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milfromanroy · 1 year

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okay but Rashid revealing himself to be Armand and Louis calling him "the love of his life" with that forced look on his face felt like watching a horror movie where it's revealed the protagonist never truly escaped the monster and they're still trapped

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nalyra-dreaming · 3 months

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Pre season 2 rant - heavy on sarcasm!

This is the... well by now somewhat meditated on rant I promised a while ago. It has a lot of cussing, so be warned.

It is a… summary comment about some views I‘ve seen around, from “bad writing“ to the “abuse“ and other things. Oh, and it's about the "lying" subject. With receipts!

I‘m getting this out of my system before season 2 hits, and before more of the press leading up to it is released, because cast, crew and writers as well as the show have given us all of it already and, tbh, 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.

Fair warning.

This is long… so under the cut.

This show has made color-conscious choices. Brilliantly so. They also have an astonishing meta level.

And what we saw was not the truth.

That much is clear now. HAS ACTUALLY BEEN CLEAR FROM THE END OF SEASON 1 ON.

Jacob has said at the TCA panel that Louis is trying to regain his true memories.

Here is a reminder of some key statements by cast and crew:

Here are interviews and statements by Assad and Jacob and Sam and Rolin and the writers & producers that what we have seen was not the (whole) truth, that Louis’ tale has been “tinkered” with, influenced.

I'm heroically refraining from adding the gifs of Rolin and his statement again. Which are from the episode insider… and remember when that aired?! Yeah… 😒

But I've seen things recently that make me want to pull my hair out, to be frank. For example this, behind the link:

...Like, not making him a whole flat ass liar is actually the point, guys. And no it does not undermine the story....

As the writers said:

I mean, I get it to an extent. It's becoming clearer and clearer that the show some people made up in their heads is not the one they'll be getting. (We've been trying to tell them, but hey.)

Yeah.... That.

Unfortunately @blackgirlasis has blocked me, (and I have returned the favor now that I noticed), we only discussed something recently, but I think the reason might have been after I posted that video, in which it is literally said that "not everything Louis says is a lie", which, given her statements here might speak for itself, especially this part of that statement:

"It is actually ACTIVELY harmful to perpetuate the idea that the Black characters aren't to be trusted with the narrative and that we need Lestat to come through with the honest accounting."

You know, I would actually agree! Which is also why I always emphasized that we did not get the WHOLE truth. I also kept more than hinting at the fact that Armand is, well Armand.

BUT - and here it gets interesting - why is JACOB's - a BLACK man's - statement discarded? Why do they do not want to hear it that Louis does, in fact, lie? And, just to be clear - I do not NEED Louis to lie, nor be proven a liar, and I think the show will do its damndest to explain via the "tinkering" that Armand did. They will give some of the blame to Armand.

But to flip one's shit over argumentation that the MAIN CHARACTER, a BLACK MAN has already stated... that is what I find interesting.

Like, why do you* (*generally spoken, not her especially) accuse people of racism over this, when HE has already said that Louis does, indeed, lie. Why is he not actually listened to? I don't get that. Why is agency taken away from a living, breathing person to give it to a fictional character? Why is his statement that "not all representation needs to be healthy representation" not kept in mind?

Louis is Louis. Louis being color-consciously handled didn't "change the character an awful lot".

JACOB said that. Here. Interestingly enough in a comment about the racial consideration the show does(!).

Louis is NOT a whole other character despite the changes, and the twists that will happen in season 2 were always set to come, as the friggin' video of BEFORE the show aired is proof of. They talked about all that. They know it didn't all happen as shown. They knew Louis did lie. But NOT about everything.

They also knew that some of the scenes did not happen (at least as shown). And now... "it’s clear that Louis is somebody hugely angry with a man he loved deeply and now presents them as a monster…" Also Jacob Anderson.

Presents. Them. As. A. Monster.

Bailey Bass said in the SDCC interview, that it is not clear who is the "villain here" in various scenes, interestingly enough, because the dynamic keeps changing. Which of course was after they shot a myriad of scenes that would not make it into the final s1 cut. Again: why is she not listened to? Why do you take her agency away to give it to a fictional character?

And I'm not even starting on the others. Sam. Rolin. The writers.

Also, re the abuse and scenes being revisited. Again, screenshot as example:

There is nothing simple about this show. Especially that scene.

BUT the show knows what it‘s doing! I'm not going to rehash all that here now, here are links on that.

AND THE WRITERS SAYING IT WILL BE REVISITED... is from December 21, 2022.

DECEMBER 22.

