#i also have SO MUCH to say about how all of s1 was over Louis talking about his and Lestat's

[fayevalcntine]

I do find it interesting how Louis's reaction to Daniel's frankly benign joke about Lestat's letter was so different from his responses towards Daniel over the torn diary pages. Both times prior, he either becomes very angry, enough to make Daniel suddenly lose control of his body, or he becomes so overwhelmed he has to leave the room. But in neither of those times did Daniel ever go after Lestat or mock him for his love for Lestat. And the second he does, Louis not only bites back but even becomes gleeful at the thought of affecting Daniel this severely.

[three--rings]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[streussal]

i 100% agree with u about the fight, my question is why do you think they even included that scene? i don't feel like it tells us anything we don't already know & it gives ppl who dont remember the original scene opportunity to believe louis was the aggressor.. don't know how to feel about it to be frank

I got this ask after I made this post. Responding almost 4 days later so I don't know if the anon will see this, but I have some thoughts.

First of all, no matter how strongly a piece of media demonstrates who is the bad guy in a situation, there's always going to be people who side with the abuser, ESPECIALLY if the abuser is a white male and the victim is anyone other than a white male. Louis straight up said in the scene (LESTAT'S VERSION) "like you wrapped your hands around our daughter's neck" so it's pretty clear he's responding to Lestat attacking Claudia. On stage, Lestat goes off script and insists that it was wrong of him to drop Louis from the sky, and that afterwards Louis was "a broken thing. I know, I saw, because I am the one that broke him". He then follows this with the admission that he did it because Louis hurt his feelings, not because of any threats or violence from Louis: “I couldn’t persuade him to return my affections. I could force him to love me. And so, I broke him.” If people don't get that Lestat was in the wrong here, I don't think there's anything else the writers can do.

As for why I think the show gave us that scene:

Playing around with different points of view is neat, and showing different recollections of the same event is a recurring thing in this show. (I'm torn on whether this is Lestat's actual recollection or just something the coven added to make Louis look bad - see my interpretation that Lestat is being coerced into participating in the trial - but either way it plays into one of the themes of the series.) Yes showing the POV of an abuser could backfire if it falls into victim blaming but I think the show handled it very well (and there is a portion of the audience that is always going to see Lestat as the victim even when he straight up says he was the bad guy in a situation).

It shows Louis physically protecting Claudia AND prioritizing her over Lestat. One of the major criticisms of Louis is his failure to do either of these things, so I actually think it made a lot of people like him better. Most of the twitter reactions I saw, from people who accepted the scene as 100% fact, was people talking about how great it was that Louis was ready to kill the guy who hurt his daughter.

It allows Jacob Anderson to do something different! One of the reasons I'm suspicious of this version of events with Louis cackling is that I have not seen Louis act quite like that before. But Jacob definitely sold it! Makes me wonder if maybe this is yet another side of Louis! I don't know! It adds rewatch value.

The acknowledgement that Lestat dropping Louis from the sky really did do long term damage to Louis. Not just physically. He became "a broken thing" - there was serious psychological damage. After he got back together with Lestat, we never really saw him push back against Lestat again. A lot of his time in Paris is a reaction against being in an abusive relationship. (And then he gets in another one, which happens a lot in real life.)

But I think it's also significant that right after this scene, we saw Lestat's remorse. And a much more real apology than anything we saw in s1. Now obviously this does not fix anything. (Claudia highlights this - "Can I cry and say sorry too?" - She and Louis tried to kill Lestat and are on trial, Lestat nearly kills Louis and just gives an apology.) But it gives the possibility that perhaps Lestat has changed or realized that he needs to change. And given that the showrunner has repeatedly referred to Loustat as the central love story of the series (link)... we need to see that Lestat is not going to do the same thing again. We want him to be better for Louis. Not that it would ever be an entirely healthy relationship (they are vampires), but not "drop him the sky requiring months of recovery" level awful. (@awildwickedslip wrote an interesting post relating to this here)

[blueiight]

can i ask your thoughts on the fandom’s heavy focus on louis as an object of desire? it sometimes feels to me like people are more interested in other characters reacting to louis than they are in louis himself. i know the “helen of troy” stuff is a joke but it genuinely seems like he’s often rendered oddly passive in his desirability, like we’re looking at him through the eyes of the other characters even though it’s his story (to be clear: in the fandom, not the actual show). or am i being uncharitable? either way, you always have interesting things to say about fandom reception.

i think the focus of louis as an object of desire arose largely in response to a lot of racially-charged nonsense about show louis, namely, where a loud minority of fans tried to deny the abuse and horror of season 1 and frame louis as the primary antagonist/abuser of his own story. which in of itself had the potential to go somewhere, especially considering the feminized role louis occupies in parts of season 1. unfortunately its spiraled off into its own dead end at this point to where now people, a year and a half removed from the release of s1, can box louis's character arc into this tale of getting all the hot boys to look her way. when this is a horror and tragedy series. romance is part of that, but is a piece of the full picture. classic romance is very much horror tbh but thats just me

if we're discussing the show strictly, majority of louis's relationships are antagonistic. even with his lovers, they love him as much as they seek to control him. 'his love is a small box that he keeps you in', trailer louis saying 'i knew who i was without those pieces [of myself?]' . so on and so forth. the first three episodes of season 1 are about louis's struggle to maintain a link with his mortal community, in the midst of increasing racist tensions against the city leaders, all as he struggles to come to terms with his existence as a vampire and how his relationship to lestat fits in relation to all these pieces of himself. doubly so, there is also the nature of the second interview in present time, and the sort of antagonism between daniel + louis as louis eventually pushes daniel into burning the old tape. the latter half of season 1, episodes 4-7 is squarely about the triad of lestat, louis, and claudia, how lestat increasingly tightens his hold over them both, claudia breaking them free of it, and louis's response to such. doubly so, daniel becomes more hostile the less he knows, and the more louis's composed 'master of his instincts' personage collapses to show the broken man thats underneath. armand comes in at the end bc the interview has reached a breaking point once more [as it did in the 1970s]. i know, im looking too hard into the meme, but so much of where louis errs, where his memory falters, where history is completely revised, has to do with the question of claudia. even book interview foundationally was about this grief, though not nearly with the level of depth+ gravity the show has added to the story.

where focusing on louis as an 'object of desire' most impedes analysis has to do with claudia as well, bc if u see louis as that solely, then what is claudia to u if not a 'child interfering in [louis's] romantic affairs'? why are people already seeking to write claudia off as a wayward child unduly 'taking out her anger on louis', when it was louis at the end of season 1 who strangled her against the wall and refused to let her burn lestat? when its louis in the trailer thats throwing claudia's words from season 1 back at her, evading her questions in the cafe? when claudia is having to dress as a baby doll and advertise with a sandwich board for a theater + a coven-master that all want her dead?

