Performance is all about presentation, because an actor only has to be skin deep. The deep inner workings of the mind should never be on display, and when they are, the performance suffers. This entire episode was a deep dive into that idea, of what lies beneath a bad performance.
As engaging and impactful as all the major character stories were in this episode, I feel that Claudia had the biggest role and once again Delainey Hayles was simply fantastic, from her nuanced portrayal of a decades old vampire stuck in a fourteen year old body, to those fabulously layered musical numbers that devolved from excitement to apathy to resentment over the course of the episode. Everything about Claudia’s existence feels tragic, including her friendship with Madeleine, who ruined her life by sleeping with the wrong man at the wrong time.
Moving on to Louis, the escalation of his vision of Lestat has grown both in interactivity and affection, and it is terribly sad to watch, all the while the Lestat apparition is simply wonderful with his little jabs and jokes, mostly directed at Armand. I loved how he always seemed to be walking on the same side as Armand, as though Louis was projecting Lestat over Armand. Much like the previous episode, Armand had a moment of true vulnerability, this time in front of Louis as he related his story while standing in front of a masterpiece that was very likely himself committed to paint and canvas. It felt like a Paris tourist’s wet dream as the pair of them casually disarmed security guards of their flashlights and had a long and loud conversation through the halls of the Louvre without a care in the world.
Armand is still a bit of a question mark. Even while learning more and more about him, he seems to be holding something back. Armand’s story of slavery and prostitution was sad and evoked the right kind of sympathy and pathos, but as much as he is clearly haunted by his past I get the very distinct feeling he is leaving out big giant swaths of his history. Why? I’m honestly not sure, but I am nearly positive now that he is not to be trusted. Is it just me? Am I reading into things too heavily? I’m honestly not sure.
Daniel also had quite a bit of moments to shine in this episode as well, and that ending was fairly abrupt. What did he hear on that tape? What actually happened back in 1973? Some of it was clearly similar to the original novel, but to what degree? Are we going to actually get to see the original interview? All I know is that we keep seeing flashes of Armand talking to Daniel, close up and asking weird, probing questions. It feels like so much more than just Louis losing control and Armand saving him. I’m very curious, and nervous for the next episode.
What is going on with Louis’ photographs? It was a weird detail I didn’t fully follow.
I was right that those files from Raglan have proven important. It was also telling that Armand got weirded out by the question about the fire, and it almost sounded like Louis didn’t have any memory of it.
It’s a small thing but Louis and Armand are not sitting as close together in the interviews. It’s a subtle touch but I really like what it is saying about the evolving story.
Quotes:
Madeleine: "He was nineteen. He said, 'I want to know what love is before I die.'"
Claudia: "Sounds like a line."
Madeleine: "I thought so too, but then he shook so much when I took my shirt off."
Lestat: "Well, what is vampire life but poor decisions, stacked next to better ones?"
Claudia: "Louis!"
Lestat: "Speaking of poor decisions. The wilderness that is our daughter."
Claudia: "Oh, I forgot! Love makes you stupid! Makes you fickle and weak and blind!"
Armand: "Who am I, Louis? Am I my history I have endured? Am I the job I do not want? I do not know anymore. No one has painted me in over four hundred years."
Santiago: "See, now that I've wriggled inside your voice, pulled it on like a costume, you don't sound all that Chicago to me. It's that emphasis on the second syllable, borrowed from the French. Like a gent with upright downstairs. Cajun drawl, I want to test a theory. Say New Orleans!"
This was yet another very complicated and solid entry into an already fabulous follow up season. Things are quickly escalating, and I can only imagine the drama and action are only going to get more intense and violent.
3.5 out of 4 Varied performances of the same material
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.
This series makes me feel off balance. It resembles the Rice book that I know very well, but it is differing in so many ways that I'm not sure how I feel about it. There's this feeling all the time that something important is going on that we're not seeing.
ReplyDeleteThe rat room. The rat room! OMG.
Someone is definitely ending up in the rat room by the end of the season. Definitely.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I really want to talk about the bench scene. Actually I want to talk about a lot of things, but I'll try to restrain myself. But that moment on the bench between Louis and Armand with the umbrella??? Talk about a shift in power dynamics. Also I loved seeing a bit more of that hard edge that Louis had as a human. He presents this very gentle and defanged (ha, pardon the pun) air, but there's a lot of darkness in him. A lot of rage.
Also everything involving Lestat. A very different man than the one who was promising to murder Louis. I loved how he was the one to actually give criticism for Louis' photos, and how they talked about hunting together. Was he really just some kind of greiving hallucination? That meant that Louis did mean that Lestat had sewed his name over his heart in that one suit. I'm mostly sad that he vanished because I want as much Sam Reid as possible pretty please. Can he show up again in the flesh soon?
Billie, I thought you had a great observation. There's definitely a feeling that there's something that we, the audience, are missing, especially in the Dubai scenes. I think it's intentional? There's clearly something going on with Armand (and Louis and Armand) that I keep waiting for some kind of twist of revelation as to why all of this is happening in the first place. Why a second interview? Why Daniel again?