#yes I'm rewatching iwtv again

[coffeeworldsasaki]

Ah yes the beginning of episode two, when Armand said "it's venetian" and that simple sentence had my brain start screaming "IS HE ARMAND IS HE ARMAND????"

[insanityisdivine]

That Lestat promo video kinda reminded me of Hansel from Zoolander lol

[cbrownjc]

Some spoiler thoughts for episode 2x05

I haven't done a rewatch yet, so these are just some initial thoughts on the episode (spoilers):

Daniel was so not let go after those 3 days. Bank on it.

Daniel already said it -- the drug den thing was a fabrication of his memories being rewritten. But, more to it, Louis' memories of that time were also rewritten. Between that as well as his extensive burn? Who knows what Louis even remembers of the 1970s either.

Neither Louis nor Daniel remember a damn thing of what happened during what would be the Devil's Minion period! (Particually because who knows how long it took Louis to even heal. With those types of burns, I'm going to say a few years at least.)

The show left things extremely open-ended for both Daniel and Louis' characters at the end of the flashbacks which can be filled with whatever the show writers might have ideas about that time period over how many whatever seasons. They haven't locked themselves into one single thing going forward leaving it open-ended that way.

Yeah, even if they want Louis and Daniel to have had sex sometime later. Because again, they both don't remember anything. 😏

But Armand -- Armand does. He remembers all of it. And oh you dear, f-ed up gremlin, I really did think you might not have been responsible for Daniel's memories, but now I'm starting to wonder . . . .

Louis, in 1973, doing what he does in Merrick. Because it was remembering Claudia -- how she manipulated him -- that sent him running into the sun. And even though he tried -- and failed -- to do it in 1973, he's going to fully remember it in the present day too IMO and, this time, he'll succeed at doing it.

Because yes, in Merrick, Louis actually succeeds in killing himself. It's only because of how vampire blood works, and a lot of it being poured over Louis' body, that he is revived. And I really think we are headed toward a "rule of three" wrt this. I think Armand clocked Louis was close to killing himself sometime directly after Paris because of maybe almost really trying so, and that is why Armand put a veil up over Louis' mind.

Because even back in 1973 it's clear that Louis actually didn't remember the bit about Claudia until he drank Daniel's drugged-up blood! Between that and Arman directly saying "She didn't love you!" (which yes, was a line taken directly from toward the end of the IWTV book that Armand says to Louis about Claudia), whatever cloud Louis was actually under in 1973 lifted for a bit . . . enough for him to run out into that sun and almost succeeded -- which I feel we'll learn/see was actually his second attempt.

His third (and final) attempt will be in the finale. And that time will be the one that succeeds. (And then he'll be resurrected/reborn).

"Am I going to be on suicide watch for the next 1000 years?" Yeah, Armand, it looks very well that you are -- will be.

I loved Luke as young Daniel! And I feel very sure we're going to see more of him. He and Jacob had such a bouncy chemistry.

And oh, the scenes between him and Assad as Armand -- so creepy and sinister! Just what it should be at this point in time between Daniel and Armand, at the beginning of things. They even had Daniel held prisoner in the house for three days, the same length of time he was held in the cage in the books. But everything Armand did to Daniel here was so much more unnerving, particularly the chair thing.

So . . . Armand really didn't know the Talamasca was watching then? Hmm, okay show but I'm side-eyeing that one. Because really, he should have IMO.

Though I did notice that Daniel strategically didn't show Louis the pictures of him and Armand taking Daniel out of the house. Which I still don't think makes any freakin' sense, them doing it the way they did, even with Louis being hurt like that. I supposed Louis wanted to make sure Armand didn't hurt Daniel still, but . . . .

And oh, Armand. I can see any and all attempts to defend you wrt what is coming have really slipped away much after this. I know why you are doing all of this, I get it I do, but . . . *sigh*

You should have told Louis that Lestat was saying, "I love you." But you are still so scared of being alone . . . this is all going to bite you back next season Armand. So, so much.

Would I say it's my most favorite episode of the show ever so far? Not yet. But I known it's the one of Season 2 that I'm going to rewatch over and over the most so far. Yes, I love it for the beginning of Devil's Minion that it gave us, of course. But I love that it also really started to show the friendship and trust that Rolin Jones kept saying last season was between Louis and Daniel. Louis and Daniel just being friends is something I never expected going into the show and has become such a favorite dynamic of mine too.

So yeah, it was a wonderful episode. I do think it was hyped up a bit too much in the "most disturbing thing I've ever seen" department because I actually did not find it to be all that disturbing in the horror department. But as far as character development and dynamic building goes it was stellar and revealed some great things, so I can ignore my little nitpicks.

[whatspastisprologue-blr]

I stayed up far too late last night to watch S1E1 of The Newsreader on AMC+ because I'm making it my mission to watch other things IWTV actors have done and...

I love it! I was so disappointed there was only one episode so far because I NEED MORE! I think I went through the full range of human emotion at least once in that single episode. I was laughing, cheering, yelling profanity and creative threats at some of the characters, hugging my pillow, collapsing sideways onto the couch. My heart broke. I kept pausing it to appreciate a detail I'd noticed. I was a mess!

Like, the show is set in the 80s but the show itself has a very 80s vibe, so I was just taking in the costuming and set design. These characters go through, or watch, very real things (like the Challenger explosion) and then go report on it, proud they've done a good job doing so (which, yeah, it's their job; I just found it jarring). The old has-been reporter complaining about glamor in the news to the old boss guy while Helen's absence from the screen results in a severe ratings drop. The has-been reporter dude's wife so far seeming like a "pick me" and so far not getting any praise for it. Modernizing the way the news is presented and the folks holding it back. Helen is amazing.

But Dale.... Like, Dale and Lestat are played by the same person, so of course there's going to be similarities in appearance. There were definitely a few expressions I noticed that were the same. And while I'm keeping in mind keeping in mind that we've barely seen the real Lestat, I had fun seeing all the differences as well as the things that could be shared. At first, I just really wanted to know what made the IWTV casting director look at him, playing this awkward dork with questionable singing ability, and say, "Ah, yes, this guy should be the Vampire Lestat. The vampire. The one who becomes a rock star."

And then I realized that he spent a good chunk of the episode's start running around on the verge of a panic attack, he cried multiple times, and he just has major heart eyes for Helen, who I assume is his love interest. Like, I think he'd do whatever she told him (at least for now). And suddenly things began to click into place.

I just remember sitting there listening to Dale sing in the car and being impressed that the same actor, a few years later, would do, "Long Face".

Anyway, that's my rambling for now. Can't wait for more episodes!

Oh, actually, one more thing, because I'm curious. Is anyone else ever surprised by how deep Sam's voice is? It's happened to me a few times when I've done IWTV rewatches: I get caught off guard because his voice is always deeper than I expected. And then it happened again with S1E1 of The Newsreader. And it's not that I expect him to have a high pitched voice or anything; I just forget it's *that deep*. I don't know why. Is it just me?

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

(spoilers for the whole show and the books)

Season 2 episode 1 [What Can the Damned Really Say to the Damned] - part 2/4

- *solemn music*, thanks subtitles, and Louis' breathing getting all ragged. Aaaaaaah, DREAMSTAT MY BELOVED.

[Dreamstat] "Bonjour, mon amour", sorry, laughing again, but this time because of the bloopers and Jacob going "don't smile at me like that". I can't watch this scene normally any longer.

- [Dreamstat] "Is it the same question?"

[Louis] "Go away."

[Dreamstat] "Or do you miss me? I miss you. Despite our recent unpleasantness... Still missing each other."

[Louis] "Claudia!"

[Dreamstat] "Hm. Four years of grim wayfaring and still no sight of the benevolent vampire. So, how does denial manifest itself tonight? Sniffing German brandy?"

Oof, Louis automatically and immediately turning to Claudia when his consciousness-as-Lestat appears, Claudia still playing the part of the bandaid for a shitty relationship, except this time the shitty relationship is between Louis and his own mind. Claudia deserves betteeeeeer.

And the way Louis is so cruel with himself... Hallucinating your presumed dead-by-your-own-hands husband to not only punish yourself for your (and your daughter....) shortcomings but also say outloud the things you cannot, will not say outloud is a new kind of self-flagellation, methinks.

Also, timestamp! Four years since they arrived in Europe. So somewhere between 1944 and 1945, right before the end of the war. I think we'll get more precise time indicators later.

- [Louis] "You're not here, I'm just fucked in the head."

[Dreamstat] "Quite fucked. Was she worth it?"

[Louis] "Yes."

[Dreamstat] "You say it like you believe it."

[Louis] "I do, I do."

[Dreamstat] "I do, I do. I do."

[Louis] "Stop!"

Oooooooooooooh. Can't lie to yourself, Louis. Especially if you're literally manifesting your consciousness outside of you. Hard to get your mind to shut up and carry on the pretense when it's prancing around you.