A revisit and a change of that scene will not be bad writing. (Or tasteless.) They already DID so in the last episode of season 1, continuing that will simply fall into line with what we have already been given. That's not bad writing. That's just the show, and there's people who just did not want to examine that.

Because it will be echoed, and it will serve a purpose.

I know the show did the meta level of patriarchal domestic abuse, but for fuck‘s sake, the story itself is about vampires struggling, and Louis is struggling.

The show has a meta level of abuse, and patriarchy, and recognizing is valid and the meta discussions are too.

But Louis is not chained to his coffin guys, he could have left, and a fight which shows off power discrepancies within the show story line is not automatically domestic abuse.

*slow clap*

No-one wants this to happen for the sake of "redeeming" Lestat. Because he does not need that redemption. They're all murderers and monsters.

They kill. For a living. LITERALLY.

THEY ARE VAMPIRES It's not about vampires trying to find their humanity.

It's about vampires trying to find a way to live with themselves, because they are, indeed, monsters.

Doubting the narrative which was TORN APART WITHIN THE SHOW is not the same as bad writing or racism FFS, nor is actually looking at what we're given - and knowing the fucking, 50 year old books. And recognizing the hints and parallels.

I have also seen the take that Lestat isolated Louis... and like, did we watch the same show? You know, even with the vampirism (which, of course™, could not free Louis as promised)...

Months of flirting openly in NOLA, public wooing. DECADES LIVING IN NOLA. Operas. Restaurants. Family dinners. (And Louis stopping Lestat there, AS a mortal...) Cleaning the cribs, years of "human entanglement" because Louis wanted it.... Banjo barbecues, political influence, wakes... Everybody knew.

(Like, I could pull up gifs here.)

"Isolation". Right. It has nothing, at all, to do with the Rite of Passage, or Louis' depression.

Of course not.

I mean, Jacob says that Louis is very depressed during the time leading up to the fight, and his and Sam's discussion here is interesting as well, but hey, I mean, why listen to the actual black actor, right.

As a last thing.

Yeah. Tell me you know nothing about the books without telling me you know nothing about the books.

And, as a note, context is important if you pull up other scenes from the VC.

Welcome to the fucking Vampire Chronicles.

Anyone expecting big bad patriarchal abuser Lestat is not going to have a good time.

And honestly, to those: don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Good riddance - and BON VOYAGE

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nashvillethotchicken · 4 months

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People talk about how show!Claudia being 14 instead of 5 or 11 when she was turned lessens the impact of her being turned because black girls are so adultified and many had families to take care of at the time but I think it actually makes it worse because she is a 14 year old black girl in a society where not only do her black girl peers get to change and grow old, in the terms of Toni Morrison gaining a freedom that they couldn't have as younger women, but she is also routinely and forever infantilized by white society, her familial structure AND vampire society. The humiliation louis faces by being called a girl/boy when you're 30+ is compounded because at least Louis can go to black spaces and be seen as a man, Claudia can't go anywhere without being reminded of her status as a child

#claudia interview with the vampire #iwtv #interview with the vampire #louis de pointe du lac #interview with a vampire meta #interview with the vampire meta

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lestatslestits · 1 year

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A few people responded to this post wanting to know more. I tried to make a follow-up post twice on mobile and Tumblr deleted my in-progress post both times, so I’m trying again on desktop.

I’m currently writing a paper on the history of de-institutionalization in the United States, so I’ve been learning a lot about mental hospitals in the US lately. That got me thinking about the references in Interview with the Vampire to Paul de Pointe du Lac’s institutionalization. Here’s what we know, via Louis:

I was curious to learn if there really was a mental hospital in Jackson, Louisiana in the early 1900s, so I did some digging and discovered that there was. Not only that, but it’s still operating today and is one of only two mental hospitals in the state of Louisiana. It has been renamed East Louisiana State Mental Hospital, but at the time that Paul would have been there, it was called East Louisiana State Hospital for the Insane.

Before I share any photos or talk further, I want to reiterate: this is a real hospital that has served and continues to serve people with severe mental illnesses. It also has a disturbing history of neglect and abuse that continues today. You’ll see in some of the photos that I share that even in modern times, much of the hospital looks outdated and run down. A news article from 2019 referred to the facility as “deteriorating.” I don’t want to talk about this facility in a fictional context without recognizing that real people have been impacted by it. If learning this information piques your interest in any way, I recommend taking time to look into the history of how people with mental illnesses have been treated and continue to be treated in the United States (or in your own country, if you aren’t from the US). Also, obligatory caveat that I am by no means a historian, but I’ve done my best to compile accurate information.