i think this is by nature of the fact that iwtv is canonly gay and isnt afraid of showing that, and modern fandom is mainly interested in romance. claudia's relationship to louis is secondary, if not tertiary, to all 'camps' of this tiny tiny fandom bc she is clearly established in s1 as not being a viable romantic option for louis, despite claudia's perspective and her story taking up the second half of the first season, and will continue to be important in the second season. the 'helen of troy' fixation on his desirability in relation to romantically viable vampires [or even men] seems to be another means by which fans can ignore this part of the story, just as the mutual abuse nonsense about louis being clarence thomas the third self hating black man who stole lestat's lunchables and is 'just as bad as the rest' drowned out and continues to drown out any other conversation for the past year and a half. it is very difficult to have conversations on this character precisely bc of this state of fandom, where many people seek to crack the whip over a fictional character for not being mother teresa and having a complex response to trauma, then instead of discussing that, some seek to fixate on the fact that mother teresa can be sexy, actually. when thats not the point. why is modern louis so full of grief and all but suicidal in dubai, if not for the fact that claudia is permanently dead, he still lives, he regrets something, and wants to find the truth under it all? the jokes are cute and all, but lets put our thinking caps on.

[aryastark-valarmorghulis]

I rewatched the last episode, and while I still think it was a satisfying finale on many levels, I finally understood what was bothering me.

Armand's arc doesn't make sense unless he also wasn't going to let Louis die on the stage - but maybe Lestat acted first or acted better. A hurricane that upset Armand’s plan.

Because, otherwise, if he was ready to see Louis burn, why save him later (and betray the coven) when he had chosen to let him die (picking the coven over Louis)?

Armand would really look like an idiot (maybe it was the purpose, but I don’t believe it, honestly…): first he is an accessory to the trial (at best… you could say he was much more than that) but then he saves Louis’ life after what, a week of agony?

At first, he picks the coven but then he lets Louis kill them all and grovels at his feet? I genuinely don't understand. Armand says “I had complicated feelings” for the coven – so he let Louis take his revenge – but he also adds they were with him for 200 years and he didn’t trust Louis’ love to last – so he picked them over Louis.

?????

There must be some missing pieces that we don't have yet – and ok, I'm 100% sure we're going to learn more about Armand in S3 or later – and his arc in S2 feels incomplete (I absolutely loved everything about Armand and how they wrote until ep. 8) in a way that doesn't give the audience much closure.

In S1 we knew there was stuff that didn't add up regarding Lestat, but his arc felt organic and natural: he had to "die" by the hands of Claudia and Louis. His "death" was earned.

Armand being thrown into a wall and lying there like a discarded sock was consistent with the underwhelming Loumand breakup in the book, BUT it doesn't say anything about Armand and the meaning of his journey in S2.

Armand was S2's "villain" (I know we don't have villains, they're all villains etc etc, bear with me, language has its limits etc etc lmao) the same way Lestat was for S1, but a villain whose motivations are so mysterious… maybe too mysterious.

Said that, I can believe this sense of incompleteness was an artistic choice - Armand is a black hole, Armand is opaque - just not one I particularly loved. The only one I didn't love, in fact, in a season that was, in every other aspect, great.

[cuntylestat]

I gotta say I think this episode didn’t need Lestat and Armand’s motives or perspective because it’s not about them, it’s about Louis. These 2 seasons have focused on Louis characterization and the season ends with Louis learning the truth and decided how to respond to it. He forgives Lestat, but he also forgives himself, and he throughout the show has been working to come to terms with his own story. adding Lestat and Armand’s motives, esp in the last episode, would make no sense and would not fit with the story that was told s1-2. there’s just enough glimpses and hints given to spark their own story telling later with their own perspectives on it all, but we have all we needed to know about Armand here: he’s ancient, desperate for love, powerful, and extremely unwilling power/control—he gives up only the allusion. Louis had a solid arc over these 2 seasons, and Lestat has the start of an arc (og self + catalyst for change), so he’s ready for to tell his story now in season 3. I’d imagine Armand will get something similar coming in the next season.

i think that's a really interesting and nice way to look at it! i also think there is still so much space to explore things that were present in this episode but not a focus, as this was the culmination of louis' main arc over the last two seasons

[sanctaignorantia]

I was thinking here. Armand is a Mind Gift's master and anyone who's read the books knows it, so obviously he'll be very powerful when it comes to using it in the show too. We have them using the Cloud Gift and the Fire Gift (maybe), but the mind is the field where Armand is most skilled.

So we're discussing and thinking about the influence of this power he has over Louis and Daniel, right.

In my opinion and in the opinion of several other people, the conclusion we've come to is that Daniel probably asked Armand to erase his memories, but what if Louis asked him to do the same? Armand says he's protecting Louis from himself, so we'd not only have Daniel asking Armand to do it, but Louis as well.

And then comes another topic, if Louis and Daniel asked for it, then why the second interview? Why this theater for Daniel? Why put Louis through so much emotional pain? Why?🤔

Perhaps Armand's power and influence over Daniel and Louis' minds is so strong that he has them hooked and not even Armand could reverse the situation? So the only less painful way would be to make Louis and Daniel remember for themselves?

Does Louis in that bar, when he meets Daniel, look like someone whose memories have already been altered? Remember that Louis says that the last time he killed was in 2000 and we know how painful it is for his mind to take a life? So until 2000 Armand was "fighting" in a way to protect Louis from himself???

What was Louis and Daniel's limit? How far did they both go to tell Armand "please make this pain stop. You're the only one who can make the pain go away" - for Daniel and Louis, in a way, their greatest pains are still connected to Armand.

Armand wouldn't deny them that, Armand loves them and will serve them. Everything Armand does is for Daniel and Louis and if he's behind the second interview, then it's because it's for Daniel and Louis too.

I read someone saying that Daniel was going to use the tapes of the first interview to make Louis remember, but we know that in s1 Daniel throws the tapes away and Louis burns them, then Daniel deletes them from the computer. But if it's Armand through Louis using the Fire Gift to destroy the tapes, then what would be the point? Daniel had a backup in the drive? (I don't doubt it haha)

So I think there's a dark corner we're not seeing here, some guilt we can't reach and maybe that's the plot twist? Or maybe they don't even want to go that far and it's as simple as we've been theorizing all along.

But in my opinion Armand is also a character who carries guilt. He tries to be perfect in everything, especially in serving others, and tolerating one failure or frustration in this regard destroys him completely.

