What year is Lestat from? (or when did he take his dirt nap)

Before we learned about his backstory, his pre-Louis makeover outfits give us some clues. In his first appearance on screen, he is wearing some kind of a Garrick or Carrick coat, a multi-layered caped coat generally assumed to be a fashion started by the military that was eventually adopted by civilians as riding or travel wear, which indicates Lestat has likely just arrived from Europe. These coats were popular throughout the regency and up to the mid-19th century.

He's also wearing a cravat, which distinguishes him from the other male characters who are either in ties or bowties (see Louis and Paul). Cravats were still around in 1910 although definitely out of fashion and more likely to be worn by an older gentleman. They were still fairly popular into the 1860s-70s (see photo on the left) but eventually faded as ties and bowties increased in popularity in the late 19th century and were the norm by the early 20th century (photo on right).

In episode 6 he mentions playing the 1878 chess champion (Johannes Zuckefort) in the Jardins de Luxembourg. Its important to remember that fashion changed quite slowly until the 20th century when trends started updating drastically decade to decade so there is a wide range of decades someone dressed like Lestat could've easily fit in.

Not to keep harping on this but I accidentally saw a post that pissed me off a little bit so I'm gonna talk about it. Originally I was gonna put this at the end of the post but I've decided to move it to the top because I know some people are determined to take me out of context so I'll sacrifice the formatting of this post and some of the impact of this sentence in a vain hope that my point will not be misconstrued. I fully anticipate people skipping over this first paragraph anyway but at least I did my due diligence. You can like Izzy, I like Lestat (AMC IWTV), I like the Joker, It's fine to have an evil blorbo. It's the apologia that gets me tho. You're fake villain fuckers and you can't admit that your blorbo is fucked up in some deeply uncomfortable ways.

That said on to my angry meta: Either Izzy is homophobic, or he's an abuser. He could be both, but he can't be neither otherwise the literal climax of the first season doesn't make any fucking sense. Like he calls in a swat on Stede and the crew because Stede has, quote, "done something to his boss's brain" and he wants Stede dead because of it. homosexuality as a corrupting influence is textbook homophobia. He thinks Stede has made Ed soft and he thinks he's using his limp wristed wiles to do it.

If you don't want to read it as homophobia (which would be a weird reading because it fails to explain that line and misses the whole message about toxic masculinity, but I've heard it's the reading that some people go with so, let's look at it) and you think that he's doing all of this because he's in love with Ed and he's jealous, I hate to tell you but that brings us back around to the abuser reading.

Like, the reading that this subset of the fandom seems to want me to believe is Izzy is in tragic gay love with Ed. But that doesn't make a single damn thing that he did ok. In fact it kind of makes it worse. Like trying to kill the loved ones of your beloved is text book abuser behavior. You're telling me that Izzy feels so entitled to Ed that he cannot take "Fuck off you're banished from the ship" For an answer, and he has to kill the guy that he blames for turning Ed against him? And I'm supposed to sympathize with that? Get real. That's text book abuser behavior. If that's the reading, then Izzy can't handle Ed having someone in his life that isn't Izzy, he can't handle Ed making decisions that Izzy doesn't approve of, and he can't handle Ed breaking off their relationship (which was Izzy's fault by the way he agreed to duel Stede sorry you can't handle the consequences honey). Those first two things you have to be able to handle if you want to have friends or even professional relationships, and the third thing is something that you're allowed to be upset about but that you're gonna have to move on from. Instead Izzy comes up with a hair brained scheme that risks the crews lives, Calico Jack's life, and, most importantly, risks Ed's life in order to... what? Undermine Ed's own autonomous choice to pursue a relationship with Stede? Get rid of a guy that he thinks is driving him and Ed apart so that Ed will maybe take him back? That's abuser shit my guy.

If there's another explanation for Izzy calling the fucking cops I'd love to hear it but as far as I can tell the options are "He hates Stede because Stede is frilly and camp and thinks Stede is making Ed weak" aka Textbook hate crime and "He's in deeply dysfunctional love and is therefore trying to force Ed to be in a relationship with him despite the fact that Ed has made it clear he doesn't want that" aka Textbook abuser.

To be clear I wouldn't have Izzy any other way. The roll he plays in the narrative is important to the story. I don't like him, per se, but I like stories about overcoming toxic masculinity, and those stories have to have a villain, and I was deeply emotionally ruined by the consequences of his actions, (i.e. the domino effect that caused Stede to abandon Ed on the dock) so I want him around for as long as they decide to keep him around. Just, like, fucking pretending he's never done anything wrong ever? Come on now.

IWTV S2E01 First Watch Note

The notes I took while watching in case anyone is interested. Under the cut.

Anyway, I'm grateful they have improved the Episode Insider and now it's really something worth watching

• It's still a recap but the score slays already. Omg Daniel Hart you deserve all the awards

• I love how it says episode 8 and the silhouette of war torn Europe.

• On Claudia dreaming: Present Louis holding onto Claudia's diaries to provide a fact in the past

• Delainey is insane. Just from being silent, we could feel how torn Claudia is

• Interesting they gave ep 1 to a new director to set the tone

• So before this interview happened, when Louis still believed he killed Lestat in NOLA, he got to read this edited diaries and didn't understand what Claudia wrote? I mean, imagine reading the bitterness in her words yet you didn't know where they came from. The break down in Ep 7 triggers more memories for him to remember

• I think Daniel is similar to Lestat in a way. The more he's afraid of Armand the more crass he is. That Shah Rukh Khan comment, boy stfu

• It's insane how Louis posed dead Lestat like Jesus. 

• Okay, I'm gonna "translating" DreamStat lines like I did with dead Abigail Hobbs

• The way Dreamstat shows Louis still misses Lestat and starts to ponder if Claudia worth it. The resentment building.