The Louisiana State Mental Hospital was established in the 1840s, when many similar institutions were being built in the US. It was requested that the building “not look like a prison,” so it was built in a Greek Revival style. Here’s an early picture of the hospital:

Here is a more current photo:

And here is a photo from around the time Paul would have been there (this photo is dated between 1900 and 1909, and we can assume from the timeline established by Louis that Paul was probably removed from the hospital around 1905 or 1906, following their father’s death five years prior to the beginning of the narrative in 1910):

Here are a couple more exterior shots from around the same time period, and an interior (?) shot from a women’s ward. I couldn’t find a photo of a men’s ward, unfortunately:

Here are some photos taken more recently. The first two appear to be older areas that don’t seem to be used much anymore, and the last appears to be from a more commonly used area (although you can see it’s still fairly dated):

I couldn’t find any photos of the hallways leading to individual rooms that didn’t feature people in them. Since I’m not clear on who those people were (whether or not they were consumers), I’m not comfortable posting them here. However you can find them if you go looking.

Finally, here is a fire insurance map of the facility, made in 1908, near the time Paul would have been there. As you can see, if you are able to zoom in, the hospital was segregated at the time, so you will find the ward where Paul would likely have stayed in the lower left-hand corner of the map.

I’m not sure who, if anyone, this information will be useful for, but I hope it provides some insight and historical context to the show (and to mental health treatment in the United States).

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #interview with the vampire meta #iwtv meta #ableism cw #abuse cw #neglect cw #racism cw

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thequeenofsastiel · 2 years

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I love the way Louis gently says that they'll have no secrets after Lestat gets visibly distressed seeing Claudia and Louis communicating telepathically without him(though admittedly he's less melodramatic about it than I expected). Louis had a soft and reassuring expression when looking at Lestat, quietly communicating that he wasn’t going to be excluded, and it clearly relaxed Lestat. It was a subtle and moving moment, and set the stage for their improved relationship throughout most of the episode.

#interview with the vampire meta #interview with the vampire amc #interview with the vampire #iwtv #claudia de pointe du lac #claudia de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac #lestat de lioncourt #louistat #loustat #loustat meta #my meta #again I thought Lestat was about to throw a fit when Louis and Claudia were excluding him #he was so much chiller about it than I thought he would be

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jellybellyblimp · 2 years

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I don’t know why people keep equating “IWTV is full of unreliable narrators and I’d like to see Lestat’s perspective” with “I don’t believe Claudia and Louis. Lestat is the only reliable perspective” then arguing against the latter, because ain’t no one saying Lestat is reliable or that Claudia and Louis are liars. What we are saying is the Vampire Chronicles are books founded on the idea that different perspectives create varying interpretations of an event and the only way to get a more accurate perspective is to have heard all of them and see where they line up and where they don’t.

It’s not that Louis lied in IWTV. It’s that he isn’t privy to Lestat’s thought, feelings, and history. He interprets much of Lestat’s actions incorrectly because he assumes the worst of Lestat. He thinks Lestat is stupid, failing to realize Lestat never had a formal education. He thinks Lestat is withholding information purely to trap him, because he don’t know any of the fucked up shit that happened with Marius and Armand. It’s not that Louis is a liar. Everything he says is probably true as he understood it then. The only reason The Vampire Lestat is marginally more reliable than IWTV is because by the time Lestat wrote it, he had read Louis’ perspective and could temper his own view with Louis’ experience. That doesn’t make Lestat reliable. He flat out lies and denies certain events and he (and we) have no way of knowing characters like Nicki’s perspective.

The show gives us Claudia’s perspective as well, but just like Louis, she has no way of knowing what Lestat is thinking. She can only make the assumptions of a bitter hormonal 14 year old, and that’s a shitty mindset to be in. I don’t know any teenager who didn’t resent their parents at that age even if they got to grow up and realized actually their parents weren’t that bad. Point is she’ll never get to really grow out of it, because her brain is permanently stuck at that age.

So anyway. It’s not that we think Claudia or Louis are lying. Or that Lestat would be any more reliable. It’s that it’s hard to get an accurate read of the situation without having heard from all parties involved. Think about how drastically perspectives of Loustat changed for all of us in episode 4. It’s not that Louis lied about the intimacy of their relationship. It’s that we didn’t get to see it until we had Claudia’s perspective.

(The fight at the end of ep.5 is a separate conversation)

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #iwtv louis #lestat de lioncourt #anne rice #iwtv lestat #louis de pointe du lac #amc interview with the vampire #claudia de lioncourt #iwtv claudia #interview with the vampire meta

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bandedbulbussnarfblat · 1 year

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Louis calls Armand (while he's pretending to be Rashid) metronomic. But here's the thing, metronomic has 2 definitions. The first just means mechanically regular, the way Louis was using it.