Armand dealt with Louis by being passive, cold, a rose in a vase and then he dealt with Daniel who was pure fury and rebellion, who didn't mince his words and who dealt with him head on, they are extremes and they belong to Armand whether we like it or not. But in the series it sounds a bit different, doesn't it? But the same.

(Last observation, at first I thought that Louis and Armand wanted Daniel there so that he would remember something and that something would be of value to Louis and Armand as if, suddenly, Daniel had met Lestat halfway and now Armand and Louis want to know when and how that was, but it's crazy. End of story.)

[showmey0urfangs]

Now that the season is almost over, what is your opinion about the first 6 episodes?

Hi Anon! Well, if I'm being honest, the overall season was a massive letdown for me, though there were a lot of moments and scenes that I absolutely adored.

I know it's very frowned upon to express criticism and negative opinions on main, especially for a show like IWTV that so many people—myself included—are super passionate about. So I try to limit my scathing criticisms to my spaces and to priv discord servers. 😂

But to give you the short gist of it, I just felt that the writing this season was not as polished as it could have been. A lot of the characterization felt off, especially for Louis and Claudia (which I already detailed in another post). The characters' motivations don't make sense either, and it just felt like they were doing things because the plot needed it to happen. The twists and reveals fall flat because they are not properly set up and so they feel illogical and unearned.

A good example of that is Armand's "betrayal" at the end of ep 6. Because of the changes that were made to Louis and Claudia's relationship this season, it makes little to no sense why Armand would see her as a threat in any way. Other than her brief outburst in ep 4, Claudia never expresses any reticence to Louis and Armand's relationship, quite the opposite (i.e. the blood fat cocks convo in ep2). She simply dgaf and her issues with Louis have more to do with him being an asshole than with "choosing" Armand.

We also see Louis express many times (either directly or through Dreamstat) that he views Claudia as a burden. Their relationship had grown very strained and distant and as of ep 6, she no longer holds much of a place in his life, certainly not enough for Armand to see her as competition for Louis' affection. She was already out of Louis' life and getting ready to head out of town, presumably for good. So why would Armand want to "get rid of her" and why now?

Also, because they cut back a lot on the significance of Loumand's relationship, the dramatic reactions feel contrived and, again, unearned. They are not in love, they never shared any special or meaningful connection at any point. They were both simply using and manipulating each other for their own ends. So the "betrayal" is not so much a betrayal but rather Armand finally giving up on this dude who's kept him dangling for five years, giving him crumbs of affection and absolutely no love, respect or compassion. So of course, Armand would choose the coven he's known for 200+ years.

Overall it just felt like the writers couldn't figure out a good balance between making the story exciting and surprising to book readers, while also sticking to the same story beats as the book.

But to end on a positive note, every other aspect of the show was phenomenal; the acting, the set design, the costumes, the music. And I'd say it was still worth watching, if only for episode 5. It was my absolute favourite of the season. It felt like a return to form after the unevenness of the first half and you understand why once you know that it was the first thing they shot, before the strikes ground production to a halt. The writing in that ep was top tier and it gave me the same tingles that the S1 Pilot did, where I was like holy shit, how is this show real!? But unfortunately, things fall off again after that, which is really disappointing.

I'm really curious to see what the overall fandom consensus will be once the entire season has aired and we've all had time to digest it and reflect on it. But for me, this season suffered from the same infamous sophomore slump most tv shows do; it just wasn't able to live up the the first one.

[wyvernquill]

what are your top 5 armandaniel moments from the show? :D

Ah, thank you very much for the ask! Let's see...

#1 - s2ep2, The Lestat-as-co-founder-of-the-Theatre reveal moment, with Daniel putting on the telenovela music and Armand listing some of his other 'conquests' - they're totally messing with each other here, it's petty and weird and theatrical and I grin every time. Honorable mention to the potential for "you shared a boyfriend!" to get very ironic if more Armand/Daniel happened in the past, and also Louis sitting there going "...did you!?" at Armand's story about "Now, Voyager". I don't know, it's just very funny, says a lot about both of them really, and I like it when a ship does A Bit, either together or, like here, *against* each other.

#2 - s2ep6, The argument over the San Francisco memories. As opposed to my #1, this one's raw and bitter and tense (they're still messing with each other, but the stakes are higher and the attacks more vicious...), and I love it very much. "I didn't forgive you" and "why did I owe ~YOU~ my one act of cowardice?" are lines that hit very hard, I enjoy how Daniel keeps not buying the excuses even as Louis begins wavering, even though Armand directed most of them at Daniel to start with... it's a very interesting and powerful scene showcasing the shifting dynamics of these three, and I once more like the potential for recontextualisation if Armand and Daniel have more history than previously advertised.

#3 - s2ep5, All of it, really. Obvious choice maybe, but oh well. I love the juxtaposition of the dramatic past and Louis and Daniel putting their feet into the rock garden in the present, the new angles we see of the characters in a memory of the past that *isn't* very carefully curated for interview purposes, and, I mean, "I could be on my knees in a second" - >small nod to force him to his knees<...

#4 - s1ep7, The reveal, particularly Armand floating so Daniel has to stare up at him. It's a nice mirror to the power dynamic and positioning we see in s2ep5, and overall just a wonderfully dramatic scene with Armand removing his disguise in the back while Daniel is ripping into Louis. The theatralics of it all are very *Armand,* and Daniel being struck nearly speechless by surprise (and maybe awe? something else?) for once is also great, though we all know he's just gearing up to tear into Armand too in s2.

#5 - s1ep6, Daniel dreaming of first meeting Louis in Polynesian Mary's... but, gasp! Inexplicably, 'Rashid' is there, too! And meanwhile, in the waking world, 'Rashid' is probably busy tucking a blanket over Daniel while he sleeps. Honestly I just love the flashback, Daniel and Louis' semi-flirting, the way it sets up the reveal in the next episode, and, well. I do like to imagine that the blanket-tucking was done by Armand and was oddly tender. I just think the whole thing's neat.

I probably forgot a number of moments I really enjoyed, but, well, these were the first five I could think of! Louis has snuck into a lot of them, but that is unsurprising, at least in s1 and s2 all three of them are very tangled up in each other, and it's difficult to pick a moment with two of them that doesn't involve the third somehow (except maybe the Loumand scenes in the past, but they narrate those to Daniel, so...) Looking forward to seeing those dynamics shaken up in s3, I suppose! (also, Devil's Minion in the past, pls? Chase, pls? Pls?)

[ca-suffit]

sorry how long this is, but this fandom is pissing me off so much and I need to rant a little before I explode lol.

