Up until this point Daniel has led the interview, guiding our poor beleaguered Louis through the quagmire of his fragmented memories. Now that things have reversed, the real performance has begun.
In a very on point parallel to the past: As Louis and Claudia are lured into the mysterious and alluring web of actors and blood, Armand has inserted himself into the interview with Daniel and through gross manipulation and power plays has completely taken over. It feels like this is all a game of illusion for Armand, who seems to be very honest and compassionate, but may be in fact a cold and calculating manipulator who loves to be the one actually pulling the strings.
This duality of performance, of the spectacle of a stage play masquerading something dark and monstrous underneath, is the entire point of this episode. Claudia and Louis are like flies trapped in amber, as each are seduced by the promise of companionship and society. An entire company of vampires, with bright personalities and seemingly open attitudes begging them to join? It is almost too good of an opportunity to pass up, despite Armand’s warning about their secret regarding Lestat.
Santiago in particular has this air of sensual menace about him; everything he says and how he moves speaks to something elusive in his character. I loved the way he took the stage and started to fly around the room, using a rope to provide the illusion of stagecraft. Yet there was slack on the rope, and he wasn’t moving like he was being held up by the waist. This feeling of unreality made the entire scene feel dangerous, and it was clear some of the human audience picked up on that even if they weren’t consciously aware of it.
Everything else was set dressing, from the appearance of the theater to the way they used black and white animation projected onto the stage as a way of altering reality to appear as though there were props and special effects. That is until the end of the performance when that poor woman was brought on stage half naked and psychologically tortured before being devoured by the company of vampires in full view of the audience, her every plea for help countered as if it were a part of the act, as a human being was reduced to nothing more than a mouse for the vampire to play with before a meal.
What was telling was how Claudia and Louis reacted. Despite his claims otherwise, he was visibly shaken by her death, horrified by the callousness and cruelty on display, whereas Claudia was excited by the performance, almost bouncing out of her seat in the hopes of joining them up on stage. As much as they may love each other, Louis and Claudia couldn’t be any less alike. Then there is the lie, Claudia off the cuff claiming that their maker was the monster who attacked her, Bruce. Which was made especially problematic when it was revealed that Lestat was one of the founding members of the company.
In the present Armand admitted that he had been involved with Lestat at some point in the past. Either way Louis’ inability to close off his mind is worrying, Armand claimed to not know the particulars of their association with Lestat, but how much do you wanna bet it will become a point of contention down the line. There wasn't much Lestat in this episode, but he came in at just the right emotional moment. To see Louis' pain when he read the words written by Lestat that he was the "One being he could trust" had to be devastating.
The biggest take away from this episode is that the story has moved into a new phase, and it will be much more difficult to navigate the truth, especially if Daniel has been defeated by Armand’s manipulation. This entire series is just removed enough from the source material that I never know exactly what is coming, and that also means that they might be able to change some of the bigger moments still to come.
Bits:
There were several little bits of dialogue peppered throughout the episode lifted directly from the book and original movie, including the title of this episode.
Some of the lights on the theater were out; what should’ve been "Les Vampires" looked like "es Vmpires." I’m not sure if that alludes to something, but it was clearly intentional.
The dress shop scene was interesting. The woman with red hair felt important but at the same time it might’ve just been about the dress. IMDb lists her as Roxanne Duran playing Madeleine.
This was yet another fantastic episode with so many layers to pick apart and examine. I’m continually blown away by the acting, production and writing displayed.
4 out of 4 Manipulations of Reality
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.
I interpreted Armand's interactions with Daniel very differently than you did. Despite him being the one to push and suggest it, he seemed very regretful once he and Louis started digging through Daniel's mind. He was the one who made sure to say that his wife wanted to say yes. Which... how does he know that? Is that also a vampire power? Or are maybe Louis not the only one with incorrect memories? I'm very curious what that brief flash of Armand in the 70s meant, talking about Daniel and playboys? Very strange.
ReplyDeleteI also don't know how to interpret Louis claiming that outside of a few events, Paris is a very happy place for him. Now, I don't know a lot about the books, but I do know one VERY big event that I can't imagine Louis brushing off the way that he just did. Unless they're changing what happened (very possible), it feels like a massive red flag.
Lestat was in the same outfit as their first date. Very nice touch.