Ha, I keep imagining what Claudia must be thinking hearing Louis arguing with himself like that. Poor dear must have really been fed up with her companion.

The way Louis shuts his own mind by imagining Lestat choking on his open throat is... Violent. Wait, what ? Did. Did Louis just imagine a bat flying out of Dreamstat's open throat? What???? Lou baby, um, are you alright??? Obviously not but I still gotta ask.

- [Dreamstat] "Oh. Purgatory is a lovely room for music. I have a new piece, Concerto for Gashed Throat and Orchestra."

[Louis] "I'm sorry."

[Dreamstat] "Don't say it again. You ruin it with remorse. It was a perfect betrayal. You gave me a death of distinction."

[Claudia] "Trucks!"

[Dreamstat] "But in answer to your question. Yes. I'm gonna bloody kill you."

[Louis] "If you were alive you'd have done it already."

[Dreamstat] "Hmm. Oh, love. I'm merely waiting until you're happy . So hurry up, mon cher."

*pterodactyl screech* Oh, this is so fascinating! Not just Louis' guilt and grief and how he misses Lestat so much, but also the way he does know him so well, every line spoken by Dreamstat is both Louis and something Lestat could say, yet it's also very clear this is Louis' mind because Lestat, as us watchers know with hindsight, would actually never consider taking revenge on his husband and their daughter... And it's also how Claudia's keeping watch, not interrupting Louis' psychosis session unless there's danger approaching, still playing the part that she was made for, Louis' companion, Louis' caretaker, Louis' shield in front of his self-destructive tendencies... And then it's Dreamstat tearing into Louis' throat, an actual visual representation of mental self-harm. I am fascinated and mesmerised.

- [Louis] "He came by invitation. My distraction from a monochromatic landscape. The gray of an obliterated road, the gray-brown of a charred and bullet-ridden city." - I just love the writing, that's it.

- Louis' face as the Soviet soldiers are shooting up the coffins is hilarious.

And also, welcome to Romania I guess. Garlic and crucifixes and staking corpses. Folklore never dies.

Aaaah, Romanian! Do you guys know that Romanian is a romance language like Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese? So if your native tongue is one of those, there's a good chance you might recognise some words or the sonority of Romanian when you hear it. Mainly French, Italian and Spanish tho, 'cause I have no idea what Portuguese is doing, sorry friends. Anyway, end of linguistic rant.

- Louis and Claudia telepathically arguing while meeting Emilia and Morgan is hilarious. They're family your Honor. Emilia is fun, Morgan already annoys me with his higher-than-thou attitude. Yo, asshole, broken English whomst? Go on, speak Romanian, let's see if you can do better! She's speaking your language, the least you could do is respect her instead of belittling her for minor errors that don't even matter because she's perfectly comprehensible!

... Sorry. Monolingual people needlessly correcting multilingual people is a pet peeve of mine. Ahem.

- [Louis] "Go ahead, Mary. Go and meet the other children. I bet they know everything about this place." - yo, Lou, even though it's a smart way to gather intel, maaaybe you can remember that Claudia's actually 40 and avoid laughing at her when she's forced to recon with what she hates the most, her perceived age and status? Thanks.

- [Louis] "Wait, that's wrong. She didn't say that in front of Claudia." - listen baby, I take everything you tell us with a grain of salt because we all know, the odyssey of recollection is flawed and messy. Do your edits, ain't gonna change much.

I do love how Louis is enthusiastic about correcting his own memories, tho.

- Oh,the following conversation is interesting; take extra notice of how both Armand AND Daniel look at Louis during that passage:

[Louis] "Yes. Yes! That's how it went. We should get every detail right."

[Daniel] "In total agreement."

[Armand] "Perhaps this would be a time to take a break, Louis."

*Armand looks at Louis with slight trepidation; Louis looks at Armand with anger; Daniel looks at Louis with concern and suspicion*

[Daniel] "You know, Real Rashid, I'm pretty good at my job, 'a bright young reporter with a point of view' [!!!!!!]. Interviewed a fallen Catholic archbishop, four Enron vice presidents, and if they've got something to hide, they always start with some kind of disguise. Not literally, not some dumb Halloween costume [turns to Armand and looks at him with disdain], gloves, contact lenses. They tell jokes, they're charming. And then at some crisis point, when I get close, it drops away and I see a flash of the truth."

Round of applause for Real Rashid doing his job so well he's even mastering pretending he's interested in what Daniel's saying. And round of applause for Daniel taking shots at Armand so skillfully. Love how zen Armand looks even as Daniel's basically calling him a liar and a master manipulator, do you think inside he's crying and shaking?

[Louis] "Armand didn't want me to do the interview, Daniel."

[Armand] "Still don't."

We wonder why!! Daniel's right, and Louis knows he's right, look how conflicted he appears as both Real Rashid and Armand leave the room. He knows he can't trust his memories, but he wants to tell his story as authentically as possible, and it's killing him to realise how much he's lost, forgotten or twisted over the years. The enthusiasm he had five minutes ago is gone, the liveliness in his voice at the beginning is gone, we're back to perfectly flat and controlled Dubai!Louis' voice.

- Ha, Louis' using Grace photo to pass as his wife, now there's a kind of irony I don't have the brains to decipher right now.

- Oh, boy, Morgan is insufferable. The perfect picture of the British coloniser. "This is an old country, with old things in it" - maybe you should listen to Emilia and stop looking down on her...

"Something out there, with soul disturb'ed. Disturb'ed?" *Louis nods* SEE, that's how you do it. Louis knows multilingualism, his husband was French, even his own family being Creole NOLA juggled with languages like there's no border between them. Emilia speaks perfect English because she's perfectly understandable. Sorry, I'm hung up on that tiny little thing because I'm from a multilingual household and I've lived more years in countries whose languages were my second, third, fourth or even fifth tongues than in actual France, so anything regarding languages and how some people barely even talk their own mother tongue but have no qualms correcting you when you speak multiple languages feels very personal. Had a bad experience at my previous job last December because of this kind of people so yeah, fuck Morgan actually.

- Europe: getting to the end of the worst war ever. Claudia: meeting a revenant and being thrown into trees. Emilia: fluently translating English to Romanian like the perfect queen she is (I'm very attached to her). Morgan: being insufferable. Louis: *aight, time to relax and get drunk on vodka, this is the perfect spot and time for that*. Lou darling I love you but you really got to check your priorities and sense of reality. "Baboons in Romania", seriously, love?

- [Louis] "Mortals are scared of vampires, in a part of the world known for vampires, ain't a surprise or evidence of an actual vampire!" - he's got a point.

[Claudia] "There's one of us out there! But if he can't take you ballroom dancing and tell you you're pretty, hell with him, is that it?" - she's got a point...

[Louis] "Hello, grudge!"

[Claudia] "No! Mh-mm! I forgave you for messing up my plan, I did not forgive you for bringing him with you."

[Louis] "In a landfill with five years of garbage on top."

[Claudia] "In here! You carry him in here. You slow us down."

To be fair to Louis, he did tell her when they were planning the murder that if he lets Lestat back in and he lets himself be dragged back into Lestat, there ain't no way he can find his way back out after. At least he was honest about that.

[Louis] "What you gonna ask him, if he could talk?"

[Claudia] "Change the subject when the truth blinds you."

[Louis] "Who made you? And then what? Who made the one that made you? I mean, what are we looking for here, Adam and Eve of the damned? God? Are we looking for God, Claudia? Yeah, get in the hole."

So their names [spoiler alert] are Akasha and Enkil and I just realised their initials are also A and E, I'm slow (and raised atheist), and they're actually not good news at all and Lestat already knows them, but the lore is complicated and honestly you're better off not knowing them. Also if we want to get really theological you could say that the vampires have a sort of Creator God and his name is Amel but that's even more complicated, and I have no idea how much of this part of the books Rolin Jones will adapt. Anyway. It's funny because in later books canon Louis continues not giving a fuck about where vampires come from and how. It's Lestat that almost destroys the world once or twice seeking these answers. Like father like daughter I guess, Claudia really is a De Lioncourt.

- [Claudia] "I've known exactly four vampires in my life, and you've all been the worst. Lestat, Antoinette, the motherfucker and you. I'm looking for one, just one, that ain't a goddamn bastard!" - Claudia deserves BETTER! Also I'm sorry my queen but it's not gonna get better after that.

season 1 masterpost

part 1 | part 3 | part 4

episode 2 | episode 3 | episode 4 | episode 5 | episode 6 | episode 7 | episode 8

[flamboyantbisexual]

look. I know this probably has been said over and over again but I haven't seen it yet, so I'll talk a little about it now. I'm rewatching iwtv and it fascinates me how armand editing just a few days out of Louis decades and decades of life changed him completely.

in the beginning, when he and Claudia arrive at the safehouse, we see him being so confident, so outgoing, so snarky. I love him like that. it's genuine. he found himself, his personality, his likes and dislikes.

but. in season one they're in the present (the future, if we're going to compare to the safehouse).

my point is: we tend to change over time, yes, but it's usually for the better when it comes to ourselves. OUR likes and dislikes. OUR personality. we discover ourselves and evolve, a lot of times this evolution comes with being confident. so. louis was already at that point in the 1940's (was it the 40's? I don't know). and now, being interviewed by daniel, he's not confident anymore. sure, he fakes it enough to scare daniel, but he's not.

and all of that because of a few days of memory he's lost in the 70's? which makes me wonder: did armand take away more than just those days? is it possible he took some other parts that made louis be louis, so that he'd be pliant and easily manipulated?