-- madeleine (nonchalantly) says of sleeping with a literal nazi, "I was inviting a frightened boy to cradle my tits," and then when louis turns her we see this as a pleasant memory, and I'm supposed to believe someone who could take pity on a nazi (even if he "wasn't dedicated to the cause") and remember him fondly isn't going to be racist? so I'm the weird one for finding claudeine to be a gross ship and being exasperated by seeing edits of them flood my dash? and every time I talk about this on ANY platform, I mostly get ignored and the few people who do interact w my posts are denying it and saying she had to do it to survive, as if she didn't also literally say she grew up rich like 30 seconds prior.

-- a decent chunk of the anti lestat crowd insists he participated in the trial as an act of revenge and can't say his name w/o talking about how they hate him (bc his racism + abuse), and these are the same people going apeshit over ben daniels saying that santiago was gay and in love with armand, as if he isn't one of the most antiblack characters we've met on the show bc he was quite literally eager to put on the trial solely bc he hated louis for falling asleep during one of his performances. and don't get me started on his monologue about claudia's ashes. and yet ppl are excitedly eating ben's interview up. 🙄

-- the narrative literally showing us that lestat has changed since the attempted murder (going off script on the trial in defense of louis & claudia, taking accountability for his abuse, staying silent about the fact that he was the one to save louis & letting him leave w armand when we know how terrifying being alone is for lestat, spending decades living in that shack and eating rats to punish himself vs the hedonistic & decadent lifestyle we saw him living in s1) and the anti lestat crowd claiming this is just him being manipulative and are furious that the writers had louis forgive him. like normally I agree that it's in very poor taste to paint an abuser as sympathetic, but the thing about this show is that these characters are immortal and have all the time in the world to change. like this isn't the writers sweeping it under the rug, they're explicitly acknowledging how horrific lestat's behavior was and there are literally canon glimpses showing us that lestat has become a better person (and I'm sure this will be fleshed out more next season as we'll get his pov) and, like, isn't it a good thing to see an abusive character realize the error of their ways and alter their behavior and become better????? like it's fair to not want to see that, but this is the wrong show to be watching if you can't handle seeing abusers change their ways & being forgiven by the people they've hurt (especially since it's pretty much confirmed armand/daniel is going to happen at some point and given I'm sure they'll be circling around each other, I feel confident that louis will eventually forgive armand too)

ur fine, u can rant! I have a lot in my inbox but I try to get to it all eventually in whatever way.

idk how much u wanted me to comment on anything or not, but I'm gonna add comments and u do whatever u want with it.

a) ur never going to have an easy time criticizing a white woman in fandom. it reflects too much of what fandom is usually made up of and ppl will usually tell u it's misogyny to judge these characters if u ever try (most of the time it's not, but that's a convenient excuse to shut down convos).

the show intentionally makes everyone do p questionable shit, especially the white characters. it doesn't tell u how to feel about it, that's up to u. that makes ppl uncomfortable. it goes further too when it is someone like madeleine, who is otherwise seen in positive ways. it's reflective of real life and that's what scares ppl the most. nobody ever fits in a box of only "good" or "bad." a lot of what the book for IWTV asks too is what defines that anyways? and S1 also said "are we the sum of our worst moments?" so it is constantly asking u that and it is for u to decide and reflect on.

b) white, gay stuff is also gonna be popular in fandoms. ben daniels is also gay irl and his husband just died so there's crossover from that to praising his character bcuz ppl feel sympathy for him. I also think ppl detach more from his actions bcuz he's not romantically linked to the characters he's torturing. ppl also just honestly dgaf about antiblackness anyways so for most ppl it's easy to overlook. which is how we get posts like this.

I mean, u can also like whatever characters u like for any reason. some ppl like characters not bcuz they support what they do, but bcuz they're just enjoyable to watch in performance or connection to the plot or whatever. I think examining santiago after what ben said about his performance is something ppl should be able to do, and again it circles back to the stuff I wrote for madeleine. where does ur (general u) discomfort lie and why? as u said, if it's ppl who dislike lestat then it's worth looking at that too, why are the characters different then?

c) there's sort of 2 things happening for this part. the first is that 2x8 did have pacing issues, for whatever reasons. a lot of ppl felt like it flattened the plot and characters for the sake of making lestat look the best (over armand) and rly shoving it in out of nowhere. the second part is what u said about the themes. I've always figured they were going to explore forgiveness and personal growth, but I also know it isn't going to be easy for ppl to follow. hopefully the full seasons coming do a better job of this but for 2x8 there were a lot of reasons ppl felt crazy about the way it was shown to us. I also agree that other characters will have these journeys with each other too. it was just such a sharp turn for S2 to end on highlighting the white character we've otherwise seen as being p horrible and suddenly saying "it's the brown character who rly did the worst!" I don't think they intended to come across like that but it's how it landed for a lot of ppl. it doesn't mean ppl have an issue with the concept of forgiveness and stuff otherwise. we'll have to see how it goes. but ya there's 2 things going on there for this rn.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I hate any of the interview fans' arguing over "who's worse" because there's actually a lot that you can discuss re: how Lestat and Armand are both terrible for Louis in very different ways, but one thing I've noticed is that all of these arguments and discussions re: abuse nearly always ignore Claudia being a victim at the hands of both her parents. Not saying that Louis isn't a victim, but he's far from perfect when it comes to how he treats the people around him, especially his daughter whom he knows will never be able to be independent because of his own actions

Yeah, I personally *get* why the issues with Louis's relationship with Claudia were somewhat overlooked in s1, because it is also such a heartfelt relationship and Jacob sells us his love for her so clearly...

But Louis can love Claudia and be a bad parent, and I think this season is going to get into that more. Claudia is the biggest victim in this story--which isn't to say that Louis hasn't been victimized as well (and not just by Lestat, I would add; rewatching s1 reminded me of how homophobic and emotinally abusive Louis's mother was as well). And Lestat! And probably Armand, though I know less about the show version of him as of now. I think that the show is very much about the cycles of abuse and how there can be love within these horrible relationships.

And I fele that there's this strong need within people to believe that relationships are either loving or loveless, when that's just not true. Louis can love Claudia and fail her, and CHOOSE to fail her at points. It's absolutely true that he chose Lestat over her time and time again (.... and I wouldn't be surprised if he does it again this season; and it certainly looks like he's going to choose Armand over her). It's also true that Louis essentially condemned Claudia to an existence that does torment her, however good she is at being a vampire.

Lestat did his part, of course. But he wasn't going to do it until Louis begged, and I think Louis, even if it was only subconscious, was very much aware that Lestat would give him that if it meant keeping Louis. I don't think that Louis was entirely unaware of the emotional imbalance in that relationship. I think that the true triggering force in Claudia's transformation was absolutely Louis, however much we may joke about Lestat baby trapping him. Lestat didn't have that idea, at least not in the show. Louis wanted it. And by the way, Louis could've tried to turn Claudia before he took her to Lestat; it may have been fruitless, but I don't think that's the only reason why he didn't try. I think he very much wanted Lestat to be the person who'd take the blame for that.