But the second definition is medical, and it means "of, relating to, or being a drug or regimen of drugs administered in low doses at regular intervals over an extended period of time"

Kinda like how in devil's minion Armand feed Daniel his blood, but only a little bit at a time, and we know Daniel was addicted to it, like a drug. And they were doing this for years.

So in a way, Louis wasn't lying.

#interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire meta #armand

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getread · 2 years

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Using my Sideblog so I don't spoil my friends ☺️

Just noticed this is ehat I made this blog for. Because I love looking at onscreen romance and disecting it.

Oh guys I've got so many thoughts about these two.

The team seemed to be very excited to dig into a very messy relationship and wow did making Louis a black gay man help.

Louis is angry and unhappy and Lestat thinks of a sweet suprise the opera. To see a piece he was involved in. A point of pride probably and acomplishment made in secrecy to share with only your lover.

But the world outside disagrees doesn't it? To them he has to be your employee. And to enjoy your sweet bit of Rome away from Rome it asks of Louis to act subservient and for Lestat to play the role of the master.

Now I haven't read the books and it's been a while since I've seen the movie. But this scene and the fact that Louis explicitly says he was acting as if he enjoyed draining the Tenor paints a picture.

Lestat must have taken to being a vampire well. He told Louis family of a moment in which he must have felt endlessly helpless and godforsaken. Being a vampire must have freed him and he musst have hoped someone who felt similarly helpless must enjoy their new freedom just as much.

But Louis is wrecked by shame in the moment he's made. He doesn't really know what he's getting into didn't read the fine print and felt utterly isolated. It's perfect for a messy love story.

Effectively Lestat has isolated him and confronted him with the reality that no one will ever understand him to the core like Lestat does.

But through these obviously recuring fights it has become clear that they deal with things differently and that what should have been a blessing became an increasingly confusing existence for Louis.

Now I personally love this. I've always disliked the idea of vampirism and eternity making wholesome sexy lovestories. This couple is dysfunctional. Because of the age difference, the race difference and because Lestat is filthy rich. That was always gonna be a factor unless they were honest to a fault. But they're not. They're lonely and both seek a partner. One that looks into the softest darkest parts and says I chose you. So they drape themselves in their love for each other and build this shaky affair. And it's toxic and the story knows it's toxic which is why I can enjoy the hell out of it.

I don't hate Lestat if people think that because obviously I'm mostly focusing on Louis. I love characters like him. Who live without inhibitions and live an life of pleasures, but he's not the one telling the story.

#Interview with the vampire #Interview with the vampire meta #iwtv meta

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bivampir · 1 year

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no but like. Louis literally saved Lestat's life from Claudia. cut his throat (and he was so fucking tender doing this too. the way Louis leans into him, pressing him closer. im unwell), purgining him from the poisoned blood, stopped her from burning him, send him inside of his coffin to the junkyard so he can recover in the dark and eat rats. it's all thanks to him. and YET he cannot accept it. he acts as if Claudia also didn't want to burn him, saying we expected him to just disappear (Claudia clrealy didn't), we wrapped him in a carpet (no they didn't, he put him in his coffin, per his dying wish), he literally, as Daniel said, chose Lestat over Claudia over and over again. and he can't to this day understand why, let alone accept it

#SOMEBODY SEDATE MEEEEEEEEEEE #IWTV #interview with the vampire #IWTV spoilers #interview with the vampire spoilers #amc iwtv #my posting #IWTV meta #< ... i guess??#3rd degree failpost #iwtvposting

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cbrownjc · 1 month

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"I'm the quiet you've been longing for." Or, in other words, Gentleman Death.

So yeah, there are people, rightly, laughing at Armand calling himself the "quiet" that Daniel's been longing for because if you know anything about their relationship, particularly with how it started, it was anything but quiet. Quite the opposite in fact.

But see, I think, when it comes to the moment in the image above, that is actually the whole point. Because this moment isn't from some point when they are romantically together. I think this moment is from when they first really meet and speak to each other after Polynesian Mary's. More importantly, I think this is sometime after Armand had stopped Louis from killing Daniel.

There is a great observation/analysis post here that notes the clothes both Armand and young Daniel are wearing, and how they match up to what they were wearing that night when they first encountered each other at Polynesian Mary's. So this moment above being either later that same night, or maybe even the next night after Louis attacked Daniel matches up.

