The Vampire Lestat: Toledo

"If you're still listening after the... Oedipiphany of the last hour, welcome back."

Addressing the big reveal at the end of the first episode, we get some harrowing moments from Lestat's life.

The fallout from Lestat's fang reveal by literally flying out of a window after a violent hall fight with the Fang Gang has clearly landed with a bloody thud. This leaves three of the bandmates somewhat upset but willing to stay on and the fourth, Alex, has left. Lestat did reach out to him telepathically, calling him the best musician besides himself. I'm not entirely sure why this is a plot line, but maybe Alex will be important later in the season.

Music is such an important part of this season, framing Lestat's journey with his songs literally telling his story. I absolutely loved the stage sequence where Lestat started to move so fast that time seemed to slow down, flying up to Louis and handing him his marked copy of Interview With the Vampire. Gabriella and Daniel watching the exchange was interesting too, and it made me wonder what Gabriella thinks of Louis. Does she care? Is she upset?

Much of this episode then goes on to explain the Oedipiphany of Lestat having biblical relations with his biological mother. In short he grew up in a noble family in Auvergne, France in a flashback dated 1772. His father was a misanthrope, cruel and spiteful, a failed lord to a worthless lordship with two arrogant and entitled sons, an Italian mother that cares for none of them except maybe Lestat, who is the youngest.

Lestat as a boy is a stutterer and lonely, who is very unhappy with the life he has been born into. As he grows he sides often with his mother, who rarely looks up from the book she is reading except to throw barbs at her husband and oldest children. As a young man Lestat is ridiculed for running from home and joining a theater group (pin on that for a later episode). As a man he is angry and reckless, actively hostile to his brothers who have beaten him in the past.

Yet when the people come and demand help with a wolf problem, the Lord Lioncourt cannot be bothered. His sons complain that they cannot help and to send them away. Lestat sees an opportunity. He goes out with his horse and his dog and kills eight wolves. Of course, not without losing his horse and dog and getting severely injured in the process (the scars we've seen on his chest throughout this season are from those wolves).

This was a defining moment for young Lestat, his way of showing to the world and most importantly to Gabriella that he was worthy and strong. But the grief he showed in that scene, all those emotions bubbling up over the years, the loss of his beloved dog, and the way his voice broke talking about that fight was heartbreaking. Lestat may have won that fight, may have saved the day, may have garnered worship from the townsfolk. But it cost him nearly everything he had left inside. His last gasp at being a part of his family.

I loved the almost montage quality of the flashback, accompanied by almost farcical classical music and given a practically sitcom level of framing and timing. But it's tragedy disguised as comedy, with cruelty and power leveraged over Lestat and Gabriella who lash out when they can, only to be beaten in return. The cabbages are running the house, but they are idiots and dullards, and a true example of late period French aristocracy before the Revolution a decade or so later.

The entire reason Lestat even goes into this flashback is to talk about Gabriella, depicted here as a brilliant, tortured and dying woman who was clearly forced into an arranged marriage and hates it with every fiber of her being. She begrudgingly attends meals, but has to distract herself from the boorishness and simplistic minds surrounding her. Lestat is her favorite, but perhaps more because he favors her and not the other way around.

What is clear is that when Lestat turned her she was ready to die, but he wasn't ready to let her go. But by giving her the dark gift, he freed her from the life she so desperately wanted to escape from. She mentions at least twice that her dream is to be free to do the things she was never allowed to do. Like go into a place and let a gang of men have their way with her. Or kill her entire family because she hates them so much.

So of course when she becomes a vampire, she and Lestat go on a killing spree taking out Marquis Lioncourt, Augustin and his wife and Gregoire (or was it Gregoire's wife?). Either way it was bloody and horrible, and Lestat and Gabriella hid in a tomb to escape the sun, listening to the servants discover the bodies, and likely pin it on the townsfolk getting revenge. She is so obviously untethered to morality and humanity, and she creates an interesting mirror to Lestat.

