a majestic angel from ancient frescoes, now you had to look up at him.

— I don't want to listen to you!

— Would you really believe some mortal journalist? Why would I do that to you, in your opinion?

— God only knows.

— Only there is no God. Let me show you.…

Armand snapped his fingers and the familiar room disappeared in an instant, replaced by some painfully familiar place. Semi-darkness, a half-empty hall, a rehearsal of some kind of play. Louis knew which one.

— What did you do?

— I'm showing you the past.

— You never said you could time travel.

— If I can stop time, why can't I do that? Armand chuckled. – I can get any information from anyone's subconscious, and I can show it.

— But I didn't see it…

— It's mine.

They fell silent and continued to watch the rehearsal.

Armand stood at the stage like a preacher. The script was really in his hands. He's the director, but he doesn't decide anything else here. Santiago smiles with predatory fire, a real devil's spawn with the appearance of a SHAMAN. Armand writes something in the margins-it's his responsibility. But his appearance is more like that of a man with a gun at his temple, rather than an evil ruler of fate.

— I had no choice, — Armand suddenly cut into the silent scene.

— That's what you always say.

— They could have locked me up and then killed all of you!" I had to do something!

— But you didn't do anything!

— What about it? Do you think this is all Lestat's doing? Are you going to believe some mortal journalist?

Armand made some kind of mental gesture and the picture of the scene disappeared. Another, even more terrifying one appeared. Louis remembered that moment perfectly. This time, Armand shows him his memories.

The crowd is noisy, the spotlight is in your face – this is how the death sentence is pronounced.

Pain in the legs, pain in the eyes, pain in the soul. Of course, it's just a memory, but experiencing it a second time was just as hard as the first time.

Claudia's fate has already been sealed by the cheering crowd and the soulless screenwriter. All that remains is to wait for his own verdict. But the crowd quiets down…

Louis looks at his savior, Lestat, but he's completely unconcerned. The hall is controlled by someone else.

—Well? Are you sure? — Armand's voice sounded as if it came from somewhere inside, from the very brain and at the same time from outside everything. — Your human friend is just getting back at me for what I did to him back in San Francisco.

The painful memory finally disappeared and Louis found himself back in Dubai.

— Lestat says he loves you, but he didn't do anything to save you. He killed Claudia. Armand continued. And then time took its course and he flew into the wall. — And now I'd like to hear an apology.

Russian«

Луи швыряет Армана в стену, его глаза горят хищным огнем. Кажется этажом ниже рушится что-то типа потолка или психики Дэниела (Сам виноват).

Арман что-то кричит, но его никто не слушает. Конечно, кто же будет слушать пятисот летнего вампира? Никакого уважения к старшим. Не выдержав, он наконец останавливает время.

— Только давай без этих твоих фокусов – Изрекает Луи, еще сильнее чернея от гнева, но он не может пошевелиться, эта магия слишком сильна для него.

— Ты должен меня выслушать, Луи! – Он повис в воздухе словно величественный ангел со старинных фресок, теперь смотреть на него приходилось снизу вверх.

— Я не хочу тебя слушать!

— Неужели ты поверишь какому-то смертному журналисту? Зачем мне, по твоему мнению, так поступать с тобой?

— Одному Богу известно.

— Только вот никакого Бога нет. Позволь я покажу тебе…

Арман щелкнул пальцами и привычная комната в мгновенье испарилась, вместо нее перед глазами появилось какое-то до боли знакомое место. Полутьма, полупустой зал, репетиция какого-то спектакля. Луи знал какого.

— Что ты сделал?

— Я показываю тебе прошлое.

— Ты никогда не говорил, что умеешь перемещаться во времени.

— Если я могу останавливать время, почему я не могу делать так? – Арман усмехнулся. – Я могу доставать любую информацию из чьего угодно подсознания, могу и показывать ее.

— Но я этого не видел…

— Это моя.

Они замолчали и продолжили наблюдать за репетицией.

Арман стоял у сцены как проповедник. Сценарий и правда был в его руках. Он – режиссер, но больше он тут ничего не решает. Сантьяго улыбается хищным огнём, настоящее дьявольское отродье с внешностью SHAMAN'а. Арман что-то пишет на полях – это его обязанность. Но его вид, больше напоминает вид человека с дулом у виска, нежели злобного вершителя судеб.

— У меня не было выбора – вдруг вклинился в немую сцену Арман.

