Armand and Louis had much more in common than even I realized when they stumbled upon each other in Paris.
They'd both been under the love spell of one Lestat de Lioncourt.
Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Episode 3 continued the deep dive into Louis and Claudia's life in Paris and went further back in time to see Lestat's beginnings at the Théâtre des Vampires.
Lestat and Armand's past was known, as Armand never hid the fact that they'd once been intimate. But he may have downplayed just how serious things had been before them for a time.
From Interview with the Vampire Season 1, we know that Lestat is charming, enigmatic, and manipulative by nature.
To know him, truly know him, well, there might not be a single person who can lay steady claim to that.
Seeing where Armand came from to where we see him in Dubai was shocking, and it showed just how far he's come from the coven leader of 'Children of Darkness.'
Back then, he was living in squalor, lording over other vampires but not even believing in the 'cause' they were set to be following.
It wasn't until he stumbled upon Lestat, ever the center of attention and every bit the scoundrel he was always meant to be, that he found a way to break the cycle he existed in.
Armand's very intelligent. And he broke Lestat down to do what he couldn't: break up a coven that he didn't even want to be a part of any longer.
It left him alone, but it did its job, and when Lestat showed back up, he was looking for something because, of course, he was; Armand fell deep into the hole Lestat likes to dig for those he knows he can seduce and thus control.
Louis: He abandoned Nicky. He abandoned Armand. He abandoned the coven. Lestat is, was, and will always be for Lestat.
Daniel: Never say I love you to a raging narcissist.
Armand: And I locked away those words for another 150 years.
We didn't see much of Armand and Lestat's burgeoning relationship, but we didn't need to because it was merely a footnote in Armand's long history. He was a powerful vampire, and Lestat used him to learn from and left him as soon as he got what was needed.
That sounds like Lestat, though knowing this came from Armand's lips makes you wonder.
But assuming it's all true, no embellishing on his part to present himself as another victim of Lestat's long list, it was a pain that Arman carried with him for years.
It's hard not to think about what truly drew Armand to Louis back when they first met because he quickly realized the connection between Louis and Lestat.
Does Louis even try to block Lestat out? I say that sarcastically because I'm sure he does, but the vampire is so ingrained in his soul that the second there's an opportunity for him to jump into thoughts, there he is, in all his Lestat glory.
He's sitting across from Armand, having this serious and cultured debate about religion and themes, and Lestat is gingerly singing the most sinister song you've ever heard on the piano.
And craziest of all was that Armand could read his thoughts. He knew Louis had Lestat on the brain because he always does. He's never far from Louis's thoughts.
Purely seeing Lestat in Louis' subconscious isn't the same as Lestat being there, but the series has done a decent job of finding a way to keep his spirit alive in more than just passing conversation.
In the scene where Louis and Armand are flirting their way down the Parisian streets, Lestat walks alongside them like it's the three of them on the same doomed date before having Lestat fall a few steps behind, slowly leaving the two of them alone, was a beautiful shot.
Lestat's been this gnat, constantly buzzing around their relationship since it started, and if you tell me that he no longer is, I'd have to disagree. He will always be there, even if on the periphery.
While Louis and Armand were getting to know each other, falling deeper but still keeping walls up, Claudia was trying to ingratiate herself into the theater and the coven, even if it meant going through a hazing period like she was trying to get it Alpha Zeta Delta.
Claudia's always wanted to find her place, and she thinks she's found it in the coven around other vampires who don't loathe the fact they're vampires.
There's a power in being around people who don't hate themselves and hate what they are all the time. That was also Lestat, but his narcissism and cruelty weren't the same as a family of vampires existing together, hunting together, and sharing their lives.
Claudia's curiosity about all things related to the coven was endearing, but it was so apparent that there was suspicion around her.
As they read her the rules to join the coven, the fact that she'd broken so many of them already should have been the biggest clue that perhaps this wasn't going to be the place for her.
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How could you not feel for her when they pulled that blue dress out for her like it was some prize for her to be dressed up as a child when her mind was so far beyond that of a child?
Knowing she would step onto that stage for the next however many years and be paraded around as a child? Devastating.
You have to imagine that's one of the many reasons it's against the rules to turn children.
Louis: I was with Bruce for 30 years.
Armand: Bruce. How long are we going to play games, Louis?
They will age, but their bodies will remain in the form of children. They'll be treated as such by mortals, and their minds will always be trapped in this childlike and aged space that I imagine would start to drive you a little batty.
Louis, as usual, honestly did Claudia no favors by spilling the Lestat beans, even if Armand already knew.
It's interesting to see how differently Louis and Claudia approach Paris. Claudia fully leans into it, while Louis is still watching from the outside, much more interested in staying hidden behind his camera than drawing any sort of attention to himself.
While walking through the sewers, Armand behind him with a ball of fire in his hand, he was fully prepared to die. He wasn't even fighting it entirely, more concerned about ensuring Claudia knew she was beautiful above all else.
Louis's always been self-loathing, but where Paris and being around other vampires could have sparked something in him, all it did was hunch him in further on himself—going to a dark place to be alongside Lestat more than probably ever before.
There's so much to this story that will play out as the season continues, but we're stepping closer and closer to everything breaking, and whenever Santiago was around, the tension was THICK.
He knows Louis and Claudia are lying, but Armand's not handling things, so what will he do next?
The most intriguing part of this part of the story is trying to figure out how we get from Louis and Armand here, courting with Lestat, who is very much a third wheel in their relationship, to Claudia's eventual downfall and then to San Francisco and Dubai, with Louis and Armand in some unbreakable, bonded partnership.
What exactly has gone on over the past seventy-some years?
Daniel was doing his Daniel thing, even venturing outside of the penthouse to enjoy some fish.
Ragland James (agree with Daniel about that fake name!) was about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face as he told Daniel about himself and made it apparent that he'd hacked his computer.
He's got an agenda, just like they all do, but what could it be?
He wants Daniel to see something; that much was obvious; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of hacking him and making it known that he did.
The most fascinating thing he said was that everyone who's tried to tell the world about vampires before is dead or undead. Well, well, well.
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Is this not Daniel's second interview? Has he not already tried to tell the world about vampires?
They are throwing a lot at us, and the tension and twists will only get crazier the deeper we get into this creepy tale.
Extra Thoughts
- Armand is by far the strongest vampire in the series, and it's fascinating to discover that he taught Lestat much of what he learned and terrorized Louis and Claudia with. He can fly, has telekinesis, freeze time, and conjures fire.
- There's something up with Real Rashid. I don't know what it is, but there's something there.
- That can't be all we see if Nicky. I need to see more of Lestat and all his many loves over the years so I can juxtapose it with his love for Louis!
- Claudia's tale is the saddest in all of this. She was failed in life and death by so many.
We're climbing closer and closer to sadness, betrayal, and heartbreak! Buckle up, folks! And let me know your thoughts about the hour below!