And like, Lestat did become this common enemy that created this codependent bond between Louis and Claudia. Some of that is due to his own (horrible) actions, as well as the social inequalities that he was incapable of fully understanding. It's no wonder, and kind of inevitable, but I do think that Louis kind of fed off that bond in the way that real parents often do. To me, Claudia and Lestat have always played off as a very classic toxic mother/daughter relationship, while Louis and Claudia play as a very classic father/daughter toxic relationship. Lestat saw himself in Claudia and hated her and felt the need to compete for Louis's affection against her. Louis put Claudia on a pedestal and refused to see her as a real, flawed person and fell into this imbalance confidante relationship with her... And when Claudia fell off her pedestal, which I think only FULLY happened when Lestat was "killed", he reacted so negatively. Like, he loves her, but you can tell in the s2 premiere that the bond is broken. He hesitated when dream!Lestat asked if it was worth it. If SHE was worth it.

To me, Louis and Claudia's relationship is so reminiscent of this sort of... emotionally incestuous relationship that can happen with toxic parents and their children, but especially with mothers and sons and fathers and daughters. You can see her chafing at the restraint of it, and he responds by trying to "seal" it through these intense vows of love and loyalty, even though he KNOWS that there is a flaw in his thinking, a level of untruth to it. Even if he doesn't MEAN for it to be manipulative, it is absolutely manipulative and smothering. He smothers her and he then puts someone else above her, continuously. He isolates her, and then he puts her aside (close to him, but not THE CLOSEST) when someone else earns his love and dazzles him. She is a reliant source of love, or a reliant person onto which he can project his love, but she is not the FIRST choice. And she knows that. But she loves him, and so, like so many daughters, she keeps returning to him.

Louis absolutely loves her. And I think that her death will be what completely breaks him. I think he'll want to die. But I also think that part of that will be because of a broken heart, and part of it will be because of guilt. To paraphrase Succession, another show with toxic parents and kids who just can't fully kick 'em, Louis loves Claudia, but sometimes I think it's the wrong kind of love expression.

(And for the record, I also think that Lestat loved Claudia in his own twisted way, and possibly still does. But lol, it's an EVEN WORSE kind of love expression.)

[lou-iz-stat]

We are officially 7 weeks away from Interview with the Vampire season 2 !!!!! So that means that it is time for a rewatch each week that will eventually lead up to the premiere.

This post will be my rewatch of episode 1 and it will include observations that relate to the rest of the season so there will be spoilers for season 1 as well as book spoilers. I will also make some predictions for season 2 since I have seen that amazing extended trailer I haven’t been able to get out of my head since. So with that here is my rewatch of episode 1…

IWTV S1 E1: In Throes of Increasing Wonder

The first thing we see is of course Daniel’s little master class commercial that is there to quickly establish what his character is. I have seen a lot of reactions to this first episode from people and they are always confused of if they are watching the right show (lol).

Next we are in Daniel’s apartment in New York which at first glance might not seem like something that is very important but there are so many clues that can be scene there. The bite mark on his neck, THE PUZZLE, the little pink bike helmet. That damn puzzle has confused many of us in the fandom and it could be a clue for something in season 2 when we get to uncover some of Daniel’s missing memories. I have a feeling like it could be from a different painting that Marius or even Armand has done. Only time will tell.

Even when he starts to listen to the tape he is afraid when he realizes that he could be living some of his past trauma by listening to these tapes but he still finds the strength go all the way to Dubai for a second interview.

I also don’t mind that the pandemic is included in this as we are still feeling the affects of it right now.

I also really like that they made Daniel old and have Parkinson’s in the show since it really brings Daniel’s mortality to the forefront and for the reason why he can afford to be so sassy and can push back since he knows he is at the end of his life anyway.

And of course Rashid (Armand) is sitting in a chair in the background. Armand is here from the beginning probably telepathically talking to Louis. And he talks to Daniel for the first time in probably awhile and in hindsight it is pretty funny how butthurt Armand gets at Daniel not wanting him there for the interview but he’ll still be able to hear. 🙄

With inclusion of Storyville and the masterful change of Louis’s race it really elevated Louis’s character from the books. Because of this change it gives the character of Louis some more bite, because of his race he is forced to show an illusion of strength. It just gives him so much more depth so that a modern audience can really connect with him. No matter what anybody says they HAD to change Louis from being a slave owner! Nobody wants a protagonist that owned people like that. And this act of strength that Louis does against his brother is what initially got Lestat to be interested in him in the first place. Everything just flows together so well in this first episode.

Right out the gate they establish Louis trying to distract himself from his closeted self by him seeing Ms. Lily. And with that we meet the gentleman vampire, Lestat. I must admit that when I first watched this I had some reservations about this version of Lestat because as I watched his accent kind of confused me but as the episode goes on, he definitely wins me over and I grew to love Sam’s voice. Sam’s Lestat is definitely what made fall in love with this character.

I never noticed how animalistic they made Lestat sound as he ripped into the lamplighter but his growls are insane.

The way Louis smiles at Lestat when he sucks at playing poker is so cute. ☺️

This is where we first see Lestat’s ability to spellbind a room. If this is the amount of power that Lestat has then I am sure that Armand’s power is going to be out of this world. And this is also the moment Lestat really wins Louis over by connecting to Louis hardship at being mistreated by the Alderman and Thomas Anderson. He also references his own past with the line “protection from the wolves.”

Love that Lestat references more his past from The Vampire Lestat at the Pointe du Lac dinner including his mom, Gabrielle who we will hopefully meet in s3. And knowing his past everything he says about his falling out with religion is sadly very true. 😢 Classic Lestat fuck up though… oh boy. 😭

The line “Dishonesty breeds dishonesty” is an interesting line. I know it proves true later on in the season but will it also prove true in s2?

🤣 The gay panic in Louis’s eyes when Lestat asks him up for a night cap is so good. Jacob Anderson you will always be famous.

Our first Nicki reference when Lestat talks about the music box which was Lestat’s first love.

The first scene in Lestat’s townhouse is iconic indeed but it is also where Lestat is slipping in the idea of Louis becoming his companion. 🥹 And when Louis pounces on Lestat I totally screamed with joy when I first watch this. It is so important to me. And the move that Lestat does to Louis when he goes behind him will definitely be a move that we see Louis replicate on Armand. No matter how much Louis will want to forget Lestat it will never work. lol

A reference to Daniel and Louis’s first meeting that will see later was good to set up now.