And this moment is very much Armand offering Daniel an "easeful death." Namely, killing him, probably because of what happened with Louis. Armand likely only stopped Louis from doing so because he knew Louis would feel guilty about it later, as Louis doesn't actually like to know anything about his victims before he kills them. So Armand likely stepped in and stopped Louis to spare him from that and such guilt.

However, Armand probably also thinks Daniel now knows too much to risk letting him live. And so is going to kill him himself. And I think what we are seeing here, above, is one of the ways Armand will sometimes present himself to his victims. And I think it is something he learned from Lestat, which is to be "Gentleman Death."

It's been noted by the writers of the show that they were looking to drawn things from Anne Rice's short story, Interlude with the Undead, for Armand in Season 2. (A short story, btw, which you can read online here and here.) And, of course, the line about "easeful death" that we hear in the trailer can be found in that short story, not once but twice:

But if you notice, during the first passage, Armand also talks about being "Gentleman Death." The same exact thing Lestat said to Armand to explain his outlook on being a vampire during the time period when they first met; and basically upending Armand's entire worldview (and cult) under Les Innocents.

From The Vampire Lestat:

From Interlude with the Undead:

From the opening of Interlude with the Undead, we know that this whole short story was actually Louis telling Daniel something Armand had told him. Well, I think not only has the show cut out the middleman on that, but I think what they are about to do is show how very much Armand, in his own way, embraced Lestat's Gentleman Death mission statement for a time. Probably for a long time.

In the show, I think we are going to see Lestat give Armand his Gentleman Death monologue during the scene when these two images happen:

And I think, by the time Louis encounters Armand in Paris, we will see that he has, in his own ways and methods, adapted to that ethos of being Gentleman Death.

However, time does march on. And I do think Armand will begin to see presenting himself as such is beginning to not fit with the times he is now in. But it will still be one of the things he still will present himself as.

At least until Daniel.

Because I really do think when Armand presents himself in this way to Daniel, being a "quiet" (ie death) that he says Daniel has been longing for? Daniel is going to flat-out reject that.

Because Daniel doesn't want to die, no matter how many drugs he takes or the reckless behavior he may sometimes exhibit (during this point in time). What Daniel really wants is to live forever. The reason Louis attacked Daniel as he did was because Daniel asked Louis to make him immortal.

Death? Quiet? Hell no. Give Daniel Molloy immortality, thank you!

So Daniel is going to ask the same thing of Armand he asked of Louis. Which is for Armand to make him immortal.

And just like in the book? Armand is, at first, going to be taken aback. And then, intrigued by this brash (and beautiful) human:

This human whom Armand is sure is going to go completely mad at some point by the knowledge that vampires actually exist. But hasn't gone mad, no not yet:

So yeah, I feel that the "quiet you've been longing for" moment in the trailer is the moment when Armand presents himself as his own version of "Gentleman Death" and it flat-out doesn't work, probably for the first time ever. And that it doesn't work with Daniel is what starts The Chase between them in the show's universe; the show leaving out the 3-days or so that Armand locked Daniel in a cage before that, of course.

And all because of something Armand has been doing since Lestat first upended his life under Les Innocents centuries ago did not work on this one particular mortal. So, instead, Armand let him go to chase him instead.

And to hell with trying to seduce this human with promises of "quiet" because that sure as hell didn't work last time.

#Armand #The Vampire Armand #Daniel Molloy #Lestat de Lioncourt #Devil's Minion #The Devil's Minion #Interlude with the Undead #The Vampire Lestat #Interview with the Vampire #amc iwtv #iwtv #iwtv meta #iwtv Season 2 #iwtv Season 2 speculation #Daniel Malloy

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heliza24 · 2 months

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I want to talk a little bit about Daniel in the Interview with the Vampire show, because the new trailer material has me stuck thinking about him, and also I’ve never written about how meaningful he is as disabled character to me before.

I don’t see many people thinking about show!Daniel in these terms, but he’s a canon disabled character. And I think the way he is written is just SO good. The acerbic wit, his relationship to doctors and his medication, his rueful acceptance of the way his disability has changed him. It is all so correct!! It’s really incredibly rare to have not only a disabled character written this well but specifically a chronically ill character written this well. His illness is always present; it doesn’t get forgotten about by the story. It gives Daniel insight into the vampires (more on this in a min), but it also gives Louis and Armand leverage over him. When Louis triggers his Parkinson’s symptoms? Deeply not ok. But that’s what made it such a great scene, and really made Louis feel dangerous and threateningin that moment. Armand and Louis arranging Daniel’s meds is a sign of great care and also great power over Daniel. It’s the perfect way to communicate the complicated power dynamic in their relationship.