We are slowly getting the impression that Lestat is not a monster. He is a vampire, he kills and feeds, but he doesn't directly answer the question posed by his bandmates, even letting Christine answer them instead of weighing in on whether he kills. Of course he has killed, we know he has. But who does he kill, why does he kill? Those are answers we have not gotten yet. But one thing is increasingly clear; he actually has some morals and we sense nobility and honor within him.

Daniel continues to be a source of intrigue. It is revealed he didn't entirely publish the book on his own. With the Talamasca pulling the strings on his edit, with some of the final language taken out of his hands, he is also still working directly with Raglan and real Rashid as his handlers. He only seems to be himself around Lestat and Louis, and we get the impression his connection with Armand is unique and distressing (probably more on that later in the season).

Speaking of Louis, his presence in this episode was interesting. He comes across a bit differently than he did in the last two seasons. Less tortured and more... cool. He seems mildly conflicted about his role in the publishing of the book and concerned about Lestat's mental health. He is also revealed to be the owner of the hotel where the Fang Gang attacked Lestat. He also holds the merchandising rights to The Vampire Lestat tour, which apparently has good margins.

More interesting still is his potentially not accurate conversation with Daniel about the book. While the details are probably doctored through Lestat's narration, the gist is them talking about how both Louis and Lestat took the book. With Louis being unhappy with how he is portrayed, specifically that he is a liar, and not the "lying to myself" kind of liar, but an actual liar. Lestat is also super unhappy with parts of the book, underlining several sections with LIES or DID NOT HAPPEN!!!.

Of course this is when we learn about Raglan pulling Daniel's strings. They force a sit down with Louis and offer him a rather juicy breadcrumb. So, the odd little dropped plot detail from season one about Claudia's journey of self discovery was brought back up; specifically, Bruce's name was dropped. It'll be nice to get that closure, or is the Talamasca lying to him?

Bits:

Eric (Daniel Malloy) had a nude scene. Good for him.

Lestat says he has five dead siblings, but their names and when and how they died is deeply in question. Is Lestat doing this on purpose? The Marquis de Lioncourt was played by Peter Outerbridge. He has made a career out of these wonderfully memorable character parts.

Louis' current identity is Thomas Pitt.

The redheaded stripper has a YouTube profile where she reacts to shows and movies with her partner. She actually reacts to her scene in this episode. It's pretty funny.

Quotes:

Lestat: "I believe there might be value added in illuminating how I became me in the light of said Oedipiphany. You've weathered the Freudian storms. And yes, that boat is a penis. And yes, that ocean is my mother's vagina. Kiss, grope, aftercare, onward."

Lestat: "Escape was not an option for Gabriella Vece. The Marquis had promised her preservation and delivered her ruin."

Gabriella: "There's a mob came yesterday, again tonight. They wish to worship you. Your father and your brothers bent with shame. Come down. You'll enjoy it."
Lestat: "From room to room, slaughtering the three of them. That's what I dreamt when I killed the wolves, Mother."
Gabriella: "You know what I dream? I'm drinking wine. So drunk, I strip off my clothes and bathe in the mountain stream naked. I go into the village... into the inn, and I take into bed any man that comes. Crude men, big men, old men, boys, taking them one after another, and feeling some magnificent release in it, no thought of your father or your brothers. In that moment, I belong to no one."
Lestat: "Except for me."

Louis: "So I flew in because I care."
Lestat: "Oh, just as you cared in your book."
Louis: "We've been through all this."
Lestat: "The fact that you insulted me page after page after page after page…"
Louis: "Take it up with Molloy, who wrote it, or the Talamasca, who published it."
Lestat: "And why are you employing Sam Barclay after Paris?"
Louis: "He's paying down his debts."
Lestat: "Oh. Bottom line, Louis."
Louis: "All sins negotiated."

Lestat: "There were eight people on the ark... Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their three wives. Eight people. And now, somehow, 8 billion. At some point in your privileged family tree is the thing we are discussing now. And familial relations were not a standalone crime in the 18th century."

This was another quick paced and somewhat chaotic episode, but it did have some slower moments and some absoutely excellent acting from Jennifer Ehle and Sam Reid.

3.5 out of 4 Dead Siblings

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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