Seeing Louis actually getting to have a good time with his family for once before it all goes to shit really helps make what happens later especially tragic.

“Come to me” comes up a lot in The Vampire Lestat but it’s not Lestat saying it, it is usually what Armand says to Lestat. I wonder if this will come up later in s2.

Many have raved about Jacob Anderson’s performance but it truly is one the greatest performances of all time, especially his performance is the confession box and I’m sure he only be better in s2 if that’s even possible.

Along side that this whole scene in the church is so brilliant from beginning to end. The speech that Lestat gives to Louis. Killing of the priests. The kiss. The confession of love. The speech modern day Louis says. And the turning of Louis. All. So. Perfect.

And there you have it the end of my s1 e1 rewatch. If you are still reading this then thank you for sticking with my rambling ass. Hopefully I can keep this up for the rest of the episodes in the coming weeks.

7 more weeks. We can do this!

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S3 Musings - Louis Going Forward

I've been seeing posts in the tags, and just wanna urge LDPDL fans (esp. show-only fans) who fear that Louis won't have anything to do after S2, not to freak out just yet. No, he doesn't show up in the books as much as Lestat, ofc, but if AMC's smart they'll realize that there's plenty of book!Louis content to keep Jacob around!

We've gotten plenty of assurances from Rolin Jones that they've no intention of sidelining Louis, as Loustat's endgame (a la Blood Communion). (But Rolin's also fanboyed nonstop how much he's been waiting to do TVL and focus on Les's story & adventures. Ofc, intent & execution are 2 different things, so forgive us, Rolin, if the fandom's side-eying y'all.)

Louis taking an active role in Owning the Night and dropping his address so the vamps can take him on is a BOLD move; I love it. Rolin said waaay early in S1 that they made AMC!Louis stronger and with more of a backbone than book!Louis, and he definitely is. Plus, AMC!Lou has the Fire Gift--one of the most powerful attacks in a vampire's arsenal. So I imagine that S3 will be pretty busy for Louis--in contrast to the fandom's hilarious headcanons that Louis'll be minding his business at home crocheting and doing yoga while Lestat's making a fool of himself on tour. 🤣 He' pretty much gearing up to be Louis the Vampire Slayer! Guillermo! Take notes!

While book!Louis isn't in TVL (Lestat's backstory), he comes back in QotD when Loustat get back together again. So we have a lot to look forward to there, as Lestat tries to get all the vamps' attention so they stay AWAY from Louis & fight Lestat instead--culminating in Les' disastrous Death Valley concert when Akasha appears.

Loustat has a lot of romantic scenes together as Les starts courting Lou again, asking him to come his concerts & watch him perform--so I hope AMC gives us some backstage lovin', showing Lou as "Monsieur le Rockstar's" boyfriend, b4 all hell breaks loose & Akasha takes Les away. :(

Book-plot wise though, the elephant in the room is ofc TotBT, and David Talbot. 🤮 We don't know yet how far AMC's going with Raglan James, and if they're incorporating that book into S3, or saving his schemes for the new Talamasca series and holding Raglan's fight with Lestat until S4. 👀

Aside from Les, TotBT is a VERY important moment for Louis' character development, too. I've already explained Louis' HIGHLY significant role in that book, and how Louis' choices impact Lestat going forward with Memnoch. So we'll have to wait and see if Raglan shows up again any time soon.

I PRAY that "others we can't tell you about yet" means Raglan, and NOT that racist pedo David Talbot. Everyone knows David was conjured up as AR's Replacement-Louis when she didn't wanna write anymore sad & depressed mopey vampires anymore. So instead we get that closeted colonizer David, and AR got butthurt when people didn't like him, LOL (esp. not in Merrick, oof!). 😂

But tbf, the QotD majorly improved David's character, removing every bit of his problematic context, to just focus on his role in the Talamasca, tracking down vampires like Marius; which is smart.

So I say AMC could/should either:

do what QotD did: water David down to make him less problematic

give his role as Les' sidekick to Daniel--maybe providing context for how/why Daniel was Turned; if he's still human during Les' tour (in the S3 promo), and gets injured by Raglan, so Armand swoops in & saves him

give his role to as Les' sidekick to Louis, Mr. & Mrs. Smith style, as they fight Raglan together (cuz book!Louis already said he'd kill Raglan if he ever saw him). Does AMC!Lou have beef w/ him for snooping around w/ Daniel in S2? 👀

So yeah, there's a lot of action-packed potential for Louis in S3; that takes him beyond his grief over Claudia (esp. since we won't have Merrick as the following book/season)--unless ghost!Claudia is a thing and she becomes a Problem™️. But that's way too close to the plot of Blackwood Farm, which I'd prefer AMC do instead--esp. since that way we can still get Merrick Mayfair come in as a crossover.

That's so precious! 😍

A cleansing, amen! I can't imagine what Jacob had to go through, playing Louis! Method acting is REALLY hard, esp. with mentally ill & chronically insane characters--we all saw what it did to Heath Ledger! And look at Joaquin Phoenix, out there literally starving himself, jfc.

Nah, we get you, Jacob.

Jacob, I've been saying it since S1: YOU WERE ROBBED OF YOUR EMMYS. I effing hate AMC for not doing you the justice you deserved and making sure S2 could at least qualify for a nomination. I'll never forgive them for it; esp. cuz you can bet your arse they won't fumble the ball in The Vampire Lestat's season; oh nooo~! 🙄😒 White Lestans can gaslight TF out of us all they want, minimizing our trauma & pain & rightful suspicions, but Black actors have been shafted by Hollywood bureaucracy & shenanigans since it's effing inception, and IDGAF what anyone says--once is an accident, twice is a pattern!

He really is. But I get so mad & so offended that Jacob's immense talent and Louis' incredible character arc is shunted to the side by critics & viewers alike. Brad Pitt put literally ZERO effort into Louis and it showed; meanwhile Jacob's out here giving the acting performance of a lifetime. But people won't STFU about Lestat's hair.

EIGHT SEASONS!? Motherfudger, wtf!? XD I'm all for it, but y'all are gonna have to speed up how long it takes to film & air each season--at 2+ years per hiatus, 16 years is way too much, even for the Supernatural fandom. And LBH, Jam Reiderson & Eric are NOT gonna make it 16 years in the face department.

That is so beautifully put, Sam. ISTG, when is he publishing his doctoral dissertation on TVC already!?