• OH THE LOUSTAT LEITMOTIF AFTER LOUIS SAID SORRY TO DREAMSTAT. slower version of In Throes in Increasing Wonder

• The lines Dreamstat did are so loaded with meanings. Louis' guilt for killing Lestat; his fear that he will come for revenge; his fear that once he's finally in better place, everything will crumble again; and his longing for him just from how intimately they're talking

• Oh, Louis is obsessed to get everything right. That will gradually eat his mental stability 

• Photo of Grace as his wife. Louis you're so funny

• Real Rashid deserves a hell of bonus and a promotion istg

• I don't understand Russian etc, but the use of foreign language and accented English has been smooth so far. A world better than whatever the fuck Mayfair Witches did. And they only had to cover one language.

• "In a landfill and five years of garbage on top." Louis, garbage wouldn't stop him 😭. I wonder where Lestat has been for 5 years tho. Recovering with that many rats are easy. Okay, let's say 3/6 months on rats. Once he gets up, he could kill the first person coming to a landfill. Then it will be smooth sailing. One year tops to recover. Two years, if you'd think he's depressed over Louis killing him idk. 

• The emotion in Claudia's eyes 😭

• "Change the subject when the truth blinds you" Oh, she got him.

• That insane monologue Jacob does. Louis starting to remember which is true which is not (he re-remembers the fall, mind you). 

• So because the blood is bad, vampires there can't get warmer and feel their sadness and sickness as well. And when they want to turn someone, it's either fail or they turn into a revenant. At least according to Louis.

• Oh, Daciana can taste how strong their blood is. How long they can live. 

• I wonder what went through Claudia's head, seeing Daciana emulated herself. She (deservedly, after all his lies) didn't believe Lestat when he said his maker burnt himself. Ofc it didn't make any sense to her ears at that time, burning yourself after you turned someone. But now she witnessed it herself. Someone who could have told her everything, killing themselves after feeling lost and untethered (Daciana lost all of her fledlings)

• "My name is in some of those pages" Louis isn't even listening to his fear. He's deadset on this. And Armand is anxious.

• The face Armand made. Does Louis know he has men around his pinky just for a drop of his affection?

• Louis agreed with Armand to basically shut Daniel up and turn him into a fumble journalist again when he still wants the truth is interesting 

• Is that the groan? It's louder now.

• Daniel's reaction when seeing Loumand walking in together is so funny 🤣

• Wait, Session 7 is Ep 7. There are two sessions in this episode and it's Season 10 now. so, what happened in Season 8?

• The way Lestat is there during the You and Me lines, but it's not really Lestat. It's the embodiment of Louis' doubt on this new life he chose together. The way Claudia sitting there so small; Lestat lovingly softly gazing at her. Oh, Louis so wants to believe his words himself.

• Louis arrives in Paris with desperation to prove that this life is worth it; that killing Lestat was worth it; that he'll get that happiness. Even though he's afraid Lestat will come or it will crumble the moment he reaches it. Oh, Louis.

Claudia’s Diary entries S1 EP5

Alright, this is my first Interview with the Vampire post that isnt just me reblogging someone else and adding to their post. There will be several of these posts as i have done my best to transcribe all written work shown in season one of the show. When season two starts (and season three etc.) I plan on making another series of posts about the written works shown in the series. 

This post is about the bit from Claudia’s diary seen in episode 5 of season one, just after her traumatic encounter with the vampire Bruce (Killer). A large part of this is from my reblog of @halo4life2017-blog​  as I didnt want to write down all my theories again. I’m very much looking forward to her theories about this as well as she is doing a rewatch!

So directly after the scene with Killer we are shown this page

(The left, its unimportant, reads: ...thing happend when....I had just...really get)

Its on the right hand side, its clean, and reads as such:

“November 11, 1930″

Dear Diary,

I met another vampire. His name is bruce,

but  I thought he was better suited to Killer.

We had just eaten together and started talking

about books when he really began acting strange

and made me uncomfortable. Bruce walked

back from the fire and leaned down over me

and…”

Daniel turns the page

And this reads

“November 11, 1930

Dear Diary,

I met another vampire. His name is bruce,

but  I thought he was better suited to Killer.

We had just eaten together and started talking

about books when he really began acting strange

and made me uncomfortable. Bruce walked

back from the fire and leaned down over me

and…”

The exact same!! this time on the left side page, and spattered with blood! Not only that but the passage cuts off midway through the page with that sentence unfinished and Daniel says nothing. (If this was accidental and just as far as Eric was supposed to read, therefore they didnt bother adding more, they wouldnt have put the empty space in the frame. Its just too weird not to be on purpose) He says nothing about the half cutoff sentence and nothing about the double passage either. He doesnt ask why the blood seems to be applied after the ripping out of the pages. Instead he remarks on the cutout pages and demands to know whats on them. As if she had filled four pages with a detailed account of her assault! And that was for some reason important for him to read. He says “Bruce walked back from the fire and leaned down over me and, cut out pages!” ??? no “cutoff sentence” or “empty space” as if the middle of the page is a perfectly normal place to end a page and continue on the next! He also immediately assumes that Louis ripped out the pages, which Louis neither confirms nor denies. And therefore we assume it too. But as we have discovered, never assume something of Louis, you will probably be wrong.

So what we know is: The passage was first written on the right side page, but left unfinished. Then it is written on a later page and stops at the same place the other did. then either four pages are ripped out or the new right side paragraph is written. Then someone cries over the pages, or at least little drops of blood end up on it.  If the right hand page wasnt written before the blood landed on it, then its written after.

(This is the right side paragraph as far as i could transcribe it

I’m going back to the house (..)

I’m ready for whatever lestat has to say. And I

will leave right away and take Louis with me.

Wouldn’t that be wonderfull? I am (..) excited to

see him again. And I (..) I was a handful

All those years don’t ()

I don’t know if ()

() tho…he (when) (…)

I just know he and I would have so 

much fun together. And anything (..)

depises I want to share with him to ?)

sheltered by Lestat for so long I want to 

open his eyes! We can learn about our kind together and maybe feel something.”

(This is not perfect and will be improved upon))

Three theories as to what happened;

Louis did it: This theory is assumed true by Daniel and the audience because of Louis reaction and the fact that he doesn't deny it. Louis discovered this diary and when he does he rips out four pages chronicling the assault, gets upset, and cries blood-tears all over it. This does not explain the cutoff sentence or the double passage.