I also just fucking love that this show takes place in 2022 and doesn’t erase the pandemic. Covid is a very present concern for Daniel and I cannot describe how validating that is for me as someone who is clinically vulnerable to Covid and who has had to really limit my life and take a lot of precautions because everyone else has decided to stop caring whether they pass on Covid or not. The fact that Daniel gets on a plane to Dubai is a BIG DEAL. He’s risking his life to talk to Louis and Armand before he’s even in the room with them. He really wants to be there. I have to make a similar calculation every time I travel, and trust me, getting on that plane knowing getting sick could spiral you into even worse health or kill you is really hard.

I think making Daniel disabled and including the pandemic is kind of a genius level decision on a thematic level. Of course Daniel is now facing down his mortality, which gives him a whole new lens on the vampires and the fact that he once asked them to turn him. And the pandemic further highlights his fragility, and is also possibly being used as a cover for drama that’s happening in the vampire world. But I think it also really sets Daniel up as a foil to Louis.

There’s a lot of analysis of the vampire chronicles that reads vampirism as a metaphor for queerness. But I would actually propose that it’s a much neater parallel for disability and illness in a lot of ways. So many of Louis’s initial experiences after being turned resonated with me, as someone who became chronically ill in my 20s. My appetite and relationship to food completely changed, much like Louis. My relationship with the outdoors and the sun changed, because of dysautonomia and allergy reasons. I was very mad, and very depressed, and I too have missed out on birthday parties and big life events like Louis did because I was too sick to go. Hell, you can even say that the way that Louis is treated as evil by his family, that the way vampires literally can’t be a part of society during the day, is reminiscent of ableist exclusion and ugly laws. (Ugly laws were laws that forbid disabled people, especially those with visible differences, from being out in public, and they were on the books in many American municipalities until the 1970s.) You can look at Lestat being an out and proud vampire in the first few episodes on the season and imploring Louis to leave his shame behind as a queer thing, but you can also view it as a disabled thing. Disabled people are portrayed as monstrous so often (and in a way that has gone relatively unexamined compared to say, the queer coded villain trope) that sometimes it’s just easier to embrace that label: I’m the monstrous Crip, but at least I’m not ashamed of or disgusted by who I am anymore.

I do think the real strength of this adaptation is that while you can find parallels between queerness or disability or other forms of marginalization with vampirism, ultimately it’s not a one-to-one parallel. It speaks to the real world but ultimately it is a gothic horror story about supernatural monsters. So I don’t mean to say that vampirism directly equals disability, because it does not. But I do think that making Daniel disabled was an intentional choice to help draw out some of those parallels, and I think the text is richer for it.

So Louis and Daniel have had these kind of parallel experiences of uncontrollable and difficult things happening to their bodies. It sets them up perfectly as foils, and even, I would argue, as the A plot and B Plot protagonists. This is one of my favorite ways of kind of examining the structure of a TV show (or maybe it’s that most of my favorite shows seem to be structured this way?). When TV was all episodic, it would be common to refer to the A plot (mystery of the week), B plot (interpersonal drama happening as the mystery gets solved) and C plot (any overarching plot tying the season together) in an episode. Now that stuff is serialized, there’s often a main protagonist, who has the main dramatic question and the most agency, and then there is often a secondary B plot that explores similar themes and mirrors the A plot, or presents a second main character who is the ldifferent side of the same coin” to the main protagonist. (My favorite example of this is Flint and Max in Black Sails, and I’ve also made the argument that Wilhelm and Sara fit this pattern in Young Royals.) In IwtV, Louis is obviously the main protagonist of the show, especially in the A Plot, which is the stuff taking place in New Orleans/Paris. But I would argue that Daniel is the protagonist of the B Plot set in Dubai. At the very least they’re intentionally set up as mirrors of each other:

They are both unreliable narrators, who are struggling with the way memory contorts (through memory erasure, illness, deliberate obfuscations, and just the passage of time). The most recent teaser trailer, where we hear Louis saying “I don’t remember that”, with panic in his voice, further underlined this similarity between Louis and Daniel to me. I don’t know if it means that Louis has also had his memory tampered with, as I’m assuming Daniel has, but I do think it means that Louis is going to be struggling with feeling out of control of his own narrative more in season 2, a thing that was already starting for Daniel in season 1.

They are also both locked into power struggles with people more powerful than they are. The fact that Louis is under Lestat in the flashbacks and above Daniel in the Dubai scenes in terms of power/status makes it all the more interesting. And, if we want to go ahead and assume that the Devils Minion’s years have happened in the past by the time we get to Dubai— it’s possible that both Daniel and Louis are united in being the less powerful partner in their own respective fucked up gothic romances.