(someone please discuss this with me. I'm going insane)

[moirindeclermont]

Daily thread about Bridg-

Sorry, force of habit 😂

Shall we start again?

As this comunity decided, we are switching fandom, and the majority of you decided it was time for InterviewWithTheVampire.

Particularly, I'm going to call this Daily thread about why you should watch Interview With The Vampire. Because this show is so great and so underrated that I could spend a month just trying to convince people to watch it.

I'm going to try to not make too many spoiler along the way. If and when I'm going to do spoilers, I'll try to warn you about that.

Most people do know that Interview With The Vampire (or IWTV) was a film with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt (and I love the film) and before that was a book by Anne Rice. What most people do not know is that this specific version airing on AMC+ and soon available on Netflix is taking the source material and elevate it beyond any wildest imagination.

I'm going to enter into details as the days go on, but every single department involved in this show is teaching a masterclass in its speciality. Every single episode, I am in awe of everything. The attention to detail is absolutely insane.

One of the many reasons why I love this show it's that it trust its own audience, in the sense that it doesn't do plot twist for "shock value". Every plot twist is embedded in the story and it makes sense, and in later rewatch you can pinpoint all the elements that 1,2 or even 10 episode later will come back in some way.

I would not recommend watching it without paying attention to it. It definitely capture your interest from the beginning and it holds on until the very last scene. It's layer upon layer upon layer and you can always go a little deeper, if you want too.

This is just a brief glimpse because we are going to go deep into the reasons why you should give this show a chance. Yes, even if vampires are not your thing, but I'll talk about that later on.

For now, again, thank you for still been here with me, it means the world to me.

[crazykuroneko]

My IWTV S2 EP 3 musings

Rewatched the episode while waiting for Episode 4. There have been a lot of great metas here that I have reblogged, so I won't repeat them. So, these are things I am still picking up anyway

• Daniel didn't bring his laptop outside Loumand's penthouse. So, the hacking is an inside job? Rashid? From internet? Is that what air drop is? (yes, I have never used Apple in my life)

• 100 nights. so TdV was supposedly 3 months-ish when Lestat left

• *insert that Comic Book Resources article about how great IWTV using their music, because that violin during the Lesmand theatre box scene is so chef's kiss*

• What stands out the most from Armand's retelling of his past + the end of this episode: how little his power is over his flock (supposedly).

• Also, the new way of storytelling: fade out from an image of TdV burning. I assume this means they continue the interview after Loumand finish with their business and Daniel doesn't interrupt them at all? Tbqh, I don't really like it.

• Louis: outside Chicago. Claudia Springfield

• "I remember what I remember" isn't that the crux of this show?

• Ghostat appeared right when the conversation turned into about him and Armand. Aw Louis.

• Meanwhile, Armand always mentions his coven when they get serious.

• *Santiago's having a chat with Claudia* so before I kill my victims, I have a chat with them. See you on stage, Claude! - I hate (affectionately) these writers!

• OH SHIT CLAUDIA ANSWERED WHEN SANTIAGO ASKED ABOUT HER LIFE IN CHICAGO! it's supposed to be Louis' town. I mean, her answer is right, she's from Springfield. But normal non lying people would have said, "Oh, the one from Chicago is Louis, I'm from Springfield"💀

• Santiago, after Claudia talks about lying and confirming where Louis came from: stick with it, Puce. You're almost there 💀💀

• So unlike memories which vampires can see like picture shows, Ghostat only can be seen by Louis. Others can't see what he's doing. But Armand can sense him.

• There have been a lot of great talks about Claudia's scene on Tumblr and how it relates to the previous season and her whole self. But once again, I'm very grateful for this show. How careful they are presenting her story. There's literally no music whatsoever to add some "drama". You just hear the clock ticking. The shot is just of her face and Louis'. We're there with them, we're there with Louis listening to Claudia telling what happened to her in detail for the first time. That's a careful storytelling, that's a respect.

• It's so funny how we watched the Five Great Laws and a lot of people went "but Lestat still lives!" no one remembers they did kill Antoinette 🤣😭

• I find it so sad that even after losing Children of Darkness, Armand has TdV and still uses the laws, something that isn't part of Lestat's suggestion. I think Lestat would find it very ridiculous if he finds they still use those laws. Armand even picked five laws that he could maintain throughout the years out of a hundred(?). He can't help but go back to them .

• Loumand: *kissing*

Me: *kissing The Five Great Laws in the IWTV S2 OST album* my favorite tracks never fail to deliver 😭😭😭

[booksandabeer]

8 Shows To Know Me

Thank you to the lovely Em @between-a-ship-and-a-hard-place for tagging me! I love doing these, although I sometimes tend to get a little lost because how can I pick only eight? There are so many! Ok, I'm forcing myself not to overthink this, so here we go:

My So-Called Life

God how I loved this show as a teenager. I was a bit too young for it when it first aired, but once I discovered it a few years after it was cancelled (this is really an all-time top contender in the 'tragically cancelled too soon' category), I watched it over and over again. When I was 13, my entire wardrobe was modelled after Rayanne Graff--hair, clothes, everything. I even carried lollipops around with me! I wanted to be her so bad. I also very obviously--though not to me at the time--had a giant crush on her. Oh well.

ER

I put this here because ER was the first TV show that I can remember actively following week after week. I haven't seen an episode of it in years, so I have no idea if it holds up, but it was such a staple of my tv diet for more than a decade (15 seasons!) that I can't not mention it here.

Severance

Probably my favorite (new) show of last year. As someone who spent years working an office job, slowly climbed up the corporate ladder, and then one day blinked and said "fuck this shit, I'm going back to university!", this show spoke to my soul. The way it examines the absurd and often dehumanizing elements of "workplace culture" and all the hierarchical and interpersonal bullshit attached to it in such a smart & funny way made me swoon with admiration. Also, this could've gotten in on aesthetics alone because the production design on this show is fucking fantastic.

Wynonna Earp

I love this show but it really serves as a stand-in here for a whole bunch of slightly pulpy, slightly campy, queer genre shows that often have a bigger heart than budget, of which I have watched many with GREAT enthusiasm (see also: IWtV, Shadow & Bone, the first season of Sleepy Hollow, etc.) It also gives me an excuse to use this gif of Melanie Scrofano wielding a sword.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Listen. I'm not saying this is a good show. But have I watched it? Multiple times even? Yes. I have. I mean, Bucky fucking Barnes is in it, and I happen to have no self-control and a huge capacity for torturing myself when it comes to this character. The brief here was not to list 'The Best' shows, but the ones that say something about me. And well, it would be ridiculous to pretend that the MCU--for better or worse--has not made up a huge part of my media consumption over the past 15 years.

Band of Brothers

I have lost track of how many times I have watched these 10 episodes in my life. Other people do a yearly rewatch of The Lord of the Rings, I do one of BoB. I realize that's a little weird maybe, but the hold these characters still have on me after all these years is insane. No one will ever break my heart like Eugene Roe in the "Bastogne" episode. Also, this is a great example of how I tend to hyperfixate on topics that I had no previous interest in once I see a movie or a TV show about them that I really like. I've read so many books about D-Day. *shakes head* (see also: The Terror, Chernobyl, The Serpent)

The Last of Us

*points to pfp* You didn't think this wasn't going to be on here, did you? Of course it is! I LOVE the game this is based on with all my heart. I've spent countless hours playing it. I even wrote a paper about it! I was so, so nervous about the adaptation, but it turned out to be better than I ever dared to hope.

BoJack Horseman

I'm not really into cartoons. I'm not really into half-hour comedies. I would have never watched this show if a friend hadn't quite literally sat on me one day, and forced me to at least watch one episode. And you know what? It's really funny! It's also one of the smartest shows about existential loneliness and depression I've ever seen. It's at times almost unbearably painful to watch. And it stars a cartoon horse voiced by Will Arnett. Who would've thought? Not me!

No-pressure tagging: @somanywords, @tessabennet, @village-skeptic, @burninblood, @maplefiasco, @aimmyarrowshigh

[gildatheplant]

I fell in love with the show a few weeks after it came out.

I discovered it on tumblr after some gifs came across my dash from episodes one and two...I was able to watch those two episodes in time for episode 3 to come out.