FACTS! I have hope for S3. It's perfectly OK to tonally shift and switch MCs! So long as you're not neglecting & disrespecting THE titular vampire--hasn't Louis suffered enough?! 😅 I'm excited for where S3 takes him.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hey. I originally sent this ask to virginia bc a lot of what i see usually comes from her asks, but it is also relevant to your s2 rant so wanted to ask you this too. I don’t understand what you mean by the show people are “making up in their heads”. I watched the show and then went online which was a mistake since a lot of book content was being revealed to me, so I read a couple of the books for context. Still I disagree with a lot of the takes I have seen. How is lestat being “big bad patriarchal” something that people are making up in their heads? Why is it that when the vamps are having good moments we can agree “that they are married!” and “that’s their daughter!” but when it’s bad moments all of a sudden it’s “they’re vampires so it’s not domestic abuse and lestat is not big bad patriarchal”? I understand that a lot will be revisited in s2, but s1 is Louis’ account of things and what he is showing us is very much big bad lestat so idk how that can be something people are making up in their heads. I’ve noticed that while a lot of the speculation for s2 draws from the books (obvi), they don’t take into consideration that some things just don’t work anymore because of the change in the level of violence shown, and bc these characters are Black! Like Louis or Claudia lying about their abuse would be incredibly problematic, so would a revisit of Lily showing that she’s shady/a villain. (And i feel like you agree with this so idk why you say you’ll block ppl who say this). I understand where the theories are coming from, but having these things play out would actually be racist and calling it bad writing if it happened would be very valid criticism! It’s very important to be critical of these things even if it comes from an otherwise very good show!

I’ve also seen stuff about making fun of people complaining that Assad and Jacob are not being paired together, when that is also a valid complaint/want (and I’m positive they’ll be paired together more as they keep promoting s2). I’m excited for loumand even after reading some of the books and knowing that Loustat (or just lestat) is the center of the VC, but the second half of book iwtv definitely centers Loumand, and even before reading the books my expectation was still a centering of those two characters. Don’t get me wrong I am a huge jam reiderson fanatic (literally started watching the show bc I saw that trivia with jam reiderson video) but I am also excited to see Jassad!!! Another incredibly important reason that people are excited for this pairing is of course that they are a queer interracial poc couple!! In fantasy no less!! So it’s understandable that people (myself included if you couldn’t tell lol) would be excited to see them together outside the show as well!! And making fun of them looking forward to it is like not great. So far the stuff ive seen ab press pairing is ppl being eager to see Jassad, but over here it reads as “haha no jassad we told you so” which is so incredibly weird. Again, I’m trying not to come off as like aggressive, and I get that being accused of being racist is obviously not a great thing to receive, but I do think that a refusal to examine or question why people think certain decisions would be racist is also not great.

I feel like a lot of the times when fans are pointing out the racism in the fandom and stuff, it gets taken as them being hateful and aggressive etc etc, but like idk it’s hard to be nice when you see things that are clearly so problematic and it gets glossed over in the fandom. Idk if you’ll answer this but I just thought it was important to share.

Okay, you know, I'll bite. Once.

"Making fun of people is not great". "being accused of being racist is obviously not a great thing to receive, but I do think that a refusal to examine or question why people think certain decisions would be racist is also not great"

"I’ve noticed that while a lot of the speculation for s2 draws from the books (obvi), they don’t take into consideration that some things just don’t work anymore because of the change in the level of violence shown, and bc these characters are Black! Like Louis or Claudia lying about their abuse would be incredibly problematic, so would a revisit of Lily showing that she’s shady/a villain."

Let's examine these, shall we.

Just because Louis and Claudia are black now, they are NOT different characters. If you had read my rant, and listened to the sources, read the interviews, then you would KNOW that. You would know that JACOB (and Bailey) have said that. LITERALLY.

A certain part of the fandom keeps saying this, but that is just... not it. And I get where it's coming from! But they already confirmed that the characters are still the book characters. And the people (including you?) who keep worrying that point just don't want to acknowledge their stance being wrong.

But that is not something that >I< am making up.

Which, in turn, negates your argument.

Also, everything shown in s1 will be put into context in s2, as already said - also something I more than laid out in the rant. That includes the "violence". Again, that's been said.

When the racial changes became clear for Louis and Armand (and Claudia) some of the book fans winced, NOT BECAUSE OF THE CHANGE ITSELF, but because you know, we KNOW what's coming.

All the show fans now claiming Lestat was sooo bad for Louis... oh you haven't seen Armand. Armand will literally gaslight Louis, make him do things against his will (things that will have Louis say he lost the last of his humanity!), isolate him by KILLING CLAUDIA and the coven (intentionally! so he can have him to himself!), and spell-bind him, repeatedly. Armand will chop off Claudia's head and sew it onto another's body to see what happens. And then send her into the sun, to burn.

He will also, as has already been made clear now, "tinker" with Louis' memories.

You think that's cute?! Wholesome? Because they're POC now? Oh sweetie. This show will pull the rug out from under you. And that is not meant as belittling. These things will happen. They dialed up the (absolutely existing) themes to 10 in s1, they will do so once more in s2.

And lastly, re the fun, and being accused of things.

Go and read through the comments of "Laden as the sea". Read what I wrote in the notes, and why, and then what people threw at me. Come on, go ahead. It's a ride. I did not delete ONE comment. None. They're all there. Some of the commenters have edited their comments, so the still-up one is not the one they initially wrote, but I get mails for all comments, so... I've read them.

And I'm not even talking about the shit here.

Oh, and I didn't say that the patriarchal and abuse themes were made up. Which you would also know if you had actually read my rant.

And, again, if you had really read what I've written, you would know that I wrote this: if I‘m going to see anyone scream “bad writing“ or “Louis being made a liar or the memories revisited/changed is racism“ when the changes will hit I‘m just gonna block you.

And that... has nothing to do with the problematic things that might arise from the revisits, because of course there are many traps there to consider, because of the racial change. That I agree with.

But it's not bad writing, or racism, if and when these things happen.

It's just not what some people want to happen. And that is what I mean with the "story made up in their heads".

If you really read the books, then you would know what's coming.

Because this show is made by book fans. It might be good to remember that.

[loustat-0]

While I admit I am biased because I love Loustat and Daniel/Armand first and foremost, I am trying not to be negative towards Loumand (which I don't like very much in the books) and appreciate its role in the story, but the Loumand shippers (the ones that have popped up since S1 anyway) are making it difficult and I find them exhausting. I feel like so much of the extreme Lestat hate and takes like Daniel is too old to be a love interest or become a vampire seem to be coming from that corner along with other things. I also can't believe they actually like book Armand considering the way they feel about Lestat. I can't believe they would like any of the characters to be honest.

Hi anon . First of all I need to say I'm not a TVC expert I watched the show first & then read some of the books selectively 😅so I hope what I answer makes sense . 💜

Okay so all of the book readers already know that all of the vampires are horrible in their own ways & that's because most of them have a horrible past both as a human & vampire . That of course doesn't justify what they later but that clarifies why they're acting the way they do .