Claudia did it: I think this has the most merit and is what i assumed happend the first time i watched this. But it is the most human way of looking at it. So Claudia has just experienced her encounter with Bruce. And as she always does writes it down in her diary. But she cant do it, she doesn't get very far. And just before the SA she has to stop. She takes a deep breath, turns a pages and just starts over, from the beginning. But this time, when she gets to the SA she gets too emotional, lets go of two tears and wipes them, and out of frustration (at herself for not being able to finish writing, blaming herself for what happened or anger at Bruce) she rips out two pages and leaves the book. then later, after making a plan for the future, she opens the book again and continues on the right side, on the blood spattered page. She could also have cried at this second diary writing moment. She might have cried at the memory of what happened or the thought of having to return home. Everything Daniel says “did she do it, doesn’t seem like her” etc, is an assumption about her on his part. It’s based on the emotionless monster he sees her as. Something that support this is that the blood tears are far too small to be from an adult (They actually look like they are from a small child. But i might be looking too far into it)

Louis rewrote the diary: In this theory everything is staged and done on purpose by Louis or Armand and Louis together. Maybe the original diary doesn't tell the right story, the story Louis wants to tell. So he rewrites the entire thing to fit the narrative. He plants the double paragraph, he plants the hastily ripped out pages, he purposefully ends the sentence in both entries at the same place. All this to get a reaction out of Daniel. To frame her as more human (see my “Claudia did it” theory above.) And Daniel doesn't respond the way he is supposed to, he doesn't believe in Louis humanisation of Claudia and this makes Louis angry.

Actually in all theories Louis gets angry because Daniel is being an asshole.

At last i want to talk about the ripped out pages themselves. 

This might be me looking too much into it, take everything with a grain of salt. But let’s analyse the diary without looking at the text. What has happened to it. 

The pages have been yellowed through age, to be expected. 

There are some light stains, and some crinkling of the paper that just suggest use. 

there is the bloodspatters on the paper, mostly on the lower side, who ever was crying was sitting in front of it. 

There are four pages ripped out, maybe with hands, or something sharp, a knife or scissors maybe. 

The pages are curled inwards (and not flattened as much as one would expect) and the right page is very yellow. To me it suggests it was slightly burned or something really hot got really close to it.  The yellow does not come from the light, or the other right-side-page should have the same colors. The Yellow is also too localised to be the light and too big to be the shadow coming from the torn out pages. 

That is what i could find and speculate from these diary entries!! I would love for anyone to tell me your own theories, maybe you have seen something I haven’t. In the mean time I’ll be trying to transcribe all other entries and written works that we have seen in the show!

i grew up in an abusive home myself (not as extreme as the show tho!) and claudia taunting lestat was weird to me. obvs she's got nerves of steel, but baiting your abuser & turning your back when they're yelling goes against every instinct. she seemed v confident he wasn't going to hurt her, but why? was her cowering in fear on the train an embellishment of louis' or smth? i'm not criticizing her or saying there's a right or wrong way to handle abuse, but these scenes felt contradictory?

First off - sending you a big, big hug (if you'll have it) 🥺

In regards to your ask.

I hope it's okay that I took a moment, because this is a touchy subject.

But... I agree. And I have had comments and reblogs to this effect on other posts as well, and having also some experience with abuse as a child (not sexual... just... well. physical.) I also felt the scenes off.

There are a few contradictions. IMHO.

In. The. Tale.

(Not the implementation, or meaning behind it. I'm not touching "why" they chose to give us the tale as it is here, that's a whole different subject.)

For one, both Louis and Claudia could have moved away after Louis was well again - Louis' mother was dead, Grace was gone, Claudia was back... there was nothing holding them there, was there. (I got the hell out of dodge as soon as I could, I literally put an ocean between myself and my family, and I can tell you I cackled rather humorlessly at that phrase Lestat used in ep1, and knowing his backstory.)

And they are not afraid of Lestat, even though he shows up regularly, as the car scene makes very clear. I always found that weird, given the (by then) very clear power discrepancy and they must have been aware that Lestat could have forced them... and that he didn't. And they trusted that... goodwill? After that "fight"? Mhhh. Claudia later tells Lestat that they don't repair the mantle piece because the damage stays... but that in and by itself is already an aggravation once more, as are the rules she puts up with Louis. The demands she puts up.

Claudia is not afraid of Lestat.

She is furious at Lestat on Louis' behalf. She is furious because Lestat is the cheating, "bad" parent, and she is protecting Louis. Who has been hurt by Lestat, emotionally, and physically (no matter the extent of the fight). But she is not afraid. As you also noted, turning your back on your abuser goes against every instinct, and you'd be careful not to rile them up. Which she does. Regularly and pointedly, and on purpose. She is not afraid.

Louis on the other hand... Louis exhibits signs of trauma in regards to the abuse, imho. He very carefully tries not to rock the boat after Lestat is back, he concedes, tries to negotiate between them. Gives into Lestat's whims and demands. (He also lowers his eyes in said car scene, and has his hands in his pockets, and his whole body language is withdrawn. Totally different to Claudia there, who even goes so far as to damage the gift in front of Lestat.)

And this is especially important in regards to the train scene, imho.

Because... that was not read from a diary. It was narrated by Louis. Who, of course, colored what he either got told by her or what she let him pick from her mind by his own interpretations.

And his own compassion and feelings.

What did he think Claudia would feel when Lestat showed up? What did he think Claudia would do when Lestat showed up. Would she cry? Be desperate? What did he expect Lestat to do when he went after Claudia...

And, of course, if his tale is to be trusted there, he didn't know Lestat went after her, so he... imagined it after?! When a furious Claudia would relate the encounter? Or when she talked to him in his mind?

*sighs*

Given the statement that everything we have seen will change in meaning with season 2 I think it is somewhat fair to say that this whole thing... is likely not as it seems.

Not yet at least.