I've talked to people about it, but so far I haven't convinced anyone to watch it yet.

I'd call it an updated version of IWTV that manages to be really close to the heart of Anne Rice's original, while also exploring issues of race and sexuality that the original book only touched upon. I'd also emphasize how great the shift of time period is because the Jazz Age really isn't shown much in modern media, particularly vampire media, so it creates a really unique feel to the show.

Yes.

I read the book (the series up to and including TVA, though I can't remember if I went beyond that initially) about 20 years ago. After I watched the show I decided to try reading Prince Lestat, but quickly realized I needed to refresh my memory of the earlier books first. I've reread most of IWTV, and will be starting TVL and QotD soon.

My favourite change is the change of time period. Which is funny, because when I first saw the gifs and realized the time period was changed I was worried it would hurt the story. Instead, I found the change in time really made New Orleans stand out as something special- the music, the fashion, the people, the politics- in a way that it didn't in the books.

This one is incredibly tough. I'm going to say Jacob because he had the toughest job- in the wrong hands it's very, very easy to make Louis feel like a one-note character. The time period update and race change helped enrich the character for sure, but it's Jacob's performance that really sells it.

I've rewatched most of the episodes now, but I'm still trying to find time to rewatch the last episode.

Honestly not sure.

I can't really say until after I rewatch the last episode. Initially my fave was ep. 4 because it was the 'fluffiest' episode, but I'm less sure now.

Too many to choose from. Although I always get a kick out of Lestat's reaction to the opera tenor in ep.2 because, as a trained opera singer myself, his cringing reaction was the same as mine LOL

The entire soundtrack is amazing.

Rue Royale is so gorgeous and inviting.

Again, too many great ones to choose from. Claudia had several dresses that I would've happily worn, particularly her red dress from episode 7. I also love her purple outfit in the season 2 trailers.

I love the black and white photo/gif of the vampire family. If I could introduce Louis, Claudia and Armand to the work of an artist I would pick Canadian artist Emily Carr.

I'd be curious to reread A Doll's House. I actually performed in a comedic version of it years ago, but it's actually a very serious play and one that fits very well with season 1.

The killing of the tenor scene. Admittedly, I get why ep.2 is generally considered the weakest episode of the season, it's mostly an 'explain vampirism for the audience so we can get back to the meaty stuff' episode, but I do think the tenor scene is under-appreciated. It tends to be compared unfavourably to the equivalent scene in the film, but I think they're equally good, just different. The film goes for more straight up violent horror, while the show goes for a more subtle, existential horror. I keep thinking of how the tenor is ALIVE and listening while Lestat and Louis argue...and he's still alive long after the scene fades to black.

Impossible to choose. The dialogue was amazing.

Much like Jacob Anderson, I adore the 'dabble in fuckery' line

I'd have to rewatch the final episode before I can commit to one.

If I'm going strictly by season 1, I'd probably say Louis.

Fenwick. I get he serves a purpose, and he's supposed to be vile, but I was relieved when he died. I also find his death is the closest thing to a plot hole in season 1, as I can't imagine how Louis managed not to be a suspect for his murder, since he had a clear motive. The only thing I can think of is that Tom Anderson covered for him, but then it's never explicitly stated.

I'm assuming this isn't just about romantic relationships, so I'll say Louis and his mother. Florence is incredibly hypocritical and emotionally abusive towards Louis, it's hard to watch. Second least favourite is Grace and Levi...she just seems like such a beautiful firecracker and he's such a bland dud. In fairness, that's accurate to Grace's book husband though.

I love the complex relationship between Louis and Claudia. I love that the show went the father/daughter to brother/sister route. It's so much more tragic yet somehow more wholesome than their relationship in the book.

I'm gonna say Daniel and Armand. I can't wait to see them butting heads in season 2.

Not really.

Louis and Claudia. So I know my heart's gonna break. Runner up is Louis and Daniel, though I'm not 100% sure they're gonna stay platonic. In the book there were definite hints of Daniel having a crush on Louis, though in the show I can only see that being the case with past Daniel.

I would've liked to see a stronger bond between Lestat and Claudia. Yes, Louis is her favourite parent, but I feel her murder attempt on him would've had more impact if they'd built up the positive aspects of their relationship more.

Armand, Armand, Armand. Assad Zaman is so beautiful and so talented I can't wait to see him really sink his teeth into the character.

Theatre des Vampires. Specifically the trial.

The tower scene between Louis and Armand, where Armand tells him he wants him more than anything in the world. I also hope they use as much of the book's dialogue from that scene as possible because it's all gorgeous.

I'm trying to avoid making predictions LOL

I want to see Marius. I'm especially interested in seeing the relationship between Marius and Daniel, as I imagine it would be VERY different than in the books. There's no way bitter, cynical, old man Daniel is going to be as taken by Marius as young book Daniel was.

Can't think of one atm

I'm not sure how unpopular it is, but I think old Daniel will be turned into young Daniel somehow. I absolutely love Eric Bogosian, but I know they're planning to do at least 3 or 4 seasons of the show, and it'll get harder for him to film. I don't think it'll be a case of body switching either, I suspect it'll be his body getting younger. Yes, yes, I know vampires stay the age they are when turned, HOWEVER, there IS precedence for this. Gabrielle is described as returning to the fullness and beauty of her youth after Lestat changes her, and he was barely more than a fledgling when he made her. Armand is far older and more powerful, who's to say he can't rejuvenate Daniel?

This fandom is full of great meta.

I do read fanfiction, and I've read some great stories. While I tend to prefer stories that revolve around them being vampires, I have read some great human AUs as well.

There's a lot of great artwork out there, but I'd have to look up the creator's names. There's one artist who does some really phenomenal work where they make Armand look like a shadowy, flame eyed cryptid that I adore.

I've only completed one fanfic for this fandom. I got about halfway through a second one, but I got over-whelmed by how massive it was getting and haven't continued. I'll try to revisit it in the new year, or perhaps start a new one.

A year (and change) with our vampires: 2022/2023 in review!

When did you fall in love with the show?

How did you discover it or get interested in it?

Have you gotten anyone else to watch it?

Say you’re recommending the show right now, how would you pitch it?

Do you recommend the show to your IRLs? 

Have you read the book (before or after watching)?

If you read the book, what are your favorite changes from page to screen? 

Who’s your favorite actor? 

Have you rewatched the first season? 

What was your favorite episode of season one? 

Has your favorite episode remained the same since you first finished the season? 

What were your favorite moments of season one? 

What was your favorite piece of music from the first season’s OST?

Do you have a favorite set?

What were your favorite costumes? 

Do you have a favorite piece of art (book, movie, painting) that’s referenced or featured in the show?

Have you read or watched anything because it was referenced in the show?

What’s a scene you feel is underrated?

What was your favorite dialogue of season one? 

What was your favorite one-liner of season one?

What was your favorite monologue of season one?

Who's your favorite character? Why?

Who’s your least favorite character? 

What’s your least favorite relationship?

What’s your favorite (show) canon relationship? 

What’s your favorite relationship that isn’t show canon (yet)?

Do you have an ideal endgame?

What’s your favorite (platonic) dynamic? 

What’s a dynamic you would have liked to see more of in season one?

What’s a character you’re excited to see more of in season two?

What’s your most anticipated season two storyline?

Is there a specific moment or plot point you’re hoping to see next season?

What are some of your predictions for season two?

If you read the books beyond Interview, what’s a plot point or character you want to see in later seasons?

Share a headcanon of yours.

What’s an unpopular opinion you have?

Have you read any meta that completely blew your mind? Share with the class! 

If you read fanfiction, do you have any favorites? 

If you follow any fanartists, what are some art pieces you loved?

If you made any fanworks of your own, what are your personal favorites? Throw yourself some flowers! 

