"Poor dear. She wasn’t held enough between ritualistic murders.”
Louis is strange in this one. His behavior is deeply discordant between time periods. In scenes set in the past, he was extremely sympathetic (except when he read Claudia’s diary), but his grief was palpable. It was so extreme that Lestat must’ve been in denial or truly thought Claudia would never come back, and was trying to be patient enough for Louis to get over the loss.
In the present, Louis is hostile, violent and even outright manipulative, using his power against Daniel in a moment of pure cruelty. His treatment of Rashid was also pretty vulgar, feeding from him and basically dismissing him. What’s interesting is Rashid’s take on the whole situation, explaining that this interview, this proposed book would be a final act. Basically, a very long and detailed suicide note.
The rest of the story oscillates between Claudia’s adventures out in the world and Louis and Lestat stagnating in New Orleans. Their arguments are similar to what they were before Claudia entered the picture, but a bit more pointed and mean-spirited. They have stopped caring about their surroundings, letting the house fall into disrepair and clutter, books abandoned where they finish reading them, and animals making their way inside usually to end as a quick meal for Louis.
Lestat spends more and more time out doing extravagant kills and spending time with Antoinette, the singer from episode three. This is essentially them going underground, hiding from the world and the law after the discovery of Claudia’s graveyard. Her barbaric, serial killer level violence is played a bit for laughs. Yet I think Daniel got to the point. As sympathetic and compelling as Claudia is, we are looking at a wildly prolific killer. She is so detached from humanity that keeping rotting trophies is a game to her.
All of these emotions, Louis’ grief, Claudia’s need to find herself and Lestat’s apparently unending patience are all an act. Louis is grieving the memory of Claudia, maybe a few of the good times they had as a family, but he is mostly ignoring his own situation. Claudia is attempting to find something where there is nothing, a history of importance, a reason for her existence and answer to who her companion in life should be. The answer is obvious, but it takes her seven years to figure it out.
Lestat, of course, is the most problematic of the three. His trauma, whatever it might be, is left unspoken. He dances and lies and hides from whatever haunts him. He holds onto Louis when it is clear that things have soured between them, turning to old attempts to make Louis jealous, and any hint that their relationship is salvageable. Then when Claudia comes back, everything just falls apart. Lestat loses his cool, and shows what he is truly capable of.
The entire fight scene is harrowing, not just because we have to watch poor Louis get brutalized, but we also see why Claudia is so helpless. She cannot do anything against Lestat. Despite her power against humans, she is practically helpless against other vampires. It is a dynamic that clarifies that she needs a stronger companion, but someone who loves and cares for her. Louis may be that companion, but at this moment he doesn’t even really put up a fight against Lestat. Maybe because he cannot, or maybe because he cannot bring himself to fight back. Either way we are left with the fallout of this brutal confrontation, and I honestly do not know where it will go next.
While emotionally grounded and entirely relevant to the story, this feels like a filler episode. Sure, it was very well done and emotionally charged, and it even moved the story forward to a degree. But we are in this strange place where what we feel is coming keeps getting pushed back. Perhaps Lestat's actions will drive things forward, but given what we've seen before, I bet the family may endure for another episode or two.
Bits:
Claudia’s travels included crossing paths with a vampire named Bruce. That story was editorialized by Louis and he refused to talk about it beyond a certain point. It is pretty clear whatever happened between Claudia and Bruce was so bad that Louis as a father cannot speak about it.
As powerful as these vampires are, Louis is absolutely destroyed in this episode.
Quotes:
Louis: “She spent every night for half a decade with no friends, locked in the emotional storm of puberty.”
Daniel: “Look, Charlie Manson wrote a couple of beautiful songs. Still, he was Charlie Manson.”
Louis: “Is that all you think of her?”
Daniel: “Mostly. I also think she makes you and Frenchy look like a couple of whiny, existential queens.”
Louis: “You can put the diaries in a proper context.”
Daniel: “Context? Sure. Warn the world about a forthcoming apocalypse. Or maybe inspire a line of sexy Claudia Halloween costumes. Or a cool dismemberment trend amongst the suburban Sylvia Plath set. Once you put it out there, they decide what it is. It can get away from you.”
Daniel: “It’s a kill list.”
Rashid: “Yes.”
Daniel: “In a teenager’s handwriting.”
Rashid: “The final words of her victims. There are 42 pages, if I remember correctly.”
Daniel: “School teacher – ‘Guard your heart.’ I’m trying to think of something more fucked up than this.”
This feels like a strong departure from the source material, and I honestly don't know where they are going with it.
3.5 out of 4 Brutal Vampires
Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.
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