They’re also both the audience’s entry point into their respective stories. Louis’s narration guides us into the world of vampires. Daniel’s questioning satisfies our human curiosity in Dubai.

I think one of the things that makes the show so special is the way that these two protagonists interact. In a lot of shows the a plot and the b plot stay pretty separate. I love talking about Black Sails for this because I think it’s such a good example; Flint and Max never exchange dialogue the entire show, even though they’re so clearly affecting each other the whole time. But the way that Louis and Daniel clash in Dubai is so exciting. We see them both wrestling for control of the narrative. It’s thrilling to watch and it just hammers home the theme of how complicated and changeable stories can be.

I am SO excited to see how the Dubai scenes play out in season 2 because of it. I really can’t wait. I’m really hoping we’ll see Daniel and Louis’s relationship evolve in surprising ways, and I’m holding my breath that we’ll get a lot of Armandaniel material to work with. (I have a whole other post drafted that’s much less smart than this one and is just me waxing poetic about Devil Minion’s theories which I may post at some point. You have been warned.)

I do have two wishes for Daniel in the new season, and they’re 1: that he gets to have romance/sex, because disabled (and older!) characters are so often seen as unworthy of being desired, and I would like to see that challenged and 2: that he continues to refuse to be turned/is not offered a vampiric cure for Parkinson’s. The magic cure for a disability or chronic illness is probably my least favorite disability trope, because it serves to erase disabled characters and representation from the narrative, and I want to see my experiences continue to be reflected in Daniel’s. That means that whatever ending Daniel’s story has will probably have at least a bit of tragedy baked into it, but I’m ok with that.

#interview with the vampire amc #interview with the vampire #iwtv #daniel molloy #armandaniel #devils minion #louis de pointe du lac #armand #my meta #my crip media reviews

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nalyra-dreaming · 1 year

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The lovely @alcassin dug out a post on reddit (and kindly allowed me to share it, TY dear) in regards to what Lestat screams about after the chess game in episode 6, which I for one had thought were probably... curses. Or cursing. Nothing too bad, but just... temper tantrum level curses.

But... no?!

And I find that hugely interesting, and it changes the whole end scene a bit for me, because this is the actual scene there:

Louis (voiceover): She was right.

Lestat: Spoiled, selfish, thankless.

Louis: It was inevitable.

Lestat: Heedless, disagreeable, obnoxious, repellent, unkind, spoiled to the core!

( Shouting in French )

Louis: We were going to kill Lestat.

Now we know that this statement was a deliberate one, to Daniel. He repeats it after, to make sure the impact lands.

That also means that the last voice over part was in all likelihood not his thoughts in that moment, but a deliberate comment to lead over to this statement.

And ... these words deflect. Try to brush away that outburst, which Louis does not address further. Or cares to translate.

Inevitable? .... Why? Louis can understand Lestat after all. So why should the outburst seem to make it inevitable? Why should it lead to the "killing remark"?

Lestat... Lestat is addressing the elephant in the room there.

Namely that Claudia is both child and adult. Forever. And that this was Louis' choice.

And that they have failed her in their parenting.

(And we have seen throughout episode 4 and 5 that Louis had a habit of interfering with Lestat's parenting, and would argue about it behind closed doors, which is what the child rearing and compromise comment points to. Whether he was right to do so or not is not important here imho, only that it was addressed and what became of it all later.)

It is no wonder that Louis deflects from that, and doesn't "translate" it for Daniel. This is not something he likes to dwell on after all, even though he probably feels this guilt keenly.

But to admit that Lestat, temper-tantrum or not, was actually right there?

Because... even if the past Louis might not have known it back then - but the issues with Claudia's state of being, and the lack of trust in her parents, and the... lack of abilities and awareness in regards to other vampires, the lack of strength, and the spite (as Lestat calls it) - that is something that modern Louis is all too aware of will be part of her downfall.

Lestat screams at Louis there, about the problem in regards to Claudia (given, the screaming itself is... well, not helpful at all^^), and Louis... turns the radio louder. Because he doesn't want to hear it, or discuss it. Both literally, and figuratively.

And he still doesn't want to dwell on that in modern Dubai.

Because it is inevitable because Claudia was who she was, then. And because Lestat was who he was, then. And because Louis was who he was back then.

It was inevitable.

But not because of what Louis is trying to present as reasoning. (And I hope/bet Daniel will still break open that part of the tale, too.)