[thevampirelestat]

tagged by @i-want-my-iwtv to share 9 movies i enjoy/rec:

Interview With the Vampire (1994) - starting with the obvious choice because this is a VC blog after all. IWTV is without a doubt my favorite movie of all time, and i'm sure i dont have to justify that to my followers... is it perfect? no. have i watched a million fucking times and do i know all the lines by heart? yes. i could go on for hours and hours about it, but i wont. 69/10 would highly rec for all my dramatic gays out there who haven't seen it xoxoxo

Alien (1979) - not only do i have a big fat crush on sigourney weaver, but the xenomorph can get it too... on a serious note, i almost chose Aliens (1986) instead, because that movie has more rewatch-ability than its predecessor (which is something i really value in a movie), but the suspense and drama of the original is unparalleled. its a masterclass in narrative build up with a perfectly satisfying ending 100/10, in space no one can hear you in space

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - i put off watching this movie for a really long time even though i knew i was gonna love it. which i did. it was instantly a favorite of mine despite being a bit dated in some ways, but ultimately watching this movie inspired me to watch NBC Hannibal as well, which became one of my favorite shows of all time, so there's that. unlike IWTV, it's actually a near perfect movie and i don't just love it for the homoerotic aspects (because there aren't any... that's the show's jurisdiction), but because it's genuinely well written. 1 billion/10, if you say you dont wanna fuck hannibal lecter youre lying

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - realistically, i think that two towers is the best in the LOTR trilogy, but i chose fellowship because it's a comfort movie for me. when im in a bad place emotionally, i always know that the shire scenes will put me in a good mood. i also love the transition from the happy peace of the shire to the dark turmoil of the journey to destroy the ring. and orlando bloom can get it of course... 19/19 rings of power

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - i actually adore musicals, so i wanted to include at least one on this list. i chose rocky horror because of a few reasons: the music is always stuck in my head, tim curry in drag, it's a cult classic, and because its an allegory for the short life and death of glam rock, which i find really inspired and unique of the people who made it. ∞/10, lets do the time warp again

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - speaking of orlando bloom... of all the POTC movies, this is the only one that's actually well written btw lol. it's also another one of my comfort movies and my bi awakening, because i have a crush on EVERYONE IN IT. really it's just a fun time and, honestly, a pretty original script when you think about it. i loved it at 8 years old, and i still love it at 27 years old, 27/10

What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - another obvious choice for this blog. i rec this movie to everyone i think has a similar sense of humor to me; i love the dry, flat new zealander humor, that its easy to digest, and that its about silly vampires. 420/10 because its the weed number and i haven't used it yet

Jurassic Park (1993) - this was my favorite movie growing up, so i felt it would be remiss of me not to include it on the list. for a really long time i wanted to be a paleontologist, and watching this movie only fueled that fire. ultimately i decided to go to school for archaeology instead, but it was a near thing and i really only made that decision 100% in the last few years. anyway dinosaurs are sick af, need i say more? 10/10, no jokes, just dinosaurs murdering people for their hubris

The Descent (2005) - i'm really picky about horror movies. most mainstream horror that other people love, i find uninteresting and not at all scary. so whenever someone asks me to rec a horror movie that actually scares me, this is the one i go with. there is a monster in the film, but more than that i think the psychological aspects are really what get to me personally. id extrapolate on that a bit more, but i don't want to spoil it for anyone interested, so that's all i'll say. -/10 too stressful to rate

anyway, since i was limited to 9 movies, i'm gonna put an honorable mention section here for some that didn't make it to the list: - the original star wars trilogy (1977-1983) - nightcrawler (2014) - harry potter and the chamber of secrets (2002) - hairspray (2007) - indiana jones and the raiders of the lost arc (1981) - ginger snaps (2000) - blade runner (1982) - sweeney todd: the demon barber of fleet street (2007) - zodiac (2007) - girl, interrupted (1999) - grease (1978) and many, many more...

no tags because i'm selfish and lazy ;) anyone that wants to do it is free to say i tagged them though

[lestvt]

not sure how many people here still care, but i wanted to post a quick update about where i'm at with the finale of NIS just in case:

i know it's been a long time since the last update, but the truth is i've gotten nowhere because i'm having 2 major issues when it comes to writing currently.

first of all, college is a hellhole that has zapped me dry of the will to write. think of it like this: i have a limited amount of energy i can commit to writing each week, and currently i'm at the point in my education where ALL of that energy goes into assignments for classes and i have none left over for my personal projects. this goes for everything too, fanfic or original work. i havent had a single idea for something to write in like 6 months and its actually making me super depressed....

the other problem im having with NIS specifically is that i've lost the character's voices. in other words, i feel no connection to lestat or louis anymore, so everything i write sounds wrong to me... usually i have a way of dealing with this, but when it comes to VC my normal methods dont work, because i dont read VC fics and there's only so many times i can rewatch IWTV (1994) before it stops helping...

not to mention, the drama around the TV show has made me wanna avoid the fandom entirely (again, i dont have a problem w/ POC louis, but i never wanted a show to begin with, and now that its turned into a debate of perceived moral superiority among fans, i REALLY dont want it). basically, my only hope is to reread the books again, but i dont really have the free time to do that either so... ill probably start reading IWTV again and then just pray to the god i dont believe in that it helps lol

oh, and there's also the fact that i wrote like half of chapter 11, then realized i hated it... so, now i have to rewrite the entire thing from scratch. whoops.

so, what does this mean for NIS? nothing really, except that it's probably still going to be a while before i finish it. i started editing again today, but the truth is i can't and WON'T force myself to write something i feel no inspiration for.

am i going to complete it? yes, 100%.

will it be soon? absolutely fucking not.

and for the record, i'm not posting this update for pity or w/e (srsly, dont. pity in any form fucking enrages me.) this is just so anyone waiting knows why its taking so long and to not hold their breath

l8r.

[v-e-l-v-e-t-g-o-l-d-m-i-n-e]

-

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

(this is a side-by-side show and book review, now that I've read the books, so there will be book spoilers. Also I'm not good at keeping it short so it will be Long.)

Season 1 episode 2 [... After the Phantoms of Your Former Self] - part 1/3

- Can I start first with a shout out to the music? The soundtrack is gorgeous. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think violins are the main instruments of the opening theme and the music of the "Previously"? If it's the case, that could definitely be a throwback to Nicki, and how the violin music was so important to Lestat when he was still mortal. There's a passage in The Vampire Lestat where he describes the music that Nicki plays that made me shiver:

"He ripped into the song. He tore the notes out of the violin and each note was translucent and throbbing. [...] I had never known music like it, the rawness of it, the intensity, the rapid glittering torrents of notes that came out of the strings as he sawed away."

And then later on:

"Still the sound came. It came rising out of the instrument and cleaving the night as if it were some shining element, other than air and light and matter, that might climb to the very stars. [...] The long vibrant notes, and the chilling glissandos, and the violin singing in its own tongue to make every other form of speech seem false."

Given how important music is for Lestat in the books, it does seem like the show's soundtrack was given its equal importance.

Okay, back to the show.

- Oooooh, we are starting immediately with some Armandaniel! Ahem, sorry, that random guy in the background and Danny boy. Talking about Venetian art. The writers really said "this is a show that has to be seen multiple times at multiple stages of its development to really understand all the layers and all the subtext and all the interpersonal relationships".

*chokes on a cherry pit* "Marius de Romanus"?? Excuse me???!!! Armand has a painting of Marius in his Dubai penthouse? Sorry, I need to be revived, I think I just passed out.

[Daniel] "'Did you always work for him?' [Rashid/Armand] 'I serve a god. It is my honor to serve.'" - Armand you need another hobby than Louis, seriously. Remark: those lenses work really well, at no point can you tell that those are not Armand's real eyes; on the other hand Assad Zaman has really gorgeous brown eyes. Remark: even with the canon change that the sun doesn't make vampires immediately slip into the death sleep as it rises, the fact that Armand is always awake way before Louis does say something of his age.

Love that the mortal servants are wearing masks. Covid ain't no joke, kids.

- [Louis] "'I want to apologize for my outburst earlier. I can assure you it won't happen again.' [Daniel] 'Memory is a monster. We forget. It doesn't'." - firstly, Louis' entrance is eerie. The way he seems to be gliding on the floor, and the total stillness of his face, and the flatness of his voice (once again, in awe of Jacob's accent work). Secondly, hey, the main theme of the first two seasons, hammered in: memory can change, it can reshape itself, it can twist on itself to protect the mind, or to protect itself - can you trust that you remember what happened how it happened? Or is your mind cannibalizing itself, and therefore, do you know who you truly are?

Huh. The music isn't extradiegetic. It's actually playing in the scene.

[Louis] "AB negative, fresh from the farm." - sorry, can I ask, what fucking farm? Is this more of the roleplay, or are non-human animals' blood types also ABO (no, NOT that type, geez), or are we really saying Louis has a human farm...? Excuse me but this cannot be just a throwaway random comment, what the fuck. Too many implications. *five minutes later* Right, so, did a rapid search, apparently some animal blood types also have an A type, and some animals have so much more than the ABO system. In other words, this doesn't tell me anything. "Part of me wants to ask about the farm", yes please Daniel, ASK.

- Lestat is a bloody diva, I love him. Not much to say about the graveyard scene (disposal of the bodies), except that I'm dying of laughter. Louis is going through hell while his body dies, meanwhile Lestat is prancing around, throwing punchlines, humming to himself and stashing corpses into graves. This must have been so hilarious and chaotic to film! Note to self, check if there are bloopers and how many takes did this scene take. Pretty sure that's the kind of scene where you burst out laughing at your co-actor's antics at least once or twice.