And ... totally apart from Armand being Armand and being Armand (and there, in Dubai, and obviously involved in it all) there is also the aspect that canonically... Claudia manipulated Louis into killing Lestat. And she notes that in her diaries... and that she hated them both.

And it might be that we will get a change of the tale bc of that as well.

I wake up and the first thing I see is VC but make it Grey’s Anatomy!!! It’s gotta be an absolute ho down in there. I feel like this is one of those instances where Nicky could be included? If you’re capitalizing on Lestat’s perpetual optimism and his ability to make people feel good about themselves, give them back hope, etc., I feel like Nicky could either be one of his patients or some kind of intern following Lestat around and slowly falling for him. Also pediatrician Louis!! and this 5 y/o orphan patient of his he grows increasingly fond of. He’s overall excellent with kids but he does have a soft spot her. Also living for Armand’s Rowan Mayfair era! Cold, seemingly detached surgeon who’s the best at his job even if no one can quite make him open up. Maybe Louis and Bianca could be his confidants as he slowly learns to be more of a person. He’s gotta be sneaking around with that anesthesiologist in the dl tho, and Armand goes on and on about it just being sex, no feelings attached, it’s just their way of decompressing after a long day, but he’s just fooling himself. Also lmaoo at Marius being the chief of medicine 💀 he’s had to have fucked everyone at least once. Except Santino ofc who talks shit about him to anyone who’ll listen. There’s gotta be room for Gabrielle too because if someone gives bitchy doctor vibes it’s her but let me think. Anyhow I love this sm!!! xoxo yours truly dungeon anon

I feel like I literally stood in front of the mirror saying Blood Mary, because @apoptoses and I were in a tizzy just now about everything

I totally wanted to factor Nicki in! Either as a patient or as a reason why Lestat got into the profession.

Omg Louis and his Claudia patient 😭 Maybe he adopts her as a single dad once she gets better (this is a soap opera I can do what I want).

Armand is absolutely sneaking around with the anesthesiologist on the dl, but also everyone else. The rest of the staff now knows to knock on all the supply closets and on-call rooms before entering. No idea what the ending Armand ship would be though, so I stay stressed! (I want him getting spanked bloody over the therapist's couch before every major operation lol I'm conflicted).

Marius has fucked all of them once, the residents "joke" about it being an initiation. Everyone except Louis who just stared him down until Marius made an excuse and scrambled away saying he had to go meet his wife (Pandora, chief of staff).

Gabrielle... Head of obstetrics? Imagine Gabby delivering your baby LMAO 😭😭

How do you think the show would’ve been different if Lestat made Lily and Louis vampires?

hmm is this in lieu of claudia or annie? I personally cant see Lily not leaving. she was too obsevant to stay in my opinion. she picked up on things like loustats attraction to one another right away and read between the lines. “you’re his destiny louis” reads that way to me as well as her trying to keep the peace and make her money you know? She was aware that she was in between them as a buffer. im sure louis isnt the only john she’s dealt with hiding/denying what they really want and coming to a swer to fill that need in whatever way—in louis case being able to just talk freely making him more palatable to her, but still.

i like to think she would have got that power and left like claudia wanted and she would have been able to bc she presented as an adult in a way claudia couldnt. maybe louis and her would have caught up to each other later. i actually think if lestat presented her with the option she would have said yes and he wouldnt need to make the choice dubcon. tho idk if that can be avoided since it seems they cant help but be violent about presenting the option. i think the reality would have been a traumatic adjustment as it is for all of them, but i think she would have endured quite well. now if it was forced on her i think she would leave sooner rather than later after she learned what she could from them. but she wouldnt have been stuck with them and just like louis letting claudia leave, he would have let miss lily leave. and shes not dependent on either of them for survival the same way claudia is. also i dont think lestat would force her to stay bc as an adult woman she really does pose the threat he’s irrationally afraid of in claudia. not that it would change louis’ stance he gay. but i digress.

i think she would have to leave eventually bc irt to lestat, sharing louis with her would have put lily in danger. thats why he killed her so swiftly. no, louis cant even have someone he pays to confide in over him. he has to come to lestat yk? and the fact that lily had to be there for the first night to lure louis in all the way would begin to eat at him. like “why did it take her for you to give me a chance, you’re in love with her” type thing.

i think their mess is something she wouldn’t wanna put up with anyways she’s seen it all. swer are in a position where men tell them the worst of things about the relationships they’re sneaking around and cheating on and to have to be eternally stuck in between that shit for free? hell nah. in my head canon if she gets turned she leaves bc the alternative is her death and i wanna know she out there using vampirism to her full advantage and here in the modern age in a nice condo after a long successful career as a top model. maybe she would have been a refuge louis ran to. he would go back to lestat but just that possibility is why she died in the first place. the way she connects to louis in ways lestat doesnt. her blackness being a key component. i dont know that her undead life would automatically be easy. she is a black woman so all the things that come with that would still be true, but she’s a swer. i feel like she would be resourceful in a way say ……Grace!…might not be able to bc of how her circumstances are different. miss lily didnt have a choice but to be resourceful. Grace grew up affluent and taken care of you know it would be different. thats not a dig at grace just an observation. and that’s not to make it absolute that Grace wouldnt figure it out. i just see her being more dependent for a lot longer and that would pose an issue…you did not ask me about grace lmao moving on.

i think lets say she got away and annie still happened and claudia still was roped into this. louis is forthcoming with her in ways lestat isnt (he has his reasons. dont come at me i know). so i think if she’s asking about other vampires and the only other one louis knows is miss lily he would tell her about her. claudia would fixate on her. she would go looking for her. a mother a companion who understands her in a way she cant be understood at home. one who knows loustat and what it is to be in between them. i think she would go out and find her. and i can see lily being receptive to that. i think this would alter the tragedy of claudia’s story the most. so idk if annie would be needed for that long. she might actually have seen that incinerator a lot sooner. bc claudia would be with lily and i think louis would have been good to at least know where she is. lestat might not have needed to die but then it would just be loustat to face all their issues and idk if lestat would see a reason to adjust and change if he was never plotted agaisnt and left to feed off rats in the junkyard after having his throat slit. that would change the trajectory of the whole last half of iwtv. hmm yeah soo many things would be different. what would get him to paris to meet armand? (no loumand 🥺)i think eventually theyd end up meeting sure there isnt many vamps. then how would loumaniel/armaniel come to be?? it could still happen [i say desperately] but yeah so many things would change now that i really think about it.

well i personally would love to hear your iwtv opinions so for starters whats something u want to see in s2? is there anything uve liked more in the book than the show? who is your favorite minor character from the show so far? what insane thing from the series do you want to see eventually and how would you adapt it?