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nightcolorz · 9 months

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The most underrated moment of all time in interview with the vampire (the book) is when Louis meets Lestat and he’s all seductive, making all these promises about eternal life and escaping his human burdens and transcending suffering, living his ultimate hedonistic fantasy forever, and then once the transformation is complete and Louis and Lestat are living together Louis realizes that Lestat isn’t the angelic other worldly being come to sweep him off his feet that he presented himself as, but is actually just a Guy. Fucking hilarious. Suddenly Lestat is 10 years older than Louis at most, his father is still alive, and he’s responsible for caring for him in his old age. He’s bitter and immature and his dad is dying and handling him is his priority first but he hates it, he’s just got average mortal problems and concerns. And Louis’s like wtf ? I’ve been scammed. So good! Lestat is just a guy actually he’s just like Louis, he doesn’t know anything. Vampirism doesn’t make anything more special rlly and ur family and responsibilities don’t go away once u drink the magic blood. I love that, it’s hilarious as it is so interesting for their dynamic. I annoys me sm that the show made Lestat so much more older then Louis bcus a good chunk of the foundation of their dynamic is just gone. Ugh

#the vampire chronicles #tvc #vampire chronicles #vc #interview with the vampire #iwtv #lestat de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac #ldpdl #lestat iwtv #loustat #Tvc meta

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thequeenofsastiel · 2 years

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I find it intriguing that we see more romance and intimacy between Lestat and Louis through Claudia's eyes than we do through Louis'. While it is true that Louis portrays Lestat in a far more positive way than he did in the 1973 interview, it appears that he's still holding back. We only see them kiss three times from Louis' pov. The first is admittedly passionate, but the next two are initiated by Lestat and not returned from Louis, as they only happen when Louis is upset with Lestat. We never see them intimate with each other. Their relationship is clearly romantic, but in a rather distant way.

It could be argued that they simply become closer when Claudia comes into their lives, and though I do think there's some truth to that, I also think Louis was being rather secretive. Louis is too quick to open his coffin to Lestat in ep 4, and said that he missed Lestat, indicating that this isn't the first time they've shared a coffin. He also mentioned to Daniel that his libido decreased after he stopped eating humans, indicating that he and Lestat did have a sexual relationship.

Which begs the question: Why? Why does Louis rarely describe the romantic part of their relationship, and only once the sexual part? Perhaps it's simply that he doesn't think it's relevant. But I think it's more that Daniel has expressed disdain for their relationship, and it's made Louis feel protective of their intimate moments. Which is rather counter-intuitive. One would think that he'd be more willing to share those parts to prove to Daniel that their relationship did have its positive qualities. But I'm not sure.

Y'all?

#interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire meta #interview with the vampire amc #loustat #loustat meta #my meta

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jellybellyblimp · 2 years

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After watching the dumbest argument ever play out on Twitter, gentle reminder.

Lestat is not a good person. He is sadistic and manipulative and often evil, but despite all of this he is still often the victim of others characters. He is a complicated individual and the Vampire Chronicles are full of complicated individuals. Lestat’s many misdeeds are informed by the ways he has been mistreated. Recognizing that he is a nuanced character requires admitting that while he is not good, that does not mean he cannot also be a victim.

So for the record Armand betraying, torturing, and forcing him to testify against Claudia, before ultimately throwing him off a tower is not Lestat’s fault. And no saying it’s his fault for trusting Armand is not a good argument. Nor is saying we shouldn’t consider him a victim, because he’s done other bad things or made bad choices.

#interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire meta #iwtv #iwtv lestat #lestat de lioncourt #anne rice #vampire chronicles #armand #iwtv armand

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bitingfaggotry · 1 year

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this is another reason why lestat is amazing horror antagonist: the audience who lacks empathy for the main/POV characters of color doesn't see it coming at all

you (white audiences) don't see the intricate nature of abuse at play here because you don't understand harm unless it is explicit and right in your face, the same way white people typically don't understand the intricate nature of racism and dehumanization until its full blown lynching or slurs (remind you of anyone? lestat not understanding why louis killed the alderman because he "said I did a good job")

its why people don't see the slave catcher parallels with lestat stopping claudia from leaving on the train to the north, or not notice the parallel between claudia's rapist and lestat in that sex scene with louis disassociating or seem to glide over claudia's feelings as to why her and louis are lestat's slaves (black trauma depicted like this, the understanding of transgenerational trauma, *chefs kiss*)

so yes the fear you felt at seeing the graphic abuse was intentional, that scene was needed to show you that all the red flags you missed through biases against these characters towards lestat and giving him grace over and over again, were not supposed to be missed at all

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #iwtv meta #this show... havent felt this way about black horror in a long time #black horror framework

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