[Lestat] "There's the spark." - first of all, how is Sam Reid that pretty, jesus. Secondly, I love the way they represent the vampire's sight. It's such a big passage each time, how a vampire sees the world differently, and not in a metaphorical way, in an actual "my eyes work differently now" way, so of course they couldn't just ignore it. Love that Lestat calls it a spark. And the way they each look at each other, Lestat as if he's falling even more in love, and Louis as if he's not only going out of his mind in a "oh this is madness" way but also in a "I am understanding new things about the world" way. Although, as I've said in another post commenting on book IWTV, one thing about Louis is that he often thinks he knows or understands what's happening while in actuality he has no clue and is completely out of touch.

- [Louis] "'Lestat's blood was giggling inside me, teasing my senses, illuminating the district with overwhelming detail, as if I had walked my entire life as a dead man, and now, dead, could finally receive the secrets of existence.' [Daniel] 'You were fucking loaded.' [Louis] 'Beyond articulation.'"

Firstly, moment of silence for Louis' poetic aspirations slammed back down to Earth by Daniel. What happened basically: "*poetic nonsensical rambling* / Dude you were so fucking wasted / LOL dude I was sooooo wasted". Secondly, yeah, don't get too excited, the bad trip's about to start.

"They were your brothers and sisters once, but now they are your savoury inferiors", says Lestat, the guy who falls in love with a different mortal basically every other week. Oh, he's literally describing them as one would talk about wine. Alright.

I find it interesting that Lestat doesn't say anything about "feeding on the evil ones and leaving the innocents alone". Be right back, need to check the books, when does Lestat starts applying that philosophy? *comes back 10 minutes later covered in blood* Couldn't find a relevant passage. Let's table this for later.

[Lestat] "Careful mon cher, you're beginning to frighten the man." - Daniel talks about that in season 2, if I'm correct. But yeah, memory, huh? How could it have been Lestat who says that, knowing that maker and fledgling are mentally cut off from each other? Either Lestat said it out loud but low enough that only Louis could hear, or Louis, to use Daniel's words, went "schizophrenic" since the beginning and was already imagining Lestat as his subconscious voice.

"Just to be clear, gents, we are here to talk abot farm equipments, am I right?" - oh, are you looking for anything else to happen, random victim number one? Is that a hint of gay panic that I'm hearing?

[Lestat] "The neck, bite the neck, Louis. No, you don't bite the blood, you suck it. Yes, yes, that's better." - have I said lately how much I adore Lestat...? No? Well. Lestat cracks me up. Something I love about hm in the books is his dry humor and delivery. He is really funny when he wants to be.

- Aaaah, we're getting to the first major scene. Makes you wonder why I spent so much time on the first 9 minutes, huh? (Yes, we're barely on minute 10 out of 52, I did say I can't do short)

"'I-I gotta go home.' 'This is your home now, Louis. Breathe.' 'I-I gotta collect money from the cribs.' 'I have all the money we need. Breathe.' ' I have to go see Grace and Paul.' 'Oh, dear.' 'You ain't fucking hearin' me! I need to go home.'"

Several things. And actually one of the heart of the constant misunderstanding between Louis and Lestat. Lestat here has no attachment to his home - Louis on the other hand is the main provider of his family, the man of the house. He can't just disappear, the way Lestat seems to want him to. A few changes from the books, in which Lestat firstly is traveling with his old and dying father and thus has to care for him until his death, and secondly lets Louis understand that he has no money and Louis has to provide for him. Also as we learn in The Vampire Lestat, after his own transformation, Lestat continues to take care of his mortal family, sending them money and gifts. So, unless that part has been changed in the show, a bit hypocritical from him to act as if Louis wanting to continue caring for his family is an imposition. Then there's the part where Louis forgets Paul is dead, and Lestat immediately reacts with concern. "Oh, dear, um, how to make you remember gently that your brother is dead actually" or "Oh, dear, are you alright?".

And finally there's the fact that Louis overreacts without hearing anything Lestat tries to say, without letting Lestat say anything actually, physically pushing him away and then accusing him of not listening. I mean, it's not really Louis' fault, baby boy has gone through A LOT in the last 24 hours (Paul's suicide, his funeral, the church's burning and the priests' murders, his transformation and physical death, his first hunting, not even talking about having to hear Horse Rando's ramblings...), he's confused and lost and hurting and hasn't had time to come to terms with anything that's happened. But on the other hand, Lestat's the only one that could help him, and instead of listening to him, giving him 5 more minutes to explain, Louis almost immediately shuts him out and pushes him away. And in return Lestat closes himself up and decides to be as contrary as possible, instead of being patient and helpful. And sometimes it's Lestat who's asking for patience and support and doesn't get it and Louis closing himself up, etc. And thus the main Loustat dynamic for the next several decades is born.

- "You're going to find that very difficult", yep, thanks Lestat. Very constructive. Oh, and look, the sun is up and none of them is sleeping (yeah, that tiny little change actually bothers me, I don't know why yet - maybe I'll find the words later). Really love the visual effect of vampires starting to flake off as ashes as they burn. Hammers in the idea of "undead body". "The sun gives life to everything but us. I should have told you that" - YA THINK. Explain to me why you have a roof window opened letting in the deadly sun (the sun is a deadly laser, free reference for everyone) when you're a vampire. Sounds like structural failure to me. THIS SCENE. First of all Sam Reid's French pronunciation of "New Orleans" and other words, and then Sam Reid's TRAINING ROUTINE holy shit I'm looking respectfully. OH, and his SWAGGER, we need a swagger competition between Sam Reid as Lestat and David Tennant as Crowley, PLEASE. "The perfect setting for a vampire home, a vampire romance" - boy is so THIRSTY lmao. What a slut (affectionate - and also, free gift to non-book readers, Lestat canonically LOVES being called a slut, I am not inventing anything; go mad with it). LOVE that Lestat goes into the coffin fully NAKED and then looks at half-burned Louis and still goes "it's okay, you can go on top", NOTHING will turn him off when it comes to Louis, absolutely nothing. And then Louis' little "gulp", his realisation that, oh, shit, doesn't matter that the guy is an asshole, he wanna tap that.

- Oh, I was going to stop part 1 with this, but Daniel and Louis' exchange is too good to pass.

[Louis] "'Too many firsts for one night.' [Daniel] 'How's sexuality play in that?' [Louis] 'It's a complicated question, Daniel, and we shouldn't conflate it with the salesman's death.' [Daniel] 'Humor me.' [Louis] 'To satisfy your fixation, being transformed by Lestat, being desired by him, bedding down with him, was an overture of sorts to that side of my nature.' [Daniel] 'To the shame of queer theorists everywhere.'"

*cackling* Two catty drama queens trying to outcunt each other, this is a feast. I love Jacob's delivery of these lines, as if it's so not interesting and he'd rather talk about anything else, but also, he cannot stop himself from talking about Lestat. There's really the reluctance of talking about something, someone, that meant a lot, still means a lot, but hurts so damn much that it's better to pretend that it doesn't mean anything anymore. I can't help but seeing that last line as a bit of a meta commentary on the history of the books? I'd need to do some research on book reviews in the '70s, see how the homoerotic explicit subtext of the text was received by non-queer audiences, or even what queer readers were saying, if they (the queer theorists) were divided in their interpretation of the text, or if the book was viewed immediately as a gay romance. Because, like, it's been a month since I read IWTV, and in the meantime I read the rest of the series and dived into the few fics I could find, but if memory serves, IWTV the book doesn't outright state that the relationship between Louis and Lestat is a romance. Mmh. Too many things to research, let's table this for now.

episode 1 | part 2 | part 3 | episode 3 | episode 4 | episode 5 | episode 6 | episode 7

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

(still spoilers for both the whole show and the books)

Season 2 episode 1 [What Can The Damned Really Say to the Damned] - part 3/4

- [Daniel] "Memories just keep bubbling up." - oooh, the face Louis makes at that...

- [Louis] "'Claudia was... uh... She was dreaming. Her head twitching like you would.'" - ain't no need to take a shot at Danny boy now! He hasn't done anything (yet)...

[Daniel] "'Maybe you're just uh, frosting the pie?'

[Louis] 'No. I can feel her. I can feel her next to me. She's having a nightmare. What's worse than a nightmare? If your soul's projecting out its fears, at least it's up and running. But the absence of anything? The void. The nothing. Pieces... coming back. Hours, nights. Objects, surfacing in water. It was just something she wrote. But it wasn't true. She could dream. Thank you.'

[Daniel] 'If you wanna take that break...'

[Louis] 'No. No. I want this. To remember.'"

Can I scream about Jacob's phenomenal acting? This man. I have no words. The voice breaking. The hand waving. The vacant eyes. The tears (he cries so prettily). The accent emerging from the flat Dubai accent. What a masterclass. Also who else thinks that when Louis says he can feel her next to him, he's not just talking about past Claudia in the memory but also Ghostdia in present time?