Yoo those are extremely good questions, thank you!!! I am unable to give short answers tho and for that I am sorry.

What I'd like to see in season 2: so many things!!! The deterioration of Louis and Claudia's relationship, Lestat being pathetic and hitting rock bottom, Armand being a freak, Claudia's death... those are things i am looking forward to seeing. But what I really, really desire from the bottom of my heart are two very specific things: 1. Louis touching Lestat's face in a mirror of how Lestat often touched his in s1, showcasing their power reversal and also being romantic and sad... and 2. PUPPETS!!!!!! I swear to god. if there are puppets in the vampire theatre I will be able to die a happy man. I love puppets so so much and I truly feel like the presence of creepy puppets would elevate iwtv to unmeasurable heights. This is my number 1 wish of all wishes, truly. please Rolin I am begging for puppets

Something I liked more in the book: I won't lie, I think the show is superior to the book in pretty much every way, as much as I love it. My only real criticism of the show is barely a criticism at all; that it sadly didn't have enough time to dedicate to exploring the many, many interesting themes it brought up. I think it did the best it could possibly do with the runtime it had, but I would have loved more navel-gazing and discussions about the nature of vampirism, humanity, ethics and so on.

Fav minor character from the show: probably Miss Lilly? I'm really intrigued by her and Louis' relationship prior to the show. and I really enjoyed Mr. Anderson - I can't really say he's my favourite as a character but I thought the actor did a great job and gave really fun and memorable line-readings!

Insane thing I'd like to see from the books: HMM there's honestly so many things.... Lestat frenching his mom, Lestat drinking period blood, Armand and the blender... I know some people are worried about later iwtv seasons getting goofy but I personally would love that. I don't even care if it stops being good and just becomes pure fun camp. I feel like, later down the line the show will have to choose whether it wants to sacrifice being faithful to the books in order to keep the tone somewhat classy, or just go balls to the walls vampire Riverdale. and I'm honestly good with either option. so now that that's out of the way, I'll admit I would LOVE to see the alien clone Derek 2 also known as Dertu. I can't explain it but I am charmed and compelled by the very idea of this character, the fact that he's not only an alien but an alien CLONE, of a guy named DEREK of all names, and that he's unoriginally called DEREK 2, then shortened to DERTU which is weirdly cute? So I know in my heart that I would love him. Dertu I am your one and only fan. I hope someday I get to see you on my television screen

I don't mind spoilers at all actually! I'm very curious and tho I know there will be changes I feel like the main points will stay the same? possibly? And I'm very thankful to you for taking time and replying to me❤️

Do you feel like Lou is doing the same thing here with the interview? Trying to make Lestat show himself and eventually reconcile?

Do you have any predictions when it comes to the show? I think they green lit season 2 as well, no?

I'm happy to answer! ❤️ Book spoilers under cut again cause some in the tag won't want to see

Some of the main points have already changed, particularly regarding Claudia. Hopefully they won't change many more.

1. In the books, she's a 5 year old plague victim that Louis, in his extreme hunger, feed on. He flees after he thinks he's killed her only to find that Lestat has saved the girl so that Louis doesn't have to feel guilty. Louis doesn't want her turned, but he doesn't want her to die either, so Lestat turns her. But there was an ulterior motive as well; Louis was leaving and in a great bid to make him stay, Lestat makes him a daughter. Lestat is the girlfriend that baby traps their partner, true story . In the show, Louis is her grand saviour, saving her from the fire, taking her to a very reluctant Lestat who is then pressured by Louis into turning her. Book Louis never puts blame on Lestat for making her. Show Louis does, and it's not fair, because he's the one that wanted her turned. He's blaming Lestat for doing something that he pressured him into doing when he knew he was reluctant.

2. She tries to kill Lestat. She's unsuccessful, but a very good attempt is made. As in the last answer, in the books, she does this because of her immense frustration. She blames both of her fathers for turning her but she only tries to kill Lestat, not Louis. In the book, Merrick, we see her ghost, and she tells Louis that she chose him because she knew she could manipulate him into helping her kill Lestat, and she also knew she'd never be able to convince Lestat to hurt Louis. So she kept the one she could wrap around her little finger, and tried to kill the one she couldn't. Lestat never actually did anything to trigger the attempt on his life, she just snaps. However, the show is absolutely justifying her attempted murder of him. So it has actually removed quite a large chunk of Claudia's characterisation by making him this violent and giving her a very justified reason.

3. Daniel is a much younger man in the books, about 19 or 20. He ends up being turned into a vampire by Armand who becomes his lover (Louis is back with Lestat at this point, and a lot of the vampires are very polyamorous anyway). Not sure how that will work with Show Daniel, especially if they cast a canon compliant Armand. Armand is about 600 by present day but he was turned at 16 so will forever look like a teenager. With Book Daniel, that wouldn't look weird, but if they do that with Show Daniel, it's gonna look very questionable. Side note; I love the theory that Rashid in the show is going to be revealed as Armand. That would be wild.