— Ты всегда это говоришь.

— Они могли закрыть и меня, а потом убить всех вас! Я должен был сделать хоть что-то!

— Но ты ничего не сделал!

— А как же? По твоему все это дело рук Лестата? Ты будешь верить какому-то смертному журналисту?

Арман сделал какой-то мысленный жест и картина сцены исчезла. Появилась другая, ещё более жуткая. Этот момент Луи помнил прекрасно. На этот раз Арман показывает ему его воспоминания.

Толпа шумит, свет прожекторов в лицо – так выносится смертный приговор.

Боль в ногах, боль в глазах, боль в душе. Конечно это лишь воспоминание, но переживать это во второй раз было так же тяжело как в первый.

Судьба Клодии уже предрешена ликующей толпой и бездушным сценаристом. Остается лишь дожидаться его собственного приговора. Но толпа затихает…

Луи смотрит на своего спасителя – на Лестата, но он совершенно беззаботен. Зал контролирует кто-то другой.

— Ну что? Ты убедился? – Голос Армана звучал как будто откуда-то изнутри, из самого мозга и вместе с тем снаружи всего. – Твой человеческий дружок просто мстит мне за то, что я сделал с ним тогда, в Сан-Франциско.

Мучительное воспоминание наконец исчезло и Луи снова оказался в Дубае.

— Лестат говорит что любит тебя, но он не сделал ничего для твоего спасения. Это он убил Клодию. – Продолжил Арман. А потом время пошло своим чередом и он отлетел в стену. – А теперь я хотел бы услышать извинения.

[onthenightisland]

with great excitement, i can finally present my most self indulgent endeavor ever:

IWTV CHARACTERS AS PATHFINDER 2E* CHARACTERS

(*dungeons and dragons' superior sister system)

DISCLAIMER: this is a fun silly activity and not a super serious character analysis or poignant deep dive. i have tried my best to grasp the essence of these characters through the art of ttrpg character sheets. if you have thoughts or feelings about my decisions please feel free to send me asks and discuss in the replies, i'd love to hear different opinions!

Lestat de Lioncourt Ancestry: Ancient Elf (Polymath Bard Dedication) Background: Musical Prodigy Class: Sorcerer (Diabolic)

i was struck with a horrifying and evil vision of the most manic pixie dream twink mary sue build and thought. oh my god. that's lestat. and that's how i got the idea to make this post. i picked sorcerer because there is no more "i have every powerful ancient vampires blood running through me" Specialest Girl In The World class than sorcerer. i tacked on diabolic as an homage to lestats constant struggle with his nature being that of the devil through the series. ancient elf was both because of his deep ties to the ancients but also because of the free dedication. that girl needed a bard feat !!! yes she's the chosen one and more special and beautiful than everyone else but she's also a Performer. i specifically choose polymath bard because lestat has never been able to stay fixated on a muse for more than 15 minuets. multi talented diva with attention deficit disorder ! musical prodigy also lends some trained skills for the bard part of the build and ties it all off with a nice bow.

Louis de Pointe du Lac Ancestry: Human (Aiuvarin) Background: Bookkeeper Class: Oracle (Ancestors)

louis was TOUGH. sadly pf2e has no options for irresistibly sexy gay entrepreneurs so i had to make some concessions. i was originally between animist and barbarian for louis but the farther i got into the build the more they both felt really reductive and like they didn't showcase ALL of who louis is. he's not a carnival medium or roid head, he's a regular guy haunted by the people he's loved dead and alive !!! so i decided that ancestors oracle played into both his Dreamstat tendencies and the significance that the expectations and memories of his family have for him. i really wanted to keep louis human because i felt like his humanity is sooo important to his character, but i added the Aiuvarin (elven) heritage as a nod to the influence that Lestats influence and his turning has had on his humanity. bookkeeper is as close as i could get to successful sexy gay businessman and i'm sticking by it. (fun cruel add on, i gave him the 1st level Ancestry Feat Forlorn. the griever with a masters degree in loss.)

Claudia Ancestry: Dwarf (Aiuvarin) Background: Nomad Class: Rogue (Mastermind)

the sneaker !!! claudia was such a treat to build, i had such a clear picture for her. i chose dwarf because regardless of her size or perceived frailty, she's so incredibly strong. and stubbornly loyal to a fault! the Aiuvarin heritage is in the same vein as louis but with more lesdaughter implications. Mastermind Rogue was such a given, that girl is always 4 thousand steps ahead of everyone at any given moment. she doesn't need any fancy sneak attacks from the shadows or suprise attack brawls, shes just fuckin smart. she was eating up hundred year old vampires at 20 something like it was NOTHING. nomad was a coy nod to her run away escapades and her and madeleines plans to "wander".