This scene has everything:

1, it showcases once again Daniel's profound compassion, in the way he doesn't try to push Louis more now that Louis is finally doing the job of being honest on his own, in the way he's looking at Louis having a breakdown with concern and immense compassion... Yes, Daniel is a catty bitchy old queen, yeah, he's grumpy and cynic and an investigative journalist who latches on his subject and doesn't let up. But he's also profoundly human and full of sympathy and humanity, and that's what makes him such a darned good journalist - he touches at the heart of his interviewees.

2, it sort of closes the theme started in s1 of memory being a monster, to open up the second theme, memory being a blessing. S1 was about how Louis ran away so hard from the truth he had basically changed his recollection of things to not face up the real events and emotions, ultimately leading him to just shut down - something that is explored more in details in s2. S2 is about Louis finally facing up to his true memories and reconciliating not just with Lestat, not even only with the memory of Claudia - reminder that he carried with him for 77 years Claudia's diaries in which she writes how much she hated him - but also and maybe most importantly, owning up to his real memories allows him to reconcile with himself.

3, it fixes a hole in Louis' heart regarding Claudia and the end of their time together. As said above, Claudia writes in her diaries that she hates Louis maybe as much as Lestat. But she also wrote that she doesn't dream, when obviously Louis' recovered memories show that she does. So if what she writes that one time is a lie, "just something that she wrote", maybe she also lied, "just wrote", that she hated Louis? Even if we can't ever know for certain, even if this session starts with Louis and Daniel agreeing to believe what's written and nothing more (a decision that's almost immediately abandoned), for Louis, just holding on to that thought, is everything.

- And there goes another queen.... Rip Emilia, you were magnificent. +10 points and a bit of grace for Morgan speaking Romanian and trying his hardest to save Emilia. [Louis] "Human affairs. Death, and how to avoid it. Their problem. Ours was in the woods." - bravo, only took you 30 years to learn that lesson. Better late than never I guess. Lestat will be pleased. With that and with the hunting.

- Claudia's sassing Louis, Louis showing off his fangs... And the revenant being a full horror show. Yep, welcome to the Old Romania portion of the story.

[Louis] "'What. The. Hell is that?'

[Claudia] 'It's... A vampire.'

[Louis] 'No, I'm a vampire. That's a fucking catfish with teeth. It's dirty. It doesn't like us.'

[Claudia] 'Us, you, the same.'

[Louis] 'Not the same, not even close.'"

This show is a comedy.

- Do you think a vampire with a rifle is more or less dangerous than a vampire with just their fangs and claws...? Someone needs to make a poll.

- One queen exits (Emilia), another emerges (Daciana)... And what intensity. What pain. A motherless mother. [Louis] "An angry woman vampire. A mom." - the fact that Louis himself points that out, as if he's somehow recognising himself in her... The way he says "a mom", full of wonder and understanding. Because a parent is a parent and no matter the words used, he is Claudia's parent, and he spent years suffering his child's absence. He knows.

- [Louis] "Through the forest, as if a fairy tale." - hello, did you know that today's Fantasy literature, inherited from the Fantastique literature, comes directly from fairy tales and folktales? There's a direct pipeline between "Le Petit Poucet" (Little Thumbling, a fairy tale about a boy abandoned in the woods finding his way back home thanks to the trail of white stones he left behind) or "Hansel and Gretel" and the musical story of "Emilie Jolie", where a little girl all alone in her house follows the characters of her storybook into the pages of the book. A very French example, I know, I know, but I was looking for something that would reference being alone and lost in the woods, like Claudia and Louis here. In any case, what I meant to say is, go read amongst others Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories", Daniel Baker's essay "Why We Need Dragons: The Progressive Potential of Fantasy" (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 2012), Carh Filmer-Davies' "On Fantasy Stories" (Mythlore, 2000) and Jack Zipes' "The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre" (Princeton UP, 2012). I have a lot more bibliography but they're more related to what I wrote about in my thesis which is Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale that woumd be fascinating to explore in relation to Lestat, so I'm going to stop here. Man, when can I go do my folklore PhD...?

- [Louis] "But even if we could get her to talk, what would she say? What, after all, can the damned really say to the damned?" - interesting, the way the book quote (see part 1) was inserted in the show narration... Really emphasises how lost and alone, metaphorically, Louis and Claudia are.

- Welp. I have to put the entire conversation between Louis, Claudia and Daciana. Every line is fascinating.

[Louis] "'We are from over the ocean.'

[Claudia] "Five years we've looked for you. We came to where vampires are spoken of, to find others like ourselves.'

[Daciana] 'We own the night. Yes?'

[Claudia, Louis, in English] 'Yes.'

[Daciana] 'Long centuries, into the villages, into their hovels, drinking, drinking, drinking. They don't want life anymore.'

[Claudia] 'Maybe it's the blood. [In English to Louis] Tell her about the blood.'

[Louis, in stammering Romanian] 'It's blood here... Can't... You...'

[Claudia] 'Say it in English.'

[Louis in English/Claudia in Romanian] 'The blood is bad here. The humans, there's too much sadness, too much pain. We feel it too when we drink. We can't get warm. Our bodies hurt. Maybe you need better blood.'

[Daciana] 'From over the ocean?'

[Claudia] 'America.'

[Daciana] 'Another one like a burnt tray of bread.'

[Claudia] 'How many of us are left? How about this one?'

[Daciana] 'Cezare Romulo. He was a droll one. Killed a travelling circus in Sibiu, everyone but the bear... but all those in darkness go into darkness.'

[Louis] 'What's she saying?'

[Claudia] 'Who's left?'

[Daciana] 'You killed my last out in the forest.'

[Louis] 'What's she saying?'

[Claudia] 'He was hurting us.'

[Daciana] 'All of them dead now. All gone. Like cream from the top of a milk bucket. So many nights to come on the devil's road, playing in their blood, oh, you will laugh and laugh...'

[Claudia] 'And you'll come with us? '

[Daciana] 'Yes. You will take me over the ocean with you. And I will grow strong again. And tell you my story. And you will tell me yours. And we will kill for the small comforts and wait for my children to join us... The wind in our hair and bare feet in the grass. Daciana.'

'Louis.' 'Claudia.'

[Daciana] 'We own... nothing.'"

Be right back, need to add Romanian to my Duolingo list.

What a scene. A scene that will stay with Louis forever, reminding him for decades to come of the immense strength and the immense fragility of the vampire. Of the power of the creature owning the night, and the fragility of the creature bending under the weight of inconmensurable, endless time. Lesson learned, again. "All those in darkness go into darkness".

I love that Daciana, this ancient, timeless vampire, remembers little pleasures of human life and uses them as a measure of good and bad things, burnt bread one tip of the scale, cream from the top of a milk bucket the other side. As if, at the end, what sustained her wasn't the blood anymore, but those long ago memories of when she was human. A loop, ended.

Louis being the one who understands the blood and can explain it, after all those years rejecting it. He truly is the most dangerous one.

From a very meta perspective, it's hilarious that they made the character played by the actor famously known for his languages and accents abilities the one who struggles with languages. Very on the nose, very funny.

Claudia's face, the pure joy and elation when Daciana talks about going with them. And then the crestfallen, resigned expression when she throws herself in the fire. Emphasises the youth of Claudia and Louis. They want someone to willingly and joyfully guide them and teach them, an adult adultier than them. And they can't find anyone. Lestat refused, bound by his promise to Marius, his control and abandonment issues, Daciana had enough of the devil's road, and when they meet Armand, he doesn't want to guide but to, again, control and dominate. You know who they should have found? Pandora. She would have taken them under her wing if she had met them independently from Lestat. Pandora would have been worth it. I want a fic where Pandora meets them while they're travelling through Europe and decides to mentor them.

season 1 masterpost

part 1 | part 2 | part 4

episode 2 | episode 3 | episode 4 | episode 5 | episode 6 | episode 7 | episode 8

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

Season 1 episode 1 [In Throes of Increasing Wonder...] - part 2/2

- [Louis] "It bears repeating, I did not consider myself a homosexual man at the time" - yeah that was the repression talking. "I ended up embracing my sexuality" - oh did you? That why people still write you as an altar boy?

- [Daniel] "We're not here for me" - not yet, Danny, not yet... Your turn will come.

- [Louis] "I had never let myself to feel emotionally close to anyone, much less a man" - okay, this boy needs a thousand hugs. Who's volunteering? Never mind, outta my way, I'm volunteering.

- [Louis] "You could be a lot of things in New Orleans, but an openly gay Negro man was not one of them" - sadly I'm pretty sure the rule still applies in many parts of the world today. Oh, hey, another social commentary! Love those.

- [Louis] "I vowed never to return again. I shut that night out of my mind and turned my attentions back to life as it was before" - sure Jan. Meanwhile Lestat is premiering the yellow dressing gown of wallowing and depression.