I hope Louis is doing the interview for the same reason. It would make for a faithful adaptation if the purpose of the interview was to draw Lestat out of hiding, and it would also lead into The Vampire Lestat season, which will probably be season 3 now. Yeah season 2 has been greenlit, and it's going to deal with the second half of the first book. So we should see SPOILERS Louis and Claudia searching for vampires in Europe, finding them in Paris, the introduction of Armand and his vampires, the death of Claudia, the brief appearance of a very scarred Lestat (he heals fully over time, but is still recovering when he turns up in Paris), Louis living with Armand, and Louis seeing Lestat again briefly (which Louis says in his book happened, and which Lestat in his book flat out denies happened). Or it's possible other events from the same point in the timeline will happen simultaneously but since this is still being told from Louis' POV and he won't know about them (i.e. Lestat is thrown off a tower by Armand just after Claudia's death but Louis didn't know about that until he read Lestats book), that's probably not likely.

I'm curious to see how it's going to go.

whew this conversation on misogynoir and claudia. if there's one character where there's no legitimate reason to hate her it's claudia. she's literally the embodiment of has never done anything wrong in her life. i hope someone (not me 😩) explores the childism angle wrt to claudia. because people be hating children and wanting to dominate them.

the fun of claudia's character is that she isnt a good person by any real life morals. by way of her youth, she could not develop enough understanding of complex moral codes [which is even more prominent w/ claudia being turned @ the age of 5 in books but even then.. ik at 14, i was hardly the pinnacle of morality and maturity, i was reckless & destructive, and did not understand consequence until it kicked my ass]. the moral dilemma of the actual brutality of vampirism is something shes certainly better at disassociating from than louis simply bc she was too young to understand right & wrong.. as iwtv novel said and the title of ep4 is, it is the reckless pursuit of blood w/ a child's demanding in ep4 that leads claudia to killing & disposing of bodies recklessly, a hurricane hitting lifting the bodies up, and her leaving. even tho shes a 20 something woman, lestat x louis tried to give her a second [or her first] childhood, and most importantly, her brain is permanently metasized w/ the thought patterns & responses of a poor 14 year old girl who came out of a fire on the verge of death. she leaves bc she cognitively is unprepared for & does not want to deal w/ the consequences that come with exposing this household of interracial gay dudes w/ a creole chid during the jim crow days to heightened police scrutiny. the question w/ claudia [& armand, and all these creatures] is that can u recognize their capacity for cruelty, the tragedy & loss of agency/life done upon them and still sympathize with them? for claudia, people already had a 50/50 view of her in vc fandom for 'getting in the way of the ship' esp w/ her oedipal [mutual] dynamic w louis, but in amc show, the relationship's certainly changed on louis's end. i cant say amc louis has the capacity to long after any woman much less claudia in that way, but there is a sense of [co]dependency on a black girlwoman thats much more interesting here. i got a post on that somewhere lol. im not sure what childism means but im guessing it refers to the denial of humanity children face by adults, and i definitely find that true. lestat and louis both want to keep claudia preserved in their memory as their little girl, lestat even moreso when claudia begins to question & challenge his authority as the patriarch.. louis picks & chooses when to regard claudia as a grown woman [saying shes almost 33 to lestat when she comes back, and when she cooks up the plan to kill lestat, evening himself out to be merely one of lestat's creations when he asks "can the children kill the father" to ease his guilt for his love and his hate for their maker, their abuser, his husband, alladat] and when to regard claudia as his child [even in the modern day when he talks about her, being protective of her diaries in the face of the white interviewer/audiences]. fans saying 'yea lestat, claudia should stay out of ur lovelife' is hilarious cuz lestat dragged claudia back into their lovelife in the permanent role as their child, when she wanted to leave in ep6, and made her to keep louis attached to him [cuz he thinks louis couldnt keep loving him otherwise]. shes a rhetorical device in the marriage: lestat loves her cruelty, louis loves her innocence, bc those aspects of claudia remind them of [how they see] themselves. misogynoir & childism, as u word it, may play into fans’s disinterest but also favoring an interpretation of claudia within the lines of their preferred party btwn lestat x louis, which is also why i giggle to myself when ppl tag claudia w/ either one of their surnames

Omg, I just had a thought; Sev with a chaotic!vampire daughter\son figure?? (Think Claudia from Interview with a vampire except they're a teen lmao) like, maybe they had abusive parents and ran away and managed to either A. Get changed into a vampire or B. Get attacked THEN change into a vampire

They would play the innocent card to get people to let down their guard while the rest of the hooker gang would take their chance to attack 👀👀👀👀

I could ttly see it happening! He's probably one of the last ppl in the group that wants the responsibility of parenting, acts like a total hardass about it at first....And yet, the older kid-teen has him wrapped around their finger in no time. 😌

I just pictured the movie scene with TomCruise where Claudia fake cries to kill a woman who thinks she's an innocent girl and Lestat is smiling like an idiot in the shadows at how proud he is of her; 100% Severen behavior.

They would be a chip off the ol' block. He'd taint that kid into being a mini Severen and while everyone else is groaning in annoyance at that; he's thrilled! Getting them their own badge after killing a cop (And they'd probably want to bc Severen looks cool af what teen wouldn't gravitate towards him and want to be like him especially someone who looks up to him as a masc role model?) Get them their own revolver. Teach them new curse words. Try to get them to be as sadistic with kills as he is bc he clearly is apathetic towards humans after at least 125+ years of being alive so he figures why not have fun and play with your food a bit to keep vampire life interesting? He would protect his kid and teach them to protect themselvesself too. He would actually be an amazing Dad (Murder and stuff aside I guess) and probably a drastic change from wherever they came from. I can just see a teenager blowing something up and Severen grinning and yelling "THAT'S MY FUCKIN KID!!" while everyone is glaring at them bc NOW they just alerted every cop in the tri-state area of an explosion from them 😭☠️

And a daughter that's sadistic like Claudia? Oohhh mmyyyy gggoooddd. Let's use Claudia as a face claim bc if she showed up in a pretty dress with blood on her looking up at him like that and was like "Please don’t be mad at me🥺🥺🥺"

HE IS INTERNALLY AWWING EVEN IF HE REFUSES TO SHOW IT LIKE HIS CHEST HURTS AT HOW SOFT HE'D BE FOR HER. Tell me he wouldn't be like "I've known her for one day but if anyone hurts her I'm killin' every motherfucker in this room and then myself."