Armand Ancestry: Elf (Nephilim) Background: Barrister Class: Bard (Maestro)

oooohhh my baby. this was such a challenge. i ummed and ahhed for ages but then i was shot in the chest with the sudden realization of; oh my god. theatre kid. bard. this guy was a director for over 200 years and has an actual passion for the stage and most other kinds of art OF COURSE he's a bard. maestro bard specifically because of his master complex and the weird perfectionism shame that that's caused. i chose nephilim elf mostly as a nod to armands specific type of beauty often being referred to as biblical or Botticellian but also because it gives the character "golden eyes." and i thought woah that's so armand. admittedly i struggled real bad with picking a background so i settled on Barrister as a little tongue in cheek joke about the orchestration of claudias trial, but i also tossed around Cultist and Artist. multitalented diva <3

Daniel Molloy Ancestry: Gutsy Halfling Background: Printer Class: Investigator (Interrogation)

this felt like a victory lap ngl. investigator, DUH. Interrogation because of the interviewing. of the vampire. i picked halfling because of their curious and inquisitive nature but also because they're notoriously lucky and i believe that pure luck is truly the only reason that daniel lived as long as he did. gutsy was both because he's mouthy and isn't afraid to bitch slap an undead gay serial killer but also because of his innate boner fear response. if that ain't gutsy idk what is !!! printer was a given for a Pulitzer prize winning published journalist.

[nalyra-dreaming]

I am rather new to the fandom but there seems to be a subsection of it that is more worried about forcing their own narrative then actually appreciating the story the show is telling. They are trying so hard to push this Lestat is the evil villain and Armand is the better choice narrative even though the show has told us differently. I have seen these takes that Armand was “forced” to do things by the coven and he’s a victim when we’ve seen actual evidence that he has the power to dominate the coven which means at the very least he could have saved all three of them from that play but they are so focused on that one line of Louis blaming Lestat when it’s very obvious Louis was in the dark about almost everything surrounding the play

Yeah…. well. 😬

I know what you speak of, and all I can say is that these people should maybe watch the SDCC 2024 panel, either on AMC+ or maybe here:

Because Assad clearly says Armand killed Claudia and orchestrated “their“ deaths (Louis & Claudia). (at about 10mins)

Which, btw was also already proven by the trial script *shrugs*

The show kept to the book here, as was to be anticipated. Armand is (something like) the antagonist after all… for a while^^.

There are some who cling to that soft “beige pillow“ fanon version of his character though… which is their loss imho, because I find Armand with all his facets so much more fascinating. Same for Louis, Claudia and all of them really. I don’t want any of them without their faults or edges.

And luckily for us the show really doesn’t soften them. 😈

Which of course doesn’t mean one shouldn’t follow the narrative 😬 (or realize when truths are revealed for and to Louis)… but season 3 will clear some things up there, I‘m quite sure^^

[agathah]

Episode 8 spoiler!!

How do you feel about the fact that they made Armand too dirty in the series? I was ready for him to take part in Claudia’s fate, but it seems to me that his agreement with Louis’ death was a bad decision. It's just out of character. I don't even know what to feel about this. It looks like they decided to sacrifice the personality of a minor character in order to win Lestat back into the audience's good graces. I would like to know your opinion, as a fan of the books and Armand in particular.