- Aaaand it's been a month. Grace's wedding. She's so pretty. "Altar Boys Come Dancing Everyday For God" - excuse me while I go dying of laughter. But also, hey, y'all ready for Louis to lose all of his societal markers and all of his culture? That's gonna hurt. Another reason why making Louis Black is the best choice ever. There's culture here, there's community, and Louis' about to be cut off from all of that, the music, the dancing, the traditions and rituals. But also, if we consider book canon, the Creole community of NOLA and its ties with voodoo are going to come into focus later on. I don't think Rolin Jones will adapt Merrick, but still, it's there and it makes what happens in Merrick to Louis even more intense when you picture Creole Louis instead of white Louis.

- [Paul] "I think you should get married next" - what did I say about provoking the universe? One way or another everything gets manifested.

- [Paul] "'You think Levi loves her enough? You know, Grace needs a lot of love.' [Louis] 'I do.' [Paul] 'Do you think he's givin' her everything he's got inside of him?' [Louis] 'Mm-mh.'"

This. This little exchange is very, very crucial. Grace ain't the only Du Lac sibling who needs a lot of love. Grace ain't the only Du Lac sibling who needs their partner to give them everything they have. Now consider Lestat: does he love Louis? At this point he loves an idea of Louis, an ideal. Will he come to actually love the true Louis? Yes. Will it be enough? Definitely no. Why? Because he didn't give Louis everything, and that's what Louis needed. Now the other problem, because there is another problem, because the fault definitely does not lie only in Lestat, is that Louis cut himself off from loving, by his own words. Louis doesn't allow himself to love, and thus, doesn't allow himself to be loved. And Lestat, Lestat similarly does not open himself up entirely, therefore does not love truly. *big sigh* Gonna take a good century and more, but we'll get there.

- The shots of Louis and Paul on the roof at sunrise are gorgeous. Light's absolutely gorgeous. Don't know if it was shot on location or in studio, but that whole scene is bathed in warm lights, ethereal light, it's truly gorgeous.

- "'I love you Louis.' 'And I love you too, baby brother'" - exit Paul, pursued by his birdies. Others have written about it better than I (need to find that post), but that's the last thing that Paul says to his brother. Those are the last words Louis says to his most favourite person in the whole wide world. Understandably, that messes him up and he locks the words away deep deep down, buried where they can't hurt anyone else, because in Louis' grief and guilt, it's the words that pushed Paul to jump. Better not to say them and risk the ones he loves. Except you can't live your life and love people locking away the love. You need to get the words out to truly give them power. And that's Louis' downfall after all. He gave some words too much power that didn't need it, shouldn't have that power, and he took the power from some words that should never have lost it.

- [Louis] "That was the last sunrise I ever saw. Perhaps the kindest thing the dark gift has given me. I don't miss the sun, the reminders it carries." - yeah understandable. Do seek out some therapy tho.

- I appreciate how Daniel closes his laptop and follows Louis on the balcony. It shows the depths of his compassion, or even, empathy.

- Oh, hey, social commentary on the world of the 2020s, now. This show keeps on giving. [Louis] "This virus, it turned the world sideways" - yeah, well, perhaps not enough, 'cause look at us four years after/into the pandemic, not a lot has changed, has it? I think it needs a few more turns of the screw.

- [Daniel] "'I get it. I' m gonna die. They're gonna die. But not the vampire.' [Louis] 'The vampire is bored. The human was destroyed.'" - okay Louis you have got to stop hanging out only with Armand, it's not doing good for your psyche.

I love how vampirism corrects the physical aspects (within limits), repairs the broken and bleeding, but can do nothing against the mental illness. Born as a mortal with depression and anxiety? Too bad, that goes on as a vampire, and bad news everyone, now you can't even properly kill yourself! Enjoy an eternity with the parasite in your brain.

- [Mama du Lac] "You must have said something to him, Louis, to make him do that to himself." - we have a contender for Mother of the Year here, guys. Pretty sure she can compete against Gabrielle. The violence of the mother telling her oldest son he's at fault for the youngest's suicide. And now "Paul's in Hell because of you" GREAT GEE THANKS MAMA. I'm gonna go take a swim in the Mississippi.

- [Louis] "Lestat's ambush had disoriented me." - yeah, you have a stalker, baby boy. And depression. And a mother who hates you. And a dead brother. And the weight of being a Black gay man in 1910 New Orleans. That's. That's a looooooot. Oh, and your only friend Miss Lily got Lucy-ed. Babe you need a break and the story hasn't even properly started, lmao.

- "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. Grievously sinned. I'm a drunk, Lord. I'm a liar. I am a thief, Lord. I profit off the miseries of other men, and I do it easy. Drugs, liquor, women. I-I-I-I lure them in and grab what they got, Lord. I take daughters with no homes and I-I put 'em out on the street, Lord, and I lie to myself saying I-I'm giving them a roof and food and dollar bills in they pocket, but I look in the mirror, I know what I am - the big man in the big house, stuffing cotton in my ears so I can't hear their cries. And Lord, I dragged my family into this mess with me. I shame my father. I f- I failed my brother. I lost my mother and sister, and rather than fix it like a man should, Lord, I run like a coward. I run to the bottle. I run to the grift. I run to bad beds. I-I laid down with a man. I laid down with the Devil. And he has roots in me, all his spindly roots in me, and I can't think nothin' anymore but his voice and his words! Please, help me! I am weak! I wanna die!"

Sorry, I needed to put the entire tirade because jesus h christ, ALL THE AWARDS FOR JACOB. The voice quivering. The staccato of the confession, the rhythm of the repetition, "Lord". The crescendo, the way the voice quickens, the way Louis is shivering and spitting out the words as if they're razor blades hurting his throat as he speaks them. This man needs all the awards, now.

And also because this. This is the heart of Louis in the first part of his story. The grief. The powerlessness. The shame. The self-hatred. The religious turmoil. The fact that it's so easy for him to do bad things.

The parallel with Lestat, Lestat who was the pourvoyeur of food for his impoverished family back in the Auvergne, Wolfkiller Lestat who took on his shoulder the responsibility of putting food on his family's table even when his family never had a kind word or gesture for him, even when his family hurt him the most.

And finally, oooh, book spoiler, the "spindly roots" of the Devil/Lestat in him, the tentacles of Amel inside each and every vampire and how Louis was the first one to get free of this influence. Oh, the writers are clever. So clever. And this speech is so brilliantly written. And delivered.

- And finally Lestat the hunter. Lestat the killer. Lestat the monster. The monster with too many emotions.

"This primitive country has picked you clean. It has shackled you in permanent exile. Every room you enter, every hat you're forced to wear - the stern landlord, the deferential businessman, the loyal son - all these roles you conform to and none of them your true nature. What rage you must feel as you choke on your sorrow. The first time I laid eyes on you, your beautiful face, I saw that sorrow. I did not know how it got there or why it was so voluminous. I can take away that sorrow, Louis. I can give you that death you begged your feeble, blind, degenerate, nonexistent god for. But I can do it... joyfully. I can swap this life of shame, swap it out for a Dark Gift and a power you can't begin to imagine. You just have to ask me for it. You just have to nod your beautiful head... and say yes. I love you, Louis. You are loved. I send my love to you, and you send it back round to me. And this circle, this home we barely had a glimpse of... know it frightens me as much as it does you."

Oh, boy, Lords have mercy on me, a second absolutely stunning morceau de bravoure in the span of ten minutes, another epicness of writing and acting and delivering, just as many awards for Sam for heaven's sake, that was phenomenal.

And now onto the content itself. Just as with Louis, this is the heart of Lestat at that point of time, that which explains him - or could explain him, but we have to remember that those are Louis' words about Lestat's words. Louis' version of what Lestat said. But here we see, the loneliness of Lestat, his fear of being alone always. We see his one true big dream, to have a home, to belong, to be a part of something bigger than himself where he'd be seen, he'd be loved, he'd matter. The dream he achieves in the final books of the series, Prince Lestat, the dream that takes him more than two hundred years to reach. The dream he thought, felt, believed was possible alongside Louis. Except neither Lestat nor Louis were ready at this point. Because there is still so much they don't know. About themselves, about vampiric nature, about the world at large. About love and what love is, what love can be, what love should be, what love shouldn't be. Because yes, Lestat does love Louis. Fell first, as we'd say. But fell broken and twisted, didn't understand the nature of this love, didn't realize that you cannot love an ideal, an image, an icon, that you must love a real being with all their flaws and complexities and paradoxes.

And another thing is how at the start, Louis is hang up on his religious upbringing and its trauma, while Lestat rejected it all, or claims that he did. And then the steam inverses, and in the late 20th century (if we go by book canon), Louis's full on atheist and doesn't care anymore about religion (written black on white in the books), while Lestat is going through crisis of faith after crisis of faith (Akasha, the body thief, Memnoch...). They're not traveling the same Devil's road, and their roads are not joining together, not yet, not for a very long time, and all their efforts to make their separate roads one singular one will harm them more than if they hadn't done anything.

part 1 | episode 2 | episode 3 | episode 4 | episode 5 | episode 6 | episode 7