Like, she would absolutely have him wrapped around her finger, no questions asked. Bonus points if she calls him Dad or Papa after being with them for awhile; girl could have anything and he'd never say no.

Even if she's a complete rough ass tomboy; you bet she's pulling out the sweet innocent doe eyes just to get her way. After she does, he's like "...Wait a minute...Did you just con me???" Even tho he's proud af bc it's Severen of course he's glad his adopted kid is a survivor doing what it takes to win.

(Can you imagine the FUED that would happen if Homer had a crush on her and tried wooing her especially since he's technically a fucking old man mentally like he tried to do with Sarah? Severen would absolutely lose his shit for good reason. Like, feral and ready to have a shoot out with Homer and probably anyone siding with Homer on that. So here's to hoping she wants nothing to do with Homer and is like "Ew no." when she arrives. Now once she's much older mentally idk that's debatable especially since their both stuck as kids forever but I still think Sev would bristle at the idea of it bc Homer is not good enough for his babygirl or his pride in joy son or kid in general for that matter ☠️☠️☠️)

However, I could see just like Claudia and Homer; his kid being resentful of being stuck as a practical kid forever. If they're 16 and older maybe not but under that? Yeah, the bitterness of being in a 14 yr olds body forever or something like that would eventually take hold. And who knows if that would make them still like Severen or bitter towards him 10+ years from now. It probably depends on if he turned them or not.

And a they/them non binary kid would be treated most likely however they'd want to be treated 🤷🏼‍♀️ I just see Sev as respectful towards ppl he actually gives a shit about.

Honestly, no matter whether it's a daughter/son/affectionately named brat; he'd be a good chaotic Dad towards them ESPECIALLY if they were as unhinged as him. And he is definitely teaching them how to be ruthless regardless. No kid of Severen Van Sickle isn't walking around w/o a weapon or knowing how to get out of sticky situations.

Final Thoughts on Blood Communion

The book is waaaaay better than the last two, but still nothing outstanding or great. Nevertheless, its an easy read and very entertaining, & honestly I did enjoyed it a lot. It can be over the top and downright ridiculous sometimes tho. 

Under the cut there are some spoilers of things I really liked & and not so much

Things I liked: 

- There weren’t much L/L moments, but the few ones were just great ;n; Their relationship felt very domestic & supportive to me & I just loved that. The waltz at the end was everything I ever needed in my life. 

- Cyril is one of my new fave characters.

- Also, I liked Mitka. He didn’t do much, but he’s kinda cute & cheerfull, and his relationship is Lestat was also cute (I ship it, and a Louis/Lestat/Mitka threesome would be great too)

- Gabrielle & Lestat relationship was great too. Again, we don’t see them interacting much, but they few momments they have together were really nice. 

- The action/violence was good. 

- Marius readjusting his head was pretty cool. 

- We barely see the replimoids and there is much less vampire science

- Lestat in this book feels a lot like TVL! Lestat; optimistic and a bit naive. Also he is such a disastrous leader, half of the time he has no idea of what to do, and the other half he doesn’t care. Plus I feel he was very vulnerable & I loved that. 

Things I didn’t like: 

- The conflict could have been managed better. 

- Rosh had potential as a character & I felt he was such a waste in this book. 

- There are things that came out of nowhere, like the whole iron thing & snapping the necks, that bother me. It just seems imposible that very few vampires knew this, and that it never came up on other entries of the series. 

- The last 3-4 chapters were boring and sometimes even stupid, even though they do have some small golden momments. 

- Either Armand developed amnesia again or he’s a giant hypocrite, because has Lestat followed his philosphy, he would be long death. Marius was 100& right, he has ignorant soul of child. He did nothing but cry, blame others and throw fits. I was never fond of him, but I can say that I dislike him after this book. Please don’t kill me

I'm sooo curious about the potential for Armand to be mind-controlling Louis in some way? I'm confused tho bc I see fans saying Rolin said 'no one's mind-controlling anyone', but in that gifset you made he's talking about Armand telling Louis' story back to him and Idek how else to interpret that?! If Louis has a ton of fake memories it has to be more than normal manipulation, right? And how else could they make massive changes to s1 without destroying Louis' credibility?

Mhhhh.

So canonically Armand manipulates and influences. "Nudges".

In IWTV for example, when Louis is asking about Lestat after the trial:

I was asking of Lestat, my voice shrill and angry, even the sound of it giving me some comfort. I was laughing, laughing loudly. ‘He’s stark-raving mad to speak to me in this manner! Did you hear him?’ I demanded. And Armand’s eye said, Sleep.

(He also influences Louis to make Madeleine etc.)

I think... Armand tries to help. In his own, inimitable way *coughs* And Louis... Louis probably asked him to suppress some memories at some point, because he tried his damnest to forget after all (by drug use in the 70s, for example).

So I think it is a wild mixture of Armand being Armand, suppressed memories, forgotten things, and refusal to remember some things (which imho is not quite the same as the subconsciously suppressed) in Louis' case. And, added to that, the intention of the interview, which must be considered as well (and which is not 100% clear after all^^).

Rolin pointed out who Armand is - to those who know the books that opens up the Pandora's box, so to speak :)))

I wouldn't call it mind control per se.

But I wouldn't say Louis is not a victim, either.

i'm intrigued by the show's timeline & how much of books 1-6 have happened already? i know s3 is tvl, but if qotd, totbt & mtd have happened in some way, wont lestat include them in his memoir too? it'd be kinda arbitrary for him to consider his life story 'over' at the end tvl, so we may be in his pov for a while. i hope they keep some of those plots for the modern day tho - the action-based ones (esp. akasha's vamp apocalypse) won't hit the same if the audience can infer the outcome too much.

I think (by now) that they're likely doing a mixup of various events of the books, but in a way that the main points of the stories are still reached.

IWTV is a different setting, a different time, a different timeline... but it feels still right, feels still like them because the emotional and main story points are reached.

I think it will continue that way.

