The Vampire Lestat: New York

"It will drag you into depravity and reward you with regret."

Lestat finally starts talking about his lost years, which is slotting in some of the final foundational pieces of his life.

I honestly don’t know where to start with this episode. It’s been stewing for a while, because I actually stopped watching after the scene when the fake Madeleine and Claudia start kissing. I couldn’t exactly explain why I reacted the way I did, but I believe it has to do with the fact we never got a chance to see those characters interact that way for real. Watching it postmortem, it felt more than just denigrating Claudia’s memory, it felt wrong on every level.

Anyway, enough of my issues. This episode delves pretty deeply into Lestat’s foundational trauma. We’ve seen several of the building blocks so far starting with Gabriella and his family. Then Nicky's descent, Armand, the theater and all that horror. So Lestat goes into the ground for most of a century, letting himself wither away with hunger and madness. Until Marius pulls him out of the ground and brings him to her. Akasha, the first vampire.

Marius is an interesting man, clearly brilliant and damaged, he’s so squirrely that most of the things he says aloud are to himself, even when he is talking to Lestat and Akasha. We learn some history about her and her dead companion Enkil, about how it is Marius’ fault Enkil is dead because of a bright moon powerful enough to cause him to burn. That’s some interesting lore, and also confirms Marius is not immune to the sun like his child Armand.

Speaking of Armand, his conversation with Daniel was fascinating. His confession of love was real, or at least as real as it can be with someone like Armand. He had intended to turn Daniel back during the original Interview, but Louis’ dash into the sun and subsequent injuries stopped him. Then he spent the next fifty-two years watching Daniel, helping him from afar through the worst parts of his life. It wasn’t painted as romantic or touching; this is very clearly an obsession.

Then Armand dropped two huge pieces of information. First, Sofia is actually Gabriella, Lestat’s biological mother. Daniel seems a bit taken aback by this, until the other fact drops. Armand wants to share his sunwalking gift with him. Which begs the question, how and why does Armand have this gift? He had given the impression during the interview that very old vampires could walk in the sun, but if his maker cannot, that must’ve been a lie.

Lestat’s tour has basically ended, his death faked and the production of the album is supposedly posthumous based on recordings of his voice. The little background clips of interviews with his fans were fun, some mourning, some excited by the album and some were disbelieving. The mythos he has already created about himself and the band have been making waves. Although the biggest and most lasting shout into the ether is the statement: Make more!

I haven’t really been sure why we’ve been getting so much drama with the band members. We’ve seen a lot from them, including a pretty deep dive into their personalities and motivations, the conflicts between the brothers Larry and Alex, where Larry tries but isn’t as gifted as his brother. But Alex is an addict and struggles with his own talent and demons. That’s a lot, more than some narratives ever give to background players. So I guess it is no surprise that Tc, Salamander and Alex all decide they want to be turned.

This relates to the central conflict of the band, how Lestat is trying to write a memoir of his life and his music is written in a way that only vampires can truly understand it. He’s been trying to explain it all season, and finally the band gets it and volunteers to take it to the next level. All except for Larry who runs off, finally admitting he isn’t at their level. It’s sad, but it’s that last moment that makes it tragic as Armand controls Larry, or pushes on his worst impulses to force him to jump in front of a subway train.

Of course the real foundational trauma that Lestat suffers is during his time with Akasha. He is all but forced by Marius to become her caretaker. A job that is simple, give her some information about the changing times and feed her the ashes of people because blood is too powerful for her. It starts slowly, with music and talking until she has a hand free and starts tapping it to encourage or communicate with Lestat.

Then things take a dangerous turn. In his grief and madness, Lestat starts talking about his past and Nikki’s death, and he gives her some of his blood. This quickens her, letting her partially rise from her stoney prison where she actively feeds off him and he feeds off of her. But it is more than just blood. Something in Lestat seems to call to her. In turn she has done something to Lestat as well, possibly gifting him with some of her power.

It cuts to a few days later at least, and Lestat has been floating uncontrollably since. Marius returns, scolds Lestat and sends him away as he gently pushes Akasha back onto the slab. That entire sequence where she wakes and talks is incredibly powerful. Sheila Atim, who plays Akasha, has a unique look and an incredible voice that gives her this otherworldly and powerful presence. I’m looking forward to her return, possibly next season.

Of course I would be remiss not to talk about the other big foundational trauma: Lestat’s role in Claudia’s death. He still blames himself, which is partially true because he didn’t stop it from happening. So when Louis calls him about Regina, it is painful to watch. Lestat can see his daughter in Regina’s visage, but the person underneath is not her. He warns Louis to stay away, but the interaction hits him nearly as hard as it does Louis. That song about ashes was clearly about his guilt, and it was beautiful.

Bits:

Lestat constantly hints at the fate of characters, but has proven again and again he is unreliable as a narrator, much like Louis.

The revelation that Armand watched Daniel and Louis knew also reframes much of the first two seasons. How much of what we are shown actually happened?

While the producers are being coy, they have said their goal is two more seasons at least, with Queen of the Damned and Tale of the Body Thief as the likely adaptations. Given what we were shown in this episode, that makes total sense.

The ship name between Armand and Daniel is Devil’s Minion. This is from the books. It is oddly the most popular pairing in the book franchise.

Amy Keating, who plays the fake Madeleine, actually has red hair, so I have no idea why they put her in that horrible wig.

Lestat is now collecting ghostly apparitions like Pokemon. This time Louis joins the group along with a child Lestat and Nicky.

Marius alluded to the fact that when Enkil burned, so did his entire bloodline and stated that if Akasha burns so would the rest of the vampires because they are all from her.

Quotes:

Lestat: “Sofia Gabriella de Lioncourt di Vece took over for Christine and whittled down my entourage to the essentials, which was her and the Vampire Sam Barclay, whom she hired as a producer for three reasons. One, he had faked his death once before, so he could be trusted to maintain the rite. Two, he knew the board well enough from his own recordings. And three, she knew I hated him for his part in Paris. And that would keep me lively.”

TC: “I, uh... I don't play metaphorical drums.”
Lestat: “Try.”
TC: “I can do faster, or harder, or shuffle, fill, flam, buzz roll. Like, a drum is a drum. A stick is a stick. I don't know what to tell you.”
Gabriella: “It's 'cause she's not a vampire. It's because her deepest wound is a man walking away mid-ceremony.”
TC: “Wow. Cool. Thank you, Yoko Mirren.”

Daniel: “Where was Louis during all that time?”
Armand: “At home, waiting to hear the minute details when I got back.”
Daniel: “No.”
Armand: “Yes. You sainted him gray in your book, but he’s calculating to the core, and methodically cruel.”

Akasha: “You have not seen. You have not known. And why is her tongue cut out? And why is her death prolonged? And when will it stop? And who will stop it? And why must they, must we, must I, must he, must they, as the millennia, unfold? Why the girl curled? Why her eyes lowered? Why on the side of the road? Why limp in the straw? I am the girl! I am the god! I am the voice! I am the song! I am the night! And I can answer! I can arrange it! I can say rise, and I can say speak! And I am her! And I am she! And I, I, I, I am the answer!”

Lestat: "This is the metal sun inside my veins. This is the hell I unleash on all those near me. It cannot be restrained in the moment or tamed over time. It will drag you into depravity and reward you with regret."

This was a powerful episode that answered questions and pushed the narrative forward. It was also sad, revelatory and deeply intriguing. Daniel knows about Gabriella, Marius isn’t dead, Larry is dead and Armand is working actively against Lestat.

Two more to go in the season.

3.5 out of 4 Gods made of living stone

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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