And I think from Ep 5 it is right to hate Lestat but I don't understand the hate towards old Daniel he literally didn't do anything to Louis or Rashid / Armand except to get something true out of their stories like a real journalist . And I need to mention here that I myself am a Armandaniel & loustat shipper first & in heart just like you . 🥰 The hate on Old Daniel is not justifiable for the show viewers bc I myself can't find a reason to hate him YET😐

And as for people should hate Armand or Loumand as much as they hated Lestat & loustat , I think that can't be decided by the show viewers only 🤷🏻‍♀️ cause they haven't seen any bad side of Armand towards Louis , they haven't seen their relationship in Paris or after Paris . And they hope Louis & Claudia are finally free of their abuser. So I give them the right to want that because they have no idea & it's a journey for them & new discoveries for them . And not just about Loumand about loustat too because Louis canonly considered loving Lestat more in the second half of the book so if the show runners know what they're doing & consider to take a darker path as JACOB said in an interview then we will definitely see Loumand to the extent & also loustat to the extent. 😊

And for those people who know about Loumand & Armand of the books & still love & adore them together I think that is also fine BUT AS LONG AS THEY DON'T HATE LOUSTAT FOR THE SAME REASONS 🙄 . If they hate Lestat for the manipulation & lies & withholding information then they must hate Armand or Loumand for the same reasons . 😉 Or even Claudia Otherwise their reasons for hating Lestat & loustat isn't justifiable to me . 🤷🏻‍♀️

And I want to add I don't hate Armand I didn't like Loumand though . I love Armand & Daniel their relationship makes more sense to me than Loumand . Although I have to add Loumand as great friends in later books makes so much more sense. I think Louis & Armand can calmly talk together & talk sh*t behind Lestat's back all they want .😂 I think they need each other simply because the way we all need someone in our life when we're tired of our relationship & our family & sometimes ourselves . Armand is probably Louis's escape from anything intense & Louis is probably Armand's scale of what he does as much as Lestat hates that Armand accepts that from Louis I guess . 🙂

Over all I think we should respect each other's favorite ships without judgement towards the person who ships other ships . And I think Loumand was & is the necessity of the story individually or as I myself think Loumand is a means to loustat . So if you're worried about how S2 might not be your favorite season because of Loumand then I can offer you to just enjoy the ride because you'll find something else interesting to like about season 2 . But as a respect for the actors & to the hard work they did I will definitely support S2 because they all worked really hard & I think that wouldn't be really nice to them to stop watching S2 because I don't like Loumand in the book . Who knows I might come to like it on the show . 🤩

Let the tale seduce you . 😉❤️

[travellingwiththedead]

Ok, trying for some more coherent thoughts about iwtv s2e7 behind the read more (spoilers, obviously):

You know shit's about to go down when basically all of s1 is in the recap

Santiago the little shit is loving this. Oh Ben Daniels is so perfect.

Dang, Sam Reid, you have no right to look this good (his hair's on point, this can't actually be Louis' POV LOL xD). Also, Lestat looks so very pissed off when he comes on stage. Doesn't want to be there, indeed.

"He was as much of a captive as we were." uh-huh, sure, Jan. Come on, Louis, you don't really believe that?

And Armand can go "I couldn't prevent it" all he wants, he definitely could have prevented it at any stage before they were actually on the stage and maybe even when the play already started. He was the coven master and could have legally put Santiago down for the mutiny he was brewing, which Armand was very aware of. But he didn't.

So those theorising they'd make Lestat's first dirt nap longer to account for the time changes were right. He did really nap like 100 years before Marius dug him back up.

Oooooh Lestat /hates/ Santiago.

Santiago and vampire Sam trying way too hard to make Louis look like a predator with their little play about Louis hunting Lestat instead. Pff, boys, no one would ever buy that.

Lestat moves like a wind up toy sometimes, or maybe I'm imagining things, but once again, the acting from everyone in this episode is so, so good. Give everyone involved in this show all the awards!

Lestat tearing down that homophobic soldier is *chef's kiss* but also, if he was strong enough to get himself up there and back down so quickly, read his mind, and later get into the mind of the guy with his loneliness, how are we supposed to believe he's weak and being controlled/forced to do this play? Over all I don't see how they'll do the whole "Lestat came to beg Armand for his blood to get healed" thing with Lestat not being all that bad off, in the end.

Santiago fumbling his lines xD

I'd say with the revisited flash backs to Claudia's turning and to the fight in s1e5 the truth lies somewhere between the two accounts. Louis said the trial's retelling of Claudia's turning was more right, sure, but as with all eye witness accounts, they are never 100% true. So yeah, somewhere between the accounts lies the truth.

LOL Real Rashid's entrance there is so good. We needed something to break all that tension. Thank you, Real Rashid, I hope they don't eat you for it xD (or, you know, for being a Talamasca spy in their home...)

See, i said it, Lestat looking damn near pristine all through that fight in s1e5 was a hint. No one looks that good after crashing through walls. They fought, because rage had been simmering for 7 years and it finally boiled over. They beat each other up and Lestat went too far. Now can we finally stop having the same discourse over this thing again and again and again? (Also I just love the foresight in this show, how they showed us the dent in Louis' coffin in s1 but we only get an explanation for it in s2. Awards, for every last person working on this show, now!)

Lestat's talk about how he broke Louis: Sam Reid, the actor you are. Dang, so good.

"One more round in the stormy romance of you two!" You tell them, Claudia. Oh girl, you deserved so much better.

So was Louis aiming that cup of blood at Armand or at the wall? Because Armand definitely had to move out of the way at least a little.

I do wonder, did they make sure Madeleine was so out of it for most of the trial because they hoped she'd stay with the coven if she didn't have much of an idea what was going on? Or did they do the same thing to her as to Louis and Claudia and she was just more susceptible because she's weaker?

Her choosing Claudia again, even if it means death, is all Claudia ever wanted. Dang, these bi ladies are giving me all the feels.

Claudia telling the audience she's gonna go full on murder ghost on all their arses: iconic. Also you can't tell me Lestat didn't look proud as hell right there. That's his daughter, never going down without a fight, never giving in.

Claudia and Madeleine in the sun is so heartbreaking :( Claudia holding Madeleine like movie!Madeleine held movie!Claudia. Ladies, you deserved better. Fuck these vampires.

And Louis, in that rock filled coffin, feeling them both die :( Claudia because he can read her mind, and Madeleine because he made her. (And they helpfully labelled the fucking door so Armand will know which one to pull Louis out of when he "rescues" him.....)

Can not wait for Louis to go full on Blade on the coven's collective arses next episode.