By giving us the hint with TVL we have a certain... setting that has to happen (in some kind of way), because at least the bigger part of TVL, Lestat's backstory, Armand, the theater, Nicki, Marius, Those who must be kept... has happened. ^^

In the books there are two instances of vampires multiplying out of control (as mentioned in the show), and then being, errr... reduced. It would be interesting to see them combine that, tbh. Which would mean Qotd will still happen, maybe in combination with the spirit part Prince Lestat arcs (I actually like that idea a lot, tbh, what if that spirit is what drives Akasha and then that arc segues into the other).

But the rest of the books does not necessarily need to follow a pattern, or a structured order either. I think we're in Merrick territory in modern Dubai right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean that QotD or Memnoch etc have to have happened yet - though, tbh, I do think Memnoch would be much harder to show than TtotBT - which Rolin Jones has addressed already (so it's floating round his brain).

But even if QotD has not happened yet, Lestat's one-hit-wonder rock career might have?! He could have done that for (lots of) other reasons - even though IWTV has not been published (yet) in this universe, it does not necessarily mean that TVL has not been published.

In general I agree, they would do well to give the "Dubai-storyline" a grand arc that is ultimately action driven.

However, I do think that QotD would be more like season 4, because... I honestly cannot see Lestat telling his story (and it has been stated already that we get to see his POV in season 3) while Akasha is wreaking havoc.

So whatever is happening in Dubai has to have a certain... lull, imho, after season 2. A breather, if you so will.

And then, when Lestat tells his story, it could easily pick up again and turn into this QotD and PL-arc mashup with the vamp apocalypse :))

I am not sure where TotBT would fit in, but maybe they could somehow mix that with the Mayfair Witches and those crossover books. The characters are connected after all. Maybe even as some kind of standalone series.

(And in the end, when they're all done with the action stuff, we can get to the aliens *laughs*)

I think that would be cool :)

Hi! So I have to ask am I the only one who wishes Anne Rice had written a short novel about Daniel and Armand? Because with QotD we only got little glimps and short tales. Also, I got a bit upset that Marius had Daniel but didn't tell Armand until much later on the books. (( Now this could be Marius protecting Armand from Daniel's insanity at that point in time but it just really irks me is all.)) What do you think?

*nods* well, I feel ya, but it is at least addressed in canon. So much more Daniel and Armand is always needed and wanted, tho! That’s what fanfic is for ;D 

@monstersinthecosmos has some good Daniel/Armand stuff on AO3 you should definitely check out.

[^X fanart by @garama, i added captions to blank bubbles *u*]

Essays could be - and probably have been - written on the topic of Daniel’s sanity, and on his relationship with Armand before and after he’s turned. Whether it’s real insanity or a “spell” as Marius calls it in B&G, Daniel and Armand are not compatible for a period of time in canon. 

TL;DR: Daniel and Armand’s fallout is at least addressed in canon. It seems to me that Daniel left Armand of his own free will, and Marius took him in at some point. It doesn’t seem to be a secret from anyone involved. 

Hit the jump for more, cut for length.

“Also, I got a bit upset that Marius had Daniel but didn’t tell Armand until much later on the books.”

Well, that’s our unreliable narrator/retconning that AR does. Daniel is turned in QOTD and we see some of his fledgling struggling. I don’t think Daniel’s in TOBT at all, bc that’s a mostly Lestat book, as is MTD, so it’s TVA when we find out from Armand what’s happened between him and Daniel. Then we get a glimpse of Daniel living with Marius in B&G. So Marius couldn’t tell Armand about it sooner than that.

So no, they don’t get a whole book in canon, but we do see where Daniel went and we get some explanation about it.

It seems to me that Daniel left Armand of his own free will and at some point, Marius took Daniel in. Armand says in TVA:

With Benji and Sybelle I rejoined the world in a way which I had not done since myfledgling, my one and only fledgling, Daniel Molloy, had left me.

Marius tells Thorne in B&G:

“… I took Daniel with me because he needed me. I took Daniel because it’s unendurableto me to be utterly alone…”

And then in PL, there is a closer relationship implied between Daniel and Marius, possibly a legit canon ship.

I don’t know how much Marius was trying to protect Armand or anyone else from Daniel’s insanity. I wouldn’t necessarily label it “insanity” either, but that he was going through a difficult time. Everyone has their own headcanons about it.

Armand in TVA, he doesn’t say Daniel is insane, just that he and Daniel are out of tune:

Daniel, though alive and wandering, though civil and gentle, can no more stand mycompany than I can stand his.

…I was no Marius to him afterwards. It was too exactly as I supposed: he loathed me inhis heart for having initiated him into Living Death, for having made him in one nightboth an immortal and a regular killer.

…There was never any innocence for us, there was never any springtime. There wasnever any chance, no matter how beautiful the twilight gardens in which we wandered. Our souls were out of tune, our desires crossed and our resentments toocommon and too well watered for the final flowering.

Marius explains it to Thorne in B&G, it seems more like being “under a spell,” not a loss of sanity:

“Have you ever seen one of our kind under such a spell?” Marius asked.Thorne shook his head, No, he had not. But he understood how such a thing couldhappen. 

“It occurs sometimes,” said Marius. “The blood drinker becomes enthralled. I remembercenturies ago I heard the story of a blood drinker in a Southern land whose sole passionwas for finding beautiful shells along the shore, and this she did all night long until nearmorning. 

She did hunt and she did drink, but it was only to return to the shells, and once she lookedat each, she threw it aside and went on searching. No one could distract her from it.Daniel is enthralled in the same way. He makes these small cities. 

He doesn’t want to do anything else. It’s as if the small cities have caught him. You mightsay I look after him.“ 

Thorne was speechless, out of respect. He couldn’t tell whether Marius’s words affectedthe blood drinker who continued to work upon his world. Thorne felt a moment ofconfusion. 

Then a low genial laugh came from the youngish blood drinker. "Daniel will be this wayfor a while,” said Marius, “and then his old faculties will come back to him.”

^Marius seems to be saying this is some kind of temporary spell, he doesn’t seem to be doing much in terms of mental health care for Daniel other than being supportive and taking physical care of him.