Ohh now we're talking, i couldn't say anything about this on twt because i was afraid i was gonna get some kind of hate, but as you asked (I'm so glad you did), I'm gonna tell you what I think. You guys know i love Armand especially because he's a complex character, not entirely evil and definitely not entirely good, but also human, very human, ironically. First things first, I don't like what they did to loumand. Did you guys notice how corny they were? It's like they were written to be unlikable, to be tasteless. And I say this as a loustat warrior. And the way they connect in the books is so beautiful because they match melancholy, they want to find purpose in life with one another. It was never supposed to work, yes, but now we go back to the last episode. Of course, we haven't seen Armand's version of it all, but they definitely made him worse, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's off character if we compare this version of him to the book one, but if this is how the writers wanted to adapt Armand, then it's not necessarily bad writing. The thing I don't like is exactly what you pointed out, Armand looked like this manipulative cruel villain who trapped louis in this abusive relationship for decades by playing the victim in every single opportunity he had, all of this for Louis to go back to Lestat, and Lestat to seem less evil. Don't get me wrong, I love lestat, and I loved how we got to see that he's not this soulless monster they made up. But that had a cost: making armand look worse than him. My hope is that Armand is supposed to have the "lestat effect" next season (in S1 they villanized lestat in a very similar way they did with Armand in S2, and now lestat is likeable again, so maybe they're gonna show Armand's side of the story next season and things will be more understandable). But even if they do that, they painted Armand as really bad and cruel, and that's such a superficial take on his character. Also the fight between Louis and him was so anticlimactic. I think it's weird how the show emphasized how powerful Armand was, a 500 year old vampire, but he seems to be outsmarted by every single character in the show. And the whole "Armand directed the play" plot was so ??? I don't know, was the coven that important? Is he really supposed to have this machiavellian persona in this particular situation? And just to be clear I'm not saying that i want him to be more morally correct, i love to see these characters being evil. I just don't like how they made him look weak and unlikeable at the end (and in my opinion yes, i think part of the point was to elevate lestat's character :/) Anyway, sorry I WROTE A LOT LOL AKSJSK and I could write more, but that's basically what I think

[oneofthosecrazycatladies]

Hi there! I found your blog because of your monthly posts keeping track of the news in the US. First of all, I want to say THANK YOU for that! It’s so helpful!!! But as I scrolled through your blog I noticed you reblog a lot of Interview with the Vampire content. I LOVE IWTV so I wanted to ask what are you most looking forward to in season 3?

Hello Anon! First off, I’m glad to know that you find those posts helpful, it really means a lot to me!

Now onto your other question. I think what I’m most looking forward to is just finally getting a screen adaptation of The Vampire Lestat (Queen of the Damned (2002) doesn’t count).

I’m a big fan of the books and I’m actually just a huge fan of vampire fiction more broadly and Lestat is, like, one of my all time favorite vampires and Sam Reid is just so good at portraying him.

I really enjoyed the first two seasons so I feel pretty confident they’ll do a good job. From what I’ve seen in interviews that Sam Reid has done, it seems like he really cares about Lestat as a character so I think he’ll keep the writers in line if they don’t do Lestat’s backstory justice.

More specifically, I am just dying to see Devil’s Minion finally come to fruition. We got a little taste of it in season 2. 2x05 was like the appetizer but now I need the main course.

And of course I’m really looking forward to Loustat being reunited. I really hope the show doesn’t do all the on-again-off-again that the books did. That always really annoyed me, like just let them be together and be happy!!!

I know the show has changed things with regards to all four main characters (Louis, Lestat, Daniel, Armand) which makes it harder to predict exactly what direction the show will go in especially with Daniel and Armand (as individuals and as a couple).

And finally…Gabrielle. I think pretty much everyone in the fandom feels the same. Considering everything going on with trans people and the culture of transphobia right now, however they handle Gabrielle I think will say a lot.

Other things, um, I hope we see Claudia again, either ghost Claudia or Claudia in flashbacks (or both). I swear if they don’t have Lestat give his “Claudia was my dark child, my love, evil of my evil” speech I will absolutely lose my shit and boycott the rest of the show. I am so fucking tired of all the people saying Lestat never loved Claudia because he absolutely did. And she loved him.

Those are my main things that I can think of off the top of my head.

Oh! One other thing that I’m definitely holding my breath for. It makes absolutely no sense to me the way some people in this fandom treat Akasha as some Feminist GirlBoss™️ so I really hope the writers treat her as the villain/abuser that she is. Honestly there are other female characters in The Vampire Chronicles that are way better than Akasha.

But you know what I’m not looking forward to? The fact that season 3 won’t air until 2026. Like what the fuck AMC??? Like I understand there were the strikes between season 1 & 2 but they don’t have that excuse this time. And also…they do realize the show is about vampires right??? Vampires that don’t age? What’s gonna happen when the very human actors inevitably start showing visible signs of aging? I mean for god’s sake Eric Bogosian is already in his 70s!

Ugh anyway, there’s so much other stuff in the world to stress about so I’m not gonna stress out about this too. I’ll just keep rewatching the first two seasons and rereading the books and hopefully the premiere date will be here before we know it!